Day 1

Korea! Korea! I wish I knew your national anthem to sing...but I don't. lol

For those of you who haven't read my blog, prepare yourself. Don't take me too seriously. Or yourself.

Traveling to Asia is quite an experience. The flights are long. We had not one, but three connecting flights today. The first wasn't too bad - to St. Paul. Eric and I sat together, and Leah sat in front of us. Uneventful flight. We got really cool headrests. This was the most upscale plane we had all day, and it was tiny. Thank you Delta for treating us the kindest on the shortest flight of the day.

We grabbed lunch at the airport, I had a pretzel sandwich I snuck from home, and bought some cheese fries and a cup of cold water for 30 cents. Thank you, greedy St. Paul people. There was also a Minnesota store with a moose that we kept passing - Leah seemed to be drawn to it.

2nd flight - Delta you cheaped out. Epic fail. Usually on flights that last longer than 6 hours, the airline gives everyone an individual tv so they can watch what we want. Delta dealt us the vintage version of this - we had a "big screen" projected image with three bulbs (green, blue, and red) 7 rows in front of us. The first movie seemed to last for eternity, and Eric and I couldn't figure out what it was about. Halfway into the trip though, they showed 3 other movies back to back, which kept the time passing quickly. The one perk to this flight - there were two empty seats between Leah and I, so it allowed a little more leg room. Note: do not eat shrimp cocktail from ANY airline. Just saying...

Got to Tokyo, and transferred to our final flight. Eric got singled out and pulled over and inspected while trying to board the plane. THey searched his entire person and his baggage. I found this somewhat amusing. This is what some call racial profiling, I gather. Leah and I think he must just have the look of smuggling black market goods. This flight was a little more cramped - all of us had window seats, and sat directly behind the other in a line. There was no TV, and for some reason, I couldn't sleep this fight. The 20 minutes that I did were interrupted by the food cart people, delivering this cones of sushi and rice. I totally messed up the first, tore the roll, and then realized I didn't really want to eat raw fish. I went to break my chopsticks, and failed. One of them was huge, the other was a shard of wood. Lol I'm so glad that I have to use them the rest of the trip.

Got to our hotel for the night; we're waiting for the rest of the group to arrive tomorrow afternoon. Eric and I discovered many gems about our new room - they provide hair care products free of charge (we're just not allowed to take them), including mouse, gel, hair brushes, combs, etc, instant coffee, an UltraViolet Light Purifier (yeah, I don't really know what that is. Either it's a sanitizer or a microwave), a remote that controls EVERYTHING in the room (the A/C, the TV, the computer, and the lights), and free wireless internet connection. There is probably more but it's pitch dark as I type this and I don't feel like walking over to see what I missed.

We had a huge laugh not too long after we got here. Eric was taking a shower, and all of the sudden I heard him yelling something about the light. Confused, I walked over to where the bathroom was, and started laughing as the "automatic" lights had decided to turn off, while he was still showering. He thought I had pranked him, and I was so sleep deprived I laughed a good five minutes about that one. I got a shower then too, and we took a walk out on the street afterwards to see what there was around (a lot of minimarts).

Came back, laughed some more, started writing this entry. Now I'm going to have the best sleep I've had in 2 days.

Thanks for the prayers! I'll be updating again soon!

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. :-)