Bugs and slums...

Today was amazing. I got to know some of my team better which was good. I'm so glad I did!
We went to a Thai church this morning. It was very Western style but all in Thai language. It was a little frustrating to not understand even a single word. I got awfully lost during the sermon, even though we had a translator. :( But it was super cool because in a country that has rejected God, you could see his every move in that place. He was so present. They also served a delicious lunch and we went and got coffee.
We then went to Deanna's which was fun to just chill. And then we did slum ministry. The sad thing about the slum is it lies right next to the police station and is right behind a wall of wealth. Our goal was to help them learn English. The hope is that the English that they learn will help them to leave that place. It really broke my heart to listen to Deanna talk about it because she loves them so much and it hasn't seemed to work yet. But, I believe that God is going to boom that ministry, even though the fruit hasn't bloomed yet. But you could tell in her that it broke her heart that the kids were growing up and not getting out. I definitely will be praying for them. The kids also made us all eat bugs. haha. Some of us ate crickets (which is what I ate) while others ate silk worms. :P lol. All in all, an amazing day. Filled with Jesus and so exciting. I love what we're doing here!

My first couple days...

Hello beautiful people. So I realized I haven't blogged since I got here and decided to make a little time to do so.
So Wednesday-Thursday was the longest flight EVER. Just saying...
Friday was our first day here and we got a little chance to chill out and relax and get accustomed to our jet lag. Pretty much we ended up sitting in a circle staring at each other because we were all half asleep haha. But we did get to know each other and I'm very excited to get to work with all the others here! They are so amazing. We had lunch that day at one of the local places. I ate cashew chicken, but it is far different from American style founded in good ol' Springfield. It was so good though. And for dinner we went to the huge mall. The mall kinda sort of led to a state of culture shock. Everyone went to the food court but three of us decided to try to find somewhere else to eat. We went looking for a pizza place which led to us wandering around a little lost. When we tried to talk to some of the people who worked there we had a lot of trouble communicating. Of course the only Thai we know is how to say hi and thank you. They didn't speak any English either. It was a little confusing and super frustrating. Eventually we just decided to go to McDonalds. Of course, their Mcyd's is different than ours, but it was good and helped ease off the shock. We went to the grocery store and around an open market thing, kind of like our flea markets, or open air markets maybe.
Yesterday, we had our orientation. That was long and a bit draining especially since jet lag was still prevalent in most of us. Plus it was a ton of information all at once. But it was very comforting and left me feeling cared about and even more excited for the semester ahead. I'm so certain this is where God wants me and that he has awesome plans for me here. I can't wait to see how the story unfolds and all the awesome things he's going to do.
As for food yesterday, it was pretty American. Pizza for lunch and some Cajun like rice that Tammy made for dinner. We had our first "family dinner" which was so fun. We played a really intense game and then also played Settlers, which I failed epically at haha. And then to bed, to crash, because jet lag still isn't fully out of my system haha.
Well, this is all for now.
Love, peace, chicken grease. :)

Preparing for the big day

So, I decided not to go to sleep tonight. That's going to make airports interesting tomorrow. Haha. I'll sleep when I'm dead!
Further more, its my last few hours in Colorado and, even more, my last few hours in the States. Everything is packed, I hope. I looked all over and checked every list and cant seem to find anything I might be missing.
Honestly, though, I don't feel like it's really gonna happen. I feel like I'm going to go to bed and get up tomorrow and go run around town like usual. When I actually think about the fact that I'm leaving the country I get a million mixed emotions. I'm sad, because I'm leaving my friends and loved ones. I'm anxious, because I really don't know what to expect. But mostly, I'm excited. I have this cool feeling like God has something huge in store and he's anxiously waiting to show me what it is. Maybe it's just my own projection of God, but I feel like he's more excited about this than I am. I am excited. It's a new adventure, which I need haha. And I honestly believe that it is God's will for me. I hate saying goodbye and I don't like leaving my friends. Yet, somehow, I know it's going to be okay. God is going to take care of me and I'll see them in 3 and a half months. Thailand beckons and school will be starting and I really think I'm going to enjoy it. God and I are gonna do this together. He's never failed me before!
So, yeah. I guess this is all my random thoughts at almost 4AM when I hafta leave for the airport in like an hour and a half.