To give you an update on our mission trip to Thailand, it started off pretty boring on a very long and drawn out 19 hour flight that expanded over the course of 3 planes and about 8 hours of layover. It was pretty exhausting but the Lord was good to us as we arrived in Bangkok safely at 11:45 pm on June 12... and all our luggage even came safely through as well. PRAISE JESUS! Once the Henry's picked us up from the airport they took us back to their house which is also a guest house (it used to be a dorm of some sort) for short term mission teams such as ours. Paul gave us the grand tour of their home, taught us how to use the toilets in their guest bathrooms (which are either squaty pottys or a western toilet that require the pouring of water into the toilet bowl in order to flush), and gave us an over view of our schedule for the coming day. At that, we all crashed and went to bed at 2 am.
The next day was our first full day in Bangkok. After we got all our things together, we made our way to the MTW office, which is in walking distance from the Henry's, to begin several hours worth of orientation provided by several members of the team here. To start with, we were informed of the various ministries of the MTW Thailand team including their Vision: MTW Thailand exists to establish healthy and reformed covenantal churches, led by indigenous Christians, seeking to transform through word and deed ministries the city of Bangkok, the provinces, and Southeast Asia through the gospel of God's grace. We were also told how the MTW team goes about doing this, which involves four important forms of ministry: Church and worship, New Community (which is what they call their office building and the ministries that occur in and through there), English schools, and campus ministry. The goal for all of these activities is to build relationships with the Thai people, in prayerful hope that it would eventually lead them to a relationship with Jesus Christ. We were also given information about the life and culture of Thailand and how to respectfully interact with the Thai people. For instance, we were told not to talk negatively about Buddha or the Thai king as both are thought of very highly here and and any spoken words other wise are viewed as very offensive.
Also with orientation during our first day, we were given a tour of Ram 2, which is the name of the targeted area of ministry for the team. There is definitely not enough space in this blog to describe all the sights, sounds, and smells that we experienced just walking around Ram 2... this place is so far removed from anything I've ever experienced and it is incredible! Also included in this tour was taking us to the market for our meals (which is also where we'll be getting the majority of our meals throughout the duration of the trip). The food was a bit spicy but very tasty... no complaints here!
On our second day, June 14, we did a little more to get our hands dirty in terms of ministry here. Once we met at the office, the men and women broke up into two groups to go on a prayer walk around Ram 2. It was spiritually moving to walk down streets, praying for the people that lived in individual houses and their battle against the enemy. We also prayed for idol worship to be broken, the various ministries and missionaries of New Community, the lost souls of the local university, the conviction of prostitutes, the workers in the market to realize that hard labor does not lead to everlasting life, and various other needs of this area.
Then in the evening, we had the joy to experience ministry at the Mahhathai Park. This park contains a large pond, a nice walking trail, a unique (to Americans anyway) playground, several small football (soccer) courts, and volleyball nets that are used to play this sport that involves kicking a ball over the net (very entertaining). Many Thai congregate here, especially in the evenings when it is cool, so it is a favorite place of the missionaries to try to meet and build relationships with the Thai people. People here may be soft spoken and seemingly shy, but they are very friendly and kind, so they are very open to talking to new people and inviting people they've never met to play soccer or basketball with them which of course opens many doors to minister to them. Some of the women went to the playground area with Crystal and her 2 sons and interacted with other women and children there, while me and all the guys watched and played some football with the nationals. Paul Eichelberger had some meaningful conversations with a couple of Thai men that knew a little bit of English which was a real blessing.
Well that is all for now... I apologize for my spelling and grammar error as it is 10:15 pm here and I am tired! But we are thankful for your continued prayers and we'll up date you again soon. ~Rachel
The Henry's live on this street.
This is a temple in the immediate area. They don't allow close up
pictures, so this is as good as it gets,
In the immediate area of 1 square mile, there are roughly
50,000 people. This shot was taken from the roof of the MTW
office building.
This is Rachel playing with the Henry's youngest son, Calvin.
This is a billboard written all in Thai.
