A slow start...

Hello friends & followers! The last few days have been relaxing, which has been nice. Friday night, I made my first trip into the Bangkok nightlife. Bonita, Jit, and I ventured to Soi Cowboy. It was a difficult experience, although I'm glad I got to see it firsthand. I won't go into detail, but I will say that it is really horrible how these women are exploited. The Lord was definitely with me through the entire experience, and I could feel His calming presence in my life during those moments.

Saturday, we spent the afternoon and evening at Roy and Bonita's apartment. It was a beautiful place, and they took us out for Mexican food. Who knew that you could find delicious tacos in Thailand? I had my doubts, but the place ended up being fantastic! We spent the evening sharing about our experiences thus far, and talking about global missions, and the concept of God writing eternity on the hearts of men. We finished off the evening with mangoes and sticky rice (our new favorite dessert!) and headed back to Beginnings for a night of rest.

Sunday, we had the day to ourselves. Most of the girls went home to visit their families, since Monday-Wednesday were days off of school/work for a Buddhist holiday. Roy and Bonita were so gracious to allow us over to use their swimming pool. Sad day that my bathing suit is still sitting on my bed at my Ferncliff Drive residence in Lynchburg :/ I ended up having some beautiful time to myself to spend with the Lord, and to journal as well. The Lord has really taught me to just be still and know that He is God during this trip. It seems like in America, we always go, go, go, and yes, I spend time with the Lord but it is very scheduled. On this trip, there have been many moments of downtime. I am really learning to treasure these quiet moments and am really learning to let the Lord speak to me. It's been beautiful.

We also were able to go to an extremely nice spa on Sunday and get massages. Bonita encouraged us to have some time just to pamper ourselves, because the work we are doing is draining in a lot of ways, and we need to have time for ourselves. I must say, Thai massages are INCREDIBLE. The one I got was a 4 hand foot massage...but in Thailand, when you get a foot massage, you also get your head, neck and shoulders too. It was a wonderful hour, and extremely relaxing. We finished out the evening at the night bazaar, and I picked up a few more souvenirs.

Yesterday, again, was slow. Our morning and afternoon were uneventful. Our evening, Courtney and I went to Hillary Bar II, which is down the street from our current residence. It is a pool bar, and we've gone on 2 previous occasions in the afternoon to just hang out with some of the girls, and build relationships with them. The girls have really seemed to enjoy our company, and last night brought a handful of more great opportunities, and we are excited to see where the Lord takes those. I cannot believe we have almost finished 2 weeks here. I love it here, and I am loving what the Lord is doing in my life! Sawatdee ka (that's goodbye in Thai)!