Wats . . . and what not

Today was a day full of adventures. My cousin took me (and my mom & sister) to see the Grand Palace and several of the wats (temples). I took the train from OnNut to Saphan Taksin (the train stop by the river). Then the fun ride began. At Saphan Taksin I got on a river boat taxi. This went all the up to Tha Chang, the pier for the wats (temples) and the Grand Palace.

By the time we reached Tha Chang it was well past noon. So we stopped for some lunch at a little restaurant near the outdoor bazaar. The waiter was so nice! He said that Deanna and I looked Thai! When we told him that we were actually Sabahans, he told us that he loved Sabah! After we had finished eating, he asked each of us our age. Since my mom was the oldest he said that she had to pay!! It was quite funny :D He also asked my cousin if she had a Thai boyfriend or if she was marrying a Thai man. She jokingly said, "Yes!"
After lunch we started on our tour. I saw the Grand Palace (no longer used by the Royal Family) and many wats. I didn't want to pay 300 baht/person to go inside the Palace so we just stayed in the courtyard. The Palace is adjacent to the Temple of the Jade Buddha. And all the roofs are covered in gold! I wish the sun had been shining, it would have been glowing! But sunny days are good for portraits too. After taking some pictures we decided to head over to Wat Pho, the Temple of the Reclining Buddha. It cost about 50 baht/person to get in but the temple grounds are extensive. I had to remember to take my shoes off every time I entered one of the temples! The Reclining Buddha is massive! It seems that they had to build the temple around the statue. The whole thing is covered in gold and the bottom of the feet are made of inlaid mother-of-pearl. Outside the temple you can see the pointed tops of the other, smaller temples around. Most of their roofs are covered in gold leaf.

We wandered around the place for a couple more hours. I was surprised to see how many tourists there were visiting the temples. Well, I was a tourist so I shouldn't say that!

The Reclining Buddha

His feet . . . inlaid mother-of-pearl

It started to rain about the same time we decided to leave. Hoping it would stop soon, we took shelter in one of the temples. After a few minutes, the guard told us that he was closing at 4:30 . . . in 5 minutes! So we kept hoping that the rain would stop. But it didn't show any signs of quitting . . . anytime soon! Thankfully, there was a lady selling ponchos around the corner and the guard asked her to come over and sell us some ponchos. We bought some, put them on, then decided to brave the weather. Deanna and I decided to take our shoes off and walk in the rain. Neither of our shoes were very suited to walking in the rain. I'd just bought mine less than a week ago! Brand new shoes (flats, actually). . . and they already had a hole in the bottom of them. We walked out of the compound and found a taxi that took us back to the pier.

Before leaving Tha Chang my mom stopped to buy some fruit at the open air market. I wandered over to see a man selling fresh fruit with some kind of seasoning. Being adventurous, I bought a bag of sliced, unripe mangoes and told him to give me what he thought I should try. So, he did! I tried it when we got to the pier and mmmmm, it tasted good! Green mangoes with salt & chili is delicious! I'm trying to find another street vendor who is selling that. I think there's one at On Nut station :D

We finally made if back to our hotel room later that evening. I was soaked but I had lots of fun!

Me on the boat ride back! Wet!

It was a lot of fun going around Bangkok with my cousin and very . . . how should I say it . . . "enlightening" to see the temples. I saw monks getting ready for evening prayers, tourists meditating in front of a statue of Buddha, and pilgrims burning incense. As I sat under an overhang (while it was raining), I couldn't help but realize that this is why we go as missionaries, this is why I feel called to go out. I wanted to tell all those whom I saw that there is a God in Heaven who loves them, who doesn't live on whims that He comes upon, that He died for them because He loved them so much. They don't have to go through rituals and groveling and hoping that their god will see fit to bless them this time.

At the same time I see the challenges that missionaries face. How can you tell people about the God that we serve? That was the question that I asked myself as I sat there thinking. How can I, through my life, be a living testament to others about my Jesus? How?

A Weekend in Thailand

Sawa dee from Thailand!!

As I sit here at the computer I am glad to be able to finally rest my feet. It's been a full weekend! I had a great time at Mission College in Muak Lek (2.5 hr van ride from Bangkok). That ride, in itself, was an adventure. Wait . . . I guess I should back up and start at the beginning.

On Friday, we (my cousin, Jessen, my mom, sister, and I) took a train all the way from Jessen's apartment to the van terminal. That's where we started the van ride. Unfortunately we began our journey at 6 in the evening and I wasn't able to see very much of the country side (and on the way back I slept . . . so I still didn't see much of the countryside!!). But the road system is very much like the U.S. except for the fact that here they drive on opposite sides of the road. Trust me, that takes a lot of getting use to! I keep thinking the drivers are going the wrong way! Anyways, back to the trip. Finally, we arrived at Mission College at around 9:00 PM at night. And we went straight to bed. Ahhhh, a bed! Soft pillow, mattress . . . luxury!

The next morning my cousin Deanna came by to pick us up for church. My mom and sister stayed back in the guest room because my little sister caught some kind of bug. But us three cousins went to church. They took me to the Malay/Indonesian Sabbath School class. I was so happy to hear Bahasa Malay! I don't understand a bit of Thai and to hear words that sounded familiar brought so much joy to my heart!! I really have to learn Bahasa now! It was slightly hard to understand the lesson content even in Malay but I at least got some kind of context :D After church I also met some of my mom's old colleagues and friends that she knew from Malaysia. They couldn't remember me because the last time they had seen me was when I was 7 years old. I've changed quite a bit since then!

We went back to the guest house after church and picked up the two "sick" ones and headed down to the cafeteria for lunch. Mmmm, they make good food in the cafe! Very different from Union Market but good nonetheless. Mom almost missed lunch because she was talking to friends whom she hadn't seen for 12 years! That was definitely understandable. After lunch Deanna gave us a tour of the campus. Very, very beautiful! The buildings are spaced out and, because it is out of the big city, there is plenty of fresh air. After lunch we saw students sitting outside under a tree playing their guitars and singing praise songs together. There was also an AY program that afternoon at the Student Centre. Later that evening, I went (with my cousins) to D'Chillz a little diner led by students, run by students, for students. There they cook (each night has a different menu) and they hang out and have fun. I loved the atmosphere! It was like Cooper's Corner but . . . cooler! One of the cooks suggested "Lime-and-Vanilla" mix of ice cream. I've gotta say, that was really good. Mmmmmm, I'm getting hungry just thinking about it! After getting some sleep that night :D, I went for a breakfast/potluck at Aunty Rita's house. My mom had a good time talking with old friends. My sister and I went back after about 2 hours. She stayed until 1/2 hr before we were supposed to leave! She definitely enjoyed her time at Mission College. And so did I. I love the campus and the people. They were so welcoming and they actually wanted me to come as a Volunteer to MC. Maybe after college! I'll be the first English lecturer at the nursing school!

After another 2 hr van ride . . . back to Bangkok this time . . . us girls headed out to Chaktuchak. It's an open market, the biggest in Thailand, in Bangkok. I had fun! I learned how to bargain and got to see a new side of Thailand. You learn a lot about people from open markets. You learn facial expressions, body language, and a whole lot of stuff. I definitely didn't need to know Thai to be able to figure out if the shopkeeper was happy with how much I was bargaining for. Definitely an eye opening experience!

Now, I'm going to go to sleep. It's pretty late already and I'm heading out to be a total tourist tomorrow. No more shopping! I hope! Deanna will be taking us out to see some of the temples and the Palace. I need to buy another memory card to take pictures. I thought I had enough memory but I guess I've taken more pictures than I realize!

Anyways, ra-tree sawat (Good night), from Thailand!

Dates

Strangely enough, it seems that this program is not fixing the dates right. It's not 06 January when this, and the previous blogs, were written. They were written on 02 July 2009.
Just thought I'd clarify!

Sitting in Hong Kong

Well, here I am in the Hong Kong International Airport at 2:55 AM Hong Kong Time (1:55 PM CST). I can't believe that only a few hours ago I was in Lincoln, Nebraska and now I'm half way around the world. 

I'm only 3/4 done with the trip but I have seen God's hand work as I've transited/transferred in Minneapolis and Tokyo. First of all, Minneapolis is one huge airport! We landed at Gate C and had to walk all the way to Gate G to board our international flight. I thought it was close . . . apparently not! I was definitely able to stretch my legs out before sitting down for 13 hours. We only had 40 minutes to reach our gate before boarding began and I was scared that we wouldn't make it. But, God is good and I (and my mom & sister) made it to the gate on time. And even though our seats got changed around Mimi was able to sit beside Mom and I was only one seat behind us. Then in Tokyo when I went to ask the lady at the boarding gate if the three of us could sit together she already had the boarding passes ready . . . with all of us next to each other! 

I don't think I've ever prayed so hard in my life before. Even though I've had months to prepare for the reality of flying out of the country without my dad, I didn't think I was ready to venture out on my own . . . and fly internationally the first time too! As much as I want to be treated like a grown up I realized, when I left, I didn't really know what being by myself was really like. And looking at it I wonder if I'm ready for the next year completely without my parents. I know that I will be surrounded by family but it's different from being around your family.
Well, I have another 4 hours here in Hong Kong. The airport is devoid of life except for the construction workers. It feels weird to be sitting here and noticing how different life is and how different people are. I've seen many travelers, and workers, wearing surgical masks in avoidance of the new strain of flu. How different it is from the States where travelers enjoy the security (or denial!) of the worries of sickness. I realize that living in the States has made me grow up overlooking so many things in life. It's going to be a challenging year for me. But, I enjoy challenges . . . they're great grounds for growth and maturity. 

So, goodbye for now (from Hong Kong)