Thailand- day 10

Today was our last real day in Thailand. We awoke to a great breakfast and bible study at the guest house. After bible study, we left to go to a church service called The Gathering. It is a worship service that many international missionaries and families attend that was held in a huge mall in Chiang Mai. It was cool to meet people people from all over the world serving in Southeast Asia. I even talked to someone who went to a small bible college about 20 minutes from North Greenville. Small world.

 

Before the service, some of us got stuck in elevator at the mall! I was in the first group to get on the elevator. We were headed to the 5th floor, but the elevator decided to get stuck on the way up. It was a tiny elevator and there were 8 or 9 people in there. Luckily one of the missionaries was there with us and had a phone that worked. She called her husband and told him we were stuck. I think we were in there about 20 minutes, but it felt like an hour. After a few minutes it started getting really hot, and I was getting a little nervous. Nothing like being stuck on an elevator to start your last day in Thailand.....

Someone finally came and opened the door at the next level and we were able to step up and out of the elevator. We took the stairs the rest of the way. No need for a repeat of that experience. 

After the service, we spent time in the mall eating and shopping. I was able to finishing buying gifts for my family and friends. Handmade goods are so cheap in Thailand. I was able to get Thai silk bags and other items for just a few dollars. I have never been anywhere that sold such good quality stuff for so cheap. I used as much Baht (thai currency) as I could since my money went so much farther here than it does back home. 

 

We went back to the guest house in the afternoon to pack up and get everything ready to head to America. I did not feel so good in the afternoon or evening. I was a little feverish and my stomach was killing me. If you see any picture of me in the Chiang Mai airport on FaceBook, I look like a red-faced zombie. I felt gross. I was able to take some sleeping pills on the plane, and I slept the whole flight to Seoul. I also slept most of the way back to Atlanta. 

 

It was sad to leave Thailand, but I was also ready to get home. I missed Kami so much! Everything in my life is about to change, so I was ready to get home and get things ready for graduation, my job, and marriage. I will always remember Thailand, and I hope one day soon I will be able to share my experience in more detail.

 

- If you see me around, feel free to ask any questions you want. I love sharing about my experience and would love to talk about it. 

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Thailand- day 9

Today was a fun day! We were able to all go as a group and spend the day relaxing and enjoying some incredible stuff in Thailand. 

 

First stop was a Elephant habitat. There were tons of elephants that live here, and they were incredible. When we arrived there were people selling bananas and sugar cane that you could feed the elephants. As soon as people walked up with the food, the elephants lit up with excitement. You could just walk up and they would grab the banana or sugar cane from your hand. One of the guys in the group even fed them with a banana in his mouth. One neat trick they did was to take the hat off their trainer (who was sitting on top of them) and put it on your head with it's trunk. He would pat you on the head and then use his trunk to take it off you and give it back to the trainer. Those elephants were rather smart. We got to watch them play soccer, paint with a paintbrush and canvas, and play the harmonica. 

 

Then we got to ride the elephants. They had a seat for two attached to the top of the elephant, and we got on and the elephant took us for a 30-minute ride. It was weird riding such a huge animal (and was also rather wobbly...). The elephants were very agile considering how large they were. We walked over hills, through water, and down stairs. It was an experience I will not soon forget. 

 

In the afternoon we went to a zip-line course in the jungle. A van came and picked us up and took us on a crazy one-lane road in the jungle. It was a long drive, and I would guess that most cars in America could not make it to the top. Once we were there, we signed all the papers and were fitted with our harnesses and helmets. There were 20 different zip-lines we were able to ride. It was like a ride in the middle of a jungle. All of the zip-lines were attached to huge trees, and you just soared over the ground and jungle on a wire. I have been on zip-lines before, but this was by far the most amazing. It look three hours to finish the course, and most of the lines were about 140 meters. It was such a rush, but I was so tired by the end of it. The people there also cooked us a Thai meal (which was amazing) and then took us all the way back to the guest house. I am pretty sure everyone slept the whole way back to the house.

 

 

It was great to experience some different things in Thailand, especially things you could never do in America. It is so beautiful over here. It is like a city in the middle of a forest. 

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Thailand- day 8

Today was a finishing day. We spent the morning at the office getting footage captured, images backed up, and making sure we had everything we would need when we got back to America. 

We were also able to interview a few more people that have been crucial to the ministry center here in Chiang Mai. 

 

Before I left for the trip, one of my friends told me she had a friend who lived in Chiang Mai that came to Texas to work at a camp in the summers. I was doubtful that I could find one person out of a million people...but it turns out that I met him the second day we were there! His name is Ekk, and he is one of the few male Thai believers his age that comes to Ban Kanoon. He spent most of the week with us and he is such a great guy. It was insane to meet someone halfway around the world that knows people that go to North Greenville. We were able to capture Ekk's testimony today; I can't wait to watch the tapes and hear more of his story. 

(if you look at my last post, you can see a picture of Ekk at a market we visited one evening. I think it is the second picture in the set)

 

This evening we were able to debrief with the other teams that were out doing other projects. We were able to share some pictures and videos with each other and share brief stories about what God had done that week. It was an amazing experience to sit and hear classmates share incredible God-stories from this one week. It felt like I had not seen some of those people in a month...but it had really only been a few days. So much happened this week; it is going to take a while for some of this to really sink in to point where I can even put it to words.

 Thailand is an incredible place, and I am so thankful I here. I know that I will leave here changed by the people and experiences I have had. God is so good, and he is so much bigger than we imagine. 

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Thailand pics

Here are a few of the pics I have edited from Thailand.

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Thailand- day 7

Today was a little more relaxing. We spend the morning and afternoon at the offices working on our projects and getting footage together. It was nice to back up all my photos and start sorting through them. I wil have plenty of work when I get back to school! 

We have been able to eat out almost every meal. I have had some of the most amazing food from street vendors and local restaurants. Food here is also crazy cheap...you can get a plate of noodles and chicken for around $1. Snacks at the 7-11 are about a 3rd of the price they are in America (and they have tons of cool stuff that don't have back home). 

Last night we went out for sushi. I love sushi, and this place had some really great stuff. Almost all the restaurants here are open air shops, which gives them a cool feel. The food was great and I ate a bunch of sushi. 

After sushi we all went and had a Thai massage. It was an hour long massage and it was amazing. It felt like they ripped my spine out and gave me a new one...in a good way. My body felt like jello after it was finished. 

We went downtown to a night Bazaar after massages. It was kind of like walking around Gatlinburg, TN. There were tons of knock-off American products from Nike, Puma, and North Face. All the other markets were went to were very Thai, but this one was very American oriented. I did get a cool wooden chess set for 1,000 baht (which is about 30 bucks.....it would have cost at least 80 in the states). 

Here are a few pics I have edited from the last few days. 

thanks for all the comments and prayers. It has been such a great experience, and I can't wait to share these stories in more detail soon. 

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Thailand- day 6

Today we went to one of the largest temples in Chiang Mai. It was literall on top of a mountain....and we had to walk up a couple hundred steps to get there. 

It was almost like a theme park. They were selling shirts, food, and all kinds of temple merchandise. It was such an ornate structure filled with all kinds of idols, gold statues, and candles burning incense. Behind all the gold there was a darkness there. We saw hundreds of people walk up the mountain to walk around a statue, burn incense, and offer merit to the monks. There is such a heaviness and darkness here that has a hold of these people. They work so hard, but have so little hope. Their lives are centered around karma and merit, but they are so scared. 

 

This afternoon we took some time to interview some of the Thai Christians and missionaries about what God is doing in their life and how Ban Kanoon (the ministry center here) is having an impact on the community. It was so great to hear stories of God extending his goodness and grace to these people in Thailand. I have been so inspired by these people; they have made such a large impact on my life in these few short days. I have seen such honest and beautiful community.

 

I am tired of watching the church in America fight over silly things. Being over here has given me perspective on what really matters. The Christians here actually love their community and put others before themselves. We could learn so much from their simple faith. 

 

 

I am having a great time here in Thailand. One of the coolest things we do is ride their taxi services around the city. It is a truck with bench seats in the back, and they will take you somewhere for less than a dollar. They even let you stand on the back of the truck and hold on to the ladders; it was so fun to ride around the city at night on the back of the taxi. 

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Thailand- day 5

It was interesting waking up in the village. I have never heard so many roosters before in my life. You could not sleep in with all the roosters outside. Our sweet housekeeper made us sticky rice for breakfast. Sticky rice is becoming a daily tradition.... I am going to miss it in the states. 

Today we went back to Dream's house. I was able to share with Dreams brother and his friend Jon. We talked for at least 40 minutes. It was great to share my story with them and hear about their life. I was able to share about my faith and what God has done in my life. It was a great time, and really stretched me trying to explain my faith to people who did not know anything about Jesus. I was able to share my faith, and answer some questions they had. Jon asked a handful of questions and was very interested in what I was saying. I tried to explain to him that God is a God of light and truth, and that He wants to be found. I was able to share that faith and doubt can exist together, and that I can trust God even when I don't know all the answers. That idea was very exciting to Jon; he shared about the the darkness he felt in the village and around the temple. I encouraged him to keep asking questions and to ask God to reveal Himself. We prayed together and he seemed very hopeful. Keep praying for Jon; I hope he gives his life to Christ soon. 

 

We also went to another village tonight where some of the Thai Christians lead a bible study. These students are on fire for Christ and love the gospel more than any group I have ever met. We could learn so much from them about faith, community, and unity. They do not fight or argue over silly things, and they have a genuine love for each other. It is inspiring to see students reaching their world for Christ. I cannot even understand how difficut it must be to be a Christian in an area that is 99% Buddhist. That takes some serious faith. 

 

Keep praying for out team as try to capture the story of Northern Thailand. I can't wait to share more details about the trip when I have more free time to write and edit photos. 

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Thailand- day 4

Great day in the village today.

We traveled over the largest mountain in Thailand to get to a village of one of the Thai christian girls. Her name is Dream. She is a sweet girl with a heart for the village she grew up in. We spent time with her family, took shots around the village, and then ate a fresh meal prepared by her mother. The food was amazing (and, I even ate a fish eyeball...which was not amazing). All the food in Thailand is so fresh; I could get used to this type of eating.

We went to the local temple tonight to hear the monks do their evening chants. It was a haunting experience that I will not forget. In the west, Buddhism seems like a very zen and peaceful thing. It almost feels like an accessory to people’s life that they use to find inner peace. This is not what it is like over here. As I listened to the monks chant, their hollow repetition was overwhelming. There is a darkness in Thailand. Those monks, who were mainly boys, were smiling as they walked to the shrine. But when they sat down on their mats, their entire expression changed. Many of them had fear, or sadness in their eye. They did not do anything to deserve this; they were just born in Thailand.

My heart is broken for the people of Thailand because I can feel the weight and darkness over this place. Behind the smiling faces and golden temples is darkness and heaviness of spirit.

We are staying in the village tonight, so that should be an interesting experience. Although it is much nicer than I anticipated. I am getting some great shots this week. I can’t wait to share more when I get home and can edit with my normal computer.

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Thailand- day 3

Interesting day today.

We woke up before 6am to visit monks coming down from one of the local temples. Every morning the walk down from the mountain temple to collect merit from people on the streets. Basically, people here give them food and drinks and the monks wills say a chant in return. People do this because is promotes good karma, and will keep the spirits happy. They are paying merit to the monks with food, so their bad deeds will be forgiven.

It was crazy to see monks, many of which were young boys, walking barefoot down the street while cars and motorcycles sped by. It was like an ancient culture juxtaposed with modern day living. People would pull off the road, get food out of their car, and wait for a group of monks. When they came by, they would take off their shoes, give them food, and bow as the monks chanted over them. Some did this more than one times, and would offer numerous portions of food to different monks walking the street.

I have pictures from the rest of the day, but I really just wanted to highlight the monks and the idea of merit today. The pictures do not explain it near enough. It was one of the most interesting (and sad experiences). These people do this every day; they drive close to a temple to find monks, give them food (merit), and then receive chants/ prayers offered for them. I will describe more of the details later when I am less sleepy; I will just let the pics speak for themselves now.

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Thailand- Day 2

Great day here in Thailand. 

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We split up in our groups today. I am in the Chiang Mai group with 7 other people. We went to a park today and had a picnic with some of the Thai kids that hang out with the Journeymen. We shared food, sang songs, and prayed together. I have learned so much from those kids and missionaries about life, relationships, and church...and it has only been one day. 

 

It is amazing what you learn half a world away. 

 

We spent the evening walking through a street market. It was a neat experience, and I got to eat some killer food from vendors. They were selling everything from shirts to handmade instruments; I am pretty sure you could find almost anything on the street. It was an interesting time just walking around with the Thai people and trying to imagine their life. 

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Also, the people driving here are wild. Motorcycles and mopeds zip between cars and no one seems to stay in their lane very often. More than once I was sure a motorcycle was going to hit a car, everyone seems to know what they are doing. Driving here is like controlled chaos.  

 

Great day today. I can't wait to see what God has in store this week.

 

 

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Thailand day....1 and 2ish

It is Sauryday here but Friday for most people reading this. 

 

Plane rides were fun. This was my first time flying, so I was a little nervous about cheking in, baggage, TSA, and such.  The first flight was 15 hour. By the end of that one I was ready to be off the plane. An hour later we left Seoul, South Korea to Chiang Mai, which was a little over 5 hours, and then took vans to the house where some of us will be staying at all week. Everything went very smoothly for everyone and we are here in Chiang Mai safe and sound (with all of our luggage and equipment too!) 

 

My body is rather confused since we are 12 hours ahead of eastern time. Hopefully I can get some rest tonight and be ready to go in the morning. 

 

I will be posting longer posts with more picturs and stuff during the week, but I wanted to let everyone know that we made it here and are ready to go. 

 

Check back each day, or subscribe to this site to follow along!

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Leaving from ATL

We are getting ready to board. See you on the other side....of the world. Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

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SC sunset

View from my house on campus. 

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