We are entering the final stretch of our 11 month
journey, only 3 months left. We found
out today that we will be flying into LAX
June 9th. America get ready!! We
spent the last week in Bangkok, Thailand for month 8 debrief, which focused on
coming home and the reverse culture shock we will experience when we get back
home. Apparently it was once rude to
talk about your bodily functions over dinner.
We have been in Thailand for about a week now and
the excitement this country brings still has yet to wear off. The Thai food is incredible, the people are
warm and friendly, adventure awaits every turn of the corner, and the street
markets are filled with anything you could ever ask for. I have seen middle aged western men escorted
by young Thai women, I have seen slums next to 7 story malls filled with every
designer imaginable, and pollution so bad you can hardly see a few blocks down
the street. I’ve heard stories of the
displaced Burmese refugees living throughout northern Thailand. Thailand is a country filled with
opposites. It’s beautiful but so
polluted you can’t see down the road.
After our 5 days of debrief the guys split off
from the girls and headed north to Chiang Mai for MANistry. While we are working in northern Thailand
this month the girls are working in the red light districts in Phuket and
Chiang Mai. This month we are working with
an organization called Outpour Movement
that works with Burmese refugees along the Burmese border with Thailand and
also in a few villages in Burma. Tomorrow
we are going to Mae Sot, southwest of Chiang Mai, for a few days and then into
Burma where we will be working with the Karen people there. The Burmese government has been attempting to
exterminate the Karen people and there are now over 450,000 refugees living
throughout northern Thailand. An
important aspect of this month will be to tell the story of the ongoing
genocide against the Karen people by the Burmese government. A story that is often untold in the
West.
us north of Chiang Mai to a waterfall in the Thai jungle. We ate lunch, climbed around on the
waterfall, swam, and then watched Josh climb a tree and get bit by a tree
viper. And this is just the first day of MANistry.
