They have this thing here in Chiang Mai, Thailand called “Monk Chat” where you can go and talk to the Buddhist monks about anything because they want to practice English. A team on my squad has been going to monk chat consistently, but I just went once this week, and it was so cool! The monks were really nice. One of the monks I talked to was 19 and the other was 24. The 24-year-old said he had been a monk for 10 years. Before going to monk chat, I had it on my heart to share the gospel with a monk. I told a squadmate that I wanted a monk to tell me more about Buddhism, and that I wanted to tell him about Christianity. I was praying about it a little on the walk there. There were about 5 women from my squad, but right away the monk looked at me and asked me if I was Christian. He had seen my cross necklace. I said yes, and then he asked me if I could tell him more about it and what I believed, so I got to share the gospel with him. He asked a couple questions like what the cross symbolizes and if I believed in reincarnation. They told me that they believed in karma, reincarnation, nirvana, and meditation. I’ve learned some of the rules a monk has to follow too- they have some pretty strict rules that they have to abide. One thing that is funny though is that many of them have Facebook, and one of them added me as a friend on Facebook.
The Buddhist monk I was talking to and I
We continued going into the bars that have prostitutes these past two weeks to build relationships. We set up three different times in the day to meet up with a woman that works at the bars, but she backed out each time, so our relationship with her didn’t develop much, and she seemed pretty guarded. The man that we met that was sitting on the street told us that he’d come to our coffee shop, but he never came either. We were building a good relationship with another woman that worked the bars, but sometimes she was busy with male customers when we came, and she wasn’t at work for the whole last week pretty much because we were told that her daughter was sick. This is definitely a ministry where 3 weeks is very short, and it’s easy to be discouraged at the end of the month, and I was/am. But I have to have faith and trust in God and know that he's working and that my labor is not in vain. And I try to remember things like being able to pray with that man on the street who asked for prayer and how the woman told us that the way we treat her is like the way 1 in 1,000 people do. I also got to see how many of them have such great hearts which I wasn’t expecting. Our most significant relationship was with a woman bar owner. She was calling us her daughters and was so friendly and generous to us.She gave us her umbrella to bring to our place when it was raining, and she didn’t charge us for our Cokes at her bar one night and she gave me a lot of bananas to take back. We offered to take her out to dinner for our last night, but she told us that she would provide the dinner, and she bought a ton of chicken, rice, pumpkin, and other stuff for us. The chicken seemed like Thanksgiving to me even though it was chicken and not turkey. We didn’t talk about faith to her, but she asked us to pray for the meal. She told us about other volunteers who’ve came. It’s neat because different missionary groups come to those bars every month, so it’s cool to build off of what other people have started, and also to hope that more people will follow-up with the relationships that we’ve built as well. We did a lot of praying this month which was good like prayer walks and also intercessory prayers.
One thing that my team did a lot last week that was unexpected was handing out and posting flyers for a Franklin Graham Christian event here in Chiang Mai. Franklin Graham is Billy Graham’s son of the Billy Graham Crusade. We also handing out some promotions for the coffee shop ministry here. We got to go to the 3-night Franklin Graham event 1 night, and it was interesting. They had music, and he preached the gospel and had an alter call and many people went up to accept Christ.
I love living in the heart of the city because things are so accessible. One of my teeth started to hurt a bit, so I got to go to the dentist here. I got some fillings and a cleaning for so cheap, and it was really professional. It’s only around 15-20 bucks for a filling. My computer also stopped working, and I was able to bring it to get fixed at the mall right next door to us. I’m glad that I did these things because I brought a Thai girl that works at the ministry named Taew to help me translate, so I got to know her a bit more as well as a girl named May, and they are such sweet girls!!
On our day-off, we did this package deal where we got to ride elephants, go to a waterfall, have lunch, and go on a bamboo raft down a river. It was SOOOOOOOOOO much fun! It was the most fun day on the race so far I think. I loved petting, feeding, and riding the elephants in the beautiful, luscious Thailand hills, and rafting in the peaceful and beautiful river. It was fun rafting because you could stand sometimes, and the guy let us steer it too.
Me with an elephant
I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! It didn’t really seem like Thanksgiving here because it still seems like July (weather-wise). No one celebrates it here, and I don’t think that many people know what it is. My team and I went to a sushi buffet and said what we were thankful for. My squad is going to celebrate it too, but I think we’re doing Thai food.It was really nice though because I called my family during their Thanksgiving meal, and they put the computer at the table, so it seemed like I was eating with them at the table! Haha.
I loved Thailand!!!!! I think it’s my favorite month so far. So far every month has gotten better. Thailand was just so cool. It is unlike any culture I’ve ever experienced. I got to get a Thai massage for about 6 dollars, and it was interesting because they stretch you as well as rub you. It felt good! I also got to watch a Thai boxing match for a bit because all the bars we went to are inside of the Thai boxing arena. I think a lot of it is fake boxing I guess, but some of it is real.. It’s a task trying to cross the street here because they don’t really have street lights or cross walks, you kinda just have to go for it. They have a saying that they say here which is “same, same, but different”. I don’t really know why they say that a lot here, but they do. They call the westerners/tourists here “farangs” and there's these bus things called sungtows. A lot of places have random drinks and food out for the “spirits”. They say the word "ka" for women and "kop" for men after everything to show respect. Those are just some random cultural tidbits that I didn’t mention in my last blogs. Chiang Mai was awesome. There’s a night bazaar with tons of merchandise for sale right by where we live. There’s people from all over the world in Chiang Mai.
Next stop: CAMBODIA! We’ve been told that next month we’re going to a village and won’t have running water, but well water. We also have to walk to go to a bathroom or rather a “squatty potty”(a toilet where you have to squat). We’ll be living in a concrete house, and we’ll have electricity, but no internet. We’re told that we’ll be teaching English and Bible studies at the Youth Development Center. Just my team and I will be going, and this will be the first time where only my team from my squad is going to a ministry site. I’m excited!
Prayer Requests:
1. That God would continue to work in Chiang Mai, Thailand and to send laborers that will share the gospel and offer hope and freedom.
2. For the ministry that we’ve been working with all month called Lighthouse in Action. www.lighthouseinaction.org . Pray for Pi Emmy the director and for her staff, for the women that work at the coffee shop here, for the men and women who are in the bar/sex industry scene, for the Buddhist monks, and for the children in the slums.
3. Pray for my team leader SK, her dad, and her family for strength and healing.
4. Pray for God to go before us and lead us in Cambodia
