Sunday, January 19, 2014
I have officially been in Thailand for a week! More than a week actually. It's kind of weird to think about. It feels like it's flown by, but also like I've been here forever.
Our first week was very easy as they allowed us to settle into life in Thailand. We did three days of personality/unity training - learning about ourselves and others, what ways to communicate best with different personality types and appreciating each other's strengths. It's been fun getting to know each other better and getting to see right off the bat how we're likely to operate in a team (and under stress).
We went to visit the community that we'll be volunteering in, running an after school program with the kids. It's a slum community, made up largely of Cambodian refugees. We met the woman who has started the ministry in this community, and she reminded me so much of Norma in Costa Rica. I saw a lot of similarities between Guarari and this community, but there were some new things, for sure. One thing that struck me most about the community, was the houses in the truck yard. There was lots of c-cans and rigs around the yard and behind all that were these tiny little houses made of plywood and sheet metal. We went into a couple houses, and they were tinier than my room at home. They had room for a mattress, maybe a shelf or two. And entire families were living in these houses.
One of the youth girls there asked us to come pray for a boy who was suffering from headaches and nosebleeds. He was so tiny, sitting there on the edge of the mattress, a blanket over his legs. He looked so fragile. But when he smiled, his whole face lit up. He knew a little bit of English, so he asked some of us some questions (What's your name, how old are you, how are you). He spoke so clearly. We prayed for him for healing. I just can't forget his smile. He looked around and smiled at every one of us, his little eyes shining. Goodness, what a smile.
On Saturday, we had Fun Day! We went to the market, taking three forms of transportation: Song Taw (a truck with benches in the back), ferry and moto taxi! The moto taxi was a little nerve wracking beforehand, but so fun! We went to a floating market, which I was most excited for - I love markets! I tried mini pancakes with chocolate sauce (how could that possibly not be good?) and some sort of little crab thing (not bad for seafood). I was looking at some bracelets at a jewelry booth, and the man there said he could size them for me if they were too big. As I was waiting for him to alter them, the two girls I were with said they were just going to the next booth. I looked up a few minutes later to see where they were at...and they were gone. I looked at every booth down the street we were on, and couldn't see them anywhere. My heart skipped a beat. But I told myself not to panic. I knew where I was and how to get back to our meeting place. I had no phone or way of telling time, so I didn't know what time I had to be back, and that was really the only problem. I headed back to the entrance of the market and thankfully met some friendly faces along the way. When the girls who totally ditched me showed up, we all gave them such a hard time. "How could you leave her by herself? She came up sobbing her eyes out, so distraught! She's a baby bunny! She needs to be taken care of!" But I'm super independent now, so it's totally fine.
We went to King's Park after. It had a super cool playground with equipment for adults, too! I mean, we were totally super cool about it and didn't run like crazy people all over the place and swing and hang off all the things... The park also had a river and pond to go paddle boating on, and beautiful gardens to walk around in.
We start our regular DTS schedule this week, with ministry, chores, morning workout, etc, etc. It will be harder, but it will be nice to be in a regular schedule.
Prayer Requests:
continued unity as we're living in close quarters and start to need alone time
the little boy with headaches and nosebleeds
that we would continue to learn from lectures and open up to each other
- that we would be open to what God has to say to us
I have officially been in Thailand for a week! More than a week actually. It's kind of weird to think about. It feels like it's flown by, but also like I've been here forever.
Our first week was very easy as they allowed us to settle into life in Thailand. We did three days of personality/unity training - learning about ourselves and others, what ways to communicate best with different personality types and appreciating each other's strengths. It's been fun getting to know each other better and getting to see right off the bat how we're likely to operate in a team (and under stress).
We went to visit the community that we'll be volunteering in, running an after school program with the kids. It's a slum community, made up largely of Cambodian refugees. We met the woman who has started the ministry in this community, and she reminded me so much of Norma in Costa Rica. I saw a lot of similarities between Guarari and this community, but there were some new things, for sure. One thing that struck me most about the community, was the houses in the truck yard. There was lots of c-cans and rigs around the yard and behind all that were these tiny little houses made of plywood and sheet metal. We went into a couple houses, and they were tinier than my room at home. They had room for a mattress, maybe a shelf or two. And entire families were living in these houses.
One of the youth girls there asked us to come pray for a boy who was suffering from headaches and nosebleeds. He was so tiny, sitting there on the edge of the mattress, a blanket over his legs. He looked so fragile. But when he smiled, his whole face lit up. He knew a little bit of English, so he asked some of us some questions (What's your name, how old are you, how are you). He spoke so clearly. We prayed for him for healing. I just can't forget his smile. He looked around and smiled at every one of us, his little eyes shining. Goodness, what a smile.
On Saturday, we had Fun Day! We went to the market, taking three forms of transportation: Song Taw (a truck with benches in the back), ferry and moto taxi! The moto taxi was a little nerve wracking beforehand, but so fun! We went to a floating market, which I was most excited for - I love markets! I tried mini pancakes with chocolate sauce (how could that possibly not be good?) and some sort of little crab thing (not bad for seafood). I was looking at some bracelets at a jewelry booth, and the man there said he could size them for me if they were too big. As I was waiting for him to alter them, the two girls I were with said they were just going to the next booth. I looked up a few minutes later to see where they were at...and they were gone. I looked at every booth down the street we were on, and couldn't see them anywhere. My heart skipped a beat. But I told myself not to panic. I knew where I was and how to get back to our meeting place. I had no phone or way of telling time, so I didn't know what time I had to be back, and that was really the only problem. I headed back to the entrance of the market and thankfully met some friendly faces along the way. When the girls who totally ditched me showed up, we all gave them such a hard time. "How could you leave her by herself? She came up sobbing her eyes out, so distraught! She's a baby bunny! She needs to be taken care of!" But I'm super independent now, so it's totally fine.
We went to King's Park after. It had a super cool playground with equipment for adults, too! I mean, we were totally super cool about it and didn't run like crazy people all over the place and swing and hang off all the things... The park also had a river and pond to go paddle boating on, and beautiful gardens to walk around in.
We start our regular DTS schedule this week, with ministry, chores, morning workout, etc, etc. It will be harder, but it will be nice to be in a regular schedule.
Prayer Requests:
continued unity as we're living in close quarters and start to need alone time
the little boy with headaches and nosebleeds
that we would continue to learn from lectures and open up to each other
- that we would be open to what God has to say to us
Thanks for sharing parts of your journey with us! I love reading about what you are doing and for now, it sounds like a lot of fun! We will continue to pray for you and especially the little boy with headaches! Love from the Fidelak's!
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