It's great to be back :) I'm so thankful for the experience, for how God is changing me through it and getting to be a part of how God is changing the people in Thailand.
One tidbit about my view of this trip. I was thinking I would be very saddened about the state of poverty in the villages in Thailand. I was really surprised that it didn't bother me. I actually looked at all of it and thought "Okay, I can see how people do this and I could see myself here if I needed to be." I was more sad about the way people dealt with living in poor villages. Sad about how people don't see living righteously with faith in Christ as better than turning to sell drugs to help meet the needs of your family. I was sad to see the lifestyle of careless living (in regards to children peeing on the streets and carelessly dressing & throwing garbage anywhere). I was sad that the villagers do not care for one another or help care for children who are orphaned or living with a grandparent because their parents left. In fact, in Got Pa Bong, one grandfather was in prison for trying to drown his 2 year old grandchild because he did not think he could continue caring for him.
All of these things make me grateful for living in America. Although more people don't consider America a "Christian Nation" anymore, our principles were founded on Christianity and at least most of our laws and moral standards and government assistance programs come from the viewpoint that people are of value and that we should help each other. Our values are similar to Christian values still and I am grateful for the intervention that happens to protect people. Granted, we have a long way to go and we have also strayed a long way. Abortion, drug abuse, physical abuse and gay/lesbian marriage are ways our country does not follow Christ, but I am still grateful for foster-care, for adoption, for the notions of personal rights (not taken to the extreme) and basic assumptions that we should all live somewhere safe from weather and harm, rights to have clean drinking water and programs to assist the hungry and homeless. These DO NOT exist AT ALL in Thailand, much less in northern villages.
So, today, I'm just taking in the things that America has that I am blessed by. It has been so nice to brush my teeth using water from the faucet - such a nice convenience! Also, to be able to drink clean water at any moment I desire, for such a low cost! To be able to trust that the city works daily to provide this for everyone - it's great & it's much more of a blessing and rarity than I realized. I encourage you to think more about the conditions that we have in America that we consider a "right" and learn about the ways other countries handle these things. I think you'll be surprised to find that many of them in many countries are "luxuries," they are things that each individual is responsible to handle themselves.
Here is a photo of a temple in downtown Chiang Mai. So beautiful and ornate. So sad that a huge percentage of the country is deceived into thinking this is how they ensure a good life forever - sacrificing goods and money out of fear of a bad life. I'm so grateful to serve a God who sacrificed for us, not the other way around! In some ways I know God better now, and in other ways He is even farther above my understanding. I'm very blessed to have gotten this opportunity - I'm sure I'll continue to say that forever.
One tidbit about my view of this trip. I was thinking I would be very saddened about the state of poverty in the villages in Thailand. I was really surprised that it didn't bother me. I actually looked at all of it and thought "Okay, I can see how people do this and I could see myself here if I needed to be." I was more sad about the way people dealt with living in poor villages. Sad about how people don't see living righteously with faith in Christ as better than turning to sell drugs to help meet the needs of your family. I was sad to see the lifestyle of careless living (in regards to children peeing on the streets and carelessly dressing & throwing garbage anywhere). I was sad that the villagers do not care for one another or help care for children who are orphaned or living with a grandparent because their parents left. In fact, in Got Pa Bong, one grandfather was in prison for trying to drown his 2 year old grandchild because he did not think he could continue caring for him.
All of these things make me grateful for living in America. Although more people don't consider America a "Christian Nation" anymore, our principles were founded on Christianity and at least most of our laws and moral standards and government assistance programs come from the viewpoint that people are of value and that we should help each other. Our values are similar to Christian values still and I am grateful for the intervention that happens to protect people. Granted, we have a long way to go and we have also strayed a long way. Abortion, drug abuse, physical abuse and gay/lesbian marriage are ways our country does not follow Christ, but I am still grateful for foster-care, for adoption, for the notions of personal rights (not taken to the extreme) and basic assumptions that we should all live somewhere safe from weather and harm, rights to have clean drinking water and programs to assist the hungry and homeless. These DO NOT exist AT ALL in Thailand, much less in northern villages.
So, today, I'm just taking in the things that America has that I am blessed by. It has been so nice to brush my teeth using water from the faucet - such a nice convenience! Also, to be able to drink clean water at any moment I desire, for such a low cost! To be able to trust that the city works daily to provide this for everyone - it's great & it's much more of a blessing and rarity than I realized. I encourage you to think more about the conditions that we have in America that we consider a "right" and learn about the ways other countries handle these things. I think you'll be surprised to find that many of them in many countries are "luxuries," they are things that each individual is responsible to handle themselves.
Here is a photo of a temple in downtown Chiang Mai. So beautiful and ornate. So sad that a huge percentage of the country is deceived into thinking this is how they ensure a good life forever - sacrificing goods and money out of fear of a bad life. I'm so grateful to serve a God who sacrificed for us, not the other way around! In some ways I know God better now, and in other ways He is even farther above my understanding. I'm very blessed to have gotten this opportunity - I'm sure I'll continue to say that forever.
A temple in downtown Chiang Mai.
Post a Comment