Greetings from Jakarta, Indonesia! How is errbody doin’ out there? It is now May, going into month five (5) of The World Race! Woah! Time is certainly flying and it’s been one heck of an adventure.
April was Wo(Man)istry month, which means we got separated from our original teams and the entire squad got divided into two teams: all women and all men. Talk about EMPOWERMENT! I’m sure the men feel the same, but there truly is something beautiful about women coming together as the queens that we are and encouraging each other in all the areas where we feel we fall short. I can’t wait to share more on that. However, today we throwin’ it back to month two (2) in Tailandia in photos! I hope you enjoy.
1. Bangkok, Thailand
Upon arriving in Thailand, we started out in the beautiful city of Bangkok. This was so fun for me and 100% made me miss Dallas a lot. Here is a shot I captured from the rooftop of a super cool and boujee mall. Pretty dope huh?
2. City Lights
A different view of Bangkok at night. On this night I treated myself to a night on the town. I visited Nahm, No. 49 of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants and No. 22 of Best in Asia. It was amazing! So many rich and spicy flavors of traditional Thai Cuisine. It was the absolute best ever. Afterward I made my way up to a rooftop close by to enjoy this amazing view of the city.
3.Chiang Mai
If you’ve kept up with my blogs you might remember how difficult month two (2) was for me. I spent a lot of time alone and kinda isolating myself from others. I felt so distant from the Lord, yet He was ever so present. It took some getting used to being in community 24/7. On this day, I remember waking up at sunrise and going for a walk with the Lord in the beautiful city of Chiang Mai. He reminded me of His glorious beauty but more importantly, how He saw me. It was a good reminder of how He is in the details. If He can put so much thought into making the world around us so beautiful and unique, wouldn’t He care just as much or more about you and me?
4. Elephant Sanctuary
This was definitely one of the coolest moments outside of doing ministry during my time in Thailand. My team and I visited an elephant sanctuary. These creatures are so special. They are beautiful, gentle and sweet. We spent time feeding and bathing them. It was such a fun date.
5. Doi Inthanon National Park
I just love this photo so much. This was taken at the National Park, which happens to be the highest point in Thailand. There are also some temples located at the top. We got to visit the waterfall close by as well. It was all so beautiful. However, the reason this photo warms my heart is not just because of the beautiful scenery but rather how God’s love just poured down on this beautiful country. There was such heaviness and darkness in this country but even in the midst of all that, it was amazing to see how God smiled on this country and those beaming rays of sunshine just remind me of His goodness and His heart for His people.
6. Chiang Khong
Ahhhh! I get so excited to share about my time in Chiang Khong. We had the opportunity to stay with some full time missionary friends of one my teammates and it was everything! We spent time in Hmong villages in the mountains. There were language barriers but our time was still so blessed. Our missionary friends did a great job of translating for us. We shared testimonies. We loved on children. We taught English. We spoke of His goodness and were able to pray over and with so many people and be an encouragement to new believers from the churches that the missionaries have planted. It was definitely the highlight of my time in Thailand.
7. How Great Thou Art
This is a picture of the hymn “How Great Thou Art” in Hmong. We got to attend church in the Hmong villages and although we didn’t speak the language, it was so fun to join in on worship and sing along. It’s amazing how God’s love and His word transcends all and we can find so much beauty in singing Him praises in any language. I even got to sing this to the Hmong people in Spanish as well.
8. Teaching English
Here is a picture of one of my teammates and I playing a game with some of the kids we met at church. It was an interactive game where would draw pictures of different things and teach them the words in English. It was so fun to watch how quickly they identified things and matched the words to the pictures. We had so much fun engaging with these kids. They were very grateful and eager to learn but most of all, they had fun and we got to love on them and even learned a few words in Hmong ourselves!
9. Play Time
One of the days we spent in the village, we visited several homes and got to sit with several people and share the gospel. Many of the people in the villages do not believe in Christ, rather they believe in Animism, which is the belief in the spirit world and in the interconnectedness of all living things. However, many of the people we encountered were curious and open to hearing what we had to say about Jesus and in the end we were able to just love them and meet them where they were. It is also uncommon for anyone to really spend time with the children in the villages, so we took time to gather them all together and have some fun time. We played ball, had balloons, ran around chasing them and just had a chance to be kids with them. They were the absolute cutest kids ever and of course I left a little piece of my heart there with them.
10. Phuket
Then, we finally made it to a beach. When it comes to Thailand, it is all the rave about beaches! So naturally, we couldn’t leave Thailand without visiting one. We made our way to Phucket and went kayaking on one of our free days. One of the things our leaders encourage us to do while on the Race is to enjoy the adventures. Although we are looking for ministry opportunities everywhere we go, they tell us not to miss out on the experiences that are going to make this time abroad memorable, because when else will we be traveling the world again? This is a once in a lifetime opportunity and we are so lucky to be living this out. It’s ok to take moments to enjoy the space we are in and do the fun things too. & no worries, it all comes out of our own pockets, so please keep sending your donations! Ya girl really struggling over here too. Please prayerfully consider supporting me in my fundraising.
11. Rest & Relaxation
Lastly, I’ll leave y’all with this photo of me! Life on the field can sometimes be exhausting or overwhelming, so our leaders encourage us to take a Sabbath, a day of rest. Some days it looks like a day at the beach, other days it looks like never leaving your bed and spending your time in your bible, just you and Jesus. Traveling the world for the past 4 months has been so rewarding in so many ways, but it has also been hard. Especially when your heart keeps breaking for things you see or tensions you feel, whether it is the spiritual atmosphere of the place you are in or encountering the brokenness that exists in the world for those that don’t know Jesus. It takes time to process some of the things you see. & sometimes I have questions about God’s heart on certain issues, so taking the time to rest and relax with the Lord is 100% necessary.
Overall, my time in Thailand was one of new discoveries and growth. There was joy, there was pain, there was adventure and lots of questions. BUT GOD, was in all of it and I just know that the best is yet to come…
