The Joy of Community
About two months ago, shortly after returning from Manila, my fellow interns and I started attending a small group for young adults with a church not far from our community. We strive to partner with local churches in the work we do, so this seemed like a good opportunity to not only connect with a local church body but also befriend people our own age, something that was sparse in our first year. There are many things I have come to appreciate about this small group. For one, they are a fun group to be with. They laugh a lot, are unafraid of playing ridiculous games, and enjoy spending time… Read more >>
An Attitude of Gratitude
In light of Thanksgiving being just last week, I wanted to share some of the things I'm grateful for, especially from this past year. I'm grateful for my Thai teacher, Kru Jum, who has helped me to speak, read, and write Thai as fluently as I can. I'm grateful that my formal Thai studies are over, not only because it's a huge milestone but because I have more time to focus on ministry and things going on in my community. (I'm still grateful for my studies though! ;) ) I'm grateful for my interim supervisor, Kyle, for taking up our internship last minute and faithfully leading and caring for… Read more >>
My Cup Overflows
August and September were incredibly slow. There wasn't much going on as nearly all ministry activities ceased and we were given a sort of "break" from the internship. Slow as they were, we had ample time to reflect on our first year here in Bangkok (we just hit this October 7th - wahoo!). This time of reflection culminated in a short, two-week trip to Manila, Philippines, to visit one of our sister teams in a slum called Botocan. A refreshing time relationally and spiritually, there were many things I took away from that trip, all of which have remained with me, even three weeks later. One… Read more >>
Quirks of Thailand
I realized recently that all my posts are fairly serious. This isn’t a bad thing, but I’ve been reminded lately that humor and joy are important too. Life is hard enough with these things; to go without them would make us go crazy. So, in light of leaving the so-called “heavy” and “serious” things behind for a moment, I wanted to highlight various quirks about Thailand I have noticed in my first year of living here. Toilets. Upon your arrival in Thailand you’ll quickly realize that the system of self-cleaning is done via a hose attached to the wall next to the toilet. Toilet paper can be… Read more >>