Thailand is very far away.

I have been home for almost 3 weeks right now. When I got home, I hit the ground running as a fourth grade teacher at Eastbrook Academy. I love my school. I love my kids. I definitely feel like there are ways that I can further God's kingdom through my job. I definitely feel like this is what God has for me in this stage of my life. And I'm unbelievably thankful.

At the same time, Thailand seems very far away right now. I have a heart for those kids who live in the slums of Pattaya. I want to see the significant amount of prostitution and injustice end in that city. I want to help. And yet, I'm not living there, and so right now, I'm trying to figure out how my connection to this city and the people living there can be used here. I know I can pray. I know I can give financially. I know I can spread awareness. Sometimes, that just doesn't seem like so much, when the problem is so big.

I've been reading in Matthew about people who asked Jesus to heal themselves or someone they knew. And those who asked in faith were healed. Sometimes, I don't know if I pray with faith in the same way that these people did. I want that to change. I know in my head that God is powerful enough to use me here, and I know that he wants my full faith and obedience here.

So, right now, I will continue to learn to pray in faith. Faith that God can change things half way around the world. Faith that he will continue to show me how I can be a part of his plan of salvation here in Milwaukee, in Thailand, and in the rest of the world.

Thankful for Thailand.

We just played a thankful game with the jewelry artisans where everyone said what 3 things that they were thankful to God for.

Here's my list of things I'm thankful for about my time in Thailand. It's going to be a lot more than 3. =)
1. I'm thankful for the kids that I got to know. They are awesome.
2. I'm thankful for the ways I could connect with people through words in Thai.
3. I'm thankful for the way I was able to connect with people without using words.
4. I'm thankful for the friendships I had in Pattaya, that made it a lot easier to be away from friends and family at home.
5. I'm thankful for Pin. I love to spend time with her. She has a beautiful heart and is fun to be around. She taught me Thai and was patient with me in speaking it.
6. I'm thankful for Angela, who was so welcoming and encouraging during my time here. It was great to see how God is blessing her in this ministry.
7. I'm thankful for Jiap. I loved getting to know her better this year. I loved eating mango, carrots, and papaya salad with her. She is so kind and fun. (And she has the cutest little girl named Gracie!)
8. I'm thankful for Aom. It was beautiful to see how she is growing in Christ and serving him with the kids. You can tell she loves the kids so much and she's great at connecting with them.
9. I'm thankful for Jacie, my friend from the US here with me, to get lost with and laugh about being not-so-flexible Americans. She was a great person to teach the kids with, and she'll be a wonderful teacher someday.
10. I'm thankful for the jewelry artisans of PSM. I'm thankful I got to learn more about them and spend time with them. They have such beautiful stories, and it is awesome to see how God is working in their lives.
11. I'm thankful for Pu. I'm thankful I got to know her better and spend time with her. I loved teaching her English and just having fun with her. She has such a joy and passion for serving the Lord in Pattaya, and it is really exciting to see.
12. I'm thankful for my time in Chiang Rai and Chiang Mai with Pin. I loved meeting her family. I loved getting to see another completely different part of Thailand. It was beautiful. I loved getting to spend more time with Pin and get to learn more about her life.
13. I'm thankful for my scuba diving experience. It was a fun adventure.
14. I'm thankful for dinners at Monica's with girls from the Tamar Center. It was great to get to know some of these girls and just spend time with them.
15. I'm thankful for papaya salad and sticky rice. Yum.
16. I'm thankful for lots of cheap, delicious watermelon that I ate.
17. I'm thankful for lots of other delicious Thailand fruit like rambutans and dragonfruit.
18. I'm thankful for my church here, seeing everyone come together, including former and current prostitutes, ladyboys, Thais, and foreigners, and worship God.
19. I'm thankful for new things God taught me and new ways I saw his love.
20. I'm thankful for getting to walk everywhere...to work, to the grocery store, to my apartment, to the "laundry mat", to the internet cafe.
21. I'm thankful for lots of time to read.
22. I'm thankful for lots of time to just rest. I really enjoyed the slow pace of life here in Pattaya.
23. I'm thankful for the ways that I see God transforming people in this city.
24. I'm thankful for flip flops.
25. I'm thankful I got to run quite a bit this summer and that I didn't get bit by a dog.
26. I'm thankful for my running times with Pin at the park.
27. I'm thankful for good health and safety while I've been in Thailand.
28. I'm thankful for skype and email.
29. I'm thankful for really supportive and encouraging friends and family.
30. I'm thankful for the opportunity to teach kids here. I'm thankful for the opportunity to learn from them.
31. I'm thankful for prayer and devotion times with the PSM team.
32. I'm thankful for Tim Deller coming to see me in Thailand and being really encouraging along the way.
33. I'm thankful for great parents who are interested in what I am doing in Thailand.
34. I'm thankful for people who read my long emails and blogs about Thailand.
35. I'm thankful for getting to spend time with friends and do fun things with them like go to the beach, go to the market, or eat good Thai food.
36. I'm thankful for all I got to see and experience and the way God continues to open my eyes to what is going on in the world.
37. I'm thankful I got to be here for a long time.

I'm sure I'll think of more. I'm thankful for a lot.

Khawp Kun Phra Jao (Thank you God) for my time in Thailand.

Thoughts on being in Thailand

Last week, I wrote down some of my thoughts about being in Pattaya and how I feel like I met the goals that I had for my time here. Here you go...

I have been given a lot. More is expected of me in return. God calls me to love the poor, the oppressed, the fatherless, the alien, the widow. How am I to do that in the United States? How am I to love the poor and oppressed who are in the United States? How am I to love the poor and oppressed in different countries? The problem seems so big, but I know that I serve a big God who can defeat poverty and injustice. I think of the story of Gideon, where God continued to make his army smaller and smaller. He can defeat with a small army…he can defeat with no army at all…but in his word, he calls us to take action. To join him in the fight against injustice (Proverbs 31:8-9, Isaiah 1:17, Deuteronomy 10). How am I fight from the US? Spread the word…give money…pray…it just doesn’t seem like enough sometimes. I want to continue to dream big. Ask God for big things and believe that he will do it.

People need to learn what love is if they are to know God’s love. Most people living in the slums and working on the streets have never experienced true love. Love that only God can bring. They have never experienced it, so knowing God’s love is something that is so hard for them to grasp. They need people in their lives to show them God’s love. To give them encouraging words, to smile at them, to hug them, to help them, to tell them about the hope that they can find in Jesus Christ. I have been blessed to grow up in a family and among friends who have shown Christ’s love for me. It’s easier for me to know God’s love because I have been shown what love is through people in my life. I am blessed beyond belief. I’m not saying that God can’t allow these people to know Christ’s love apart from Christians showing them love, but I think that God wants us to be a part of his work of bringing his kingdom here on earth.

Here were my goals for being in Pattaya and ways I’ve seen God working since I’ve been here:

1.       Know God more - see him work in a different setting amongst a different setting where the dominate religion is not Christianity

I have definitely felt the love of God more in a city of poverty and darkness. I have seen lives that are being transformed (Pu, Cream, Aom, Bam, Vit) and see God’s passionate love for them…and in them coming to him where they are at, not expecting complete transformation at once. I see God’s patience and his mercy is seeing his kingdom restored, in saving lives, one at a time. I see that he can do great things. I see how he wants us to be a part of his work. I see how he wants us to come to him in prayer, asking for big things. I see how he is passionate about people and he wants his followers to be passionate about people as well. I see how he hates injustice, how it angers him, how it makes him sad, how he cares deeply for those experiencing injustice and those inflicting it as well.

2. Learn how to engage in a culture different from my own and love people who are different from me - in the way they are brought up, their lifestyle, their economic status, etc.

I have loved the opportunity to be a part of another culture for 2 months…to eat different foods, to experience different ways of life for Thai people, to ride around on public transportation and get lost a few times. I have loved the opportunity to get to know people and to learn about their lives. My Thai is limited, but I appreciate how it has allowed me to connect with people. Obviously, I’ve loved getting to hang out with kids. Even if I can’t speak their language much, I just find joy in being around them. I hope that they were able to see my love for them and more importantly, God’s love for them. I’ve also loved the chance to spend time with girls who have formerly or are currently working in the bars. It was hard to see some of them actually on the job. It made it real and heartbreaking. These girls that I met are sweet and kind, and whether it’s a choice or not, they don’t deserve to be put through this.

I have definitely gotten more of a taste of what it is like to live in another country as a foreigner. Not a complete picture, but I have definitely have had moments of feeling the way I think foreigners do, living in another country. For the most part, I have felt so blessed by Thai people and the ways they have welcomed me, there have been times when I have felt lonely, when I have wanted to be around people and kids who I could speak more than a few sentences with. I can see how it would be hard living in a place where you didn’t speak much of the dominant language. I appreciate the way Thai people have been kind to me in spite of not knowing their language very well. I hope that it will change my perspective of how I treat others who live in the United States and speak little or no English.

3. Help some people/kids and show Christ’s love to them

I hope that I have communicated Christ’s love to the PSM kids. I have loved the opportunity to show love to these kids and spend time with them, playing games, taking pictures, giving a smile or a hug. I also have loved the chance to spend time with the PSM staff, Angela, Pin, Jiap, Aom, and Jacie. They have been such a blessing to me, and I have loved getting to know them more. I’ve been able to spend some time with former and current prostitutes. I have loved hearing their stories. I’ve had the opportunity to eat with them and laugh with them. I couldn’t always speak many words to them, but I am praying and will continue to pray for God’s love to become real to them.

4. Learn more about myself and what God may want me to do in the future involving missions. Learn about missions and how it works in other countries.

I don’t know where God is leading me in the future. I know in the immediate future I feel God has placed me in the United States as a teacher. And I’m really excited to be where I’m at. I don’t know if I will be back to Pattaya or to Thailand. But I do know that God is continuing to ask me to dream big. Three years ago, I didn’t have any idea about slavery that happens around the world. I had no desire to live in another country for an extended period of time. God has done a lot of work in my heart regarding this. I feel like this trip has revealed in me ways that I doubt God’s power to do big things in my life and in the world. The problems of poverty, trafficking, and prostitution are huge. When I see the extent of bars and prostitutes in the city, it is overwhelming. It seems like it is never going to end. Yet, I know that God is powerful enough to do it and I’m praying that God would increase my faith to believe more that he can stop this.

Coming to Pattaya, I didn’t really know exactly what I’d be doing. I knew I would be helping out Pattaya Slum Ministries, teaching some English, and doing whatever was needed. While I’ve been here, I’ve loved the opportunity to help out at kids’ club, plan sleepovers, teach English lessons, and help out with random projects. I’ve also had a lot of down time. I’ve spent a lot of time reading and just relaxing and taking in what’s in Pattaya. Normally, I don’t always do well with down time. I get antsy when I don’t have something to do, when I don’t have a way to help. But this summer has been really good and refreshing for me. I’ve really enjoyed this down time to rest. I feel like I have grown closer to God and just sensed his presence and love during this time. I am really thankful for this time. I think that God has been teaching me that I don’t have to accomplish anything great (or doing anything at all) to be unbelievably loved by him.

5. Learn more about injustice and ways to fight against it

I’ve definitely seen more injustice. I’ve seen more and more bars with more and more girls working as prostitutes. I’ve spent time in those bars and seen men look at these girls as objects. I don’t have an answer to stopping this. I do have hope. I have seen lives being changed here in Pattaya. I have heard kids who live in the slums say, “God loves me” and “I love God”. They are the answers to change. I’ve met former prostitutes who are met someone who shared God’s love with them and now they are serving Jesus too. They are the answers to change. Change is happening one life at a time. In many situations, people need to be shown Christ’s love in tangible ways, by the followers of Jesus, in order to respond. I am follower of Christ and I am called to love. I am called love kids who live in the slums, prostitutes, the johns, pimps, and traffickers. I know that God sees and he cares and he is calling me to continue to respond in love. I want to dream big about God would have me be involved in the fight against human trafficking now and in the future. 

Week EIGHT Highlights

Sa wa dii ka!! 

Here are some highlights from week 8!! Next Saturday will be my two month anniversary in Thailand!

On Monday night, I went to my friend Monica's house and had dinner with girls who have come to the Tamar Center. It was a great night, eating and playing spoons. At the end of the night, several of them went back to their bars to work. Continue to pray for the women in this city to learn about the hope that Jesus can give and trust in Him. 

On Tuesday, we went to the slum, but unfortunately it started to rain. It was fun to see the kids and get to play with them for a little bit. 

On Wednesday, a team from Canada came including 22 high schoolers and adults. They led the kids club in the afternoon, where the kids learned about the story of Esther and made crowns. There were a lot of kids that came, and it was fun! On Wednesday night, I got to hang out with Pu and we read Ecclesiastes 2 and 3 together. She shared her story of coming to work in Pattaya two years ago and then finding Jesus. Such a beautiful story. I am glad to know her. At the end of her story, she tells me, "I'm thankful God saved me. But it was when I was 29...why couldn't I have known about him sooner!" 

On Thursday, the men on the team started building. I went to the site in the afternoon and cheered them on in the rain with Pin and Jiap. It rained a lot on Friday, so the team just went to hand out the chicken and milk. 

On Friday, we took the Canada team to a public school and they did a program of games, songs, and testimonies. They were able to talk about God to about 150 kids at the school. Walking into the school, it was interesting to see how the kids treated the farangs (white people) like movie stars and asked for autographs at the end of the program. Pray that these kids take away something that the team said about Jesus and his love for them. On Friday afternoon, I went to the building site for the 2 houses with Pin and Jiap. They got the frames up on both of the houses and most of the roofs up. Pray for the Thai people living in the slums to be able to finish up the work. 

On Saturday, we took the older kids to the beach with the Canada team. It was a lot of fun! We sang swam, played games, sang songs, and ate papaya salad and sticky rice. I really enjoyed my time with the kids today. 

This week, I had the pleasure of running into the director of Thrive Rescue Home. She was with two of the girls who have been rescued off the streets and are now living at their home. Their names are Baan and Min and they are 11 and 12 years old. Pray for their lives, that they would find healing and come to know Jesus. 

My time in Pattaya is coming to an end. It's been an amazing experience and I am really thankful to God for all that he has allowed me to do and see. I have been blessed abundantly through my time here. This Thursday will be my last time in that slum. On Friday, Tim (my fiance) arrives in Pattaya!! (i'm just a little excited about this. =) We'll stay in Pattaya until the following Thursday. After that we'll be doing some travelling in Thailand to go scuba diving and visiting Tim's friend in Vietnam. 

Pray for me as I say goodbye to everyone in Pattaya. Pray that I communicate my love for them and Christ's love for them. 

Pray for the youth sleepover next weekend. Pray that the youth would grow in their knowledge and love for Jesus.

Pray for Tim's travels to Pattaya and for our time in Pattaya together.

Pray for our travels after we leave.

I really appreciate your prayers and support. I could not have done so well here in Thailand without them. You are a HUGE blessing to me. 

Fun in Week EIGHT!!

A house being built in one of the PSM slums

Fun at the beach on Saturday! 

Me, Cream, and Benz

Benz - I love this girl! 

Jumping with Tang

Our beautiful beach

Singing worship songs

Playing some beach games

Here's the mural that team Canada painted (almost complete). 

My favorite girl is above Pin's head.

Making crowns for the story of Esther at the Wednesday slum

Having fun with Beam and Fai

Aom with Fong and Fern...so cute! 

What is a Slum?

This is a children's book I worked on while I was in Thailand. It's still a work in progress...

What is a Slum?

A slum is a place where people who are poor live. They don’t have enough money to live in houses like you and I live in.

 Their houses are made from scrap materials, like plywood or sheets of metal. These houses are not very secure and do not provide much protection from the weather.

     Slums are not very clean and have garbage everywhere. They often lack clean drinking water and electricity. In this kind of environment, it is easy for disease to spread.

  There are slums all over the world, especially in extremely poor countries. India, Pakistan, South Africa, Kenya have some of the largest slums in the world.

 These kids live in the slums of Pattaya, a city in Thailand. Kids who live in the slums are the same as kids who live in nice homes in the United States.

  Soda is one of their favorite drinks.

Ice cream makes them smile.

They like to ride bikes.

  They like to play with dogs.

    They like to read.

They like to play games.

They like to color.

           They like to be silly and pretend to play the guitar.

 They like to just be kids. 

    Sometimes the food they eat may be a little different, but that’s okay. Your food is different to them.

 Sometimes they might not get enough food to eat. They may have to wear the same clothes every day.

Sometimes this makes them sad.

If it makes you sad too, there is something you can do about it.

Instead of getting another new toy or a new shirt, you could give that money to an organization that helps the poor.

  There are many organizations that help the poor. World Relief, UNICEF, World Vision, International Justice Mission are just a few. Find one you like and support them.

Tell your family about what you’ve learned in this book and ask your family how you can help the poor. Tell other people about how they can help the poor too.


Your actions can make the world a better place, even if it helps one person. One person matters. You can help change a life. 

Dream Big: A Book about Human Trafficking for Kids

A while back, I was looking for a children's book on human trafficking and I couldn't find one. Tim, my fiance, challenged me to write one. This is what I came up with. I'm still thinking if I want to change anything, but it's a start. I'm thinking of having my students draw pictures for the pages. Let me know your thoughts...

1.       I have a dream. (Maybe you’ve heard this line before?) It’s a really big dream.

2.       I want to see all of the slaves in the world set free. You may have thought that slavery no longer exists. Or maybe you haven’t thought about slavery much at all.

3.       Slavery is real. It is estimated that there are 27 million slaves around the world, including in the United States.

4.       I grew up in a world with a lot of choices. If you are reading this, you probably did too.

   5.       As a baby, my mom could choose whether to feed me carrots or spinach. When I was a baby, I’m sure I spit them out, but now I love them both (not the baby food kind though).

6.       As a child, I could choose whether I wanted to eat a chocolate chip cookie or an oatmeal raisin cookie (At the time, I thought it was crazy to choose anything other than chocolate chip). I could choose whether I wanted to wear a hot pink skirt or purple leggings. (Yes, this is what we wore in the early 1990s.)

7.       I could choose whether I wanted to play four-square or hang on the monkey bars at recess.

8.       As a teenager, I could choose what music I wanted to listen to on my radio or what television show I wanted to watch.

9.       When I was done with high school, I could choose what college I wanted to go to and what I wanted to study. I could choose when I went to bed, when I got up, and how many times a week I ate ice cream.

10.   Now as an adult, the choices seem to never end. I can choose to jump on my bed or eat straight out of the peanut butter jar (And sometimes, I do.)

11.   But what if you lived in a world where you didn’t have any choices at all?

12.   There are some kids who don’t. They are forced to work for many hours a day for no pay.  

13.   They aren’t able to go to school or learn how to read and write.

  14.   There are children in Africa who are taken away from their families and are forced to pick cocoa beans. These cocoa beans are made into chocolate, which most of them have never eaten.

15.   These children work in the hot sun all day long. The work is back-breaking. If they don’t work hard enough, they are beaten. This is their life every single day.

16.   Human trafficking is another word for slavery. It happens everywhere, including in the United States.

 17.   Human trafficking happens when one person controls another person and forces them to work for nothing. Slave labor is used to make various products around the world, including chocolate, coffee, tea, rice, and clothing.

18.   This is a big problem, right? Now, you may say, “I’m just a kid. What can I do to help free slaves?”

19.   My answer to this is, “Every little bit counts.” You have a voice. Let it be heard.

20.   Tell your parents about human trafficking. Tell anyone you know about human trafficking. Tell your piano teacher, the cashier at the grocery store, the person on the other end of the telephone. Tell them to tell other people about human trafficking.

 21.   Ask adults in your life to vote for people in the government who want to fight against human trafficking. Ask them to write letters to the government asking them to support this cause.

22.   Ask them to buy fair trade products such as chocolate, coffee, tea, rice, and clothing. When you buy fair trade, these products are guaranteed to be made without slave labor.

23.   You have a choice. You have a choice about what to do with the information you’ve been given.

  24.   The choices you make can help change lives. The choices you make can set people free. What are you going to choose?