Escapades in Thailand

Thursday some of the older students and half of the leaders had an opportunity to go to the University to hand out flyers inviting students to a new Ministry. It is one that some of the staff we are working with are just starting up. In the evening, they were able to go participate in a hangout time with the college ministry. Few showed up the first week, but it gives us something to be praying for when we go back home. The rest of the team worked hard on our painting project at the academy. We had some fun time playing games that evening and catching up on our memory verses.

Friday, the team went to a children’s home and moved a lot of dirt. They are getting ready to build a wall and needed the sand and gravel moved to the right places. Our team did an amazing job of doing the heavy lifting, so they are now set to get started on the project. They were blessed with a delicious meal of chicken and green beans over rice. Some got to try sugarcane. The fresh bananas were a highlight for some, and hanging out with the children was a highlight for all. When the team got back to the base, we cleaned up and helped with football until dinner time. The staff eat together each Friday and this week we contributed some homemade no bake cookies and rice crispy treats. We had a fun time during our worship service and the kids led an icebreaker game, performed two dramas, and sang a couple songs. When the evening was over, we had prayer time, and it started to hit some of the children and our team that they only have one more week together. There have been some relationships made, and our hearts have been forever touched.

Saturday, we spent the morning helping to entertain the young children with puppet presentations and balloon animals. This is a highlight of the week for our kids. When they were through, we had lunch and started working on our verse reviews for the week. Miss Kate and Miss Lori went grocery shopping for the upcoming week. It has been raining all night and all day and we were supposed to go to Singha Park in the afternoon. This is not a place you want to go if it’s raining. It stopped raining about 2 o’clock and by three we were on our way to our sightseeing tour. The tour was riding a bus around the park. The first stop we made was at Swan Lake where we fed the fish. The next stop was the tea plantation. We each got to smell the six different flavors that they make there. Each one of us was given a sample bag of our choice to enjoy a small cup of tea. It was delicious and very unique. The next stop was a mini zoo. There were giraffe and zebra, goats And Shetland ponies. There were also a longhorn cow. It was extremely interesting. We then ended at a pizza restaurant. As soon as we sat down to dinner, it started pouring down rain. It was so much fun to sit and enjoy a meal together. Afterward, it stopped raining long enough for us to wander over to the souvenir shop. It was a lovely evening and as soon as we got home and started raining again!

On Sunday morning, we got up early and went to the Golden Triangle. It is the place where Thailand, Myanmar, and Laos meet. We took a boat ride that lasted about 40 minutes. It took us near both Myanmar and Laos so that we could see them from the water. It was a lovely day. Afterwards we stopped at Lotus’s. Think American Walmart. Some of us had Thai food and some of us had KFC for lunch and then got to do some shopping for snacks. We even got a doughnut to enjoy later this afternoon. We are now on the way back to the base where we will go to church this evening. Our team is sharing two songs, a drama, and then Mr. Ethan will preach the message.

The ministry we are staying at in Thailand is made up of a staff from multiple different countries. Some are from Brazil, some from Thailand, and some from America. There is even one that just joined from the Philippines. It has been the most welcoming place to stay as they are such a supportive group. They have given us their space and are so generous with their time. We have grown to love the staff and students that we interact with. It’s the same groups of children each week that come to play club football, so we see them weekly. Some of them are from the children’s homes that we’ve gone to work at as well. Please pray for us as we finish up work this week. Please pray also that the rain will hold off so we can finish our painting projects. I know the kids would love to see their work complete.

Ezra E. Our time in Thailand has been so fun, and we've got to help out and encourage so many great kids in our area by working at two children's homes, leading worship times, and playing soccer and other games with the kids. Our team has bonded very well and we're really one Jesus lovin' people servin' unit for the Kingdom. Thailand is so beautiful, and it's been amazing to see so many mountains and plants of God's creation – especially at our Singha, Park and boat ride sightseeing days. Keep praying for everyone we meet to see Christ in us.

Hannah G. Dear David, Lois, Mom, Dad, and Moses. I love Thailand so much! Everything we do is totally awesome! I can't wait to see you soon.

Laurelyn V. Got to see a lot of Thailand this week and be a blessing to many of the kids here. This week we were working at some of the children's homes helping protect it against the rising waters. We got to play with many of the little kids after soccer and at the children's homes. Love it here.

Ben K. Hey guys, we're having a great time here in Thailand. Thank you for praying for us. Love you guys. See you soon.

Callie B. I've really been enjoying my time here in Thailand! The whole team has grown together each day we've been here. I've made so many memories that I'll remember forever. I can't believe it's our last week. It's gone by so quick! But I'm looking forward to going home and telling everyone about what God did in Thailand.

Monika F. I've been having so much fun getting to know the kids better and playing games with them. We also got to see more of Thailand and it's beautiful here. I'm grateful that our team is able to work together so well and that we are able to serve the Lord together.