My Thai Too Tight. (And Other Thai Adventures!)

Hello friends! It's been another adventure-filled week with trying new things, being pushed outside my comfort zone, making a fool of myself as a foreigner, and exploring Thai culture! I'm enjoying my time here so far. :)

Last Sunday, I had the huge privilege of being a part of an kids club program that Jon and Bonnie have recently started in a little fishing village. Most of the kids come from very impoverished homes and have very little. They come to do games, sing songs, make a craft, hear a Bible story, and have a small English lesson with the kids each Sunday morning. There were lots of kids who came out and the 'Action' basketball team that is in town helped out too. Shortly after, I scurried over to the town of Bang Saen to a church there called "TLC". We had a fantastic church service there and all had a huge meal there afterwards. (Thai people are HUGE into sharing meals together with every kind of event - church, school, etc. Most Thai people eat out for every single meal because it's too hot to cook and it's waaaaay cheaper than to make it yourself. A plate of pad thai costs about $2.50!) After church, I went with the basketball team to the beach and ate gelato while watching the sun set. B-E-A-UTIFUL! (Keep reading below...)

Monday morning I hit the ground running, with a class to teach at one of the government offices in town. They served a ton of delicious-looking food at the beginning (curse you, Celiac Disease!) before I started teaching and it was a blast. Thai people are usually quite reserved, but if you've ever been in one of my classes you'll know that's not the way I teach! I had them laughing, joking, and jumping around the office in a matter of minutes while speaking English - Mission Accomplished! Tuesday looked a lot the same - I taught at a different government office in town and I was blown away by how good their English skills were! I quickly realized that I'm going to have to up my game (they were asking me about structures of the English language I'd never heard of!) 

I've also been teaching English to the 'house mothers' at the orphanage. They are AMAZING ladies who have given their lives to love and raise the kids who live there. Most of them are widows and have had complete life-transformations since becoming Christians. It truly is an honour to teach them. They were shy at first, but I had them giggling and laughing by the end of the class. :) Their homework is to say "eleven" properly......they prefer saying "one one".

The kids at the orphanage have also been a huge blessing. What amazing kids! Before meeting them I expected to see kids who were not well (as almost all of them have HIV) and couldn't do much. I couldn't have been more wrong! Not only are these kids brilliant academically, they are musically talented, and gifted in sports and dance too! They are so full of joy and love to visit and play with people who come to see them. There are 4 homes that the kids live in on the property, each one with a 'house mother'. I have the honour of traveling home with one of the women, P'Ganniga, who is really the heart and soul of the orphanage. She has an incredible testimony and a wicked sense of humour that I have enjoyed! She has a deep passion for people to know Jesus and is such an accepting and non-pretentious woman. I love her and I'm excited to travel with her!

I started my first Thai lesson yesterday and loved it! (Although it was an incredibly humbling experience!) The tonal rules in Thai are unbelievable! I can only say hi, thanks, and what is your name. How embarassing! I need to get better - Charades can only get you so far here before they start thinking you're insane.....

I've been staying with Jon and Bonnie this week and it's been such a gift to be able to stay with them as I figure out what life looks like here and find food that won't make me sick. Jon has been away with the basketball team all week in Bangkok so it's been Bonnie, me, and the kids. Last night Bonnie and I headed into Bangkok with the kids to watch one of the basketball games. It sounded like a great idea.....until I realized that I didn't have my iphone with the map on it to get us to the University of Bangkok! Bonnie is AMAZING! Not only did she drive in Bangkok through INSANE (and I mean INSANE.......Vancouver, you've got nothing on Bangkok!) traffic, but she did it with a screaming baby in the background and a co-pilot (moi!) who was as useless as a squatty potty! After we got lost a few times, we FINALLY found the university and got there just in time to watch the men's game. On the way home we stopped at IKEA (Sweedish for good prices!) for dinner. I'm told that this is the Ikea where horse meat was found in the meatballs! I stuck to fries and a pork chop (at least I hope it was pork....there ARE thousands of stray dogs running about, you never know!) ;)

Tomorrow is the start of 'family camp' weekend in the beach city of Rayong until Monday. We are leaving in the morning to head 2 hours south where about 220 people will meet up for a camp weekend. (I was told that they were expecting 150 people....but apparently 220 are coming. Should be nice and cozy! Very Thai....). People from the Sila church, the TLC church, the basketball team, and others all around Thailand are meeting up there - I LOVE camp and I'm so looking forward to seeing a BEACH! I haven't seen one yet since being here. (Except for sewage beaches.......no thanks. Although I hear that they're good skin exfoliants!). Should be a great weekend of meeting new people, relaxing, eating good food (hopefully!), serving, and learning more about Thai culture. 

THANK YOU for your prayers so far. I have been SO blessed by your texts and messages. What a gift it is to know that I am cared for back home. I have incredible people in my life! 

Things I have learned about Thailand so Far:

1) Rice. Embrace it. Love it. Eat it. (with everything - and I mean EVERYTHING!)

2) Squatties. There is technique that one learns with practice. 'Nuff said.

3) Feet. Are considered disgusting in Thailand! You aren't allowed to do anything with your feet except walk - it's considered highly offensive to pick something up with your foot or move something with your feet!

4) You can pick your nose (my grade 1 class would love it here) but you can't pick your teeth. Say WHAT?? 

5) People are BLUNT. Like crazy. Many of them make Dutch people look like pansies!

6) Everyone smiles. It really is called the "Land of Smiles" for a reason! When you walk down the street, everyone says hi and smiles. It's so refreshing coming from North America where people avoid eye-contact in public as much as possible.

7) Nothing goes according to plan. Which I kinda like. It makes things interesting and unpredictable! I've definitely had to let go of having control over time and transportation in my life. It's been a good lesson to learn - things are out of my hands!

8) Toilet paper. Is non-existent in public washrooms. If you forget to bring it with you, tooooo bad. 

9) Whitener. Every beauty and skin product has whitener in it because the Thai people strive to have white skin. (If you have white skin it means that you are likely more wealthy because you don't have to work outside in the sun like farmers or labourers.) Trying to find deodorant without whitener was QUITE the mission! As if I need to be more white that I already am, puh-leese! ;) It's been a good lesson for me about cultural values - what we value at home as being beautiful (tanned, thin, etc.) is completely relative to what other people in the world consider valuable. It's reminded me that my value comes only from God, everything else shifts and is meaningless.

10) There are no traffic laws. None. (that people follow anyways!) It's perfectly acceptable to drive the wrong way on the freeway as long as your flashers are on. It's also perfectly acceptable to drive on sidewalks, take up 2 lanes, go as fast as you like, drive with 5+ people (including babies!) on a single scooter on the freeway, not to mention that pedestrians don't have the right of way - ever. Before I came I thought I might rent a scooter to get around in Ang Sila. Now you couldn't pay me enough to do it!! It's fun being a passenger in a car driving here though! Yee haw!! 

11) Dogs. There are thousands of stray dogs here. They sometimes run around in packs and can be really dangerous! I've been told to bring a big stick with me if I go out at night in case I encounter a pack of them. The SPCA would have a hay day here!

Prayer & Praise Requests:

1) That the weekend at camp would be fun (I have no idea what to expect....I have a feeling that a Thai 'camp' is slightly different than a Canadian one!). Pray that I have a flexible attitude please!

2) Energy. The heat and humidity here is unbelievable (+40 degrees most days!). I've felt really sluggish over the last few days and its been hard to muster up energy to be with kids sometimes. (Totally not like me!)

3) I've made some great people while being here! I've loved getting to know Jon & Bonnie and have made some Thai friends here. 

4) That Jon and Bonnie would find time for relaxation - with Marek teething, things have been busy for them both. Pray that they are refreshed and that Marek would quickly go through this stage. 

5) That I would have a willing attitude while I'm here - willing to try new things, to be adventurous, and to push my comfort zone boundaries. (They are already so far gone that I can't see them anymore - that's a good thing!). 

6) For continued safety. God has provided for me so far in this way! I'm so thankful! I'm in a big city and as a foreigner who will be on my own after the weekend. Safety is something that I'm praying for!

7) Food. This is a continued prayer request from my last post. I've 'only' been "glutened" once since being here (faaaaar less than I thought I would be!). It sure is painful to experience and I'm often scared to eat because I don't always know what the ingredients in the food are. (I got sick from eating an APPLE - seriously!? - it was peeled and must have been dipped in something with gluten to keep it from browning that made me sick.) It's been such a gift to have Bonnie translate for me and explain to waitresses what I can and can't have. (Some of the restaurants know me now!). I'm sure I've already lost 10+ pounds since being here! It's a great diet plan....(silver lining, right?)

8) Pray for the upcoming outreach in the middle of August in the fishing village - that it would be effective in the community and that people would come to know Christ.

9) That although there is a huge language and culture barrier, it would become less and less. (Apparently no one here speaks french! Shoot!)

10) That I would stay focused while I'm here. SO much has been bouncing around in my mind over the last week and I'm praying that I can keep my mind focused and on track while I'm here.