Saturday

After Friday night’s experiences, many needed some time to recover emotionally. During our debriefing last night, we went around as a group and shared some prayer requests and things we were struggling with. It began innocently enough, but it turned into quite an emotional experience and several team members broke down crying. It was a good time, and it really helped our team know more about what each other needed, but we all woke up exhausted, physically, emotionally and spiritually drained.

Luckily, today was beach day.

Unfortunately, it rained all day.

That didn’t stop us from heading out to catch some waves. But it did stop us from catching very many. The water was whipping around pretty good. I hadn’t had many experiences with swimming in the rain, since usually rain is paired with lightning in Kansas, but the scene elicited memories of Forrest Gump talking about the rains during ‘Nam when “it would sometimes rain so hard it would rain up” (Completed by the image of Bubba and Forrest walking through the river, shielding their eyes from the rain splattering on the water below them). If this doesn’t make sense to you, it is probably because I am concussed. More on that later.

We persevered through the rains for a while, but eventually gave up and went to a restaurant for a late lunch. The place had a great view (at least it would have been without the obstruction of rain clouds). But it had a swimming pool right next to the dining area. I was the brave one who cannon-balled in and soaked those still sitting at the table. Although I was later informed by a super-grumpy Australian dude that “this was not a children’s playground (You hear those sirens coming? Watch out, it’s the fun-police). When the menus came, we were all pretty pumped that it included bacon-cheeseburgers and fries. Everyone was kind of ready for some comfort food. The Thai cuisine is really solid, but there are only so many meals in a row that I can eat spicy red curry on everything. Everyone else forgets to eat the fruit every meal, and as a result we have a rash of digestive issues on the team.

Then we went out to Bangla Road again in the evening. We split up into groups every night, so no two groups have exactly the same experience each night. For a lot of the group on Friday night, it was a very dark night. Several sensed a lot of spiritual oppression and had really hard times staying positive. I chose to stay home last night and be part of the intercessory group back at the compound because I was personally too overwhelmed by some of the experiences on Thursday. Saturday went much better though. Even though we arrived an hour later than normal, we still had chances to go to several bars, and since the rain was still pretty heavy, many of the bars were relatively empty, giving us a great opportunity to speak with several girls who expressed serious interest. We all felt much more upbeat and optimistic than we had the previous nights.

Then I smoked my head on the door while getting out of the truck. I’m pretty sure I’m not concussed, but I have a pretty serious headache to go along with the giant knot and gash on the top of my head. Kind of put a damper on the rest of the night, but the important part was finished. And my headache wasn’t going to interfere with that.

All’s well that almost end’s well. Or something like that.

When I sit up, my whole face starts to throb, so I will end with a few prayer requests.

-We are all spiritually exhausted. Pray that today (Sunday) can be a good time of rest, recuperation, and reflection as we take a night off from Bangla Road and spend some time with the girls here at the SHE house.

-Pray for the guys on this trip. Pray that God would guard our eyes and our hearts.

-Pray that we are all able to get/stay healthy. Everybody has a little wound or insect bite or something that keeps them from feeling great all the time.

-Pray for the girls that we have been meeting. Pray that the Lord works before us, with us, and after we are gone in the hearts and minds of the people we encounter.

-Pray for our contacts here as they deal with stresses every day that would drive normal people insane.

-Pray for our families back home that miss us and our supporters that are in battle with us.

Thank you so much for your prayers, support and love. We look forward to waking up each morning to see who has posted comments. We love you all and miss you.

Special shout out to my brother Seth, as he is now a certified boat driver in Missouri.

Ben

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

First Night Out

Hello Everyone!
Well, we have just finished our first full day of being at SHE! We are filled with a whole variety of emotions. From excitment to sorrow to joy to exhaustion.
This morning we woke up to do a devotion with the ladies. We then had some time to start getting to know the ladies already working here at SHE. We spent our time sampling bread (SHE is just starting to make bread and often needs taste testers!), making jewelry (you all should visit SHE's website, they have such beautiful jewelry) or going to the grocery store.

We then spent the afternoon going to Bangla Road. This is the section of Phuket that houses about 200 bars each with about 6 different "waitresses" (do the math - there are about 1200 girls working here in the bars in one night). When we first arrived, some of us got some Starbucks while the rest of us had some ice cream. I must say the Green Tea ice cream is MIGHTY tasty!!!! We then spent about 2 hours going up and down the side streets prayer walking. This was a pretty tough time. We all really felt a lot of evil lurking. The bars are all closed and vacant except for the occasional bar owner setting up for business that night. It was a great time of prayer as we really opened our hearts and mind to the promptings of the Holy Spirit.

We then came back to SHE, had dinner, then spent about 30 minutes in praise and worship. We then got our things and hit the road back to Bangla Road. This time, things we a lot more lively on Bangla Road. There were tons of tourists and tons of girls walking the streets asking us to come to their bars. They were pleading... Everytime we walked down a different side street, we were consumed thai women yelling at us.

We split up in to a few groups with each going to different bars and side streets. We spent time speaking with the girls and playing games. It isn't too hard initiate a conversation with the girls since they have it in their job description to speak to us! We even learned a few new games. One I won't even attempt to describe, the other was a game where you and some friends gather around a tree trunk slab and hammer in a nail. You then pass around these pointed hammers and take turns hitting your nail in an attempt to get it into the wood first. I didn't really do too well at this...not that I expected to, though! Overall, I think I can say that we had a really good time, well, as good of a time as we can have while seeing such tough things. We got to tell a few girls about SHE and hopefully some of them will come to lunch with us here at the centre.


Prayer Requests:
Pray for us as we learn to adjust to this heat and humidity - its a little tough!
Pray for a discerning spirit as we walk through these bars that we may speak to right girls at the right times.
Pray for open doors as we go out.
Pray for us to continue to grow as a united group as we experience new things together
Pray for energy. Our schdule is pretty crazy. We try to get naps in, but still...
Pray for a protection to come over our minds. We are seeing some very tough stuff.
Pray for our health. A few of us are not really feeling too well.

PRAISE:
Safe travels - Thailand is a bit dangerous when it comes to the crazy motorists!
The Prayer Warriors we have! - We are feeling all your prayers. They come at the right time and we really feel them!
New relationships - Thank the Lord for the relationships that we have begun!

Love you all!

A Day With the Buddhas

Welcome aboard the Thailand Express,
This is day 2 of our amazing journey, and we've already gotten to do so much. Our day started out at 7:30 where we had breakfast. Karin thought it would be funny to have us try some unique Thai food, so one of the things she got for us was Corn & Red Beans Yogurt...pretty disgusting. Most of us wanted to throw up after trying it. One of the people here told us that they really like to put corn in just about everything, so it's not unusual to see it in some like yogurt.
Then we headed off for a day of seeing the Buddhist temples. We got on a bus and rode that part of the way. Then we hopped onto a subway, and rode that part way. And the last thing that we rode on the way to the temple was a long narrow boat, so the trip down there was just full of fun transportation. Then we went to The Grand Palace. This is home to one of the most famous and impressive of all buildings in Thailand known as Wat Phra Kaew or the Temple of the Emerald Buddha. This temple has some pretty amazing art work. It was all so vibrant and full of color. We spent an hour there looking at all of the stuff, and I feel like there was so much that I still didn't see. There were so many neat statues and buildings, that words can't even describe. We all took tons of pictures, so I'm sure you'll see and hear a lot more about it once we get home.
From there we headed to Wat Saket or The Temple of the Golden Mount. To get there we got to ride a fun little cart called a tuk-tuk. It's pretty much like a 3 wheeled motorcycle that has a seat on the back that can hold about 3 passengers. They were really fun, and the drivers made them pretty exciting :)
Once at the temple, we climbed about 320 steps to get clear to the top where you could get a panoramic view of the city of Bangkok. There were tons of people that were at both temples praying and worshiping their gods, and it was truly sad to see how lost some of these people were, going back time and time again to these temples, just to be let down by their false gods. The only thing that was even sadder than that was that most of the adults had their children with them there practicing in this false religion.
From there we went to a very large mall in the middle of Bangkok and ate some Thai food (or at least most of us did).
After that we headed back to the YWAM building, which required another long bus ride back. We got there and had a little bit to rest before we got back on the road and headed for the airport. We hoped on a plane and flew down to Phuket, where we'll be for the next 9 or so days. We got to eat some authentic Thai food again tonight for supper. Some of it was pretty spicy, but it was really good as well.
We wrapped up our day with a debriefing and discuss how the temples and such had affected us. Many of us felt heartbroken and sad while at the temples because of the lost souls that were looking for a void in their life to be filled, but they were looking in all of the wrong places to have it filled.
So as i said before, it was a pretty amazing day. We got to ride about every form of Thai transportation in just one day (and I think that most of us are getting tired of all of the transportation, so it's nice to finally be somewhere for awhile) and got to see some really awesome stuff!
I can't wait to tell you all more about it when we return!
พระเจ้าให้ศีลคุณ (GOD Bless You)
I love you all!
Dustin (DJ)

there are 3 types of people

SAWASDEE KAH! We are here livin’ it up in Thailand. It is day one and it’s been a spectacular day. We got up this morning and went for coffee at 9:30 at the YWAM (youth with a mission) café. We all got either hot or cold coffee drinks with a toast sandwich with jam or peanut butter and bananas. It was SO good! After that, we had an orientation time at the YWAM center. Then we ate lunch at the Turtle Café. When we got there, our plates were set with rice piled up in the shape of a turtle. We had about 3 different types of chicken, a stir-fry, and an egg omelet to try with our rice. The crowd favorite was the cashew chicken but Sam and I favored the omelet. Then we were set off in groups of 4 to go on a scavenger hunt. In my group was Nikki, Ben, and Karin. We started off going back to the Turtle Café and buying the cheapest desert and sharing it. For 15 baht we got a dessert the size of maybe a half dollar to share. It was rather funny sharing it with four people. The dessert was good. It tasted like a lemon frosting thingy. And then we moved on to find another coffee shop, which we didn’t find for a long time. On the way though we were walking and a dog jumped out right in front of Karin which scared me quite a bit and then 3 other dogs came out from under the truck we were walking past. It is crazy how many stray dogs are just running around here. But we kept moving on and we found this grocery store and went into it to find the names of some whitening cream. It is ridiculous how many skin whitening products there are here. The girls here desire to have white skin which is kinda ironic considering I go outside to tan and these girls walk around with umbrellas so they don’t tan. Kyla and I were talking later about how weird it is to have all these skin whitening stuff, but then realized how we have the same except to be tan. Funny stuff. Back to the scavenger hunt, we found the skin stuff and next we had to find the market. So, we decided to ask a Thai person where it was. I tried to ask where it was in Thai and got no response. The woman just walked away. We were a bit confused, then realized she was looking for a person who could speak English. Then we got directions and went on our way. The market was interesting. There was a lot of fruit and then in the second market, there were lots of fish and meat. The odor there was almost intolerable. After buying some dried mango strips and 4 dragon fruit, we left the market area and came back to YWAM. We had a little bit of down time then until we went to eat with at this little YWAM building. It was a building but where we were at was a room with no walls, open to the outside. Kyla, Anita, Nikki, and I played a game with the people who were all about high school to college age. We aren’t quite for sure what we were playing or how to play, but all we knew was we had to throw these 2 lb. iron balls in this dirt pit and try to hit the green target. It was fun. Anita, Nikki, and I were on a team with a girl named A and we hadn’t been doing to well so we had a huddle, she talked a bit to us, and then had us put our hands together and say “SU” which means victory. I think we won the next round, but overall we lost. We ate, the same meal as earlier, but it was still good. Following that, we had a time of worship. It was fun. Some songs were in Thai and some in English so it was interesting but still fun to watch the Thai people worship. We sang a few that made me think of good old SC and WMW so it was a treat to my soul. And now we’re all getting ready for bed. Thanks for all your prayers. Tomorrow will be a treat. We are touring 2 temples and then fly out for Phuket where the real fun begins.

If you’re still reading, this probably means you are a person I love and miss.
Love you family, WMW pals, SISTER, sisters, brother and anyone else reading.

Leah

We made it!

Hello Everyone!

We made it to Thailand today! It is now 2:01 am here on Tuesday, July 7 and boy are we tired of flying!!! We had some really long flights (a 12 hour followed by a 6 hour) and can't wait to crash into our beds in a few minutes.

All our luggage arrived as well, so thanks for all the safe travel prayers. We will be at the YWAM base for two days here in Bangkok and then travel down to Phuket.

Love!
Team Thailand

Miss Kyla Renfro

Hello all! My name is Kyla Renfro and I am going to be a junior at Sterling College. I play volleyball and enjoy cooking, reading, and spending lots of time with friends and family. I am super excited about the Thailand mission trip! I have only been out of the country one time, and that was my junior year of high school on a mission trip to Mexico. I'm pretty excited to fly internationally. I know God has great things planned for Thailand! Mission training was intense but so great and our team bonded so much. I think we're a unified front, ready to be Jesus's hands and feet in Thailand! Ready or not, here we come! :)