Originally, we weren’t supposed to be in Thailand until March, but I am so thankful we got to experience the country in December. The weather was wonderful, and we got to have Christmas!
It was by far the best month as far as ministry goes. My team partook in the Zion Café ministry, which means we worked in a coffee shop everyday. We weren’t allowed to make drinks or food, but we were able to build relationships with the Thai girls that worked in the café.
I definitely see myself returning to Thailand to work with Emmi and her ministry. I don’t know when that’ll be or what that’ll look like, but it will happen.
I received a Christmas package from home that contained candy canes, starbursts, skittles, and jolly ranchers! It also had letters from my friends and a newspaper!
I was asked to be a team leader during this month. It definitely took me by surprise and took a lot of prayer, but I said yes (blog coming soon).
For our off day, we were able to visit the Tiger Kingdom!
Thailand has some of the best food that I’ve ever tasted on the race thus far. I’m excited to get home and start cooking them!
We had a three-day orientation before we started our ministry. I was super bummed about it, because I thought it would be boring. However, it was informative and prayerful. Because of that orientation, God gave me a heart for the people and the ministry before I even knew what I was doing. I’d even adventure out to say that it was because of that orientation that made the month so wonderful.
On Christmas Day, my team and I set off traditional lanterns in the sky. It was beautiful.
We were invited to attend a Christmas church service with the Thai girls from the café. As soon as I walked in, I felt like I was at home. The hospitality of the church was overwhelmingly like 3Trees Church (my home church). The preacher spoke English (it was translated to Thai), and the songs were sung in both languages as well. Not to mention that the first song we sang was “Jesus At The Center” which was a theme song for my church during Christmas last year. This was just further confirmation of my return in the future.
My word for the month was focus. We hit the halfway mark during Thailand, and it’s definitely harder to stay focused on the present ministry. It’s hard not to think about home, what it’s going to be like to finally get there, or what the heck you’re going to be doing once you do get there. God repeatedly told me to stay focused on Him and the ministry.
