Sawadee Kah!

It has been a week since we set off early in the morning from the Portland airport (with a lovely send-off from about 15 fox friends) and began our very long journey to Chiang Mai Thailand. Thankfully our plane had movies to choose from and good food to help pass the time. We arrived in Thailand around midnight on Monday, greeted by Brittany and Kelly, two GFU grads who know work for the Garden of Hope. I did not expect to see them there, and nearly cried at the excitement of being in Thailand--finally--and seeing such good friends who have been living and working here for the past year.



Tuesday we all woke up, thanks to jet lag, at about 6am, and our first scheduled event wasn't until 10, thanks to the kindness of our leaders who thought maybe we would like to sleep. So, we explored the area around the YMCA (we are staying at a hotel/ymca that is surprisingly nice, complete with air conditioning, showers, and daily room service). That first day I had such a sense of excitement and almost belonging while we walked through the streets, greeted vendors, smelled all of the various smells from jasemin to amazing Thai food to garbage and dead rats. It reminded me in some aspects of Costa Rica, in some aspects of Egypt, but it was definitely distinctly Thai. We returned to the hotel for breakfast and then had time of worship and prayer with the team. Brittany came to take us to the Garden of Hope drop in center for our first day of training, and it just so happened that she needed a passenger to go with her on her moped. So I hopped on the back (with a helmet, don't worry mom) and we sped through the crowded streets and inbetween traffic to get to Starbucks. That's right...in all their excitement Brittany and Kelly had not slept much the past few days, so they needed a little caffine boost. It was hilarious to watch Brittany speak Thai and in between hear words like "espresso non-fat." I soon discovered the reason why she needed a passenger, as someone had to hold the drinks. I also discovered that you really don't need hands while riding a motor bike, just faith and a good sense of balance. We arrived at the drop in center safe and sound, with only minimal amounts of coffee spilled :)



The Garden of Hope drop in Center is in the middle of the center for tourism (and prostitution) in Chaing Mai. During the day, all you see are an abundance of shops, bars, and massage parlors, but at night the street serves a very different purpose. As we toured the center, it was such a contrast, with it's brightly painted walls, children's toys, resource room for women, and offices. We met some of the staff and heard their vision of building relationships with women and offering them a hope AND a future by providing them with dignifying ways in which to support themselves and their families. Then we had our first Thai language lesson, which was challenging to say the least. Thai is a tonal language, so if you say the same word with a different emphasis on the syllables, it means something completely different. For example, the word for beautiful, when pronounced slightly differently, means back luck. So I hope that when I tell people they are beautiful, they understand what I mean.



After our training time and dinner (at an amazing Thai restaurant down the street) we returned to our vans and faced what has been one of the greatest struggles for many of us in our time here. Foreigners (generally older white men) walking with beautiful Thai women. My heart turns so easily to anger and judgement, and it has been a lesson in grace as I seek not to instantly judge, but to pray for the people that I see on the roads. Often those prayers turn into breath prayers of "Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner." We all fall short and rebel against our relationship with God, yet it is so easy to become enraged when another does it far more publicly. This issue is so complex and the driving forces behind prostitution, exploitation, and trafficking are dark and difficult to explain, fix, or process. Yet the God's mercy and justice is a beautiful and powerful force, and we have all been learning to pray even in the midst of this darkness and anger. After hearing this talk, we had the opportunity to make cookies together for the kids at the drop in center, and that was somewhat therapuetic to work together and create something positive after hearing something so seemingly hopeless. And we also were able to sample some delicious oatmeal cookies, which reminded us all of home.



Wednesday we had a similar morning routine (waking up way too early, taking a walk through the city, getting some delicious pineapple at a fruit stand, then breakfast and prayer and worship time with our team) and then we headed to the Garden of Hope headquarters which are outside of Chaing Mai in a farming community. It is a pagoda style home with a pond and beautiful gardens, and there was such a sense of peace in the place. This is where the culinary arts academy is and where Krista and Mark (the founders of Garden of Hope) plan to start a hospitality training program. They are both originally from California, and Mark was the head of a large hotel chain training staff, and so he wants to give the women here the best training and educational opportunities so they can work in the nicest hotels of Thailand, or even start their own restaurants or businesses. Krista was a lawyer in California and moved to Thailand with Mark seven years ago to train the women and work with the Thai government on legal issues regarding the rights of women. It was fascinating and encouraging to hear their stories and how they have followed God to a place they never wanted to go and into work they never thought they would do, leaving behind prestigious jobs and comfort in the United States.

At the Garden we had an amazing Thai lunch and were able to hear more from Kelly about how her experience in Thailand has taught her how to love people and seek out community, and she hopes to bring that love for people and community back to portland when she returns next year. I think this is the greatest challenge and blessing of traveling and experiencing mission and service--how to then transfer that growth and life back to the everyday.

After lunch we had another language lesson which was incredibly frustrating, but at times amusing and ultimately just a reminder that I love spanish and making connections through language is so important for me. So far I can say "hello" "thank you" "you're welcome" and "what is your name" in Thai. I have a long way to go....After the language lesson Krista talked to us about the complexities and the history of prostitution in Thailand. There are over 200,000 prostitutes in Thailand, and just that many, if not more, child prostitutes, often trafficked from neighboring Myanmar. It is technically illegal in Thailand, but it is so deeply inmeshed in the culture and such a part of tourism and industry that change ultimately needs to come from the Thai people themselves, as well as foreigners and tourists. It can be somewhat depressing to hear about this, but Krista also shares stories of hope, stories of women who she knows and loves and is working with to give them new opportunities and new hope.

Wednesday night we went back to the hotel after dinner and had more time of worship and sharing. I have been so encouraged by our team and have really grown in a lot of my friendships. The way in which we encourage each other is incredible, and this experience would not be the same without our group. We have learned much about ourselves, our own brokenness, our desire to love and be loved, and our desire to show the Hope and mercy of God in the darkest of places. One night when we met there was a quote on the wall that has been on my mind throughout this trip, and it says:

"Faith is the bird, which sensing the dawn, sings while it is still dark."

I hope that we would all learn to sing in the midst of darkness, knowing that the dawn of the Kingdom of Jesus is breaking into this world and into our hurting hearts. Please pray that our team would remember how to sing in this darkness, that we would not be discouraged.

Thursday we discovered starbucks in the morning...yes, a little piece of America. We sat outside and journaled and talked and laughed and it was such a beautiful time to grow together and continue talking about the things were were learning and experiencing. At our devotional time we read a few Psalms (146 and 148) and talked about how sometimes we experience very dark times in our hearts and souls, but there is hope and Light in our Saviour, and we can cling to that hope during those times. This became especially relevant as we learned about Buddhism today from a gentleman who has been living and working in Thailand for several years with Burmese refugees. It was fascinating and heartbreaking to hear his story of working with people who secretly cross the border into Myanmar, walk hundreds of miles, and rescue entire villages of peoples who are at risk of ethnic cleansing. The Burmese goverment is evil, killing their own people and denying them aid, and I think that none of us realized the true extent of this until coming here to Thailand, near the border with Myanmar. He talked about how in order to introduce people to Jesus in a way relevant to Buddhism, we need to build bridges of relationship and love. A huge part of Thai Buddhism is the concept of detachment, so to become attached to someone or to a God is considered weak. So in order to share the love of Jesus to Thai people, we need to learn to think differently and listn and connect in a way that build bridges. He then said that our team was a part of that building process. As the Thai people see Americans and Christians who are here to love and serve them, the bridge is being built.

After hearing about all of the atrocities in Burma and the difficulty in preaching the gospel and introducing people to Jesus within a Thai culture, I was pretty discouraged and feeling hopeless. Mark asked us what we would do, and we started listing off different ways to love and serve. He then said that when he asks Thai Christians what to do, the first thing they say is "Pray." We had become so proud and self-assured of our methods and things we could "do" that we forgot the power of solidarity through prayer. We didn't even mention it. Many of the people here are resource poor, but through prayer, they are no longer resource poor. Please continue to pray for the people of Burma and Thailand as this situation seems increasingly hopeless. Help us remember that we do have hope, and through prayer we can take action.

The next morning we were struck again with how easily we judge. At starbucks (I know, morning ritual) we saw an old white man with a beautiful Thai girl, and Candice and I and some of the girls talked about how we could pray for that situation. Candice actually started to cry as she was struck at how easily we judge and point to others shortcomings because it is so blantant. It is so hard to be here, as an American, and see other westerners and not immediately judge. This has been a continual process as we learn to love and understand each other and those around us, and please continue to pray that we would understand more deeply the meaning of grace and justice. I don't want to deny the fact that I am angry about the injustice, but I don't want to become so consumed in anger that it becomes hateful.

Well I am actually out of time and need to head back to the YMCA for our morning meeting and then we are going to the Garden of Hope to have lunch with all the kids and take them to a movie. Today is a Thai holiday (I think it is Buddha's birthday) and so we will be able to spend time with the kids out of school. I will write more later...thank you for your prayers and for reading this very long post of my thoughts and experiences thus far in Thailand.