So, in case you haven’t heard, I’M IN THAILAND & I’M LOVING IT. My squad and I left Georgia just about a week ago (which is crazy because I already feel like its been at least a month). After 48 hours of sleeping on planes and on cold hard floors of airports in New York & China, we finally arrived at our home away from home on Friday!

 I didn’t set very many expectations for what our first home would be like but we have definitely been blessed beyond measure…. For starters I am not sleeping in a tent, I repeat, I am not sleeping in a tent. My bed is pretty solid but at least it’s a bed with clean sheets and a pillow. Also, I have been blessed with running water. Cold or hot showers AND toilets AND a kitchen AND a couch and just so many things that I honestly didn’t think I would have. It has definitely been an adjustment living with 40 other people and sharing a room with five other girls but I am only getting more and more excited for what the rest of this year will bring. I cannot wait to further get to know these amazing people on my squad and community living definitely helps you get to know people lol. OH, AND I LITERALLY AM LIVING ABOVE A COFFEE SHOP. If you know me, you know that coffee is a pretty big deal to me and if I could drink it instead of water, I would. So, that being said, I’m basically thriving here.

Also, I just want to mention that yesterday was our first day of ministry and we KILLED IT… We heard that we would be working at an orphanage and my team and I had guessed that meant we would be working with kiddos all day so we were all pretty stoked. When we arrived to the orphanage, we were informed that we will, in fact, only see children there on Saturdays because during the week they’re in school. I think all of us were pretty bummed at first because instead of loving on kids all day we found out that our ministry is manual labor, woohoo!! We pulled weeds all day in the rain, cut dead banana leaves off of trees and encountered way more spiders and bugs than I ever wanted to know existed. Just talking about what we did is exhausting but I’m happy to say that we actually loved it, at least I know I did. Sure, we didn’t get to play with kids and hangout but we did get our hands dirty and help out a 77yr old man who usually does everything on his own. I even discovered that pulling weeds is actually very therapeutic and relaxing… no, that does not mean I want to do it at home, BUT I would pull weeds at an orphanage in Thailand any day.

Oh and I’m less than $5,000 away from being fully funded!! Can you believe that?!? These past few months have helped me see how God provides in so many ways and how He uses so many incredible people. I would’ve never made it this far without the support I’ve received from all of you. From the bottom of my heart, I thank you so much. Hopefully you keep reading this so I can continue updating you all!! Have a beautiful day.

Love, Abs 🙂