Monday, May 30, 2011

arms open wide.

wow what a crazy yet amazing couple of days it's been. this past weekend, we spent a lot of time at the church, where we did more orientation and spent the afternoon playing different sports with the Thai's (soccer, basketball, badminton, etc). my little new friends, princess belle and sammy, also taught me some star wars games. i have no idea what the game was about...i just loved sitting there and admiring these two precious children of God. that night, i went to dinner with my ministry group. (my team member, abby and i are partnered with four Thai girls who are part of the Campus Outreach here in Thailand and get to translate english to girls we meet in the schools). i rode on a motorcycle on the way to dinner with my friend Earn, which was a blast. we went to a small restaurant where we got to cook our own food. we had some fish, pork, tofu, fried rice, and green spaghetti. yes, green...i was puzzled at first, but then i thought, "why not?" it was delicious.

during dinner, we went around a circle and shared our testimonies with each other. listening to the Thai's testimony was truly an inspiration to me. they stand against what their own family believe and boldly proclaim the name of Jesus. they told me about how they continually pray for their family, hoping that one day they can understand and come to know Jesus as their Lord and Savior. i was speechless...i admire their faith and hope in the Lord so much.

on sunday, we got to sleep in until church at noon. when we got to church, we had lunch first then moved into a bigger room for worship. we sang some songs in english then we sang in our own languages. it truly was a beautiful glimpse of heaven...every nation and every tongue praising the same God. i loved every second of it.

today was our first day at the school. we got ready by 9:30 am, went to the church for teaching on how to best form friendships, then went straight to the schools. i was nervous because i had no idea what i was getting myself into but also definitely excited about meeting the students. i met three girls at first and sat and talked to them about school and learned a little about them. after they left, i sat with two new girls and talked to them, with my ministry partners, Earn and Aw there to translate. i learned about where they were from and what they like to do. one of them responded by saying she likes "liking" pictures on facebook, i laughed hysterically because of how much we related to each other. they also said they like going bowling so we made plans to go with them next week. i'm so excited.

                                                            my sweet princess belle.

                                                   on our way to dinner. so. much. fun.

                                              pretend like it's not green and you're golden.

                                               soccer with the Thai's...this is for you Surf.

                                              my ministry partners...i love these women.

i've been here for about 6 days and i already feel like i'm learning and being stretched in so many ways. the Thai people are such an incredible people to be around and i'm so thankful for the time i get to spend with them everyday. although things get bababobo jing jing ( really crazy, in Thai) sometimes, i'm loving every second. i'm so humbled by the way the Christian Thai's live their lives, completely abandoning themselves and surrendering everything to the One who is worthy of all. they challenge me to do the same.

-milc

Friday, May 27, 2011

swatika!

...that's hello in Thia! i can't believe it but we have finally arrived in Khon Kaen, Thailand! because we traveled for over 40 hours, the past few days are honestly a blur. our first flight to Charlotte was delayed. i wasn't even surprised. our flight from Charlotte to New York went smoothly. once we got to New York however, we had a 6 hour layover at the JFK airport...which gave us some time to rest and look around the airport. our next flight, New York to Singapore was definitely a memorable one. it was 21 hours and by the time we got off the plane, i could barely walk because of my swollen ankles. i couldn't help but laugh. afterwards, our flight from Singapore to Bangkok, felt so short. we had an 8 hour layover at Bangkok so instead of sit around, jeff, a Thai friend of my team leader's, took us on a train to go to the a mall nearby. it was all very fascinating. i was so exhausted afterwards, but i boarded on our last flight to Khon Kaen, so anxious to finally be at the place where i would call home for the next two months. as soon as we landed in Khon Kaen, i had a plan to stand up and clap as loud as i could (those of you who know me know how i kinda like to clap occassionaly :)). i remember trying to get my body up as we landed but i could barely move i was so tired. that quickly changed however, when we arrived at the gates of Khon Kaen and were greeted by students and the Thai Campus Outreach staff. they embraced us with the biggest smiles on their faces. i instantly fell in love.

shortly afterwards we drove to our apartments and crashed. we woke up this morning and had breakfast (pork, sticky rice, and this fruit known as ngoh- all so delicious). then we had our orientation until noon, then went to the school caf where i had some fried rice and a mango smoothie, then went on a city tour.  throughout the day, i tried to learn as much basic Thai as i could. Thai is so hard because it's all about the tone. but i've successfully mastered two phrases:

1) bong nam utnika?- where's the bathroom?
2) chan huey- i'm hungry.

                                                                   my wonderful team!


                            we did a lot to entertain ourselves at the airport....like play ninja.

                                     warm towels were always a favorite on the plane rides.

                                             the way we were greeted...melted my heart.

                                       fried rice and a mango smoothie- AROY aka delicious!

                                                touring the city with my first friend, Aw!

everything's definitely different from back home but i'm exactly where i should be. i love these people already and i'm beyond excited about telling them about Jesus. thank you so much for your prayers. please continue to pray for our team and for our brothers and sisters here in Thailand. the Lord has so much in store, i can't wait to see it all gradually unfold.

-milc

Monday, May 23, 2011

with everything.

tomorrow will be the day i've been waiting for since last semester! excitement is truly an understatement!

at 5:00 a.m. tomorrow morning, i along with my team, will be heading to the airport in Birmingham to catch one of our many flights to Thailand. first stop---north carolina. WOO HOO! here's my flight schedule so you can see just how many hours i'll be flying...

May 24- Tuesday                                -Arrive in Charlotte, NC at 10:49 AM
Leave Birmingham at 8: 25 AM

May 24- Tuesday
Leave Charlotte, NC at 1:05 PM        -Arrive in New York, NY at 3:03 PM

May 24- Tuesday
Leave New York, NY at 9:25 PM     -Arrive in Singapore, SG at 6:30 AM

May 26- Thursday
Leave Singapore, SG at 9:40 AM       -Arrive in Bangkok, TH at 11:05 AM

May 26- Thursday
Leave Bangkok, Thailand at 6:15 PM  -Arrive in Khon Kaen, TH at 7:15 PM

yeah, it's over 40 hours of flying but hey, it'll give me plenty of time to start a memorable bonding time with my awesome team!




as i sit in my room thinking about the next two months, i can't help but be in awe of God and how He has orchestrated my life. although i fail Him daily, He treasures me so much that He chooses to use me as a tool for His Kingdom. i feel so undeserving and i am, but it says so much about the God i love and serve. i honestly have no idea what to expect when i'm in Thailand...i'm trying to have no expectations because it's always best that way. whatever life is like there, my prayer is that i love the people of Thailand with everything i am. i never want to lose focus of my mission...which is to tell these precious people about a love greater than they've ever known.

thank you so much to everyone who has been a constant encouragement to me prior to this trip. i'm so grateful and blessed to be surrounded by people who're constantly inspiring me to be better.

i can't imagine how different life is going to be in Thailand but i'm sure it'll be nothing short of amazing!

THAILAND, here i come!!!!!!!

-milc