“Glory in His holy name. Let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice. Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always.” Psalm 103:3-4
This month has been filled with amazing sights, sounds, people and experiences. I feel like I have seen all of Thailand and I only scratched the surface of this beautiful country. There were times when I could barely keep track of where I have been, so I know all of you have been trying to follow closely as well. For fun, I thought it would be great to post some pics of the amazing places and people I have seen. I will try to do it in order so you can follow my journey across Thailand.
This month has been filled with amazing sights, sounds, people and experiences. I feel like I have seen all of Thailand and I only scratched the surface of this beautiful country. There were times when I could barely keep track of where I have been, so I know all of you have been trying to follow closely as well. For fun, I thought it would be great to post some pics of the amazing places and people I have seen. I will try to do it in order so you can follow my journey across Thailand.
This was my first plate, ever, of Pad Thai. Delicious, but I am kind of tired of it by now! Ready for a cheeseburger!!
This was the sign for our hotel on the island–funny how they advertise water and electricity 24 hours!!
We left the island of Koh Samet and headed towards Bangkok for a few days of cultural training. We spent a day touring the temples and learning about the Buddhist religion. Please pray for the people of Thailand and that they would learn the truth about Jesus.
Statues in the temple
Downtown Bangkok
Temple in Bangkok
I traveled with team ZION and team CONCRETE to Phuket, Thailand for a few weeks. We worked with the SHE ministry helping to minister to the women working in the bars. We were able to offer them jobs making jewelry and introduce them to a different lifestyle. Praise God that by the end of the month 5 new girls had started working with SHE.
Our favorite bar girls in Phuket
Sunset in Phuket–gorgeous! I was lucky enough to run quite a few nights on the beach at Sunset!
The infamous elephant riding was in Phuket!
Lauren and I became CONNECT FOUR pros at the Bars. Many of the girls and guys play games to break the language barrier.
My last night in Phuket we treated ourselves to a Thai BBQ. They forgot to mention that we had to cook our own food!
The next week I went back to Bangkok for a few days to welcome the September racers! It was a blast to hang out with them for a few days and encourage them for their first few days.
After that I hopped on a bus about 2 hours down to Pattaya to hang out with Team Lego for a week. We ministered again to the ladies in the bars and taught English.
Ronald made a guest appearance!
Elizabeth, me and Heather at the beach
Sunset in Pattaya
Passing out dinner to the kids we played with in the Pattaya Slums
After that I hopped on a bus about 2 hours down to Pattaya to hang out with Team Lego for a week. We ministered again to the ladies in the bars and taught English.
Ronald made a guest appearance!
Elizabeth, me and Heather at the beach
Sunset in Pattaya
Passing out dinner to the kids we played with in the Pattaya Slums
We found a Hard Rock Cafe! American food!
After a week in Pattaya I jumped back on the bus and went north to Bangkok! My team, Awaken, had been ministering there all month and I rejoined them and jumped into ministry at the Well. The Well is an organization that works with the bar girls and encourages them to leave the bars and join one of their three centers (Card Making, Jewlery, or Purses). We had a fantastic week of hanging out with new friends!
Bowling with some amazing Thai girls. They certainly thought our bowling antics were hilarious.
Of course you can’t go to Thailand without adding a little bit of new bling! When in Rome…
Overall, it has been an amazing month of ministry. I feel so encouraged to travel so many different places and see the evidence of God’s hand all over Thailand. I have met so many new faces, seen some beautiful beaches and just generally enjoyed Thai culture.
Please continue to pray for the people of Thailand. They are all so precious to us and have become true friends. Each one is loved by our Father and for that and many other reasons we love them too.
