Weeks 3 & 4 in Thailand!

Hey Friends and Family!

I’m so sorry for the delay in getting this newsletter out to you! The past two weeks have definitely been a change of pace for us, which has been both refreshing and challenging. Somehow in having more free time, I made less time to work on these newsletters, which doesn’t quite make sense but it is what it is. Thank you for your diligence in praying for me, the rest of the interns and the friendships we are forming here! It has been crazy to recognize how fast time is going, that we have just under a month left!

Some of Our Recent Activities

We said goodbye to the Simpson team on June 17th and then started to settle into a new rhythm of life without the short term teams here. The first week was a little odd, since many of the workers on our site were out of the country, but we were able to grab lunch with the site director and his family which was amazing. We tried to be intentional about resting during this weird in between week, so we spent some of our free time reading by the pool and going to the gym. If you know me personally, you know that I am traditionally not a person who enjoys working out, but I guess I really do try new things when I travel. Emma, Liberty and I found a local gym, bought a membership (!!) and have been going almost every morning, which has created a nice routine for us.

Emma and I were both able to step into a cool project this week as well, helping to create a proposal for a new BAM (business as mission) opportunity our site coordinator wants to start. Since the two of us are both studying business, we have been able to sit in on some meetings, do some brief market research, and work on a written business plan that can be presented for official approval and donor support. It has been so cool to put into practice the things we have been learning in the classroom in recent years, but it is a little daunting as well, since we don’t know anything about the business setting in Thailand.

Overall, this first week of “slower” life here was really difficult for me, because I thrive on routine and a schedule. I love when other people create a schedule for me and then I just work within that, so having to actually set it for myself has been challenging. This struggle has really revealed to me that my craving for structure and clear objectives goes beyond personal preference, but is actually rooted in people pleasing. It’s a very humbling realization, but I am so thankful for this summer and this opportunity, because through it God is exposing the parts of my life that need to be changed. I know this will continue to be a life long process of tackling this habit, but already I can see the Lord trying to mold my heart to be more in line with His. I wasn’t created to live with the goal of satisfying everyone else’s expectations-even if those expectations are reasonable and good things! I was created to live in communion with Christ! And now I am having the opportunity to actually operate out of that (even though it can sometimes be uncomfortable), instead of falling back into my default of just meeting the objectives set by others. It is stretching, but I know it will produce good fruit (Romans 5:3-5).

Something that has been difficult is feeling like we aren’t doing anything. Yes, our days end up being pretty full, but it is with mostly fun things, like going out to eat or going shopping, and it can honestly be discouraging because it doesn’t feel like we are actually doing ministry. For some reason, we have this idea in our mind that ministry is supposed to be hard, uncomfortable, or boring. That if you are having fun, you are doing it wrong. Yes, there is truth to the fact that we are supposed to daily surrender our desires and instead obey God (Matthew 16:24-26), that doesn’t mean that we are supposed to be miserable while doing it. It has been a new sort of challenge to figure out how we can be glorifying Him and living as a witness even while souvenir shopping or riding public transportation.

Rahab

In the past two weeks I also had the chance to revisit Rahab Ministries and visit a local bar with some of their staff. The goal of these outreaches is to just spend time with the women without an agenda. So many of the customers and clients are there seeking to get something from them, so the Rahab staff intentionally tries to just love the women and care about them without expecting anything, even if that is just for an hour. This specific outreach was in the afternoon, when a lot of the bars are really empty. Even though I knew that going in, I was still expecting it to be flashy and showy, like you see in the movies, and I was really suprised by how “normal” it all was.

The woman that we spent the hour talking to was in a basic cotton t-shirt, nothing sparkly or skimpy. We were the only customers there so we had the chance to really get to know her and her story. One of the things she talked about the most was her 21 year old daughter who just graduated from university and is becoming a doctor. She said that she started working in the bars to provide for her family (she and her husband are separated) and that she has just stayed, even though now both of her children are married and have established jobs. I think the fact that her daughter and I are the same age really hit home for me because it made me realize that this woman could have been my mom. The women working in the bars aren’t faceless individuals, but they each have family, people who they love, and a whole life story outside of what they do as a job. They are so much more than their circumstances.

It really made me appreciate Rahab as well and the work that they are doing. Through these “little” outreach events, they are forming relationships with women throughout the red light neighborhoods. Because these women are more than their circumstances, we have to see them for who they are as a whole person in order to work with them and help provide better conditions. As we were walking to and from the bar, so many of the neighbors and other bar workers said hello to the Rahab staff members I was with, which was such an encouraging indicator that Rahab really is present in that community, and that others notice, recognize, and appreciate their presence.

One of the other women at the bar was telling us that she made 8,000 baht the night before (215 USD) from two different men, which is about 26 times the average daily wage in Thailand. It was so heartbreaking hearing those numbers, because it really shows how broken our world is, that there is that high of a profit from sex work, and that there are few other jobs that allow you to make that kind of money. So many levels of brokeness in that alone. As we were leaving the bar, one of the men who had spent the night with her walked by and it was heartbreaking to watch the two women try to convince him to come into the bar and have a drink. It was easy to look at him with disgust, knowing how much he had spent the night before to be with this woman. It was hard to look at that man and remember that Jesus would love him, regardless of what he had done the night before. That despite his brokenness, Jesus died on the cross for him, just like He did for me. Definitely a hard reminder.

Deeper Life Church

One of the things I have loved during my internship is our local church and the community here. On an average sunday, we have about 30 people attend, but even in that smaller number, the diversity is amazing! We have members from Thailand, America, Singapore, the UK, Canada, China, Laos, and a few other countries too! Almost all elements of the service are translated, and presented in both Thai and English, making it really accessible for everyone. There isn’t always a direct translation, or a Thai word for every English word, so there have been a lot of hilarious translation struggles during the sermon, but the whole congregation laughs and moves on. One of my favorite parts is that we close each service by singing the doxology in both Thai and English, and I think I get goosebumps every time.

The one part of the service that doesn’t get translated is the prayers, which are always in the person’s first language. At first I was bummed that I couldn’t understand what they were saying when a Thai person prayed, but I have grown to love it. How beautiful that no matter where we are, we can talk to God in our heart language! That He doesn’t need us to translate our prayers and praises, but that He hears them all! It gives me just a small glimpse of what Revelation 7 describes, where there is a great multitude of every nation and tribe, praising God in every tongue! I am so thankful that when that day comes, I will be able to recognize what Thai praises sound like in the midst of the echo!

Other Notable Mentions (Photo Form!)

Thai Friendships

I think the past few weeks have also really solidified a lot of the Thai friendships that we have been building over the last month. We have all clicked with different people and in different ways, but there are definitely some key Thai’s that have become a consistent part of our circle, and we are so thankful for that! It has also been so fun to see each of us interns engage in different ways. Ella is really culturally up to date, so she can connect with a lot of the Thai students on movies, music and pop-culture. Emma is super adventurous and a great listener, so she has been able to connect with Thai’s to plan activities for us, but also be a support for some people who are going through hard spots. Liberty is really patient and easy to talk to, so she is able to build relationships with people she has nothing in common with, and make them feel welcomed and seen.

We have been hanging out more with a Thai couple, F and Y, and we have loved seeing the way our friendship has grown so tremendously in just a month. I met F in my first few days here, and he had only been learning English for two months through watching YouTube and movies. Now, his English is significantly better, our Thai has improved, and we each have unique handshakes with him. He is unlike any Thai I have met so far, so loud and joyful, and his girlfriend, Y, is so calm and understanding. They both are wonderful to be around and I am so thankful for our memories together.

One of the things I didn’t really expect was to be able to walk through significant highs and lows with our Thai friends, but the past two weeks we have done just that. We are celebrating the fact that F is going back to school to further his technical education and gain some more skills to help in his job, although we are all bummed that it means less time to hang out. We have another friend R, who has been in the job searching process for the past few weeks, applying non stop to openings and he was starting to get really weary. This past weekend, while we were at the mall with him, he opened the email saying he was offered a teaching position at an international school! Even though we have only known each other for a month, I couldn’t help but feel so overjoyed and proud of him!

It continues to blow my mind that God has ordained for us to be here at this time, and that we get the joy of celebrating milestones with so many people. There is just so much beauty in our paths crossing right now, and getting to walk alongside each other, even if it is just briefly. I am so thankful!

Praises!

• I am feeling significantly better and have gotten over the cold that I had the last week. I still have a lingering cough, but I am so thankful to not be sniffling all the time now.

• Reflecting on the fact that I have been here for almost a month now and celebrating that I haven’t been homesick yet! There are definitely things I miss, (what I wouldn’t give for a nice club sandwich and keruig coffee) but overall I feel so content where I am.

• Friendships! I feel so abundantly blessed that even though I am only here for 2 months, God has so faithfully brought so many friendships to make the road less lonely! What an amazing gift!

• Liberty posted a Bible verse (Colossians 1:16-17) on her Instagram story and F responded with a list of new words he had learned from it, including Heaven, thrones, dominion and authorities. It was so encouraging to see that he had taken time to research those words so that he could understand the scripture!

• When the Simpson team was here we met J when we were on a scavenger hunt/outreach walk at Chula University. He ended up coming to our game night, had a lot of fun, and we were able to go bowling with him and further that friendship before he left for summer break. I was super encouraged by his willingness to say yes, hang out with basically strangers and share so much with us.

Prayers!

• Please be praying against burn out, that even though we don’t have as defined of a schedule or objectives as I was expecting, that I would not become weary. I like being able to definitively see that I accomplished something, but that’s just not how relational ministry works, so be praying for my heart and mind to be realligned and to be satisfied knowing that God is in control.

• Pray for Rahab Ministries as they form relationships with the women who work in the bars and that the staff would continue to think of creative ways to reach the girls and meet their needs. They have an outreach event this Saturday, so be praying that many girls attend and feel welcomed and safe!

• The interns have the opportuity to share our testimony in church over the next coming weeks, so be praying for wisdom on what God wants us to share, and that we would have the words to articulate our stories well.

• F and Y have continued to invest more and more into our church circle, but they haven’t come to a Sunday service yet. Pray that they would continue to become more curious about God, and that they would feel comfortable asking questions or coming to church. Pray that we as interns would continue to love them and invest in our friendship, even if we don’t see the fruit.

• Pray that as interns we would lean in to these last 3 weeks, making the most of the time we have left and not prematurely distance ourselves. Pray that we would be faithful representations of Christ’s love to whoever we meet, whether that is a barista at a coffee shop, a taxi driver, or one of our Thai friends.

• Pray for all of our Thai friends, those saved and unsaved, that God would continue to captivate their hearts and pull them towards Him.

That’s all for now. As always, thank you so so so much. I could not be here without God’s faithfulness, but your support has also meant the world and made such a difference!

With so much gratitude,

Kaitlyn!