Wowza. I have been in Thailand for only a few days and I have experienced so much!! We flew into Bangkok Wednesday morning and took a van to our bus station where we waited until our overnight bus to Chiang Mai. We got picked up at the bus station by our hosts and drove to our remote village in Mae Hong Son. We are waaaayyyy out there. Our house is entirely made of bamboo. There are mosquitos everywhere. We put up our tents and mosquito nets to protect us. We have no ac or fans, and we get electricity (one light bulb in our house) for a few hours every night. Bucket showers and squatty potties are now the norm. It is by no means a five star hotel, but there is no other place I would rather be this month. If that means being sweaty all the time or if it means waking up on a Saturday to go into the jungle to hunt for bamboo and fire wood, YES! I’m not saying this is easy because it is most definitely out of my comfort zone. But I am so thankful for these experiences!
Here is our house for the month. Check out the porch where we like to spend our mornings!
This month, we will be teaching English in the village school a few days a week and evangelizing in the villages the other days. In the evenings, we are doing VBS style activities with about 20 refugee children in the local village. We get to teach bible stories, share testimonies, play games and make crafts. These children are so full of personalities, they already have a piece of my heart. I have a feeling this month is going to be really special so pray for our team and these children!
Speaking of these amazing children, let me tell you more about this going into the jungle to get fire wood and bamboo thing. Every Saturday morning, the older children go into the jungle and cut bamboo, catch fish, find food, etc. We were excited about this and volunteered to help out!! We thought we would be strolling into the woods, chopping some bamboo, maybe climbing some trees and strolling back into the village. There was no strolling. It was a mountain. It was an extremely muddy and slippery and steep mountain. Half of the older children led the way while the other half brought up the rear behind me and our team. The children in the front were soaring up the mountain and I still have no idea how they never slipped and fell. I would take one step forward and then slide/fall three steps back. It took me forever to get up this mountain! A couple of the boys had to literally dig out footholes in the mud in order for me to make it. It was quite the scene. I struggled. By the time I actually made it up, I was completely covered in mud, sweat, snot and tears. It was great.
Well, once we got up, we had to figure out how to come down. Let me remind you that there are no steps. It is just slippery mud all the way down. I started my trek down with half-confidence, which quickly turned into slipping and falling. We fell soooo many times trying to get down. At one point, I hardcore fell. I lost my footing, slid a few feet down and slammed into Emmy and knocked her off of her feet. A second later I heard Luke fall and then Bekah and then Kyle. I couldn’t get my footing to stand back up because it was so slippery. So, we decided to slide down on our butts the rest of the way. We made it down much faster- but we got wayyy dirtier and got rewarded with a few scrapes and bruises. I also somehow lost my nose ring in the process. Not really sure how I managed that. Let’s just say It was quite the morning in a little remote village in Thailand.
I also just gotta say: I’m so unbelievably thankful for my teammates that love me so well and know how to laugh and have a good time!
Also, I already saw a waterfall!
Also, we got to spend a solid half hour in Burma!!!!! (That’s the Burmese flag in the picture as proof)
Also, I AM FULLY FUNDED! WHAT?! You guys are all amazing! I can feel you all praying and supporting me every single day. Thank you so much! God is so good!
My amazing teammate Bekah still needs some support in order to be fully funded. Help her reach her goal just like you helped me! < bekahmelton.theworldrace.org >
