I’m in Thailand. That in itself is something I still have to comprehend. There is always something to do. So many things running through my head all the time. It’s been hard to sit back and just appreciate all that God has allowed to happen in the past month and a half. I’ve posted a few blogs but they have all been about what I’m learning and I have yet to post a blog about what my team and I have been doing, so here it is!
Month one: Working at an orphanage called Agape (previously mentioned a little in an earlier blog). We got to sand and paint a lot…A LOT. Three weeks of sanding and painting tables, playground equipment, and heavy round concrete things. Our last day we got to cut some grass and clean out trash out of a building in the back. It was a month of realizing that I had expectations that I didn’t even know I had. I wanted to impact people and it’s hard to do that when you don’t see people.
During our last week at Agape we got to work alongside a group of Australians who were there on a school missions trip (most of them were not Christian they just attended a Christian school). By week three a lot of my team was discouraged and worn out. We felt not fully used, we knew we could be helping in much bigger ways but still ended up sanding and painting. God used that time to humble us and show us that, even though we know we could be doing more, we were able to do the tasks we were given well. Riding up to Agape three weeks in with our spirits and moral low, and then seeing a group of high school Australians, with their awesome accents and fresh energy, rejuvenated my team and we were able to finish out our time at Agape well.
Next to take place was debrief. Debrief is where a lot of Katie (Katie is awesome and y’all should read her blogs if you don’t) and I’s logistics duties come in. We are responsible for figuring out where the squad stays, how we get there, distributing food money to teams, finding a separate place for our squad mentor, coaches, (and celebrity appearance) Hope Mendola-Wong, figuring out transportation between the squad’s hostel and the mentors and coaches hotel and how to pay for it, and all the little things that the squad leader, mentors, coaches or team leaders need us to do.
With that being said, debrief was not exactly a time of rest for myself. I felt like there was always something that needed to be done or someone that I needed to talk to. It was a time of learning how to balance the things I have to do with still finding time for myself and not overworking myself. Let’s say I still have a lot of learning to do when it comes to that part and coming out of debrief I was exhausted and wanted to sleep for about two days.
That brings us to right now. We are currently in our second month of ministry. What that means for us, is living in a village an hour and a half away from the rest of the squad. We are staying at an orphanage with fourteen Thai kids. Our days consist of,
5:30 – Morning Devotions
6:00 – Chores
6:30 – Breakfast
7:00 – Team Time
8:30 – Manual Labor
12:00 – Lunch
13:30 – Manual Labor (again)
18:30 – Dinner
19:00 – Worship
21:00 – Bed
Manual labor tends to get pushed back until about 15:30 everyday though because as our ministry host states it’s “too hot right now.” Which instead of manual labor (at 13:30) we have gone to the hot springs* the past two days. As I write this, it is our fourth full day of being in the village. We use real life squatty potties (we brought our own toilet paper don’t worry), all of us sleep in one big room with mosquito nets over each of our beds, breakfast, lunch, and dinner are eaten with the host family, and we end up just doing life with the people here.
The village we are in is called Chiang Dao. It is a huge difference from Chiang Mai. It definitely is not a tourist destination by any means. There is very little to do here, nothing is in English, no one here speaks English (in Chiang Mai most people could understand and speak a decent amount of English), and the night life that is so prevalent in Chiang Mai is nonexistent here. That being said there are also a lot of nice things about being out here. It’s quiet, extremely quiet. You don’t hear motorcycles going by at three am or honking all throughout the night and the only thing you do hear is a rooster crowing at five am. You have a lot of free time that you have a hard time filling. The few hours that you get of free time feel like forever and you have to get creative with how you spend them, which leads me into,
Village life.
It is hard to explain. Especially as someone who is really experiencing it for the first time. Life slows down. There is no place to be or things that have to get done. You get to enjoy every second of everyday. Yes there is work involved and it’s hard and exhausting but the work here is for a greater purpose than making money (because we don’t make any!). We only really have one purpose which is serving the host family we are with and getting to show the love of God to them (with manual labor being a part of that). Our manual labor has been cutting bamboo down, digging holes, and cleaning up some foliage on our host family’s new land. They are currently renting out the space they are located in right now, but have purchased land to build a home on to live permanently. It’s exhausting, bamboo is itchy, digging holes through roots is hard, and it’s even worse with the heat and humidity. But knowing we get to do the hard things and help and serve our host makes all of it worth it, not to mention we have an awesome group of guys who make the work, dare I say, FUN.
That’s what our time has consisted of in Thailand so far. Nothing special to a normal person. I don’t think people get too excited at the idea of coming to Thailand to work. I also don’t think a normal person would sign up to leave their home and families for nine months to go and serve and minister to people in less than comfortable situations. But that’s the best part about The World Race, none of us our normal, we all have a little crazy in us, we’re just all fortunate enough to be crazy about God. Until next time,
– Zach
*Concrete tubes set upright in a river with water (of varying degrees) flowing from pipes into them
