When my squad landed in Thailand I have to say the emotions I had were crazy. I think this kind of crazy is good, but all I know is that is felt very different from Guatemala. The people, the culture, the time zone, the atmosphere, the food. Asian cultures like Thailand are like nothing I have ever experienced before.
So just to catch everyone up on ministry, logistics, and my team, I am going to share what this crazy leg of the race is starting to look like. First things first, team Living Water is staying in a much different environment than at Nueva Generacion, and the food is amazing! Located in the gigantic metropolis of Bangkok, we are staying in a tiny apartment complex down the road from our ministry cite. Our ministry for the next three months is at a local English center called A Mane.
Our hosts are a young couple named Golf and Benz, and they are pretty much everything I could have asked for as contacts. They have three kids named Bam, Kamp, and Asher who currently speak English as their first language and are learning Thai in school (but their entire family is Thai ).
Considering the fact that Thailand’s Christian population is about 1%, bringing the love of Jesus is actually a very exciting task. Thailand’s national religion is Buddhism, and even though they don’t mind if you practice another religion, professing Christianity is not acceptable. This is where the beauty of A Mane blossoms. A Mane supports a ministry lifestyle called Business As Mission or BAM (also the name of Golf and Benz 6 year old daughter). Instead of proclaiming Jesus on the streets, and searching for ways to share the love of Christ through active evangelism like we could in Guatemala. We will instead strive to plant seeds of Jesus Christ through teaching, in the hearts of these young Thai students.
Our students range from kindergarten to age 17, and A Mane currently holds about 300 enrolled students. Which is amazing considering Golf and Benz started this business on there own. The students come and learn English after school, so my team plans in the mornings and then teaches from about 3 to 7:45pm.
At first I was having a really hard time in Thailand. I felt defeated, because I don’t feel like a good English teacher, and I didn’t see how I could share the love of God to this nation. However, today changed my entire perception. It’s only our third day with these kids, and God has begun a mighty work in my heart. At about 7am this morning, my team, Golf and Benz, Teacher Bell, and the three American women teaching at A Mane: Rachel, Krysta, and Emily. Huddled 80 of our students onto two double decker buses and headed off to an incredible facility called Kidzania. I can’t wait to share some photos tomorrow when I get wifi on my phone, but let me tell you, words cannot explain how cool this place is.
So Bangkok is a fairly westernized and modernized city, even though it still has it’s poor and messy areas, (just like any massive city containing 9 million people). However, it was still a little shocking how nice everything is.
Kidzania is located in one of the biggest and most luxurious malls I have ever seen, and is in the middle of Bangkok. I want to give you a glimpse at the amazing ways God blessed my group of 8 boys today. Kidzania is a literal world created for children to learn independence, money managment, social skills, and occupation all in one place. It literally was a miniaturized mega city with everything you can imagine. From putting out fires in hotels, to construction, beauty solon, to cooking, a Coca Cola factory, to Mc’Donalds, being a flight attendant, to secret agent, and that’s not even a fourth of what this place offers. Everything was real: real food, real packaging, real driving, a real radio station; all leading up to perfect learning experiences for what living life and being responsible might look like.
With all of this being said, I realized a major thing today. My 8 boys: Folk, Pun Pun, Kran, Pete, Kun-Dej, Folk, Dew, and Sun not only get to experience learning English with us, but as they grow in trust and friendship with my team, there is no way that the light and life of Jesus won’t reach their hearts.
I am ecstatic with trust and undoubtably hopeful in the Lords work through A Mane, and it is teaching me that the love of Christ has no language or religious barrier. When God’s mighty hand claims the great Nation of Thailand for His own, I want to be apart of the powerful and overwhelming capture of this beautiful cultures heart.
