Month 4.
Thailand.
Amazing.
My team knew that Thailand was going to be an awesome month as we were traveling to Bangkok and we saw TONS of 7 Eleven’s.
(Also, conveniently, there was one that was about 2 minutes walking distance away from where we were staying.)
Our first hostel was in Bangkok after traveling from Siem Reap, Cambodia for several hours. We were only staying one night, but the hostel was AMAZING. After we got checked in, we went searching for some place to grab some dinner.
On the way there, my team mate Faye, expressed her deep desire to eat McDonald’s numerous times. So, as we were strolling along in Bangkok at night, we see the golden arches in the distance.
There it is.
McDonald’s.
Our first meal to celebrate our entry into Thailand wasn’t pad thai, sukiyaki, or bubble tea….it was McDonald’s. And it was awesome.
The next day, we traveled to the bus station to wait on the bus that would take us to our ministry site in Chiang Mai, Thailand. In the bus station there was a 7-Eleven and I got super excited at seeing all of the cute Asian snacks that were offered.
Our bus that took us there was extremely nice and eight hours later, we got to Chiang Mai and our host was there to pick us up.
We worked with The Haven Foundation and Christian Outreach Center at the House of Praise church. We stayed at House of Praise for the first two weeks of staying in Thailand.
Our contact’s names were Jane and Jim. Jane has been in Thailand helping with The Haven Foundation for 14 years and she is also a doctor. Jim has lived here off and on with his wife, and after her passing a couple years ago, he moved back. Most of the staff is from Australia so it felt like we were in Little Australia, Thailand.
All of the staff that works there are so sweet. It was so hard to leave….in fact…it was so hard that when we were at the bus station, 4 other team mates and I just laid on top of our big bags and just cuddled. Two of them hating touch…lol..it was hilariously sad.
Here’s a picture of our “last supper” with Jim, Jane and the staff…
In this blog, I’ll tell you all what we did for ministry, what we did for fun, and lessons learned!
Ministry
The first week, we helped saw down the school’s play ground and repaint it. We also helped clean the windows. Three of us got to help out with the praise and worship team at church. Three of us got to help out with the Thai children’s service.
The second week, we started planning for the all girl’s camp, our elderly home outreach day, and our day to spend time at the Haven Home in Wing Pao Pao. We went to a hot spring with a few of the Haven Girls and spent time with them. We helped clean some of the church’s staff’s homes. We had that the opportunity to do ministry at the elderly home and we washed their feet, rubbed their hands, back and neck and we sang and danced with them! At church, we got to help pass around the offering plate.
The third week, five of us went to Me-Cham for the all girl’s camp. Three of us went to work with a different ministry. I went with four other girls to Me-Cham. In the mornings we cleared the land for a new church and new Haven homes to be built. In the afternoon, we would have worship, devotionals, lessons and arts and crafts with the girls. That week was so much fun and definitely my favorite week in Thailand.
The fourth week, which was about only half a week, we went to Wing Pao Pao and spent time with the kids and helped weed the garden.
Fun Activities
Our first Sunday there, two of my team mates and I decided to go to a huge worship service that three or four international churches came to host. It was awesome!
A few of us would often go into town and spend time with another team that was stationed in Chiang Mai. We would check out the Night Bazaar. And one night…Hannah, MC and I went to a Fish Spa…
One time that I went, it was just my team mate Sara and I. It was a very special day, because it just happened to be my mom’s birthday. The rest of the team went out to adventure on scooties and scooties terrify me. So, she stayed back with me even though I know she really wanted to go with them. We went to a coffee shop called Bearista in the morning, got a cute birthday cake in celebration for my mom, and then we went into town.
We ended up spending the day with the other team. We walked around random parts of downtown that we had never been to, did a human pyramid, took a picture with perfectly awesome strangers and then went to a humongous mall and got bomb bubble tea.
One evening, another one of my team mates, Faye, and I went to the Maya Mall, which was ten minutes walking distance away. We watched a Thai movie that had English Subtitles called, “May Who.” It was hysterical.
One Sunday after church, we got together with the other team staying in Chiang Mai for Canadian Thanksgiving. One of my team mates, Clare, and two other team mates on the other team are from Canada. We went to a place called Butter is Better that offered turkey dinners. After we went out to eat, we went to Maya mall. We watched the movie Pan there. It was awesome!
On Adventure Day, we ate traditional North Thai Food, learned about the different mountain tribes, went to the Royal Botanical Gardens and learned about the three kings that formed Thailand.
The most epic day ever was when my team and I got to go to an Elephant Sanctuary and bathe, ride and feed Elephants and go on a Bamboo Raft ride. It was like I was living a dream.
The food in Thailand was also bomb.com. Between going to the food market every weekend, to going to the Pad Thai stand where the owner calls everyone “sir”, to Bearista, Butter is Better, Dukes, Auntie Anne’s, 7-Eleven, the home cooked food we ate at girl’s camp…all of it was delectable.
Lessons Learned
1) God revealed something through my team mate, Sara, about what He has been redeeming in me which is authenticity. Read my last blog for more details.
2) How to see him as a close friend. I was able to open up about this with Hannah, my past team lead.
3) God revealing a part of my heart that still needs to be healed from a recent lost friendship.
4) How to continually learn, which I am still learning, how to put every burden in His hands.
5) God redeemed my laziness last month. For most of my life, I hated work. Especially manual labor. For the past three months, some sort of manual labor was involved in ministry, and I truly enjoyed doing it. God REALLY redeems!
6) God redeemed my cowardice. I used to be afraid to say hard things, and sometimes I still struggle with doing it. When we were at the train station on our way to Malaysia, there was a young man that started hitting another man for no real reason. Something rose out of me, and I kept saying, “Hey! Hey! Stop it!” And even though I did not actually stop the fight (the guy getting hit just walked away and got security) I was so shocked I actually spoke up. I knew at that moment, God was teaching me how to be bold.
7) Through out the month, different team mates would say that they believed I was going to step into leadership. One team time, Mal wrote an encouraging letter to me and she literally said, “I believe the Lord is getting you ready to step into leadership.) And…He was. He began talking to me about what a good leader is, and so on and so forth. A few days before we departed to journey to Malaysia, I got a phone call asking me to be a team leader.
Now
Right now, I’m in Malaysia with my new team, “Holy Audacity.” We’re a team of six girls that are chasing after what it means to be a disciple of Jesus. Please keep us in your prayers.
Also, one of my monthly donors is having financial difficulties. Would you please prayerfully consider donating to my world race? It would be so greatly appreciated!
I love you all!!!
Sincerely,
Meraia
