Maya Bay at the Phi Phi Islands in Southern Thailand.4/30/09
I forgot to tell about Sonkran! It's a huge water festival they have in Thailand every year, and Alison and I just so happened to be in town for it. These are a few kids in Bangkok with water guns waiting for innocent passer-byers. The locals really get into it and they'll attack anyone. You're not even safe in a bus.Cambodia
These are some green cashews on the large tree outside our place. The orphan kids loved these when they ripened and would go to great lengths to retrieve them.
4/29/09
4/28/09
I Love America!
Well, sorry it's been so long folks. For the last couple months I've been trying to keep my where-abouts on the low. Most of you know I've been in Thailand for the last seven months. I was planning on coming home towards the end of May, but for various reasons our program was cut short, sending us all home a little sooner than expected. With this opportunity to leave early, I decided to surprise my parents. Since updating my blog would've given them ideas as to what's going on, I just stopped posting for a while.
So after teaching English in Lamphun, there was an evangelistic series and four people were baptized, one being a student of ours. That was exciting. After this we were all sent back to the villages again. This time we went to an Akha hilltribe. After working there our program officially ended. My friend Phoebe was flying out on the 12th, so we had some time to travel down to Phuket in Southern Thailand and hang out on the beaches. We also spent a couple days on the Phi Phi islands, which were beautiful. Maybe I can post some pictures soon. After our quick trip down south, Phoebe flew out and I headed for Cambodia on a bus. This was quite a trip. The first two busses I was in both broke down, and finally the 3rd bus we got on had someone who spoke English, which was a huge relief. I helped at an orphanage with my friend Alison for one month there in Cambodia. This was a good experience for me. I learned a lot there. On April 12 Alison and I took a bus back to Bangkok, toured there for 4 days, then flew to Japan on the 17th.
Japan was amazing! We were really grateful/blessed to have extremely hospitable church members who took us everywhere. Some things we did while there included seeing Mt. Fuji (unfortunately couldn't hike it- only open during summer), riding the super fast bullet train, visiting Kyoto (the old capitol), Osaka, and of course Tokyo. We went to Japanese gardens, huge castles, museums, temples, etc. The week was a lot of fun.
On Sunday the 26th we flew out of Tokyo for home. This flight (from Tokyo to Chicago) went well for me, and thankfully it was pretty fast, but when I arrived in Chicago I realized my flight to Kansas City was delayed due to mechanical problems- always comforting to hear. After that issue was resolved, they delayed it even more because of inclement weather. In an odd way I kind of enjoyed sitting around and watching everyone. It's funny how people react to such situations. Many people were mad, etc., but I guess I just don't see any point in getting full-blown angry about situations that are totally out of your control. Anyway, it was entertaining.
We finally boarded the plane. One would think we'd take off soon after, but no, we sat on the runway for almost an hour letting fuel burn off because they'd put too much in. By this time I was just laughing at the whole scenario. Everyone's on their cell phones griping on and on, etc. By and by we did get off ground. We made it to Kansas City, circled a few times, then were told it was too stormy to land. You can imagine everyone's attitude now. The captian said we might have to go all the way back to Chicago. That really got people going. Finally they just decided to take us to St. Louis where we waited the storm out for a couple hours, then flew back to KC in between a couple waves of storms. My original flight was scheduled to land at 6:50 pm, but we came in at 1 in the morning, 6 hours late. What a trip. I felt pretty bad for my sister and brother-in-law because they'd been waiting that whole time. After the reunion, we gathered my luggage and set out for another 3 hrs. of travel. We managed to make it home around 4am, and got to bed soon after. The next day I ate an amazing breakfast of rice and vegetables. Nah, I actually had my sister's homeade cinnamon rolls- which are the best! She's pretty much the best sister...In the afternoon we got ready for my parents to come over for a "church get-together". When they arrived I hid in another room. After a while Steph was like, "So I have something to show you guys." I walked out. My mom screamed and freaked out, while my dad calmly remained seated. He just smiled, shook his head and said, "Emily, why do you always do this to us?" Nothing phases that guy. Anyway, it was great fun! Now I've just had my first official day at home home. Just been trying to organize my room before packing up again. I'll move out on Sunday, and start work for my sister on Monday. Got a lot on the agenda this summer. Weddings, trips, campmeeting, exercising (Alison and I are gonna train for a marathon- just give in Alison) Should be a fun summer, as always!
Anyway, my time in Thailand/Cambodia was definitely well spent. I learned a lot and I know God worked in my life. I'd encourage all students to do some type of missions for a few months at least. It's a time of personal enlightenment. That sounds really weird- almost new-ageish, but I did learn a lot about myself. Well, I hope school, work, or whatever you're up to at this point in life is going great for you! Thanks for all your prayers while I was away. I really do appreciate it.
So after teaching English in Lamphun, there was an evangelistic series and four people were baptized, one being a student of ours. That was exciting. After this we were all sent back to the villages again. This time we went to an Akha hilltribe. After working there our program officially ended. My friend Phoebe was flying out on the 12th, so we had some time to travel down to Phuket in Southern Thailand and hang out on the beaches. We also spent a couple days on the Phi Phi islands, which were beautiful. Maybe I can post some pictures soon. After our quick trip down south, Phoebe flew out and I headed for Cambodia on a bus. This was quite a trip. The first two busses I was in both broke down, and finally the 3rd bus we got on had someone who spoke English, which was a huge relief. I helped at an orphanage with my friend Alison for one month there in Cambodia. This was a good experience for me. I learned a lot there. On April 12 Alison and I took a bus back to Bangkok, toured there for 4 days, then flew to Japan on the 17th.
Japan was amazing! We were really grateful/blessed to have extremely hospitable church members who took us everywhere. Some things we did while there included seeing Mt. Fuji (unfortunately couldn't hike it- only open during summer), riding the super fast bullet train, visiting Kyoto (the old capitol), Osaka, and of course Tokyo. We went to Japanese gardens, huge castles, museums, temples, etc. The week was a lot of fun.
On Sunday the 26th we flew out of Tokyo for home. This flight (from Tokyo to Chicago) went well for me, and thankfully it was pretty fast, but when I arrived in Chicago I realized my flight to Kansas City was delayed due to mechanical problems- always comforting to hear. After that issue was resolved, they delayed it even more because of inclement weather. In an odd way I kind of enjoyed sitting around and watching everyone. It's funny how people react to such situations. Many people were mad, etc., but I guess I just don't see any point in getting full-blown angry about situations that are totally out of your control. Anyway, it was entertaining.
We finally boarded the plane. One would think we'd take off soon after, but no, we sat on the runway for almost an hour letting fuel burn off because they'd put too much in. By this time I was just laughing at the whole scenario. Everyone's on their cell phones griping on and on, etc. By and by we did get off ground. We made it to Kansas City, circled a few times, then were told it was too stormy to land. You can imagine everyone's attitude now. The captian said we might have to go all the way back to Chicago. That really got people going. Finally they just decided to take us to St. Louis where we waited the storm out for a couple hours, then flew back to KC in between a couple waves of storms. My original flight was scheduled to land at 6:50 pm, but we came in at 1 in the morning, 6 hours late. What a trip. I felt pretty bad for my sister and brother-in-law because they'd been waiting that whole time. After the reunion, we gathered my luggage and set out for another 3 hrs. of travel. We managed to make it home around 4am, and got to bed soon after. The next day I ate an amazing breakfast of rice and vegetables. Nah, I actually had my sister's homeade cinnamon rolls- which are the best! She's pretty much the best sister...In the afternoon we got ready for my parents to come over for a "church get-together". When they arrived I hid in another room. After a while Steph was like, "So I have something to show you guys." I walked out. My mom screamed and freaked out, while my dad calmly remained seated. He just smiled, shook his head and said, "Emily, why do you always do this to us?" Nothing phases that guy. Anyway, it was great fun! Now I've just had my first official day at home home. Just been trying to organize my room before packing up again. I'll move out on Sunday, and start work for my sister on Monday. Got a lot on the agenda this summer. Weddings, trips, campmeeting, exercising (Alison and I are gonna train for a marathon- just give in Alison) Should be a fun summer, as always!
Anyway, my time in Thailand/Cambodia was definitely well spent. I learned a lot and I know God worked in my life. I'd encourage all students to do some type of missions for a few months at least. It's a time of personal enlightenment. That sounds really weird- almost new-ageish, but I did learn a lot about myself. Well, I hope school, work, or whatever you're up to at this point in life is going great for you! Thanks for all your prayers while I was away. I really do appreciate it.
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