I have had such a great month of growth here in Thailand! The Lord has shown me that it is not about what I want, but rather what He wants for me and what I truly need.
So ministry this month has been the complete opposite of what I had thought. Expectation: go to all of the beautiful beaches and take boat rides around the islands. Reality: live on a farm and teach English to 60-year-olds all month.
Not gonna lie, my expectations of going into Thailand were pretty dang high. I had seen so many incredibly beautiful photos from here and as a photographer, my excitement was out the roof. The beaches, gorgeous islands, waterfalls. I was so set to go see it all. I was more set on what I wanted to go do and see instead of what the Lord had in store for me to serve Him. Which is why God placed our ministry location about as far away as possible from all of those things I wanted to go do and see. My heart was set on making it to Phuket, located in Southern Thailand, where I had seen was a beautiful place, and we ended up in Chang Mai, very far north. Turns out it was exactly where I needed to be for the month. 
Upon arriving here from Cambodia, I was not feeling too great. My stomach was out of wack (enough explanation) and long story short my first week in Thailand was spent laying in bed and running to the bathroom. We, of course, got 4 days right away to go around the city of Chang Mai to adventure and explore before starting our ministry month and I couldn’t join. It was torture honestly. I did get to enjoy the Songkran Festival, however, which involves everyone in Thailand throwing water and baby powder at one another for three days straight. I got to enjoy one night and the next day wasn’t feeling too hot. Yes, I did go to the hospital to get fluids but I am all healed and better now!
So ministry. My ministry this month has been SO fulfilling. Never did I think I would get the privilege of teaching English to the elderly. God gave me the ministry I needed to fulfill my soul. Probably an odd thing, thinking about teaching 60 year-olds English in a classroom in Thailand and finding so much satisfaction in it. I absolutely adore the elderly and I know that I will work with them in my job someday, whatever that may be. Of all of the ministry to do, He chose for me specifically to teach these sweet Thai people. It was such an honor to be a part of the summer school program. When I would ask “Hello, how are you today?” every morning they would quickly flip through their notes and respond with “I’m fine, how are you?” Most of the time. It was truly such a joy seeing just how dedicated they were to learn the English language. 
Another very humbling ministry project we have participated in this month is carrying buckets of our own septic waste around the farm to water the plants. Very, very humbling I can tell you that. It has definitely made me grateful for septic systems. We have also done some manual labor working around the farm, whacking at weeds with a machete using dads work gloves. This is my first month doing any manual labor on the race and it has been so rewarding visually seeing hard work put in and a positive end result. I love seeing the before and after of manual labor and I really hope I am able to do more of that this year for the people I encounter.
Living here on the farm reminds me so much of home. The pond with a dock to fish off of. Acres upon acres of crops. Water buffalos (close enough to cows). The forest. Running on gravel roads in the country during the evening. All of it is so comforting. And that is exactly what I needed this month. A month of great ministry and feeling right at home. I have been so so blessed this month with everything the Lord did for me and I am so excited to go into month 5 (Myanmar) feeling this way. So fulfilling, thank you Lord.
