Wednesday November 25...

This morning I was back to the Continuum office, to continue facilitating Photoshop training. On the way there, we looked back and noticed that Kathy was not following behind us. We turned around to make sure everything was okay, only to realize that the motorbike had run out of gas. So Dean went to get gas and Kathy and I went for a wee bit of a walk...lol...it made for a great morning adventure, and a great opportunity to take pictures.

When we arrived at the office, we needed to get water as it was a particularly hot morning. Here in Thailand you can walk down the street and use an automatic dispenser to fill up your bottles.

Also in Thailand you can get gas for your motorbike from a roadside stand.

In the afternoon I headed back to the Ministry Centre because I had a craving for one of my favourite dishes here...spicy egg omelete over rice from "Grandma's "roadside stand. After lunch I went for a walk and took some pictures, before heading back to the centre.

My use of the Thai language is improving. It is a difficult language, because it is tonal. There can be 1 word with 3 different meanings depending on the tone you use. I have committed some phrases to memory, like Thank-You, How are You, Hello/Goodbye, I am well, Plus I can count in Thai. Hoping to expand my language knowledge even more before I leave.

That evening Nicky, one of the young women who works in the ministry centre was going to Pattya to open for the Christian group The Parachute Band. We were going to go, along with a bunch of the students and minstry workers, but decided that given the fact we were heading to Cambodia in a couple days, we could probably use an early night and the extra sleep.








I took my first Tuk Tuk Taxi form the ministry centre home that evening. It only cost about $1.25.







It was a relaxing evening of baking brownies and cookies to take to the Cambodia missionaries, and playing Cranium.

On too today...I had to go and get pictures for my Visa. So I went to the Kodak Kiosk in the mall, they took my photo, and told me 20 mins, 20 minutes later afer lunch at the noodle shop I went back and they told me 20 more, 20 more minutes later, they said 10 more minutes which turned into 15 minutes. They gave me my 12 passport style photos, but forgot to include the Cd, so 10 minutes after that. I have my photos for my visa which have been photoshopped to perfection...lol.

I am uber stoked because tonight we have an evening of worship, which is a fitting way to prepare before we leave by bus for Cambodia tomorrow morning at 6:00am. That being said, I will not be doing any blog updates over the next 5 days while in Cambodia. but will be sure to include updates on all our experiences upon our return.

PRAYER REQUEST
Please be praying for us as we minister in Cambodia at the Aids Clinic, Orphanages and Slums.
Pray for Travelling mercies & safety

Tuesday, November 24

And so begins...Week 2!

Start of a new week, and the end of my first full week in Thailand. I am loving it. I love the people, so full of joy and the spirit of worship. I love the surroundings - beautiful, the lifestyle - pretty laid back, it's a good place.

I have been introduced to a wonderful treat, not from Thailand originally, Australia I think, but wonderful just the same. They are called Tim Tam's and it is a chocolate covered, creme filled cookie. You bite off one corner and then the opposite corner and take a sip off coffee through it before eating the delicious coffee soaked cookie. Sounds gross but is so good.

There are Geckos with see through bodies here and giant cockroaches that fly! I am trying to get pictures of both, but hey are fast. There are wild dogs everywhere like 7 in a short walk to the corner. They are for the most part harmless, unless they chase down your motorbike or run in front of it, neither of which I have experienced yet.

You have 2 options for Taxi's in Thailand one is motorbike taxi ,the other is Tuk-Tuk's kind of like 3 wheel motorbikes. Both widely available.

We had chapel in the morning! What a great way to start the day, with amazing worship and then pouring into God's word. After that I took the most terrifying motorbike ride over to the continuum office to facilitate a training session for some of the staff on how to use Photoshop. Dean drove fast, completely in control and aware of what he was doing but fast...lol. I prayed the whole way "Heavenly Father above, keep us safe by your power & love." This has become my transportation prayer...lol.

I spent the afternoon updating my blog from the weekend, and then working on an advertisement for the College to go into the Thailand Christian Directory. It is interesting that God has me here not only to minister for him through Preaching His word, prayer and outreach, but also in practical ways, using the training and experience I have garnered over the years.

In the evening we went for supper at the food court in the mall, not like any food court back home...lol..but it was amazing because they were playing the Celine Dion greatest Hits CD.

I have some amazing stories of God's miracle working power & providence to share upon my return. Pastor Al & Terry have lived an incredible life and as a result have blessed the lives of so many others, including the over 30 Thai/Cambodian children they have adopted into their family over the years, the majority of them serving the Lord today in ministry. While I have yet to get all the details, the basic story of their one daughter coming into their care is as follows. She was strapped to her biological mom's back, walking to the Thai border during the exodus when a landmine went off, killing her mom and throwing her into the bushes. While in the jungle, she and her siblings tell a story of a man they met who told them that he was preparing a place for them. Pastor Al & Terry came across these children and took them in, when during a Sunday school lesson, they were shown a picture of Jesus and the one girl said she knew that man, He was the one who said that He was preparing a place for her and her siblings.

PRAYER REQUESTS:
~Pray for preparations and plans to fall in place for our outreach trip to Cambodia - we leave Friday morning
~ Continued prayer for traveling mercies & safety
~ Pray for divine appointments and the wisdom and boldness to speak and minister in spirit & truth

I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. ~ Philippians 1:3-6

Monday, November 23...

All Work & No Play - NO WAY!

Sundays & Mondays are the days off for people working at the Ministry centre here in Thailand. So Monday morning after sleeping in and then enjoying a homemade breakfast of eggs and toast, Rebekah and I took the motorbike to the SriRacha Tiger Zoo. The zoo is famous for the fact that they have tigers that nurse baby pigs and Pigs that nurse baby tigers.

For 350 baht or $10.00, we got to see all the animal exhibits, the Crocodile show, the Tiger Show and the best one the Elephant Show. They had asked for volunteers at the Elephant Show, so of course I put my hand up and was subsequently asked to come down - so I did. The elephants tried to sit on me, gave me a butt massage and pretended to walk on me...When in Thailand :D

There are many photo opportunities at the zoo, for 150 baht or $5 you can have your picture taken bottle feeding baby tigers, holding baby crocodiles, sitting with the chimps or with a boa constrictor. We had hoped to get out pictures taken with the elephant lifting us up in His trunk but by the time we had gotten to it, it had closed. I was also up for getting my picture taken with the full grown tiger, but again the opportunity had passed.

It was a beautiful facility, with gorgeous flora and made for a relaxing day. I especially enjoyed the coconuts that they would crack open allowing you to drink the sweet fresh coconut water from.

SUNDAY, November 22

ONE WAY - JESUS!

Thank you to everyone, who was praying for me this past weekend, as I prepared to speak at the One Way Youth Ministry. It was an amazing experience, and God certainly brought me peace and the words to speak, as I delivered the Gospel message, to young and old alike. Pastor Neil, was my interpreter and said when I was finished that it was a powerful message and more than he expected, as he thought I was very young...lol...Praise the Lord for the power of His words, and for using me in even small ways here in Thailand.

We just relaxed in the afternoon, before going to the evening international service, where I engaged in an amazing night of worship and heard a wonderful message on the lukewarm church of Laodicea, I am excited to share the illustration she used when I come home.

After service, Rebekah, Kathy, Dean, the kids and I went to the night market. Thailand is full of night markets. They are like giant flea markets, with multiple shops and food vendors. We had dinner at the "Elephant Butt" (not it's actual name but a description of the logo), and I purchased a pair of flip flops ($3.00) for our trip to Cambodia and then we enjoyed some crepes, and roti. Roti is a desert made with fried dough with sweetened condensed milk and sugar poured over top and rolled. MMMMM Delicious.

Day 4...Mission & Motorcycle Adventures

WEATHER: Woke up it was 21 degrees and is now 26 degrees, it is a cool day in Thailand :D

MY MISSIONS MISSION
I checked my Facebook yesterday, and found the following mission in my inbox, sent by two amazing and obviously brilliant young friends. Thanks guys, I am looking forward to completing the challenge, it certainly adds a new dimension of fun to my trip.

Your mission (mission haha in 2 ways)..if you choose to accept is to complete the following tasks by the time you are back on Canadian soil:

1) You must fine two people who resemble Julia Hamilton and Mary Goodwin and get picture proof.

2) Teach a child to "pound it"

3) Add a lyric from a Michael Jackson song into one of your sermons. ie: Just beat it! ( this is not crucial but 25 bonus points will be given)

4) Sing our entire National Anthem at some point. at least 2 non-Canadian witnesses and their signatures.

5) Collect one napkin from a fast food restaurant that we don't have in Canada. And one from a fast food restaurant that we do have.

6) For 50 bonus points take a picture of someone famous.

7) The final challenge is to get a signature from a flight attendant and to triple ALL your points the signature of THE pilot (co-pilot does NOT count)

MOTORCYCLE ADVENTURES
So today I am going to share a bit about the driving here in Thailand. As I have already mentioned a large portion of the population drive Motorcycles or scooters, in fact that is how I get around here.

They drive on the left hand side of the road, cars and motorbikes along side each other, jockeying for position. Now Rebekah is a shockingly impressive motorbike driver. I say shockingly not because I would assume she could not conform to the rules of the road, but because in Thailand the driving demands a certain amount of aggressive behaviour. To say the least I would never associate aggressive behaviour with Rebekah.

I have driven into the college and around town everyday on the back of Rebekah's Honda, without incident. We wear all our safety equipment, which consists of a helmet, not knee pads, or elbow pads, no jacket, not even long sleeves.

We take the highway from where I am staying into the ministry building going about 70km/h and while it can at times be a little disconcerting as we jockey and squeeze up to the front between cars and other motorbikes doing the same, I never found myself to concerned with the inherent dangers...until yesterday!

Driving for lunch, the motorbike started to sway a bit, which caused me to gulp a bit, when we realized that a tire had blown. Fortunate for us, one of the nice vendors along the side of the road indicated to us that there was a repair shop a couple feet from us. So with 3 minutes, and $3 we had a new tire and were back on the road. After lunch we went to check out where Rebekah and Josh live before heading back to the college, on the way back we hit a patch of loose sand and as we started to break the bike gave way, luckily our four feet planted on the ground, and with my gift of girth, we were able to keep from taken a spill. I am praying I do not come home with any souvenir road rash from Thailand.

Oh but the adventure continues, as we continued to drive a truck decided it needed to turn left crossing over the lane in front of us, just barely taking us out.

Not to worry though, we made it back to ministry centre safe and sound, and I got to experience the fullness of Thailand driving. I wish there was a way I could describe in all its facets what the driving is like here, perhaps I can take some video footage one day as we are driving.

MOM if you are reading this, do not worry, really it is not that bad, I am in good hands <3

Thailand the land of smiles...for a reason...
Okay I wish I had known this before hand, because I would have been coming back with some metal in my mouth. The cost of dental work here in Thailand is incredibly inexpensive, and from all accounts from both the Thai locals and white missionaries the quality and service is great. Braces here cost $600 - $1118 for ceramic braces. Wisdom tooth extraction $23 - 48.

PRAYER REQUEST
To everyone reading this, I am preaching tomorrow morning at approx. 11:15am Thailand time, so 11:15pm Saturday for you. I am excited for this opportunity, but would be lying if I said I was not nervous given the dynamics of using an interpreter, and being in a totally different culture. If you could please remember to keep my in prayer that God would speak through me and into the hearts of each person there, that would be swell.

Thailand Day 3...

I spent most of the day, hanging out with Kathy and one of her missionary friends Renee, sharing stories of our travels and experiences, talking international politics, planning our trip to Cambodia and laughing and enjoying coffee. It was great, and so comfortable. Apparently they found me hilarious, and are looking forward to doing coffee again, before I leave, and in jest suggested I should move to Thailand. I suggested that perhaps they had been in Thailand to long, if they found me funny. They are wonderful people, and I am so blessed that God has provided such a wonderful host family to stay with. CLICK IMAGES TO SEE LARGER PICS...

TEMPLES, MONKS, SEA TURTLES & FISHERMEN...

Later in the afternoon, Bekah and I went to visit the temples. The views were incredible as they were located right on the gulf. I got some amazing pictures, of the temples, which were unarguably beautiful, the monks, sea turtles and the fishing boats. It was sad, and a little confusing I thought, they have so many different God's that they worship. Chinese temples, beside Buddhist temples. Since they seem to be okay with diversity, perhaps someone should plant a Christian church in between a couple of the temples. Maybe the simplicity of an open air ampitheatre on the beach, where people could come to pray and worship through song, and learn that they are the divine temple Created by God himself, in which Jesus wants to reside, more beautiful than any of the ornate structures that they have created for their gods/idols.

CHA NOME YEN...

On the way home we stopped to get some Cha Nome Yen from a street vendor. Cha Nome Yen is a delicious tea, made with a brewed orange tea, and sweetened condensed milk poured over ice...so sweet...soo good. Gonna bring some home to make for one of the C&C suppers.

PATTAYA & PRAISE...

This evening we went to Pattaya Praise. Pattaya is the Soddom and Gomorrah of this area of Thailand only 2nd or perhaps equal to Bangkok. The city of Pattaya has a huge mafia influence bothThai and Russian. Pattaya Praise is held at the Tamar centre owned by YWAM and invites the churches of Pattaya together for a night of praise & worship. The Tamar centre is located amongst the worst of the worst, "Street 6", the bourbon street of Thailand. There is lady boy bar on one side, a brothel on the other, and these type of venues line the streets of Pattaya. The purpose of Pattaya Praise is to minister directly and indirectly to those in the area, including lady boy prostitutes, girls sold into the sex trade, and more. The Tamar centre has an incredible ministry, it offers free salon training, and hires people to work in it (designed to attract the prostitutes and lady boys) It also has free English classes which the Brothel owners are more than happy to have their workers attend. Through this ministry they are taught a viable trade and English skills, while building relationships with Christians, if they make a commitment to Christ, they are then moved out of Pattaya to another Tamar centre where they will live and learn a trade such as cooking (amazing desserts) or making silk products. The evening was amazing, and was a first hand example of what true religion is. I am sure that if He had to choose this is where Jesus would find himself. The whole length of the street is lined with brothels, Ladyboy bars, and all the prostitutes sit/stand outside waiting to be picked up. It was so sad to see the number of westerners and "Furong" White people, who acquainted this area, especially older men. Worse was seeing the number or young boys 10-12 years old, walking up and down the street, selling flowers. The number of toddlers walking around was also disconcerting. On a positive note it was amazing to see, the prostitutes, clapping and listening to the worship music, hearing the word of God spoken, and being challenged to accept the "Real True Love" that God has for them. At one point I noticed one of the young prostitutes talking to one of the White Tamar Centre workers, at which point she got one of the Thai girls to come and answer her questions. To see the light of God being shone in a place of extreme darkness delighted my heart and stirred my Holy Discontent, confirming my belief that we need to get out of our comfortable places, and bring light in to the dark world. That the best place to worship, the best place to minister, is amongst the lost don't expect them to come to you - GO TO THEM.

WEDNESDAY...Day 2

Hey everyone, it has been busy, but relaxing here in Thailand, I am pretty much loving it. I was unable to update the blog yesterday, so I will have two separate posts one for Wednesday and one for Thursday. WEDNESDAY

What a day it was, the first full day in Thailand and the jet lag hit hard. I guess that is to be expected when you only get about 9 hours of intermittent sleep over 72 hours. I was exhausted, my throat was sore, my lips were chapped from the plane, my nose was runny, my body needed rest, but I was determined to push through the day so that I could get on a regular sleep schedule. So with some Tylenol and Strepsil throat lozenge (which cost less than $1.00) I made it through, almost…by 8:00pm, my body had, had enough and was shutting down. We were having supper, then went to look for some sandals, and which point I think I was barely conscious. Rebekah drove me home on the Vespa, and as soon as we got in the house, I hit the bed and was out like a light! I awoke with no sore throat, a little congested, but all in all 90% better and ready for another great day in Thailand.

The sun rises at 6am and sets at 6pm here in Thailand, regardless of the season. Though this is their late fall, almost winter season it is still quite Hot, and I am told it is uncommonly less humid than normal, though for us Canadians it is still HOT & HUMID…I like it.

The food is amazing, the selection is great and the price is phenomenal, most dishes are only $1.00 for large portions. We went out for lunch, and ordered 6 different dishes, so I could try a bunch of variety, at $1.00 each you can afford to do that. Pad Thai was my favourite, nothing like the Pad Thai in Canada. The orange juice here is amazing, super sweet, super orangy. At supper I had Pad Thai again, and some pork dumplings and then the most amazing dessert of life. When Bekah, first brought it to the table, I thought the whole concept seemed gross, it was sticky rice with Mango’s on top with some sort of glaze. They eat a lot of rice here, but the thought of rice for dessert seemed a little too much and unappetizing. I took one bite and was stunned, it was by far the best thing I have ever eaten. A Sweet taste with a little bit of coconut undertone and Mango’s with flavour I have never experienced before and wow! There are fruit and icecream vendors, driving the streets of Thailand, I am looking forward to stopping one of these bicycles and tasting their delicacies.

Here in Thailand, it is not uncommon for you to see transvestites in your travels. One of the ministries that they are involved with here, is holding worship services in a lady boy bar in attempts to reach this community of transvestites, trans-gendered. I appreciate the style of ministry that finds you meeting people where they are at...hmmm...kinda like Jesus :D

Walking around Thailand, at points reminded me both of Africa and Louisiana. Louisiana because many of the homes, look like those hit by the hurricane, and with the palm trees and heat it is easy to find the parallels. It reminds me of Africa in the sense that you can have the very very poor living only steps away from the very wealthy and their 4 story malls.

Speaking of 4 story malls, Thailand is a shoppers paradise. I am going to reveal a little bit of my girly side here, I love shoes, purses, hats and belts. SHOES are everywhere, every kind you can imagine and inexpensive, definitely probably the best place in the world to shop combining cost, quality and uniqueness. Now while there are many kinds of shoes, finding them in my size is more of a challenge, Thai women do not traditionally have size 9.5/10 feet. The shoes seem to mostly go up to 7/8 though there are a few larger options..lol

More pictures for this post to follow...

THAILAND - The Journey

Hello everyone, I am writing to you from the future. It is 10:30am Wednesday November 18th. I arrived in Thailand 1:30am this morning, so 46 hours from the time I left Kingston. Oddly enough, I am not too tired, but I am sure it will hit me soon enough.

It is only the morning of my first day, so I do not have too many insights, or adventures to share as of yet, but I will tell you a wee bit about my travel experience so far.

Prepared with all the necessities for travel provided by my 2 dear friends, in the amazing travel gift basket they made me, I left from Kingston at 3:30am making my way to the airport in Toronto. I missed the exit to the Park N Fly, but turned myself around at the next exit and was good to go.

My flights were flawless, I only had 55 minutes to connect from Chicago to Tokyo, and I made it! I thought for sure my luggage would be delayed but it made it to. It was nice to get off one flight and walk right on to the other without incident the whole way through.

CHOPSTICKS...

I have established that everything tastes better when eaten with chopsticks - I think from now on I will eat everything with chopsticks. Jean Soo, you eating your Doritos with chopsticks makes so much more sense to me now - BRILLIANT - plus your hands don't get chip dirt on them :D

The food on the plane was amazing - I quite enjoyed the curried chicken and rice!

INDESCRIBABLE...

On my flight to Tokyo, you had your own personal TV, with your choice of movies, TV shows, music and Video games, with your own remote/video game paddle. The same with my flight to Bangkok, except it also included the options of watching live video footage of the flight from an outside front view (like you were watching from the cockpit, or a lower view as if you were strapped to the bottom of the plane.) So it was night time and the views of the stars were AMAZING, thoughts of Louis Giglio's How Great is Our God video came to mind.

GOOD STEWARDSHIP & THE POWER OF PARTNERSHIP...
A lesson in good stewardship, smart thinking, the power of partnership and how every little bit helps, from American Airlines. At the end of the flight, there was an announcement that said you could donate any of your left over change to UNICEF, any denomination, any currency, so if you are coming back from THAILAND for example and have some THAI coins you can drop them in a blue Unicef bag they pass around. More than 3 million dollars has been raised to help children in Africa and other countries as a result. Makes me think there is so much potential for us in our own communities to partner together and do more, on the principal that every little bit helps, and if we pool all our little bits together we will have a lot.

TOILETS...

I stopped to go to the washrooms in the Tokyo airport and their facilities were super cool. The toilets had digital options, that you could choose, including the sound of water running, a bidet, a bum splash, deodarizing fragrance spray and more. The hand dryer was super powerful, it made my skin ripple!

NO FOOT FETISHES HERE...

So in Thailand the feet are considered the lowest part of the body, literally and symbolically, so it is rude to point your feet at anyone, touch someone with your feet, not take your shoes off at the door, etc. In the Tokyo airport I was uber self-conscious, I felt like every time I was crossing my legs I was pointing my feet at someone, Rebecca has informed me that crossing your legs is OKAY...

GIFT BASKET WELCOME...

So a gift basket to send me off and a gift basket upon my arrival. I am staying with a wonderful family in Thailand, Dean and Kathy and their 2 children, Bailey, 13 and Julia, 11. They have provided me a great room in their home and are so sweet and hospitable. Bailey & Jessica, quickly became my favourites when they both guessed my age at 25 - The game works in THAILAND to!
Rebekah and Josh had prepared a wonderful gift basket for me, full of Thailand delights and necessities, and Julia their 11 year old had even drawn me a welcome sign.

VESPA ADVENTURES...

I drove into the college this morning on the back of Rebecca's Vespa, which was so cool, and will be how we get around here in Thailand, perhaps it may be how I get around in Canada this summer :D

JESUS & ME in Thailand a photo montage...

So I had decided that I was going to do a photo montage of my trip in Thailand, and put to good use the Jesus Christ action figure my friend Beth had purchased for me years ago when she was in California. Till Thailand it had never even been taken out of the package. I realized all my incredible experiences in life, are a result of my relationship with Christ, and He is with me through it all. So I thought I would be fun to document my trip, by taking photos and including my Jesus Action Figure in them, a symbolic representation of the fact that He is here with me. Keep an eye out for the pic of the day to be posted on the blog. Of course there will be more but I will save them to share when I get home.

LESSON FOR THE DAY...

This whole trip so far has been a lesson in Receiving, I have a much greater understanding now of the importance of not only giving but receiving as well, they both go hand in hand in seeing God's plan come to fruition...More on this to come later.

John 3:27 "John answered and said, ” A man can receive nothing unless it has been given him from heaven."