It’s been a few days since I’ve written but we’ve been in Bangkok, Thailand almost a week. I’ve been pondering what to say in a blog after being overwhelmed with so many changes- the big city, the ministry we’re working with, the culture. Especially coming from a village in Uganda, and the last three months in Africa, to now living in the middle of the city in a higher class area, this is a drastic change.
Let me give you the basics of life right now…
Our bedroom
Living
We’re living in a four-story building right in the middle of downtown. There’s a coffee shop on the first floor. We live on the third floor in a classroom with mattresses on the floor.
We eat street vendor food (I’m hoping to try some interesting asian foods that I’ve heard about- fried grasshoppers anyone?) or shop at the grocery store and make our own meals. We even have an oven to bake in and some of the rooms in our place even have air conditioning!
Plenty of street vendors to choose from
The first grocery store I went to had so many foods we hadn’t seen or eaten in months. I wandered up and down the aisles, wanting to buy everything. In the end I couldn’t make my mind up so I walked out only with the things I knew I needed- a toothbrush and toothpaste!
Within a ten minute walk of our house are Subway, Burger King, Cinnabon, two of the nicest malls I’ve ever been in, grocery stores, a 7-11, and tons of street vendors…you probably get the idea, we’re being spoiled this month!
Ministry
The ministry we work at is DtonNaam, which means “Source of water” in Thai. It is a coffee shop/bakery that offers job training, counseling, and discipleship to people working in prostitution in Bangkok. They specifically reach out to the ladyboys here.
The third gender is common in Thai culture and they believe it’s not how you were born physically that determines your gender but the spirit inside of you. Many boys choose or are told by family when they are young that they are female so they grow up this way and are called ladyboys.
I have to say this is my favorite ministry we’ve been to! I love having projects to work on and be able to see the progress we’re making. I’ve enjoyed getting to know the students here already.
Right now, DtonNaam has a few students that come in daily for counseling, training, and just to share life. Each of the girls on my team has specific things we’re helping teach the boys and projects we’re doing for the ministry.
One teammate is teaching the boys to sew and they are sewing aprons for the coffee shop workers. Another teammate is teaching English. I get to teach them about basic nutrition, health, and exercise. I’ll be able to take some of them to the park to exercise a few times a week.
A few nights a week, we’ll also be going into bars and building relationships with the workers there. We’ll let them know that there is an alternative to the lifestyle they live and invite them to come to the coffee shop where they can receive job training.
We’ve already been to the bars once…more about bar outreach in another blog.
One thing that has stuck out to me is the spiritual warfare that goes on here. And by this I’m talking evil spirits working and demons manifesting in people. It kind of freaks me out and I have to remind myself that there is no fear in the Lord. Buddhism is the main religion and I honestly don’t know a lot about it but I know they worship spirits. Us going into bars and reaching out to so many here exposes us to a lot in the spiritual realm. I know this might seem vague but will write more about this later as well.
A new country 
I will be in southeast Asia until the end of the race in June. The plan was to go to Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam and the Phillipines. Things have changed a bit and we're now going to Malaysia next, then Vietnam, then the Phillipines.
As always, I appreciate those who are praying for me on this journey. Here's some things that you can be praying for.
Specific prayer requests:
-For our time to be spent wisely in the short time we have here to work on projects and pouring into the boys.
-For the Holy Spirit’s protection as we go into bars and work with all kinds of people there. We are constantly praying for spiritual covering over us.
-The full time staff working at DtonNaam to have rest and peace in the Lord. It can be exhausting for them, giving so much of themselves daily. Pray that we can be a blessing and encouragement to them while we’re here.
-Clarity for post-race. As of right now, I’m not sure what my plan will be when I return to the States. Praying for the Lord to open doors that He wants me to go through.
