So our entire team made it to Thailand! After 4 flights, starting in Managua, Nicaragua to Bangkok, Thailand, all 21 of us have our bags and are adapting to this new place quite nicely. Besides the fact that we can hardly attempt to talk to anyone and that we feel like we are living in the future, it's going great!
Some new rules we will need to get accustomed to are as follows:
-Don't touch people's heads because that is the most honorable part of the body.
-Watch where you point your feet because it's very offensive to direct the bottom of your foot at someone.
-Don't speak Spanish, they will not understand you.
-Use baht, not cordobas.
-Don't yell across the room to someone.
-Impolite to laugh loudly in public…that's going to be a tough one.
(for the boys)-Thailand has a high priority on neatness and cleanliness.
-You are 13 hours away from where you started.
The last one has been the worst to get used to (as I'm writing a blog at midnight instead of sleeping), but this is just a glimpse of the new concepts that we have to adjust to. We had orientation the morning after we arrived, in which we were given 2 packets full of information. It has proved to be very helpful as we wandered around town today!
Later today (16th) my new team and I will be leaving Bangkok to travel about 12 hours north to Chiang Mai. Our ministry is at the Abba House. Go to this website to check out what they are all about:
http://www.abbahousefoundation.com/ I will update soon once we get there and know more specifics for our team!
Side note: Our entire squad has gone through a big change as Patrice and Jeremy are building up two squad leaders from the 19 of us. Mae (my former team leader) and Ross are the squad leaders, so that means they will be travelling to the 3 groups throughout the next two months. They both are perfect for this new leadership position that they have taken on. It is exciting to see how God shaped our new teams. In my profile picture on my blog are the 3 girls who are on my new team. From left to right it is Rachel, Julie and Angela. The boys on our team are Cody and Travis (the leader of the 6 of us). We all have had so much fun together and the encouragement from my teammates has been so great so far.
We are all so excited to see what God has in store for us as we enter this new season! We want to be confident and use our voices. We want to be challenged and genuinely serve the people at Abba House. We want to bring them joy and peace that can only be found in Jesus Christ. We want them to know that they are worthy to be a child of the King. Please join us in this prayer! Thanks for all your love and support. More information and pictures to come. Love you all
I was just thinking about you and Ronnie. I pray that God continues to protect you and bless you as to travel to lands far away. Peace to you and your team mates.
Love,
Mrs. McDonald
Joining you in prayer Bekah! The Lord is going to give you the desires of your heart. You are confident and you will use your voices. You will be challenged and you will serve the people of Abba House well. You will bring joy and peace where ever you go because you have Christ living in you. They will know that they are worthy of their inheritance as children of God.
They will know because you will be there to tell them and show them.
Praying for you and your new team! I’m so excited for this new stage of your journey.
I would fail rule #1 miserably 🙂 Keep the posts coming; they have been a blessing to read. I’m praying for you and your team. God is doing incredible things through you.
Your journaling is wonderful. it’s a blessing for us to read, thank you.