I Hate This Feeling

Here's the scenario: Someone asks you and your friends a question. Let's say it's "What are some of your favorite Christmas traditions?" You are eager and proud to go first and respond, "We make popcorn on Christmas Eve night, open one present and watch It's a Wonderful Life by the Christmas tree." How sweet. So quaint. Now it's time for the next person to share. "We do something a little different. We make sandwiches and hot chocolate and drive downtown to spend Christmas day with the poor." Ugh. You know that feeling? I hate it. I have it often because I am quick to speak and slow to think and listen.

Well, I faced the dumb-answer scenario in Thailand in a very public, embarrassing way. My skin crawls even thinking about it. I feel like I need to physically shake it off!

We're getting ready to leave the orphanage in Chiang Mai and the director asks us to formally introduce ourselves to the kids at their chapel service. Up to this point we had only been playing with the kids individually and in small groups. Jenny and Susan step away from the microphone and leave me with the job. "You do it, Lauren. You're good at this kind of thing." Words we later came to regret.

I babbled on about who we were, gushed about how wonderful the kids were (I think I said "wonderful" about 10 times in two minutes) and wrapped it up with a powerful, "And I have three kids, Jack, Evelyn and Ella. Thanks so much for having us." I got so tongue tied. I didn't really know what I was saying.

Here's what happened next.

Naret, our tour guide and friend, introduced himself and began to share his story with the children. He grew up in an orphanage just like the one we were visiting. He encouraged the children to write down their dreams and chase after them. He told them about Jesus and his love for them. It was incredibly powerful. The kids were silent.

I was so moved and so mortified. Seriously, what was I thinking? Why didn't I say something like that? I hadn't even thought about it. Neither Jesus nor love nor hope nor encouragement never even entered in my mind. These kids were desperate and I came to them with, "I'm Lauren. You're great. I have three kids. Blah, blah, blah..." Ahhhh!

I can't help but laugh about it. I started laughing as soon as we walked out the door and I couldn't stop every time I thought about it. It did make for some pretty funny jokes between us! "I'm Lauren. I really like long walks on the beach, gardening, eating ..." Such a butt!

On a more serious note, it really made me think about my default setting. Why wasn't Jesus and His love and the life He offers the first thing out of my mouth? Why was it all about me? Why isn't He so real and present in me that I automatically think of Him first?

I've faced this scenario numerous times recently and always blown it. I am so self focused. It's all about me. Rarely do I jump right to Jesus or to prayer as the answer or the need.

I feel so humbled after these realizations. I'm thankful for the awareness, but unnerved by the feelings it brings.

After I shared my thoughts about the situation with everyone in the car, Jenny laughingly sang this song to me. It's spot on...

Oh Lord it's hard to be humble when you're perfect in every way.
I can't wait to look in the mirror cause I get better looking each day.
To know me is to love me I must be a hell of a man.
Oh Lord it's hard to be humble but I'm doing the best that I can.
I used to have a girlfriend but she just couldn't compete
with all of these love starved women who keep clamoring at my feet.
Well I prob'ly could find me another but I guess they're all in awe of me.
Who cares, I never get lonesome cause I treasure my own company.
Oh Lord it's hard to be humble when you're perfect in every way,
I can't wait to look in the mirror cause I get better looking each day
To know me is to love me I must be a hell of a man.
Oh Lord it's hard to be humble but I'm doing the best that I can.
I guess you could say I'm a loner, a cowboy outlaw tough and proud.
I could have lots of friends if I want to but then I wouldn't stand out from the crowd.
Some folks say that I'm egotistical. Hell, I don't even know what that means.
I guess it has something to do with the way that I fill out my skin tight blue jeans.

Some more favorites...

We're home. I can't believe we're home. It's strange. I still have so many blog posts forming in my head. Until I finish them all, I'm going to keep writing like we're in Thailand. In my heart, I think I still am.

Adding on to the list of our favorite things:

• On Monday, we flew to Chiang Mai on Bangkok Airlines, Thailand's boutique airline. It was very nice. The flight was short and perfect. Jenny took a different flight and we met her an hour later at the airport.
• Our new friend, Naret, picked us up at the airport. He is friends with Jeff, the pastor of the Vineyard Church in Rayong. Naret served with YWAM for several years and has worked as a tour guide in Thailand. He's a great host!
• We were nervous on our way to the hotel because Naret said he had never heard of it. You can imagine from my previous posts that my hotel snobbery took over and I was feeling very anxious about staying in a dive. Turns out, it was one of the most amazing places I've ever stayed. The Lanna Mantra is a hidden sanctuary complete with infinity pool, riverside restaurant, two-hour poolside Thai massages -- not that I know any of this from first-hand experience. I just saw it ... hehehe.
• Naret took us to the Old Chiang Mai Cultural Center for our first evening in Chiang Mai. Amazing! We ate an open-air Khantoke dinner. Khantoke is a form of tiered tray used for serving food. The trays are popular among all Thais. It was full of amazing food -- curry, fried vegetables, crispy rice noodles, sticky rice. Mmmmm... Then we watched several cultural shows and even got up and danced with some very dainty, elegant Thai women! It was hilarious! We aren't so graceful.
• We met with Norbert and Cathy Bauer, pastors of the Vineyard Community Chiang Mai. They shared their stories with us and how God is leading them to serve in Chiang Mai. Cathy is from the U.S. and Norbert is from Germany. They have been on the mission field for years and have seven children. Wow! We were again blown away by the sacrifices people are making to serve God in radical ways. The Bauers are reaching out to the international community in Chiang Mai and also helped start a Thai house church in one of the city's slum areas. So inspiring!
• After meeting with the Bauers, we ate some fabulous Thai food at a restaurant owned by one of Naret's friends. We got to pray for a young woman there who just moved to Thailand to be with her fiance. She was in a bit of culture shock. We could relate! Then we went to a Walmart-like store and bought gifts to bring to the Care Corner Orphanage we were visiting that afternoon. We bought a basketball, soccer ball, toothpaste and toothbrushes, candy (of course!!), ping pong balls and paddles, printer paper and some other things. It was the most fun shopping trip!
• As I wrote about earlier, the visit to the orphanage was both amazing and heartbreaking. The kids and the workers are incredible. The facility was located in the country outside Chiang Mai. It was clean and kept up nicely. The kids had a soccer field, a fishing pond, a pool, a vegetable garden and a jungle gym to play with. We only expected to stay there a few hours, but the directors invited us for dinner and to their chapel service. We couldn't resist!
• Wednesday morning we woke up early and drove to Doi Chang to visit the coffee fields in the northern Chiang Rai region of Thailand. Naret was born there and his mother still lives in the village. The four of us piled into our little car and we drove high into the winding mountains. I can't believe I wasn't carsick. Bleh. Lots and lots and lots of bumps and turns. I slept most of the way, both there and back. The village was beautiful. Amidst the poverty, there was so much beauty and kindness. It felt surreal. Doi Chang and more specifically, Naret's mother's land, is where the coffee comes from that Jeff wants Susan to help market and turn into a "local" business. We'll see. Exciting stuff.
• Naret took us out for Mexican food for our last night in Chiang Mai. We were all craving it! Eating taquitos and chips and salsa in Thailand felt a wee bit strange. But is was a nice break from noodles, curry and rice.
• On Thursday (Jenny's birthday), we flew back to Bangkok. Jeff picked us up and took us out to celebrate for a yummy Italian meal. So good. Kind of feels like this is turning into a food blog!
• That afternoon we met with Sukit and Em, pastors of the Vineyard Church in Bangkok. Words can't even describe our experience there. The church is located in the biggest slum in the city. There are so many people packed into such a small space. I've never seen anything like it here in the U.S. I don't think there is anything like it here. Their church is all about reaching people in their community. They open up their doors every day for kids to come hang out, to teach English, music and dance classes, to pray, to serve food. Teams go on "search and rescue" missions every day in the community where they pray for people and bring hope. We met with Sukit and some of his team for several hours. They are the real deal. It kind of felt like to us what it must have felt like to be the disciples sitting at the feet of Jesus -- Who are these people? Can this be for real? If so, how do I do it? Can I do it? Their team prayed for us and shared words with us that they never could have known on their own. Then Sukit insisted we pray for them and do the same. I'll be blogging on that at a later time. Whew. So good.
• Thursday evening we reunited with Marcia. It was so good to see her. Jenny and I were upgraded to a larger hotel room because it was her birthday and they sent us a super fancy cake! We screamed in excitement! Simple pleasures...
• Jenny and I decided to head back to Patpong (Red Light District) since she hadn't been yet. We decided to just walk through and pray. I thought maybe it wouldn't upset me as much as it had before, but it did. I don't ever want that to not upset me. I don't ever want to be desensitized to that. So many girls, so many boys, young and old, for sale. It made my heart hurt.
• Late that night in the lobby, Jenny and I were on our computers and about 75 percent of the people coming and going were very mismatched couples - young girls, old white men. I couldn't help but send out the stink-eye vibe. It's so hard to see it, right there.
• Early Friday morning we left for the airport and after 21 hours of great flights, we arrived in GR. I can't believe it.
• I ate Japanese tonight and it was refreshing to see all the Asian faces. My heart is still overseas. I'm not sure if it will follow me back here. Maybe I'll have to go back to find it!

Bad Blogger

So, crazy processing Lauren is back. Went to the Red Light District in Bangkok again tonight. My head is spinning. Too much. I am so tired. Our trip is coming to an end and so is my energy level.

Today was the craziest day yet. But I simply don't have the energy to write about it at the moment. I stink as a blogger. I can't keep up. I plan on writing on the plane.

Pray for our flights. We leave here at 7 am Bangkok time.

Catching up...

It's 11 p.m. and I can barely keep my eyes open. Our days have been so full since arriving to Chiang Mai. I thought I would post a few brief updates about what we've been doing. Also, here's the link to my Facebook page with a bunch of pictures on it. I changed the privacy settings so anyone can see it, at least until I get home and can upload my pics to the blog and my FB in a hurry!

A few of our favorite things:

• We met Jeff, the Rayong Vineyard pastor in Pattaya and he drove us to Rayong on Saturday. He spent the afternoon sharing his story with us and his vision for starting a coffee business in Doi Chang and Rayong.
• We ate at a very authentic Thai seafood restaurant on a pier in Rayong. I tried two kinds of fish and ate a crab cake. Not so bad.
• I preached at the Rayong Vineyard on Sunday morning. I spoke on Jesus and his revolutionary treatment of women. Susan led worship on the electric guitar! She's never played before. It was awesome. We got to pray for several people who attend the church. An 80-year-old man that Susan and Jenny prayed for had never been to a church his entire life. They prayed for his eyes and he said they felt warm and he didn't understand what he was feeling. But he said he would come back to church next Sunday.
• After church, everyone eats outside together. A woman made homemade pad thai and mangoes and sticky rice. OMG! Amazing!
• We led a short program for children at an art school in Rayong. We taught on being the body of Christ. All the kids had to draw a specific body part. Then we blindfolded them and they tried to put their part in the right place on a big body. It was hilarious. We also got to pray for the owner of the art school. She doesn't know Jesus, but is searching for meaning in her life.
• We ate dinner with Jeff and his family at an amazing place he called "the jungle restaurant." It was like the Rainforest Cafe on steroids.
• ...

I can't write anymore. So tired. Will do more tomorrow! Just wanted to give a quick update!

Nowhere to go...

This afternoon we went to Care Corner Orphanage outside of Chiang Mai. Susan and I were nervous about how we'd respond to meeting the 60 children living there. Would it be too much? Could our hearts handle it? They are incredibly adorable, ranging in age from 5 to 18. We played badminton, soccer, hopscotch and all sorts of hand-slapping and clapping games. It was an amazing experience.

I played Miss Susie had a Steamboat with a little girl who is now deaf because of HIV. I whooped it at badminton with a sweet little girl named lai-lai! Oh the kids. The sweet little kids (even the old ones are little).

Sometimes in the middle of our fun I would look around and realize these kids can't go home. It felt like we were at a camp that never ends. They wake up at 6 am for devotions, do chores, walk to school, come home, do chores/play, eat, play, go to chapel and then bed. Every day, with the exception of the weekend, is like that. Can you imagine what it would feel like to be at camp and to know that you can never go home? I started to feel that trapped feeling. Like, I want to go home, but I can't. I have no where to go. What would it be like to not be able to go home? Especially as a little kid? The world is so big and you're so little. It must be so overwhelming. There's no mom or dad to give hugs, kisses and "there's no place like home" kind of comfort. Really, put yourselves in their shoes for a minute.

I talked with our new friend Naret who is driving us all over the place here. He lived in an orphanage from age 6 to 18. I asked him if he felt lonely a lot. He said it came and went, but that every kid longs for a family. To fight those feelings, Naret said he tried to keep busy during the day "to fill up his time." That's so many years of filling up time.

While all this makes me feel overwhelmed and sad, I also strangely feel thankful. I'm thankful to serve a God who cares deeply for the orphans and widows. In societies that cast them out to the streets, God, creator of the universe, comes to the defense of the least and lost. “Do not take advantage of the widow or the fatherless. If you do and they cry out to me, I will certainly hear their cry. My anger will be aroused, and I will kill you with the sword; your wives will become widows and your children fatherless." - Ex. 22 Whoa. This is hard core. "For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes. He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the foreigner residing among you, giving them food and clothing." - Deut. 10

Seriously, how amazing is this? God's love is so great for the fatherless and motherless that He hears their every prayer, defends them, demands that they be provided for. They may not have their parents caring for them and loving them, but they do have the full attention and affection of the God who created the heavens and the earth.

Mmmmmm...Loving this.

Despair in Pattaya

Yesterday we were stopped at a red light and witnessed a woman crying inside of a clinic. The English words on the storefront said, “HIV Quick Test”. I knew we were witnessing something so personal, so raw and yet I couldn’t take my eyes off of her. You could tell she was trying to hold it together…. to gather herself. She ended up walking outside, and started sobbing again with the weight of her body too much to bear and leaning against the cement wall.

So many questions ran through my mind, “Did she just learn she had HIV?”, “Does she have children?”, “Does she have an avenue for medicine?”, “Will she tell her employer that she is infected?”, “What will she do for money now?” and finally “Who will tell her about the hope found in Jesus?”

So much to think about, assess, analyze in the good old American way.

What is the church’s responsibility? Where are the Christian counseling centers? Where are WE in this woman’s life?

This is all of my processing…..

All part of Thailand.

- Jenny

Ugly Beauty

Pattaya is one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. It is the perfect storm of a beautifully painted ocean, lush green vegetation and mountains. Pattaya is also one of the ugliest places I have ever seen. Girls selling their bodies, in bondage to poverty in a culture where women are “less than.” A place where many men are confused of their gender and men who travel great distances to fill the loneliness in their souls and the depravity of their flesh.

It’s such a paradox.

As Christians, we live in constant paradox. The tension between justice and injustice, flesh and spirit, the pain of now and hope for a perfect, eternal future.

So how do we deal with this tension? I believe that we need to fully trust that God is in control. We can seek His guidance for the direction of our lives and follow. Then, as we walk in obedience we know that we are functioning in the body as we are supposed to. We do not need to carry the weight of sin on us because that is what Christ did on the cross. In simple terms, we trust and obey. Whew. Easier said than done but it is truth. The rest is up to him.

- Jenny

Noisy

Sometimes when kids are loud, I talk even louder to try and get their attention. Really loud. Sometimes it works and sometimes it just makes things, well, louder! We spent Sunday afternoon running a short program for children at a local art school in Rayong. They were so adorable. I would pack them all up and bring them home if I could.

My responsibility, in addition to loving on all the kiddies, was to present the object lesson. But before I could get started, I had to get the attention of 12 littles running and screaming about. So, I increased my volume, which for those of you that know me know that my indoor voice tends to sound like a sporting event voice. The kids weren't responding, so I amped it up even more. I'm talking, talking, talking over the noisy ones and I look over at Susan and she's cringing. "It's so loud," she said. My voice was reverberating off the walls of a long, narrow tile room and smacking people in the head. I hadn't realized what I was doing until she pointed out the deafening decibel level. Whoops.

I started laughing. I couldn't help myself. I felt like this moment summed up many of my experiences over the last few days here in Thailand. I am loud in a country that is quiet. I am big in a country that is small. I feel like a giant here. A giant American. :) The Thai people we've been with are so gentle and kind and sweet and polite. And let's just say, I'm not so much those things.

I fill up every space I'm in. I seriously talk all the time. Loud. I laugh loud, too. I ask lots of questions. I can be kind of intense. I visited the front desk at our hotel in Rayong at least 10 times to ask about a variety of things throughout our 2-day stay. I felt like they would cringe every time they saw me coming. Many times I couldn't understand what they were saying to me and I'd have to lean in and ask (in my most polite (loud) midwestern accent), "What did you say?" Then when we were riding around Rayong with Jeff and his family, I'd find that I couldn't stop talking. I just blabber on all the time. If I wasn't talking or Jenny or Susan, it was silent.

I kind of feel like a square peg trying to fit into a round hole. I kind of feel obnoxious. I'm trying to figure out if one way is better - quiet and reserved or loud and unreserved. Maybe one way isn't better, just different. Although, I can often times pick out Americans in a crowd and usually I find myself cringing at what I see. I think I might be more like "those Americans" than I thought.

I will post more details of our past few days tomorrow. To sum it up - Thailand and the people here are absolutely incredible. No matter what it takes, I will make my peg fit here!

It's bedtime now.

Today was different!

I have to make an assumption to make this story impactful. Bear with me.

We woke up to another glorious day in Thailand. This is seriously one of the most beautiful places I have ever been. It's breathtaking. I really felt like today was going to be different. Worn out after hours of crazy-woman processing, I decided to give myself over to enjoying the moment. It's going to be better today.

Our new great Thai friend, Jeff, (Hi Jeff!!!) pastor of the Rayong Vineyard Church, picked us up for a meeting with Jessica Mock at the Tamar Center. Jeff coordinated our entire trip here. Amazing! I was all geared up for a good day when we were driving down the street and I saw her. There was this beautiful woman inside of an HIV Clinic and I noticed her standing at the counter crying. While we were waiting at the stoplight, she walked out noticeably disturbed, covering her mouth, crying, holding onto the wall. She looked like she was in shell shock. Insert assumption here -- I think she was just diagnosed with HIV. I know, it could be something else. But you should have seen here. It was so raw.

It just made me think. Wow, look at what happens here in the day time. At night it's all dancing and drinking and sex and fun. But during the day, whoa. Turn the lights on and it gets real, like HIV real, unwanted pregnancy real, STD real. My heart broke for this woman. I fell back into my dark place. This place is too much. Is this all there is to Thailand? Darkness, depression, pain. Ugh.

But then we visited with Jessica. Jessica coordinates the Pattaya House of Prayer, and she's "on a mission to see Pattaya transform from a city known for prostitution and brokenness to a city known for beauty, purity, healing, and for praising God." She partners with several churches and organizations in Pattaya. Her work and the Tamar Center's work is so amazing. Tamar trains women to be hair stylists, bakers, business owners and how to make jewelry, cards and journals. Their mission is all about unity and equipping/training and prayer and worship. Check out their website. I felt so hopeful after our meeting. We all did. We actually can have an impact here. There is a bright spot in Thailand. A big one!

After Tamar, we drove to Rayong with Jeff. It's another beautiful city on the beach. He spent the afternoon sharing with us about his life's journey and his heart for the Thai people. He wants to start a coffee business to help provide an income for the tribal people in northern Thailand. And he wants us to get involved. Yay!

We spent the evening with Jeff's family and friends at a seafood dinner! They are so great and so normal. They could be our neighbors. Just normal people loving Jesus, doing His work, making an impact in their community and country. It was so refreshing. There is so much more to Thailand. I guess it's like judging the U.S. after one visit to Las Vegas or LA. There's more. Much more!

Yeah, there are big-time problems. But I'm seeing and feeling big-time hope from the people here. And we're all feeling more and more like we want to be a part of the solution. Can't wait to see what's next for us.

Prayer requests

- Continued health and safety

- Quick adjustment to the time change/life in Pattaya for Marcia

- Lauren is preaching at Rayong Vineyard Sunday morning - pray for a great response/ministry time

- More clarity and direction about our purpose here

- The people of Thailand - for justice, hope, light, freedom, to know Jesus

Praise reports

- We've been praying for Jenny's back and it isn't hurting her! She's shocked. It usually causes a lot of discomfort!

- I had a picture come to mind while praying for a woman today and after I shared it, she said she's actually painting that picture at home right now! Goose bumps!

- None of us are sick and we're adjusting quickly to the time change!

Good night!

Here are some pictures from the Grand Palace. They are taking forever to upload. I'll try more later!!

Stuck in a Thailand Moment

I feel like I'm stuck in a Food Inc. moment. Have you seen that film? Horribly disturbing. It ruined one of my favorite past times -- eating! I used to be able to eat whatever I wanted whenever I wanted in any quantity or quality I wanted and not think twice about it. I know, gross. But ever since I saw that darn documentary, I think really hard about every single thing I put into my mouth. Eating has become a belabored, grueling, thought-provoking process. Who knew a Hostess Cupcake could ever cause such turmoil?

I feel like that about our trip to Thailand. I can't stop thinking. I can't stop processing. Every circumstance I encounter here causes me to pause, ponder, pray. I'll let you in on some of my obsessing...

• I hated our hotel room our first night in Bangkok. It wasn't nice. It made me want to go home. I even cried about it. What does that say about me? The very people we are coming here to reach out to would have killed for a room like ours. Then here I am acting like a baby. Oh, our carpet is stained. The shower curtain isn't clean. There's no window. Boohoo. I'm in frickin' Thailand for gosh sakes. Seriously, get over it. Ugh. I don't want to be this way. Why is comfort and let's be honest, luxury, so important to me? So much so that it can totally impact my outlook on the day. Our friend Jenny is here with us. She and her family moved to China more than a year ago with a missions organization and it's been a huge sacrifice for them. When she tells me about her life there, I actually pray and beg God to never make me do that. But I see SO much joy in her. Maybe what I think what will make me comfortable and happy and full actually doesn't. So, I'm processing this one. I'm a luxury junky. I love fancy things. But God doesn't seem to really care for fancy or for comfort, which leads me to my next obsession.

• How much fancy is OK? We arrived in Pattaya this afternoon to one of the most beautiful hotels I've stayed in. The hotel strip here is like South Beach on steroids. Our room has a large balcony overlooking the beach and the city. We immediately felt guilty. Aren't we supposed to be suffering for Jesus? That same question crossed my mind when I put on my bathing suit and sat on the beach for a few hours. God, is this valuable to you? Am I selfish? What is right? How much is OK? Does God want me to have fun? Does He want me to sit on the beach or spend all my time evangelizing on the street? Ugh. See. I'm a mess. I never would have thought sitting on the beach could be such a stinkin' deal!

• If that's not enough, then I go here in my mind -- how can anyone vacation in Thailand? How can anyone fly here to lay on the beach, stay in the hotels, eat in the restaurants when all around them is incredible brokenness and evil? But it's not just Thailand. It's everywhere. There are horrible things happening to men, women and children all over the world - from Chicago to New Orleans to Los Angeles to Tokyo to Beijing to Kabul to Munich to London to New York. How do I go anywhere and enjoy myself when "anywhere" is evil? I can't vacation. I need to do something to stop it, not indulge in it.

(Disclaimer: I'm in a dark processing place right now! I admit it. I know I sound crazy. I'm aware of it. Don't worry.)

• Loving people. Bleh. When we first arrived to Bangkok and I saw the old men with the young girls, I loathed them. I wanted to harm them. I couldn't shake it. Susan told me I had to work on my facial expression when the couples walked by -- I'm not good at hiding my gut-wrenching disgust! Shocking, I know! But I had this realization that my judgement isn't helping the situation. It's really just hurting me. I had to come to terms with the fact that God loves the victims and the perpetrators. He wants to have a relationship with everyone and that apart from him, we are all a big hot mess. So what does that look like? How do you love people like these men? I don't know. I'm still hating. But I don't want to stay there. Room to grow.

I'm overwhelmed, raw, unresolved. I feel close to God one moment and so distant the next. It's a battle here. But I'm still so glad we came. I'm not sure what He's up to with us, but I am trusting that it's great. Someone told us before we left that this trip would be like following the yellow brick road. We won't know where it's leading, but we just need to stay on it and keep trekking along. So, here we go...

Today's Highlights

• We met with a woman from Night Light. It was amazing. I will post some of the info she shared with us tomorrow. Susan took really good notes and I don't have them in front of me.
• We took a two-hour taxi to Pattaya, a beach town known for sex tourism.
• We sat on the beach, ate dinner and toured the red-light district. Today is a national Buddhist holiday, so all the go-go bars were closed. It was nice. There are SO many. I think it might have been too much. But tomorrow, after celebrating Buddha today, they'll be back at it. I'm not sure what to think of that!
• Tomorrow we meet with the Tamar Center, where Marcia is volunteering for the week, and we drive to Rayong.

Prayer Requests

• That I didn't just contract Malaria by sitting outside writing this blog. There are so many mosquitoes. Whoops :).
• Health and safety.
• Continued direction/purpose for our trip.
• Opportunities to pray/talk with people here.
• Healing for Jenny's back.
• That God would bring hope, freedom and light to the Thai people.

Good night!!

Bangkok Bites

After a whirlwind day, I don't feel like I can put together any sort of coherent thoughts, sentences, paragraphs. What day is it? What time is it? Seriously, where are we?

So here are some "bites" from our first 24 hours in Bangkok:

Bummer/Bonus

- The flights, oh my gosh, the flights. So long! We slept off and on for the 13-hour trek to Tokyo. I couldn't see the movie screen, so I read an entire book, snacked, exercised (walking lunges in the aisle) and rested. We did have an extra seat between us, which made the trip so much nicer. The 7-hour jaunt from Tokyo to Bangkok pretty much stunk. We were packed in the middle of the plane and had to shoehorn our way out of the seats to do our lunges and take frequent bathroom breaks. I fell asleep with my dinner in front of me and Susan got a slight case of whiplash after nodding off several times. Bonus - movie screen in the back of every seat. Bummer - I'd seen most of the movies!

Bummer

- We checked into our hotel, The Landmark, late last night. The website portrays it as a five-star establishment. Um, yeah, no. Our room didn't have any windows - just one long floral curtain covering a black mirrored wall, the kind Jack Bauer questioned terrorists behind so the rest of CTU could secretly watch. The room felt like grandma's basement. It was bad. The faucet fell off in the moldy shower and there were really nasty stains all over the carpet. We're hotel snobs. We admit it. (I'll blog more about my thoughts on this later. :))

Bonus

-Because we were forced to sleep in the dingy basement (it was really on the 15th floor), the hotel gave us a free breakfast. The breakfast was amazing. There was a huge spread of fruit, juices, eggs, breads and Thai food. I ate and skyped with Michael.

Bummer

-Susan slept through breakfast and I didn't get a plate of food for her. Bad friend.

Bigger bummer

-I saw an older white man at breakfast with a very young girl. She was probably 12 or 13. So little. He was holding her hand and leading her around. It was the first time I'd seen that here. Everyone warned me that it's inevitable. It just shocked me. It's so in your face. So blatant. I can't get the picture out of my mind.

Bonus

-We successfully navigated our way across town to the Grand Palace and Emerald Buddha Temple using the sky train, taxi and a rickshaw. The palace was beautiful. We had to take our shoes off to walk around in the temple.

Bummer

-On our first day here, we just couldn't stomach the street vendor food. Stray dogs laying under grills filled with pork balls, chicken feet

and whole crabs curbed our appetites. So, we ate at Outback. That's right. Outback Steakhouse in Bangkok. Lame. Susan ordered a burger and it was seriously the most disgusting piece of meat I've ever tasted. I think it might have been made from one of the many stray dogs out back. She couldn't eat it.

Bonus

-Before dinner, we dipped our feet in the rooftop infinity pool and laid around on comfy chaise lounge chairs. Ahhhhh...

Bonus

-We split an amazing dinner of Masaman curry. Yum. I will say that it tasted almost identical to the same dish at XO Cuisine.

Bummer

-Everywhere we turn there are older men with young girls. I get so angry then so sad then so angry then so cynical and then so numb. How can this be happening? I read today that it's becoming more common for brothels to sell 5- and 6-year-old girls to men who only want virgins. The men will use them for a week and then return them. Their pimps then sew them up and sell the babies off again. It's too much. I feel overwhelmed. Susan does too.

Biggest bummer

-The red light district. We prayed about it and decided to take a train there tonight and walk through Patpong. Again, too much. Hundreds of girls in their underwear dancing on stage, each wearing a number. Their pimps and "aunties" stand outside holding menus with all the girls' pictures. Meanwhile, tourists -- couples, families, young and old -- shop in the market right out front and have drinks at the less raunchy establishments. Don't they know what's happening just a few feet from them? We're still processing this and aren't sure what else to say about it at this point.

Biggest bonus

-We are praying constantly and feeling God's presence and leading. We are trusting that while we are not big enough to eradicate this evil, He certainly is. We are trusting that He will use us as a light in this very, very dark place. We are trusting that there is a great purpose to our trip. We're just waiting to figure that out!! We know that God is passionate about this injustice and wants to reveal his love to the victims and the perpetrators. We're praying we get to be a part of that while we're here.

Bonus

-Jenny Kuritar has joined us from China. We are so glad to have her here and to see a familiar face!

Bummer

-I realized tonight that I forgot my camera cable and can't download pictures from today. Thankfully, Jenny brought hers, so we'll be up and running tomorrow!

Prayer requests

-Health and safety

-Divine appointments to pray/talk with people

-Building a strong relationship with Night Light and Tamar Center over the next few days.

-That Marcia Vela would arrive here safely this weekend.

-Protection for our hearts. It's so easy to get angry and judgmental.

-These poor women trapped in the sex trade

-Anything else that comes to mind!!

It's time for bed here. More tomorrow...

Lauren

Seven Hours

"What should we do? Where should we go?"

How long has it been since I've had the freedom to ask myself, or better yet, one of my girlfriends those questions? It's 6 a.m. The terminal at O'Hare is slowly coming to life. The gates are lifting at the newsstand, the coffee shop, the duty free, the popcorn store.

"What do you want to do?" Susan asked.

"What do you mean? What does that even mean?" I thought to myself.

We have seven hours until our flight to Tokyo departs. Seven hours. Seven hours all to ourselves. I used to hate layovers. Not today. This is a seven-hour gift from God.

I realize in the quiet of this waiting (it is quiet in the Red Carpet Club!), how very loud and full my life is. Right now, there's no where I have to be, no one I have to take care of, no one asking me for this or that. Without those cares and concerns, there's so much room. Room to be aware, room to be present, room to see what God is doing and saying.

This is special. Seven hours, and then 10 days, of extra room. It's like God is emptying us so He can use us exactly how He wants to in Thailand. No distractions. No concerns. No dependents! Just, "What should we do? Where should we go? What do you want us to do?"

There is Hope

Last year I was at a conference in Chengdu with a friend. We were staying at a 2-star Chinese hotel, which was in a less than desirable part of town and the "paraphernalia" available in the hotel room raised some concern about what kind of business hotel it really was. On our third night, we were awakened in the dead of night to some activity going on next door that first made us giggle in nervousness and then shame overwhelmed us when we realized what was going on. Then prayer followed.

The next morning as I left our room, the "couple" next door also exited their room. As we entered the elevator together, I looked at the young girl in the eyes and her gaze held such shame, guilt and horror that my eyes welled up with tears. She looked barely 20 and the guy was much older and wouldn't even look at her. I wanted to cry out to her, "There is hope...He will wash away every tear, all shame because He loves you." Of course, language made this impossible but I hope by my smile and compassion in my eyes she felt God's presence somehow.

My friend and I prayed for her and I've often thought of the look in her eyes when she knew that I knew what occupation she held. I want to see freedom and hope in her eyes and not condemnation. I pray we will see women lifted from the same look as the veil is lifted and they feel the love of Christ wash over them.

I am so excited for next week and all that He will accomplish.

- Jenny

Our Journey Begins...

What started as an outlandish idea at a fundraiser for the SOLD Project -- "Hey, let's get a group together to travel to Thailand and figure out what we can do to stop child prostitution and human trafficking" -- has now become a reality. It's so real, in fact, that we have the battle wounds (immunization shots and ensuing sore arm muscles) to prove it. Sitting in pre-Typhoid protection mode yesterday at the health department, my friend Susan and I looked at each other with fear and trepidation. This is actually happening. We are hopping the pond hoping, praying and dreaming that what our high school teachers and college professors preached is actually true -- "All it takes is one person to change the world."

Susan, Jenny, Marcia and I will update this blog with stories, pictures and reflections while on our trip. This will be a way for all of you to come along on our journey. Let the world-changing adventure begin...

Here's our itinerary:

Day1- Wednesday 16
- Stay overnight in BKK
Day2 - Thursday 17
- BKK sightseeing/Tamar Center
DAY3 - Friday 18
- Meet with Sukit (BKK Vineyard) in the morning
- Take a taxi to Pattaya
- Stay overnight in Pattaya (Pattaya night life)
DAY4- Saturday 19
- Meet with Jeff and Jessica Mock in the morning
- Visit Tamar center in the afternoon
- Drive to Rayong with Jeff
- Stay overnight in Rayong
DAY5 - Sunday 20
- Lauren speak at Rayong Vineyard Sunday service
- Stay overnight in Rayong
DAY6 - Monday 21
- Take a taxi to BKK Suvanabhumi airport
- Fly to Chiang Mai
- Dinner with Naret
- Stay overnight in Chiang Mai
DAY7 - Tuesday 22
- Meet with Norbert (Chiang Mai Vineyard)
- Sightseeing in Chiang Mai in the afternoon
- Chiang Mai at Night
- Stay overnight in Chiang Mai
DAY8 - Wednesday 23
- Visit Doi Chang (tribal coffee plantation) with Naret
- Stay overnight in Chiang Mai
DAY9 - Thursday 24
- Fly back to Bangkok
- Meet with Night Light
- Stay overnight in BKK (Bangkok night life)
DAY10 - Friday 25
- Debrief/Departure