Month Six is done,
and we are more than halfway done our journey. Thailand was my favourite month
so far, and it was so hard to pick only my top 11 memories from this month.
But, I finally whittled my list down, and here they are…in no particular
order….My Thailand Top 11.
11. Playing in the slums
Everyone who knows me at home knows that I am not a “kids
person”. And to be honest, one of the reasons I was excited for this month was
that bar ministry was not children’s ministry. So, needless to say, I was a
little thrown when I found out that every other day we were going to be in the
slums, playing with children, and building relationships with them. But I ended
up loving it.
Many of these children are ones we saw on bar street selling
flowers. They were in the bars, seeing too much, too early in life. And in the
slums it was clear that they were not receiving a whole lot of love. So to be
the people who could come in and just play with them, pay attention to them,
love them, and not abuse them, was really awesome.
10. WonGen
WonGen, or One Generation, is a coffee house run by the
Lighthouse Ministries. Across the street from Chiang Mai University, it is a
place for student to come, hang out, practice their English, and eventually
lean about God’s love. The mission of this coffee house is a long term vision,
recognizing that since more than 95% of Thai people are Buddhist it takes long
term relationships to be able to have an opportunity to present the love of
Christ. It is also aiming to help students realize that they are worth more
than having to sell themselves to pay for tuition.
9. Orn
Orn (pronounced “On”) was our translator this month and
definitely became a member of our team. This was her first time translating for
a team, but she did a wonderful job.
8. Uncle Den and Tiffany singing
The Rabbit bar has live entertainment every night – Uncle
Den comes to play guitar, sing, and occasionally play the harmonica or the
banjo (yes, God brought me from Western Canada, to a country western bar in
Thailand). Once they realized that Tiffany could sing, they invited her to sing
with Uncle Den. Every night we opened our time at the bar listening to Tiffany
sing The Beatles, Johnny Cash, Dixie Chicks, among others. It was a great way
to break the ice every night. Especially on the nights when all the bar girls
joined in.
7. Tattoo
Yes, you read that right! I got a tattoo in Chiang Mai. It reads “John 17:18” on my left ankle. (picture to follow when I get better internet).
John 17:18 is Jesus praying for his disciples, saying just as you have sent me into the world, I
have sent them into the world. It is my constant reminder that I have a
purpose and a calling on my life. Even when I am not directly on the mission
field, I still have a mission. I am a disciple of Christ and Jesus has sent me
to be his hands and feet on this Earth.
6. Getting to know the girls
This month I was at the Rabbit Bar and was getting to know
the girls there. Two in particular, Malee and Wassaporn, I got to know really
well and we actually managed to go for lunch with them more than once. But
there were 5 other girls in the bar that we hung out with while we were there
too. All 7 of these women are beautiful, generous, and precious daughters of
God. It was amazing to be able to see past what the world see, and see these
women through God’s eyes and value them for who they truly are. And to show
them a glimpse of their value as well.
5. Mae and Ning
The story of Mae and Ning is an amazing, ongoing story of
freedom, hope and God’s perfect timing. My last blog was a short summary of the
story, but Emily has the whole story on her blog that I would highly recommend
everyone to read (emilytuttle.theworldrace.org). This ongoing story is full of
miracles, God winks, perfect timing, and God’s faithfulness. By the time this
is posted, Mae will no longer be working in the bars, and Ning is close
behind. Our prayers are being answered for these women in big ways, although
there is still a long road ahead.
4. Elephant trek, Bamboo Rafting, Waterfall
On our first day off we went out for an adventure! We
started in the morning with an elephant trek – more than half an hour through
the jungle. From there we went to a handicraft market, then to a gorgeous
waterfall. We ended the day with a relaxing float down a river on bamboo rafts.
Well, relaxing until I fell off and went for a swim…
3. Pandas, Giraffes and Hamster Balls
On our last day off a bunch of us headed over to the Chiang
Mai Zoo for the day. First off, I love the zoo!!! And this was probably one of
the best I’ve been to. I finally got to see giant pandas, I got to feed a
giraffe, and get close up pictures taken with a huge elephant. We also got to
be inside giant hamster balls on the lake. I tried to run around, but it was so
hard to keep my balance! I eventually just started to crawl, and even then
could barely get anywhere!
2. Wassaporn’s smile
You always hear about the exciting parts of the World Race –
the travelling, the adventures, the Kingdom stories. But the reality is that
it’s also exhausting, you’re never alone, you miss home and sometimes it’s hard
to remember why you’re here. And sometimes it takes something small to hit you
hard and remind you why you’re here. This month, I was having one of those
days, when Wassiporn smiled at me. She works at one of the bars here and when
we came back for our second night of ministry, I smiled at her and called her
by name. And not her nickname, “Porn”, her entire name. I will never forget the
smile on her face because I remembered who she was, and even remembered her
entire name.
1. Kayla
K-Ferg joined our team this month as part of AIM’s Real Life
World Race Exposure program. People too young for the World Race, or just
wanting to experience it for a month, join current World Race Teams and become
a part of the group for the month. Kayla was DEFINITELY a part of our team, and
it is going to be incredibly hard to let her go. We are going to miss this girl, who will be always be a part of our team.
I do have pictures, but loading them would take too long with the internet connection I have at this internet cafe in Kenya. I’ll post them as soon as I have a better connection!!!
