I am a Time Traveler
Thailand – the month of April we were in Bangkok Thailand for the month as an entire squad. This means that all the teams stayed in the same hostel—all 37 of us!
Thailand hit us with a Surprise! We were headed for Chaing Mai … however, we were informed at the very last minute, during our connecting flight in Ethiopia to Thailand, that we could not go to Chiang Mai due to air pollution. At first, I thought it was a prank. However, when I realized it wasn’t, I was heartbroken. I had been researching Chiang Mai for days and was so excited for it. There is a World Race base in Chiang Mai with some American hosts, I was so looking forward to it. After a few tears, prayers, and a phone call home, I changed my attitude and began looking forward to Bangkok. This news came to help me work towards being flexible with plans and not to have any expectations. Bankok is home to more than 8 million people and is the largest city in Thailand.
With elephants as one of the main things I had been looking forward to for Asia, I did some research, and there were still elephant sanctuaries near Bangkok too. Phew!
Bangkok turned out pretty great. Ministry that month was called “ATL” (ask the Lord.) We prayed, and asked how we could best serve in this very large city. We were lead to show the love of Jesus by helping at an orphanage, handing out cold water bottles to homeless people, and building relationships with other travelers and backpackers. Building relationships offers a great avenue to listen and share more deeply. One of our local relationships was visiting the same mango sticky rice lady every day. (PS this stuff is delicious and I’m hooked!!!)
The thing about ATL ministry is it is on going – it kinda happens “in the moment” so there aren’t pictures being taken during this process – but I can tell you that there are some very special moments. As I share the light I also feel the personal growth that God is doing in my life. It’s all very exciting!
The pictures that I can share here are that of living and experimenting the culture, not just traveling through in a week, but staying put… to imprint and leave a ripple of faithful seeds with each person we encounter.
Food: Mango sticky rice, Pad Thai, Curry and Mango smoothies
Weird Food: Tarantula, Scorpion, Crocodile, Durian (smells like rotting meat, but tastes alright)
Rambutan Fruit (hairy fruit) with my team – sweet/sour inside like a grape?
Adventures
Fish pedicure- this was a weird experience. You put your feet into a little fish tank and these fish eat the dead skin off your feet. It tickled so MUCH!
Temple exploring- Thailand is a Buddhist country, and the temples were scattered across the city. As we visited these temples we silently prayed throughout our walk through.
Songkran- this is Thailand’s New Year—but for them, it is the year 2562! I am a Time Traveler! Now I can say that the future is bright! The entire country has a water fight with squirt guns, buckets of freezing water, and occasionally some baby powder. You can’t not play. If you go outside during these two days, you will be drenched—no matter how much you plead! It was amazing to see all the young and old come together and play.
https://www.facebook.com/olivia.ritsema/videos/10213788364358432/?t=15
Ayutthaya—these are some cool ancient ruins. Checkout my Facebook or copy this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K5yNbKjB1lY
Abandoned Airplanes—one of my squad mates, Jordan, has started a project called “Breathe Life.” The idea is to go to abandoned places and worship and pray, filling that place with the Holy Spirit. It was amazing to feel such a strong presence of God.
Elephant Sanctuary— this was a must for me. We got to feed, bathe, and play with the elephants. Afterwards, we made paper out of their poo! (Don’t worry, it’s clean)
Kitty Cat Cafe—right down the street was a cat cafe, so I would go quite often to have some quiet time with the kitties!
7-Eleven This place is the best in Thailand! They don’t offer gas like in the USA, but they are everywhere! I would go to get ham and cheese sandwiches where they panini pressed them there! It was amazing and delicious and cheap!
Fundraising Update: Thank you so much to all who are praying and partnering with me for my 11 months of missions with Adventures in Missions! I’m so amazed at God’s provision and the generosity of His people. All the praise and glory to God. I can’t wait to see how He continues to move.
I am just $3503 short of being fully funded which will allow me to continue this “Race” to reach out to others along this journey sharing the unconditional love that Jesus has to offer the world.
If you’d like to partner with me there is an orange “donate” button on this page where your donation goes directly to helping reach out to others through me. Thank you for following along in this journey – God is Amazing in so many places and so many ways.
Signing off for now – DJ
