Life in Thailand looks pretty different than it did in America. I start the day by waking up at around 5-6. I either go to the roof, or I’ll chill in the kitchen with Mama (the hostel’s cook) and spend some quality time with my boi Jesus. At 7, I go to the common room to do squad devos with the other 50 people that I live with. If I get there early enough, I might be lucky and get to snag a bean bag chair or a spot on the couch; otherwise, there’s a good chance I’ll end up sitting on the floor squished in between my sweaty squadmates. Devos end at around 7:30 and from there we all head up to eat the breakfast that Mama had prepared for us.
At 8:30, my team of 7 other girls and I pile into a songthaew and head off to our ministry. 40 short minutes later we arrive at Wildflower Home, where we are welcomed by the excited shouts from the children in the daycare. We hop out of the songthaew and wait in the dining area until Sister Laina comes and grabs us. Sister is our ministry host, and she’s the one who tells us what to do. She greets us by saying “Are you ready to work?”, “Come come!”, or “I am not Jesus, but come, follow me!” (this one is usually followed by hysterical laughter on her part). From there, Sister shows us what we’ll be doing for the day; she likes to switch it up, so we never quite know what to expect.
We break for lunch at 11:30 and eat alongside the mothers and kids. Every day we have a traditional Thai meal prepared for us, which usually consists of big plates of fresh fruit, and a lot of white rice with various broths and soups. If you’re lucky, you might even find a whole chicken head in your soup! ***Warning*** if a Thai woman ever tells you that your food is only a little bit spicy, and you don’t have a very high spice tolerance, be prepared for your mouth to actually set on fire!!!
After lunch, we get NAP TIMEEEE!. Thai culture values rest, and because it’s the middle of the day and the sun is closer to the earth, it is too hot to work. I usually spend my rest time digging into the Bible, listening to worship music while talking with God, hanging out with my team, or taking a nap because we’re all so exhausted. We return back to work at 1:30, and then finish up for the day at 3:30. As soon as we get back to the hostel, we all book it to the roof to try to get a shower. When there are over 40 dirty and smelly kids, and only 4 showers, you have to be quick if you don’t want to stand in line for a super long time.
Every evening, there’s either team time, worship, or a teaching. For supper on Tuesdays and Thursdays, Mama cooks for us, but the rest of the week I either (attempt to) cook for myself, make a run to Big C or 7eleven, or grab food from the night bazaar across the street. We get the rest of the night off, and I usually go to the night market, read a book, go have some quiet time in a coffee shop, or simply hang out with some of my squadmates.
I get the weekends off and usually spend my Saturdays on some type of adventure. Last weekend, my team and I got up early and left the hostel at 4:30 in the morning. We rode up to a temple in the mountains and got to watch the sunrise over the city. One of my favorite adventures was when I went to sticky falls a few weeks ago. Sticky Falls is a waterfall made out of limestone, and I was able to walk up the waterfall without slipping! When I’m not out adventuring, I usually spend a good chunk of my Saturdays in Bella Goose, the coffee shop that’s connected to my hostel. I spend a few hours in Bella Goose journaling, reading the bible, and attempting to blog. On Sunday, I sabbath and spend a lot of time with Jesus. I either go to a church here in Chaing Mai or watch a sermon on my laptop.
I’ve been so blessed to have this be my life for the past 2 months. Through it all God has been soooo present and has been teaching me a lot of new things. I’m sad to say that I only have 3 more days of this life as I leave for Malaysia early Wednesday morning, but I know that God also has big plans for Malaysia, and I can’t wait to see how he moves there!!!
***also, I made a video of when I went to sticky falls a few weeks ago, copy and paste link below to check it out 😉
