hey friends! last week, i asked my instagram followers if they had any questions they wanted to ask me and they had a lot of really good questions!
*i didn’t post all the questions because some were repeats*
so here they are!
1. What’s the coolest place you’ve been in while in Thailand?
the coolest place i’ve been is the mountains. as vague as that is, it’s honestly my favorite part. each time i’ve just been outside exploring its been a blast. our first weekend here we went to a beautiful waterfall that we got to climb all over and it was in the middle of the mountains and we were just surrounded by green, it was beautiful. this past weekend our lovely teacher friends took us on a wacky adventure! we went to a PALACE and a TEMPLE!! ALL IN THE MIDDLE OF MOUNTAINS!! the palace we went to was the palace where the king stays when he comes to chiang mai from bangkok. we got to walk through his flower garden (i totally forgot to take pictures so i can’t show you) and the man had his own lake it was so cool. i can’t pronounce the name of the temple where we went but it was on the side of a mountain and it overlooked the city. i walked in and immediately felt angry. i was angry because there were so many people praying to statues and worshipping towers and burning incense and other things, it just broke my heart. my mama calls it “righteous anger”, thats the jesus in me getting angry and sad for his people. so while we walked through, we prayed over those people and declared jesus in that place, and it was exhilirating and promising. God is working in and through us even when we can’t see it or feel it, and how cool is that?!
but long story short, the coolest place is the mountains. you never know what you’re gonna get when you hop in a songthaew and drive away.
2. What’s your favorite thing about Thailand?
my favorite thing about thailand is the people. thailand is called the land of smiles, and boy oh boy does that name fit. all the locals are very hospitable and very kind hearted. i have yet to see any thai person angry. they are beautiful and i’m so glad i have the chance to live in their culture and love on them and be in community together.
3. Other than being away from family/friends, what is currently your biggest challenge?
currently, my biggest struggle is finding time to rest and be still and present with abba (i’m trying to find a personal name for God so i’ll be referring to him as a few different names). i have the tendency to kinda push everything under the rug (curse my type 7 qualities) and i over commit to things and always have something to do or someone to talk to and its wearin me out. i’m having to really train myself and notice when i need a break and when i need jesus. i’m getting better at it, bless up, but theres always room for improvement.
4. What has God taught you specifically in the past 7 days?
he’s really showing me how big he is. i, for some reason, had God in such a small box. i thought i was able to be present in utah and in thailand like it was no problem, and turns out it was a huge problem. i was way too focused on my utah life and my utah people to even start worrying about thailand and all the people here. he taught me very quickly that i couldn’t do that and i needed to be present. i needed to cut utah ties and be here, in this city, being the hands and feet of jesus. God called me here to serve and to love, how the heck am i supposed to do that if i don’t let go of home? God showed me that my home is in him. he is my refuge. he is my safe place. he is my comfort. he is my best friend. that was a hard truth to come to but i’m learning and growing and it has been such a beautiful journey.
5. Most interesting thing you’ve learned about Thailand?
here are a few of my favorite fun facts!
– thailand has 35,000 temples
– the national flower is an orchid, one of my favorite flowers
– the most important mineral here is tin, and the main export is RICE! i eat rice with every single meal and it really starts to grow on ya.
6. Are you feeling homesick this week? If so, how are you dealing with it?
I DIDN’T FEEL HOMESICK THIS WEEK PRAISE GOD!! there are things happening at home that i want to be there for, aka my sisters musical, but i’ll get to see bits and pieces of that with pictures and videos and such. i’m really really trying to focus on being here and doing what i need to here and building relationships here, i don’t have time to miss home or worry about what they’re doing.
7. What has been one of the biggest changes from US to Thailand? Spiritual, financial, food?
um honestly all of it. there’s a lot more spiritual warfare here than any place ive ever experienced, theres a lot of physical things that really show just how heavy the religion is. theres a lot of temples and a lot of spirit houses, which are super elaborate bird houses essentially, and they’re built for the spirits to rest and eat and whatever else spirits need to do. they are usually decked out in fun colors and surrounded by statues, they are something i’ve never seen before/never even heard of before getting here. the food isn’t too much of a change, besides the rice with every meal, i find myself eating lots of chicken and noodles and drinking a lot of mango smoothies and snackin on some cheese toasties from 7/11. 7/11 is a gift from the Lord. the currency here is kinda funky, every 1 USD is 30 baht (thai monayyyy), so spending money is really easy. the lord is definitely teaching me some self control.
8. What is something you’ve learned about yourself on the trip?
i walk in God given joy.
since ive planted my feet here and im investing in people here, i have found myself walkin in God given joy.
i’m able to clearly discern what is happiness and what is joy.
i can look at things from home and be happy for them and love what they’re doing and instead of being sad, i smile and say “yay thats super freakin cool” and then i focus on my life here
and what a blessing that is.
9. Most difficult thing about the world race so far?
definitely living in a close community. and i mean a CLOSE community. like “there are people around every corner and i have no me time” close. it is extremely hard to find a second to be by myself (unless i’m showering or sleeping) the introvert in me is dying #hardcore. but this is something i always took advantage of, i always took my alone time for granted. so now im seeking it out intentionally and when i need it most and i’m pushing myself to be engaged and to do things with people and grow relationships. we’ve started watching movies together and jamming to music together so that has made this transition a whole lot easier. its been a challenge, but i’m learning to love it and i’m learning to respect the headphones when people are wearing them and learning to lean into the lord when i want to be alone.
month one is officially done! praise god for all the things he has done and all the things he is going to do!
i still have about $2,574 left to fundraise. i want to ask you to partner with me in praying BOLD prayers! pray BOLDY that I WILL BE FULLY FUNDED AT THE END OF THE MONTH IN THE NAME OF JESUS!!
i want to say thank you to everyone who has donated and to everyone who supports me. if you haven’t, i ask that you prayerfully consider it.
also, if you want to chat, please feel free to shoot me an email! i’d love to talk to you more about what i’m doing specifically and answer any questions you have!
thank you for all the love and support!
All my love always
Katie <3
