A 'SHE' DAY!

Hello everyone! Today was another amazing day that we were blessed with in Thailand. Some of us had the chance to sleep in a bit later this morning since last night was a late one. This morning Karin and myself shared our testimony's to the women of SHE. Afterwards the women went to work making jewelry, today was bracelet day so it was fun to watch. Yesterday Kyla, Leah, Anita, and myself helped some of the women make bracelets. Lets just say that most of them finished 2 and a half bracelets in the time it took us to make one. They are very quick and skilled, and do such beautiful work. It is amazing to see how full of life they are at all times during the day, they are always laughing and playing around with each other and with our team. After that the Thailand Team strapped out their tennis shoes, shorts, and t-shirts and went to work in the 'alley' behind the SHE building tearing out weeds, vines, and some very weird plants to make room for the women of SHE to build a garden. Besides the raging heat and dripping sweat we turned work time into fun time. We were all very intrigued with the numerous amounts of insects that we spotted and eventually killed and dissected. We saw about 100 centipeds that just made your body crawl by looking at their size and thickness. We also saw alot of snails, a few rats, jumping spiders, and their version of geckos which look like glow in the dark lizards that you stick on the wall. But they are very real and very fast. And have I mentioned the cockroaches, they are a breed of their own here. HUMONGOUS! After that we had some lunch and some of the bread that the women of SHE had baked earlier that morning. After that we had a little bit more down time and had some fun. Ben decided to teach us a fun game called 'Balls' which is a game you play when you want to exert as little energy as possible. I guess its only a game for guys, so all of us girls had to have male names in order for us to play :) It was one of those games that really has no point to it but brings alot of laughs which is always good to have. After that bit of fun the team headed down to Patong to do a prayer walk along the streets. We split up into three separate groups. One group walked down the street where all the bars are located, another team prayed down the street most commonly known for homosexuality, and the last team walked along the beach since after dark it is the most common spot for inappropriate behavior. We then came back to the SHE center and showered, during that time I had the chance to hear Leah play the guitar and sing some songs that she wrote herself. She has a beautiful voice and so much talent. Than the next thing on our list was dinner. We went to a little restaurant down the street where I think we have become regulars. We had some more Thai food, it tastes a little different everytime we eat it. We then came back to the SHE center for praise and worship time before heading out to the bars. Being at the bars with the women tonight was alot harder than the night before. They were more open and more friendly and as a result it made their stories so much harder to hear. Just makes your heart break listening to some of the reasons why these women feel like they need a job with these kind of descriptions. The team had dealt with a fair amount of hard challenges tonight and through out this trip.But nothing that we could not overcome together. I thank you all again for being followers of the Thailand Team and for your constant prayers and support. It feels good to know that we are always being thought of and prayed for back home. I just ask that in the next week you pray for the health of each team member, the visual struggles that some are facing, and for the safety of all of us. Hope America is great and if you could all eat a cheeseburger and fries for us we would really appreciate it. Oh how I miss American food :) Love you all

-Nikki