Its almost time for this white girl to return to her country. ThisSunday night we head to a resort for debrief week. Thats where we tell outreach stories, wrap up in prayer, run into foreigners on vacation, and focus on endulging in the beauty of Thailand and the blessing of different culture before the departure. I actually got to go with the main leader and our interpreter, Gift, to help choose the resort. So I know its going to be great.
Before I wrap up this blog, I want to sum up what God has taught me, how I have grown, and the impact I think God has had on Thailand through me and the rest of the team. This will be the last post most likely, so it will come later.
But this post I want to tell you of some of the wacky things that make this culture not America.
1. They drive on the left side of the road. Im still not used to it
2. They eat rice like we drink soda (at least most Americans drink too much soda)
3. Everything is cheap. I can get a jug of tea for 20 baht or 70ish cents, chicken dinner (with rice) for 50 baht or a little over a dollar.
4. They use kilometers, not miles
5. You can ride on or in the back of vehicles, dangling off.
6. Foreigners are rare in most parts so everyone looks at you with awe. Kind of amazing
7. Toilet paper is not normal. They use bum guns. Water squirter.
8. They dont shake hands, they 'way'. Hands go into a position like you are praying
9. They dont cut the heads or feet of of chickens or fish before selling
10. You take of your shoes before entering most buildings. Schools, churches, shops, etc.
11. Dont show a thai the bottom of your feet
12. Their 'Costco' is called 'Makro' and their 'walmart' is called Big C.
13. Their New Year is in March, not January.
14. Cheese is uber expensive. Im going to down some cheese when I get back, this Italian can only go so long without
15. Icecream sandwiches are actually sandwiches. Like, they use real bread to sandwich the icecream
16. There are idols in every yard
17. The number of Christians in the south is like .5%
18. they are open to christianity
19. If you want the experience of a lifetime...
20. Come to Thailand and share Jesus with some amazing people who need the love
Been spending some amazing time with kids at the school lately, and sharing with them all we've got. Im suprised I havnt kidnapped my favorite kid yet. She is a pumpkin. Yesterday we were all convicted that our day of rest was for ourselves and not for the Lord. God says to take a day of rest, but if we use it to go to the market or to the beach, we end up to tired for when ministry begins again. And so we took another day off, this time, using properly. Many of the attacks going thorugh our team and the miscommunication has dwindled greatly. We are now ready for...war ;)
One more thing...the boys placed a huge toad in a take-out box in front of our door the other night. What the heck? Who thinks of something like that? However I laughed forever!
Good night America. good morning for you. I miss you
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Monday, May 23, 2011
The Awesome Column
Well, you wont believe it, but I have been busy! And of all the things that have happened, I am trying to think of what wouldbenefit you most to hear. I am doing well, though the weight of fighting a spiritual battle everyday can be heavy. Shoutout to my mom and dad, for I miss their corny joy they display and the American food they cook.
I have today off. The entire team, besides two others and me, went out for the day. I had laundry, journal time and Jesus time, and blogging to do.
Before I continue, Im going to type out a prayer for the Scott family: Father, Lord, this family has experienced a most difficult rough patch in their life. Though it has been some time, maybe 6 months, I know there still lies a daily struggle to fill the gap that has gone missing in their family due to Tom's passing. Hold their hearts, give them strength. Show them your heart and how it aches for those who hurt. You are a God of love, You are love. You can break through anything, even this confusion of 'why did this have to happen.' i have seen the work you have been doing here in Thailand through me and my team. It is humbling to know that without you, we could offer them nothing. But through us you have brought so many hope. Because Tom paved the way financially for me, I have been able to come alongside of many, especially teenage girls that are hurting from broken families. Show the Scotts that this is an impact that Tom has had. He has impacted Thailand. he has impacted children, girls, guys, and their families. Barriers have been torn down that have held these people away from the freedom You offer. Bless the Scotts, give them the same hope that has come to the people I have worked with. Be a friend to Toms mother, a brother to Toms brother, a Father to Tom's children. Thank you for how you have used Tom for Your kingdom. Amen.
Two days ago, we went to a buddhist school and taught English, music, and art to the students from age 12 to 17. At the end, my team performed a dance that one of the students created out of a quiet time she had with God back at the school in Tampa. Its called Chains. We perform that dance often, but this particular time, over half the group of students received Christ. It probably added up to 20 kids. Our host at this location was excited and plans to bring other YWAM teams to the school to be these kids leaders and helpers.
At the last location, we stayed in a nice neighborhood to my suprise. It is a future YWAM base that needed painting, so some of my teammates painted really cool scenes on the walls and made it look like the coolest place to be on the whole street. The ministry that we were involved in consisted of teaching English to the neighborhood kids, and ministering to breakdancers and skateboarders. The first night we visited the dancers, I was talking with two of them and they asked 'you do dance sarla?' I said no, except for maybe a little hip hop. And I meant little. Next thing I know they pushed me into the middle of the dance floor, and I will leave it at that. That happened twice, but thankfully the second time I was able to do a move I had just learned. That satisfied them enough.
The Thai way to go is BUILD RELATIONSHIPS, we were told time and time again. P. Taa, our host, now has crazy amazing relatinships with most the neighborhood kids and even deeper
relationships with the boarders and dancers. Two break dancers receieved Christ after our dance 'Chains' was performed. Praise God! More to come, says P.Taa. And he has just started a
Bible Study in his house on saturday mornings for these students that he has built
relationships with. By the way, this city is Phitsanulok, one of the most spiritually dark
cities in all of Thailand. Almost everyone is Buddhist and there are idols in every yard. Very supersticious people.
Among all the things that have happened, I have to say that this next story amazes me the most. It begins in Hawaii on one of my days of while I was hitchiking with a group to a faraway beach called Mile 88. We met another hitchiker along the way. His name was Elly and he was just traveling the world for fun. He is German. We all thought, wow it would be cool if we invited this guy to com to the base and hang out and he later became a Christian. So he came and played soccer at the Koan base the next dayand we snuck him some food from the foodline. Never saw him after that day. ...until two days ago. We kept up as facebook friends and I found out he was going to be 45 minutes from where I am at this moment. I caught him online the day beofre he had his plane booked for the mext morning. But he didnt show up at his flight. Instead he caught a bus to come up to our base and see what we are doing. He helped us with the orphans, and got to watch the Judah Ben Hur production that the other half of our DTS team has been performing. He had many questios, and between me, David Sanborn, and Richard Morse, Elly was fed a lot of truth. He stayed for one night, and I cant say that he is a 'christian' but I dont think God would chase him all the way from Hawaii to Thailand for nothing. This guy is going to have an amazing testimony one day of how God followed him all over the world as he was on vacation. Haha yesssss.
Well, there could be much more I could say, but I will save it for later. I am about to be picked up to go to the beach...some of us want to be re-baptized by Art and Sean Sanborn, and I am one of them. It should be a meaningful night off for our team. And tomorrow we start again!
I have today off. The entire team, besides two others and me, went out for the day. I had laundry, journal time and Jesus time, and blogging to do.
Before I continue, Im going to type out a prayer for the Scott family: Father, Lord, this family has experienced a most difficult rough patch in their life. Though it has been some time, maybe 6 months, I know there still lies a daily struggle to fill the gap that has gone missing in their family due to Tom's passing. Hold their hearts, give them strength. Show them your heart and how it aches for those who hurt. You are a God of love, You are love. You can break through anything, even this confusion of 'why did this have to happen.' i have seen the work you have been doing here in Thailand through me and my team. It is humbling to know that without you, we could offer them nothing. But through us you have brought so many hope. Because Tom paved the way financially for me, I have been able to come alongside of many, especially teenage girls that are hurting from broken families. Show the Scotts that this is an impact that Tom has had. He has impacted Thailand. he has impacted children, girls, guys, and their families. Barriers have been torn down that have held these people away from the freedom You offer. Bless the Scotts, give them the same hope that has come to the people I have worked with. Be a friend to Toms mother, a brother to Toms brother, a Father to Tom's children. Thank you for how you have used Tom for Your kingdom. Amen.
Two days ago, we went to a buddhist school and taught English, music, and art to the students from age 12 to 17. At the end, my team performed a dance that one of the students created out of a quiet time she had with God back at the school in Tampa. Its called Chains. We perform that dance often, but this particular time, over half the group of students received Christ. It probably added up to 20 kids. Our host at this location was excited and plans to bring other YWAM teams to the school to be these kids leaders and helpers.
At the last location, we stayed in a nice neighborhood to my suprise. It is a future YWAM base that needed painting, so some of my teammates painted really cool scenes on the walls and made it look like the coolest place to be on the whole street. The ministry that we were involved in consisted of teaching English to the neighborhood kids, and ministering to breakdancers and skateboarders. The first night we visited the dancers, I was talking with two of them and they asked 'you do dance sarla?' I said no, except for maybe a little hip hop. And I meant little. Next thing I know they pushed me into the middle of the dance floor, and I will leave it at that. That happened twice, but thankfully the second time I was able to do a move I had just learned. That satisfied them enough.
The Thai way to go is BUILD RELATIONSHIPS, we were told time and time again. P. Taa, our host, now has crazy amazing relatinships with most the neighborhood kids and even deeper
relationships with the boarders and dancers. Two break dancers receieved Christ after our dance 'Chains' was performed. Praise God! More to come, says P.Taa. And he has just started a
Bible Study in his house on saturday mornings for these students that he has built
relationships with. By the way, this city is Phitsanulok, one of the most spiritually dark
cities in all of Thailand. Almost everyone is Buddhist and there are idols in every yard. Very supersticious people.
Among all the things that have happened, I have to say that this next story amazes me the most. It begins in Hawaii on one of my days of while I was hitchiking with a group to a faraway beach called Mile 88. We met another hitchiker along the way. His name was Elly and he was just traveling the world for fun. He is German. We all thought, wow it would be cool if we invited this guy to com to the base and hang out and he later became a Christian. So he came and played soccer at the Koan base the next dayand we snuck him some food from the foodline. Never saw him after that day. ...until two days ago. We kept up as facebook friends and I found out he was going to be 45 minutes from where I am at this moment. I caught him online the day beofre he had his plane booked for the mext morning. But he didnt show up at his flight. Instead he caught a bus to come up to our base and see what we are doing. He helped us with the orphans, and got to watch the Judah Ben Hur production that the other half of our DTS team has been performing. He had many questios, and between me, David Sanborn, and Richard Morse, Elly was fed a lot of truth. He stayed for one night, and I cant say that he is a 'christian' but I dont think God would chase him all the way from Hawaii to Thailand for nothing. This guy is going to have an amazing testimony one day of how God followed him all over the world as he was on vacation. Haha yesssss.
Well, there could be much more I could say, but I will save it for later. I am about to be picked up to go to the beach...some of us want to be re-baptized by Art and Sean Sanborn, and I am one of them. It should be a meaningful night off for our team. And tomorrow we start again!
Friday, May 6, 2011
Relocated
We relocated yesterday to a new location. This place is in the city and we will be working with break dancers and skateboarders. The man we are teaming with has had a heart for this big city (cant spell it) for 11 years now and I am more than excited to be able to be one of the people that will get to help him.
I am happy about a few differences, and that is the indoor western toilet right outside my room. And I will have easier access to internet. The team is doing well for the most part but please keep us in prayer. We get attacked by the enemy in various ways and sometimes it can be a bit of a burden for my teammates. As for me, I have not been harmed lately. My stomach is cooperating and Im not too dizzy from day to day. Just more praise to be sent up to our Amazing Dad ;)
Praying for you, and praying for the Scotts. If you are reading this, please be another to lift that family up in prayer. Read the blogs description at the top if you are unsure.
Eat something without rice for me!
I am happy about a few differences, and that is the indoor western toilet right outside my room. And I will have easier access to internet. The team is doing well for the most part but please keep us in prayer. We get attacked by the enemy in various ways and sometimes it can be a bit of a burden for my teammates. As for me, I have not been harmed lately. My stomach is cooperating and Im not too dizzy from day to day. Just more praise to be sent up to our Amazing Dad ;)
Praying for you, and praying for the Scotts. If you are reading this, please be another to lift that family up in prayer. Read the blogs description at the top if you are unsure.
Eat something without rice for me!
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