Thailand.
My month in Thailand was amazing. I will definitely be going back to that country. The food, the people, the night markets, and just the overall vibe is beautiful. You could literally survive on $3 a day for food too which is amazing! For those of you who eat Thai food, you know that it is divine. Aside from the country and all of its perks, last month was the mark of a new season for me. I was asked to step down from squad leading, so for the first time in 5 months, I was back on a team of six and stayed in the same place the entire month. Of course I was apprehensive about this change, but I clung to the hope that I have encountered and to the fact that He is good always, and all of this proved to be true! My team is amazing. I couldn’t have asked for a better combination of women to spend these last three months with. On top of that, we were BLESSED last month. We stayed in a house with beds, air conditioning, wifi, a tv (stocked with dvds and the “Best of FRIENDS!”), and a phone that made FREE calls to the U.S. All of those things are unheard of on the race. It was a huge blessing coming out of Africa into that especially.
We worked with a ministry called Remember Nhu. They rescue children who are at risk of being sold in sex slavery and bring them to their property where they house, feed, educate, LOVE, and raise up children of the Word. During the day, we worked on the property clearing out the palm trees, digging trenches, helping with the construction of the new home, and weeding the gardens. It was HOT, but it felt good to be outside and work up a sweat. At night, we would eat dinner with the children every day and just love on them. Those kids, especially the boys, have a piece of my heart. I would highly recommend visiting those Thai kids. They are precious.
Here’s a little recap for ya 😀
Our squad took the most luxurious bus from Bangkok to Chiang Mai, fully equipped with massage chairs, personal tvs stocked with movies, fried chicken, and anything else amazing you can think of!
I got a tattoo! And starbucks..
Had one of the best days on the race: our squad rode elephants, visited a hill tribe village, went to a waterfall, and went bamboo rafting. Bamboo rafting was the best, I think it’s supposed to be peaceful, but we would jump from raft to raft, throw each other in the water, steer the rafts through rapids, and were like little children. Oh and I jumped off a cliff there that knocked the wind out of me because I just ran and jumped and didn’t prepare. Whoops.
Q, Pris, and I were surprised and honored by our squad before the transition took place. People prophesied over us, thanked us, and Nate even wrote a song about us. Amazing.
Visited Doi Suthep, a Buddhist temple that people from all over the world travel to. Crazy.
I basically cleared out the jungle the whole month by freeing palm trees with a sicle. Cool stuff.
We went to a cultural dinner where we sat on the ground and were entertained by traditional dances and amazing food.
Had a hard day of grief and processing the change, but amidst the tears and sadness, God revealed more of His amazing character to me.
Hope took me out for a date and we were surprised and spoiled yet again by Jesus’ favor and love that included Thai massages, McDonalds, ice cream, jean shorts, and pearls!
One of the coolest nights of the race: some of us went to a waterfall, as we were sitting on the rocks a monsoon hit, we got drenched, I slipped and fell into the water and three Thai college guys saved me. It was raining so hard that I literally couldn’t see anything, we were soaked through and through…Hosanna and I didn’t want to walk so we had those men give us a ride through the flooded streets back to the Wongen Café. Once we got there, her and I danced in the parking lot that was flooded up to our chins…so surreal!
Went to a hill tribe that is responsible for saving a majority of the children because the chief chooses to contact Remember Nhu rather than the brothel owners.
Had church at Remember Nhu, Nathan preached about being freed from the past and being empowered, powerful stuff. The spirit moved and we were able to free some of the teenage girls from the pain of the past.
NIGHT MARKETS!
I was able to call a bunch of you on the phone! Such a blessing! If I didn’t call you, it’s because I asked my mom to email me numbers of who needed to hear from me or needed a breath of fresh air. She followed the spirit and gave me those numbers. So, if I did call you…it was because the Lord wanted to show you how much He loves you!
Our contacts took us to an elephant camp where we got to ride elephants again, saw them kick soccer balls, shoot basketballs, do tricks, and PAINT beautiful murals! That same day we ate the most amazing food at an orchid farm. It was a buffet…enough said.
God spoke to me a lot this month…about my future, my gifts, and who HE is.
I went to the Tiger Kingdom. I played with Tigers and cuddled with them. What?! Yep. It was amazing.
I rode on the roof of the taxi “songteow.” Driving in Thailand was amazing. The scenery and the wind in my hair…I am gonna miss it. However, I did lose two headbands in the wind last month, so that was a draw back.
Played soccer, Uno, fruit ninja, karate, basically any and everything with the kids. I fell in love with the boys and look forward to visiting them again whenever that may be.
On the last night, they lit lanterns and sang to us. You know the lanterns from Tangled…it was magical. The moon was shining and the kids were saying goodbye and the lanterns filled the sky…
The last few days I started getting sick, which I now know was pneumonia. I had a crazy intense panic attack and then stayed in the hospital the last few days we were in Thailand…
As you can see, month nine in Doi Saket, Thailand was DELIGHTFUL. A lot happened, a lot went down, and a ton of blessings were received. There’s only two more months left…CRAZY!
Love love love.
Shout out to my sassy grandma rara, it was your birthday this month! I miss you a ton. Can’t wait to make more of your dreams come true, whatever that looks like! LOVE YOU.
