After another round of farewells to a place I came to call home, I slipped on my pack, said my prayers, and embarked on yet another travel day with my squad!
It continues to amaze me how ironically traffic can create a reflective space for me to spend time with the Lord, especially considering my tendency to get motion sick. Between the cars, trucks, sung taos, jeepneys, trikes, tuk tuks, motos, vans, and buses, the Holy Spirit flows with ease, to meet me amidst the chaos!
As mopeds swerve through vehicles and zoom past us, people dodge cars as they cross the street, and horns honk, there is a sense of peace. I walk through my days and weeks in Manila, seeing God’s presence and hearing His people call upon Him out of faith.
I realize how much He accomplished through us in such a short time in big and little ways. I am grateful for the invitation to participate in building His kingdom. I recognize the growth and the seized opportunities that occurred in this place. Once again I am sad to depart from the community that welcomed us, that we served, that encouraged and taught us, that we became apart of.
I begin to look forward, to press on ahead, to grow in eagerness for the people, places, and opportunities laid out before us. This year is made up of many days, weeks, and months. My host in Bali would remind us daily to “look back, look up, and look forward.”
I know that satisfaction will not be found in this world, and that there will always be a longing for more! I cannot remain stuck in the past, nor can I get ahead of myself. It is in this present moment that I seek to experience He who is unbound by time and place.
I am as aware of the turns ahead, the hours to pass, and roadblocks to come as anyone can possibly be in this situation, yet I find myself surprised around every corner. Both in preparation for and throughout travel days, I am becoming less and less anxious, as I have learned to seek and find God in these places and these moments.
We transitioned from the Philippines to Thailand with relative ease and little to no hiccups. Actually, I found this specific travel day to be rather blessed, as airport personnel let us check in early, did not make us pay an exit fee, and asked for nothing but a passport to get all 33 of us to our next destination.
Upon our arrival in Bangkok, we slowly made our way through customs, retrieved our beloved backpacks, and spent about 30 minutes saying goodbye to one another, going our separate ways in our teams.
Our host and his lively children greeted us at the airport with lavish transportation and american style pizza! He took us to our condo and kindly left us to settle ourselves in. We sat together on that first night, overwhelmed by how blessed we were to be here, to live in this place, and to serve alongside these people.
The next morning we were able to have brunch with a former World Racer and fellow Iowan, Morgan, who would be our guide to Bangkok, partner in ministry, and dear friend. Before she gave us a tour of the area, took us to the school, and introduced us to many new faces, she sat us down to have THE TALK…
DOs and DON’Ts of Thailand:
DO remove your shoes before entering a home or business
DON’T show the bottom of your feet
DO eat as quietly as possible
DON’T touch anyones head
DO cover your knees and shoulders
DON’T wear elephant pants to work
DO wear socks with your sandals (men)
DON’T make contact with a monk (women)
DO smile and bow your head to show respect
DON’T miss your sung tao
DO make a ‘Y’ at all elders
DON’T take food you will not eat
DO stand for the King’s anthem
DON’T walk on the red tiles
DO say “khap khun kha” to everyone that serves you
DON’T be afraid to share your religion
DO rejoice in His creation!
