Rebekah in Thailand

This is it!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 18:40:00 +0000

Today is the day!! We are India bound! I am so excited for the next leg of my journey that lies ahead. We will be staying at a missions house in Kolkata, India for one month, and working with the Mother Teresa house and other other ministries with kids and on the streets. I know God has amazing plans for this DTS team and I am so excited to see them unfold! We split into smaller teams to work with during the day, and I love mine! Dillon (USA) is the staff leader, Meyho (USA) is the student leader, then Me, PJ (New Zealand), Manit (Thailand), Karleen (Canada), and Joy (Malaysia). It is quite a team, but we have had a lot of bonding time were we have been able to laugh, talk, pray, and just get to know each other. I cannot wait to grow in relationship with them over the next two months!

Please be praying for our team as we are
traveling to Kolkata, and also safety and health while we are there!

(Left) Manit, Karleen, Meyho, Me, PJ, Dillon
and Joy enjoying dessert at Cookies Crust after evangelism!

Great Is Thy Faithfulness

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 18:31:00 +0000

Faithfulness. It seems like such a common characteristic of God, and it is, because He has so much of it that He is so willing to give to us, time and time again. CARM DTS has been abounding in God's faithfulness for us. In Jeremiah 29:13-14 (The Message) it says “When you come looking for me, you’ll find me.“Yes, when you get serious about finding me and want it more than anything else, I’ll make sure you won’t be disappointed.” This verse rings so true, I finally understand the meaning God intended to me.

Hearing God's voice has always been something that I never thought was attainable for me. I thought only pastors and leaders heard the voice of God and that just the way it works. Throughout this entire DTS, that has been a huge thing that I have been learning, that God is speaking to me all day everyday through verses, lessons, other people, nature, quotes, and even my own mind. I have finally made it to a place that I trust myself and I trust God enough that I can hear His voice. Yesterday as I sat under the community room table in prayer with my outreach team, I was hearing God's voice as if He was sitting right next to me. Receiving verse after verse that connected so well, getting pictures, discovering things. I had a huge grin on my face, utterly in awe of how well I was hearing His voice. I doubted it at first, thinking "Oh this is just a verse I know it doesn't mean anything." And then another verse popped into my head that related the the first. God was chuckling at me saying "Yes Bekah, I'm talking to you, take this wisdom I am giving to you and share it!" So I shared with my group Jeremiah 29:13 and many other verses about the miracles that Jesus did while His time on earth. The connection I drew from these verses and God's words to me was this... God is faithful. If you wake up everyday eager to do what God has plan for your life then He will bless you. That is exactly where God wants you to be, in a position of complete and utter surrender and willingness. If everyday you die to yourself and give God your fear, and worry, and pride, you will see miracles unfold right in front of your eyes. Each time we give something over to God, we are walking in truth and obedience. Each time, God will send little blessing to say "I'm so proud of you, keep going, I have so much more for you!" If your and your entire self is devoted to what God has for your life and if you die to yourself everyday to walk in that truth, then you have the power of the Almighty at your fingertips. You will do great things in Jesus' name. But its hard and its a process. It is something that has to be done every single day, but it is worth it. It is so worth it. The joy, peace, and security you feel when you are walking in truth with Jesus is unmeasured. He is faithful. He does not disappoint. He will not let you down.

"My feet may fail and fear surrounds me. But you've mever failed and you wont start now." - Hillsong United "Oceans"

Because of God's faithfulness we:
1. Were able to minister to non-Christian kids at a youth camp, Camp Zoe, on our first week of outreach
2. Were able to raise over 2,000,000 baht (around 70,00 USD) in about four weeks
3. Received over 30 visas for our outreach to India
And multiple other things! God has been so good to CARM DTS 2013!

Pattaya

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 16 Mar 2013 09:36:00 +0000

Last week, CARM DTS loaded up the vans and trucks and headed to Pattaya for a week. Pattaya is a beach about an hour and half away from Bangkok where human trafficking is huge. We went here for a week of lectures and also mini outreach. After an insane bus ride with pouring rain and hundred mile an hour driver, we thanfully made it safely. We stayed in the middle of a concrete building, imagine a parking deck but all the levels above ground are mostly building. It was a strange set up. I was in a room with Kayla and the two Thai girls, Pim and Wongduen, they were awesome roommates for the week because they are very chill and neat. We stayed on the fourth floor which was a hike up the steep stairs so that was what my exercise of the week was. It was so fun being at the beach for the week. Compared to the beaches in the states, it was very dirty, just trash everywhere, and weird rocky sand, but the sunsets over the water and being there with amazing people was perfect.

We were being lectured on evangelism during the days preparing for our street evangelism on Thursday night. We also had a workshop on Monday learning about how to evangelize specifically to children and what that looks like. That was very interesting and a definitely a good topic for us to be learning about. On Tuesday was my ministry day. We went to a Pattaya slum and taught about 15 kids about God's love for them. We sang a song, made a craft and gave them food after. It was so fun, and those kids were amazing. They were so excited to learn and meet us and just to be with us. I really hope that God plants a seed in those children and that it will continue to be watered and that one day they will truly understand and what to follow God!

On Wednesday night, we had small group. My small leaders are Jing (China), Dillon (Missouri), and Bec (Australia) and in my group is PJ (Perth), Grace (Brazil), Paula (Finland), Brandi (Nashville), Hannah (Arkansas), and Manit (Thailand). And I adore my small group, we are only supposed to have it for an hour each week, but we find ourselves staying together for like 3 or 4 hours just talking, laughing and having a great time. This week, we decided to take advantage of being a Pattaya and go have small group on the beach. We sat on the sand, Manit played worship music on the guitar as a few of us sang, some threw the frisbee around and walked around in the water. Then we came together and talked about the task ahead of us for the next night - street evangelism. We talked about how some of us had been hurt by evangelism in the past, or our fears, or our disagreements with us, and then we prayed them out. Just asking God for the words, and the ears to hear what He is telling us, and who is He telling us to speak to, we ask for boldness and just to take away any fear. I felt so much better after our time in prayer, I has been feeling nervous and just being too scared to approach complete strangers in fear of rejection or judgment. After prayer, Bec pulled me aside with a word from God she had received for me. She said to me "You have value, you have worth, you have wisdom. You think you don't because of your age or your past or something, but you do have wisdom, you just need to believe that God is speaking to you and He is using you already." That was awesome, struck a nerve and served as a great reminder as I went into the next day.

Around 5 o'clock in the evening we loaded up the sung tao to head off the the red light district of Pattaya. We got subway for dinner which was a nice surprise. Then we walked down a back alley behind the main road of the red light district to go to a communal worship time.It turned out to be only our team and two other ladies, but it was awesome. We sang out "Be bold, be strong" as we all split into our groups and headed out into the crowded streets of Pattaya. In my group was me, Meyho (Northern California) and Joy (Malaysia) \, all three of us were pretty nervous but out we went. The song God of this City (which was written in and about Pattaya) rang in my head. I kept singing it over and over, praying for a picture of someone or a sense of who to talk to. Nothing. We spoke to one lady who moved to Thailand from Russia with her boyfriend, but now she just works all the time as a travel agent and has terrible hours. We spoke to her about God and His love for her, she seemed interested but it was hard for her because was in the middle of working. So we gave her Joy's number in case she ever needed to call with questions or just someone to talk to and walked away. We continued to pray and we just walked to the mall a few blocks away from the beach. We walked through and saw two eastern men, and both Meyho and Joy felt like we should talk to them. We smiled and follow them outside the mall, where two other men joined them. Turns out they are from Pakistan and Iran and just visiting Pattaya for a vacation. We told them where we were from and when I told them I was from the States, the man standing next to me gave me a very excited, creepy look. I immediately backed up, but another guy was standing there. Meyho and Joy continued to talk to the other men, while this man pulled out his camera and insisted I take a picture with him. I refused many times but he touched my arm and my back trying to get me to come over to him. I backed up and walked over to Meyho, telling her I was very uncomfortable and wanted to leave. We ended the conversation and walked away. I didn't like that at all, I was pushed way out of my comfort zone, in a bad way, and I just wanted to go back and sleep. I was done. I felt self-protective and just violated. We were walking down by the beach again and we stepped aside and prayed for renewal of the night, just for it to be restored and for God to give us one more person, so thise night wouldn't be left on this awful note.

Out of a darkness, we saw a lady sitting on the curb by herself. We all felt like we should go speak to her. Turns out she was a prostitute, in a broken marriage and her children living away from her. You could see the sadness and destruction in her eyes, and my heart began to break. She didn't know how to get out of her current situation even though she wanted to so bad. We told her how much God loved her and she said she knew that all but she can't do any good works for Him to accept her but Buddha asks all these things but she can't measure up. But I told her, I have done a lot of dumb things in my past, and God still stood there with His arms wide open ready to catch me when I came running to Him. We told her He accepts you for everything, you've done and He loves you more than you could ever know. And God, He does what, to us, seems impossible, He can fix your family, He can reunite you with your children, He can get you out of this job. She thanked us, and we gave her the card of a lady who works in Pattaya and would be able to get her help if she ever needed it. As were were leaving she began to cry. We prayed over her that the Lord would just flood her with His love. It was so incredible. Needless to say, the night was restored.

Bangkok International Ten's

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 16 Feb 2013 14:08:00 +0000

This weekend is the Bangkok International Ten's Rugby tournament, where teams from all around Bangkok and the world come to raise money for Nak Suu and other charities. So naturally, since we are apart of Nak Suu, we have to help work the tournament. A sports DTS from Perth flew in to help us as part of their outreach, so that was extremely helpful. Kayla, Michelle, and Tim (a member of the sports DTS), and I were in charge of selling raffle tickets for the 50/50 raffle. Where half the proceeds earned went to the winner and the other half was donated to Nak Suu. We were out in the sun, walking around all day trying to sell these tickets. The only problem is neither Kayla or I like to try and sell stuff to people we don't know, so we recruited a bunch of people to help us and in the end we got 15,000 baht worth. Hopefully tomorrow we can do better, maybe it won't be so hot.

Rugby is a really cool sport, I wish it was more popular in the States. For those of you who don't know, its basically a combination of soccer and football. They can kick the ball, throw it, and completely tackle, but there are no pads and obviously the rules are very different. The first half of today was just a little kids tournament, so some of the younger teams were playing touch but others were playing tackle. It was insane how tough some of the kids are. There were four Nak Suu kid's teams, only one did pretty well and the others struggle. But, just remember,Nak Suu is a organization that teaching kids front he slum how to play rugby, learn b about God and learn some English, because otherwise they cannot afford it. Later in the day, the men's teams played. We got to watch our Nak Suu Warriors climb to the top of the tournament, in a face off for the finals tomorrow! It was so cool watching them slide, jump, tackle,m and protect each other from the crazy huge opposing players. I am excited for tomorrow to see more men's games, especially the Warriors. Go Nak Suu!!!

Recap

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 16 Feb 2013 13:49:00 +0000

Wow it has truly been weeks since I have written on here, and I am so sorry. It has been an insane couple of weeks, full of being homesick, frustration and fun times. Lets start off by doing highs and lows:

Highs:
1. Getting two packages in one week from home!!
2. Going to Cookies and Crust for small group
3. South African Community night (such amazing food)
4. Hanging out with my favorite kids from Mahathai
5. Making cupcakes
6. Having a late night jam sesssion with Kayla, Bec, and Oo
7. Being able to talk to my family, and best friends!
8. Valentines Day: made breakfast for the boys, the boys served us dinner, saw Safe Haven
9. Ice skating

Lows:
1. Homesick
2. Life gets hard when you are surrounded by the same people 24/7
3. Miscommunication
4. Boring speakers
5. Heaps of things to get done
6. The fact that I am 3 weeks behind on my journal
7. Being in the blazing sun all day at the BIT (Bangkok International Ten's, rugby tournament)
8. Hurting my shoulder while ice skating (I'm a grandma)
9. Ikea for 2 hours

I love Thailand, but right now and the past few weeks, I have really just wanted to go home, hug my family and friends, curl up on the couch with my doggies and watch movie and be home and be relaxed, and not worry about what I have to do next or whatever. It sounds terrible, I came all the way over here, nearly 10,000 miles and right now I'm miserable. But I think I'm allowed that, to be able to miss home for a bit. But I'm not letting it affect the experience, I'm staying positive that soon this funk will pass and it will all be fine.

Depressing post. sorrrrry xoxo

Nuk Suu

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 26 Jan 2013 08:54:00 +0000

Being a DTS student you have to be invovlved with one of the minisitries with the different kids in the community. Youth Night is on Friday night where we come together and worship and then those 12 kids spend the night, and then those same kids and bunches more join the other half of the students for Nuk Suu, a day of rugby. Today was our first day of Nuk Suu. We woke up at 7 to be ready to go and load up the trucks at 7:30, finally we got on the road, riding in the bed of the trucks. Meyho and I then traveled to Madhathai, a slum that we go to every week, to go ask more kids to come, sadly we only found one boy, Mai, who wanted to come. AFter a full morning of rugby, English class, and a messge with a craft, we ate lunch with the kids then piled back into the truck and headed home. After all the girls had gotten showers and some snacks, Sopo came over and told us if we wanted to swim in his pool we were more than welcome. At first we didnt want to because we had all just showered, but this is a one time thing so we all ran next door and jumped into the pool and had an awesome time with each other and his two youngest kids. Today has been such an awesome day. Tonight we are going out to eat at Mega Bangna with some of the staff girls and then going to see Les Mis, so everyone is very excited about that. I am loving life in Thailand so much. I am beyond blessed to be here.

Glimpse of Heaven

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 26 Jan 2013 08:48:00 +0000

At a YWAM Bangkok meeting, I truly experienced what I believe Heaven will be like. The entire group; people from different cities, nations, and continents were singing together "Blessed be the name of the Lord." Then again in unison we sang the same words but both English and Thai together. It was one of the most amazing things I have ever experienced and absolutely something I will never forget. No matter our backgrounds, skin color, hardships, or even language, we can all still come together and worship a God who has never left our side through it all.

A Day in the Life

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 13 Jan 2013 04:32:00 +0000

I am starting to get into the routine, but tomorrow that will all change. Tomorrow have to start waking up for 6:30 am workouts. Then continue on to morning chores, worship, school, lunch, break, work duties, dinner, study night/small group/one on ones, sleep. Its a crazy life here at CARM DTS. I am having a great time getting to know my team and connecting with them more and more each day in class or just hanging out and talking.

My team!

This week in class, we learned about the different characters of God, like holiness, justice, and faithfulness. Our speaker, Sam Sarvis, who is apart of the Bangkok Leadership Team of YWAM, shed some new light on all of those subjects especially when he talked about the sacrificed that Jesus made for us. He loved us so much that he didn't want us to suffer, it helped me think about it in a whole new way.

On Thursday night, we met our small group which we will meet together every Thursday night. My group is really great and even on the first night, we already started opening up to each other about our lives and our walks with the Lord. It was really cool to see God bond us through just a few hours together. I am really looking forward to see how that group bonds and becomes closer over the time we have together.

Riding on the back of Jerome's bike!

I also had to say goodbye to my mom a few days ago which was sad, but I am so blessed to have such an awesome mom, that she would fly to the other side of the world with me to make sure I was gonna be safe. We had such a great time exploring and seeing new things. I love you Mom!

Friday night was crazy. After dinner, everyone was playing volleyball and talking and music was playing. So Izeldi, Kayla and I went out there and of course they pulled me into the game, in which I was terrible. I even hit the ball over the 9 foot wall, so I just quit because I was hindering my team. After I quit, I decided the broken trampoline looked pretty fun, so I was jumping on it with Izeldi and doing some back handsprings and decided to do a front flip. Note: some of the springs on this trampoline were missing, so its wise to only stay on one side. So i did my flip and overturned and hit my face in two different places with the poles. One poles hit my chin and the other one hit my head. I was fine though, just a busted lip taught me to never go on that trampoline again.

Kayla (Arizona) Me, Izeldi (South Africa), Karleen (Canada)

On the weekends, we have free days to do whatever we want, they give us money back every week to use for our meals which is great. But yesterday instead of all going our separate ways, we went on a little field trip. We met outside the house at 8 and jump into the back of a truck and drove a little bit to a ferry, where we got on and crossed the river. When we got to the other side of the river, we got on the back of motor bikes with one other person from our team and they took us to the water market. It was huge. We got time to walk through and see everything, this one was more of a food market, so we got to try a few different fruits and we saw some turtles and eels that you could pick and they would cook them for you, so sad. But that was really fun and cool. Then we got back on the bikes, then the ferry, then our truck and drove around and saw the Grand Palace again and then went to a huge mall downtown called Siam Paragon. We all split up and the first thing Kayla and I did was find some American food because we have eaten too much rice. We found the Pizza Company and the pizza was so delicious. Then we walked around, went in H&M, Forever 21, Gucci, Chanel and a bunch of car stores. It was two buildings with 8 floors of craziness, and so many people. After that, we met up with our team to see a movie, Jack Retcher. We were hanging out in the lobby of the movie theater when we say some of the Despicable Me minions walking around, so we ran after them and got a picture with them, it was great. The movie was great, and I learned at thai movie theater popcorn isn't as good as American movie theater popcorn, but that was okay, popcorn is popcorn. On the way home we got on the sky train and took it to a bus stop where we caught a bus which took us back to our villa and we walked home. Yesterday was so fun, and now we are just hanging around the house, some people are at church, but I'm going to go a little bit later with Kayla.

The water market!

Minion

And so it begins...

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 08 Jan 2013 15:28:00 +0000

On Monday night, we had a little "get to know you" night, and we played little games to get to know the people in the group. Then we got separated into teams and we had a scavenger hunt thing around our villa (aka neighborhood). I had Gabie (from Costa Rica), Paul (From Australia), Jerome (From New Zealand), and Yoyo (From Thailand). We all ran around and had a good time, and we came in second place so that was great.

Yesterday was the first day of class. We just went through some of the basics of school and the expectations they have for us. It was a lot more than I expected. We have journals that we have to follow a certain format and turn in each week, memory verses, and three book reports for the entire time. So it was a lot of information, but helpful. Then they put us back into our teams from the night before and gave us a map and instructions to go out in the community around our villa to have a scavenger hunt. We had a list of everything we had to take pictures of in four different locations. First we went to MegaBangna which is the big mall right by our villa, that also has Ikea, we had to take a few pictures there like one in Ikea, one on a playground, and one at a karoke store. Then we were to get on a a bus and head to Central Mall. This is where the trouble began.

Ready to start our adventure!

My team left first and we were only in Mega for 15 minutes, and we had two hours to complete the tasks. So we were outside Mega waiting for a bus when Yoyo asked another Thai where to go to catch a bus, and they told us to walk to the bus stop. So we walked, and walked, and walked. Mind you, we were walking on the side of a 4 lane highway. FINALLY we found the bus stop and got on a bus and went to central where we took some pictures of us with instruments, one with the roller coaster in the back and even saw some of the staff there spying on us. Next we were told to get off at Index Mall and find "Fah Burger" and we walked down the highway again for like 20 minutes and never found it, but it was after Index Mall it was behind it. It was getting closer to the time we needed to get back, but we wanted to make it to our last stop. It was the market at Ram 2, which I had been two times before. Our task was to take a picture with the moto taxi men, go to the YWAM Bangkok base and take a picture with a man named Paw Pan there and then go into the market find some fried bugs and take a video of two of our team mates eating them.

Music store picture!

Gabie and I decided to do it. I have eaten bugs before, but never in Thailand! I was actually excited. We picked out the silk worms, and they throw them in oil with curry and then give them to you nice and warm. So Gabie and I popped them in. I was expecting them to crunchy, but they were soft and and chewy, which was gross at first but I liked the flavor of them so I ate a few, but then I realized I was eating bugs so I stopped. We got back around 6:15 which was 45 minutes after the time we were supposed to get there, but it was okay. Then we all made slideshows of our videos and pictures, and my team tied for last place which was dumb, because ours was awesome. But its okay because the experience was awesome.

Today has been a hard day. I have really being missing home and just wanting to go back. We had class again and we had two people come from the Bangkok Leadership Team come share with us a little. One thing the lady told us, which really stuck with me was "Live here, be here.God has placed these people, this place in your life right now because He knows what is best for your current season of life." I don't need to worry about missing stuff back in Charlotte, because I know the plan that God has for me on this trip is amazing and it far exceeds anything that home has for my right now. That is a big encouragement that will lsat me for the rest of this trip, and the rest of my life.

Adventures

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 06 Jan 2013 09:23:00 +0000

Today I woke up from the first night sleeping in my room and didn't feel so good. So I got my stuff and walked outside to my mom's little guest room that she stayed the night in. I took a shower in there, and was talking to my mom when I laid down and fell asleep for two hours. After my little nap, I was feeling a little bit better, so I went back in and sat in the kitchen with some people, talking about life and things like that. The first question that was asked was if any of us had a significant other, I laughed when they asked me. Then my mom got her stuff situated and decided she needed to go back to the hotel room. We found Honda, who is on staff and speaks Thai, and he called a cab and made sure they knew where to take my mom.

Kayla came downstairs and asked if anyone wanted to go to Ikea, which I was pumped about because I knew I needed to go and get some things to organize my stuff with. So five girls, Me, Karleen, Kayla, Gillian, and Izeldi started walking. We have to walk all the way out of our neighbor and to the main highway to get a taxi. And it is a really short drive to the Mega Bangna, which is the mall where Ikea is. We got there and went to Big C, which is like a Walmart to get fruit and some water, then we went into Ikea.It was a pretty successful trip, we found everything that we needed! It was after we left Ikea was when the real adventure started. Karleen realized she had left her purse in Ikea, so her and Gillian went back inside to find it and Izeldi, Kayla and I took the cab home, we had the address and everything and he said he knew exactly where to go, but clearly that was a lie. We got so lost, he started driving near downtown and we were all like "Umm this is not right at all". Every minute, we were hoping he was going to make a turn and we would be right where we needed to be. Finally he pulls over, I show him the address which also had Honda's number on it. The driver called Honda, who told him exactly where to go, thank God. Izeldi, Kayla and I couldn't help but laugh, of course this would happen to us and none of us had Thai cell phones so we couldn't call anyone. The driver started backing up and he said he needed to make a u-turn and cross four lanes of oncoming traffic all going well over 100 miles per hour. Kayla couldn't look out her window because she was too scared but Izeldi and I were looking and laughing so hard at our possible fate. But good news, we made it across to the other side safely, and got back to the house in just a few minutes. Kayla had to direct him through the neighborhood and she was pointing the way when we remember that to Thai people, pointing is rude, so we broke out in laughter again, trying to show him the way without pointing. Finally we got home and told everyone the story while still laughing. It was scary, but so funny.

Chaos

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 06 Jan 2013 09:03:00 +0000

Yesterday was so insane. We woke up early because we had to move out of our hotel room and move my mom into a bigger one because well long story. Turns out we didn't even half to get up early because we couldn't move until two. So we decided to get Thai massages, and it was so amazing. I've never had a normal massage, much more a Thai massage, but it was so great and relaxing. It all part of the have to experience of visit Thailand!

After a lot of confusion with the room and moving, and the ATM we finally got a cab to take us to my house where i will be living for the next few months. My house is in a gated neighborhood, so the driver got kinda lost but finally we made it. It was so good to finally put faces with names of all the people on my team because I had only known them from facebook. I started unpacking, but i brought the most stuff out of anyone and in a small room with five other girls, it is hard to know where to put stuff. So I really only halfway unpacked and left it. Then we all decided to go to the night market, Mom was going to go home but it got too dark and late we didn't want her taking a taxi and them not knowing where to go, so she went with us too. It just so happened to be the same market that Mom and I went to on the first day, so it was familiar, which was kinda cool. As we walked around, some people were getting really grossed out by the raw meat and the gross smell of the place, but to others it wasn't a big deal at all. Finally we found a little place that had fruit and really delicious drinks and most of us got something from her. I got this hot pink lemon drink, I don't even know what it was because I just pointed to a picture and she made it. It was a slushie and it was so delicious, I'm going to have to go back there and get another one. Then we found another place that had pad thai and few of us got that and scarfed it down, it was so delicious. Right now that is my favorite Thai meal. Also last night, I got my first Thai bus experience. Instead of paying when you get on, a lady walks around with a tube of money and you give her the coins or bills and she will give you change and then a little ticket. For normal buses it is 10 baht, but for air conditioned buses it is 12 baht, both buses we took last night were air conditioned. We ended up getting off the wrong stop last night for the bus and so we had to walk across the bridge that goes over the highway and then walked down the highway with the traffic, motorcyeles, trucks, and cars speeding past us. It was crazy, but we all thankfully got back safe and sound.

Last night was really fun getting to know everyone and just having a good time. Its cool to be surrounded by people who all come from different countries and have their own stories, and I can't wait to get to know them all better.

The Day of Elephants

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 06 Jan 2013 08:45:00 +0000

Two days ago, Mom and I signed up for another tour that was to The Floating Market, The Elephant Village, Samphran Elephant Ground and Zoo, and The Rose Garden. We weren't really sure what it all entailed but we decided to go along for the ride anyway. We had to get up at quarter to 6 to get dressed, eat breakfast, and be ready by the time our ride got to our hotel at 6:45.

First stop: The Floating Market. This was about an hour drive from our hotel in downtown Bangkok. When we got there, we got into a small canoe like boat and we were lead down the canals for about 10 minutes. It was so beautiful, we even saw people riding elephants! When we finally got to the market, they had a place where you could walk and shop, but also a place where you could buy a ticket for a boat and be lead through the actual Floating Market. Now it is a lot more touristy nowadays, but it was still a really cool experience. They were pull your boat off the canals with hooks they had, and show you different products and bargain with you. There were also little boats that sold things like food so you could eat on your way around. It was a really cool place to see even though it is more for tourist now, it was cool!

Second stop: The Elephant Village. This was just about a five minute drive from the Floating Market. When we pulled up, I saw a wooden tower with stairs where people were lied up to get on the back of the elephants to ride them. And I just about lost it with excitement because if you're in Thailand, you have to ride an elephant! So we got in line and waited just a few minutes when the lady pulled us out of the line to go! I climbed unto Patong (the elephant) and there was a little metal seat for my mom and I to sit in. Each elephant had a guide who sat right on his head and our guide just happened to be fantastic and so sweet. Half way through the trial, our guide let me crawl down and sit bare back on the neck of the elephant and ride the rest of the way. It was so amazing, I couldn't believe I was riding on an elephant in Thailand! Then we got to go through the water, and my shoes got so wet, but it was so cool. There were some kids on the ride dancing to Gangnam Style so that was really funny.

Next stop: Samphran Elephant Ground and Zoo. Here we also had lunch, which was buffet style, not the best but what can you really expect from a Zoo. We got out tickets from our tour guide and walked inside, and the first thing we saw was a sign that read "Picture with Twin Tigers" and behind the sign lay two tigers fast asleep. I have always thought tigers were cool, but I was so fascinated with them and their color and their giant teeth. Next we walked to the elephant show, that told of the history of elephants while the elephant did all sorts of tricks like they played soccer, play harmonica, and danced. It was so cute. But I think my favorite thing about elephants is when they grab each other tails so they don't get separated, ahh its so precious. After the elephant show, we were supposed to go to the crocodile show, but on our way we saw more elephants in the walk way of the park inside wooden gates. We went over and we could play with them and even feed them. There was a baby that was in a gate with his mommy and he was two months old, probably the cutest thing I've ever seen. We bought some bananas to feed them and it was so cool having them grab the bananas with their trunks right out of your hand. Such a cool experience.

Last stop: The Rose Garden. We only stayed there for about an hour, but we got to go to this show that told more about the culture. It showed different types of music, dance, fighting, and it also showed what a tradition Thai wedding would be life, it was really interesting. After the show, I got to pet a snake that a man was holding, but Mom was too scared to touch it. Then we loaded back on our little bus and headed back to our hotels. It was a jammed packed day, but it was so cool to be able to see and experience those things!

The Grand Palace

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 03 Jan 2013 16:24:00 +0000

This afternoon, Mom and I walked around the block just to see what we would find. I love being able to just roam freely in a foreign country, it makes me feel less of a tourist, yet obviously I am one. But we found this little street market with people selling all sorts of foods, jewelry, shoes, and clothes. We ended up buying a dress and an awesome pair of leggings, so that was very exciting.
By the time we got back to the hotel it was time to leave for the tour of the Grand Palace. In respect of the temples, we had to dress modestly: no sandals, covered knees and shoulders. But in case you forgot they had shawls and pants outside the walls that you could rent while you were inside, because the guards wouldn't let you in if your dress wasn't modest enough. Once we got inside, I was in complete awe of the buildings. The design on each one of the buildings was absolutely breath taking. On one wall, there was a hand painted depiction of the story of King Rama and the monkeys and the demons. Each building had mirrors, and jewels, and gold all the way up the walls, it was incredible.
While some people visited this site because of their religion, my mom and I visited mainly just to see it and to learn more about Thai culture. It was interesting to hear all about the royal family and the religion practices of Buddhism. In the main temple, which housed the Emerald Buddha, there were monks praying, and people kneeing, bringing flowers, candles, and incenses to him. Different religions interest me because I like to learn about the different things they believe and the different teachings they follow.
While I am not very good with my words on the subject of the beauty of the Palace, I think pictures will help you have a small glimpse of what I experienced today. To see the Grand Palace should be high on the bucket list for everyone, not because of religion but because of the sight and the culture.

Buddha's temple

Exterior of one of the buildings

Mamma and I with one of the "demon guards"

Part of the royal story painted on the wall

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 03 Jan 2013 03:44:00 +0000

Finally I got internet long enough so I could post on here! Thailand is incredible. We got 3 days ago, and we are enjoying it so much. The first two nights we stayed in the hospitality house of YWAM, and we got to go to the market there and see a lot of authentic Thai. We saw a women cutting the nails off of chicken feet, meats, fruits, and a bunch of foods we did not recognize.
The next day we decided to move into a hotel and be closer to the more tourists parts of Bangkok. We got a taxi and drove about 30 minutes to the center of downtown Bangkok, where our hotel is. It feels like New York City, its amazing. We went to a cute little cafe to have our first official meal in Thailand, Mom had a Hawaiian crepe and I had some pasta, it was delicious. After we checked into our hotel, we walked around downtown, found the mall and went shopping for a few hours. We saw a few Starbucks When we got back, we sat by the rooftop pool for a little while then snuggled up and watched some Bones (of course).
I am loving Bangkok, while it is hard to think about me not coming back to the states for five months, I am so excited to get my time in this beautiful country. A lot of my team is starting to fly in and arrive, I will meet up with them in the next few days and my school will start early next week.
I am so excited for the next few weeks and months that lie ahead of me! I cant wait to begin forming relationships with the people on my team, and the people of Thailand. I think I am most excited to see all the beautiful sights, I think Thailand has a kind of forgotten beauty, and I cannot wait to experience it.
A few things I definitely want to do:

Go up north to Chiang Mai
Go down south to the beaches of Phuket
Ride an elephant

Right now, Mamma and I are going on a tour of the Grand Palace, and I am so excited for this. I shall write another post when we get back later this evening. xoxo

Today is the Day!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 29 Dec 2012 08:43:00 +0000

I'm leaving today for Thailand! I cannot believe that day is actually here. I have just finished packing, shout out to my best friend Bekah for bascially doing it all for me. I had a little going away party with a few of my friends, and I realized how blessed I am for all of those people. I am so excited for the next for days and few months that lie ahead of me!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 11 Nov 2012 19:04:00 +0000

Welcome to my blog that will document every little detail of my excursion to the other side of the world! The foods, the people, the language, the culture, the clothes, and the way of life in Bangkok, Thailand! Hopefully I will also be able to post pictures as well so everyone back home can get a taste as well!