This is the outdoor sitting area at the guesthouse I'm staying at for the weekend.
Feeling encouraged after spending some time in the Word I tried to muster up the courage to go out and find some food. At this point I had been in Thailand for a day, but because I slept for 17 hours I had seen nothing, still had no idea where I was, and I had very little food and water left with me. I made sure I had everything I needed in my bag and trekked out into the streets of Chiang Mai in search of food.
I managed to find a store and get some carrots and plenty of water, and then stopped at a street vendor to get some lunch. Some chicken wings, they were actually really good! And not as creepy looking in person as they appear to be in this photo...
First street vendor food... And it did not make me sick. Only tasted delicious.
After lunch the two girls who had come to let me in the day I arrived came over to check on me. Their names are Lisa and Caroline, and they are both from Washington DC. They came to work in Thailand for the next couple of months, and it looks like I'll have the chance to work with them while I'm here. We went and got shrimp Pad Thai for lunch, and then went to the mall to pick up a few things we needed. I was able to get a phone so I'm able to communicate with the people I'm working with in Thailand, and that also makes it much less scary to be walking around trying to find things in Chiang Mai, because I know if I get lost I can call someone for help.
I came back home to rest before going to dinner with Bethsaida. Her and I had emailed a couple of times while I was still in Michigan. She is from New York, and has been the director of the LoveActs ministry with Lighthouse in Action for the past year. She recently stepped down, and will be getting ready to move out of Thailand soon - but it was great to get some insight from her and talk through how the ministry has been running recently.
We actually went to a Mexican Karaoke Bar in Thailand.
You didn't see that coming did you.
So while you were all eating breakfast Saturday morning, I was eating chicken enchiladas, and singing Karaoke with new friends :)
When I got back home last night, I realized I had survived my first real day in Thailand. Even though I'm still living in this big house by myself - I don't have any anxiety about going to get lunch from the street vendors today. I feel like I know my way around a bit. I'm REALLY excited for all of the staff to get back so that I can be around people, but... this is going to be good.
I decided to take the day today to just relax here at the guesthouse. No big excursions, or adventures. I'm going to walk up and get some lunch, and then spend my day reading, napping, and enjoying some down time before the staff get back and I start working. This week I will start Thai lessons, I'll be going into the red light district to meet the kids I'll be working with, and the women, and I'll start to get an idea of what my routine will be here.
Thank you all SO much for your prayers, your support, and your encouragement! This is definitely the hardest thing I've ever done in my life, but I'm really excited to see how it's going to be used!
Later today I will have another video posted on my youtube. Click Here if you're interested in checking it out!
And this is me in the Shanghai airport after I got my passport stamped in China. After that long 14 hour flight...
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