1. What were your living arrangements like? (Bed/tent/hammock? Bathroom/toilet/showers?)
We stayed in the center that we were working at and slept on the wood floor upstairs. The toilet was western but didn’t flush so we dumped water from a bucket to flush and took bucket showers. It got pretty cold in Thailand so we usually heated our water up on the stove before each shower 😉
Tamar Center, our house and ministry site
2. What was the food like? What was the best and worst things you ate? Weirdest thing you ate?
We had a wonderful gas burner for cooking and sink and refrigerator outside. Since we did our grocery shopping and cooking ourselves we had lots of rice and peanut butter but the best Thai food was pork fried rice and pad thai. I learned to love spicy this month! The weirdest things I ate were chicken foot and squid!
3. What is the culture like? How is it different from ours?
Everyone drives motorcycles – the whole family will ride on one together. Feet are the dirtiest part of the body so you can’t draw attention to them or point them at others. Seafood is great, chicken is weird (you’re weird if you eat it. All their potato chips are seafood flavored). I made cookie dough for Christmas and all the kids thought it looked gross and wouldn’t eat it but once they found out it was sugar they liked it.
Weekend Market in Mochit
4. What did you learn about yourself?
I learned that I am not submitting everything to the Lord and I would still rather put myself and my own agenda before His. I learned that I love evangelizing and praying for others!
5. What did you learn about how the culture effects the way the people understand the gospel and live as Christians?
I learned that as with most religion, people like to follow tradition and older generations aren’t as much afraid of Jesus as they are as going against what their forefathers taught them. I learned that children have so much power in their families and can hold on to the hope of Christ better than any adult.
6. What was your most memorable moment from this month?
When an elephant came to our house! I was washing dishes and the kids said an elephant was down the street so I threw the dishes down and the kids laughed so I thought they were pranking me but low and behold there was an elephant! God gave us such a gift since most elephants were in other regions than ours.
7. What was the hardest thing about your month?
The hardest part was being away from home on Christmas but I learned so much about the value and right it is to have a comfortable Christmas. We got to do many traditional Christmas activities like caroling, candle light Christmas eve service, and we had a Christmas tree but I look forward to being with my wonderful family and friends in 2014!
Thailand school
8. What was the biggest lesson you learned?
I learned how to stand up for myself and not out of pride but out of respect to myself, my God, and my future family.
9. What did you see God doing among the people of Thailand?
God is bringing His people to Thailand to teach them about Jesus. He is opening the hearts of the Thai people and showing them His love by example. It’s extremely important to Thai people to be their friend before you share your values and religion with them and God is using that to work through missionaries going to Thailand. We did lots of teaching to the children about the Bible and Jesus but the strongest example is the elderly neighbor who cried when we left. We hadn’t preached to her or prayed for her but saw her everyday, played with her granddaughter, and shopped at her store. That interaction was enough for her to see Jesus and I’m glad that we could leave His presence with her in that village.
10.What did you learn about the community and the people you served?
Thai people are born with a heart for others. The children share snacks no matter how hungry they are or how well you know them. Americans, myself included, have a hanger about them that makes them not want to share a French fry off their plate but Thai children would give you every piece of candy they have if it made you happy, without any remorse or need of debt. Thai people also love to smile! One smile can make a Thai giggle arise and a friendship blossom.
11.What fun activities did you get to do?
We got to do a lot of fun things when we were in Bangkok; weekend market shopping, malls were everywhere (with American stores!), and I got to enjoy a powerful Thai massage.
12.What one thing surprised you the most?
That I actually ate the chicken foot and squid! (And that I now like spicy food).
13.Explain your “typical day” this month.
During the morning we would plan a Bible lesson for the kids or walk around the village passing out tracts or teach English at the school. After school the kids would come over and we would have a lesson and play with them. Usually going on a bike ride around the lake, doing handclaps, or braiding vines together. Then we would cook dinner, have team meetings, and watch sermons online (recommend good podcasts to me!).
My team on our first day of Thai school!
14.What different projects did you work on this month?
Our main focus was the kids but we did the Lifehouse Skit for two different schools and 3 skits for our Christmas program. Just teaching about Jesus was our project this month.
15.Name one main difference between this month and previous months?
We knew a lot less of the language and almost always had a translator with us.
16.Where are some places you saw the face of Jesus in Thailand?
The kids, the neighbor, people in our town were friendly and joyful very Jesus like. Our translator and contact were full of Jesus and have steadfast faith ready to do anything for the Lord. You could hear God in Took Tik’s laugh (our translator)!
17.Did you see the different social classes evident there?
Pretty much everyone was at a comparable level of economy but some kids would have really holey socks, or wear the same clothes often.
Kids at school on Christmas Day
18.What were the schools like you helped in? What kind of work did you do in the schools?
The schools were big. The English teacher knew a lot of English so it was fun to talk to her. The kids liked to be really rowdy and were always active! We taught English when we went through games and repetition.
19. How was Christmas?!?! How did your team celebrate? How does Thailand celebrate?
Thailand only knows about the Santa Christmas for the most part. This year the school told us, was the first year that they celebrated Christmas at school and had a program with different dance skits and heard about the meaning of Christmas. They only prepared for 2 days before the program! We watched the Grinch, had a Christmas Eve service, and a pork candlelight dinner!
20.What was it like being in a mosly Buddhist country? What did you learn? How do they view Christianity?
It was eerie to see all the gifts they offer to the Buddhist gods on their shrines and hear the monks praying. Being in that environment was definitely awaking to the fact that people do believe in those things and it is very real. God gave me a heart for those people and I wanted to grab them and say “God loves you!” But I don’t think Thai people are closed off to Christianity as much as they are change. They were all welcoming and excited to have Christians in their village.
22. What customs did you have to follow in Thailand that we don’t have in the U.S.?
We had to take off our shoes before entering buildings, bow to greet elders, and sit on the floor most of the time (even when eating).
23. What are you looking forward to in Cambodia?
I’m looking forward to being in a rural area without electricity and internet!
-C
