Final Adventures (and photos!) in Thailand: The Land of Smiles!

My last week in Thailand completely FLEW by (as did all the others!) and was full of adventure once again! 

A couple days after my grand Bangkok adventure with P'Ganniga, I was taken to the fish market in Ang Sila by my dear friend P'Oiy. Having heard rumours about the 'delightful' smells that would greet me there, I prepped myself for the worst.......Friends, one cannot prepare themselves for what I smelled there. (My nose is still recovering!) ;) It was an exciting place to visit, nonetheless. I have never seen so many kinds of seafood in my life! (Too bad that all seafood has gluten in it, right?......ahem...) ;) After the market, Bonnie, Corina, and I went to the Jatajack (spelling??) night market in Bang Saen and we enjoyed once again exploring all the interesting things for sale (picture the Richmond night market x20). We enjoyed eating mango sticky rice, chicken satays,  and fruit smoothies once again - you can never get enough of those in Thailand!

The following day was one of my top days in Thailand. Bonnie and I set out on an adventure to explore Koh Si Chang (google image it!) - a tropical island just off the coast of Sriracha. We drove to a park where the ferry docks are to the island and explored there first. We found a pond of giant turtles and two massive Chinese and Thai Buddhist temples at the top of a huge staircase. After putting our strong legs to work (thanks, squatty potties!) and climbing to the top, we found vendors selling everything from eels to noodles being sold for people to offer to the idols there. To our right we saw one of the most beautiful views I've ever seen: a completely panoramic view of the sea with Pattaya visible to the far left and Bang Saen to the far right. A few steps away we heard some monks chanting and we saw people bowing, burning incense, and making sacrifices before a huge golden Buddha in attempts to gain "merit" (like Karma). It was sad to see these people bowing before such meaningless objects amidst such overwhelming beauty. 

After taking in the views and vibrant colours all around us, we realized that we needed to go quickly to catch our ferry in time to go to the island. We paid our 'whopping' 50 Baht ($1.70ish) to get on the ferry and walked up the dock. Approaching the dock I saw our boat: Thai luxury indeed! ;) As I walked up I noticed the "walkway" that I was expected to climb down and my heart stopped. If you know me at all, you know how terrified I am of heights. Now throw in a few more factors: the wooden plank wasn't even a foot wide, was bending under the weight of those already on it, was at a sharp angle down, and was slippery. The Thai people (and Bonnie!) were all laughing at me as I clung onto the rope leading down for dear life. All I could picture was having to explain to my dad why the iPad he lent me for the trip somehow made it's way into the Gulf of Thailand....  Once on the boat we sat in our extremely comfortable luxury liner chairs (orange plastic patio chairs) and cruised for an hour to the island. Loved it!

As we approached the dock in the harbour, the Chinese temple up on the hill lit off fireworks (how kind of them to know we were arriving!) ;) and I had a massive smile. The view that lay before me was beautiful! The lush green mountains full of palm trees came right down into the water and colourful homes and boats dotted the shoreline. After scampering off of the boat, Bonnie bartered for a Tuktuk to take us to the beach. Neither of us ever having been to the island before, we had no idea where we were going so we told our driver to take us to the best beach he knew. After barreling through tiny villages with thatched roofs and driving up a big mountain in the middle of nowhere, I was convinced that our driver misunderstood us wanting to go to the beach! As we started coming down the mountain we rounded a corner and my breath was completely taken away. The scene before me was the most beautiful beach I have ever seen in my entire life! The white sand stretched across a huge bay with the beautiful sea of every shade of turquoise enveloping the bay. Palm trees stretched from the surrounding hills all the way down to the water and there were white cliffs on the other side of the bay. It was UNREAL - Like a scene from a movie! Our driver took us down into a small village where we got off and walked down to the beach. I was in PARADISE! (I'm currently trying to figure out a way for the Surrey School District to start a school there so that I can go back and live there...) We enjoyed a Thai lunch under hundreds of colourful umbrellas dotting the shore before we ran into the warm sea. The waves crashed over us as we floated in the bay and I stood there for a long time just taking in the view. Words completely fail to describe the beauty of God's creation there! I was completely surprised and mesmerized! It was such a gift to spend the day in such an amazing place exploring with a dear friend. Leaving that afternoon was hard to do! (After another adventure on the Tuktuk and riding on the glorified fishing boat we made it back to Sriracha safely.)

That evening back in Bang Saen, P'Ganniga and I decided to go visit the people in the Cambodian slums once again (see previous blogs). I played with the kids and played charades to explain myself (They don't speak English or Thai - they speak a special dialect of Cambodian) and they eventually piled in the van with us to head off to Sila church that evening. Two of the kids clung to me like glue and my heart melted. I was told that these kids weren't shown a lot of affection so I gladly held them and danced with them at church. :) I went back to visit them a couple more times in the following days, armed with a soccer ball, glow sticks, and toys for the kids - they completely lit up when they saw the small things that I had brought from Canada for them. What a privilege it was to be with them! They were some of my favourite people that I met while being in Thailand. 

The next morning, Sunday, I headed off for my last time to Tha Riu Plii in Bang Sai where Jon and Bonnie hold the outreach for the kids there on the fishing docks. Being the last time I'd be there, I wanted to take it all in (except for the pungent smell of fish and sewage.....THAT I could easily leave behind!) ;) I sure love the kids that go there and I miss them already - their smiles completely light up a room! After a lunch of home made chicken satays and sticky rice at the fishing docks, I headed to the beach town of Bang Saen with my Thai friend Gay to explore and eat (Thai people LOVE to eat! Fiiiiiiiiiiiine with me!). We drove down on her scooter sans helmets (the Thai way!) and I had a huge smile the whole way! As mentioned in previous blogs, there are no rules in Thai traffic - NONE! Especially on a scooter. So we dodged in and out of crazy weekend traffic and I clung to the back for dear life! After eating a SALAD (woohoo!!) we walked down to the sandy beach. Picture a Thai version of Spanish Banks in Vancouver.......but with 100x more people and garbage.
It was beautiful nonetheless! I enjoyed spending a great afternoon with my friend before heading to TLC church that evening for the last time. 

That week I was privileged  to be given cooking lessons by P'Oiy and P'Ganniga. I can now make pad Thai the real way, green curry coconut chicken, mango sticky rice, cashew chicken, and pineapple coconut curry chicken. Jealous? You should be. ;) They were AMAZING dishes! (and so easy to make!) That same evening, Gay's English class put on a Thai feast for me because it was my last day joining their class. INCREDIBLE food and even better people! (And only a few dishes stared back at me on the plates) ;) 

I also had the joy of taking the older girls at the orphanage out for a karaoke night with Corina the next day. Thai people LOVE karaoke! Who knew!? It was HILARIOUS watching the girls dance and sing their hearts out to Thai pop music. (Justin Beiber, you've got some serious competition in Thailand!) What a joy it was to watch some of the more shy girls feel comfortable enough to sing at the top of their lungs! My ears are STILL recovering from the noise level in there! Over my 6 weeks in Thailand I really grew to love these girls - all of them are living with HIV and yet they have such a zest for life and are like any other kids their age. I am so blessed by them!

The following morning I had to say by goodbyes to all of the kids at the orphanage. I got up uber early to see them all off to school and with tears in my eyes I hugged every one of them as well as the house moms. My time at ALH is unforgettable and each one of those kids impacted me each in a unique way. God has truly blessed my life through working alongside these remarkable kids this summer! I'll never forget the tears in theirs and my eyes as they drove away in their vans to school, faces pressed against the window and waving all the way down the road. It was hard to say goodbye. (Hopefully it's only goodbye for now!)

Shortly after, Jon, Bonnie, their kids and I packed up and headed south to the resort town of Rayong for my last two days in Thailand. We stayed at the gorgeous Novotel right on the white sandy beach and I felt completely spoiled! It was such a contrast to many of the places I had stayed and visited. What a gift it was to unwind, relax, and debrief my time in Thailand with my dear friends Jon & Bonnie. I had a Thai massage right on the beach (it's a tough life...) and suntanned in the 45+ degree heat by the beautiful pool! I drank from my first coconut (eww! never again!) and ate more delicious Thai food (I had to get my fill before I flew out the following day!). I knew I was getting used to being in Thailand when my jaw dropped at my dinner at the hotel costing $4! (Most Thai dishes are $1-2). Who knew that this cheap Dutch-Mennonite could become even CHEAPER!? (Dutch + Mennonite + Thailand is a dangerous combination!). I spent a lot of time in the ocean there - huge sparkling waves crashing on the beach (the water was warmer than the hotel pool!), palm trees dotting the shore line, tropical islands in the background, and colourful fishing boats trolling the sea in front of me. How incredible GORGEOUS! What a gift it was to go back there! I really treasure my time with Jon & Bonnie there. They allowed me to talk about my experiences in Thailand and asked a lot of thought provoking questions that really made me reflect and think deeply. After soaking in every minute of my time in Rayong, we started on our trek home. Bonnie and I hit up the Ninja road night market for the last time and then we headed back to their place to hang out and debrief some more. I am thankful that God gave me such great friends while I was in Thailand! I miss the Esaus dearly already.

The following morning (Saturday) I left after a tearful goodbye for the Bangkok airport with P'Ganniga. The fact that P'Ganniga got her Canadian Visa and plane ticket in time is a complete miracle! It was such a gift having her with me on my hectic trip home.....read on.....

Checking in at the airport went smoothly and we got on our plane without any hassle. I knew it was too good to be true (especially in Thailand when most things DONT go according to plan...) After sitting on the plane for an hour in the bay we were told that the plane was having mechanical difficulties. I don't know about you, but when I'm told that my small plane that is about to fly me from Thailand over Laos and Vietnam and into China is having technically difficulties, I get a wee bit nervous! Another hour went by waiting on the plane still not moving and by that point I realized that P'Ganniga and I would miss our connecting flight from China to Vancouver. Goody. At the 2.5 hour mark, they started bringing the drink cart out to liquor everyone on the plane up because people were getting really mad and wanted off! (I stuck to OJ....) At the 3 hour mark, all the English speakers on the plane decided to all get off together at the same time (I felt like I was in the French....or Thai?....revolution!) It worked. They finally let us off but it was complete chaos figuring out new flights, especially with people who don't speak any English. (China Southern Airlines, you need to get your act together!). Ironically, there were employees who spoke French (FRENCH?!? In THAILAND? Really??) So I was able to speak to them and decipher that a piece had fallen out of the engine  (WHAT!!) and that someone was driving to a city an hour away to get the part needed to fix the plane. #onlyinthailand There were no other planes flying with China Southern that day so we had to wait until the plane was fixed and they said they would figure out the rest of our flights after we got to China. They put us up in the VIP lounge in the Bangkok airport where we waited for another 5 hours until the plane was "fixed". We were herded onto the plane once again and then waited on the plane for ANOTHER two hours because the captain forgot to fill out some kind of paperwork. Eventually we were on the runway taking off......Never have I prayed so hard in my entire life! 

After a 3 hour fight we made it (thankfully!) safely to Guangzhou, China. The best part of the flight: I was able to share about Jesus to a man sitting beside me. :) The flight that I was supposed to catch had left half a day earlier so we were stuck in the airport. After going through insane levels of security, a China Southern rep took our passports and assured all 20 of us who had missed our flight to Vancouver that he would be back "in a few minutes" with our boarding passes for a new flight. After 2 hours of him being gone with our passports I got nervous. Eventually he came back (fewf!) and told us that we wouldn't be flying out until the afternoon the following day!! Good grief. He told us that we would have to get a 2 day Chinese Visa and that we would be put up in a hotel for the night. Sounded easy, right? That's what I thought. After going through the complete chaos that is Chinese customs I had my passport stamped and understood that we would be going to the airport hotel right away. Wrong again! We were put in a "holding tank" at Chinese customs while they verified all of our information. After 3 more hours of waiting, we were loaded onto a strange bus that took us to the middle of nowhere (I was laughing at this point - seriously, what else could go wrong!? So funny!). After FORTY minutes of driving away from the airport we arrived at a strange hotel where we had to once again surrender our passports and then find our rooms. I was so thankful to have a bed to sleep in rather than on the airport floor! P'Ganniga and I shared a room and she was super excited to get to visit China as she has never left Thailand before! It was neat being with her through the experience but I felt bad for all the hassles we'd experienced!

We got up early the following morning and we were told that there was an American breakfast waiting for us! Woohoo! Not having eaten dinner the night before, I was HUNGRY and ready for some bacon and hashbrowns. Wrong again! Our 'American' breakfast consisted of congealed pigs' blood cubes, yams, quail eggs, and lots of other interesting things! I had a good laugh! When in Rome, right? Soon after we all loaded into vans in a massive lightning storm and began our trek back to the airport. When we arrived we were told that our flight could be cancelled because of the storm! It was evident that God was telling me to stay in Thailand, right? ;) Thankfully it WASN'T cancelled, and after a 13 hour flight we made it safely back to Vancouver! Customs went smoothly for P'Ganniga and I and all of our luggage made it (a complete miracle considering all the times we had to transfer planes!). It was such a joy to see my family and to be with Ganniga as she experienced Canada for the first time! I was thankful to be back and to be done with the chaos of the last 2 days. :)

What an adventure of a lifetime! My heart is completely full and I have much to process and prayerfully discern through. I will be writing a final blog soon about overall thoughts since being home, as well as the challenges, joys, and crazy things I experienced during my time in Thailand. Stay tuned!


Prayer Requests:

1) For P'Ganniga: that she would have a refreshing and eye-opening experience in Canada (she is one of the house mothers from the orphanage and she is here until Sept. 12)

2) For the orphanage - there has been a lot of transition as of late with the kids and the house mothers.

3) For the people in the Cambodian 'camps' - that they would continue to be involved in the Sila church and would come to know Jesus.

4) For Jon & Bonnie's ministry in Bang Sai - that the upcoming launch would go well and that they would be used to impact the lives of many there as they being planting their church.

5) For discernment and wisdom as I sift through many of my thoughts about my time away

6) For SLEEP once again. Jet lag has been incredibly hard coming back and I've been running on 2-3 hours of sleep each night this week. 

7) For health Since coming home, I have been sick! Pray that it goes away quickly.

8) For creativity, energy, and perseverance as I begin planning and setting up for the new school year that starts next week (Sept. 3). I am back to work this coming Tuesday to set up and prep. It's been challenging having the energy to plan running on only 2-3 hours of sleep!



Thanks for reading about my last week in Thailand! There is one more blog to come about the culture shock of being back home. Stay tuned! :)

Bangkok Madness, A Cambodian Slum, & Street Meat!


Time is FLYING! I can't believe that I will be flying home in 9 days! Unreal. This week has been no exception to all the rest: it's been chaotic, fun, full of adventure, stretching, and complete mayhem! Read to the end to find out about the craziness...

I had the privilege of treating the boys from the orphanage to a movie (Wolverine) last Wednesday night and it was SO fun! Movie tickets here are dirt cheap so we all jumped in the back of a truck (Obviously! How else do you get around in Thailand?) and headed off. After the movie the guys wanted to treat me to some street meat in the old market of Bang Saen. Nervous and ready to pull my "I have celiac disease, get out of jail free card" we approached the sketchiest of sketchy food stands. (#onlyinthailand) They ordered for me after explaining to them my millions of food allergies. I tell ya, I've never prayed so hard that I wouldn't get sick from eating! To my grand surprise, it was the most amazing plate of pad Thai I've ever had! The 2nd best part: It cost only $1. (Yet another reason to love Thailand). I have learned that the sketchier it looks, the better it tastes! Mmmmmm! Thai food is really the best. The guys have figured out my love for mango and sticky rice dessert and they did their research to find me a stand nearby. I was in food heaven! (Calories were not counted that day...)

The following two days were filled with teaching multiple English classes at the government offices and with the 'moms' at the orphanage. Teaching English is a completely different ball-game than teaching in a regular classroom setting! Props to you ESL teachers! Not having any curriculum to use here, Google has become my best lesson-planning friend. All of the students that I teach are incredibly keen to learn English. There is a strong push for Thai people to learn English because they have been rated as one of the lowest Asian countries with English language understanding; they want to improve their standing on the international stage. 

On Friday my fantastic Thai friend, Gay (means 'fashionable' in Thai) took me to the gym where I ran 10 km in an attempt to get rid of all the mango sticky rice. ;) She took me to a Thai salon to get my hair done after. For $3 you can get your hair washed, head massaged, and hair curled & styled! While I was sitting in the chair getting my hair curled I saw a lady get mugged outside of the shop - Yikes! The police came and nothing was done about it.......reminded me to hold onto my purse tight! Gay, my friend Anne, and I (yes, THREE people on one tiny scooter, helmetless.......don't tell my mom) all loaded onto Gay's little scooter and headed off for a delicious Thai dinner.

The following day was girls' day with Bonnie, Corina and I. After going for a 10km run in no air conditioning (yes, I would like a medal for that), we met at a coffee shop before heading out for Thai massage. If you've never had a Thai massage you are REALLY missing out. We "only" got a one-hour massage this time for $8 - I really broke the bank that day. Afterwards we got pedicures for $5 and laughed at how sketchy the place actually was! Ohhhhhh Thailand.

That night was a night that I will not forget for years to come. After heading back to the orphanage and loading into the van to head to church we stopped just down the road at a Cambodian slum to bring food and toys to the families there. From what I understand, they are refugees who have crossed the border in search of construction work. I didn't take any pictures as not to be rude but let me describe the scene for you: bamboo poles as frames for their homes and tin metal sheets tethered to the poles. People sitting in the dirt cooking and talking to their neighbours as half-dressed kids run around and play in the dirt. Underneath the shacks were rats, stray dogs, and bugs scurrying about. The smell of the place was foul: garbage mixed with sewage and the smell of burning rubber. Unbelievable living conditions. When we first drove up I didn't know where we were going because P'Norii (the house mother of the home at the orphanage I'm living at) doesn't speak English. We drove up and she got out to bring the supplies to these people. I wasn't sure what was going on but I hopped out of the van and made my way over to meet the people living there. The came flocking out to see a "falang" (Thai slang for a foreinger.....it means guava) and I felt very out of place. I was really humbled there because I remember thinking to myself earlier that I wish I had more time to do my hair before church and I was annoyed at myself for forgetting to wear a pair of earrings. Here I found myself with the poorest of the poor and all of these petty desires and thoughts completely faded and were put into perspective. God really revealed to me in that moment how privileged I truly am and reminded me to be thankful in all circumstances. My heart was really stirred being there. I was brought to tears as I watched a woman from the orphanage, who has had an incredibly hard life, bring what little she has to people who have even less and don't yet know God. P'Norri completely blew me away and brought to life the verse about 'works' being a necessity of a faith that is alive. James 2:14-17: "What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food and one of you says to them, 'Go in peace, be warmed and filled,' without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith, by itself, if it does not have works, is dead."P'Norri really exemplified to me what it is to give generously and to love people who others have forgotten. We invited the group of Cambodians to come to church with us that night and about 10 agreed to come! We stuffed ourselves like sardines into the van and off we went. I loved sitting with them that night and being with them as they heard about Jesus for the first time. What a night! 

The following morning (Sunday) I went with Jon & Bonnie to Tha Rui Plii (spelling?) in the Bang Sai area to hold the kids outreach program that we have been doing on the fishing dock each Sunday morning. We had a whack-load of kids this week with whom we did an English lesson, craft, Bible story, and games. Afterwards one of the women from the area asked me to hop on her scooter with Jon and Bonnie's daughter, Callie. (Again, THREE on a scooter helmetless......sorry mom). (#onlyinthailand) I was under the impression that we were going one block to her house to get something and then come back.....but I was clearly wrong! We drove out to the main road and I was holding on for dear life and praying that I would live! We drove about 10 mins down a few roads to buy some fruit and then she took it upon herself to give me a tour of the fishing homes/slum area. It was fascinating to see but I think I would have enjoyed it a little more if I didn't have a death grip on the scooter! That night after church, I pulled out the letters that my Grade 1 students from Surrey wrote to the kids at the orphanage. It was SO cool to see them open the letters with huge smiles on their faces and read them. One of the girls told me how neat she thought it was that kids in Canada would write letters to them. A very cool moment.

This week has been the hardest for me so far mostly because of my profound lack of sleep. I've been getting only 3 hours a night (4 if I'm lucky!) and I have felt like a walking zombie. God has been miraculously giving me the energy I need to teach and get done what I need to, but I have felt like my brain has been foggy all the time and I haven't felt like I've been 'myself'. I've felt frustrated this week with my lack of spunk and a depleted supply of patience (which is VERY important to have a full supply of when living in Thailand!). 

On Tuesday after teaching 2 English classes I headed to my third class where I helped my friend Gay who is an English teacher in the area. After the class, her and my friend P'Oiy took me for a "Fish BBQ". I've never seen anything like it! Sitting around small square tables on the dirt floor, you order what you want as side dishes and they bring you a massive fish that has been jabbed with a skewer and roasted over a coal fire! It was a massive "Nemo"-type fish (clown fish?) and it was surprisingly good! (See photo!). They took me for mango and sticky rice (obviously!) and then we hit up a night market in Bang Saen. :) I had a great time with my Thai friends and loved hearing about their lives and laughing the night away with them. I have been totally blessed by their friendship. What amazing ladies!

Wednesday (yesterday) completely takes the cake in terms of the adventure of the week! P'Ganniga and I decided to head to the Canadian Embassy in Bangkok to try and get her Canadian Visa. Over the last week we were warned not to go into the city because massive political riots were taking place at various places around the city. The Canadian Consulate even sent out a warning to Canadian tourists in the area saying that they should re-locate! The news made it look scary but some friends of mine who live in Bangkok said that it was safe, so off we went! We paid for a van to drive us (packed like Sardines! And may I just say that Thai seats were NOT designed for a 5'9" Canadian girl to be sitting in them! They're TINY!) from Chonburi into the heart of Bangkok. We stopped at a light somewhere and the next thing I knew Ganniga had jumped out of the van and was heading towards a market. I had to jump out after her and run across insane Bangkok traffic to keep up! (#onlyinthailand) We did a bit of shopping before heading over to the consulate to meet with the Visa officials. As we walked up to the Canadian consulate, lo and behold, we saw the "dangerous" mobs across the street. Some people were on megaphones and were holding signs in protest but the majority of the hundreds of people there were sleeping on the ground in the park! They were really intimidating (enter sarcasm). I was actually really thankful for safety after hearing about how bad conditions were from some people! After being at the consulate we took a tuk tuk (3-wheeled scooter with a bench seat in the back) to one of the lesser-know and better-priced markets (from what I'm told!). I was in market-shopping heaven! At one kiosk, Ganniga and I bought 51 scarves. FIFTY ONE! (Oops! Still not sure how that one happened...). There were miles and miles of stores selling everything you can imagine. I went a little overboard and Ganniga was laughing at me as I tried to haul my market-loot around the city! #typicalblondtourist After shopping for 5 hours in the market, Ganniga and I bought tickets for the van ride home. Again, squished like sardines, we began our trek home. Except that we forgot about rush hour traffic. In Bangkok. Trying to get out from the centre of the city. Bad call. It took us an hour and a half just to get out of the downtown core and then we came to a dead stop on the freeway. Annoyed at Bangkok traffic, I took the opportunity to close my eyes for a few minutes to catch up on some sleep. A while later we started moving again and I looked out of the window beside me and I saw something I'll never forget. A CROCODILE. Yes, a wild crocodile decided to cross the freeway in the middle of rush hour. #onlyinthailand I saw it run down the ditch across from us and back up and into some bushes. Apparently it's not safe to walk outside here for fear of meeting a wild crocodile??? Who knew. Confident that my day had met it's drama quota, I again closed my eyes and tried to sleep. But no. Our van broke down on the side of the road (of course it did, we're in Thailand!) and the passenger door was jammed shut. Picture a medium sized van with 15 people crammed in the back benches with luggage on and around us.....and we're STUCK while the van gets fixed. In that moment I was thankful that I was not cursed with claustrophobia! Somehow they got the van to work again after about 1/2 hour (I'm convinced that all it needed was gas...) and Ganniga and I continued on our merry way back to the orphanage!

Today was another great day, albeit less dramatic, thankfully! My class was cancelled last minute so I took the opportunity to get a mani and pedi for the whopping price of $15! Oh Thailand, you are going to bankrupt me. ;) Bonnie and I got lunch together (green coconut curry chicken soup - my FAVOURITE dish here!) and then we headed over to Tha Rui Plii (where Jon & Bonnie are planting a church) to visit some of the local shop-owners there and chat over pineapple-lime fruit smoothies (60 cents!) It was a bit slower of a day and it was much appreciated after the craziness of the last few! (And all that on no sleep!) Fewf! It's time for bed!

Prayer/Praise Requests:

1) I continue to be in good health! So thankful. I haven't even had food poisoning yet! (I'm told that's pretty good considering the amount of time I've been here)

2) That I would REST. I've been having horrible sleeps (I think it's been a combination of the insane heat, massive lightning storms at night, hard beds, and having a mind that runs on over-drive at night!)

3) For the families in the Cambodian slum (called "camps" here). That they would make connections and friends with people at the Sila church here and that they would feel welcomed and learn more about Jesus. Pray for work for them and that they are able to provide adequately for their families. 

4) For my last week and a half here: That I would use my time wisely, investing in the lives of friends here and serving faithfully.

5) For patience. Being exhausted this week has worn thin on my supply! Being in a place where most things don't go according to plan it's important to "go with the flow" and to have ample patience. God has provided, but an extra dose would be great to have.

6) I was safe in Bangkok! I'm thankful that the rioters were sleeping and that Ganniga and I got to enjoy a great day together in the big city.

7) For the kids at the orphanage: it's been a challenging couple of weeks. Pray for the house mothers that they would have rest and wisdom and that the kids would impact the lives of others as they grow older. 

8) That the building project at the orphanage is completed according to schedule - there are lots of things to get done on the buildings here before the 'grand opening' in October. Time is tight!

9) For times of reflection in the next week. It has been so incredibly busy each day that I have had little time to stop and think about my experiences other than writing these blogs. 


Coming Up This Week:
-Boat trip to an island in the Gulf of Thailand with Jon & Bonnie for a beach day
-Night market shopping
-Sunday kids outreach program
-Visiting the Cambodian slums
-Karaoke night with the girls at the orphanage
-More Thai cooking lessons & Thai massage
-Teaching in the government offices and English classes for the 'moms' at the orphanage
-A trip down to Rayong (the beach city where I was a few weeks ago) for a debrief retreat. Rumour has it that suntanning and snorkelling in the sparkling sea are on the agenda! ;)
-Flying home next Saturday (Aug.17).....bittersweet! 

Thanks for reading! I'll update again soon. Much Love. <3