Hello there! I am in Bangkok, Thailand. I am honestly still amazed that I am here! We are staying just outside Bangkok in a condo. I know, I know, it sounds like I’m on vacation. We are staying in such a nice apartment that I feel like I’m not even on the race anymore. When we first arrived there was a letter on the refrigerator from the last team that stayed here before us. They called this place the “Sabbath Shelter.” And it truly is, all 7 of us are crammed into a one bedroom apartment, but we are so blessed this month. We have access to a salt water pool, a fitness center, a hot shower, a western toilet, air conditioning, and a mall with Auntie Anne’s Pretzels within walking distance.
Our host owns an English Center called A Mane, like a lion’s mane, but pronounced like “amen.” They are fervent believers in Business as Mission, but I won’t get into that just yet. One of his teachers, also a former World Racer, lives in the same building and has taken us under her wing. Morgan shows us all the fun places like night markets, restaurants, and beaches. She also taught us how to ride the Songthaews, (pronounced Song Tao), which is basically a pick-up truck with two benches in the back. We use the public transportation every day to get to and from A Mane. It is an after school program, so we work until 8pm.
The English program has 3 teachers who teach multiple classes each night. As a team we are working to make their job a bit easier. Half of our team assists in the classrooms, while the other half do administrative work. We are planning workshops for the kids like learning how to order food in English, painting, yoga, and planting rice. None of us actually know how to grow rice, but we are taking the kids on a fieldtrip to a traditional rice field next week to learn the importance of rice and how hard it actually is to grow and maintain it. I was told that there will be an elephant, I don’t know what that means yet but I will get back to you as soon as I know.
I wanted to tell you all a little bit about food here as well. It is too expensive to buy ingredients for your own dinner here, so most people just stop by the night markets and street carts for dinner. Many houses don’t even have kitchens. Don’t worry though, if you don’t like what the street vendors have to offer then you can go to a 7 Eleven. They have western sandwiches and snacks. There are so many 7 Elevens in Bangkok you could walk out of one and fifty feet later you could walk right into another. If you do choose to stop by a night market, don’t buy the green apples. One of my teammates found out the hard way after buying 6 of them that they were in fact guavas and not apples. There is such a large selection of food at the night markets you could get just about anything. There are vendors who sell French fries, crepes, and donuts. While others sell more traditional Thai soups and dishes like Pad Thai, fish balls, and sweet and sour pork.
When I left for the World Race I thought that I would be leaving the states and I would never see anything American for 11 months. But if this first three months around the world has taught me anything, it’s that you can find Goldfish and McDonalds in just about any country you visit. Living in Asia is so much fun! We are learning so much about the world just by stepping inside other Christians lives. We recently talked to a young girl who asked us all sorts of simple questions about being a Christian. For example, why do you love Jesus, how does God speak to you, or do you read the bible from beginning to end? I have come to find the importance of knowing the basis of your faith. Do you believe in God because you have a personal relationship with him, or is it just what your parents believed so you did too.
Many of the people I have talked to about Jesus don’t want to know the Greek or Hebrew translations of the words in the bible. They don’t want to know about the various “mistakes” in the bible that so many Americans squabble about daily. And they especially do not have a choice to go church shopping and find the perfect church with the right style of music, lighting, and age range. Many of them just want to know why Jesus would love them. How could he speak to them, because they are only human? Why would God care about them?
The happiest moments I have had on the race are the few times I’ve been able to answer those questions. “God loves you so much because he created you. He sent his son as a sacrifice to wash away all the sin you have committed and will commit. He loves you so much that he sent me to the other side of the world just to tell you that. We are all sons and daughters of God and he wants to have a relationship with you.” I’m terrified every time I do it though! I’m presenting them with the biggest decision of their life.
In most of the places I’ve been so far, the churches are meeting together, young and old, to live life with Jesus. That is the connection they have. That is the connection we should have in America as well. I am guilty of getting caught up in trying to modernize the church. But getting to see how many of the churches outside the U.S. operate has given me a fresh look on Sunday morning church. We should be living life together a as church daily. We should be coming together as a family and stepping into the needs of others and celebrating the good times. Church is not just a Sunday morning activity but an everyday relationship with each other and Jesus.
I never thought I would actually be in Asia. I have always wanted to travel, but I never actually thought I would get to do it. I keep thinking that one day I am going to wake up and be used to it. Used to hearing different birds, seeing the moon upside down instead of sideways, riding in the weirdest forms of transportation I have ever been in, or trying to order food in a language I don’t know.
“No spicy.”
“Spicy?”
“No! No spicy! Please no spicy!”
“Ok then little spicy.”
“Not little spicy, no spicy…”
“Only little spicy?”
“Ok, little spicy.”
Yes that is what our conversations look like when we order food. When they say little spicy they really mean they put all of the spice in the world onto your plate and you are about to breath fire. Its such a weird feeling being a foreigner, but I love it. Alrighty then, I’ll talk to you all later. I’ve got to get ready for work. And yes, I have had The King and I stuck in my head since we landed here.
