First Medical Clinic

After the first Thanksgiving service, I held my first small clinic. In about 4 hours, I saw & treated around 35 people for varying things ranging from stomach ulcers & infections to allergies & upper respiratory infections to general aches & pains.



Instructing a Lisu woman on medication

Lisu women waiting to be seen

My "pharmacy"

Consulting my trusty "Where There is No Doctor" book
I highly recommend this to anyone living in or travelling to a village area!



Overall, it was a good clinic & many people received medical care that they would otherwise not have access to. More importantly, I hope they saw the love of Jesus through this.

Highlights from Thanksgiving

So...I just realized how far behind I am in blogging! Sorry bout that! I'll try to catch you up in the next few posts :)

On Friday the 11th, I went with Stephen and two girls, Hashi & Tutu, to a village for a Thanksgiving service. The village was only about 150km away, but it took around 4.5 hours to drive there because most of the drive was up & down & through the mountains. (By far the curviest trip I've taken in Thailand! Thank you God for dramamine :))

I don't want this post to turn into a novel, so I'll just give you the highlights from this trip through pictures.

A look out we stopped at on the way to the mountain

Me at the lookout

Hashi, Tutu, & Me

We stopped at the top of a mountain just as the sun was setting...BEAUTIFUL!
There are a lot of coffee shops on this road, so we also stopped for cappucino...delicious!

As we were leaving the same spot, the moon was rising on the other side :)
(Sorry for the poor quality of pictures...I need a new camera!)

This is the church where we attended Thanksgiving service

The church is nestled into the side of a mountain

The first harvest offered to God in thanks for the blessings He provides

The Lisu ladies of the village cooking rice....lots & lots of rice!

A Thai Thanksgiving is a lot different than an American Thanksgiving. In Thai, it literally means "first harvest". A Thai Thanksgiving is church-centered. It begins with a church service full of praise & worship to God in thanks for all of the blessings that He has given. After the service, there is a time of fellowship & a meal for the whole church family. It is a very neat service! It really reminded me that Thanksgiving is not just about family, food, football, & shopping, which are all good things. It is about being thankful for all that you have & remembering that all of this comes from God, who should be our real focus at all times. I learned a great lesson from the Thai people during Thanksgiving!

After this Thanksgiving, I held a small clinic. (I'll blog about it in my next post) I thought we would be leaving to return home after this, but Stephen said that a village close to where we were had invited us to their Thanksgiving on Sunday, the 13th. So, we stayed an extra night in the village & I attended my 2nd Thai Thanksgiving! :) 



The church at the second village we went to

The first harvest offered to God at the second church

This was a great trip. I experienced some new things & learned some good lessons. I am very thankful for my first & second Thai Thanksgivings!





A Walk through My Neighborhood

Last night, Mary, Becky, John, Isaac, & I went for a walk to the little store down the road from the house. Since I haven't done a very good job of taking pictures for you, I thought this would be the perfect opportunity! So, here are a few pictures from my neighborhood:  

Everyone walking to the store
(It's the building on the right with the tin roof & plastic signs hanging down)

Flowers on the side of the road growing in rocks :)

Bamboo

Palm tree with coconuts

Bananas
They're SO good here!

View looking to the Northeast - rice fields & mountains!

This is a video of a plant that closes at night & when you touch it! When I told Missy about it, it reminded us of the plant from "Little Shop of Horrors" that says "Feed me, Semour!" :)

Well, that's my neighborhood! I'll try to be better about taking pictures, but I'm not making any promises :) We are going to a lantern festival this week, I think, so I'll try to remember to take pictures there!

Serving Him,

Alicia

Week 2 Done!

As I'm writing this, it's the beginning of my third week here! Not a lot happened last week...until the end of the week :)

The first part of last week was much like my first week here, so I don't have a lot to report on those days.

On Saturday, I taught my first English class! This was the part of my ministry that I was most concerned about because I feel the least prepared for it. So, of course, this would be the first thing that God wants me to tackle because I have to completely depend on Him to get me through it!

To back up a little bit...Most of this past week, I spent time on the internet looking at TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) websites. (FYI - to demonstrate how unprepared I am for this...I just had to google AGAIN what exactly TESOL stands for - and my first guess was wrong! :) ) As I was looking through websites and trying to find ideas of how to incorporate the Gospel with teaching English, God gave me an idea of what my "curriculum" should look like. I just started writing idea after idea for over a half an hour! It was completely unrelated to what I was looking at at the time, so I know it was from Him. I'm SO excited to get started on this!

Back to Saturday...I had 7 kids attend my first class! There were two 4 year olds, a 7 year old, 9 year old, 10 year old, and two 11 year olds - quite the range in age! Some of the older kids already knew the ABC's, but the younger kids didn't. So, the majority of our 2 hours was spent on the alphabet. I had made worksheets to go through and also printed out the alphabet in lower case & upper case letters to color. The coloring sheets worked much better than the worksheets I made! We also went over greetings and acted that out many times. After 2 hours, I could tell the kids weren't going to learn anything else & I was at a loss for anything else to try, so we had a snack :) (Thanks to Becky, Stephen & Mary's daughter, for helping me translate!)

Here are some pictures from class:

After class, one of the mom's found out that I'm a Christian. She was very worried that the only thing I'm teaching is the Gospel & that we would be "forcing" the kids to learn it. Nuan, who also lives here with Stephen & Mary and helps around the house (she also wasn't a Christian when she first came here, but has since come to know Jesus & been baptized!), reassured this mom that although we are Christians, we don't "force" it on anyone, but will answer questions and talk about it when you are ready to. This satisfied the mom.

This was my first real encounter of opposition to what I'm here for - and I wasn't even there! I just heard the story after the fact. I have to ashamedly admit - I failed this one. My first thought was "Well, now what am I going to do? I can't start teaching Bible stories because no one will let their kids come back!" That was exactly what Satan wanted me to think. Thankfully, I recognized that for what it was immediately & am now even more committed to finding the way God would have me reach these kids for Him. As I was teaching them the ABC's, my heart was breaking for them and I had this overwhelming feeling of compassion for them. All I could think was how much these kids need to learn & to know Him - their eternity depends on it!

(I forgot to mention the first time I posted this that in God's perfect timing, I'm doing a Bible study on Ezra & Haggai - one thing I've learned so far is that God's people stopped building the temple because they were frightened & discouraged! I will not be frightened or discouraged from teaching these kids His love!)

Another part of God that became so real to me this week is His omnipresence - that He is everywhere! As I was sitting praying for my family one morning, it became so real to me that the God who is here in Thailand with me every moment of every day is the same God who is in America with my family every moment of their every day in every trial that they are facing. That truth is SO comforting!

I hope you've all had a great week! I start language school to learn Thai this week - I'm SO excited! Thank you SO much for your continued prayers & support!

Serving Him,

Alicia

One Week Down...

103 to go!!! :)

My first week in Thailand has gone pretty well! I adjusted to the time change relatively quickly since I didn't get any sleep got very little sleep while I traveled. I'm adjusting to the heat & humidity a little slower, but it hasn't been too bad - although I can't wait to take a shower & not immediately feel like I need another one :)

I don't have much to write about because this week was just time to adjust & get settled. I talked with Stephen about a tentative schedule for my ministry. (I say tentative because you never know if/when it will change here :) ) I'll be going to language school on Mon, Wed, & Fri afternoons. The way things look now, I'll have clinic time on Tues & Thurs mornings & teach English on Sat. I'm excited to get to work!

One other thing that I was able to do this week, that I had failed to do & stick with in the months I was home, was to set aside certain times during the day for devotionals, Bible study, & just spending time with God. This was something I desperately needed to do & has been much easier to do here without all of the distractions...yet. (I know distractions will be coming!)

One of the many books I'm reading right now is "Captivating" by John & Stasi Eldredge. As I was reading this week, something they wrote jumped off the page at me:

"He (meaning God) often takes us aside from every other source of comfort

so that He alone can have our heart's attention."

This statement hit the nail right on the head of why I am in this season of my life. (one of the reasons, anyway) It was such a poignant reminder to me this week at a time I needed it most! Lord, you have my heart's attention!

Another excerpt from "Captivating" that spoke to me this week:

"Jesus says the first & greatest commandment is 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart & with all your soul & with all your mind.' (Matthew 22:37) Jesus wants us to love one another, yes. He wants us to serve one another, yes. But first & foremost, He wants our utter devotion & love for Him. It is from hearts filled with love for Him that all good works & acts of love flow."

Again, another reminder at a time I needed it most, that as I prepare to start this new ministry, I need to always keep Him first!

I may not have accomplished a lot in the eyes of the world this week, which at times was frustrating me; but I accomplished a lot in the eyes of God this week, which to me, is worth more than anything!

Serving & Loving Him
Alicia

I Made It!

I'm currently sitting at my desk in my bedroom looking out my window at palm trees, rice fields, & mountains! Yes, I'm in Chiang Mai :)

My almost 36 hours of travel to get here went really well. All of my flights were smooth & I got all of my luggage when I landed!

Since I've been here (2.5 days now), I've been getting settled & adjusting to the time change & weather...it is hot & humid! I'm not doing too bad with the time change. I didn't sleep much while I was traveling, so I've been able to sleep at night since I've been here. I'm kind of tired today, which is why this post will be short & just the basics...no deep stuff in this one :)

Yesterday (Sunday), we went to church at The Gathering. It is an English-speaking church where a lot of missionaries go. It's held in a conference room in a mall. It was really great! Today, Mary, Becky, John, Isaac, & I went to another mall to get some things I needed. John has been talking about Big Macs since I've been here, so we ate at McDonald's for lunch - I haven't been here 3 days & I already had McDonald's! I was NOT missing it :)

That's about all I've done so far. This week I'm just going to be resting up & getting some things done before my work begins. I'll start language school, teaching an English class, & clinic around the first part of November.

Stay tuned for more updates :)

Serving Him,
Alicia

The Time is Coming...

In just 9 short days I will be leaving for Thailand! I fly out of Chicago on Thursday, the 20th. While I have been waiting for this day for over 3 years now, it still seems almost unreal that it is really happening! But, it is!

I am filled with excitement as I think about what God will do in these next 2 years - how He will use me to show the people of Thailand His love, how He will strengthen all of my relationships, and how He will continue to mold me & shape me & guide me on this journey. It's so awesome to think that God has planned this season of my life since before time began and that I am about to live it out!

As excited as I am, I do have some anxiety. I'm not anxious about living & serving in Thailand - I know that God has called me to do this work & that He will be with me every moment of every day. The only thing I'm anxious about is saying all of my "good-bye"s. It will be hard saying good-bye to my family & friends not knowing when I will see them again. But, even in that, I know that God will be with me. And He will be with them.

Thank you all for your continued support & prayers. I greatly appreciate you all!
Stay tuned for updates from Thailand :)

Serving Him,
Alicia