Thailand, the land of smiles and oh so delicious food. I love this place. The past month that I have been here has been good. It's been full of fun times, hard times, and a lot of eating. The first few days we were here were spent in Bangkok for orientation. Street vendors, markets and lovely people surrounded us. New years eve was spent in central Bangkok at one of the biggest new years celebrations in the world.
The next two weeks we worked with a ministry in Pattaya called Step Ahead. We really did a lot of random ministry there, but my favorite was when we got to go to Walking Street. This street is named so because it is only accessible by foot. It is a place of satisfying desires, a place of deep deep darkness. Girls stand outside clubs beckoning men to come inside and take whatever pleasure they desire for a small price. Half of the girls are actually 'lady-boys', men who dress and act like women, which is widely accepted here. We spent time talking to women who were standing on the streets waiting for a man to come and buy them. They all had stories of heart break and hardship. My favorite time was when a girl from my team and I talked to a woman named Noi. She wouldn't tell us much of her story, but we told her the entire gospel and shared with her how much our Jesus wants her. She didn't accept Jesus that night, but I know a seed was planted.
After Pattaya, we headed to Tree of Life Orphanage in Buriram. Our time there was by far my favorite. There were 6 girls there that I got to love on and cherish. There was also another team of twenty there with us and they were SO much fun. They were definitely a gift from God to our team. We spent our days doing English camps at different schools and blessing the orphanage with cleaning and different projects. One of my favorite days was when we went to a kindergarten. I got to love on one little precious boy the entire time we were there and I loved it! I could've played with him all day.
Now here I sit, ending my time in Thailand where it all started. Tomorrow morning bright and early we will pack up and get on a plane that will take us to Bali. God has definitely been growing my excitement for this next part of our trip. Honestly, two more months sounds like a really really long time, but the Lord has been faithful to give me an excitement for it. I know he has a lot planned for our team there and I am ready to press in 100%.
Please be praying that my team would be continually strengthened by God. We have been learning that on our own we cannot do this. Pray that our spirits would not grow weary and that our excitement for Bali would grow each day that we are there! I really want to thank each and every one of you who prays for me while I'm here. It really means more to me than you will ever know, and I need them a lot :)
Love love love!
