Thailand has been so so good. There have definitely been hard moments, but there have been even more God moments. Through it all, God is good!!
Gary is our host missionary, tour guide, boss man, Thai grandfather, and much more. There aren't really words to describe him, even though I just used many words to describe him. He has worked tirelessly to make us feel at home here, and we are so blessed by him and his heart for the Lord.
We arrived in Thailand Monday morning and spent the day getting everything we would need until we move into our house. The hotel we have been staying in is amazing. I've already mentioned how much I love the bed :) It has a gym which is nice to be able to move, and hopefully counteract all of the delicious Thai food I have been eating. The staff is amazing, and we have become good friends with them. Breakfast is provided at the hotel and I have thoroughly enjoyed my coffee, yogurt, pastries, and fresh fruit every morning. My favorite fruit so far is dragon fruit.
There is a mall about a ten-minute walk from our hotel. It has a food court in the basement and on the 3rd floor, that we are frequent customers of. They have a Boba shop that sells boba tea for 20 Baht, which is less than 1 US dollar. Boba tea is one of my favorite drinks and it is so expensive in America, so I have bought boba almost every day. We do a lot of walking, but Gary will also drive us around in his station wagon.
Being in a new culture, you make a lot of mistakes, but you learn from them and laugh them off. I have made many mistakes so far and will continue to. One of these being ordering mango sticky rice for dinner. I wasn't super hungry and I thought some mango and rice would be perfect. Little did I know that mango sticky rice is a dessert. I quickly found this out when I sat down with the rest of my team, and they informed me. Luckily, I have a major sweet tooth and I enjoyed every bite of my dinner.
In Thailand, they have a lot of mini steps everywhere you go. I found this out very quickly by tripping over every single one. They continue to be problematic, and it has not gone unnoticed by my teammates. "Megan trips a lot" -Julianne. However, it has served as a constant source of joy whenever I do trip over them, and I hope my clumsiness brings you joy as well.
Last Wednesday, we went to see a temple in the mountains. It was absolutely breathtaking, quite literally. There were 306 steps that we climbed to get to the temple. It was so beautiful and ornate, but also sad to see people worshipping worthless idols. It opened my eyes to the intense spiritual need of the Thai people. We had to take our shoes off to enter the inner temple area. We walked around the temple for a little over an hour praying over it and the Thai people.
As we were walking around the outside of the temple we ran into this man, and it was totally a divine appointment. His name is Daniel and he is a Christian from South Korea. He had been coming to the temple to minister to the small tribes and the monks while he was visiting Chiangmai. Normally, he would be affected by the intense spiritual warfare that went on to the point of feeling nauseous, but that day he had felt a peace when he entered the temple. We got to know him a little and found out that he had a Four bracelet (which is a bracelet that we use to help share the Gospel) in Korean. We offered to pray for him and he asked for us to pray that he would find Christian community to serve alongside him. Then he dropped to his knees right there. We kneeled as well and prayed for him. I found the act of kneeling to pray so refreshing, because we typically don't kneel to pray, especially in America. It displays the humility and reverence that we should have when we come before God. He asked us to continue to pray for him for 30 days and said that he would pray for us for 30 days. After the interaction, our leader Addison made the connection between Daniel and Daniel from the Bible. They both kneeled to pray and would pray for 30 days at a time. As we were leaving we got his information to be able to connect him with some of the Thai staff in Chiangmai.
As if that interaction wasn't enough, we had another one on the way down the mountain. We took a Songthaew, which is a common Thai vehicle, and stopped at an overlook to pray before heading back to the city. When we got there, we encountered another Christian group praying. We got to pray with them and encourage each other which was so cool.
On Friday, we helped out in The School of Promise. We threw parties for six 7th through 12th grade classes, as it was their last day before a two-week break. It was so much fun playing games and getting to know the students. I also got to pick up a few more Thai phrases. After school, we went to a laundramrat to wash our clothes.
Sunday was a difficult day. We attended the memorial service of Jonathan Crain who was only 17 years old. He is the son of a missionary couple we will be working with while we are here in Thailand. We got the news that he passed away in a motorcycle accident the first night that we were here. His passing had a huge impact on Chiangmai, and that was evident by how packed the service was. It was a beautiful service, and the whole team left feeling challenged to live life the way Jon Jon did. I never had the chance to meet him, but hearing the stories of how he lived his life fully for the Lord was so impactful. I was especially challenged by his humility and willingness to admit and learn from his mistakes. One of the verses they shared was Acts 20:24 which says, "However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me - the task of testifying to the good news of God's grace." Jon Jon's life and this verse have challenged me to live my life focused on sharing God's grace with everyone around me.
We were blessed with the opportunity to help serve alongside a few of the girls from the School of Promise as they helped with flood relief. In the morning we helped pack bags of food for people, before heading to a Christian media ministry, called Voice of Peace, to help clean out the mud from their compound. We used power washers and squeegees to clean the mud out from an outside basement area. We also helped move debris out and into cars to take to a dumping site. A lot of furniture and other random things were ruined by the water, which was so sad to see. The debris was still wet, which created a lovely smell and a great place for maggots. Let's just say we all took very long showers when we got back to the hotel. They fed us a delicious lunch, and they also gave us a tour of the studio which was really cool.
We also got to take a Thai cooking class where we learned how to make different Thai dishes. I learned how to make Pad Thai, Chicken in Coconut Milk Soup, Cucumber Salad, Khao Soi Curry, and Mango Sticky Rice. We would make a dish and then take a break to eat it, so we were stuffed to the brim by the end of the class. I am excited to be able to make the delicious food I have been eating.
We will be moving into our house this week, and I am excited to finally be able to unpack and have a space that will be mine for an extended time. However, it will be sad to say goodbye to the hotel staff and the markets that have kept us fed.
Some people you can be praying for:
Pray for Daniel (from the temple) - that the Lord will sustain him, and that he will find good Christian community to serve alongside.
Pray for our Buddhist cooking class instructor who we were able to share the Gospel with
Pray for the hotel staff that has served us so well and that we have become good friends with. (Phee, Why, and Kid)
Pray for David - a Christian from Taiwan who uses magic tricks to share the Gospel in schools. We ran into him twice in the markets by our hotel. Pray that God will open doors for him to share in more schools and that he will be allowed to freely present the Gospel.
Pray for the Crain family and all those affected by Jon Jon's passing. Pray that they would experience God's perfect peace.
Other Prayer Requests:
Pray that we can continue to serve the Lord in the many opportunities that continue to open up, but that we will also find time to rest in the Lord.
Pray that we will continue to grow in our personal relationships with the Lord.
Pray that the move to our new house will go smoothly and that we will settle in to a new rythme of life.
Nauhm 1:7
"The Lord is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in Him."
A verse that has brought me great comfort this week, especially with the death of Jon Jon. The Lord has been constantly reminding me to seek refuge in Him. He is the only one who will sustain me.
Sawadee Ka Meg
I really enjoy your posts. It is great to see how you are totally immersing yourself in a new culture. I can't wait until you get home and cook us some of those delicious looking meals that you are loving. It's too bad the house was left in such a poor state. I'm sure you ladies will have it spic and span soon 😉 Please keep me updated on your adventures.
I love you 😍 💗
Pappy