Friday, September 14, 2018
Dear Thailand,
You cannot know how excited I am to be here. I can’t wait to explore your streets, meet your people, and eat all your food. Despite the fact that your weather is unbelievably hot and humid, I could not be more content. I’ve only been here for a few hours, but you’re already the most gracious and welcoming host. I don’t yet know what to expect from you, Thailand, but I guess I’ll find out soon.
Until then,
Connaly
Saturday, September 15, 2018
Dear Thailand,
I started my day worshiping on a rooftop overlooking one of your beautiful cities with some of my closest friends. The sun rose over distant mountains. Motos and songthaews started speeding down below us. Women began pushing carts down the street to sell their wares. Chiang Mai slowly came to life. Ministry begins on Monday, so we are spending every moment trying to get to know your quirks and familiarize ourselves with your culture. You are so incredibly different, Thailand, and yet I feel very much at home.
Thanks for that,
Connaly
Sunday, September 16, 2018
Dear Thailand,
Or more specifically, Chiang Mai. There are many different aspects of your city that I absolutely love. The night markets, the fact that you have at least one coffee shop every block, and all of the 7-elevens. But today I found my favorite. It was something I heard mention of, but never thought I would have the pleasure of experiencing. We found the HEDGEHOG CAFÉ. I know, you’re probably just as excited as I was. We got to spend our afternoon eating waffles, drinking coffee, and playing with the hedgehogs, guinea pigs, and a five-month-old French bulldog. It was basically the best day of my life and I really don’t think I ever want to leave…
Thanks for being the absolute best,
Connaly
Monday, September 17, 2018
Dear Thailand,
Today my whole squad visited one of your temples to participate in monk chats. These are daily sessions that give people the opportunity to talk with the monks that live there and learn about their lives, beliefs, and lifestyles. It also gives them the ability to practice their English and gain insight into other cultures. I spoke with a monk only a few years older than me and had the opportunity to learn a little bit about him and his life before ordination. I think this is what ministry will look like sometimes. We won’t always be able to share the gospel, but being intentional and just getting to know people and seeing them can be just as impactful.
We will see,
Connaly
Tuesday, September 18, 2018
Dear Thailand,
Today was our first day of ministry. We drove for about an hour into your mountains, where it is significantly cooler, to get to the orphanage we will work at during our first month here. Upon arrival, we discovered that instead of working with children the whole time, we will be helping the groundskeeper maintain the property during the week and have Saturdays to play with the kids. Our ministry host, Bud, had us weeding pineapple and dragonfruit plants and shucking banana trees with a sickle. Thailand, I absolutely love it here, but I could do without the unbelievable amount of spiders and mosquitos.
If you could work on that it would be great,
Connaly
Wednesday, September 19, 2018
Dear Thailand,
You have SO MANY ANTS. TOO many ants. Today I was given a machete and was tasked with trimming trees in an orchard. But as it turns out, fire ants tend to live in said trees and frequently fall on your head when you’re beating on it. It was super fun. But besides the insect situation, it was an incredibly peaceful day. We had the opportunity to take care of the property, my team had a wide variety of bizarre conversations, and ended our ministry day with coffee in a bag. It was a good day.
Until tomorrow,
Connaly
Thursday, September 20, 2018
Dear Thailand,
You are incredibly hot and humid. At ministry, we mixed and poured a slab of concrete all day for our ministry host’s workshop. It was the most physically challenging thing I’ve ever done, but it was super rewarding, seeing as our seventy-seven year old host, Bud, would have to do it instead. My team and I have learned that ministry isn’t always what you think. We were initially told that we would be working kids, but we ended up shoveling sand, concrete, and gravel for hours on end. It’s hard but so good. I can’t wait to see what next week brings.
Until then,
Connaly
