It’s finally here!
I am sitting at the YWAM base in Thailand, the country about which I was most excited.
And it’s wonderful.
It’s magical.
It’s everything I could have hoped for.
And we’re not even out of Bangkok yet.
Finding out about The World Race was one thing; finding out we were coming to Thailand was like a dream come true. I’ve always wanted to visit Thailand and its unique, beautiful culture. I’ve always wanted to be among these people. I’ve always felt a tug at my heart for Thailand, though never thought twice about it. I’m beginning to understand this tug. We haven’t even started ministry yet and already I do not want to leave this land of milk and honey.
In a way it’s a lot like home: there are traffic lights, interstates, fancy malls, and the electricity stays on all day. McDonald’s is just down the street, and there is a 7-11 on every street corner. It’s a bit overwhelming at times, and I’ve shared that I feel guilty for living in such “luxury” while on The World Race. This is a completely different world than the one to which I have grown accustomed. It’s a selfishly satisfying, yet breathtaking, world. I love it here. I want to stay.
Street food has taken over my taste buds. I have yet to eat a single thing in Thailand that I didn’t absolutely love. I feel like I’m going to gain back (this month) the 13 pounds I’ve lost thus far on the Race. It has left me feeling a little sick, today, and I even ended up throwing up in the street. I’m sure you wanted to know that. That’s another story, though.
We found out a few weeks ago that we wouldn’t be doing bar ministry while in Thailand. This was THE reason I was most excited about coming here. I was angry at first, and certainly disappointed because I had so looked forward to sharing Christ with women who are stuck in prostitution. And while we won’t be doing that this month, I know that our ministry with YWAM will be everything beautiful and then some. We’ll be traveling up north near Laos to the hottest, driest, poorest part of Thailand. I’m excited to see what He has in store for our team this month!!
94% of Thailand is Buddhist. Did you know that? 94%! Even more unbelievable, at least to me, is the fact that LESS THAN 1% of Thailand is Christian. I feel honored to be able to develop relationships with Thai people this month, and hopefully ease into sharing Christ’s love with them. They are in such desperate need of Him.
Thailand has absolutely stolen my heart. I can already tell that it will be difficult to leave at the end of the month. The exciting thing, though, is that we get 8 more months, 8 more countries, after this one to fall in love with! Seriously? Is this really my life right now? Ah!
