It's been a year since I left a rainy Sydney Airport for a foggy Hong Kong and ended up in a dark humid Bangkok Thailand. with just a hiking backpack, a carry on and a pillow -- no hair dryers, no extra comforts, just a week or so worth of clothes a pair of tennis shoes and flip flips -- for three months!? [sometimes I miss living life that simply...!]
It's crazy what you remember a year later, I remember the customs guy at the Sydney airport guessing that we were with YWAM because his sister had been involved with YWAM, the nasty dessert we had for dinner on the plane, I remember taking Thai money out at the airport, I remember getting picked up in a Sung-tow for the first time, racing down the busy high way thinking to myself, is this really my life?! I remember being scared/anxious/excited all at the same time... not knowing what to expect. fast forward to June 2011, three months later, I couldn't believe it was already over, that short amount of time... was so life-changing.
the people I met, the stories we heard, the lives we saw change, the long sweaty church services, the language barriers, the food, the opportunities, the tears, the laughs, the tension, and the joy of knowing we were all exactly where God wanted us for that moment in time. I'm SO thankful for that opportunity and really will never forget Thailand.
customs lines. smoggy sun rises. meeting missionary families. passing out Thai Bibles. an elephant ride. shady internet cafes. laundromats. fitting 18 people in the bed of a pick up truck. skype calls. running around the Chaing Mai moat, early enough to see the monks collecting the offering from the shrines. eating rice for all three meals. grocery shopping at 7-11 and Tesco. the colors and smells of the markets. language barriers. bad coffee, but good enough. baht. church services on the cement floor of an four wall church. Karen grandma's. being offered fanta in a dirty plastic cup. battery powered house electricity. nick names. cold showers, even if hot was an option. mountains. hand motions. song-tow adventure rides. learning. growing. sleeping in a bamboo hut. hospitality. sights and sound of the Burma & Thai border. alive churches. worship in Thai. lights & sights of Bangla Road. putting Satan in his place, before going into the bars. seeing the look on a refugee/orphan's face when she was told she was beautiful. living simply. being the minority/sticking out. roof top worship. sweaty bus rides. crowded streets. torrential rain. smoothies. long church services. the kids. trying to teach English in a creative way. walks to the corner hut for mystery snacks. speaking in church services with translators. bug bites. playing UNO with sponsored kids. MANGO. bucket showers with chickens and pigs. Starbucks for bar ministry intercessions. being faithful in the little. the sight of Phuket from a plane window. live monkey's. secret beaches. hill tribes. motor bikes. street vendors. fashion. uni students. the lady at the cafeteria bakery. wild dogs. won gen. hiking backpacks. seeing so many white tourist men. plastic chairs. Sa-wat-dee Ka / kob-khun Ka. culture sensitivity. trying and trying again to use chop sticks. avoiding spice. seems crackers. bumpy bus rides. seeing God move in Thailand.
that. was. Thailand.
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