ready-set-pivot.

i am home.

i have thought about what i would write on my "welcome home" summary and reflection blog. somehow i thought that by this time i would have something brilliant, poignant, concise and perfect to say.

not the case.

after 2 days at the beach and 18 hours en route i expected to be able to transition well back to life in the US. God has given me grace, but i am still at a total loss for words. so, bear with me- i want to share with you the grandeur of this experience in my life, but it may not be smooth, even after 2 weeks home.

during one of our last weeks in bangkok, someone from the alabama team asked me what one word i would use to describe my time there. in the moment i said "impactful". but now, a thousands of miles away, the word is nothing short of "pivitol".

pivitol because i learned so much about another culture and people our God created in love. because i was stretched and grown in ways i didn't know i could be. i feel the growing pains, but can't yet identify where they are coming from.

pivitol because i really learned that people have inherent value because they are created in the image of God. with this value they are worth getting to know with no alterior motives and need to know the love of Christ. while sharing the gospel may seem like an alterior motive to some , it isn't- yet another thing i learned.

pivitol because i care so much less about myself and the things i previously worried about: my appearance, how others percieve me, how things will work out in my future.

pivitol because i care, by the grace of God, more about things of worth: loving people, trusting God, being joyful in Him, and bringing Him pleasure in all i do.

finally, pivitol because i have been confirmed about my future overseas.

pivitol. yet, i am afraid that somehow these things really were only temporary or that i might shift back into pre-pivot-position.

there is so much that i have learned and much of it probably has not even sunk in yet. knowing full well i will sound cliche, i think this was the best experience of my life!

so for more concrete information. since my last update was just pictures i'll fill you in on what the last few weeks of my time in bangkok consisted of!

about 2 1/2 weeks before the end a team from alabama came to join us in what we were doing and to help with english camp. ru connection puts on an english camp about twice a year with a focus of connecting students to the ministry, to eachother and of course, teaching english. it was great to get to know the team of 5 from alabama and see how God works through so many people and in awesome timing. it was humbling for me to allow these people into the "work that i had been doing". i realized that it was not my work, but His and He uses whoever is willing! thanks, alabama!

english camp: awesome! it had pretty much all the qualities of standard summer camp, except it was at the gulf of thailand.

there were games, relationships, embarassing tasks, so many pictures, and just awesome times!

we had about 40 students come and many of them were students ru connection had not yet made a connection with.

the camp was from thursday to saturday. sunday, many of the students came to church! part of it was because it was our last sunday there but mostly it was the goodness of God that drew them!

one of the students that had been with ru connection for a long time and who had been journeying toward the Lord for a long time gave her heart to the Him on that sunday. i was blessed to be there. it taught me that He is always working and that i get to be a part of the work during many different stages. for some of the students i was there to plant seeds. for others i was there to help encourage growth or maybe weed a little bit. she had shared with me some about her process and questions and it was exciting to be there to witness harvest and new life!

that evening the students threw us a going away party. little did i know that there would be much embarassment. we, the farangs, were required to take part in a few humiliating tasks! they were not actually humiliating...just a lot of fun!

we recieved and gave out friendship bracelets and said our official goodbyes. it got pretty wet for me! and i was impressed by how the friendships of two months or shorter with a language difference had become so meaningful to me.

finally, a few days ago i got news that this previous sunday another student gave his heart to the Lord! he was one of the students that began coming to english hour while we were there; so he had only been in contact with ru connection for about 1 month. there is so much in his story that is exciting to me!

so. with that final summary and reflection i want to thank all of you who have been reading this. thank you for partnering with me in this awesome journey. i am grateful that you have been a part of all of this! thank you for your prayers and support. it has been really encouraging to know that i had a strong network behind me!

in His grace,
abby

almost home...

Adventures in Thailand!

What a weekend! What a month!

Yesterday afternoon we made it safely back to our humble Bangkok abode from a whirlwind weekend in Chiang Mai. We flew up north Thursday night and drove back on Monday. While there we got to do so much, I feel so blessed! So, here's the run down of our excitement!

Thursday night at around 10pm the boys took us on a scooter ride around town...no, they don't have a license or anything. But I won for looking the dorkiest in the helmet.

Friday I got to meet up with Sarah- what a small world. She goes to my church at home and was working with the team in C.M. Then we hung out with the team doing their usual- teaching, partying, etc. It was fun to see their routine! THEN Friday night we went to Ryan's Muay Thai boxing fight. It was straight out of the movies, weird lighting, run-down arena, betting, weird music...Ryan won in the first round (there are usually five) when he fought a trainer and long-time boxer. Whoa.

Saturday... one of the best days- EVER! We drove about 1 1/2 hours to ride elephants. The weather was perfect, not to hot and overcast.

After the elephant adventure, we drove about 20 minutes further and went white water rafting. That's right. White water rafting, in Thailand! I don't have any pictures of this for obvious reasons. But I think it must be my new favorite thing to do. I was in a raft with April, Elaina and our skipper, King Kong. We felt as though we were in good hands with a name like that. And he called us "his girls"; therefore, we are now "King Kong's Girls". We learned the 5 commands quickly: Forward, Backward, Move Right, Move Left, and of course, GET DOWN! Now that is my kind of playing!

After all of this we went to a 4th of July party hosted by the consulate. Nothing too exciting, but I ate subway and ice cream and watched fireworks.

Sunday we went to church and then ate dinner at an amazing Italian restaurant followed by some shopping at the night bazaar. I bought all 5 seasons of The Office!

Then bright and early Monday we drove back to Bangkok. It was such a fun weekend and great to be with the rest of the team, but I am glad to be back here.

Being in C.M. with a big group really made me appreciate my situation. I knew I was getting a different experience than the rest of them not only because of the location, setting, but also because of working only with April. I think it has given me a much more realistic view of what cross-cultural work will be like in the future. Also, I haven't had to worry about all the dynamics of working with many other people- God has been so good to let April and me work well and happily together! Needless to say, I am abundantly thankful for my experience in Bangkok. I think it is just what I needed. HE knows what is best for each of us!

This is our last week of English classes. A team from Alabama is coming in to help with English camp next weekend so our schedule will change yet again. Next weekend is English camp...so we get to go to the beach- AGAIN! Hey, someone's gotta do it;)

So, with 5 weeks down and only 2 to go, I have much to look forward to and much to process. I trust that I will have guidance in processing all that I need to and that all that has happened will not be without fruit. For that I am excited, grateful and humbled.

Thank you all for your continued prayers and support during my time here. I know that your support has made so much of my experience possible.

In HIS Grace.