February Update

Next week it will have been 6 months since I moved to Thailand! Time is going so fast! As always, this last month was quite busy with ministry, class, and just living life. Here are some of the highlights of what's been happening lately.

Ministry
I've now been working at Home of the Swallow for a little over a month. Most of the kids have started to get comfortable around me and I'm getting much more comfortable with them too. I love getting to know each of their personalities. They're so great (and cute)! I'm also really enjoying getting to know my coworkers. I've been able to teach English to one of them by singing worship songs in English that she knows in Thai. That's become one of my favorite things to do! I also really enjoy laughing with my coworkers (HOS has some funny people!) and hearing their stories of what God is doing in their lives. They are such a fun and encouraging group of people!

I went out with some of the HOS staff to play
games and eat dinner. It was so much fun!

Playing legos.

Nap time is great because it allows me to spend time
 with my coworkers and the moms who live at HOS.

 

Class
Last week my team was blessed to have Paul and Elizabeth Strand come from America to teach Cultural Anthropology. I loved this class! Paul spent a lot of time telling us stories and sharing wisdom from their years as missionaries in Indonesia. We also spent time discussing problems that missionaries often face in other cultures. For example, we discussed how a missionary can help those in need without creating an unhealthy dependence on the missionary. It was really good to start thinking through issues like this so that I can be better prepared when I go out in the future.

My team with the Strands

Fun Times!
A few weeks ago, my team leader had family come visit from Canada. This gave us the excuse to be tourists for a day! We joined her family and spent a day visiting a Karen village, going to a waterfall, riding elephants, and my personal favorite- bamboo rafting! It was so fun! I've been wanting to do these things ever since coming to Thailand, so it was a pretty great day!

 
 

 Time with the Lord
 "Don't just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other. Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically." -Romans 12:9-11 NLT

Over the last month the Lord has been challenging and convicting me a lot and much of it comes down to these verses. I haven't been doing so well at living these things out. In many ways I've just been going through the motions. Like with my team, I try to act in love toward them but a lot of times there's bitterness in my heart. My love isn't genuine, it's pretend. That's not okay. Now that I'm aware of this, I'm trying to change it. I want to love people in a genuine way that will draw them to Christ. If I can't even do that with my team, how will I do it with Thai people or anyone else I encounter? That's what the Lord is challenging me in right now. My prayer is that God would change my heart and mind so that I can start living out these verses for real.


Prayer Requests
Here are some specific ways that you can be praying for me and my team:

• Pray for unity and love to be strong in my team and that the Lord would continue to restore relationships that have been broken in recent conflicts.
• Pray for continued motivation in language study! Even though we all realize that learning Thai is important, most of my team has been struggling to find motivation to keep studying even when it's hard or boring.
• Pray that I would be able to build deep relationships with the ladies at Home of the Swallow. Because I'm such a quiet person, this can be a big challenge for me, even without the added language barrier.

 

 

Thank you for taking the time to read this, and for all your prayers and support! You truly are a blessing and encouragement to me!

~Emily

January Update

The month of January was absolutely packed full! My team started the month with three weeks of class on the history of Southeast Asia and Cross Cultural Communication. It was really good to learn more of the history of this region so that I can better understand why Thai culture is the way that it is. The communications class was also super helpful for me to understand the differences in communication styles between my western culture and Thai culture. Even more than that, the class helped me see the importance of evaluating both cultures according to scripture and that I need to be careful to simply spread the gospel, rather than spreading my American worldview.

After our classes finished, we were finally able to start our official ministries! Last Tuesday I had my first day at Home of the Swallow (HOS). Like I've said in past posts, HOS is a ministry that works with single mothers and their young kids. They help the moms develop skills to support themselves and they also have a nursery that provides affordable childcare for other families nearby. I'll be working at HOS 25 hours a week for the remainder of my internship.

My first few days of ministry went really well! The kids at HOS are split into two groups: 1-2 year olds and 3-4 year olds. I'll be spending most of my time with the younger kids. The job itself is pretty simple- play with the kids, change diapers, help clean, etc. but it's a lot more challenging because of the language barrier. Although my Thai is continually getting better, I'm still very limited with what I know how to say. For example, on my second day I saw one of the little boys spit on another kid. I was able to say "Don't do that!" in Thai but when he continued to spit, there was nothing else I could do or say to make him stop. He knows no English and I know just a little Thai. Like I said, it's challenging! I think that will be the hardest part of ministry for me. Almost everything at HOS is completely in Thai. It's pretty exhausting to try to translate everything and it's also very humbling to have these tiny kids speak better than me. However, even though it will be difficult, I'm thankful that there's so little English at HOS because it will force me to speak more Thai and my language skills are going to improve drastically. I've only worked three days so far and already I'm picking up several new words.

Beyond just improving my Thai, I'm so excited to see what will happen this next year as I work at HOS. My coworkers and the moms who live there seem so wonderful and I can't wait to get to know them better! And the kids are absolutely adorable and so sweet! Some of them are kind of afraid of me because I'm a foreigner, but I'm excited for the day when I become a familiar face and they feel comfortable with me. Challenges and all, I think I'm really going to enjoy my ministry.

One thing that's been hard this last month is team life. When you live in a house with seven girls, there's bound to be conflict and misunderstanding. I always knew these issues would come at some point, but even if you expect it, it's never fun to deal with. Every member of my team has made mistakes where we've offended each other and many of us have been hurt in the process. A lot of this hurt has come to the surface in the past few weeks. It's kind of a mess.

In the midst of all this, my team has been studying the book of James together. Due to the conflict, I've found myself praying a lot lately for wisdom on how I should act towards my team so I was really encouraged to read James 1:5 which says that God gives wisdom liberally to those who ask for it. As I continued reading, I came across verse 3:16-17 It says. "For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy." (NKJV) This verse was an immediate answer to my prayers for wisdom but it was also pretty convicting. I realized that I haven't always been treating my teammates with the wisdom described in this verse. Instead I've been prideful, stubborn, and easily angered. Yikes! I don't want to be that way!

As I've been praying for my team and reflecting on this verse, God has been teaching me a lot. He's showing me how to live a life of humility, love, and wisdom even when it's hard. He's teaching me how to honor and respect the people around me, even when I'm annoyed with them. I still mess up sometimes (a lot actually) but I'm slowly learning to live out this wisdom from above.

Things are starting to get better for my team but we still have a long way to go. If you'd like to join with me in praying for unity in my team, I would greatly appreciate it!

Thanks for taking the time to read this and for all of your support and prayers!

พระเจ้าอวยพร (God bless you!)

~Emily

 





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

The Colorful Place

There's a restaurant down the road from my house that we call The Colorful Place. I eat there almost every day. The restaurant is a little hole in the wall place set up on the front porch of a house. The walls and furniture are all painted in bright rainbow colors. It's a little bit dirty and the chairs are all kind of rickety, but it's literally my favorite place in Thailand. I love it there. Their food is cheap and absolutely delicious, but that's not the main reason I love it. I love it because of the people.

There are three workers at The Colorful Place. Ba Yong is the older lady that does the cooking, Pii Doo is her daughter who helps wherever she's needed, and Ba Nah is the server and dishwasher. One of my favorite things about living in Thailand for these past three months has been getting to know these ladies. They're wonderful! None of them speak any English and I speak very little Thai, but despite the many awkward and incomplete conversations that we've had, these ladies have become my friends.

A few weeks ago, my teammate Lizzy and I were eating lunch at The Colorful Place like we do every day. The restaurant wasn't busy so we started having a conversation with Pii Doo in our limited Thai. After talking with her for a while, she said something in Thai about us coming to study there at the restaurant. This is something that Lizzy and I had hoped for and prayed about for several weeks! So we quickly paid for our meal then ran home to get our Thai books and came back. Pii Doo sat there with us for over three hours helping us practice our Thai. We learned a lot of Thai that day but we were also able to get to know Pii Doo and the other ladies much more. It was so great!

Ever since then, all three ladies get super excited when they see me or Lizzy. They like to joke with us and they love it when we try out our new Thai phrases. Ba Yong will come rub my arms (she loves my white skin) or she'll tickle my stomach (it's kind of weird, but I've grown to appreciate it). They notice if we're not acting like ourselves and they ask to make sure that we're okay. We may not speak much of the same language but we've been able to develop a really sweet relationship.

Today, for example, I had already finished eating lunch at The Colorful Place when Ba Yong called me from across the room "Uhmalee!" She waved for me to come over and sit with her. She offered me some of her Som Tum (papaya salad) as well as some dried fish. She also introduced me to some of her friends who I had never met before. I sat with them for a while, just enjoying their company. It might seem like a small thing for Ba Yong to call me over but it was a big deal to me. She made me feel so special and loved! That is why I love The Colorful Place!

I've had some hard times this past month with culture shock, homesickness, personal struggles, etc. but in the spirit of Thanksgiving, I don't want to focus on the hard or bad things I'm facing. Instead, I want to focus on the things I love and the things I'm thankful for in Thailand. Today, I'm thankful for The Colorful Place. I'm thankful for a little old lady who tickles my belly and makes me feel loved even on the days where everything just seems bad. I'm thankful for these three women who make me feel welcome and wanted here in Thailand. I'm thankful for the way God has answered my prayers in giving me Thai friends and in providing a place to continually practice my Thai. I'm thankful that friendship is possible even with a language barrier.

November Update

Hello from Thailand!!

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 :)

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.

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.

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!

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

5 Weeks In!

Sawatdee Kha friends! Sorry that I haven't sent out more updates. We've been busy here in Thailand!

Our first two weeks here we had orientation. During this time we covered a lot of information on logistical things but we also had a lot of fun. One of my favorite days of orientation involved splitting into groups of 2 or 3 and doing an Amazing Race all over Chiang Mai. It was super fun to explore the city and get more comfortable in our new home. We also got to try bubble tea, visit a waterfall, and eat some bugs (gross!). It was a great time!

Once orientation finished, we started our Thai class. Learning Thai is HARD! Thai is a tonal language which is completely different than English. A word can be pronounced with 5 different tones and each one means something totally different. For example, if you say the word for sorry with the wrong tone, you might accidentally say please fart. As you can tell, this can lead to some awkward situations.

Thai is also hard because we have to learn an entirely new alphabet. Thai vowels can be above, below, before, or after the consonant. It's so confusing! But, as challenging as it is, I am learning a lot. Considering we've only had 3 weeks of class so far, I think I'm doing pretty well! And thankfully, we have an excellent teacher who is very patient with us as we struggle. She's also hilarious which helps to lighten the mood when we're feeling overwhelmed or frustrated (which is often).

This past week we took a little break from language school and did a tour of all the ministries we'll have the chance to work with. We looked at 8 ministries that were all fantastic and very different. After seeing my options, I'm hoping to work with a ministry that helps single moms and their children. The idea behind the ministry is to reduce the number of orphaned children by supporting the moms. They teach parenting and life skills in addition to having childcare for the young kids. So I'd have the chance to disciple women while also hanging out with cute babies. It's perfect for me! We should start ministry in January, once we have a better grasp on the language.

Other than that, internship is going well! I'm learning to drive my motorbike and training myself to like the spicy Thai food. I'm beginning to make some friends at the restaurants we visit a lot and I'm getting used to ants and geckos being everywhere. Life here is challenging for me, but it's also very good, and I'm learning to like it more and more every day.

Thank you for your support and your prayers!

~Emily




My wonderful team!


 

Thoughts on Thailand

I can't believe it. I've already been in Thailand for a month! Crazy, right?! Although I have done a lot of travelling in the past, moving to a new country has been a completely new experience. We haven't had to rush to fit everything in like we did on my shorter mission trips. We're actually taking the time to learn what it means to live here. We're learning how to get around town, how to speak the language, how to not be offensive to the culture, etc. It's very good but also challenging. I've had times of being completely overwhelmed as I faced a crowded market or started learning an entirely new alphabet (which is HARD!). But I've also had a lot of exciting experiences like exploring the city, getting to know my teammates and leaders, and starting to build relationships with some of the Thais. So even though this last month has had a lot of hard moments, it has definitely been good!

One of my favorite things about Thailand so far has been getting to know my language teacher, Pii Peung. Pii Peung is great. She's hilarious, often speaking in weird voices or doing little dances, and she's also a fantastic teacher who challenges us to learn more than we thought possible. But what I've enjoyed most about Pii Peung is when we have our class breaks and she starts telling us about her life. The other day Pii Peung shared part of her testimony with us and it was so encouraging!

 I won't share her whole story but I will tell you the gist of it. Pii Peung used to be Buddhist, like the vast majority of Thais. However, she wasn't really satisfied with Buddhism because it wasn't making any difference in her life. In the midst of a very hard year, she ended up getting a job working with Christians. Through this job, the Lord encountered her and transformed her life, in a way that Buddhism was unable to do. Now, she is on fire for the Lord and serves him in many ways. Her life has been transformed and God has used her to help transform many other lives as well. It's beautiful!

I love Pii Peung's story because it gives me hope that God can move here in Thailand. Thailand can very easily seem like a hopeless place for the gospel. There have been missionaries in Thailand for 160 years and there's still only about 1% of Thais who are Christian. Like I said, it seems hopeless that things will ever change. But then I hear stories like Pii Peung's and I get so excited because it's not hopeless. God can change Thailand! God can bring hope and truth and life to this place. And I get to be a part of that! I'm very excited for that opportunity!

I went to a Thai church the other day and the pastor made the point that when we pray, we should focus our attention on who God is, more than on our request. I think that's important to do while praying for Thailand. If I focus my attention on the problems, on how resistant the Buddhists are to the gospel or the rampant idolatry, then I'm just going to get discouraged. But if I focus on the fact that God is good and powerful and that he loves the Thai people and that he is able to do far more abundantly than I can even imagine, then I have hope. Then I have a purpose for being here.

So even though I am often overwhelmed with this new culture, new language, and new food, and even though I'm tempted to get discouraged as I walk past the Buddhist shrines that are literally everywhere, I will focus my attention on God. I will remember that HE is why I am here. My first priority is to love him. I'm not here to save the Thai people, though I do pray that he will use me to draw people closer to him. I am here to love, worship, and serve the Lord with all of my heart. I am here to let him use me, in whatever way he pleases, big or small. I am here, first and foremost, to bring glory to God.



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Looking over the beautiful city of Chiang Mai from the mountain.

A Buddhist temple near Chiang Mai.

 

Practicing my letters in Thai, much like a kindergartener.