Hello from Thailand!
I wanted to update you all on what life is like here. All of the girls on my squad (there’s 38ish of us) live in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Adventures in Missions has a base/hostel here, so that’s where we live! It’s a very nice hostel, called Zion, that is located right in the middle of the city. Their goal is to spread the love of Jesus to travelers who come and stay at the hostel. They are also usually hosting at least one world race team. We have tons of fun markets, coffee shops, and restaurants within walking distance (which has not been very good for my bank account). I’ve been really blessed with all of the amazing living conditions I’ve had on the race. It has been really fun, but living in the middle of the city has come with its challenges. It’s very easy to begin to feel claustrophobic and like there isn’t much space to be alone here. The air pollution has also been really bad, which has meant we have had to wear face masks everyday. I didn’t realize how much of a blessing it was to simply have fresh air! Among the chaos of the city, I’ve learned how important it is to let Jesus be my breath of fresh air. I’ve learned to rest in Him when I feel physically exhausted because of lack of alone time. I’ve also learned how much I see God through nature. It’s easy to realize how important something is to you when you suddenly don’t have it anymore. I will be excited to be around nature and fresh air whenever I get the next chance !
My ministry is working at a home for kids with HIV/AIDS called Agape. I’ve really fallen in love with this orphanage and all they do for these kids. There are about 100 kids 0-20s who live at Agape. Once the kids graduate from High School, they have the opportunity to become a nanny for the younger kids, or continue to live there and work on getting their degree. While being there for the past three weeks, I’ve gotten to see how truly loved these kids are by their nannies and by all the teams that come from different countries to play with them! Most of the time, I am helping make jump ropes and school bags to send to Samaritans Purse for Operation Christmas Child! Agape partners with them in a program called Kids to Kids, which is kind of self explanatory in the name, but the kids of Agape make things to put in shoe boxes that are sent to other kids. I really love being apart of it, especially because when I lived in Boone, North Carolina, Samaritan’s Purse was practically in my back yard! So, it feels like little piece of home. In the afternoons, my favorite thing is to go and play with the babies! I wouldn’t say I’m normally a baby person, but there’s something about these babies that I just can’t get enough of! They are so sweet and end my day there with so much joy.
If you have any more questions about Thailand, feel free to reach out and ask! I would love to answer all of your questions. We will be here until the end of April and then we go to Burma/Myanmar for our last month of the race! Please pray that I continue to remain present here as I only have 2 months left (I come home the first couple days of June). I’ve found it’s very easy to catch my mind often wondering back to what life will be like when I go home. But my heart is to really be present here and soak it all up while I still can! Also please pray for the kids of Agape, that they would grow up knowing how loved they are! I really am so so so thankful for this journey. Thank you to everyone who is supporting me, finically or through prayer. I can’t express it enough- you all mean the world to me !!!
