May 17

Happy Sunday!

Today was really cool.  Except I didn't know that I was playing at two services, a morning and an afternoon service.  Or that the missionary and the other intern were going to a separate church service.  Luckily the pastor's wife speaks English pretty well, so I wasn't completely alone.  Both services were fun.  I kind of liked the minor worship set.  Lunch was good.  They were worried I would not like the food - False.  It was amazing.  I love Thai food.

We went to teach English today at the first place I ever taught.  I got to teach an individual group today by myself, and we worked on conversational English.  Today we talked about favorites and occupations and basic conversational skills.  It was awesome and I really enjoyed it.  And these adults who are taking the class are very excited about it and they work really hard at it.  The whole atmosphere in this community is awesome.  We have built such a good trust with even the people in the Mosque, and I'm really excited to hear news about what happens after I leave.

We got a REALLY good dinner after teaching tonight (oh, and i forgot.  It's been raining cats and dogs here and I got soaked just walking to teach tonight).  Jeremy and Ashley are awesome, and we had really good dinner conversation.  I think Asia Pacific would be a great place to serve on the field, especially with all these awesome connections.  I'm still praying about it - God can direct me as He sees fit.

We did some slum visitation tonight too.  One of the ladies we visited took in this kid who has this problem where he gets oozing wounds on his body and both of his parents abandoned him.  And this lady, not being a Christian, takes him into her own home and raises him as a son.  There are so many things I need to learn about love.  These slum people teach me so much.

Tomorrow is another full day and I've been blogging since forever so I'm out for the night.  Blessings from Bangkok.

May 16

I vowed to wake up early today.  And then I wanted to go out and buy a few things.  Which did not.  I just stayed in bed until it was time to get a shower and get up and go teach.  Teaching was good.  It was a smaller group again at a woman from the church's house.  These students were better at English, so it was more fun to teach them.  I feel like my Thai got a lot better from teaching them.  The woman whose house we are teaching has an amazing story.  I know I didn't share it yet.  Anyway, when we were on this retreat, this lady's son tried to commit suicide by taking a lot of pills.  Well, he didn't die, but got rushed to the hospital.  His liver was shot and this lady just got out of debt and she would have had to pay a lot of money to just cover the hospital bills, and the doctors were telling her that her son needed a liver transplant, which would cost a WHOLE lot more.  Everyone was angry at the son because he was basically going to wreck the mom's life.  Anyway, this happened last weekend, and we're been praying for the son ever since.  Today, he's been released from the hospital, and his liver is fine.  Praise God.

Anyway, after teaching, we came back to the house for a little bit, and then I decided that I really wanted a haircut, and as a cultural experience, set out with Chiab (who graciously volunteered to translate) for a barber shop.  We decided to go to the one with the lady barber, as the other shop had a "lady-boy" working and I wasn't really all about that.  Anyway, it was a cheap deal and it looks pretty good.  Probably the best hair cut I've gotten all year.  One interesting cultural experience I had though, while I was there: In Thailand, they shave your ears.  And not just the inside of your ear (where old men grow hair) but the lobes and sides too.  It was weird.  Lol.

Gabe and I grabbed some chicken fried rice real fast before we headed to our next teaching gig.  This gig was good - its fun to have an actually classroom to teach in.  We taught the days of the week and did some time concepts.  It was really good.  I like teaching a lot.  Good think I'm looking into grad school for that.

I came back for worship practice at the church around 4:30.  Every song we are doing tomorrow is in minor.  Lol.  It lasted an hour and a half.  I am pretty excited about playing tomorrow.  Practice went a little over so I was a few minutes late to Al & Lynette's.  We played Settlers: Cities and Knights with the Ellis family from India.  It was THE LONGEST game of my life.  Jerod and I lost interest after hour two.  It was a really long game.

I can't believe I'm leaving soon.

May 15

I'm beginning to see that there's a lot that's happening in my life and things are changing beneath the surface.  Several events have happened while I've been over here that have really affected me on a deep level, and I'm responding in ways that I didn't think I would.  I'm responding like an adult - like someone who knows medicine is good for them.  Like someone who knows that although completely trusting on the Lord is really scary, they can do it.  Because really, it's all I can do.

Today it rained.  A lot.  Usually it POURS in Bangkok for about an hour, and then it's over.  Not applicable for today.  It rained...FOREVER.  I remember getting up sometime in the early morning and hearing the thunder in prolonged booms.  Half of me worried that it was a earthquake, and the other half didn't care and went back to sleep.  Well, it didn't stop in those next two hours.  We were supposed to do visitation in the slums this morning, but with the rain pouring and making muddy slides everywhere, we had to reschedule for later in the day, after the floods stopped.

Gabe and I had a really good time in prayer this morning.  God is doing something in my heart and life and I can't really describe it yet (I really don't know what it is exactly).  But it's...exciting.  After we spent some time in prayer at the house, we went to a Siam Library Club thing and did some research.  I read an article about the prostitution Thailand is known for and it's real roots and how we deal with it and stuff.  It was very academic and very challenging to think about.  I have to read another chapter before I leave.

After our study session, we went to the big slum in Akon.  Gabe and I got to teach the same lesson we taught yesterday to a bunch of rowdy girls.  They were crazy.  They kept singing some famous American pop hit with the words "you're the only one for me" or something like that.  And they were totally dissing Gabe & I's Thai skills.  Quite frankly, they were a little bratty.  Haha.  They learned, but they weren't too respectful.  However, the English teaching we were doing is not the end all task.  And that's the thing that I have to keep reminding myself.  Because I don't have to be an amazing English teacher.  We talked about this at dinner.  The point of us doing all this teaching is not the teaching itself.  It's being there - being a presence in the community where there is no gospel being taken.  It's establishing relationships and making connections so that the gospel can go forward and be preached.  It's a process that is so much bigger than the little part that I'm playing, but I'm so glad to be playing that part.

After dinner we went into another slum.  Kind of scary at night, and there was a bridge we had to cross and "stay to the left" otherwise we'd fall in the sewage below.  Again though, just making those relationships.  We got to pray for some women in the community who have become believers because of the influence this missionary has had there.  It was really neat.  God works in these incredible ways, and I am realizing that ministry is just about reflecting Jesus and being a light to the lost.

Random notes: Lob for dinner.

Walking back home the police totally shut down Ekkamai so a royal procession could have the entire road to itself.  We couldn't walk over the bridge because it's wrong to have feed above the heads of royalty.

Thai headphones are cheapo.

I don't want to come home.

May 14

I watched a video today that tied into my devotions.  It was about God chiseling away at our lives to make us into the masterpieces that He created us to be.  It was really powerful.  It was a God-Man conversation.  At one point, the man was like, "Lord I just feel like I've let you down."  God was like, "Wrong.  You do not hold me up.  I hold YOU up."  It really spoke to me a lot.  I pondered it throughout the day.

We went on a prayer walk today of the surrounding areas and slums.  It was a good time to intercede for the local people, to stop and make connections with them, and to let God speak to me.  I am going to start doing that more - just spending time walking around and praying.  Maybe at camp this summer is a good time to start.

Alan, Gabe, and I had a good world-view session today again on the life of a missionary and spiritual aspects as well as practical steps in cross-cultural ministry.  So much better than any missions class - so much more practice and not theory.  

We had a teaching gig again this evening.  It entertains me.  Overwhelms me a little.  But thanks to all these years of children's ministry, I know how to keep children entertained.  It's funny to see Gabe's eyes open wide when he doesn't know what to do next.  We went over a lot today - parts of the body, counting to 10, standard greetings, and school supplies.  They still love Father Abraham.  I'm kind of stoked we're teaching Buddhists and Muslims about Father Abraham.  I guess Abraham fathered Ishmael, so we're not blatantly proclaiming Christianity.  Mwahaha.

Ate spaghetti tonight for dinner, and ice cream afterwards.  Taxis in the rain, and uploading pictures on facebook.

I love Thailand.  Don't want to leave.

Here's a link to some pictures:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2013152&id=123001029&l=a3b229ab14

On Motortaxis and The Art of [un]feeling (May 13)

I felt so alive today.  Maybe that's because I'm doing what I was built to do.  Maybe that's because I think the missionaries here are some of the best people I've met in my life.  Maybe that's because as I was riding through the streets of Bangkok on the back of a motorcycle weaving in and out of traffic (from the sidewalk to the wrong side of the road), I thought that there's no other place that I'd rather be.  Granted, I was desperately trying to remember the Thai word for here (teenee, phoenetically) so we wouldn't speed past my destination, and also trying to figure out how to hold on without acting like I was scared.  There I was, speeding down the center line of the road in Ekkamai, Bangkok, Thailand...20 years old...no clue what's happening after college graduation...feeling totally at peace.  (And at the same time, ironically firmly grasping one of the driver's shoulders and whispering prayers to Jesus lest my irrational fears take fruition and I fall off the back).

At another point in the day, I was in this very crowded location where venders are trying to sell you cheap souvenirs, and I know if I make eye contact, or show any interest, they won't leave me alone.  So I shut off.  Literally.  I accidentally made eye contact with a man who was a carriage driver, and when he went to beckon to me, I acted like he didn't exist.  As people would haggle Gabe as he would wander into stores, I'd remain aloof, interested, detached.  In that moment, it felt so unreal to be where I was - things happening all around me, and I was just a stranger passing through.

Maybe it's a paradox, maybe it's surreal, but I feel like I fall somewhere in between these emotions.  On one hand, my life seems like it's rushing down a mountain and I'm not really sure where I'm going to end up or where I'll coast off to, and on the other hand, I'm loving the feeling of falling.  All the while I'm nonchalantly clutching onto some type of security, and hoping that no one sees how scared I really am.

    I lift up my eyes to the mountains— 
       where does my help come from?

    My help comes from the LORD, 
       the Maker of heaven and earth.

    He will not let your foot slip— 
       he who watches over you will not slumber;

    indeed, he who watches over Israel 
       will neither slumber nor sleep.

    The LORD watches over you— 
       the LORD is your shade at your right hand;

    the sun will not harm you by day, 
       nor the moon by night.

    The LORD will keep you from all harm— 
       he will watch over your life;

    the LORD will watch over your coming and going 
       both now and forevermore.

Psalm 121

May 12

So, some people may think that this blog is a little unconventional.  Which I openly admit, it is.  Because this is an unconventional trip.  It's a missions INTERNSHIP.  It's not a missions trip - it's way different.  On a missions trip, you're going going going, doing structured activities to maximize your time in a country.  What I'm doing is learning from a missionary first-hand what it's like to be a missionary - what missions life looks like in a real, everyday setting, not in a structured schedule of hyper evangelism.  If missionaries would live like short-term missions trips are structured, they would burn out immediately.  So, this internship is about learning and experiencing life firsthand.  Even for me, it's been a little different, and not as busy, but the insights I've gained have helped me so much in praying about my future.

Today, we got ALOT accomplished in the office.  I mean, A LOT.  My job was to organize, classify, and file all these articles on church growth, church planting, leadership, Buddhism, Thai Buddhism, Church Planting in Thailand, Thai Church History...etc.  I am so surprised at how much research these missionaries have done into reaching this culture.  It is truly amazing how much effort and time they have put into the ministry here.  They are some of the brightest minds I've ever met, and I can't believe all the statistics and articles they've written or researched on this land.  These guys are seriously some of the best of the best.  What I did read of the articles, I was very impressed with.  From planting and organizing Bible School cirriculum, to setting up Pastoral Mentoring Programs, to demographic studies in Buddhism to all the newspaper articles I had to file - it really impressed me.

Random food note (because I LOVE FOOD): Chicken Fried Rice today - excellent.

We worked a long day (from 9-5).  I got all the binders organized and all the loose ends tied up in that office, and I'm really proud of it.  It is some amazing work and it looks a lot better now.  I know it will benefit all these missionaries who need to consult these files or pull up case studies or statistics about Thai church growth.  I felt really good about it.

We came back to the house and had dinner with Al & Lynette - some American relief - chicken taco cassarole or something to that effect and unwound for the day, recapping some stuff.  I had an evaluation with Alan for my "midterm" and we went over more missionary-related Q & A.  It again, was very good.

I came back to the house, totally saturated with knowledge and wisdom, had a Kidstuf brainstorming session via Skype, and got to bed a little late.  Life is awesome.  I think Chosen can do without me and I can stay here all summer.  Seriously. :-)

May 11

This morning we got to sit in on a Thai Pastor's meeting.  It's kind of like what we could call a "sectional minister's meeting" within a District.  There were about 8 ministers there, all from the Bangkok region.  It's crazy to think about, though, because that's about how many Christian ministers there are just in this city, and Thailand is probably about the size of some districts.  It's crazy to think about.

Anyway, we don't speak Thai, obviously, so we didn't really understand what was going on.  Alan explained every now and then they were talking about a money account for the section, and then they were talking about the Ordination process, and how it tends to be exclusive, and people are denied Ordination if they are too vocal at the national "General Councils."  If that was the case I think we would be without some ministers in the A/G, probably myself included.  During this time, I couldn't get on the internet, so I organized all the documents on my computer into folders pertaining to certain classes.  Yes, yes, i feel very accomplished and organized.  It was not an easy task, but I can breathe easier (not like I was worrying about it before though).

After the meeting, we went to a bakery down the street where Gabe and I got chicken fried rice and cake as an appetizer...the ministerium paid.  We sat with Tio, Pastor Bei's son.  It was fun.  We came back here for a few hours before we left for Anna's graduation party.  Anna is an MK here who is graduating from the international school.  She will be going to a school in Missouri for Musical Theatre while her parents teach as the MIR's at CBC.  The party was fun - I hung out with Jeremy, one of the other Book of Hope missionaries.  Apparently I committed to go see Star Trek with him and Gabe - I thought I was committing to Wolverine.  It's confusing.  I'm going to feel like a nerd.

I met a lot of missionaries at this party, and it's good to have these connections in Asia Pacific, especially if this is the field on which I'll be serving.  It was also nice to experience this "missionary family" kind of atmosphere - it makes the whole process seem a little easier, to have support like this in the same area.  The A/G seems to be leaning more towards this group outreach model, especially when ministering to unreached people groups or Muslims.  So that excites me.

We played a round of Settlers (of which I bid for on Ebay...and lost) and I actually won - who would have thought.  I kind of like these German board games.  They're A-OK.  Came back to the house - had an impromtu staff meeting via AIM with my children's ministry team, and discussed a new set.  Watched She's the Man and went to bed.  That's all for today folks :-)

May 10

So today was awesome.  Great end of the weekend.  The service didn't start until "10am" so I got to sleep until 9:30am....GLORIOUS!  But another thing I should tell you about Thai culture, if i haven't already, is that when things are supposed to start at 10am, it means they really can start any time up to 10:59 and not be late.  11 is late.  So of course the service didn't start at 10.  I was like one of the first ones there when I came in at 10 am.  But then when everyone was there, we realized we needed to pack our room up, so we had to go do that.

Eventually...the service started.  It was good.  The Holy Spirit really moved and at one point all of the people there were on their knees just seeking the Lord.  They sang "Shout To The Lord" (I get really happy when anything relates to my culture.  If I see a white person on the street, or I hear a Maroon 5 song on the radio, or hear a worship song that I know, I get pretty ridiculously happy!)  Anyway, the rest of the service went good.  We had to sing some closing unity song after testimonies at the end where we held hands and sang.

After church, we had our last meal, and we talked about the itineration process with Alan.  Again, I got so much insight into the process.  He is just awesome to talk with.  We visited the history of itineration in Christian circles which helped me understand why we do it this way now.  Lunch was good.  There were these really weird noodles and I'm not quite sure if they were noodles or like intestines or something so I didn't ask and didn't eat too many of them.  But the seafood fried rice was delicious.  I loaded up on that.

We then had a 4 hour ride back to Bangkok.  I had some good prayer about the next step in my life after this summer, and then Alan started asking me about it, so we had good conversation about that.  Then we had to stop at the rest stop, and we met up with Bei and Wan, coming back from their retreat.  We decided to ride back with them, because they had more room.  Turns out, a lady from their church's son attempted to kill himself, so there was this huge thing because she didn't know, and then the missionary had to go to the hospital when we got back with her, and it was this huge thing.  We're still praying for her son - he's in the ICU.

Gabe and I went over to be with Lynette on Mother's Day while Alan was at the hospital, and we ordered Burger King, and then learned how to play "El Grande," yet another awesome strategy game.  I think I'm going to buy some of these for playing this summer on tour.  Anyway, we played a whole round of that with Alan after he got back, and then we came back here and I called my mom via Skype on Mother's Day and now I'm blogging about it.  All is well.  The Lord is good.  Happy Mother's Day!

May 9

            Last night I surrendered my blanket to Gabe because he is sleeping on the fu, and I got this little blanket from Alan that is about as wide as I am (like 18 inches at the most).  But I think, hey it’ s okay, because I am living in Thailand, and it will be hot.  FALSE.  I woke up like five or six times throughout the night because I was SO COLD from the A/C.  Because of that, after I woke up this morning, I was doing my devotions and crashed from 8-11 to catch up on the sleep I lost last night.  When I woke up, I didn’t feel too good.  I went for a walk, and REALLY didn’t feel good.  I felt a little better before lunch, but again after I felt really sick.  I spent about 2 hours in the room and eventually the feeling passed, Thank the Lord.  Thank you for your prayers, it’s times like this when I’m really grateful I have people praying for me.  I could have been a lot sicker that what I was.

In the afternoon, we went to a Buddhist temple across the street and got to take a look around.  I got some really cool pictures, and then my camera decided to get stuck trying to zoom in, so I can no longer take any pictures!  I have a little less than two weeks here and have barely taken any photos yet, so I am NOT HAPPY.  Pray that Jesus heals it J.  Anyway, we hiked to the top of the mountain where there was the “footprint of Buddha” and it was a cool view.  We came back down and played some soccer with the people from the church (it took me a while to realize it was shirts v. skins…after I kicked it the wrong way several times I kind of figured it out).  I think we lost; I couldn’t tell if you scored when you hit the goal cage or actually made it in.  Then we went swimming in the ocean – which feels like bathwater it is so warm!  Some kids wanted me to swim out with them to where the water is colder – we swam way out, got tired, and realized that the water doesn’t get colder ha.  We swam back, started up a game where we threw the ball back and forth in a circle, and that entertained us for about an hour and a half.  It helped me in practicing counting to ten in Thai…because we rarely got past 10 without someone dropping it.  I know, suffering for Jesus on the Gulf of Thailand…someone has to do it I guess.

Dinner was good, and mild (Thank God!) and my stomach took it easy.  It was a really good chicken and rice (rice at EVERY MEAL!)  But I would much rather have this rice than beans and rice in Latin America – the food is so much better here!  Hallesanto!  After dinner, I finished watching “Finding Nemo” before the service.  Service was “Holy Spirit Night.”  My favorite part was clapping on beats 1 & 3 to “My Life is in You, Lord.”  That was during the 25 minute after service joy songs part.  One thing that they do in Pentecostal services here is copy what they’ve seen elsewhere, without the particular reason.  Alan goes as far to say that they copy it, and copy it badly.  So, normally, when someone is “slain in the Spirit,” some churches cover the ladies with a blanket to make sure they’re not indecent.  However, here, everyone seems to be getting a blanket, and the blanket Nazi would be freaking out if there wasn’t enough blankets for the guys.  They didn’t really need them tho – but he thinks everyone needs it.  And they courteously fall down all the time to be respectful, so everyone goes down.  Youth Camp in the States, I feel, is going to actually be a little refreshing compared to this.  But God really moved, and we got to pray for the young people tonight, and it was good.  I’m seeing how “corrective” sometimes missionaries have to be, as Alan has been sharing on 1 Corinthians 14 and using the gifts of the Spirit correctly.  It’s definitely teaching me a lot.

Gabe has hurt his foot with a swollen blister, so he left the service early.  As soon as the revival cheering was over, I left too, and we’re hitting the sack a little early tonight.  Tomorrow’s the last day L but looking forward to being back in Bangkok!  Thanks for the prayers!  Keep em coming!

May 8

Good, full day today.  After blogging late into the night, I didn’t get much sleep before waking up at 6:30 to leave at 7:15 for our beach retreat.  I packed hurriedly and forgot to pack my Bible or toothpaste.  Ugh.  But all is well in spite of my forgetfulness.  We got to the place and loaded into this van thing that fit like 12 people in, but it was NOT a 15 passenger van, so we were pretty squished.  That was fun.  I tried to sleep.  One hour into the trip, we stop.  Oh yeah, I think we’re there.  Except not.  Because we got out at this rest stop to go to the bathroom.  Seriously.  This better not happen when I’m on Chosen.  I woke up sweating and then I had to walk around for another 30 minutes before we left.  Thais like the journey more than the destination, so they really took their good old time at this rest stop.  Wish I would have known that.

We got back in the van after 30 minutes into the “cool air” (which is really not cold, its like blowing the vent) in the car, and two hours later I woke up and we were here at the resort.  That was nice.  I vaguely remember hearing Alan yipping in Thai and all the tones as I was sleeping.  I had some weird dream…I can’t remember it now, but I woke up at one point totally disillusioned as to where I was.  Weird.

Anyway, so we get to the resort.  After we get here, we got these complimentary red drinks that tasted like Robitussin.  It was gross.  I downed it fast.  Then we got settled in our room and went for a walk to explore.  Parts of the sand smell like poop.  I said, “Smells like poop.  Looks like poop.”  Gabe said only one question remains.  I said, “Does it taste like poop?”  He looked at me and said, “No, that is NOT the question.”  The question really was, “Whose is it?”  Oh, I got a good laugh out of that one.  Anyway, after that, Gabe & I went to get lunch at a nearby shack, where they were selling Gui-taeo, Seafood style.  I don’t know why, but I always wanted to know what shrimp looked like with their heads on.  Well, I didn’t have to wonder anymore after today, because I had to eat shrimp, heads and legs and all today (minus the tail) in my soup.  Gabe had octopi in his.  I declined the 8 legged creatures though.  After we had lunch, we had some free time to just walk around.  I took some pictures with my camera which STILL has sand in it from Israel (STUPID STUPID SAND – and stupid me for never getting it fixed) so some of the pictures have dumb spots on them.  After that I did some devos and work for my internship class.  Oh, and you want to know HOW I did my devos without my Bible?  I’m so glad you asked.  I used my Gideon New Testament, available in Thai and parallel English translation, courtesy of (yes, you guessed it) the Gideons!  I was pretty stoked actually when I found out the Gideons did international Bibles.

            Dinner was at 6pm.  We had good chicken curry over rice with tum yum or something like that.  It’s a seafood dish soup, and it was really good.  I’m not sure what exactly was in it – and I’ve learned not to ask.  We also had EGGS (I have learned to celebrate whenever we have eggs) and pineapple, which I kind of actually like.  I know, coming from the kid who doesn’t like fruit.  I’m still not really keen on the texture, but I like the flavor.  I drank a LOT of water to help with the curry – I really like it, but I forget about how much my mouth HATES me AFTER I eat it.  It’s like the feeling I used to get when I ate BBQ chips as a kid – it hurt to exhale because my mouth burned so much.  That’s kind of how it is with this.

            I had a really good talk with Alan tonight at dinner about family life on the missions field.  Alan reminds me of my personality…a lot.  And if I still have energy like this at 52, I’ll be surprised, and thankful.  We talked about schooling your kids, and what staying at home with the kids looks like, and choosing a spouse that compliments your talents, and saying NO.  I have to work on the saying “no” part still, but it was a really good talk about not being totally stressed because you’ll always have more ministry than you’re capable of doing.  I need to learn that my ministry should flow out of my family life and my life with Jesus, and not be all these tasks I feel like I HAVE to accomplish.  It was a really solid discussion time.

            Church service at 7.  Mind you, it’s completely in Thai, so I really know nothing of what’s going on in it.  One of the first things they did was this blacklight presentation.  It started out really cool – the sun came up, and so did the clouds, and then these birds or butterflies (if you think Napoleon Dynamite you’re on the right track) and then flowers and then a tree with an apple.  So I’m thinking, Oh, classic human video with Adam and Eve eating the fruit.  Well, who I think is Eve comes out in all white (obviously, it’s a blacklight show) and dances amidst the flowers and birds and clouds and sun and tree and has a grand old time.  Then she leaves.  And the music gets darker.  DUM DUM DUM.  Then Satan comes out.  With GLOWING RED HORNS.  That part made me chuckle.  Satan made the sun, clouds, flowers, birds, and tree go away so everything was black again.  Then he had this evil laugh that made me laugh inappropriately.  I did it quietly, in my defense.  Then “Eve” comes back out to a dark and fallen world, and Satan has left.  She’s in so much despair, so she falls on her knees and prays.  I’m thinking…ENTER JESUS.  And she’s still praying.  SO ENTER JESUS.  Nothing.  JESUS!!!!  Nope.  She eventually gets up, resurrects the flowers, the sun, the clouds, the birds, and the tree.  And then she goes out into the audience and starts beckoning people to see what’s coming.  And I see the back of this sign (its black obviously) and I’m like OOOH ITS JESUS VIA A SIGN!  And the music is swelling and we’re all ready for Jesus…and as the music resounds in the final note they turn the sign around and it says:  WELCOME.  End skit.

I found it very amusing that Jesus got the axe in the human video.  But that’s just me.

Anyway, the rest of the service went well.  Worship, the sermon (at least I think it did, but I can’t speak the language).  Oh, at one point, they were talking about teams or something and they say “Joshua” so I raise my hand and wave.  Yeah, apparently, I’m on a sports team tomorrow and they’re all heroes of the Bible and I’m on team Joshua…but they weren’t talking about me.  So now I feel like an idiot haha.  Anyway, so at the altar time, people are praying and getting touched, and they start singing this song about this being the year of the Lord’s favor.  And I’m like…alright this is tight (there are English subtitles underneath the Thai words on the screen).  The next slide says, “This is the year of the Lord’s vengeance.”  I just look at Gabe, and he looks at me.  Interesting culture we have here.

Anyway, so the service eventually closes out.  Oh, one more thing.  So we have these Secret Pals at this camp, and we’re supposed to do nice things for them without them knowing we did the things for them.  I have some old Thai lady.  I don’t know how I’m supposed to do nice things for her when I don’t speak her language nor can I communicate with any of her friends, so that’s where the missionary might come in.  My secret pal sent someone to give me hot chocolate tonight.  That was cool.

Haha, if I sound like I’m being critical, I’m really not.  I’m thoroughly amused at the differences in culture, but in no way am I trying to be condescending.  I just had a very humorous day and thought I’d like to share that with you all.  Tomorrow we have prayer meetings and more services and an “organized time of games” where we get to wear bright lime green shirts.  Brighter than the Kidstuf green shirts.  No lie.

So thank you for the prayers.  I know I don’t have internet this entire weekend so you’re probably reading this a few days late, but I am doing very well.  The Lord is good and I am blessed.  I’ll be in touch soon!

May 7

Ok, so sometimes I don't feel like blogging, even when I have an amazing day.  During the day I'm like oh yeah this is going to be great to write about...and then I forget about what I was so excited to write about.  So this is what I remember about what happened in the last 16 hours.

I awoke this morning and showered.  I know, you're thrilled that I still can keep personal hygiene, even though I'm on a whole separate continent.  You raised me well, Mom.  Ok, so after completing the basics of good physical health, we left for the office with Alan in his car.  After spending some time in prayer and in the Word at the office, we got to work.  My task: organizing all these random articles/papers/magazines/thesises on Thailand, Buddhism, Reaching Thais/Buddhists/Bhuddist Thais/Unreached People Groups and putting them into huge 3 ring binders.  Oh yes, I can tell by your expression you are quite jealous of me.  Well, you should be.  I actually enjoyed it in some weird clean-freak sort of way.  Not that I am.  Because if you've seen my room, I'm quite the opposite.  However, I think I find some sort of peace in bringing order to things.  Maybe that's innate in every person though.  But I digress...

We took a break from lunch around 12:45 (Alan never really stops, ever - he's more crazier than I am and has more energy, which is saying ALOT).  So you have to remind him about stopping for meals because he'll work right through them.  (Some of you KidStuf people who work for me might be smiling).  We went to get lunch.  OH!  We met a lot of other missionaries today.  One of them knows Grandpa because he's a PennDel missionary, and he's old.  But I don't remember ANY of their names, so I guess that doesn't help at all. I got curry chicken today for lunch and then I got a pineapple/watermelon mixed smoothie.  Yeah, neither of which were a good idea.  The drink was just...weird, and my mouth was on FIRE from the curry it was so spicy.  I couldn't finish it.

Another random sidenote: you know how your parents tell you to finish your food because there are people overseas who are starving?  Yeah, they throw more food out here (at least the Thai people I've eaten with) than I personally do.  I try to eat EVERYTHING over here bc I'm buying it with money people have supported me with, and the THAIS throw out more food than me.  So maybe people across the world aren't starving as much as our parents told us they were.  Because here I am, and I feel like an idiot when I want to put my leftover rice in the fridge instead of throwing it out.  End side note.

Anyway, after lunch, we went back to the grind.  I got most of the things classified and filed away.  There's a few more things I need to finish next week, but most of them are just newspaper articles.  So I feel very accomplished.  The sounds of Trevor Hall and Chopin aided me in completing my task.  Just wanted to throw that out there.  But I can't talk about what computer played them, because THAT would be a violation of some contracts...

So we took the boat home.  That is always fun.  I took a lot of pictures on the commute home so hopefully I can upload them soon.  My camera died though so I can't upload them now.  It was a nice relaxing trip home.  We got back to the house with 10 minutes to spare before we had to go teach English in a nearby community.  NOW is when I was so angry I didn't have a charged camera.  We got there, and the houses are set up so neatly I really just wanted a picture of them.  We teach on these people's porches, and these porches are so small.  Anyway, the kids are SO CUTE.  At first, no one wanted to have an English lesson, so Gabe and I were going to go...then EVERYONE wanted an English lesson.  It's a small community, so we had about 6 kids total.  We went over the alphabet with them today and body parts.  Then we sang Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes.  Then we did Father Abraham after going over Right v. Left.  I really liked this.  The pastor and his wife here have praised me for my energy, and my desire to work with kids, because NONE OF THEM like to do that.  The pastor's wife just talked about it not being her thing, and praying "Father, let this cup pass from me..."  Seriously.  So, the parents today were all watching me lead Father Abraham, and very amused.  I had a lot of fun, and so did the kids, and they actually learned.  And the parents appreciated it.  And this, my friends, is making an impact and good impression so that the gospel can be preached one day to these unreached, unevangelized people.

The other thing I'm learning about is the need for people to go to the places that have never been reached with the gospel, not the places that have been evangelized already several times.  And this doesn't single out particular parts of the world, because there are unreached people groups on every continent.  But, to further express my point, I'll quote huge A/G guru J. Phillip Hogan, former AGWM director, who said "“Today, in some ecclesiastical circles, . . . The missionary that is needed now, they say, is really a worker in some technical or pedagogical skills; and, really a helper to the indigenous church. Instead of being called a ‘missionary,’ he is called a ‘fraternal worker.’ This emphasis would put the Great Commission in storage while the church adopts a kind of ‘buddy’ system, and the real heroes of the Cross are not men who confront heathen religions with the message of Calvary, but specialists who teach contour farming. The Assemblies of God does not believe this!”

Interestingly enough, we seem to be adhering to this type of ideology about missionaries, solely because the reports we hear about missions are from these easy places where the church is already established, and that's awesome!  God is doing amazing things in his church around the world!  What we need now are harvesters who are willing to go where the work is HARD and you can't see as much results because we need to first present the gospel for the FIRST time!  Hard work like that doesn't always have glorious results, and might take a lifetime to see any results.  But about 40% of the world today has never heard the gospel once.  Something's wrong with that picture.

So that's what's been challenging me and keeping me thinking.  We had the night off tonight, and I got this really good famous Thai soup that I forget the Thai name for and I ate it with CHOPSTICK (pumps arms in the air - I'm very proud of myself).  Then I chilled and IMed people and blogged this ridiculously long entry.  But I enjoyed it.  Hope you did too.  God's so amazing, this country and these people are blessing me, and I'm discovering a little more, day by day, what He would have me do with my life.

Blessings from Bangkok.

May 6

Early to bed, early to rise.  Except I was up late helping out a friend online.  And I slept in til about nine.  So that saying doesn't really apply to today...in any way.  But it's a good saying.

Anyway, so we got up, did devos and prayer, and headed for the office.  Now, let me take this time to enlighten you about taking a taxi in Bangkok.  It's a thrill ride everytime.  Because taxi drivers in Bangkok are much more fearless than those in New York City, and they FLY fearlessly between lanes and almost run into each other or the motor taxis.  Found out today that they don't even have to pass a driver's test - they can pay for their license (kind of like I did when I lost it - then found it at HOME a few days later).  

Today in the office we did work for the "dream syllabus" again and then I researched missions in the 21st century using a few of Alan's texts.  We took a break from lunch and I got sticky rice and "lob."  Lob, which I just learned, is actually pig intestine.  Gross.  It was actually really good though.  You make a ball with the sticky rice and then use it to scoop out the meat and put it in your mouth.  It's a little spicy but it's pretty good overall.  I don't want to think about what it is.  It's like all the meat here - don't ask about it.   Oh, also had a banana-pineapple smoothie for like less than 50 cents american money.  Yeah, take that.  More reading after lunch.  Not much to report on.

We went out for dinner to a Lebanese restaurant for Deborah's last night in Bangkok.  She's an itnern from SAGU.  It was good food - we had hummus...and them some other middle eastern things to eat.  I don't remember their names.  It's not like you really care either.  Ha.  Good food - good fellowship...OOOH and we got ice cream cones from McDonalds for 7 bot...which is like...20 cents.  Hallesanto!

Came back to the missionary apartment and played Cities and Knights AGAIN and I DID NOT WIN AND I HAD A HORRIBLE GAME!  lol.  It was seriously bad.  And it was a 2 and a half hour game, and in the first 30 minutes I knew I was not going to win.  So, yeah.  But we had fun with Jeremy and Ashley, the Book of Hope/OneHope missionaries.  I took a picture of the game board.  It's one of the few pictures I have from here on my camera so far.

Came back.  Refused to blog.  So I'm blogging a day later about May 6.  Oh well.  It was good.  I love Thailand.  The end.

May 5

Today was another awesome day.  I slept all thru the night tonight, and got up at 9:15 to me telling Jessica and Justin to stop fighting on the couches only to wake up to me scolding an empty room.  I felt bad about sleeping in so late, but I knew Alan wouldn't be here til 10, so I took a shower and did my devos before I headed downstairs.  Today is Coronation Day here in Thailand, so we weren't going in to the office and just going to do our work here at the house anyway.  I went down to talk to Bei, Juan, and Chiab.  I talked to them for about 3 hours actually, and practiced my Thai in the meantime, before I realized that Alan wasn't coming but we were going to meet him at 2 at the apartment complex.  So I had a lot of time to talk about culture with the Thai people.  Found out that they all really doing like kids, except Tio, their son, and that children's ministry isn't a big thing they like to do.  That was interesting to find out.  They have a lot of respect for me because I like to do children's ministry - they don't have the same "gifting" they claim.  We also talked about other things in culture - things you're allowed to do, things you're not allowed to do.  I've picked a few up, but here's a few that I can name off the top of my head:

You always take your shoes off when entering a home.

Never point your feet at someone (except Chaib does it.  She's a bad Thai, she admits).

Use your right hand significantly more than your left hand.

Never touch someone on the head.

Thai people point with their lips at other people, but only their friends or people they know well.

Any video or statements against the monarchy can land you in jail.  Hence, The King & I is banned.

That's all I can think of right now.  Anyway, at two we met for prayer and devotions with Alan.  It was a good time of interceding for Thailand, unreached people groups, each other, and the conference we're doing this weekend.  It was pretty powerful.

Alan gave us an assignment after that to work on a three-week intensive study course to be offered to AG College Students coming to visit different mission fields, kind of like the IMN Field Work course at VFCC.  So Gabe and I went to Starbucks and constructed a "Dream Syllabus" of what that class would look like.  That was fun.  I started to crash from my still lingering jet lag after that so I came back and napped until dinner.

We went out to dinner at the restaurant that is in the bottom of Al & Lynettes apartment complex with a couple of missionaries from India.  Now that India is it's own "section" of AGWM, they are having their yearly conference here.  I got to talk with two MK's from India; they're the only teenage MKs that they know of in the country.  We had pretty good conversation at dinner - I didn't get to really talk with the adults, but that was okay.  The MK's were more interesting anyway.  We talked about a lot of good stuff, including reverse culture shock.  I'm glad I met them.  We might go see Wolverine in the theaters here together.  That'd be so tight.

Anyway, after dinner we came back here and I got to blog early about the day.  It again was a short day but we're going to have more busy ones soon.  I learned so much just from sitting and talking and praying with the missionary today.  This weekend is going to be really awesome.

Thanks for the prayers!  I'll update you soon!

Day 4 - May 4

Today was the missionary's "day off."  We've talked about the importance of rest and sabbath in a person's life, so today was it for us.  I again got up at 5:30 am, stayed up til 7:30, then fell back asleep til 11:30.  I had to get up then, and I was embarrassed that I slept that long.  Got up, washed my face, and headed downstairs.  We later realized that we had to wait for Alan to share a cab to the Sky Train station, so I played with Tio, Bei (the Pastor)'s son.  I played with him for about an hour, even though he can't really speak English and I really can't speak Thai.  We understand each other well enough though.  His dad made a comment to the missionary that we've developed this play language.  Haha.  I guess we have.

Anyway, after Alan got there, we all grabbed a taxi and took it to the Sky Train.  Got on that (much like the Metro in DC) and went into the heart of Bangkok.  Got to see this famous Buddhist shrine, and sat there for a while and observed people putting flowers on it, lighting candles to it, burning incense.  They will pay girls to do a dance as they pray to it, they buy these elephant statues to leave at the altar - all this weird stuff.  I wonder if these people realize that this isn't even real Buddhism.  Buddha was never about God-worship, he was about emptying himself.  I wonder if they leave feeling the same way, or if there's something in laying those flowers at this fake idol that makes them feel better about their life.  And if so, I wonder why.

I walked into another slum where we'll be teaching, and talked with some of the people.  Gah, i NEED to get better at speaking Thai.  After that, we took the public boat that goes through the channel back to the hotel.  That was really cool.  Maybe I'll be able to post a photo on here or something of it.  It was pretty packed with people, but Gabe's seen it more packed before.  We got out at Chanarissa stop, and walked a ways back to the house.  At the house, we were able to dialogue with Chuey and her cousin and two brothers.  It was a good chance to practice my Thai and for them to practice their English.

For dinner, we went over to the missionaries' apartment and had pizza and played the extension version of Settlers of Caban: Cities and Knights.  Deborah won the first round, Gabe won the second.  It was fun.

Back now.  Tired.  Not motivated to write this but I did it.  Ha.  Tomorrow will be a better entry.

Day 3 - May 3

Today was a very full day.  And I couldn't sleep more than 5 hours last night.  So I was up at 5:30am and laying in bed til 8:30.  I got on Facebook around 7 and did my devotions because I had nothing better to do.  Officially got up a little after 8, washed my hair (which I've realized I need to do both morning and night), shaved, and then ate some frosted flakes down in the kitchen where Chiab (i think that's how you spell it, that's how I say it) was making some oriental breakfast that i was very happy I was NOT having.  I came back upstairs, got dressed in Sunday morning attire, prayed with Gabe for a few minutes and did some more devotions, and then we left and walked to the Johnson's apartment complex, where we jumped in the car and drove to church.

We had a fun car ride on the way to church, and I learned a lot about the culture and the do's/don'ts of the culture, some of which I'm not allowed to write about on here.  But it was good.  We were visiting a church split off of another church, and Alan was preaching the message and just checking up on it to make sure everything was good.  It was very hyper-pentecostal, and they sang some songs I only knew from Rohler's A/G - Glory to His Name, Blessed Be The Name (old school version), What A Mighty God We Serve.  At the beginning of the service, though, we did some songs with motions that reminded me a lot of the motions I make our fifth graders do at Kidstuf, and I felt like an idiot doing them.  We were flying at some parts and marching at others, and when in doubt, we just waved our arms in the air (traditional motion when you don't know what else to do).  I found that to be very ironic.  I don't understand Thai, but I thought it was a pretty good service.  After the service, they had a meal we stayed for.  I'm not sure what the meat was; I didn't ask.  It was over rice and there was vegetables - carrots, green beans in their little green bean holder pod things.  And then we got some fried egg at the end - I was so happy for that.  I was thanking God because it tasted so good!  After that, we got this dish of deserts, and what appeared to be rice krispie treats that were half white and half pink.  We were wrong.  They weren't bad, they were just hard as bricks.  THEN, the pastor brings this other dish out that has five small flower shaped yellow things in it.  It was a present from one of the ladies in the kitchen.  Gabe and I get that a lot.  They're always asking us if we want to take a Thai wife.  It's a big deal for them to marry American men.  I ate one of them - probably one of  the most processed high-fructose corn syruppy things I've ever eaten.  But, this is missions people.  I downed it with a smile.

We soon left after that and drove back home.  We took this special bridge that Alan has been wanting to go on for like a year, and it stretches out over Bangkok so you can see almost all of the city.  That was pretty cool.  We saw this gigantic elephant statue thing that I took a picture of on the way back.  That was pretty cool.  When we got back, I was jet lagging a little bit, so I took a nap at Alan and Lynette's apartment for about an hour.  Then Alan woke me up and we went to teach English in a slum.

This slum apparently is better off than some of the other ones.  We went to work in a community center outside the Mosque, and there's a small library there.  But when I say community center, I mean that it was probably the size of a small shed or kiosk.  We went with two missionaries, Jeremy & Ashley, who work with Book of Hope, now called OneHope.  After we got there, we split the kids into two groups, ones who could basically speak English, and ones who had no clue.  After they were split, Jeremy went over colors and clothing with the older ones, and Ashley took the younger ones and went over the alphabet.  I also worked with that group, and had them come back individually to write their alphabet for me, and if they didn't know it, I would write it for them to copy after me.  The kids are a lot of fun to work with.  We worked with them for about an hour, and then kept another group, where Alan, Jeremy, Ashley and I worked with them on English conversation skills, such as giving directions and simple conversation that they would have with Americans.  We worked with them for another hour before we headed back to the apartments where they all live.  We dropped off Jeremy and Ashley and then headed for a taxi.  We picked up Gabe and another missionary named Clark who serves in...somewhere that I can't think of right now, and probably shouldn't post to the net if I did think about it.  Anyway, we headed into a slum to just share some life with the people and grab some dinner.  We stopped at the place where they usually do outreaches and stuff and Gabe and I got some fried rice (very cucumber tasting).

Anyway, CATCH THIS - so we're just sitting there eating dinner, talking to some of the people, just sharing life with them, and this motor-taxi driver comes up and plops down next to me on the ground (by the way - a motor-taxi is like a motorcycle that functions as a taxi).  Anyway, he interrupts our conversation by giving all this praise to the missionary - how he's transformed the community and how if he could, he would get on the internet and tell everyone about what he's done.  Now, this guy is also drunk, and speaking in Thai, so we're getting the translation, but the tears are streaming down his face.  So the missionary gets down and sits in front of him Indian style, listens to him, and then prays with him after he's done his whole speech.  It blew me away - this is what Jesus did.  He just sat with people and shared life with them and met them where they are, even in the slums.  It was awesome.  We found out later that this guy has NEVER ONCE spoken with the missionary, he's just observed him from afar all these years.  From simple projects like cleaning their drainage system when none of their own men would do it, or teaching their children English - it's having an impact, and maybe this guy getting drunk gave him the opportunity to express how much it's meant to them.  It totally blew me away.  This is missions - this is what Jesus did.

Ah, I can't get over it.  He sat on the ground with this guy and prayed with him in this slum he's been working there for years.  Good stuff.

We came back to Alan and Lynette's apartment afterwards and unwinded with a few games of Settlers of Caban.  I almost won round 2, but lost at the last minute.  It was a lot of fun - man oh man do they have all these good strategy games.  Apparently they're German (Germans make the best strategy games I've been told).  As we were walking back, we met one of Alan's converts, his first convert actually (which took him 7 years to do).  I really can't believe it took that long, but Asia Pacific is a hard area to work in.  We prayed for his shoulder tonight.  We came back to the house, showered up, and did some blogging/Jesus time before bed.  That's about it.

I'm having so many good conversations with Alan about missions and stuff, and it's just amazing that what the Lord has called me to do is so awesome!  More good things to come!  Thanks for the prayers!

Day 2 - May 2

Today was glorious.  You want to know why?  Because the missionary had grace upon my sorry soul and let me sleep in til 1pm that's why!  (Haha, if you think I'm completely lazy, let me remind you there is an 11 hour time difference and I hadn't slept in almost 2 days.)  I was also up til around 2am last night.  Anyway, so I got another "cold" (but not really cold, just not hot) shower this morning and then I went out with Gabe for lunch on the streets of Bangkok.  It's not the touristy part, so it's pretty much just local open shops or markets on every block.  We found a place and had some pork over rice and some veggies.  It was good.  Did not like the hot sauce lol.  Gabe doesn't either.

After lunch, we walked a few blocks away (which all look completely the same to me so I could never get there on my own) to a local community center where Gabe has been teaching English.  I just observed today as he taught on the concepts of "in", "on," and "under."  That was fun.  After practicing that, the class played games to review their vocabulary, both using Pictionary and Hangman.  I really, really enjoyed it, which is good, because that's a key element in what I'll be doing over there.

After we got back, I practiced my Thai in the room while Gabe went for a run.  Sometimes it actually sounds like I can speak it like a native - I know - scary.  I'm using some free software I got on BYKI.com...its really good.  I can say a few things, and later learned that like half the phrases I used are like antiquated.  Always fun to learn.

We had dinner with Alan and Lynette (the missionaries), as well as a student from SAGU who's done a semester abroad, required for their Intercultural Studies majors (as I think it should be for ours).  We had spaghetti and salad and garlic bread...very good dinner.  Then we played some games - they do this a lot here to kind of relieve the culture shock of living with Thai people.  If I didn't mention, Gabe and I live in a building where the Pastor and wife and son live, as well as 2 other girls from the Bible School.  The church is on the first floor; we live on the fifth.  Most of them don't speak fluent English, except the Pastor's wife, so it was fun to be with other English-speaking people.  We played games after dinner over these amazing soft gingersnap cookies.  The first game we played was called "Ticket to Ride: Europe" and then we played "Guillotine."  I won in the first game and tied for second in the latter one.  It was alot of fun.  We lost power about halfway thru Ticket to Ride and didn't get it back under the last round of Guillotine.  It got hot pretty fast, so we broke out a flashlight, and then candles.  Apparently it just happens in their apartment building a lot.  We came back here around 11:30pm and I got a shower.  We're leaving tomorrow at 9:30 for church and most of you college students are just getting up in the day.

The Lord is good, and his mercy endureth.  I am alive and well, without swine flu, and blessed so much for being here.  Thanks for all the prayers.  Grace and peace.

Travel Day

This morning I got up around 8 after deciding I didn’t feel like packing and/or finishing my modern missions movement hw.  Mom and I (well, more of Mom than I) ran the washer til about 2am to get the clothes washed I wanted, and we finished packing in the morning.  Dad and I left this morning around 9AM for JFK Airport.  I lost my wallet right before I left, again, Mom found it.  I need to stop losing things.  Seriously.

 

So we get to the airport in a good amount of time, and I didn’t have to wait long for the plane.  I have to admit, though, it was really rough before I went thru the terminal.  I was standing with my Dad, and all I could say was “Dad, I’m really scared.”  It’s not easy moving out in the will of God, especially when you’re traveling halfway around the world by yourself.  Maybe something deeper was happening, but in the terminal, waiting for the plane, it was just me, my tears, and the Lord.  And although I think I am not strong enough, His power is make perfect in our weakness.

 

So then I got on the 15 hour flight.  It wasn’t nearly as bad as I expected it to me.  There are about 100 movies to choose from, so that was good.  I did a little work for Kidstuf and Modern Missions Movement, finishing up the course.  They fed us lunch around hour 2, and then we really didn’t get much else to eat for a long time.  They would do water runs hourly, and my throat was totally parched with the dry cabin air.  One time I snagged a Ramen Noodle, took 2 bites, and was like…yeah I’m done with this.  I had to use chopsticks to eat it.  Thinking back now, I think I was like half asleep in trying to eat it, because I can’t remember it very well, and it was only a couple of hours ago.  I sat next to a girl who goes to the University of Pittsburgh, but she is from Beijing.  We had some good conversation.

 

Ok, the story everyone’s waiting for.  Around the 11^th hour of the flight (foreshadowing…dum dum dum!) I can’t sleep.  I feel like I haven’t really fallen asleep for the entire flight, and all of the sudden I feel a little nauseous.  I thought it might be a good idea to go ask the stewardess for some Dramamine or something to knock me out.  So I got up, walked four rows back to the back of the plane, and asked the stewardess if she had any medication.  She asked me to repeat myself (all of the stewardesses are bilingual in English and Chinese) and I started to, and the next thing I remember all the little Chinese stewardesses are lifting me off the ground and putting me in a seat.  I had passed out!  I now find this very amusing (I kind of did then too – I was like wow what a story – except I was also hoping I wasn’t going to throw up, because I felt like it).  They gave me a  hot cup of sugar water to drink and took my pulse.  Then they gave me Kit Kats and sugar cookie biscuit things, and THEN they made me a hot sandwich.  The head stewardess from first class came back to talk to me and after eating all the food I felt better.  I think I just had low blood sugar or something.  After an hour or so of sitting back there, they gave me a Tylenol or some weird equivalent and I went back to my seat.  For the rest of the flight, they kept asking me if I was feeling better.  Haha.  Note to Reader: Don’t freak out, I’m laughing at myself about the whole situation and I am fine now.

 

We had dinner an hour before we got off the plane.  The food is actually not that bad.  I had some good Asian roasted pork for dinner and I think I had chicken for lunch.  I’m not sure tho – it was like 16 hours ago.  Got off the plane, navigated safely through Hong Kong International Airport, got the rest of my schoolwork done, IMed my mom, and took about 6 cough drops.  Hong Kong wanted all passangers who were staying in Hong Kong to fill out a health survey about if you had a cough, fever, etc etc because of the swine flu.  I’m getting over a cold and I prayed the whole time I wouldn’t cough in the airport.  I think I’ll be fine.

 

I finish the paper literally 10 min before I have to board the plane.  I start walking back to the gate, and when I go to board, they say, sir, you’ve been reassigned a seat.  When I arrive on the plane, my “new seat” is in the BUSINESS CLASS!  Classy!  We had REAL FOOD for dinner (I would have taken a picture but my camera is up above me) chicken and green beans and French beans and rice I think (rice comes with everything) and I had this non-alcoholic mixed drink that the airline is known for…something with rosebud water and plums.  Was not that good, let me just say.  The guy next to me likes to sing under his breath, and I think he’s Hindu, but he’s sleeping now so I can’t ask him.  He had a special dietary meal.  I have leg room, a chair that REALLY reclines..it is awesome.  I always thought it would be so cool to be reassigned to first class…well business class is at least one step up.  I’d love to be bumped up for my 15 hour flight.  So Lord, thanks for blessing me.  If you want to help it happen again, I’m not opposed at all. J

 

That’s about it.  At the house now.  Staying with Gabe, the other intern.  Really excited from talking with Alan, the missionary.  I’m tired tho.  Going to bed.  The Lord’s been faithful – got a free meal on the first flight and business class on the second.  Definitely can’t complain.  So excited for what’s to come.  Thanks for the prayers.  I’ll update you all soon.