It's hard to believe that I've been in Thailand for almost two months already! We are definitely in the full swing of things here! Most of our time right now is still spent studying Thai. I'm proud to inform you that I now know all 44 Thai consonants and most of the vowels too! It's pretty exciting to be able to read in Thai, even if I don't know what many words mean yet. I've also been able to have some great conversations in Thai with some of my new friends! The other day I even had a Thai friend tell me that my Thai is "so clear!" Although I think that's a bit of an exaggeration, I was very encouraged to realize that even though language is always a struggle, I am definitely getting better. I'm pretty excited about that :)
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| A few of my teammates and our wonderful language teachers. |
Another exciting thing that happened last week was that I got my motorbike license! I am now free to drive myself wherever I want. This will save a lot of time and money compared to always taking public transportation. I am still pretty nervous about driving a motorbike in Thai traffic, but I'm sure I'll get used to it soon. However, if you want to be praying against anxiety while I drive, I would definitely appreciate it.
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| My motorbike! You can't really tell in the picture, but it's white and purple. My favorite :) |
A few weeks ago I was able to go to the Yi Peng lantern festival with some of my teammates. This festival is a Buddhist holiday where thousands of people come together and release lanterns into the sky. Releasing the lanterns is symbolic of releasing their sins and it is also believed to bring good luck. It was fascinating to observe this part of the Thai culture and it gave me a deeper understanding of the need for Christ in this country.
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| The lanterns in the sky were so beautiful! |
On another note, it's been super cool to start seeing some ways that Christ is moving here. Two weeks ago I was able to go to a baptism with my church and see many Thais make a public declaration of their love for God. It was so exciting! And the last three nights I've enjoyed attending special worship gatherings at my church that are filled with passionate people singing to the Lord and praying for their nation. It's a beautiful thing to be a part of! I've also been very encouraged by the unity I see in the Thai church and by the testimonies I've heard from my Thai friends about how the Lord has changed their lives. There is still a lot of darkness in Thailand but God is definitely moving here!
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| At the baptism with Acts Church. |
One final thing- I have officially decided to work at Home of the Swallow for my ministry starting in January! I described Home of the Swallow a little bit in my last blog, but basically I'll be working with single mothers and their young children. Much of my time will be spent doing childcare but I will also have opportunities to teach English and build relationships with the moms. I'm very excited to start in January!
So that's about it. Thanks for reading this and for all of your prayers!
~Emily
