The Erawan Shrine.

I was in awe. Worshiping in the middle of the day, in the middle of the city streets! People desperate, wishing for luck in business or for love! Offering food and drinks, colorful flowers and wooden elephants, daily they come, hundreds of people. The statue sits surrounded by offerings of flowers, incense and candles. It was beautiful to behold. BUT. A shrine, that’s all I could think. They pour their all out to a structure, in front of everyone, the sounds of busy people and noise everywhere,but they worship.

If you were to say they were crazy, they would not care, they probably would in turn say, no you are the crazy one! I was beholding a site I have never seen, and I had no idea seeing an idol being worshiped would make me feel the way I did. I was dumbfounded to the point of tears in my eyes.

The sad thing was not that they were in the streets worshiping their god, no; it was that I wasn’t worshiping the GOD. Call it shame, pride, religion, fear! Call it whatever, but all I can ask myself is why? Why do they have a doubtless belief that good will come out of something that is leading them to such harm? Why do I know the King of Kings if I am too ashamed to say His name! One thing I did leave the Shrine understanding is how Shadrach, Meshach and abednego must have felt. I believe they probably looked at the idol the way I did, broken because of the people bowing, but even more confident to stand because of the love of God they felt.

















www.sacred-destinations.com

1 Timothy 5:2

I love that only after a week of working with the kids; I am greeted now every morning with a loud phee Megaaan, Megaan! It makes the walk to the children’s center in the heat and humidity worth it! I came just at the end of the “cool” season, it is about 80 in the days and each day we move a little closer into the hot season! Love it!
BUT more importantly! I believe my heart now belongs to a very cute boy, with dark hair, dark eyes and the sweetest personality!

Chopper and I have become great pals; I teach him simple English words while in return I learn the names of animals in Thai! He is a great teacher… I love that no matter where you are, children are children! Though I face many conversations where I do not understand a word, when interacting with the kids understanding each other doesn’t seem to matter much when the main matter is running around, dancing and getting acted with tickles!

NightLight is the ministry I am working at, they provide an alternative for the women who once had no hope of freedom, who have been exploited or were at risk of exploitation in the bars. I was able to spend some time making jewelry with the girls this week; it was great to spend time with them. I can’t wait to start language school on Monday though; the language barrier is hard at times.

I experienced my first strip club outreach Friday night. To go into that kind of setting to minister is unlike anything I have ever done! As soon as you walk into the room you are filled with so many emotions at one time. There is a deep compassion that runs through you for the girls, it is sad for the ones that feel trapped and confined to a life style because they see no other way of income! We met an older woman, who turned out to be the mother of one of the other girls! Sad on so many levels. For me personally that night, I felt God's love in a new way. I know that we have His presence with us all the time, but when you walk into a place where the filth and perversion are so thick you can feel it in the air, honestly its hard not to feel hopeless. However, I couldn’t help but feel the complete opposite, I felt such a peace, purity and a true hope.



"Treat older women as mothers, and younger women as sisters, with absolute purity..."

A world away and a day apart.

Wow. It seems like just hours ago I was stepping onto the plane in Atlanta, hard to believe I have already been gone for almost five days! After the 27 hour journey and 12 hour time difference, jet lag has not been a very fun experience, it is now 5am and I have been awake since 2:30am!
But I feel as though I have no words to truly describe how happy I am to be here. The anticipation and expectation of what I thought it would be like did not do justice to how amazing it actually is here! The first few days have flown by! But as tired as I was, it was exciting to jump right into meeting people and seeing where I will be working for the next 3 months, the very first day I was here! I will have great opportunities to make wonderful friends, but mostly I know that living with Sandra and Peter is going to be such a blessing, they are incredible people, full of life, compassion and a love for people! I see them as being very beneficial to my life!

The best part about our world is the differences we have! Even down to the small things, things we say, gestures, foods, do's and don’ts... It leaves so much to be discovered, to learn about! This is a beautiful country, they have 3 cores values FUN, RELAX, CONVIENCE! Avoid conflict and maintain harmony as much as possible! For my quiet, introverted self, I feel like I have found a corner of the world I will enjoy very much!

The Thai church we attended on Sunday!

Thank goodness for the transition on headphones, or I would have been completely lost!