This was ministry this month, some of the fun things we did, and the people we met along the way.
Bangkok
Bangkok has that city city vibe. It has a ton to do but backpackers don’t typically stay there for long. There is street food everywhere. Thailand overall has the best 7 elevens I’ve ever been to in my life.
Tattoos
My friend Morgan R and I went to lunch together and ate Dominoes. It definitely is not the same as home. But as we sat there we got to meet a girl from the States. We talked about traveling and different places to go in Thailand. We got to talk about our tattoos which led to a conversation about what God says about fear. This was by far one of my favorite conversations on the race.
Morning at coffee shop
Some days looked like my team hanging out in coffee shops praying together, having bible study, and getting to know the coffee shop owners.
The Family
The Family is a restaurant that was at the corner of our hostel. We all got to meet with owners. The wife is from Thailand and the Husband was originally from the States. They opened about 2 years ago. It became a place that our whole squad would go to spend time together for lunch or dinner. Robert had mentioned that when our teams were there our presence made a noticeable difference for the better. It was usually a highlight for them each night. We created impact by our kindness and respect. Literally Jesus.
Topon and Thai (fried chicken lady and her husband)
My new friends Thai and Topon! They sold street food outside the 7 eleven. BEST fried chicken on a stick with some spicy sauce. I miss them already. They didn’t speak much English but communication was not a problem. After the first week they knew what our orders were and let us put our own food on the grill. We even got to give them flowers one day.
Breathe life
My powerhouse of a teammate Jordan created a beautiful project called the Breathe life project. This month we got to worship, pray, and write encouragement in an abandoned airplane. We were once broken until God breathed life into our dead spaces. We got to share that same breath and leave God’s presence there. It was powerful and brought freedom in many ways.
Little boy learning English
Morgan R and I met a little Thai boy at the mall. We made his day because he could practice his English with us. His mom asked if we would take a picture with him. Of course we did!
A21 meeting
Our team prayed for a ministry to partner with this month and we landed on A21. A21 is a global anti-trafficking organization whose goal is to rescue and restores lives trapped in slavery. We reached out and they didn’t have any daily practical tasks for us to do but they were gracious enough to meet with us. Even though we couldn’t help with daily tasks we prayed for them daily and brought flowers to our meeting. They explained what they do in Thailand and their heart behind what they do. Seriously they are incredible! The way that God has opened doors for them and how willing they are to say “yes” is incredible. The amount of favor they have as an agency is amazing. You can’t stop a door God is going to open when you are faithful- and they are.
New friends in the park
As my team and I prayed about what to do this day, we felt God nudge us to go to the park. Jordan brought her guitar and we sang worship songs in the park. A girl sat down with us and we got to share with her what we believe and listen to what she believed. She then moved into our hostel and we got to hang out with her for the next couple of weeks.
Flower lady
This was one of my favorite days! Jordan and I went to the park to play music and sing. A lady from St. Petersburg asked us if we could take videos of her. She pulled out three huge bags of flowers and started throwing them in the air as we videoed her. So random. But she had the time of her life. Then we had a photo shoot in the flowers. She left us with the flowers so we decided to hand these beautiful flowers out to the people in the park. The first man we gave a flower to had the biggest smile and kept looking at us and saying thank you. We gave flowers to the vendors, homeless people, tourists, children, and everyone there. Each person had a smile. It was a small way we could literally just share with people joy and let them know they were seen.
Temples
The ornate detail and shear massiveness of the temples are absolutely stunning. Meme and I got to talk to a Buddhist monk one day. We honestly weren’t sure if we were allowed to since apparently you can’t touch them, but he started it. He was kind and was hoping to come to the states this summer to go to a conference. It was a pretty cool experience.
Songkran
Guys welcome to year 2562! Thailand celebrates their new year by having a giant city-wide water fight called Songkran. No joke. When you thought you were safe there was someone coming around the corner with a water gun ready to soak you. Kiddie pools literally lined the streets so the shop owners could dump buckets of water on you. We learned that it’s their way of purifying themselves for the New Year.
Chiang Mai (North Thailand)
I loved Chiang Mai! It is a pretty big city but has a very homey vibe to it. There are lots of things to do, lots of markets, and local transportation is pretty easy. You can flag down a songthaew for an entire day and bargain on a price.
Elephant sanctuary
WE PLAYED WITH ELEPHANTS!!!! On our adventure day we went to Kanta Elephant Sanctuary.Y’all we fed them sugar cane, giant leaf things and mushed up balls of stuff. We bathed them in the river as they lay down. They are so gentle, strong, and majestic creatures!
Adventures in the Jungle
Mady, Jessica Z, and I had to go hiking. We didn’t get quite as far as we were hoping but we flagged down a local taxi called a songthaew. That’s where we met Mr. Mek! He played us music, drove us around to different spots to take pictures and hang out in a waterfall. Mr. Mek is Buddhist but sends his daughter to a Christian school where she learns English. He served in the marines and army for Thailand. When he took us home we got to pray for him.
Phuket (South Thailand)
Phuket is a beach city with lots of mountains. It’s absolutely stunning. It Is a very touristy town with lots of shops.
Prayer walk
We got to walk around the city praying for everyone in it
Words of encouragement
We also spent time handing out notes of encouragement or kind words for people on the beach.
Worship
We worshipped on the beach nearly every night and talked with tourists who were there.
*All photos taken with permission*
