Books, Christmas, and Pai

A few weeks ago, the senior class of interns moved back home after living in Thailand for 14 months. Although it was very sad to see them all go, my team was blessed to inherit a lot of their stuff. We got beds, couches, dishes, and art supplies among many other things. But my favorite thing we received from the seniors was two big shelves of books. If you know me at all, you know that I love to read. A lot. I only brought 3 books with me to Thailand, and I have long since finished them, so I was very excited to receive some new books and organize them into my own personal (er, I mean the team's...) library.

As I was organizing the books, I spotted one called Picking Flowers on Dusty Roads by Oddny Gumaer. The cover looked interesting so I decided to read it, even though I didn't know what it was about. The book was about Burma, specifically Burmese refugees, as well as an organization called Partners Relief and Development.

The book fascinated me. It reminded me of how in high school, I used to want to work with child soldiers from war torn countries. That was my dream job, even before I thought about being a missionary. I used to think I was only interested in war relief because of my love for Sierra Leone, and eventually I moved on and dreamed about other things. However, this book made me realize that I actually still care a lot about the issues of war and refugees, far beyond Sierra Leone.

I don't know yet what all of this means but because of this random book, I've started to think a lot more about working with refugees in the future. I discovered that Partners Relief and Development is based here in Chiang Mai, so I'm hoping to eventually visit and learn more about their ministry. I don't necessarily want to work in Burma (although I am open to it), but maybe I could work with a similar ministry in another country. Who knows? Whatever happens, it's still exciting to have my teenage dreams revived and broadened. I'm very thankful that I stumbled upon this book.

 

In addition to having some new reading material, the rest of December was also pretty exciting. My team celebrated Christmas along with some friends from the region. Although we all missed our families and our familiar holiday traditions, we had a great time coming together to celebrate the birth of our savior. I also had the opportunity to go Christmas caroling (in Thai!) with some strangers from my church. It was pretty awkward at times since I didn't know them, but I had a lot of fun :)

Christmas cookies

Eating burgers for Christmas dinner

 

Last weekend I was able to join a few friends on a trip to Pai, Thailand. Pai is a small town in the mountains about 3 hours away from Chiang Mai. Other than a few small day trips, this was my first time leaving the city. It was a good opportunity to observe Thai culture outside of Chiang Mai and I had a lot of fun exploring the town, playing games with friends, and visiting waterfalls. It was a much needed vacation to relax and process what the Lord is doing in my life and on my team. 

Walking Street (a night market) in Pai

The scenery in Pai was beautiful

A waterfall in Pai

So that was my month. It was very busy, but overall good. Now I'm excited to see what the Lord does in this new year :)

Thanks for all your support and encouragement!


Emily