The week of June 30th-August 7th I encountered God in a new way.
I was given the privilege to go to Chiang Rai, Thailand to teach English in the schools and at a local orphanage.
Upon arrival to Chiang Rai, we had 3 different layovers in the following cities:
Upon arrival to Chiang Rai, we had 3 different layovers in the following cities:
Minneapolis, MN
Tokyo, Japan
Bangkok, Thailand
The traveling alone was a new experience in itself; 20+ hours in the air.
(but an experience I look forward to having again soon)
This is what I wrote in my journal each night while I was in Thailand.
I hope you enjoy;
I hope you enjoy;
Thailand Day 1:
Though it's only been 3 days of traveling for our team, I feel now that we are well equipped and have just the perfect team for what this mission trips purpose is. 20 hours of flying and 4 hours of sleep in a hotel in Bangkok, awaiting the last 3 hour flight of the journey to Chiang Rai, I can honestly say that my life has already been changed. The moment I realized what I had gotten myself into was when we reached the Tokyo airport and there were barely any signs in English. It is, however, a miracle that none of our flights were delayed nor did anyone lose any of their luggage. His mercy and grace has definitely prepared our way ahead of us. After racing through the Bangkok airport to find our hotels shuttle service, we finally made is to a very nice hotel placed right in the middle of a trash yard. We then all decided to go eat at a restaurant we had passed on our way to the hotel. Dodging lake-sized puddles and walking briskly to get through the rain, we then were welcomed warmly to a Karaoke bar where Pastor Matt and Brandon showed off their skills along side the drunken Thai men. Afterward, we searched for and soon found a 7Eleven where we purchased bottled water and Thai wasabi chips for a snack. We soon reunited with out beds, hoping lizards wouldn't join.
Thailand Day 2:
Thailand Day 3:
Today was our first full day here in Chiang Rai. Lauren and I both woke up early and were welcomed by a beautiful breakfast spread outside on the patio. After breakfast, our missionary, Laurel, drove us to the chapel at the orphanage to do a run through of how our schedule at the schools would be run. Lauren and I were placed in the second rotation: Obeying Commands. After we ate out delicious lunch there at the home, we left for our first English camp. When we first arrived and were getting started, we were all a bit sheepish but as time went by, we finally broke through to the kids and got the ball rolling. It was amazing to see hoe quickly the children caught on, understood, and spoke the commands. Lauren would slowly say "Miss Jackie, stand up please" and I would stand up and lead the kids to repeat "stand up please". They did such an amazing job, and even enjoyed our songs "If You're Happy and You Know It" and "Father Abraham". I loved being ridiculous and making the kids laugh, their laughter is what truly kept us going. In the end, the children learned much and we left knowing tomorrow would only get better. After a quick nap and study time we left for the home, ate and played with the kids, and even sang with the older high school girls. Tonight Lauren and I taught the devotional and decided to talk about Kind David and the gifts and anointing God has on their lives. The night ended with learning out Thai numbers and how to say "Thank you" and "Good-bye". I can already tell it's going to be tough leaving at the end of the week.
Thailand Day 4:
This morning after our wonderful breakfast we headed to one of the schools for our first English camp with the younger kids. Lauren and I finally got a good routine going. The kids seemed to really enjoy telling us what to do, anything that would make us look silly was quickly abused, but we enjoyed doing it just as much. After we finished with the younger kids, we sat down for a delicious lunch which was followed by going out to the play area and meeting all of the kids (they really enjoyed laughing at me trying to pronounce their names). Their smiles and giggles let me know they were at least happy I was trying. The camp with the older kids went great! They caught on to the activities and really ran with what they learned. After all of the rotations were through we each received a purse from the school director and got our picture taken with him. The process of leaving the school took about 30 minutes. The children swarmed us with hugs, kisses, pictures, and paper for our autographs. It took all of my strength not to cry while leaving. Girls would grab a hold of me and not let go, kiss my cheek and hands, and squeal after giving me a hug. It was such a humbling experience seeing how grateful they were. We led worship at the night’s devotional at the orphanage and were even able to celebrate a couple of the kids’ birthdays with yummy Thai cakes and a couple rounds of Ninja.
Thailand Day 5:
Today was so amazing. We had the most fun at the school we taught at today than we have had before. The kids were both so well behaved and very fun and active in participating. Lauren and mines rotation was very smooth, we finally feel like we’ve got a great working system. As we finished our lunch there at the school, the children again swarmed us asking for our autographs, it was so precious. Lauren and I took several pictures with a group of girls and it took us about 15 minutes to get through all of the BIG hugs, kisses, and autographs. I did not want to leave one bit. We got to have a good while to rest before going to the Christian Kindergarten. The children were so darling. My team, the blue team, was especially the best J. They sang “Jesus Loves Me’ and “I’m in the Lord’s Army” for us. My eyes swelled with tears as I watched the little Thai children do their motions and stomp in place. After we left, the school gave us little gifts as a thank you. Later on we went to a “Wal-Mart” type store there in Thailand called “Tesco Lotus” where we got to eat and shop around for a bit. Lauren and I found some great shirts at a little boutique there in the market.
Thailand Day 6:
It’s hard to believe that today was our last full day in Thailand. This morning after our adapter decided to pop and smoke up on us, we headed out to eat breakfast. We went to a high school today to teach 7th graders. It was very difficult at first to get the kids to get involved, but Lauren and I finally got the kids to loosen up a bit. Since we were teaching older kids than earlier in the week, Lauren and I had to improve an entirely new routine…that sure was interesting; near the end we got a good handle on everything though. Glory to God J. After we said our goodbyes we ate lunch at the school (Pad Thai), although I wasn’t too hungry due to the fact that it was blistering hot out that day. We had a couple of free hours before we went to the church to prepare for our Kids Crusade that night. I was put in charge of teaching the motions to “Superhero” and “Tell The World”. The fast songs went over SO well, the kids absolutely LOVED getting to just dance and be silly. We also had a couple of games where the kids could win prizes, those went over so well! We did worship, me and Brandon Verderber sang, Lauren Rudichuk played pad and sang, and Matt Hall played the drums for us. There were about 60-70% of just school children that were there with their families of which had never been to church before. It was so amazing seeing how happy they were and excited to be there at the service. I found myself infested with the little ones crawling all over me and pulling me every which way to play and watch them. I’m not looking forward to leaving these precious babies. I know, without a shadow of a doubt, that I will soon return to these precious people. How could I not?
Thailand Day 7:
When I woke up realizing we were leaving today, my heart dropped. We went to the House of Grace (the orphanage) to eat breakfast and say goodbye to everyone. I knew the waterworks were going to greet us upon arrival that morning, and I was right. So many BIG hugs and kisses were given and received. The children even gave us all gifts thanking us for all we had done. Yui and I just held each other and cried, it was so hard to say goodbye to her. Not too long after, we drove to the elephant rides. We were all still very heartbroken from leaving the children, but the elephants soon made everything a lot better. Lauren and I got on the first elephant and I even got to move down and sit on the neck of the elephant. It was the most amazing experience of my life! I fell even more absolutely in love with Thailand at that moment. We had a one-hour ride and then got on little boats to ride down a river to a hot spring spa. It reeked of sulfur, but it was still very interesting. After another long ride, we ended up at the shops and market in Maesa (the northern most point of Thailand). I saw/bought so many different things. I had no desire whatsoever to leave. We go to the airport fairly early and had out last Thai dinner with Laurel. As we boarded our plane and took off for Bangkok, my heart was left behind in Thailand.
So, as you can tell…
Thailand left quite an impression on my heart.
My vision has been broadened of my ministry and what all God has in store for me.
Writing a quick little blog doesn't do justice the true impact this trip had on my life.
Feel free to ask me questions!
I'd absolutely LOVE to share with you.
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