Today is our last full day in Thailand! Tomorrow we head to the airport and fly on to China.
Our seven weeks here have been sweet, chock full of learning and growth. We are ready to move on from this season, but sad to leave all our friends. We've gone pretty deep with the people here, and it is always hard to part with people that have laughed and cried and grown together. But, all good things must come to an end. We will be traveling basically all day tomorrow. We leave the house at 9am tomorrow, drive to the airport in Bangkok, then fly out at 3pm, from Bangkok to Sichuan, with a layover in Hong Kong. We won't make it to our destination until almost midnight. It's gonna be a long day... The very next morning, we are going to the orphanage! Please be lifting us up as Donna and I go spend the day with the wonderful children. Sara will not be with us, so it will be interesting communicating with the driver and the director as far as plans and details. But we are excited, nonetheless. We will hopefully get some great stories and pictures to share with you! We'll have three more days after that, for a total of four full days in Sichuan. It's gonna be crazy fast and a whirlwind of stuff going on. Sara and I have lots to talk about... I haven't seen her since May! I'm very excited to be reunited with my dear friend and co-director. Again, please be lifting the two of us up as we catch up and discuss lots of things, all in the two days she will be in town with us. We also have a meeting at CRDF, our umbrella organization, if you would like to be lifting that up as well. Lots of people to see, places to go! Literally. I'll write again when we get there!
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What a crazy day.
I spent the majority of today at the Chinese embassy, trying to get my visa so I can fly into China at the end of next week. Up til this point, I had always used a visa service in the states, and never realized the chaos that goes on in the embassy. My two friends and I arrived 15 minutes after it opened, having just driven three hours to get there, and the lines were already out the door and down the block. I knew from that point on it was going to be a day full of waiting in line. I wasn't wrong. Let me back up a minute before going on: to add to the experience of the day, I had forgotten my iPod at home. If you know me very well, you know I don't stay sane very long without music. I had realized pretty quickly after driving away from the house that I didn't have it, and I had to make a choice. Am I going to complain about this and be miserable all day long? Or am I going to turn this into a positive opportunity to focus on Him and listen to what He has to say to me today? Lately I've been realizing my need for space to listen to him... I don't think that forgetting my music at home was an accident. When there was silence, I was talking and listening to Him. When I saw something funny, instead of taking a picture of it to post later, I just said to Him, "Hey that's so funny! Did you see that?" It was an unexpectedly sweet time. I think I got in and out of line at least 5 times throughout the day. It all added up to about 3.5 hours in line. But I got to meet some cool people, talking to whoever was next to me to pass the time. First there was a lady from Finland who I got to practice my Chinese with--ironic, I know. Then, an Israeli man asked me for help rewriting his application in English so that the tellers could read it. After leaving the embassy for lunch, he came running out after us and said, "They accepted my application! Thank you! I wouldn't have been able to get it without your help!" He bought me a big slice of watermelon on the street--so sweet. Both him and the watermelon, that is. After killing time at McDonalds while waiting for them to process my one day rush visa, I went back to wait in more lines. There I talked to a man from the UK who described his morning by saying: "You know that leak in the ceiling that was dripping into a bucket all morning?" I nodded. "Well I decided I was going to think of it as a nice, relaxing fountain, listening to the calming drip drip drip..." "Very therapeutic, I'm sure," I answered. After lots of shuffling documents and cramps in my hand from rewriting things so many times (I have my passport number, drivers license, and all phone numbers and addresses in US, Thailand, and China all memorized by now), I finally GOT MY VISA at 4pm (halleluiah!). We returned home to find that the other girls had cooked delicious Mexican food for dinner and waited for us to eat with them. Definitely some of the best mexican food I've ever eaten. An issue has come up that I really need everyone to lift up! I recently discovered (no short of a miracle that this happened now instead of later) that my visa to China is currently expired. I had thought previous to leaving the US that I was all set in that regard. Unfortunately, I thought wrong. So on Friday, I am traveling to Bangkok to go to the embassy to apply for a rush one day visa so that I can fly into Sichuan once the connect course is over in a week and a half. It's been kind of a whirlwind figuring out what documents I need and such. But right now, I'm asking for all of you to talk to Him about it; for smooth and speedy process and no complications on Friday!
I'll keep you updated! ...and also fill you in soon with more on what's been happening here. Just a quick random fact to add some fun to this post: I've been a little obsessed with finding new recipes on Pinterest that I can try with the limited foods you can find overseas. My latest favorites are chocolate pudding pops (such a great alternative to ice cream), and banana/egg pancakes. I've been posting pictures of my experiments on Facebook and twitter for those who are interested. Here's a couple pictures of the two I mentioned! Things are moving along here in Hua Hin, Thailand!
The last few weeks have brought lots of changes both in me and around me. I'm getting to know people here better and better each day, which is very comforting. It's fun learning new and surprising things about each person. The biggest changes though, have been IN me, in my perception of both current and future life overseas. My picture of Father has expanded and grown 10-fold, and each day brings new discoveries in my relationship with him. It is exciting and stretching, and sometimes even scary realizing that I need to expand my comfort zone. If you'd like to know more about that journey, I'd love to share more details with you when I return home. Please feel free to ask me! The days and weeks have started to take on a certain routine. Class in the morning -- We have been hearing some amazing speakers, experts in culture and what Father has to say about that. We have also been able to share and hear each course member's personal testimony, which has been a really sweet time of learning about and encouraging each other. Most afternoons are open -- Lots of the course members are couples with children, so everyone spends a lot of time outside at the pool, soaking in the sun, chatting with each other. It has also been a great opportunity to have time and space to process and grow with Father in all that he is teaching us individually and corporately. Moment of confession: I've never read the Book so much before on my own, I don't think. It's amazing to me how much I am motivated and intrigued by the OT! I'm taking advantage of all this time on my hands! It's also been great to get caught up on some HS stuff, like a new promo video (coming soon!) and homework I got from the Board (thankful for them for moving me along in the right direction!). Class in the evenings -- Three nights a week we have class. Mostly these are for personal growth and discovery, learning about each of our strengths and how we are uniquely wired for the kingdom. I love this kind of thing, so I really have enjoyed these sessions! Others are not so keen on it, because it also tends to bring up a lot of internal baggage that AC really encourages people to process and dig through. You can be lifting them up in that process. Weekends are for fun! -- I have been able to get out on the town several times during weekends, and these have been my favorite times! I'm a sucker for culture, and I love how Thai people tend to live their lives on the street. Markets, sidewalk sales, men playing games on stools in the shade, and restaurants that all have outdoor seating. I could walk the streets for hours. I'll try to take more pictures the next time I'm out. One last point, that I'd like lifting up for. There is a family here, part of the course, that are living in the same house as Donna and me, that is going through a very rough time. Just this past week they found out that they miscarried their baby; this is their second miscarriage in the last 6 months. They have two children already, and are an incredibly sweet family. Considering the circumstances, I think they are doing very well. Please continue to keep them in your thoughts as they go through the grieving process. I'll write again soon! We are almost one week into the Connect Course, and I feel like saying much has happened and nothing has happened all at the same time.
For one thing, we have made so many friends. There are 23 adults and 16 children a part of this training time. We are staying in a compound of vacation villas, and our group fills up three of them. Between each of the houses, there is always something crazy going on--especially with 16 kids running around! I have been stretched a lot relationally, for a few reasons: One is that I naturally don't get filled up by meeting new people or making small talk. I'm always much more comfortable with people I know, and people who know me. So spending time with almost all people I've never known before this week has been stretching. That being said, they are wonderful people, which I know now that I have had a week to get to know them deeper! Every morning we have training sessions from 9-12:30, which have thus far consisted of learning about AC's core values, and sharing our testimonies. This sharing time has actually been very sweet. I so enjoy and am encouraged by hearing each and every person's story of how Father has worked in their lives and why they are serving in Asia. I shared mine this morning and was so encouraged by their following response while lifting me up. Very sweet. As far as free time goes, there is much of it. And that is what urges me to say nothing has happened. These seven weeks were very intentionally designed to have built in rest and relaxation, to make it possible for people to grow and learn however they need. I have spent lots of time thinking about J, and my relationship with Him. If you're interested in hearing more about that, please feel free to ask me personally sometime. Tomorrow begins the weekend. Donna and I are excited to get out of the compound where we have spent most of our time secluded from the Thai culture, and go out on the town. We hear it is a touristy city, but that there are still great sights and sounds and smells. We plan on experiencing them all! I'm excited to go out and see Thailand and experience the culture. Last but not least, today was a monumental day for one of the kids in our group: he turned 5! We had a pirate birthday for him, everyone participated. It was complete with a treasure hunt, pirate hats, two scraggly silly pirates, stolen treasure, a "walk-the-plank" moment, and a water balloon fight to wrap it all up. I've put some pictures below. It was a really great time; for me I felt like I was able to bond more with the rest of the team members simply because it was a unique shared experience. And because I got thrown in the pool... along with every one else. Apparently it's a tradition: Chris (the AC director) always throws everyone in the pool at sometime during training. Enjoy the pictures! The adventure has begun! Donna and I made it into Bangkok Thailand late last night... or rather, early this morning. It was a grueling day of travel: 13hrs from Minneapolis to Tokyo, a short layover, and then 7hrs on to Bangkok. I can't say my knees are recovered yet from being squished into a plane for 20hrs, but I'm workin' on it. We arrived at the guesthouse where we spent the night and found out our reservation had never been confirmed, but thanks to Father's grace, although all the rooms had been booked there was a no show, so we got their room. Hallelujah for being able to sleep in a bed last night!
We slept for only about 4.5hrs before jetlag woke us up. That was a few hours ago. Since then we have had breakfast and walked around the neighborhood. The Asia Connect vans leave in a couple hours to bring us to where we will be staying the next seven weeks, so now we are just killing time. It is pretty warm here, supposed to get to 91F today. Thankfully it's not too muggy though! I have found that Thailand is very similar to China. Already I have had to hold myself back from responding or asking questions in Chinese, because I feel like I am in China! I regret not bringing a Thai pocket dictionary, I always enjoy being able to at least say the basics in whatever the native language is where I am. Perhaps I'll be able to learn from someone soon... We haven't met anyone from AC yet, but we are looking forward to it in a couple hours! Thank you for all your uplifting thoughts, ill write again soon! |
A note from Rebekah...If you've ever wondered what it would be like to start a nonprofit from the ground up, to open a home for ORPHANS with special needs in Asia, you've come to the right place. Archives
August 2019
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