Bangkok Temple Tour

Yesterday was a great day for seeing some of the temples of Bangkok. It was also an excellent day to experience the many forms of public transport that Bangkok has to offer. Overall we used 6 methods of transport to get around from temple to temple: Walking, bus, sky train, river express boat, canal boat and my personal favourite Tuk-Tuk.

 

 

But the transport was just a side note. The temples were our main focus of today. Thailand is a Buddhist country, with about 94% of Thai people saying that they are Buddhist. The religion has shaped much of Thailand's culture, which can also be seen in the countries literature, sculpture and architecture. We saw plenty of sculpture and architecture on our travels. 

Learning about the culture has been interesting. Tip of the day- don't run don't accidently touch a Monk if you are a female. They have to go through two weeks of cleansing if you do. Another small tip- don't show the soles of your feet to someone - it's the same as us flipping someone the bird.

Have you ever...

- eaten a grasshopper

- got grasshopper leg stuck in your teeth

- been stared at by the face of an eyeless pig

- nearly stepped on a cat in the middle of a market

- eaten unidentifiable delicious fruit

- had a train seat dropped on your barefoot

- flushed an eel down the toilet

- lost your MP3 player on a train somewhere between Butterworth, Malaysia and Bangkok, Thailand

-been given an MP3 player to replace the one you lost (thanks James)

- seen railway tracks flash beneath you while using a squatty potty

- had a group lesson on the correct way to use a squatty potty

- drunk amazing tasting Iced Thai tea

- eaten amazing Thai food for less than $2 (you can’t get that at Jasmine Thai)

- had fried caterpillar for dessert

These are just some of the things that I have experienced so far, on what is the start of the Thailand leg of outreach. Totally pumped to for more adventures.

Thank You Penang

Well, our time in in Penang is drawing to a close. We leave here tomorrow and return to Bangkok on the 24 hour train. We will spend New Years in Bangkok, and then bus up to Northern Thailand to Elisha Children's Home, where we will be serving for a month.

It's hard to believe that three weeks of outreach has passed so quickly. In that time we have all seen God do so much either for us or through us for other people. A highlight for me was when a small group of us visited a local hospital here in Penang. We me the chaplain of the hospital and told her that we would like to pray for people. She was really nice and put together a list of patients who would like to be prayed for. My friend and I prayed for an Indian man and his wife. While I was praying, I could really feel the presence of the Holy Spirit in the room. I had goosebumps as I held her hand and prayed for her health and the needs of her family. As I came out of the room, I was like, what on earth just happened. I have never prayed with so much confidence before. I was pumped because I knew that it wasn't me but God through me and He was there with us to show us amazing things. And something amazing is what we saw.

What I am about to share with you may sound totally nuts and I have no idea what your thoughts are or how you feel about what I'm about to say .. but I would like to share my experience of  seeing someone being healed through the power of prayer and the Holy Spirit. I have always heard stories of people being healed through prayer, but it always seemed to be a far off unbelievable thing. Growing up, it was never really something that was talked about at church, or if it was I never heard anything. Healings always happened through medicine, and yes, I believe that God uses medicine and doctors, but healing without 'the middle man' ie doctors, has always intrigued me.

So at the hospital after I prayed for the Indian lady, Chloe and I came out of her room to find the other half of our group talking to another lady. She was telling them that she had had a fall and couldn't lift her arm up very high because she had torn ligaments and it was very painful. One of our team had offered to pray for her, and even though she was a Hindu lady she accepted. We layed hands on her and waited. After one of the team prayed for her, she said it felt warm. So we prayed again. This time she said that if the pain had been a 10 it had now reduced to a 6. The four of us looked at each other and were like, well lets pray again. This time after we finished praying she lifted her arm from her lap and raised it to shoulder level. She told us that it didn't hurt any more and it felt so much better. We stood looking at each other just going WHOA. We were so pumped that God had done that through us and it spurred us on for the rest of the day. Each time we prayed, I felt goosebumps, and just had this sense that the Holy Spirit was there working. God was listening and answering our prayers right in front of our eyes.

So many amazing things are happening here, and it makes me totally excited to see what else God has in store as we continue our journey. I shared in our team time the other day that I want to see God do the big stuff and I want to be apart of that with Him. So scary or not I'm stepping up in a big way and letting God do His thing through me. It's not easy, and I'm not always willing, God doesn't mind. I know that He is there supporting me and loving what I am doing to further His kingdom. I am His child, and with me He is well pleased.

Ah-Mazing

Wow!! I cannot believe that a week of outreach has past already and what a busy week it has been. It took us a about 3 days to get here, to Penang, Malaysia. The train ride was epic but fun. The most fun.. first squatty potty experience on a rocking train..haha.. So hard not to pee on yourself.. but I was successful and didn't spill a drop. I am totally hoping this will be a continuing tradition.

So it is totally hot and sticky here and I already have an awesome t-shirt tan (yes mum I am wearing sunscreen) but I think I am adjusting to it pretty well. I go with an attitude of yes its hot but I cant do much about it so suck it up and get on with life. And the food.. AWESOME.. true that you do not always know what you are getting but most of the time if you don;t look too close then it is no worry at all. Although I don;t think I have ever said grace and blessed my food with so much sincerity before haha.. So far so good. I have totally turned my food science brain off though.  haha..

So we officially arrived in Penang on Wednesday had Thursday off and the traveled to Sungei Petani on Friday. There we were asked to be involved in a Christmas concert that a local church was putting on for a Hindu orphanage. We did a very short skit of the Nativity story with the main focus of the Wise Men following the star. We got some laughs from the kids so that was a good sign. The next day we were asked to spend some time at the orphanage and put on a bit of a program for them. I pulled out my best kids songs for them.. Na Na Narni went very well. Mostly we just chased the kids and played soccer for the 4 hours that we were there. It was awesome to see their smiling faces and just love them.  That night we were asked by our next door neighbour Jimmy to go to his church with him. We had met him the previous day and he was very excited for us to meet his family. So we walked off into the darkness with Jimmy and got in a car with his nephew and went to church  I shake my head all the time when we do stuff like that cos you would probably never do that at home, but not once have I felt unsettled or scared about what we are doing. God really does have us in his hands.

So now we are back in Penang. Not sure what is next, we kind of just go with whatever and plans change all the time. I am thinking that I should probably throw my watch away. There is no point wearing it because we are running a Malaysian time and things happen just when they happen. Right now I am totally pumped for dinner!!

Where in the world is Megan Helen Mitchell...

Currently in the Tokyo for a 4 hour stopover, after a 10 hour flight, before getting on a 7 hour flight to Bangkok. But wait for it.. That is then followed by a 24 hour train trip to the south of Malaysia (after 12 hours in Bangkok). That's right, lecture phase in Vancouver is finished and we are on our way to outreach. Its crazy!! I cannot believe how fast the past 3 months have gone.


Seriously pumped for outreach. Three weeks in Malaysia, the a month in Northan Thailand, serving at the Elisha Children's Home, and a month in Pattaya serving at the Bridge Children's centre. Still don't have a totally clear picture of what exactly we will be doing, but that seems to be the way things go. :) What I do know is that God is going to amazing things,  we are going to have a  great time and the team that I am with is fantastic. 

Check out this link, http://dl.dropbox.com/u/49392081/YWAM%20update.pps
It's a short powerpoint presentation with some photo's and stuff of what I have done, and what we might be doing.


Well that's all I have for now.. Not sure when I'll be back on again, but be sure to come back again and find out what adventures I/we as a team have been up to.




If you want, here are a few of prayer points for the team:


Safety and protection; 
Wisdom for cultural sensitivity and to represent our faith and organization well; 
Team unity – working together; 
The 2 kids – .good experience (Mike and Jessi 2 of our staff have 2 totally cute little boys ); 
Acceptance from contacts/people we’re working with.