- When arriving into
Thailand for the first time and spending the night on the bus station floor, be
sure to make yourself comfortable any way you can (which means piling bags
underneath you). Remember, however, that showing the bottom of your feet in
Thai culture is the equivalent of flipping somebody off. So keep those feet out
of the air and happy sleeping!
- When traveling the
streets of Thailand do not be surprised when you see a 7-11 on every single
corner (perhaps more than one). Don’t worry, the slushies are just as good in America!
You may want to take precaution when choosing snacks, however, as most of them
will be unidentifiable fish-based products. And when given the chance to buy
cool Thai T-shirts, use caution or you may lose focus and buy an American
product t-shirt instead!
- As a missionary in
Thailand, be aware that if someone offers you a Yellow Songtail, they are not trying to give you a small bird…in fact ‘songtails’ are the name of the local taxi trucks.
Do not become so comfortable in your surroundings that you forget to do a head count
when piling into a red songtail or you may just accidentally leave one of your
team mates behind at the store by themselves. (Whoops, sorry about that Allison!) - As a good World Racer, you must take every precaution to prevent mosquito bites, so as to not come down with tropical diseases. You will want to purchase the very first electric mosquito racket that you see (even though it will most likely turn out to be a dud). Be sure to spray entire body down with 100% DEET bug spray…the poison may kill you but at least you’ll die with fewer bites! Try to avoid looking directly at your arms when spraying or DEET may bounce off your skin, directly into your eyes. If this happens, immediately start screaming that you’ve gone blind and hopefully one of your teammates will throw a cup of water in your face. (All true stories).
- When camping out in
Southeast Asia, you must be prepared for all kinds of creepy crawly things,
especially this time of year. A day will most likely not end before you see a
scorpion, snake, poisonous caterpillar or lizard, or maybe even a giant
tarantula sized spider! If you do kill a spider, it will probably not take too
long before a colony of ants hauls him off for dinner. Ants have followed me EVERYWHERE this year. (Remind me to tell you about the time I drank a glass of juice full of dead ants, YUCK!)All insects aside, Thailand was an
amazing month on the World Race! Every night we would work with the girls at Remember Nhu, playing games or helping
with English homework. During the daytime we did a lot of manual labor,
building a new volunteer house and clearing land for another group of girls’
homes. It was cool to see what a difference we made…here are just some things I
was busy doing this month: installing sheet rock, weed wacking, sawing wood, caulking
bathrooms, raking grass, mixing concrete, staining doors, , shoveling gravel, weeding
gardens, pruning trees, cutting metal pipes , etc. Look out, Bob Vila!
God has been growing
me this month in brand new ways, especially as I surrendered the past few weeks and fasted
internet communication. I think it was just what the Lord needed to get through
to me. I was able to spend more intentional time in prayer and in the Word. I
read through all the gospels this month as well as Psalms, Proverbs,
Ecclesiastes, Acts, Revelation, and several other New Testament books. I have
felt very blessed this month because of so many incredible experiences! They
really took care of us and showed us the culture of Thailand. This month has
certainly had its challenges as well for me. Last week, for instance, I lost my
camera that I have had with me the whole race and a bunch of memorable pictures.
When we were riding home one night in the back of the truck we hit a bump and
my camera went flying out of my purse and onto the highway. We even went back
the next day to try to spot it but we couldn’t L. Just two days after that my credit card was
lost when I was rushing to do a favor for someone and I had to cancel it to
prevent theft. It seemed like everything
I tried to do was not working out! I believe the devil has been trying to
discourage me for my desire to draw closer to God and become bolder in my faith.
I have learned especially from this year’s journey that we are not to put our
hope in anything but Christ. God is faithful!A few people have
mentioned how they would like to support me directly with personal money…to
help with things like food, laundry, and toiletries, etc. We get $2-$3 a day for food…anything beyond that we have
to pay out of pocket. I have been doing my best to be resourceful but the extra
costs have certainly added up! If you would like to help in any way (or
contribute to the camera replacement fund J) you can send to:Elaina Rogers- 311
Bonnyvale Rd. Brattleboro, VT 05301.My parents can put funds directly into my
account. Thank you so much again for all your support & prayers thus far…I
have been so overwhelmed by your love this year!!!Elaina’s World Race- Thailand from elaina rogers on Vimeo.
