The End of Another Chapter

Su-wa-ti-ka!

July is over, and it’s time for the closing of another summer. Just like at home, the end to this summer crept up on me, while I was still planning coffee outings and sight-seeing trips with my Thammasat friends. Would it be cliché to say that the last week has been bitter-sweet, with the promise of seeing friends and family saddled next to the reality that I’m going to be leaving people who I’ve come to love and care for? Yes. It would. Is it cliché to say that I feel like someone’s taken an eggbeater to my heart and turned it on super-sonic speed? I’ll let you be the judge of that.

It’s been a topsy-turvy, day-by-day ride ever since the moment when Emilie reminded us last Tuesday that we would be leaving in 7 days. We finished off that SOUPer Tuesday well, with 2 successful soups even though Beth was feeling sick and had a hard time being in the hot kitchen. Revelation: I really like the Thai soup called tom yum! Other revelation: They put some things in there just for flavor, not for actual human consumption. Surprise! Who knew, right?

Then came Prom. Honestly, I’d been dreading this event since Ashley announced that the Thai students wanted to have one. I did my best to convince all the Thai students that Prom actually sucked in real life and that the movies just made it look good, but none of them went with me on it. So, Prom happened, and it was a blast! We had hardly any money to spend on it due to budget restrictions, but it turned out to be more fun than my actual high school Prom was!

Pure, one of the sweetest Thai guys I’ve ever met, and Michal Ruth pose at our photo booth for Prom!

The Prom Gang! From right to left, we’ve got Boat in his Toy Story hat, Arm dressed to the nines, Ashley in the back, the wonderful Jub in the front, the lovely Tang Mo, and Emilie!

Ashley surprise dips Aom mid dance

We even had a Prom King and Queen competition, which turned out well Our DJ for the night, Beth, collected the votes and served as our MC too! And the winners were…

Boat and Aom, our Prom King and Queen!

If there’s one specific spiritual discipline that God has been teaching me this summer, it’s been the spiritual discipline of joy! A good part of the ministry here is throwing parties and hosting events to bond with the students and build relationships with them that serve as a road through which we can share Jesus. I’ve learned how laugh even when things don’t work out the way I want them to, or even if I’m tired and ridden with ant/mosquito bites. There is so much joy to be found in every day. Prom was more than a dance; it was a time to celebrate the people we were with and discover more of the beauty in the ways that God made them!

The day after Prom, Ashley, Emilie, and I had a retreat scheduled. However, things didn’t quite turn out the way we had planned them. Our Thai friend who was supposed to accompany us to Koh Larn was unable to go, which left us as 3 interns on our own. So what did we do? WE WENT ANYWAY! Every day was an adventure, some things good, some things… not so good. Pattaya, the city next to the island of Koh Larn, was a different sort of tourist experience. We were able to find a hotel fairly easy, which was nice, but the location was massive culture shock in itself. The entire area along the beach was filled with strip clubs (that advertised their goods pretty freely) and people soliciting customers to see their peep shows. Immediately reaction? Absolute disgust. I think I culture shocked more in those first few hours than I had the entire summer. But, after some time, God replaced the disgust with compassion for those around me. I imagine the area we were at in Pattaya was a lot like some ancient Greek cities (Ephesus anyone?). These were exactly the kind of people who Jesus would have desired to come to know him. I made it a practice for the night to pray for everyone who talked to me during the night, though I went to bed with a really heavy heart that night.

The next morning was easier; we spent most of the day out on a boat, snorkeling and exploring some of the beaches. It was a relaxing day, much-needed after the former evening which had been pretty taxing on my emotions. As for spending most of the day in the water, I don’t understand what the Little Mermaid’s problem was, because I felt like a BOSS with a pair of goggles and flippers! Who needs legs for jumping and dancing when you can zoom around coral reefs and chase after sea turtles in crystal blue waters?

Ash and Em on our snorkeling tour boat!

We spent that night on Koh Larn (much more peaceful than our night in Pattaya) and woke up the next day to go to the beach. Pleasant surprise: Koh Larn has a monkey beach! Not only did we accomplish Ashley’s goal of being able to snorkel in Thailand, but we also got to feed and pet monkeys!

Ash found a sweet little friend in this furry guy! After the bigger, bully monkeys  finally left, this little one finally came down to get his share of the bananas.

The monkeys’ and I had an arrangement: they didn’t jump on me and dig their sharp little claws into my skin, and I would hand them a banana. Monkey coward? I guess I am. But, in my defense, I was the only one who didn’t end up with banana and poop stains on me.

Now we’re about to enter into our final SOUPer Tuesday, and I’ve already had to say my final good-byes to a few friends. Relational ministry is so difficult in several aspects for me: it takes me a long time to make solid connections and an even longer time to really open up. Then, just when I’ve made it to that part, I’ve got to move on again. Leaving is one of the hardest parts because there are a few friends here who have a piece of my heart. But, somewhere in this is a lesson, a message from God, to take with me wherever I am. My next chapter, the one that will start this fall, will be a mission in learning to listen and discover what exactly the message is.

Much love to everyone!

Becca

 

Grapevine Alone: (not) Lost in Thailand

Su-wa-ti-ka!

Another week has passed here at Grapevine with new adventures and challenges. First…

Mic and Beth were traveling in America for a CMF conference for the last week and a half, making us, the interns in charge of Grapevine! At first, the thought of running a ministry that I’ve been a part of for about a month made me a little nervous. It was almost like that moment from the move “Home Alone” when Kevin realizes that his family has “disappeared” and left him in charge of the house. But, just like Kevin, excitement set in shortly after the realization that we were on our own! No, we haven’t set up traps in Grapevine yet or gorged ourselves out on pizza and ice cream (yet), but we have had some wonderful hang out times with our Thammasat friends. So far, we’ve had Thai cooking lessons, helped a friend make a video for a project, and had several movie nights! We even hosted our own SOUPer Tuesday! It didn’t go off exactly like we planned, but things weren’t bad at all Ashley and Emilie told their testimonies, and I (attempted) to do a Ramen bar, with several different Ramen flavors and things to put in the soup. The testimonies were good, but the Ramen bar felt like a bit of a flop. Oh well!

We also were able to host our first “Love Your Neighbor” event at a small community near Grapevine. We were able to teach about 20 young children from the ages of 4-13 a few English words. We focused out lesson on different animals (tiger, chicken, penguin, etc.). The little kids picked up a few words, but I’m happy to say that my older students picked up quite a few more! We had a blast getting to teach them (pictures to come later!).

We also had our first trip to the Thai hospital this last week It was after our SOUPer Tuesday, so we had to catch a taxi into Bangkok around 1 a.m. to get Emilie’s stomach pains checked out by a doctor. I was super surprised to see how hopping downtown Bangkok is in the very early morning. Our taxi had a hard time getting around all of the people out. I am happy to say that the doctor said Emilie’s stomach pains weren’t anything out of the ordinary, just some stomach cramps from “muck” passing through her galbladder. She got some pain meds to provide some relief and is doing much better.

It’s crazy to think that in only about one more week I’ll be heading back to America. After being here for two months, I feel like I’ve only just begun to really get a hang of the ministry. It’s hard to imagine leaving the new friends I’ve made behind. I know that this will be the hardest part of leaving Thailand. There’s the excitement of heading home to see friends and family and getting to finish my last year at Ozark, but these last two months that I’ve spend in Thailand hold a special place in my heart. I’ve learned what it feels like to be an outsider, to be entirely lost because of a language barrier, to be lost in a place where I don’t understand where to go or even how to act sometimes. But, on the flip side, I’ve also learned what it feels like to be rescued, to receive the grace and hospitality of those who don’t have to help me, but have chosen to take me under their wing to teach me and help me learn. It has been a humbling experience, and one that has grown me immensely.

Well, that’s it for this week! Much love to everyone!

Becca

 

Chopsticks, parties, and minor electrocution

Su-wa-ti-ka! At least, that’s how the Thai greeting sounds in my head. Whether or not my head gets the tones correct is a different story…

This week, I had several new Thai experiences! Let’s begin with last Saturday:

9 a.m.- Skype date with Rebekah Bowers! It was a little weird to see her in her PJ’s getting ready to go to bed when I was about to start my day.

10 a.m.- Leave Haw Sitt to spend the day with Suwanna, Natasha, and Bianca in Ayutthaya! This is when the cultural party started! We visited 3 of the Buddhist temples around the city, which was an interesting experience (in a good way), especially considering what I know about Buddhism consists of:

1. Buddhists believe in karma and reincarnation.

2. Buddhist monks wear orange robes.

3. Don’t touch the monks.

4. Buddha statues are very shiny.

I’m just a wealth of knowledge, right? Anyway, my ignorance served me well on our adventure, because Thai Buddhism is rather eclectic in its forms of worship.

These Hindu statues were outside one of the temples.

I also learned that when Thai’s build statues, they don’t just build statues. They build STATUES!!

I was about as big as this Buddha’s knee.

The walls of this outer court were lined with so many golden Buddhas! Suwanna told me that people who try to count them always come up with a different number because there are so many and it’s easy to lose count.

Every tiny nook in the wall contains a small Buddha statue. The walls of the entire temple were like this, so I found it impossible to count them all!

It was difficult to describe my emotions during this adventure. I guess one of the first words I might pick would be admiration for the respect and honor that the Thai give the Buddha in their forms of worship. I think it made me actually think more about my own worship practices and the amount of reverence and awe that Jesus deserves. The second word to describe my feelings at the Temples would be frustration, both because of how much I don’t understand and because of how much I want people to know and experience the Jesus I’ve fallen in love with. It was easy to see that those who were worshiping were deeply spiritual and were more than ready to acknowledge their need of something greater than themselves to give them aid. That is something that I sincerely admire about the Thai. But a lot of it felt like these worshipers were at the mercy of luck or the whims of spirits. The temples had an atmostphere of mystical beauty. Maybe the word I’ll end with here to describe the experience for me is melancholy.

We attend Thai church again, and I was happy to realize that I knew one of the songs they were singing! All the beautiful Thai voices and my little English one made for a fun worshp number! After church, I was super excited to find out that they were serving Som Tom at the fellowship meal! Papaya salad didn’t sound very good to me when we first arrived, but I’ve come to really enjoy its spicy and tangy flavor! Ashley and I joined Suwanna and the girls at Paragon in Siam later that afternoon. I had an American food withdrawal attack and ended up eating Dairy Queen and Krispy Kream. Any weight that may have came off from all our walking went back on in the form of a brownie blizzard and two glazed chocolate cake doughnuts (AND I DON’T REGRET ANY OF IT ).

Side note: I electrocuted my hand with a hot pot. No lie. I was trying to check and see if the water was hot and found out that (SURPRISE!) the entire thing was “hot” with electric current. Now the hot pot lives in a garbage heap. Other side note: I was electrocuted AGAIN by a set of CHRISTMAS LIGHTS when we were decorating for one of our parties!

THE TUESDAY DECORATING PARTY!!!!! The theme was “POP,” so we had to come up with all kinds of decorations that tied in with it. Several Thammasat students showed up to help and made decorating a blast!

Ashley and Back put up some Christmas lights to add to the blingy atmosphere!

The lovely Nattaya, making a POPsicle poster for out POP wall!

Ashley Barnes, our exchange student from Georgia Tech, draws us a poster for our POP wall!

The party the next night went soooo well! We had several new students (who weren’t just freshman) come to Grapevine for the first time! The favorite game of the evening was the balloon pop game. Students tied a balloon around their ankle (with enough string to put some space between their foot and the balloon), then tried to pop everyone else’s! Last one standing with an unpopped balloon wins! I didn’t really participate in this game (too scary!) but it was a lot of fun watching everyone else out on the floor, especially when the last two people standing were an enormous russian guy and a tiny Thai girl!

The day after became a day of (much needed) rest! We also took some time Friday to go Kareoke with our friends Aom, Taew, Chris, and X.

Taew, Aom, and Emilie sing… something…

Ashley, Chris, and X get ready for the next song!

We also had to start preparing for our first SOUPer Tuesday and 4th of July party that was to follow on Wednesday. The theme for Tuesday was “Under my Umbrella.” I’ll have to say that SOUPer Tuesday wasn’t really what I expected it to be, but it was good. Most of the students who come to Grapevine are not Christians, so worship was an interesting experience. Michal Ruth and I were the only Americans in the audience (Em, Ashley, and Beth were leading worship), so it felt a little weird at first to be singing praises to Jesus while large groups of students were having conversations behind me. Then one of the Thai girls next to me tapped my arm.

“Becca, we want to dance!”

Now, what are you going to say to that? It was wonderful to think that, even though that many of these students did not really know Jesus yet or understand exactly what the words to the worship music meant, our songs to Jesus made them want to sing, dance, and express joy! So I let all my reservations go and danced and jumped and shouted out praises to my King with a precious group of Thai’s! It felt a little strange a first, but the more I danced, the more I hoped that this is what heaven would be like!

The 4th of July party was a good time too, though I am sad that we didn’t get to do any fireworks (even sparklers   ) because it rained all evening. Still, we had a great turnout. Say, 35 Thai’s to 6 Americans? Happy Birthday USA!

And now for… THE CHOPSTICK ADVENTURES!

Unusual fact about Thailand: they don’t use chopsticks to eat anything but noodles! If I had to pick one food to each chopsticks with, it wouldn’t be noodle soup. It would be something like… cheetos. Or maybe steak. Pineapple perhaps? Anyway, my skills with chopsticks are lousy at best. So, I’ve recruited I few Thai students who are patient enough to teach me how to use them.

It’s still a work in progress…

Well, there’s the REACH Grapevine scoop for the last two weeks! Things have been fairly busy but always fun! I think Ashley, Em, and I are all starting to grow quite a bit, with God and with each other. Adapting to a new culture hasn’t always been easy, but I know we are better for the challenges and struggles we have gone through.

Much love!

Becca

 

Roughly Adjusted

Now that the jet lag has worn off (almost) and the internet here is up (yay!), let the blogging begin once again!!

I’m not really sure how to describe Thailand, mostly because of where we’re staying. Bangkok is such a Metropolitan place that it’s kind of hard to get a really good feel for the culture. However, here are a few very Thai things that I’ve learned in my first few weeks:

1. Don’t point your feet at people! Feet are considered to be vulgar and pointing them at people is rude.

2. Thais really don’t like other people to touch them. PDA’s are usually a no no. Handshakes? People here think they’re weird. Our intern team made a pact to have at least one group hug a day to alleviate this.

3. Tonal languages are HARD to learn! .

4. Clear nail polish is good for bug bites.

5. Here, it’s important to always wear a smile. This helps make you a) more approachable and b) people are usually happier to work with you.

6. Speak Thai (no matter how terribly) whenever you can. People appreciate the effort.

7. Fast food here does not taste like the fast food back home. It’s best to let Americans handle the greasy, fried stuff. Thais do rice and veggies well, but not so much super crispy chicken sandwiches (and no lettuce on my hamburger? Sad day   ).

Adapting to some things has been a little difficult, but for others it wasn’t too bad. Our bathroom, for instance, is a “pour” toilet (you have to pour the water in the toilet from a bucket to flush it), shower, and sink all combined into one. Ergo, you can use the toilet, wash yourself, and brush your teeth all at the same time!

Our lovely pour toilet

I’ve also had to get used to these critters being in our shower.

They’re pretty small, so I don’t notice them most of the time.

Sundays we’ve been going into downtown Bangkok for church. The first Sunday we were there, we met some new friends: Mai, Dai, and Palm. We had to spend the afternoon after the service teaching English, but they took us to JJ Market afterward.

Emily, Palm, Dai, and Mai modeling sunglasses at JJ Market

Picture time with Mai at the market!

Palm and Ashley

Erm… coffee anyone?

This probably was my favorite day in Thailand so far But in every blue sky, there are always a few clouds. Mine have come in two forms.

The first: Ants. They’re everywhere. And I mean EVERYWHERE! The worst experience I’ve had so far has been the morning when I brought my towel in from the clothes line on our balcony, only to find it was covered in ants (after I had started using it of course). Ant bites all over my body = a not very happy Becca.

The second: People here openly call you fat. A lot. As someone who has always struggled with body image issues, this is maybe the hardest thing to deal with. No one likes to be openly told that they’re ugly.

However, because of this, I’ve had some really deep conversations with God concerning identity and where mine is found. It’s really easy to say, “Oh yeah, I’m God’s child, part of the body of Christ, formed by the hands of God, blah blah blah.” But to really live like it? Girls, I feel like this is something we struggle with a lot. But in these last few weeks I’ve been reminded that my value comes from the perfect love I receive from Jesus, not in how I look. My value isn’t based upon how successful I am at work, the grades on my transcript, how much people like me, etc. I’m valued and desired by God, and that’s enough to make me worth something. Really reminding myself of this and who I am in Jesus has been enough to bring me peace and the rest that my soul has needed in these last few weeks.

 

Pre-Departure Orientation and Social Bodybuilding

Whew! Only day three of PDO and already I’m wiped out! The last week has been a whirlwind of packing, good-byes, and air travel! I’m REALLY thankful for all of the information and team building that CMF has been doing with us over the last few days, but, I’ll be hones when I say that big groups, lack of sleep, and emotionally/mentally challenging activities usually leave me like this:

I’m a social marshmellow. Making friends, having conversations, etc. when I’m tired or stressed makes for one Becca the Grouch, who usually doesn’t leave the best first impressions on everyone around her. But, PDO has been like a social body building convention where I’ve been working on building up those normally awkward social muscles. Hopefully, by the end of this, I’ll be something like this:

:O… or not.

Anyway, I know that everything will be for the best in the end! So here’s to being stretched, tired, and yet becoming stronger! Looks like those athletic shoes are being put to the test!

 

It’s Jess!

 

The Aftermath

4 days since the semester officially ended and everything is still chaos! I’ve realized something from my year at Ozark: I like things slow! Fast paced situations= ultimate stress! There were several times I considered quitting school to fulfill my dream of becoming a forest hermit… but then I thought of the snakes and went back to doing my homework.

Another thing I discovered this year: the things that are most valuable in life never come easy. Especially when it comes to following Jesus. I don’t think I realized just how stupidly selfish I can be until this school year. I found myself getting frustrated over the smallest things and throwing internal tantrums when things didn’t go my way (like they ever do anyway!). What happened to the girl who was able to relax and go with the flow?

All I know is that this was a year of breaking. Breaking away from home, my friends and family, my comfort zone. Breaking my heart in those nights of loneliness while trying to figure out how to make friends again. Breaking (hopefully) of some of those selfish patterns that I so naturally fall into. I’ve felt like a smashed vase that, in the reconstruction, has maybe started to look a little more like it was supposed to in the beginning. And it’s not over yet!

Thailand- less than 9 days away! No use trying to pretend that I’m not her nervous about going. But I’m also excited! There’s no telling what God has in store for the next 2 months. As Bilbo said to Frodo in The Lord of the Rings, “It’s a dangerous business, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don’t keep your feet, there’s no telling where you might be swept off to.” So, here’s to steady feet and an open mind! And (if it’s not too much to ask) a little less chaos? Mmmmm… maybe I should just invest in some sturdy athletic shoes.