Week 1 in Bangkok

Sawadee-kha (hello) from Thailand!

As I am writing this, it has been a little over one week since I landed in Thailand! Time is moving in such a strange way, where I feel like I have been here for a month, but it also still doesn’t feel real. I often catch myself thinking “wow, I am in Thailand right now. Thailand. Wow.” I think the past 10 days have been a “pressure cooker” of learning and getting adjusted, but they have also been filled with so much laughter and joy, and the Lord has been so faithful to confirm that this is where He has called me to be.

Quick Overview of Our Site

Our site is highly relational and the relationship building aspect happens through many different layers, with short termers, interns, and long term staff all playing an important role. Ideally, the goal is that short term teams do a lot of outreach at the beginning of their trip and begin to form some relationships with local Thai’s. This relationship building is done through “appointments”, which are basically just intentional times of hanging out, whether that is grabbing coffee, going to a market, or eating a meal. Hopefully, by the end of their time, they will have introduced this new Thai friend to one of the interns or long term staff, so that we can continue to walk alongside them and build that relationship even after the short termer is gone. As interns, we get even more time to invest in these relationships, but we have the same end goal in mind of passing over that relationship to a long term staff member, and getting them plugged in with a Christian community. We also have the chance to walk alongside the teams during their time here and join in on their team debriefs each day, which allows us to see the way that this experience is shaping and teaching them.

Side note: I know there are many different opinions about short term missions and their effectiveness, I have been really impressed with this model and the doors that it opens. One of the things that was brought up during our orientation was the fact that “short term” and “long term” missions are not supposed to operate at the same pace. If long term staff worked at the pace of short term teams, they would quickly become burnt out, because it is so fast paced that it isn’t sustainable in the long run. However, there is still a place for the jam packed, go-go-go speed of ministry in short term work, and it has been really cool to see that play out practically.

Recap of the Week

Thankfully, because I was traveling from Uganda to Thailand, I only jumped 4 hours, and did not experience any jet lag, which made for a much quicker transition. My second day here all of the girl interns moved into our apartment, which is located in a housing complex with other university students. I’ve loved getting to know some of our neighbors, and even play pickleball with them!

The Lord has been so apparent in the way He has provided unity among us and has allowed us to become friends in such a short amount of time. The only negative to this is the fact that staying up until 2:30am four nights in a row, talking and laughing, leads to very exhausted interns. But wow, what a blessing.

Other Fun Parts About Living Here

• We have two (maybe more) lizards living in our apartment walls to keep us company. They like to hide outside the bathroom door and in the air conditioner, both of which can be quite scary and alarming if not prepared.

• Getting the hang of the transportation system! Everyone uses Grab, which is the Thai equivalent of Uber or UberEats, but we have also traveled by subway (MRT), boat taxi, regular taxi, sky train (BTS), and tuktuk.

• Trying lots of new foods! If you have known me for a while, you know I tend to be a picky eater, but something about traveling makes me much more adventerous. So far I have had a lot of great Thai food and dessert, but most notably, squid, octopus, cricket and grasshopper.

• New places and experiences! We have been able to go to a worship concert, experience Chinatown, shop at the Owl Market (which is a night market with a bunch of streetfood and second hand clothes), be in a worship music video, and visit a lot of cute coffee shops.

• Malls! I was not prepared for the number of malls we have here in Bangkok, and the fact that you go to at least one mall everyday. It’s estimated that there are between 200-500 malls just in this city, and they are huge!

  • Because of the currency exchange, most things are significantly cheaper here than what we are used to in the U.S. (dangerous, I know), so it has been fun to do a lot more shopping and eating out that I am used to.

Some Challenging Things

Even though I am having so much fun while here, obviously things are not all sunshine and rainbows. There have definitely been challenges, but I am so thankful for God’s grace that has been actively carrying me through and comforting me with His presence. Some things though that have been harder than I anticipated:

• The heat and humidity. Very different than Rochester.

• The language barrier. A lot of Thai’s are comfortable reading and writing in English, but speaking is a little bit harder for them. The major differences in characters and sounds in the Thai language also makes it harder for us as foreigners to learn and master phrases, so even things like basic greetings I am still pronouncing incorrectly. This also applies to names, as a lot of Thai names are not names that we would traditionally hear in America, and knowing that I am pronouncing someone’s name wrong, no matter how hard I try, is one of the most humbling things.

• Lack of routine and schedule. Because we have had teams here back to back, we haven’t been able to settle into the regular intern routine and rhythms that we will have for the rest of the summer. This has been a blessing in some ways, because our routine won’t later be interrupted by teams, but all the fluctuations make it difficult to plan and feel fully settled in.

• Slowing down in relationships. When hanging out with Thais that I know are curious about Jesus, it has been hard to not immediately jump to the gospel and the faith conversation. Especially in Thai culture, building up relational trust is crucial, so if I don’t have that relational capital with someone, they will not take the gospel message I present seriously. We have been repeatedly reminded that coming to a point of following Jesus takes time, and so often the most loving thing I can do is just get to know people where they are at, and then once that social capital is built up, then I can share the invitation to come to Jesus.

Praises!

• Unity among our team. Like I said, I have loved working with everyone on staff here and connected with Deeper Life, and am so thankful for the same heart that we all share. All of the long term workers have so much humility in their work, and it is so beautiful to witness the way that affects everything they do.

• We have been able to form some relationships already with Thais that just feel natural. The long term workers initially set up some “appointments” for us, inviting Thais to our meals or events, but we have been able to follow up and initiate “appointments” on our own time and get to know them better through that. It’s been sweet to get to the point where Thai’s want to hang out with us too.

• I have had a sense of affirmation that God definitely wanted me here. I don’t think I ever really doubted that, but to have small little signs of confirmation has been such an encouragement and reminder that God knew I would be here this summer all along.

Prayer Requests!

• Pray for the Thai people that we have begun to build relationships with. A lot of these connections are with people who are curious about Jesus and know that we are Christians, so pray that our friendships would deepen and that doors would open up in our conversations for us to share our stories and the freedom that we have found in Christ.

  • Also be praying for humble hearts among us as interns. In order to love them well, we need to remember that we are sinners as well, and in just as much of need of a Savior as them. We shouldn’t be trying to build relationships just to bring up a conversion or a decision, but to truly just get to know the people that Jesus loves and made in His image.

• A lot of the relationships we are forming are with young professionals, aged 25-35, and many of them are in a totally different life stage than me. Pray for easy connection points and similarities that would make these relationships grow genuinely and authentically.

• Prayers for patience and grace as we navigate the language barrier and cultural differences.

• Prayers for our team as we continue to run at a fast pace to facilitate the teams experiences, while also trying to further our own connections.

Thank you so much for following along and partnering with me as I try to be a light for Jesus in this city. The Holy Spirit is already here and He is already at work, I am just stepping in to participate. I am so excited to continue to see what He has in store and keep you all updated!

With love,

Kaitlyn