THAILAND MEMORIES

There are so many things that made this trip memorable. There are smells that will forever be associated with Thailand—garlic cooking in the street vendors booths for example; there are sounds that will forever
remind me of Chang Rai—roosters crowing at 3 a.m., dogs barking, lots of traffic sounds; the traffic in Bangkok that was scary because it was so heavy and so intense; the beauty of the temples and the Grand Palace of the King; the taste of marvelous Thai food that we experienced in so many ways. Mary Tellis, Karen VanValkenburgh and I were blessed with a great camaraderie and a chance to see mission up close and personal.

The missionaries that we met challenged us every step. The Dieselbergs in Bangkok met with us and gave us a tour of Nightlight Ministries. We had a chance to worship with them and meet the women who work at Nightlight (making beautiful jewelry). Karen Smith gave us a tour of New Life Center in Chang Mai and introduced us to the young ladies and their handcrafts. We worshiped at the Chang Mai Community Church and were truly blessed. Becky Mann showed us the Lanna Café and the coffee distributing business. The Akha ministry of Chang Rai was highlighted by Chuck and Ruth Fox. We were asked to help with a project at the Family Learning Center (the school where Ruth is principal). The library had compiled a database of their book holdings but needed some additional help with the input of grade levels. So we, Karen, Mary and I, helped with that project.

Karen also helped with the financial piece they are completing. The school will become an international school in the fall in the new building being completed as I write this. Chuck assists the Akha with water projects and also works with people with drug addictions. We visited the village of Sansouk to see the dormitories and food service areas where ABCRM is funding necessary improvements. Chuck and Ruth Fox took us to spend the night in Sukasem, another Akha village, to worship with them on the final weekend we were in Thailand. It was an awesome experience, with the young people leading the service. We sang familiar hymns and the love of God was expressed to all of us through our worship together.

The trip included some wonderful sightseeing. Bangkok is a beautiful city with the longest official city name in the world. (Don’t ask me to pronounce it or spell it!) There are huge shopping malls, but narrow streets and wide boulevards, beautiful homes next to small houses or huts, a huge river with city on both sides of it with a canal through the “new” Bangkok (started in the middle 1800s). The elephant camp outside Chang Mai was amazing and showed us what a marvelous animal it is. We visited the King’s mother’s flower gardens at Doi Tung, which were beautiful and so peaceful! The night markets were an experience!

How does one express all the emotions experienced during this kind of trip? How can one share the lessons learned, how people we worked with touched us? Each day was full of new experiences and we praised the Lord for each one and for each person we met, for the challenges offered. It is an experience that has changed my life and I know will continue to bless me, Mary and Karen. I challenge others to take a mission trip because each one will forever be changed and blessed.

Deanna Dyer