A New City.

Wednesday we woke up and started our day with worship and devotions as usual. It’s so different being in a small team- I love it though! We then went to the bus station and boarded our bus for Mae Sai, Thailand- the northern most part of Thailand. That night we got dinner and walked around a bit but then went to bed because we were exhausted.

Thursday we had to do a border run. Since Myanmar is a 5 to 10 minute walk from our hotel and because our visas were expired, we had the opportunity to go there for the day. It is amazing to me how two cities can be so different when they’re yards apart from each other. We got the chance to walk around and pray for the city. TB and I sat at a café and found it hard to pray. There was something different about that city. Not necessarily bad but just different.

Friday was an open ministry day. CB, TB, and MP and I went out as a group; we prayed into what God had for us and we didn’t get anyone specific to find so we just walked. And walked and walked some more. After lunch we bought some coke and cookies from the 7/11 to bless people with. It was harder than you think to find people to bless. We had maybe 5 people say no. CB and MP gave some to taxi drivers and we gave the rest to a man we met while getting ice cream. He just kept laughing at us. But it wasn’t a cruel laughing; we described it as Holy Spirit laughs. It was great.

Saturday we woke up to rain!!! I was one happy girl that morning/all day. I haven’t been in rain since Germany and I’ve missed it so much. Since it was a dreary (or beautiful in my opinion) day we watched some documentaries on Burma/Myanmar. They were very interesting because I didn’t know much about the country or the civil war it’s experiencing. It was really eye opening.

As usual, we had Sunday off. But unlike other days off I didn’t have a Starbucks to go to :( Instead I hung out at the room and then walked with MP to get pineapple for lunch. Pineapple is everywhere around here and SO good. After that we girls watched The Proposal. And then later that night we watched Accepted. Sometimes it’s really nice to take a break and watch a movie.

And here begins weeks 5. It is crazy to me that it’s already been 5 weeks that I’ve been in Thailand. I keep having these moments where I stop and look around and say. “Yup, I’m in Thailand.” So good!

This week began with a day to go out again and meet people. This time CB, JT, and JS and I went out. We first went to a café we had seen earlier that week and just hung out and drank coffee. Then we walked to the border of Myanmar and walked around the market. There are markets everywhere- I love it. TB had told us of a Hotel where our contact went to hang out with people and just talk with the guys there so we walked that way. Right away one of the men started talking to us. We found out his name was Roger and he has been in Thailand for 30 years, originally from Montana. He sat down with us and talked about his family back home and his work here. He explained what he knew about the situation in Myanmar and his schooling. It was really cool hearing someone’s story. We’re planning on going back there and getting to know him more.

Tuesday we worked with a ministry that helps out street kids. The first part of the morning we played with the kids; we taught them duck, duck, goose and then sang a song with them. The kids are so beautiful, most of them being Burmese. The rest of the morning we stripped paint off the walls and ceilings on the top floors. It was actually a lot of fun. We had lunch that day at a restaurant on the border of Thailand and Myanmar. They had amazing food! They also had a 7 floor look out where you could see Mai Sai and Burma. It was cool to see both Thailand and Burma and pray for the two countries.

After we spent some time up there we had another afternoon of open ministry. MP, JS, and I walked around Mae Sai and saw Roger again. We didn’t get the opportunity to talk with him but I think it was good that we let him know that we’re still thinking of him. As we walked we prayed for the country and the people we saw. I love spending days in prayer.

Wednesday I was able to help out with a local kindergarten/day care center. I helped 15 or so kids with their ABC’s and 123’s. I forgot how energetic kindergarten kids were. It was fun to help them write and see the smiles when I encouraged them when they got it right. It was really hard because of the language barrier though. I kept thinking of how much I would love to be a teacher and to see the kids grow everyday into what God has for them.

That afternoon WR and I went to the gym to talk with some guys that she met there. We swam and sat in the sun for a bit because the trainer wasn’t there yet. While we dried off we prayed for the day and what was to come. When Max, the trainer, got there we had him help us with our exercises. It was such a good work out- and it was fun to talk with Max even though there was a major language barrier. After swimming again we had the chance to ask if Max and his girlfriend wanted to have dinner with us. And again, it was hard to talk because of the language barrier, but we finally got our question across and he said yes to lunch.

And here is where I end. I have the rest of our time in Mae Sai written out but for the sake of reading I’ll put this blog up into two parts. The second will be here soon!

Love you all,

Hannah

Ministry.

So I’m going to jump in right where I left off last time.

We started our Ministry work here in Thailand. Myself along with 5 other people started working with an orphanage. It was the best decision I could have ever made; well, that God ever made. Those children are so beautiful. There are 8 children that we worked with every day. They all speak English and have been brought up in a Christian house hold. They had time off of school so our days were filled with games, laughter, and a lot of playing tag.

On Friday, we spent working on a dance for their Church. BMK is amazing amd made up a simple but great dance for them to perform at their New Years Eve party at their church. A couple of us went to watch it that Saturday night. We had grilled meat and sticky rice (I have developed a love for sticky rice!!) and had a lot of fun playing with the children. It was fun to spend time with the kids outside of their house. After the kids performed their dance our translator, Peng, and I went to the city center to try and find the rest of our team. I really wanted to bring in the New Year with my new family. We first found part of our group doing ministry and then the second part that was out found us 5 minutes later. It was the best New Years ever. There were fireworks going off everywhere, lanterns filled the sky, and a lot of laughter. It was the perfect way to start the new year- simply magical.

Sunday we had another day off and I spent the day at Starbucks (obvi) and in the night market. God is using my time at Starbucks to talk to me a lot lately and I love it.
On Monday our school leaders joined us here in Thailand. I was really excited to have them come meet us; I didn’t really know either of them so it was fun to be able to get to know them a little more. The rest of the week was filled yet again with tag, movies, and games with the kids. Sadly, they had to go to school on Wednesday. On Tuesday we ended our day with them playing soccer. Most of you who know me know I am sports challenged. And yet, I was the goalie and blocked every shot. I was so proud of myself! Since the kids were in school, Wednesday and Thursday we helped out with practical work around the house. We cleaned the walls, filled the sand box, painted furniture, and weeded their garden. It was nice to be able to practically help them out when they couldn’t do it themselves.

Friday we spent the day as a team praying for the kids and the home. It was really nice to be able to intercede for them and pray for their future. We also planned an activity for Saturday because it was our last day with them. And it was so much fun! One of my teammates has a Polaroid camera so we asked him to come with us to take pictures of the kids. They loveeeed him. Saturday morning we girls watched the kids climb on him, run after him, and punch him- It was so entertaining. After lunch we started our project- time capsules. We decorated boxes and added Polaroids of each of the kids, toys, clothes, and letters we wrote for them. It was so fun to watch them get involved and excited for their boxes. We told them they couldn’t open it until they were 18 and many of them cried, “I’m 18 now!” It was the perfect way to end our ministry with them.

Sunday was another good day spent in Starbucks! I spent some time alone with God and then my friend from the orphanage met up with me and we walked around the market. It was a good afternoon spent here in Thailand.

Monday we had the opportunity to pray again for our ministries as finished our time with them. I love those kids so much; I pray that God uses them every day for his purpose and that they are open to it. We had team time Monday night because Tuesday we are splitting up. My plans were to go to Cambodia but through a process and a lot of talking I changed teams. I am now on the Thailand team. God has been giving me a heart for this country and I’m excited to serve Him here. We are not quite sure what is happening but I’m excited to see what He has in store for my team.

So here I sit, ready for what is to come next. My team is splitting up tonight and that makes me sad but I know that God has AMAZING things planned for each person. I’m not sure what the internet situation is going to be like these next two weeks but I’ll try to update when I can.

I love you all,

Hannah

Prayer requests: We need finances. God has provided already in crazy ways and we know that He will continue to provide. But if y’all could pray for that, it’d be great :)