Time for the layout of what is probably going to be the plan for my outreach. If you have ever been involved in missions, you understand that 4 weeks out is too soon to tell what will actually happen. In reality, we often won't know until the morning of, and then plans have full ability to change by lunch. So for now ((&&yes this is as detailed as I can be)):::
April 2-May 29
I will be headed with 36 of my dear YWAM family to THAILAND.
We are flying from Colorado to San Francisco ((3 hour layover)), then to Tokyo ((4 hour layover)), then finally to Bangkok, Thailand.
We will spend a few days in Bangkok dealing with the YWAM base there, to go through cultural training, some visits to the Buddhist temples to get a feel for God's heart for the Thai people, and to handle some jet lag. After that, 18 of us plus the leaders' 20month-old daughter are headed to the city of Mae Sot, by bus ((like a Grey Hound Bus, actually apparently "quite lovely" according to London, who has already been to Thailand)).
Mae Sot is a trading post type area for the most part, but it is also home to refuge for many of the Burmese people who have been fleeing their country's civil war. Here we will be living and working with "Pastor Michael" as a part of his ministry to the Burmese refugees, both illegal and legal. He has a school for the Burmese children, and he also does a lot of open air ministry in the factories around the area. I am looking forward to this time, because for me, missions means humble walking and living with the poorest of the poor. To me, God is seen so much brighter and desperately needed and wanted more than in cities, especially America. We will be staying in Mae Sot for 4 weeks.
After our time with Pastor Michael is up, we are heading, again by bus, to Chiang Rai in the northern province of Thailand, close to Laos. Here we will be staying with Bobby, a native of Chicago, and his wife, Booyah ((not a lie)) a native of the Thai Hilltribe, Akah. Here, we will be doing a number of random things. We are Bobby & Booyah's pioneer group and the first they have hosted for their ministry. They are slowly opening a café in their area to hopefully bring in young adults in order to create relationships before evangelizing. They are also thinking we will have the opportunity to teach English camps with a school down the street. We may also be doing 2-3 day treks and labor jobs in the mountains with the Hilltribes. But mostly, we are there to create relationships with the local young people to allow them to feel comfortable and relatable and safe with missionaries. We are spending our final 4 weeks in Chiang Rai.
At some point, we will head back to Bangkok to meet up with the rest of our school who are staying in Bangkok the full 8 weeks to street evangelize. Then on May 29 we will fly back to Colorado for a week of debriefing and dealing with culture shock. Then on June 6, I am flying home to Nashville to hug&kiss Jay, see my kiddos, and watch my beautiful friend Kristin get married. I then will most likely be returning to finish out the last few weeks of YWAM with my classmates before heading back to beautiful Nashville to live out my discipleship training after June 27.
I have no idea if anyone even reads this thing. I have no idea what to write most of the time, because I have no idea who I am writing to... What do you want to know about my time here??
