Island in the Sun

Life on the island was amazing.  We arrived at the peir around 6pm on our boat loaded down with people and bags.  We raced the rain that was coming in behind us and successfully made it before us or our bags got soaked.  We waited out the rain under the little roof coverage at the end of the pier until Captain Ron, our Thailand contact whose name has been changed upon request, found us some extremely cheap bungalows.  I’m talking tiny room with geckos on the wall, no screens on the windows, sqattie potty, shower head that spit out yellow-brownish water, and one big bed with a mosquito net to keep out not only mosquitos but anything else that could be crawling on the walls.  Jessica Sisson, from the brown team, and I shared this ocean view slum:).

 

The following day we began some ministry.  We were assigned to split up in groups of 2 or 3 and prayer walk around the island.  This was such a fun time to explore the island and observe the people and culture.  Ron told us the island was almost all Muslim, which we gathered from the calls to prayer every so often over the loud speaker.  He asked that we not share canned gospel with the people, but live our lives so that the people of the island would see Christ in us.  He encouraged us to spend time worshipping God in places around the island and challenged us to come up with 101 ways to worship.

 

After prayer walking, Captain Ron asked us to get with our groups and discuss a way we could help out in the community and serve the people to show them Christ through our lives and actions.  Our group prayed but didn’t feel anything specific so we thought we would ask Ron to give us an assignment to serve anywhere.  He told us that he wanted us to serve the other teams, who were picking up trash or playing with kids or praying around the island.  The red team was excited to be given this job.

The next morning we met to begin our service.  As the other teams wandered off we brainstormed how we could serve the other teams.  Ideas like bringing them water and snacks bounced around until Ashley and I just began to make up a song for one of the teams.  This turned into an entire team song writing extravaganza with songs appropriate to the team’s color.  Songs included medleys such as “Blue Team” sung to “Blue Moon”, “Paul’s Brown Team Girls”, the great Beatles hit “We All Love the Yellow Colored Team”, “Hey Lime here’s a Coconut” (coconut included), and my personal favorite for Anna-Marie and friends (self deemed the white team) “Clean that Funky Bathroom White Team”.  Along with our songs, we delivered snacks as well.  God really reminded our team how important encouragement is in the body of Christ, but what tough work it is.  We were exhausted walking around the island searching for teams, but had so much fun making people smile!

After lunch and debriefing of our long morning in the sun, Ron asked us to work as a group to come up with 101 ways to worship.  It was a fun reminder that there are so many ways to worship our Lord, not just the usual song.  Captain Ron encouraged us to practice them over the next couple of days.

Late in the afternoon, Jessica and I decided to rent a motor bike (the only mode of transportation around the island since the road is a cement or dirt path).  We wanted to explore more of the island and make it to the really nice beach on the other side.  My first time on a motor bike was quite the experience.  Luckily we didn’t run into anything or anyone and came away scratch free. 

The following day Captain Ron offered to take us by boat to a beach that can only be reached by swimming through a cave in the dark.  Those who opted to go met in the morning to catch our boats over.  Timing was crucial for this because we had to swim thourgh in low tide.  Swimming into the cave was so beautiful as the water looked an emerald green, that was before we got too far in and into the pitch black.  Emerging into the light and onto a small beach was incredible.  It was the most beautiful beach I have ever seen.  The water was clear and the green cliffs towered around us on every side.  God’s creation in this place is so much more beautiful than words or pictures can describe.  We swam some, took pictures, and swam back out before a storm rolled in and brought big waves. 

That afternoon many of us spent time on island at the beach, playing in the water, reading in hammocks, and snorkelling, totally enjoying the beauty God placed around us.  What an amazing place.  At our evening meeting, Ron informed us of the impact we made on the island.  He said everywhere he walked people asked him why the white people were picking up trash.  He told us about several opportunities he had to share about God’s love because of these questions.  God amazed me with how He used something like picking up trash for His glory!