International Consistencies

In my few short days here, I have learned many things like it's good not to know what you are eating until after you finish it (pig blood soup) or I actually do have to watch my weight here...Thai food is not as healthy as I assumed...but the big take away so far is the consistency I am finding across international boundaries. Three things in particular: the Holy Spirit, personality, and burnout. The Holy Spirit moves in great ways here. I don't know the Thai language but I can feel the Holy Spirit as my Thai friends sing and worship together. Every person at the Well has a personality and I am coming to find them irresistibly lovely and unique. Even with the language barrier--almost more so because of it--I am able to pick up on the intrinsic core of a person do to their mannerisms and way they carry themselves. I was able to pick up on the brilliance and articulate nature of the students and teachers during worship/share time this morning. We talked about how one manifests the Fruits of the Spirit in their daily living. Wow! did people pull out metaphors of gardens and trees that I would have never thought of and the pictures they painted were absolutely amazing. In my first day at the Well, I have majorly practiced the art of listening and serving. I have learned to serve through listening and only offering insight if it is needed. In America, I feel the need to speak my mind pretty much all the time, whether or not the comment will be helpful--more just for myself, to get it off my chest kind of a thing. However, here, because I do not know the language, I am limited in the speech I have and therefore must make it count. Lastly, burnout can be experienced in any culture. The Thai people love to work but just like Americans can lose the passion and joy for work. No matter the reasoning for its loss--it is devastating and can produce hopelessness. I know I felt this many times this semester when the work I was doing felt like a chore and not a passion pit I was shoveling more of myself into.

I am reading "When Helping Hurts," a book that was recommended to me. It is all about how to help the poor--what approach to take and so on. In conjunction with the book, I received my job assignment for the summer--well, really I chose it. I will be doing three main things. First, I will come up with a personal budgeting curriculum that I will teach to a select number of women. Next, I will configure an outline of a personal budget for the women at The Well. When they have maintained this system they can then access loans. These loans are a part of the third portion of my job. I will copy an already in place system for an individual-based microfinance plan for the Well, enabling women to take out loans giving a good history of saving as well as encourage the women in good money handling schemes for life in the future outside the Well. This sounds like a huge task but I am confident that I can add something to these three categories and genuinely say the women learned some valuable life skills. More importantly, I will learn some valuable budgeting skills in the process!

Evangelical Church of Bangkok

It was a great service about suffering. The ministry plug of the day was for Night Light--the largest organization in Thailand that does what the Well does. It was weird hearing about a ministry that was working in the same city. We hear about this half way across the world, but they were asking for people to partner with them a couple blocks away. It was awesome. 

My first pat thai in Thailand! Along with a delicious banana smoothie. All for $1.50 of course.

Under the sky train just outside church.

Melon Mint. A restaurant/open-air bar about 10 minutes from our house. It was sooo chic with the Chelsea soccer game in the background. I will definitely be going back!

A horribly blurry picture of us eating at Melon Mint.

Thai Tea. One of my many new found obsession for $0.50. Basically they brew the tea, mix something in it, pour over ice, then top with Carnation Condensed Milk and shake it up. Heavenly!

I continue to try new food everyday. and i am never disappointed!!!