A Bitter Sweet Goodbye

Sorry it has taken me so long to finish my blog! I had a family reunion in Branson, Missouri right after I got home from Thailand and then I’ve been preparing for school and my apartment doesn’t have internet yet so it’s been a little difficult to finish my blog! But I decided to write it on campus and I’ll try and post pictures as soon as I get Internet on my laptop! Here is a little my final week in Thailand summary!

Well the last week in Thailand was probably the best week! On Thursday we went to see Harry Potter 7 with Net, Tide, and Aung. This was such an incredible experience, we got to get really personal with them and just hang out and be friends. It was so much fun and we took really fun pictures and just had a great time investing in them! The movie was great and it was such good fellowship!

On Friday we had our Farewell party and it was so great to see all of our friends together! Some of the girls that attended our first few weeks of cooking class came to the party and made us these super cute journals and put their pictures in them! It was so amazing to celebrate our last few days with the people that we had met and been loving on!

Saturday the team and I got to ride elephants and it was so incredible! It was a lot less bumpy than I thought it would be! It was such an incredible experience and so much fun. I love elephants and it was so great to sit in a little chair thing on the elephant and ride up a little mountain. It was such a great way for the 4 of us to get to spend some time together before we all departed to our different colleges!

Sunday was Sticky Waterfalls, which is this waterfall that kind of looks like bubble wrap and you can walk up and down the waterfall without slipping or anything! It was so great and Net and Aung joined us on this fun adventure which made it even more fun. We got to hang out with all our Thai friends from Baan Kanoon one last time before we left and before we actually went down the waterfall we had worship and Quintin, the missionary family dad, gave a message in Thai. It was such a great start to the day and then at night we went to Walking Street for the last time! This time Tide, Aung, and Net were all able to join us and it was so amazing to spend our last night with them. They each gave us little gifts and it was just so incredible to see how we had touched their lives. Net was crying as we all had to say goodbye and it just touched my heart to see how much we meant to her.

Since we left, I have kept in touch with Net, Tide, and Aung on facebook and just keeping up with them! It was a different transition to come back to Texas but I’m so excited for what God has in store for me at Texas State University! I will be leading an International Ministry so it would be awesome if you could be praying about that! Thank you so much, love you all!

Texas Bound

Well tomorrow morning I will be boarded a plane and headed back to Texas! We have done so many exciting things these past few days! I have ridden an Elephant, been to Sticky Waterfall which is a waterfall that can climb up and down, seen Harry Potter 7, and spend a lot of time investing in friendships! I have so many pictures and stories to share but right now I need to finish getting ready to leave! I still need to pack and print out some things and then fill out some forms. So tonight I will not write any stories but as soon as I get some time when I get home, I will be posting my last blog about Thailand! Thank you for all your prayers and I can't believe 2 months is already over! I miss everyone so much so I'm really excited to get home and see all my family and friends but also sad to be leaving all the new friends I have made! Please pray for safe travels home!

My Friend Net

Net is a young woman that I have had the privilege of sharing my life with. I met her in my 2nd English class; she went out to eat with me and 3 other students. When we got back that night I was talking to P’ Dream and told her that I really thought God was going to do something huge with this girl. And 5 weeks later we are closer than ever. I never would have thought I would grow this close to someone I just met but it has been so incredible how God has used our time together wisely.

Alicia and I have been to lunch with her on campus every week and today was our last lunch with her! It definitely is not our last time to see her though because we already have plans to see Harry Potter 7 together with some other Thai friends on Thursday. She is also going to try and go to see a Waterfall with us on Sunday. God has really blessed me with this relationship. Net is a wonderful girl and is searching for something. Net doesn’t know what she’s looking for but she’s not satisfied with what she knows about Buddha.

Today we had the chance to really witness to her. Together, Alicia and I broke down the gospel and shared with her about Jesus and who God really is. Before we shared we asked her what she knew about God and Jesus. She told us that, “God gave love and helped many people. He keeps people healthy. He loves every people. He teach people to make good things.” We were excited that she had heard good things about God so sharing the gospel was really incredible but it was definitely overwhelming. It was hard for her to really understand but I know that God will stir in her heart when the time is right!

I am just so thankful that God gave us the opportunity to witness to her and to continue this friendship. Net and I are already friends on Skype and we plan on continuing our friendship long after I head back to Texas! Thank you God for this relationship and I ask you all please keep praying for her! Net is very special to me and she needs prayer for her heart to be open to accepting the Gospel and wanting to know Jesus personally!

Another Visit to the Slums

Later that evening we went to visit the Slums again. This time we got to teach the story of how Satan tried to overpower God and was banished from Heaven. We told the story in English and one of the kids translated it into Thai because we had it in writing, however, we couldn’t really ask questions but I know that God was stirring in their hearts. We went on to play various games including this really fun game with baby powder!

The kids had such a blast and their faces were white as snow; but more than that their hearts cried out with so much joy and laughter. It was so great to just be the light of Christ and let the Spirit move in the slums. These kids don’t have earthly possessions, we’ve seen most of them in the same outfit every time we see them, their houses don’t always have doors and they have to walk through tons of mud to get to their homes.

However, they are filled with more joy than any rich kid I have ever met. Their hearts are so filled with love and appreciation. They love when we go just to play with them. I’ve learned a lot from these kids, they have very little material possessions but their hearts hold so much more than money could ever buy.

I ask you pray for them to experience God in a profound way. That they will overflow with the love of Christ and that God will be moving in their hearts and drawing them in to be His children. What a blessing it has been to serve these children!

House of Blessing

On Saturday I had the opportunity to visit a Children’s Home called House of Blessing. This home is for children of many backgrounds, some kids do not have parents at all, some kid’s parents are in jail, and some kid’s parents just cannot provide for them. They live in this home 24/7 and most live for 365 days a year. Some of the kids will take a trip to visit their families once a year but this is only about 30% of the children.

Even after visiting their family, they still return to this home because this is the only place they will get fed and get an education. The kids at the home vary from newborn babies to University students. They have had many cases where kids will grow up in this home and then come back to work there! It was so beautiful to hear those stories. These kids are getting a place to live and people who care deeply about them.

Their corridors are not very nice, and they are actually going to move to a nicer place soon but these kids are so thankful for a place to live. This home has provided so much for these children and I was so blessed to get to witness God’s work in that place. The kids were so adorable and so much fun! The first time they met you, they all wanted to hold your hand. It was so precious and they were the sweetest kids!

Wat Doi Suthep

On Saturday Chiang Mai University had all of the freshman walk up Doi Su Tep. Doi Su Tep is a mountain! It is about a 15 kilometer walk which is a little over 9 miles. These students walked up in the dead heat! It was crazy but awesome to see. I went with a group of people about 3km up the mountain and handed out water to the students as they passed by. One of our Thai friends, Tide, was leading a group of Statistic majors up the mountain and we got to see him briefly! He has to keep walking but it was good to say hello. My Thai friend Aung from our cooking class also joined us and it was so great to spend more time with her.

Aung is a young woman I had the privilege of going out to dinner with after our cooking class. She took me out to eat and then took me shopping! We were together for hours and just had a great time talking about family and just life in general. Please be praying for our friendship, I am so excited to see what God has in store for us!

Yesterday, Alicia, Amy, Shauna, and I rode a Song Taew (which is the main mode of transportation, and I'm not sure how to spell it) up to the top of the mountain where Wat Doi Suthep is. Wat means temple in Thai so Wat Doi Suthep is a temple located at the top of the mountain, it is a big tourist attraction and Buddhist followers usually visit the temple once or twice a year. I ask that you please pray over the pictures below, the pictures of of idols and statues they worship and the things we saw in the temple. It was very heart turning to see people worshiping things of this world and knowing that what they were worshiping will ultimately fail them and they will be left feeling empty. I ask you pray that they will seek the real truth. We prayer walked through the temple and I ask you pray that more followers of Jesus will be praying over that temple. Thank you so much for being such strong prayer warriors, God is really moving in this place and I know it's because of the prayer and support you guys have given each and every person placed in this place. Thank you so much.

Monk Visit

Today we got to witness people making merit which means doing good things as mentioned in religious doctrine. There are three ways of making and gaining merit, to give alms, to maintain religious commandment and to pray. Today we say many people giving alms.

Monks walk around with a bowl and people place well prepared food in the bowls or they bring flowers which the monks carry around. People sell flowers and food so that people will buy it and give it to the monks as alms.

This is very common in the Thais' way of life and it is mentioned in two parts of Buddha history and became a tradition. After placing the food in the monks bowl, they bow down and the monks pray for them and then continue on their walk.

The monks walk up and down this street from 6am-7am everyday in order for people to gain merit. It was definitely a cultural experience which I was very thankful to have the opportunity to witness.

Village Life

Well I want to tell you guys all about Dreams village! The girls and I went and stayed there all weekend! It was quite an adventure! I will post pictures later because I have not downloaded them yet but we definitely had an awesome time. We had 4 girls stay in a King size bed and it was something to adjust to but a great experience! We stayed with her family and ate dinner on the floor with them. It was so great to experience a day in the life of a Thai person!

We went fishing but it's not your typical fishing, it's standing in muddy water with a net and swooping it around in the water and catching little tiny fish and then they cleaned them when we got home and they were served for dinner! It was such an awesome experience!

We also got to travel to the highest point in Thailand and it was raining and freezing but still a lot of fun! We went there on our way back to Chiang Mai. We walked up a fun path and got to explore the highest point of the mountain! The roads were windy and pretty scary because it was raining but God is always faithful and kept us very safe!

We also got to explore a waterfall which was a short trip but was still a great time. We all wore our ponchos and took lots of fun pictures. The waterfall was beautiful and it just makes me sit and marvel at God beautiful creation!

Now onto some stuff I need prayer for, I was really sick Friday but still decided to go on the trip because I didn't want to miss out on the amazing opportunity. I felt better at night but then got sick again in the morning, it was just a really rough weekend and coming home Sunday night I thought I would get better but unfortunately I only got worse. I just have really bad abdomen pains and some nausea so I went to the doctor today and found out that I have a bacterial intestine infection. I got some medicine so I know I will be perfectly fine but please just be praying for health and a speedy recovery! I love you all and thanks for your support and prayers.

The Slums

Saturday morning we had the privilege to take some clothes to the Slums behind Payap University. While there we had the chance to play with some of the kids! We played Duck Duck Goose but standing up!

It was such a great experience, most of Chiang Mai that we have seen, the people are dressed very nice and live in nice homes. This was the first time we saw children who did not have underwear on but either just a shirt or shorts with no underwear underneath because they could not afford those. Their houses have no doors and flies are everywhere. The place was covered in mud and it was just so incredible to think that people live there and are thankful for that house.

It was such a humbling experience and definitely put perspective on things. We are all looking forward to going back so that we can share the love of Christ with those families, the kids really enjoyed playing with us and had so much pure joy in their hearts. Most of the kids do not speak Thai and definitely do not speak English but it was so great to learn that we do not need to speak words to have a great time together! God really worked through the language barrier and showed us that we can share love through games and laughter and it was such an amazing experience!

First Motorcycle Ride!

This is just a very short video that I took with my itouch wile on my first motorcycle! It was first ever motorcycle ride and I was with my good friend Kratae! I just thought I would post it so you guys could share in that experience with me!! Love you all!

The week at a glance!

I had a lot to say so I thought a video was best so that the blog wasn't too lengthy! Thanks for following! All of this is only possible because of your support! I love you all from the bottom of my heart! Oh and sorry that the videos always show up with me making a weird face! I promise I don't always look like that!

Village, 2nd English Class, Cooking Class

Sports Camp

Last weekend a group from Baan Kanoon attended a Thai sports camp at Grace International School which is the school that most of the M family's kids in Chiang Mai go.

This was our group doing bible study!

I was on the purple team and had an awesome time loving on the kids! It's so great to know that even though we can barely communicate, through our actions we can demonstrate the love of Christ! One of the leader's of the camp gave a great bible lesson in Thai, I only understand the message through his demonstrations but it was so phenomenal.

Kids swimming in the pool.

He taught the kids that if we are very good people but do just one thing wrong, it's like putting fish sauce in a bottle of water, even with just one tiny drop of sauce, no one would want to drink the water. The only way to make the water clean again is to pour it out and start over now and the only way we can do that is through Christ Jesus our Lord! What truth these kids are being fed! It was such an awesome experience and I had so much fun playing games and enjoying my time with my group!

Me and some of the beautiful girls I got to be with!

Cooking Class

I thought I would try out a video blog!

Comments

Just so you guys know I changed the comment setting to anyone so if you want to comment you are more than welcome to! It was set on private but I figured out how to open it so anyone can comment! Thanks!

Phan Ton

Phan Ton was the village Amy and I visited with some of our Thai friends and one of the journeymen here in Chiang Mai! We taught a Bible story and had the privilege of prayer walking the village after the story. We told the story of Joseph, I read the story in English while my Thai friend Kratae translated for me! Then we wrote down some of the tough words and the kids wrote them in their notebooks. After that, Amy taught them how to pronounce the words and what each one meant. Then the kids had a blast because we reread the story and they got to act it out! They LOVED it! They were so precious! God is really starting to move in that village, we have only had people teaching there less than 2 months. Prayer walking the village was so powerful and you could feel God's presence among the people, what a beautiful thing to witness!

I taught my first English class last night and I had 2 girls attend. They were so great and they took me out for this sweet break and strawberry milk after! We had some great conversation and they want to take me out and show me some good places to eat and they can't wait to come to class next week! It's so great to see the relationships God is starting to form! I hope all is well with you guys and you recognize God's movement! I love you all and thank you so much for your support and prayers!

Thai Church!

So this is a little long but I encourage you to read it all! I want to start off by saying that God is really moving in this place. Yesterday I had the privilege of going to Pii Sun’s home church. It was just so great to listen to them worship in Thai. Last night around 5pm here, Baan Kanoon holds a worship service and the girls and I all went to it together. Everything was in Thai and it just felt so great to listen to these people worship the same God in a different language. You could feel their love for Christ being poured out through their praise and it was so incredible to witness. Then Pii Oom shared the Word with us and Pii Sun was sitting next to me and translated for me. Although I only got a summarized version of what he was saying, I learned so much. These people have a deep desire to know God more and it is such a beautiful thing.

Last night the Word came out of Mark 2 and 3. First we discussed how Jesus did not come to call the righteous but the sinners, the beautiful thing about this was that at the end of the night one of the young women who had recently come to faith explained how her sister, who is very involved at Baan Kanoon, told her that God wanted her to be His child because she was a sinner. She had felt that she was too bad because she had been Buddhist and worshiping other Gods and that God did not want her. But Saa (her sister) explained that is was because she was a sinner that Jesus wanted her in His kingdom. What a beautiful word from such a young believer!

We went on to discuss how God changes people from the inside out. A believer does not cover the old with the new but gets rid of the old to let in the new. The whole sermon was such a great word. One of the last things that really hit me was that we were made to love the people that are not lovely! I just loved the way he put it. I was just so filled with joy! How blessed I was to witness people worshiping and learning about the same God but in a different language. How great is our God that He proclaims His word to all nations! I just loved sharing in that experience with these Thai people! Thanks for all your prayers, they are really working! I love you all!

Some Pictures from the Airport and our trip so far!

 Shauna and Amy matched at the airport! So cute!

 Alicia and I at the Airport waiting for our boarding passes at the 

Philippines Airline ticket counter in LAX.

 Shauna taking pictures.. as usual!!!

 We were squeezed in the back of a car on our way back from the airport!

 I just love this picture! This was at our first breakfast place in Thailand!

Sawadee ka!

These are the awesome girls I get to spend all summer with! 

This was after a day of touring the city and visiting various places in Chiang Mai!

Saa wad dee ka!

Saa wad dee ka means hello in Thai! Well I wrote a long blog but it looks like it didn't post! I don't have much time now but basically, things are going great just pretty tired. We had orientation today and found out more about what will be doing this summer. I will have to write more later because I am so tired but things are going really good and I'm super excited to see what God will do! Tonight at dinner we had the chance to share the gospel with a young man from Canada who is visiting Thailand and it was so great to plant a seed. Please be praying for strength! We learned a lot of information today and it was a little overwhelming but I trust God and I know He has me in the palm of His hand! Love you all and ka pun ka (thanks) for following!

Saa wad dee ka (also means goodbye!)

Finally Here!

After a total of like 27 hours on a plane I am so excited to finally reach our destination! We made it safely and went to this awesome restaurant tonight as a welcoming and already met some wonderful Thai college students! Thank you all for your support and please pray for rest! We are exhausted but need to get caught up on Thailand time zone so that we can continue the work God has laid out for us to do! I love you all and thank you so much for caring and following this blog to see what God is doing in this place!

Airport!

Well I am in my 3rd airport for the day! I started off in the San Antonio Airport at 7 am and then went to Dallas to meet my other ladies and now we are in LAX! We have been here almost 5 hours! Only 2 more hours until we board our plane! So far it has been quite an adventure, we have been in and out of security multiple times and are finally just sitting and waiting for our flight!

The girls and I have been getting to know each other and it has been so great to spend the day together! I will be on the next flight for 16.5 hours and we will all be sitting next to one another which is so awesome! We have 3 more flights until we actually get to our destination but we are on our way! I will post as soon as I am able to when I get to Thailand! I am so excited to see how God will work.

It's so crazy to think about the people I sat with on the plane and the conversations we had about the ways God works! How awesome that on my first flight the man I was sitting by, his wife is from Thailand! She was born and raised there for 17 years before she moved to America! How awesome is our God?! Well I'm going to get going but I hope to blog as soon as I get some internet in Thailand! Love you all and please pray for safety and our conversations on the flight!

Orientation

Just a quick reminder, I will be going to Thailand from June 6-July 26 2011 to share the gospel with the Thai people. This blog is just a way to keep you updated on all the adventures God sends me on. GoNowMissions had orientation May 20-22 which included meeting our teams for our mission and getting to learn more about what we would be doing on the mission field. So this means I met the 3 girls I will be spending all summer with! Let's just say we are going to have one incredible summer! I definitely feel blessed with the team I have been placed with. We all get along so well and are such goofballs together but definitely know how to be serious and talk about what God has been teaching us! I look forward to learning and growing with them. Please be praying for our team and that we will continue to work well together and be accountable to one another. Only one and half weeks left until we get on the plane! I can't wait! But here's a funny story for you! So my birthday is June 7 and we leave Dallas June 6th then have a layover in LAX and leave LAX at 10 30 pm and then arrive in the Philippines airport on June 8th at 6 am. So let's just say I have no birthday this year because of the time difference, June 7th just disappears!!! What a great story to tell for my 20th birthday! Well guys keep following and I'll post again once we get to Thailand or maybe in the airport! God bless and keep following Him daily! Love you all!