Last week in Thailand

Day 19 – today is one of the most slack days. After devotion there was lunch at a Vietnamese restaurant. Had to use leaves to wrap the food up before eating. Disgusting since we had to eat leaves. After that we went to a Kodak shop to develop some pictures. Headed to fairy plaza after that cause I wanted to get some presents for my contacts. Found only 1 in the end. Back to hotel where I watched “The Return of the King”. Out for dinner at the same restaurant we went the previous night. Then we walked all the way to fairy plaza and I got a strawberry Sunday. Got a lift back to the hotel where we slacked again. Was playing PES 6. Time to go to bed. Nights.

Day 20 – today five members went to Riverlife church. They said it was a charismatic church and they sang songs like one way and my redeemer lives. Too bad I did not go down today. I stayed in the hotel and decided to look for new pictures cause I want to send postcards to some friends. This evening P’mini came down to the hotel to share with the Singapore team. Then here’s the irritating part. I got to give a love gift but I find that I have too little funds now. Think I wasn’t told about this. If not I would have prepared earlier. Irritating. It’s like giving $2. Pathetic right? But that’s all I can give now. Intend to give support when I’m back. But if I knew I would be going Bangkok I would have been better prepared. Enough complaining. Time to decide what to do.

Day 21 – devotion reminder me of the highs and lows of this mission trip. Not everyone had contacts contacting them. We stopped at one of the entrance to take a picture of the entrance. Then to the complex. Had a few people came to look for us but some of our contacts did not turn up and we had prepared a few things for them. Hopefully they come tomorrow to send us off. Had a few problems trying to settle the love gift for the staff. After that we had a buffet dinner at 109 baht. Less than $5. eat full full. But I went to the toilet in the middle. Though was some dirty food. Enjoyed our last supper at KK. Going to Bangkok tomorrow morning. Got to take a picture with Faith. Narak! Back to hotel to pack up. Time to rest. Good night.

Day 22 - had to leave the hotel at about 11 am. Was hoping that Ying and Um would be there since I had something to pass to them. Fortunately Um came so I could pass to him. Glad that I met him during the mission trip. He’s one of the nicest guy around. So the time came where we had to depart from Khon Kean. Oh. When they were issuing the tickets we realized that they did not give me the air ticket. And they said I was not on the list. Shocker. Can stay in Khon Kean longer. Lolx. Got the ticket eventually. Later I received a few gifts from the staff and took some pictures. Kinda sad thou. So we flew to Bangkok and made our way to the CCC guest house. Looks well furnished. We are staying at the 4th floor and 10 guys in a room with 6 beds and 1 bathroom. Lucky we are spending one night here. We walked around the place and there’s 2 universities around us. A lot of students walking around. We had sharing that ended quite late and had dinner at 9pm. Resting well now.

Day 23 – woke up early to bath at about 7.30am. 10 guys with 1 toilet is not a good thing. Anyway devotion was at 9 so still had time. It is the last devotion in Thailand and I’m reminded of the first love we can have with God. After that was the second part of sharing. At about 1pm we headed down to MBK. Smart me and 3 other guys had to go all the way to Patunam to find jerseys. The shops were closed and we went to platinum but left there since we not nothing to get. So all the way back to MBK. I got some gifts there before going for dinner. Dinner was at the night market. I did not buy many things there sadly. Not much time there. Realized that Shaun and Ian had gone back all the way to MBK to get some gifts for their supporters. In the end we all went back to the guest house and met each other along the way. Around 11pm we started our team evaluation. There were a lot of talk about but I don’t have the summary. End at about 2am. Shagged. I did not sleep so early so I went to get a drink. Ended up talking with Shaun for awhile. Can tell why people like him. Nice and funny guy. Wanted to type the journal but since all slept. Had no choice but to join them. Lolx.

Day 24 – the last day. Actually nothing much. Mostly traveling. From the guest house to the airport. Yokie, Joe and Um sent us off. Yokie is coming to Singapore in Dec. Can suan her again. Think she super irritated with me. So off we went to take the lousy Jetstar all the way back to Singapore. Had lunch with Shaun’s parents and think that they can be brought to church as well since my father clicks with his father. Slowly. Patience is a virtue. Have not slept since we landed. Going to sleep till tomorrow afternoon. Good night.

Thailand Week 3

Day 12 – woke up at 6 am today to prepare for the games day. Reached KKU at 7.45 am. We set up everything and waited for our contacts to arrive. Unfortunately only 5 arrived. Thou the number was small the there was quality time spent. I was the game master for dodgeball. Played ultimate Frisbee as well. At the end we had a game SG vs THA. We lost 2-6 in the end. Had fellowship (Chicken rice from humans’ canteen) and sang the song we practiced for the previous day. I also recorded the testimony by Wilfred. Cleared the place and returned to hotel. Washed up and practiced for the skit for Friday. It was better than the previous practice – have to be right. Slept for an hour and had dinner. Our devotion time was changed into testimony as the Thai staff and volunteers dropped by. Tomorrow the team will be going to 2 services – mas selakat and KK. We got testimony as well as worship practice for the service at KK. Might be playing soccer again after service and dinner prepared by P’mint. Watching Spain vs Sweden. Hope Sweden wins. Nights.

Day 13 – got to wake up late today. Devotion at 10 am. Had another retreat today. So today went down to church earlier for band practice. Ironic that I have worship practice even in Thailand. After service played football at the new bible college. And the new meeting room is my room. That’s all for a boring day. Next week’s team meeting will be held in my room.

Day 14 – Monday. Third week. Morning breakfast at my room. Feels weird that I get to sit on the bed now. Lolx. And we broke a glass bottle just before we left. We did not have many appointments so we prayed that our contacts to contact us. God answered our prayers and currently at the team meeting it seems that the team is stretched. I’m using the laptop at the meeting coz it’s in my room. Now we are filled on Tuesday and Wednesday afternoon. 3 girls came to us and asked about chinese lessons. They came and asked “Ni Ke Yi Jiao Han Yu?”. Lunch appointment and then have chinese lessons in the afternoon. Meeting Lion on Wednesday afternoon. Hope to meet Ying and Um and friends on Wednesday evening. We met la’belle for lunch at Golden Grill and spent 100 baht. Burst budget le. And we went to the dormitory. Very big and got toilet loh. It’s cosy. Immediately after that we headed to Tukcom and had ice-cream at Swensens. Had dinner near CCC office and then back to hotel to wash up and team meeting. Juliana dropped by to say hi and gave us donuts. Now we are discussing plans for tomorrow. We can do street E cause we don’t have much time left. Should be watching football and resting early tonight.

Day 15 – started off normally. At school I joined Shuan in teaching a couple of girls english but I had to leave half way to join my buddy. So 2 of us were with 5 of them having lunch and we had the chance to share with them the 4SL. They were open to it and they raised 2 issues – why they wanted to do good and treating all religions equal. Next I went to a chinese class in time to play the guitar for the song “friend”. Managed to talk with some of them but tough cause she cant understand English. After that went back to the complex. I was praying for opened hearts and now at the team meeting it turned out that about the same time many really opened up and we were able to share the gospel with them. Had a short chat with Ai Ping on the way back to the hotel. A few more days left to do His work here. Time is short yet the harvest is plentiful. Praying for strength.

Day 16 – felt weird during the devotion so decided to ‘retreat’ awhile. In the end God told me one word to summarize everything he told me – Patience. The past two days everyone has been sharing the 4SLs around until I felt it was quite competitive. I told my buddy Wayne and Shaun about it and they felt similar about it too. So I passed a note to the ATL about this. After that we had lunch with Lion and thank God that he asked about the song “Silent Night”. So we tried to explained to him. He later asked about holy communion and eventually how to receive Christ. We shared the 4SL with him and he PRCed amazing how God sends people to us. What happened next was I had diahorea and Ai Ping had vomited as well. Could be spiritual warfare as well. Rested after that and had a english lesson as well. Nothing much after that as well.

Day 17 – I did devotion today and I think I made everyone confused. As expected. Oh and I said “The Vine” and it sounded like “Divine” unexpectedly. Also shared about patience to the rest of the team. At school, no one was around as many of the freshies were at the “Why Kun”. Not really sure how to spell it. But thank God we met a contact and he asked us to join in the ceremony. It’s a ceremony that all the freshies have to do. It’s like seeking the forgiveness of their teachers. We 5 of us sat in the ceremony and I nearly fell asleep. Partly cause I did not have enough rest the previous night and that we were too far behind to notice anything. Went back to the complex and rested then headed to CCC office – the venue for tomorrow’s party. Went back hotel and prayed about the venue as well as for the people coming. Currently it stands at 43 people excluding staff and the team. Praise God for these people. Just finished practicing the mime and fashion walk. After this is the powerpoint presentation. Good night for now.

Day 18 – today is the Singapore party. My buddy and I did not go down to the school cause we had to prepare for the party tonight. We went down to the church and had lunch at the stall beside CCC. The food was nice but not filling as usual. After that I continued on the powerpoint and the sound system. Praise God as we expected 70 people but only 43 confirmed they were coming. In the end there were 82 students. He gave us more than we expected. I was involved in the mime fashion walk and sing-a-long song. After the event took some group shots with Ying and Um and friends. And we went for supper at some street stall. It sold porridge and it was great. Lolx. I just tried crickets. Crunchy and tastes like seaweed. And I was online cause I was using some unsecured network at the church.

Thailand week 2

Day 8 – nothing much happened during the day. But we met up some people that we did not get contacts from previously. Glad that they remembered us. Once again we went back to the shop and got some more contacts that we had missed out. While on the way back to complex we heard some shouting and so we went to check it out. Found out it was jon and chang yao teaching a class chinese lesson. Ironic thing is that my buddy and I who prepared the materials have not started teaching anyone yet. Got a video clip of them singing a chinese song. Back at the complex, we spoke to another group of contacts and they seemed willing to contact us again. Thank God coz the day started quite slowly for us. We taught P’daw to play Uno and the word search. And we got a chartered song tiao back to the hotel. He agreed to come pick us up tomorrow as well sparing us the time walking to the bus stop. During team meeting we had 2 points to share about – summary and memorable issues. Nothing much to write for now. Till tomorrow.

Day 9 – worship and devotion then our “chartered Song Tiao” fetched us to the school. We dropped at the student union area where our games day will be held. The open field is not as big as expected but we pray that it will be enough for God’s work to be done. We were waiting for our contacts to reply but no one did. So we decided to buy lunch and just as we were about to order food. One of our contacts called to meet us for lunch. It’s the one who brought my ministry buddy to the lake on sat. Thankful that he wanted to meet us again despite he knowing we are Christians. Turned out they will be free on Friday and they want to have ice-cream with us. Another thing while we were having lunch. Another contact called to arrange an appointment for chinese lessons tomorrow morning. Really thank God for these appointments. Also, we got 4 people confirmed going for dinner at the american’s place tomorrow night. An empty afternoon turned out completely unexpected. We left earlier via our chartered song tiao coz of the team meeting as some staff would be joining us. Just finished the team meeting. P’mint and P’daw shared their testimony and I feel encouraged by them. Makes me think if teaching is where I should be. Thank God for this day.

Day 10 – found out the replay for the football game is at 7am. Today we were preparing for our first eng lesson. Unexpectedly we shared our 4SL with them too. The class ended early and we had the time to play Uno. Had this girl who came up to me to say hi and I had no idea who she was. Met up some friends at 7-11 before heading to Christ and Misty’s home. I was quite surprised with the number of people who turned out – more than what we expected. Thank God for that. Got to know some international students as well. We sang “because he lives” during the dinner. Thank God for answering our prayers.

Day 11 – it was a day to look forward to. Outing with contacts outside school. Met them at 11 am did nothing till 12 for lunch and nothing till 1. In the end we went for ktv. But it’s all Thai songs. Took some pictures of how the place looks like. Also had an experience of riding a bike in Thailand. Interesting feeling. Quite scary as well. Prepared for the games tomorrow as well. I’m the game master for dodge ball. Pray that I can explain the rules to them as well. And I got to use the contact lens as well. Argh! We practiced the song as well. Can ask me for the video clip if you are interested.

Thailand week 1

Ok. First thing I did was to send off the youth at harbourfront for the church camp. Had mixed feelings thou. Sad that I’ll be missing the fun over at Harris resort. Glad that I’m heading to KK. So after sending them off I went home to continue my preparation for the mission trip.

The day came when we were going to fly off. My dad went to Changi to send me off. I got a lift from a friend’s parent. Dad managed to click with my friend’s dad. We were happily taking picture until we nearly missed the flight. Thankfully we did not. We got on jetstar and it was crapped up. That’s okie. What’s worst is the service. I thought the food was free. And I ended up paying $3.00 for a pack of orange juice. Irritating. Then we tok cab to Don Muang airport for a domestic flight by Thai airways. You can see the difference in standard. Bugger. The thai staff meant us. And Praise was there. So cute!! They brought us to the hotel and dinner at the nigh market which I don’t remember the name now.

Day 2 started with breakfast. In our rooms. Got no buffet lah. Think some high class hotel meh. Our first visit to KKU. Started off at the Complex and had a prayer walk through the campus. After lunch we met up with some students. They are friendly. And thankfully my groupmate and I were the only ones who met Christian students. Swee!! Looking forward to the School of Management Science aka Business. Had dinner at the old market in the campus itself. The “song tiow” fun to ride in especially the edge. Talk abt life on the edge. Manage to return safely from KKU. Thank God for clearing all my papers too. Oh and I can use wireless in the hotel room. Hehe. Going to bed now after finishing the jam biscuits.

Day 3 – was looking forward to it. Wanted to go to the management science area to meet the contacts. Instead Note called the 2 of us for dinner. To our surprise. Note brought us to meet a group of 9 students. I had a hard time trying to speak thai. But I told them that I’ll speak to them in thai by the time I left KKU. Personal challenge. After that we walk to the drink stall but could not find the group of people we were looking for. Instead, we talked to the group of people tending to the stall. What I did was to order in thai and my buddy would tell them I’m learning thai and asked them to teach me something in thai. We found it effective as those at the drink stall asked some others who could speak eng. Before long my buddy and I were at a table with 5 new friends. They could speak eng and chi! W parted as they had class to go to. Hopefully they will contact us soon. Next we tried that on 2 guys our other friends were talking to end we ended up chatting quite well. Dinner that evening was great. There were like 6-7 students eating with us. Even on the song tiao back we continued to speak to some new guy. Currently quite sleepy so I’ll end off here. Continue on day 4.

Day 4 – was quite tired. Both my ministry buddy and I were slugging ourselves along. A group of students we met were from humans and all are English majors. And all teachers to be. Exciting part was that one guy had recently been to Singapore. Had a lot to talk to him about. After that we went to the stall again. This time was another group of students tending to the stall. I got a photo but I did not think the conversation went well. We only managed to get an email. Highlight of the day was dinner at T-bone. Refer to pictures. Now I’m just falling asleep. Time to play “bang”. Good nite.

Day 5 – ok. Had devotion of john 4 about sowing and reaping. Think the group of people we have met have been sowed. Our job could be to reap the harvest. In the afternoon we went back to KKU to meet some contacts. I had to return to the hotel to prepare for the mime. While my buddy got to go to the lake nearby. Sad. But I think we get to go tomorrow morning. We went back to Big C to top up our food supplies. Found some ‘food’ kakis. “wil-flirt” and “Chon”. Chon was the unsuspected food kaki finally revealing himself today. Got to go prac for worship tomorrow. Till then.

Day 6 – went to the lake for devotion. Firstly good job to Candice for the worship. Hope it was a good experience for you. Practiced frisbee and scratched myself. Pain. Lunch then finally sent cloths for washing. Thou I don’t think I had to wash it. Lolx. Went for service at Shalom Church at the new CCC office opposite Kean Inn Hotel. Refer to picture yeah. Then dinner then team meeting. Had a lot to pray about. Like health and focus. Oh and I can watch the euro games here. Hehe. Now Austria vs croatia.

Day 7 – we were to meet a new contact by the name of lion. He called us and talked for awhile. Surprised. Met him for lunch and found out that he had called the wrong number. Divine intervention. He agreed to join us for dinner at a friend’s place on Thursday evening. Just after that we met 3 guys from campus outreach. Next was 2 hours of rest. Coz we went to meet Um and Ying and 2 new friends. Drink oreo milk shake. Simon don’t u wish u were here? Um and his friends had recently been to SG. It was about dinner time so we went to the market to eat and we intro them to the rest of the team. Also there were people from campus outreach from US. Nothing else interesting about today. Time to rest. Called my parents and the guys just to say hi. Called maple to say happy birthday. Ended the day with cup noodles and watching the france vs Romania game