First Few Days in Thailand ...

After nearly two days of traveling, we made it to Thailand! On one of our long flights, Hannah excitedly woke me up (which I wasn't thrilled about at the moment, having spent hours trying to get comfortable) and pointed to the window. Boy was it well worth waking up! The view (pictured first) from the window was none other than Santa Claus' home: the North Pole. We saw many more breathtaking sights, from Moscow to Singapore and then entering into the city of Khon Kaen. God is truly the God of the nations, and his creation around the world is astounding!

We have spent the past two days getting to know the team and being orientated to the Thai culture. Last night, two of the boys experienced a Thai classic: fried bugs! It was like George Clooney and Brad Pitt walking on South Beach ... the paparazzi was going crazy as we were all taking pictures and laughing the entire time! Nothing brings a team together like a bag of dead, crunchy bugs. We also took a trip to the local market, the Lotus, which was quite an adventure. A few of the Thai Christians lovingly came along and helped translate "Milk," "Laundry Detergent" and other simple necessities for us.

We are on two different ministry teams for the summer, which has helped us get to know the other girls on our team, and a lot of different Thai students as well. Our ministry teams go to different lunch spots on campus and eat with the students every day. Here is a taste of our lunches this morning:

HOLLI
Ok, so the actual taste of my lunch was scrumptious! I tried one of the student's favorite meal: wet pork noodles with all the fixins' and it was yummy! :o)

The Lord also blessed our team with a taste of ministering to Thai students, as we met nearly 10 girls at lunch today! There are six of us partnered with the Thai staff girl, Pi Betsy, and we are ministering to girls in the English Department. (That's right, they are studying English! Praise the Lord.) As I was talking to one of the girls, we realized she lives in the same building as us just two floors up! What a sovereign God! She is planning to come by later this afternoon with her friends and hang out. I am so excited for the relationships God is going to form and to be the hands and feet of God in these girls' lives. What a privilege!

HANNAH
I am ministry partners with a Thai girl that is on staff here at KKU. She actually went to a Summer Beach Project in Jacksonville about 8 years ago. We have lunch in the Humanities department, with the goal of meeting freshman girls each day. The freshman girls wear white shoes with their uniforms so it is easy to tell them apart. Their semester just started so the freshman have only been here for about a week. They are extremely eager to talk to us and practice their English. Everyone here has studied English since Kindergarten so it is easy to hold a conversation with most of them. They are eager to teach us Thai and I think I'm doing pretty well!

Yesterday we met 4 girls and were able to get their phone numbers. We are looking forward to meeting them again and inviting them to some events that we are planning. They want to come and hang out with us at our apartment soon! All of the people here are very friendly so it is easy to become friends with them. We just asked if we could share their tables and they were glad for us to sit with them. I am excited to go back next week. Tomorrow is our day of rest! WooHoo!

Lagon (Goodbye)