Anyways, now I will tell you about Thailand. Thailand has been an amazing adventure! I have loved everyday that I have been here and I would definitely come back if I ever get the chance. It is completely different from Nepal, the people, the climate, the culture, the food, everything. It's probably good that I went to Nepal before I came here though because I'm sure I would not have appreciated Thailand as much as I have if I had come right from the comforts of Australia or America. But getting off the plane in Bangkok was awesome. As I walked outside it almost felt like I was in Florida, there were palm trees and nice buildings and streets with street lamps! And there were lots of nice cars and taxis that DIDN'T honk every five seconds. That was such a relief. We spent two days in Bangkok at the YWAM base for orientation and for a little adjustment to the Thai culture. And after two days we took a bus to Chaing Rai. I was a little nervous when I heard that we were taking a bus because I knew it was a 10 hour drive and I knew what those were like in Nepal so I was worried it might be the same here in Thailand, but let me tell you, it was not. The bus was nicer than any airplane I've ever been on; it had massage chairs that reclined almost all the way, and leg rests, we had personal tvs and even refreshments, it was incredible.
In Chiang Rai we stayed in a children's home that housed 10 kids. The kids would come there to go to school in Chiang Rai and to be taught about God's word and taught how to be disciplined. It was cool to see their passion for The Lord, every morning they would wake up at 5:30 and have some worship and prayer before they started their morning chores. They were so much fun to get to know and to play games with, they loved when we taught them new games and were so willing to learn everything they could from us. While we were there we didn't do that much ministry, we stayed at the children's home the entire time and helped them with whatever they needed. We finished putting concrete on their driveway and we painted ceiling tiles and we painted a lot of rooms in one of their buildings. We also took turns to help cook lunch and dinner. The food that we got at the children's home was the best food that I've had during my entire time on DTS. Everyday we had eggs and chicken and usually fried rice or pad Thai, it was awesome, I looked forward to every meal. We were also there to help the children learn how to speak English so every night we had to plan games or a lesson that would help them learn English, it was actually a lot of fun. One day while we were in Chiang Rai we had the chance to go to a primary school and teach English there.while we were there we had the chance to do the Jonah skit and I got to share the gospel with over 60 kids, it was awesome.
After Chiang Rai we drove to Mea sai which is right on the border of Myanmar. Our time there was very different from our time in the children's home. We went out everyday and did ministry; several days we were able to go to a drop-in center which is where children from the street come and get taught about God and also get a free meal. We would go there and share some testimonies and do some dramas and just bless the kids there. That was kind of our theme in Mea Sai, to build relationships and bless the people there. We actually got to do a lot of sports ministry while we were there which was awesome! We were able to play volleyball, basketball and soccer. The soccer field that we usually played on was astro turf which was a nice change from the dirt fields that we played on in Nepal. We even had jerseys made for us that were designed by one of the staff members of YWAM Borders which is the ministry that we stayed with. We got to try lots of tasty Thai food while in Mea Sai, I even tried "Dancing Shrimp" which is just tiny little shrimps that are still alive whenyou eat them, that was pretty adventurous for me, usually I would never do something like that but I guess you have to take risks in order to have stories to tell! In Mae Sai they have a base that teaches SBS which is a YWAM second level school that stands for school of biblical studies, so one day me and a couple of people from my team were able to sit in one of there classes. It was the first day of Revelation which was really exciting for me because I had just finished reading Revelation the day before. We had eight hours of lectures but it actually went really fast because what we were learning was so interesting and I learned so much. We had lots of fun in Mea Sai but it went so fast! We were only there for 9 days but it felt like 5 because of all the stuff we did, every day was so full of activity. Sometimes after a full day of ministry we would go to the soccer field and play till 10 or 11 before we went to bed, it was a blast though!
We were also able to get a real Thai massage which was incredible. One hour of a full body massage for only $6. So awesome.
Well the past two days have been spent in Bangkok again. We went bowling one day and yesterday we went to a water park! It was a great way to end an awesome outreach. God has been so good to us this entire time, he never fails to amaze me with his blessings and his provision. I have learned so much during these three months and I'm excited to take it home and use it to bless the people around me! We leave tonight for Perth, please pray for safe travels for now and for when I go home in a little over a week!
Okay here are some pictures from out time in Thailand.
These are the girls from the children's home. This was on the last day that we were there, they did a dance for us in these beautiful costumes.
These are some pictures of us working at the children's home, lating concrete and painting walls! In the last picture we were stuffing bananas with chocolate chips to roast over the fire.
These pictures are from the primary school that we taught at, the kids were beautiful.
While in Chiang Rai we got to ride ostriches and elephants! It was the coolest experience of my life! My favorite was the elephants.
These were the jerseys that were made for us! They even have our numbers on them.
One day we got to visit this Burmese couple in the hospital and they had just had this beautiful baby girl!
And this was when we got to visit the country of Laos! We went to the golden triangle which is where Thailand, Myanmar, and Laos meet. We took a boat on the Mekong river and spent the morning in the markets of Laos, it was pretty neat.
Well that's all for now! I'm coming home soon so then I can tell you all about my adventure in person!
Love you all! See you soon :)
Xo, Helen
