Yesterday, Sunday, is our day off for the week. We can do anything or nothing. I accidentally veered toward the side of everything. Woops.
Sunday morning started off with taking a taxi to the bottom of the mountain that holds the biggest temple closest to us. 6 of us hiked up the mountain, through the woods, in hopes of making it to the temple. Now I had no idea where, how, when or why when we started our day off. We had been talking about ATL (ask The Lord) the night before and so I decided to put it into practice for my day off. This is probably one of the scariest things for me- not to be in control of what the plan is and trusting God to provide for me, not putting my trust in my own capabilities.
About halfway up the mountain we started hearing music and singing, which was strange because monks are not allowed to listen to music. It ended up that there was a huge party for some Thai students going on, and we totally accidentally crashed it. They were drinking, eating and having a merry old time, which seemed like a normal party, simply in Thai instead of English. The different part was that they were dousing themselves and everything around them in baby powder- so random. Either way, they were super friendly and we did our best to figure out what they were doing up there and then kept on our path up the mountain. Well I think seeing this part distracted us from the real mountain path because we somehow ended up on the road which had very little shoulder. After asking a local how far until the temple, he said 6 km. So we started walking on this mountain road. Well after about an hour of it, we were hot, tired and sweaty. Jokingly, Bethany waved down a truck that was passing up to pick us up. We all laughed at the attempt, but then promptly stopped laughing when the truck stopped right in front of us and motioned us to get into the bed of it. After we checked to make sure they were going to the temple, we hopped in. What!? Yes, we hitch-hiked in Thailand!
We made it to the temple which was beautiful. Exquisite masterpiece of gold and so many colors. It was fascinating to see so many people worshiping in such a different way than I had ever experienced. There were little girls dressed up in full costume and makeup lining the streets and the temple performing traditional dance, and monks in their orange robes everywhere.
We voted against walking back down the mountain, and took a taxi to the safety of our home. Once back, there was a group of girls going to the mall to see a movie, so off to the mall I went. The movie ended up being sold out, so instead we wandered around the mall for a few hours. It was crazy how similar it was to South Coast Plaza Mall by my own house, yet some things were clear reminders that we were in Thailand. They had a Dairy Queen, so of course I got a blizzard. So delicious. They had donuts, but they were decorated to look like sushi. Did I mention it was air conditioned? So great.
I made it back in time to have our team dinner to celebrate two of my teammates', Susan and Emily, birthdays. I was so excited to see Mai, one of my beloved Thai kitchen women, join us for dinner. We got burgers and fries and made faces for the camera. Then we headed off to the Sunday night market. Mai was a super star. She would grab my hand and lead the way through all the stands, and there were A LOT of stands. There were so many beautiful things that I loved, but mostly I loved getting to spend time with her and my teammates outside of the cafe. There's something special that happens when you're not working and simply hanging out. A whole new side of a person comes out, and it was a beautiful sight last night. So with the help of Mai and my team, I finally bought a pair of Thai pants. I've been really trying to refrain because they're just big flowy, mostly ridiculously, colored pants that are outrageous anywhere outside of Thailand and the World Race. But being in the moment, I just could not help myself. I am now the proud owner of a pair and I love them. I'm actually wearing them as I type this blog. They're different shades of grey with flowers and have awesome pockets on the sides of them. We also all got big headbands and wore them at the cafe today.
We finally headed back to the cafe, completely exhausted and happy. Oh and on our way out we had gotten smoothies, so we were also food-coma-full. Instead of going to bed though, we decided that we had to watch "Tangled", the Disney movie about Rapunzel. Mostly because they light lanterns in that movie that we want to do here. You light the candle in it and the hot air causes the paper lantern to lift into the air and float away. It is a beautiful sight, and part of the Thai culture. (We're saving that for next weekend)
So that was what my day of "rest" entailed. It may not have been any kind of restful, but it was definitely fulfilling. I love all the different adventures God brought into my day, while providing me the energy to enjoy them as well. I'd say my first shot at ATL was a success. Now to make it my lifestyle… "I can do everything through him who gives me strength" Philippians 4:13
