Sawatdee Kha. {Hello}
Thailand is the new home. These next three months my squad will be getting a taste of 11n11 (I’m on gap year-which means I stay in an area for 2-3 months at a time and I’m on the field for 9 months). My time in Asia is one month in Thailand, one month in Myanmar, and one month in Thailand. Oh… I forgot to mention my squad had a route change. My squad and I are going to “Myanmar” instead of Malaysia due to lack of ministry hosts.
This month my team and I live four hours away from the city, in small town Mae Ai. Picture this, squatty potties, blow-up sleeping pads, and salamanders on your wall. We have a “simple” kitchen, a microwave, fridge, and a hot plate. We travel to the next towns’ grocery store for drinking water, due to unclean water in our house. We shower with a hose, unlike my friends who weren’t as blessed and use bucket showers. To avoid WR 15 lbs, I run. The road to the rice farm behind our house has a view like Heaven touching Earth. Honestly, it takes my breath away, or maybe it’s the fact that I’m running.
Our home is maybe a minute walk to the school we partner with. Bankai, takes pride in their developed English program. We work alongside the teachers and help teach the students. Teaching is a little challenging since we don’t speak any Thai, other than “hello” and “thank you.” However, the culture here is very relational which makes building friendships a lot easier. Thai people are so welcoming and show us a lot of grace. Thailand goes by the name “Land of Smiles,” and I could not agree more.
I am thankful for this time apart from my squad. I began to grow comfortable, and with this adjustment in my living quarters and having a smaller group of people around me, there is no way that will happen. Growing comfortable tends to make me stagnant in my relationships with people, myself, and God; so, I take the hard times and thank God for keeping me accountable.
