Sawadii Kha (Hello) Friends,
My team and I made it to Bangkok safe and sound! We had some minor bumps, but God was in control of everything. I spent my first week living in a slum community with some other interns, and now I’ve moved into a low income apartment community with a teammate named Sarah. We love our community! The leaders of the community have really taken us under their wing. We feel more and more at home every day. Our apartment is one room with a little kitchen and bathroom. We sleep on mats on the floor, and we actually have a shower! That’s a BIG blessing! Adjusting to the humidity and culture is not as shocking as I expected, but I’m still in the “honeymoon” phase of culture shock. So far everything’s great! I know that I won’t always feel this way, so I’m soaking it all in while I can.
My main goal at the moment is to connect and bond with Thais and the culture. It’s encouraging that Servant Partners allows for this time. Orientation was this past week because the first two weeks were so critical for our adjustment. If we didn't take the time to bond with the culture completely during the first several weeks we ran the risk of bonding with our missionary team and not the people we’ve come to serve.
Orientation week was crazy busy, but it was also an amazing time to learn. We toured the grand palace and other religious spots throughout the city. We also wandered the GIANT malls just for fun! I hope you all can check out the pictures on my facebook page.
Currently I spend the mornings in a Thai language class from 8am-12pm Monday-Friday. Sarah and I share the class with a Japanese housewife and Chinese college student. We all struggle and laugh as we practice our broken Thai. After class Sarah and I either have meetings or we spend time hanging out with our neighbors. That’s the best way to learn the language! On Saturdays we help our leaders teach English in the community center at the end of our parking lot. Todd and Karen have lived in Bangkok for about six years and they are a great couple to learn from. They are missionaries with Converge Worldwide, but Servant Partners and Converge Worldwide are sharing interns. Converge has an intern named Jaime who works with me and Sarah, and we attend language school together. Jaime also joins us for Servant Partners training. It’s nice to be a part of mission organizations who are working together instead of opposing each other. I really believe this is how Jesus called us to live.
Prayer Requests
Please be praying that…
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We love our neighbors well with respect and love, and are treated in the same way.
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We build and maintain healthy friendships with our neighbors.
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God opens the door for sharing the gospel in our community.
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I maintain my faith as I face a spiritually dense environment.
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Sarah and I remain safe and healthy.
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We learn the language quickly.
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We adjust well to continued culture shock.