Frisbee Evangelism & Thai Cooking

At the end of February we got the opportunity to move out of our hotel and into a church for 2.5 weeks. During these 2.5 weeks before going to debrief we would have lots of opportunities. Some which include university evangelism, frisbee at the universities, house visits with A-mane families, and so much more.

First, Let’s talk about Chinatown. Before leaving the hotel we were able to visit Chinatown outside Bangkok. It was a great opportunity to see more of the culture of Thailand as well as grow closer as a team. During this time, we had a postponed galentines dinner. We went to a fancy restaurant called “Red Rose” located within Chinatown. It was lots of fun to have a nice sit down meal with our team and really talk. Getting to see Chinatown and the different atmosphere it was there than the city was good.

Now we are onto the church. We moved into the church with all of our stuff at the end of February. Our whole team moved into one room. (This is different from the hotel, 2 rooms 3 people in each) It was an adjustment getting used to having tbag many people in a small room but I feel like we communicate well and are able to adjust to things as needed. Being in this room with our whole team together has brought us closer. We have been able to encourage each other and push each other to new heights. We started a prayer wall and a gratitude wall within our room. So we can write out prayer and things we are thankful for and then we will lift them up to God individually and in a group. We also added an art wall which brings some more color and character to our walls. It has been nice making this space our own and adding our own touch to the space we have.

Onto the church and their ministry. The main ministry that the church organization we are partnering with focuses on is reaching university students. So we go to nearby universities and evangelize to students on campus through translation and the Thai staff that are there with us. The way that this typically goes is we get broken into groups depending on the number of staff that come with that day and then we walk around and find students to talk to. At first, this was really challenging for me and uncomfortable because I have never shared the gospel with strangers. (A little bit but never start to finish/ the whole gospel on my own) I definitely had to bring it to the Lord and ask him to help me in these moments. I didn’t think that I was improving or that it would make a difference but I am starting to get more comfortable with sharing the gospel on my own. Still need to practice and work on it but improving is great. Getting to share the gospel with Thai students has been amazing and seeing some of them light up from hearing what we have to say has been great. Seeds are being planted.

Along with evangelism we also do frisbee clinic at the universities. So while we evangelize we invite students to come play frisbee we the organization on campus. We get together at the field at 5pm to play ultimate frisbee. It starts out by teaching the students the basics like throwing, catching and some drills. Then after awhile we break off into teams and start playing a game of ultimate frisbee. If your like me, you might be asking how this leads to Christ? Which is exactly what I wondered when I heard this. Here is how, at the end of the game time we get into a circle for what is called “spirit time” which is when each team says something about what the other team did well and how they played. Then we do three cheers for the teams. After the spirit time we get into “huddles” which are just smaller circles and ask the players what they did well, how they could get better, if they liked frisbee, and hopefully share the gospel with the students. Frisbee is a lot of fun and getting to know the students.

Lastly, this past weekend we got the opportunity to do lunch and dinner at two different students from A-Mane’s houses. This was an exciting and wonderful time. For both houses we went to, we got there and talked for a bit. Then we played a game or two with the family. And then ate. At the first house we went to we got the opportunity to help prepare the meal. We got to chop up the vegetables and fruit, put the milk and curry paste in the pot, stir the ingredients, and so much more. Both of these house visits were a lot of fun and a great way to end our time with A-Mane. We even ended up going to play badminton the next day with the family from our second house visit. It was a great time for connection and gave us the ability to love on them and show them the love of Christ through us even more.

Now we are wrapping up our time here at the church and heading to debrief. (Actually by the time this is posted I’ll probably be on the bus to debrief or at debrief) Although our time here at the church has been brief it has been so fruitful. The staff here are so loving and kind and I will forever be grateful for the time I got to spend here. Can’t wait to see what teaching week and debrief entails and then also Malaysia after that. Can’t wait for the next adventure!