At this point in the Race, well past the halfway point and entering the last continent of our journey, lots of people are talking about how they can’t wait to go home. They can’t wait to go back to the States, see their family and friends, eat familiar food and be in a place where they don’t constantly feel like the mzungu, the farang, the white…the foreigner.
And of course, I’m excited about going back to the States too. But for me, thinking about coming back to Asia was kind of like other people thinking about coming back to the States; I knew it would be like coming home.
Of course, during my time in Japan, I was the gaijin – the foreigner – and I always will be. But Japan is full of great memories for me. And after living in Africa for three months, a continent I knew nothing about and didn’t understand most of the time, I couldn’t wait to get back to the continent I had lived in for a year and half.
I wasn’t sure if there would be a lot of similarities between Thailand and Japan, so I tried to brace myself for feeling as out of place here as I did in Africa. And the two countries do have their differences, of course. But I’m happy to say that during my first day in Bangkok, I recognized a lot of things around me. And on month 8 of the Race, man, it feels good to actually recognize something.
Lucky for me, a lot of Japanese things are here in Thailand too. Like 7Eleven, which I know is actually an American thing, but Asia has taken it and made it into its own magical land of air-conditioning and convenience. There’s Mister Donut, plenty of Japanese restaurants, hiragana and katakana on signs and products, dorayaki, Hi-Chew, pastry shops in grocery stores, crazy cute Asian fashion, nori everywhere and corn in ice cream. In fact, it feels so familiar that sometimes, I expect to be greeted with a nasally Irrashimaste when I walk into a store.
Ministry-wise, we’re working with a pastor and his wife, whom we affectionately call May and Pa (Mom and Dad). They’ve given up their apartment for us and are sleeping in the church downstairs. So far, we’ve visited some people who have needed prayer and cell groups to give encouragement and testimonies. Most Racers, when they think of Thailand, they think of going into the bars and ministering to people in the sex trafficking industry in places like Phuket, Bangkok and Chang Mai. And I was a little disappointed when I found out our team wouldn’t be doing that. But we’ve talked to Pa and he’s more than willing to let us go into bars and speak to prostitutes here in Chantaburi, which we haven’t done yet, but hopefully will before the end of the month.
we live on the second floor
May and Pa are really wonderful and have been taking amazing care of us. Pa has planned out rest days and “adventure” days for us, which is a first for me. Usually we get one rest day a week and have to plan our adventures then, so we don’t actually get much rest. But this month, we’ll get both. For our first adventure day, we visited a waterfall and went swimming the ocean.
May doesn’t speak much English but is fluent in the universal language of food. She cooks for us most meals, making amazing Thai dishes and then trying to give us second and third helpings. We’ve been out to eat a few times and my dish of choice is of course, pad thai. Under a dollar and so very tasty.
So, this month isn't what I expected in ministry, but it's been a lot of fun so far. And me – well, I'm just happy to be back in Asia:
(photo credit: Caroline Player)
