Debrief in South Africa was great! Honestly, I wasn’t looking forward to it. I didn’t want to be stuck in a small area again with 80 people trying to process our time in Africa, but much to my surprise it was amazing! I was able to think, process, talk, and pray through the last few months and get poured into and challenged. It was obvious that I needed this time if I thought I did or not! I am so thankful that we have these times and people who love us, challenge us, and encourage us!
We left on Wednesday morning for our journey to Thailand. We packed up ALL of our stuff. Even though we each only have one backpack, it amounts to quite the load when all 50 of us are together. We spent Tuesday at the mall, went shopping, went to see a movie, relaxed, etc and didn’t even think about packing. We laughed at how our view of travel has changed because what at home, would be an extreme trip, has become an regular thing. “Oh yeah, we’re going to Thailand tomorrow.” Anyways, we made it to the airport and proceeded on our 13.5 hour flight to Hong Kong. It went surprisingly fast. We had a delay on our first flight causing us to be late for our flight to Bangkok. So, when we got off the plane we were greeted by some of the airport employees. We showed them our boarding passes and then they gave us neon green stickers to wear. I’m still not sure what they were for. We got split up going through security. So, we were walking in groups of two or three and almost every employee we passed asked us if we were going to Bangkok, directed us in the direction, and told us to hurry. We laughed because it seemed as everyone in the airport knew the 50 Americans were holding up the plane. We found out that we didn’t hold up the plane when we waited for another hour and the pilot made an announcement that a part had fallen off, but not to worry that it had been reattached…real comforting! The two hour flight to Bangkok was pretty uneventful. I slept the whole time as it was 2am Africa time.
We were met at the airport by YWAM staff and then loaded up into the back of trucks and found ourselves at the YWAM base in Bangkok. We had a great briefing about Thailand and its culture. Morgan, Candice, and I will be staying in Bangkok working with a ministry that works with Thai women who are involved in prostitution. I am not sure what I am allowed to share at this point, but we begin ministry on Monday and hope to update you from that point. So far, I really like Thailand and am excited to learn more about it and see what God has planned. Thank you for all your prayers for our safety. We would appreciate your prayers as we jump into this new culture and ministry. Be blessed!
