Country Living

Living in the country is something I have never done before, outside of a camp setting. The pace of life is definitely slower and everyone tends to know what everyone else is up to. Well, the latter part is also just a part of living in the third world, I believe. Arriving at the Juniper Tree yesterday (woo hoo Praise God!) from spending the night in Bangkok with friends, I was overwhelmed first by the beauty of the Bay Area but also by the resort. It is so clean and everything is white sheets and white tile floor. The staff keep it nearly spotless and every month they spray for bugs, so I have yet to see a cockroach. That really is unbelievable in Thailand! Well, I am getting ahead of myself. Stories from the journey...

Leaving Dallas, after what was a wonderful celebration of a best friend's wedding and time with my family, I was really not nervous or even overly emotional (gasp!). I couldn't tell if I was not allowing myself to feel or God was just genuinely giving me peace for my journey, but either way, the only time I really cried was taking off American soil and touching down on Thai soil. Yes, I cried both times, each symbolizing a great change in my life for this season. Oh to be on Thai soil again! Even walking through the airport after 22 hours of pure flight time, no one could wipe the smile off my face! It was bliss. I got my bags, some Thai baht ($), and got in a cab headed toward a sky train stop where I would meet a good Thai friend I met in 2011. After borrowing Wi-fi from a nearby hotel, I contacted her and she arrived with her family to drive me to her home. They greeted me with such joy and affection! I love the Praise family so much and after spending any amount of time with them, anyone can tell the Lord's anointing covers their household. They cooked me a good Thai meal, and we told stories, laughed, and shared late into the night. The next morning we walked the streets of Bangkok for breakfast (grilled pork kababs, sticky rice, fried plantains, and coffee-flavored milk), sang Hillsong, shared testimonies, prayed, and I helped their family open their clothing store.

Late morning, my car arrived bound for the Juniper Tree with P'Thongpan, our resident driver. He was a great first person to chat with for the four-hour trip down to the beach. When we arrived, I met my coworker Libby, who is taking care of the JTDB while the managers are on holiday. I was immediately introduced to the staff and put straight to learning how the booking works, where the rooms are located, and the schedule of daily activities. There are 27 rooms here at the Juniper Tree, housing a maximum occupancy of 85 people or so. Currently, we are hosting about 65 guests! I was introduced at the evening meal to the entire place and it has been such a joy getting to know guests from Switzerland, China, Australia, Vietnam, Peru, Thailand, and many others. Meals are really the times where I can sit with families and interact with them, hearing about their day's activities and their lives in their home countries. It's been wonderful!

I am writing this from my interim desk in the office, and today my co-worker has left for Bangkok leaving me and another employee in charge for the night! Yikes. Speaking of my co-worker Libby...What a gem! Seriously. She has come from Scotland for a month while the managers are on holiday and has been such a rock star for the guests and the staff and keeping things running smoothly. She has run guests to the hospital, ordered a new transformer to be installed after ours blew, stayed late in the office coordinating guests' stays, and smiled the whole time. She has been a real friend to me in the past few days and I will dearly miss our snarky conversations and inside jokes when she departs in a week. I plan on visiting her in Scotland, for sure!

My apologies for this post being all over the map. I haven't quite got the hang of condensing multiple days' activities into a short blog post, yet. It really does take skill, one that has trailed off since college essays. All I really wanted to say was I am overjoyed to be in this place I can call home for a while. I feel seriously blessed by the people supporting me and praying for me back home and trust God with all my heart that he has me here for his grand purposes. I look forward to his plans unfolding over the next months here.

Prayer Requests This Week:

1. Courage to step out of my comfort zone and get to know guests while they are here, even if only for a short while. It can be easy to retreat into my room and choose loneliness because it is comfortable.

2. Peace for all the staff during the busy season at the Juniper Tree.

And I leave you with some photos of the journey thus far!!

 

Saying goodbye to my family in Dallas! They are such a wonderful, supportive group that I hope get to visit me over here sometime this next year!

Yes, I did have two free seats next to me on the long 14 hour leg!

 



Made it to Korea, obviously.

Seoul, Korea airport

Anna, my friend I stayed with in Bangkok. How beautiful is she!??

The Juniper Tree Dolphin Bay! My home for the next six or so months. This is a view of the six cottages, each with two bedrooms and a living room, and our swimming pool and the epic slide. Took her for a spin today!

 

 Guests on the beach in front of the famous (at least in these parts) Monkey Island (Koh Ling) which is a great day adventure to visit by kayak or boat. Hundreds of monkeys roam the hills of the island, and I hear are quite aggressive.

 

A bonfire for Swiss National Day hosted by some of our guests my first night here. There was celebrating late into the night!

This is P'Jing, my Thai language teacher from Austin! She was on holiday in Bangkok visiting her family and drove down to see me for the day. It was such a collision of worlds, and one I was quite thankful for!

 A fun, retro bus found in the lot of a mechanic in town while running errands.

 

 

With all His peace and strength---