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After a couple of days of debriefing our first month in Asia, we’re on to ministry in Thailand! (Our fifth country of six already – how can it be???) This time around I’m with Team 1 Accord (Tanner, Noah, Alexa, Yu-Mei, and Bella) in Chiang Mai. We’re serving with a ministry called Bella Goose – a cafe/coffee shop business ministry that, among other things, provides a safe and sustainable work environment for people facing all kinds of difficulties in life. (You can learn more about Bella Goose here.) Through BG, we’ve been connected with a bunch of different ministries across the city to serve with during our time here! This means that our weeks are fairly interesting, as each day tends to have us in a different location.

Here’s what a typical week will look like for us!

SUNDAY: Sabbath rest day. Whether you see it as the week ending or starting with rest, either way, rest is essential!

MONDAY: Adventure/ATL day – an opportunity to further explore the city, go on a nearby adventure or excursion, or just rest some more before the week kicks into gear! As always, the freedom of this day is an opportunity to intentionally engage with the people around us and point them to Christ as we explore: a further way to be ever “living on mission”.

TUESDAY: For the team, this is one of two days at a children’s home which we get to serve at as a children’s ministry opportunity. For me as a raised-up squad leader, this is our “squad leader day” where I’ll hop on a call with our leadership in the States and check in/connect intentionally with my co-leader, Josie, among other responsibilities.

WEDNESDAY: Our second day for the week at the children’s home, where we’ll play with the kids (both inside and outside playtime are involved here – unless it’s raining. It is rainy season here after all 😉) as well as teach a lesson and do an activity! Tuesdays focus on history and geography, while Wednesdays focus on reading and writing. The kids at the home are in an environment where both English and Thai are spoken, so we get to converse easily with them despite not knowing the local language – a blessing for sure 😊

THURSDAY: We stick around Bella Goose to help out with part of their job-preparedness/life training nonprofit program. We get to help research and collect material for future training curriculums – which may not sound exciting, but in reality, it’s the ground level of life transformations yet to come through these programs in the future!

FRIDAY: We help with projects and manual labor around Bella Goose and their partners’ properties – from painting to, well, so far it’s just been painting. 😂 But who knows what the next weeks will bring!

SATURDAY: After a 45 minute ride to another part of the city, we spend the day at a different children’s ministry, another children’s home/shelter, where we get to hang out with the kids, do activities, play games, teach Bible lessons, worship together, and so on! Our first time there included sharing our testimonies and praying for the kids – which is huge because even though the program is Christian, many of the kids come from Buddhist backgrounds. So they get to hear about the love of Jesus through this ministry that ends up meeting practical and spiritual needs!

Thailand is a majority Buddhist country, and in many ways it feels spiritually oppressive, with idols, temple structures, and spirit houses lining the streets. It’s easy to get overwhelmed or desensitized to the ever-present idolatry and overall spiritual attacks. But we have the privilege of getting to live and serve and love here for the next month or so, because the Lord has brought us here – and it’s His love, His truth, His Name that breaks every chain. Though we may not always be able to immediately see it, the victory is the Lord’s, here and everywhere. Hallelujah!

 

Some photos from our first forays into Chiang Mai:

 

A night market street – Thailand’s fame for night bazaars or night markets is for good reason! There are multiple inside of Chiang Mai alone, selling everything from clothes to food to knickknacks to artwork. 

 

A handicraft section of a night market

 

A wat (temple) near Bella Goose, as seen through the doors of a shopping center next door. Commercialism, tourism and tradition all reside very closely together here. 

 

A very ornate spirit house, with decorations and offerings all around. (I’ll hopefully get around to explaining more about these in a future blog!)

 

A view of a Thai flag and (behind the fence) a spirit house from a songthaew – a Thai taxi truck! These are our regular transport through the city to ministry.

 

The entrance to another night market

 

Part of a night market food court – there are so many options in these markets! They really are so much fun to explore 😊

 

A view of the city from our rooftop

ขอบคุณ (Khap khun kha) (thank you) for reading!

 

19 responses to “ยินดีต้อนรับสู่ประเทศไทย (Welcome to Thailand)!”

  1. Woah sounds like you are involved in a lot of fun ministry opportunities. And I love that you get to go to the food markets – they are the best 🙂

    • Yes to both counts! 😁 it’s shaping up to be a special experience here for sure.

  2. Prayer Requests!
    – for spiritual awareness and alertness; that we would not fall prey to complacency or desensitization in this heavy spiritual reality
    – that our squad would not “grow weary of doing good” but continue loving and serving with willing hearts, joining in the work of the Lord’s harvest (Galatians 6:9, Luke 10:2)
    – that we would seek ways to pursue the Lord individually and together, not being content but desiring more of God
    – that we would serve wholeheartedly, unto the Lord (Colossians 3:23)
    – that even as the end of our Race comes into view, we would stay in the present, open and available to the Lord for the full amount of time that we’re here and have left
    – for pure hearts, minds, and motivations

    Thank you always for your prayers! ❤️

  3. I receive box of snacks monthly from different countries. Last month was from Thailand. Almost everything was to spicy hot for me to eat. I hope that you do not have that problem. Blessings Linda Stanford

    • Oh wow, sounds like a fun treat! I actually haven’t encountered anything too spicy here yet thankfully, but a lot of the chilies and such are available to add to food to make it spicy – but I don’t dare try that yet 😆

  4. This brings back so many memories. I was there in 2004 with Beth & a whole team. We went to orphanages & schools. What a blessing you and your team are to those children. I pray all that God has for you there be completed & fulfilling. You are there for such a time as this. ❤️
    PS: if you have an opportunity, ride the elephants up the mountain. 😁

    • Ohh wow! Sounds like an incredible experience 🥹 thank you so much for your prayers and encouragement!! ❤️

  5. I just cannot wait for each of your blogs to show up in my mail box. They are so interesting and inspirational. I am so thrilled that you are seeing so much of the world and doing God’s work at the same time! May the Lord bless you in all your mission work, Rebekah……

    • This sweet comment blessed me so much! Thank you for your kind words – I’m so glad that you’re getting so much out of what I’ve been sharing 😊❤️ it’s a privilege to get to be living this life and sharing what the Lord is doing around the world and even in me!

  6. I love the insight and wisdom that you share in each post! I also look forward to the email saying that you’ve written a post!

    I was watching a HGTV show last night and they were in Chiang Rai and the family were missionaries with Sparrow Missions! It was pretty fun to see the country you are in

    We love you and are praying often for you!

    • Aww thank you so much! I appreciate your kind words and prayers 🥹❤️
      That’s so fun that Thailand AND missionaries were featured in the show! What a cool connection 😁

  7. You and your journey have been so inspiring. Your humility, strength and resilience are a reminder that everything we have is from Him, and through Him, we can do so much more than we could ever imagine or do on our own. Praying that God shower blessings on you, your team and those to whom you minister.

    • 🥹 Amen, praise the Lord!!! Thank you so so much. ❤️ Love the choice of name btw 😉

  8. It’s so cool to see these pictures and know exactly where you’re at! I appreciate getting a sense of what your daily activities look like. God is doing a great work in Chiang Mai – there are many ministries there besides Bella Goose and those you’re working with. It will be exciting to see the whole ‘tapestry’ in eternity once it’s finished!

    • That’s so cool – I was thinking of all the ministries and their impacts as a tapestry just last night during a time of prayer our team was having! The Lord definitely has plans for this place.