We spent about a week in total in the north and stayed in the small town of Chiang Khong for about 5 of those days. That is the place we will likely be living, and there are two villages on either side of it that we will be working in. About 2 days before we left I started my wanderings...I ambled down this back street where foreigners obviously never venture (I gathered that from the pointing, the giggling, and the stares), and I saw a bunch of people playing badminton and soccer at the end of the alley. I decided I should join them as they looked like they were having fun, and before I knew it, I was sitting down and eating all kinds of fruit and singing them songs. Around 8pm it seemed as if they decided it was time for me to go home, so all the kids accompanied me so that I didn't have to walk alone. My journey back to the guesthouse was a fun one filled with laughter, loud talking, the kids trying to teach me thai, frogs, geckos, dookays (evil lizards that bite and never let go), and loads of light-swarming bugs. As they left me at my door they told me to come back to theirs’ when they finished school the following day.
The next day, Reg and I decided to explore...Ajarn (pastor) Sohn lent us his truck so we were able to easily get ourselves around. Basically we ended up driving into the jungle and when we could drive no further we parked the truck and hiked the rest of the way...we found ourselves two waterfalls and were literally wandering through real jungle!! We didn't see any snakes or spiders, which was nice, but somewhat disappointing, as you always want to be able to say that you saw those things. We drove back into town, ate lunch, and found out from someone at the restaurant that there was another waterfall about 30 minutes from there. We decided to check it out and this adventure became much more wild than what we had experienced that morning. We drove through villages and past water buffalo into very remote places. We came to a village and could go no further, and it was absolutely pouring outside...a villager invited us in out of the rain, and once it lightened up a bit we began our 3km walk to the waterfall...it started raining harder and we had to walk barefoot through rivers and mud on a path that was only a foot wide...through corn fields, past terraces and into the jungle. There was nothing but the sound of our laughter and unidentifiable jungle bugs that resembled the sound of chain saws. We never actually made it all the way to the waterfall (an adventure for another time) because I had to get back to see my new found friends…an evening filled with more fruit, more of me singing to the group, learning Thai, and a mini badminton tournament. This group was quite accepting of the crazy farang that had stumbled into their little soy, and told me that when we return in a year that I must come and see them. Once again, the children accompanied me home, and once again I had to say goodbye.
We left Chiang Khong that morning and made our way back to the big city of Chiang Rai. We spent the night and it was there in a small internet café that I made a new friend...a beautiful girl who graciously told me her story and let me into her life. I don’t know that I can say that I have had many experiences where I immediately felt love toward someone, but I definitely did here. I was really grateful for her, and will be connecting with her again in Bangkok in a week. Please pray for her to fall in love with Jesus who is so obviously pursuing her…
That next morning Reg and I boarded a plane to Bangkok (seriously, what a wonderful way to travel), and upon arrival we parted ways...he headed to Phuket and I am now in Pattaya where I will be for the next 5 days. Bitsy worked here for 9 months last year, so I am here meeting her friends and spending time with her before our rigorous schedule of language study begins. I have never been anywhere like this...Pattaya is a city that breaks my heart...it makes me sad, it makes me angry, it disgusts me. This is the centre for prostitution and anything else horrible in this country. Pretty much every foreigner you see is here for something immoral. I know it saddens God, and I also know that he has a great amount of love for these people...it is here that the light seems so much brighter and the darkness seems so much darker. God, please be drawing people to yourself!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment