After two international flights, a night on the Bangkok airport floor, and a 12-hour bus ride we arrived in Chiang Mai city, bags and all (a true blessing for you who’ve traveled overseas before).
We are staying in Zion Hostel and surrounded by the hustle and bustle of the city. We’ve ventured out to try various street foods (Pad Thai is $1.50) and bartered with local vendors for elephant pants.
We’ve been able to adventure and explore bits and pieces of Chiang Mai while building relationships within our team. 10 college kids from around the US united by the passion to be the hands and feet of Jesus in Southeast Asia.
Constantly reminded that life is ministry and ministry is life. Whether we are tangibly “ministering” or simply walking the streets in prayer or speaking to local shop owners, we have the opportunity to stretch our arms and hearts out in compassion in the name of Jesus Christ.
While in Chiang Mai, we will be partnering with Agape House, a local ministry that houses around 100 children. Many of these children are HIV positive and were given up at birth. Agape works with the local community to dispell rumors about HIV/AIDS and provides a loving home for children living with the virus. Some children are adopted and some remain at the home until they are 18 and independent.
Our duties thus far have been cleaning and renovating. We’ve cleaned out storage rooms and bathrooms, reorganized spaces and painted living quarters for new house mothers.
It’s an honor to see the small part that we can play in Agape House’s ministry simply by being open and ready to serve in any capacity. Asking the Holy Spirit to prompt us to stop and pray or to encourage one another is building His Kingdom here in Chaing Mai city.
Prayer Requests:
*Pray for good health, we’ve had quite a few team members get sick from food or just from transitioning to a new environment.
*Pray that we would be able to learn some Thai in order to communicate well with the people here, a lot of “smile and nod” at this stage.
*Pray for the people of Thailand, that they would know Jesus and His love for them.
