Stuck in Bangkok for a week

My being 'stuck in Bangkok' is drawing to a close!! Hurray! It's been a good week. Frustrating at times, but tried to stay optimistic as much as possible! It was a nice break for me after such a busy month of travelling. Did a lot of resting, relaxing and spending alone time with God.
I attended a church last sunday which is referred to as the 'Slum Church.' What an amazing church!! They were so real, loving, and you could really tell they loved Jesus with all their heart. I didn't know anyone except Celeste - the girl I came with, and another Columbian girl I had met the previous night. While we were singing, this guy came up to me, and said that God told him to come over here and tell me something. He said how God had not forgotten me, I was not alone, He would never leave me and He loved me very much... I was His precious daughter. This was such an encouragement to me!! A couple days later, I attended a Bible study with Celeste and the couple she works together with in ministry. After we sang a few songs, the Thai lady come to me and said she felt she had a word from God for me. Here I'm thinking, again??? But she said something very similar to what the guy at the church on sunday said to me (this lady doesn't attend that church). Again I was really encouraged, and knew I needed to trust God more... fully place this whole situation into His hands and not worry about it.
Yesterday I received my Work Permit, so that was a huge blessing considering my Thai visa extension is about to run out. Fern was able to work out my flight so that was also great! When I called, they were insistant that it would cost me almost $700 to change!! Rediculous! But of course... Thailand rips off foreigners, so its great to have Thai friends. When Fern called, it miraculous decreased to a fraction of that! Imagine that eh.... I got a little angry with the way foreigners get treated. I'm still worried about having to pay quite a bit to get my bags there, cause it seems like all these airlines around here have a low baggage allowance. We'll see what God works out though, perhaps He'll perform another miracle :)
It's been an educational week for me as well. I was reading a book called 'Sex Slaves' and researching more about the ongoing issue of prostitution in Thailand. We also headed out to Patpong area, where the streets are lined with bars and girls that are waiting to be picked up. It really is just so sad seeing this... especially how so many of them don't think there's a way out. Many of their stories are incredibly devastating and full of pain.
Well, thanks again for praying for me...hopefully I won't hit anymore snags, and my next blog will come to you from the land of Kenya!!

Why why why...???

Hmm, where do I start?? Yesterday definitely didn't turn out the way I had planned it would. If it had, I'd be in Kenya right now. So I got to the Bangkok Airport, went to check in... and then first I ran into issues with my baggage. For my first flight, my baggage was within the baggage allowance (which I had previously checked into and saw it wouldn't be a problem), but then they told me that on my connecting flight, the baggage allowance decreased by 15 kg. So I had to wait there forever while they contacted that airline to see if they could make any exceptions, or see what they could do for me. Finally they came and told me that I'd have to pay $450 to be able to take my bags. Crazy!! So I went through my bags, took out what I could, but I was still 12kg over. They said they'd give me a discount, and I'd only have to pay $200. Ok, fine... I'd do that, and considering I got a pretty good deal on my flight, it really wasn't too bad. So once that was cleared up, they asked me about my Kenyan visa. Well, I was told that I'd be receiving an on arrival visa for the time being, and then once I was there, I'd get my work permit stamped into my passport and it shouldn't be a problem at all. I showed them the document saying the permit was in progress, but apparently that wasn't good enough for them. Man I was frustrated by this point!! They listed my options then which included flying till I reached Dubai and staying there by myself for a week till my work permit was officially approved. Ahh... I didn't want to do that! Especially not in Dubai.. by myself! Ok, so that pretty much left me the option that I had to stay in Thailand, and either apply for an extension on my visa and also pay a fine for being in Thailand with an expired visa, or head to Cambodia where I could get a new tourist visa. So we went to Immigration here in Bangkok this morning, and I found out that I still had to pay for the visa extension even if they denied it! Man, I prayed hard... I really needed that approved, otherwise I'd have to pay for that as well as all the fees of going to Cambodia to get a new visa! Luckily.... we serve a pretty great God, and my extension was approved!! So now I can be in Thailand till Sept 19, so I'm hoping and praying that I will have that Kenyan work permit by then so I can actually fly out by then! As frustrating as this whole situation was, I really feel that God was protecting me. A girl that was at the airport with me was praying about it too, and she continually got the phrase 'it's all for her protection' and I know that God knows best. This was all happening for a reason, and I just need to trust Him. He'll take me through it step by step.

Now, I just need to contact the airlines I'm flying with and make sure its not going to be a huge deal to get my flights changed. So if you could keep my in your prayers over getting those changed, as well as praying for my work permit, that would be super awesome!!! Thanks so much! I truly feel so blessed knowing I have so many people around the world praying for me

Vacation??

So much for my little mini vacation on the island... didn't turn out so great lol. The rain didn't really let up, but we tried to make the most of it. When we got there, they took us to our resort (which ended up being quite a ways from the beach - disappointing!). Then the next day, we checked out, went and rented a motorbike, and went looking for a new resort. We got soaked cause it started raining while we were looking. Then, Fern thought she forgot her prescription medication, called her doctor in Bangkok, went looking around for a place where she could buy more... and then found out it was with her all along! Finally, we really didn't care where we stayed... I just wanted a hot shower! We did end up finding a pretty nice place... although found out after we checked in that the pool was under construction right now!! We ended up cutting out time short there and headed back to Bangkok sooner then we had planned to. On our way back to the pier - on our rented motorbike, we had a little accident. Of course, that just had to put the cherry on top of everything lol. The island is really mountainous, and because of the rain, the roads were kinda slippery. We were coming down a steep curve, and went out of control. Amazingly we were totally fine... just some scrapes and bruises, it really could have been a whole lot worse. We had to get the bike fixed, and then found out from the mechanic that the front brakes were totally shot, and the oil was in serious need of changing! Luckily it didn't cost a whole lot to fix. We did miss the bus that we wanted to take back though, so we had to wait for the next one... but made it back to Bangkok that day!
Well, that pretty much concludes Thailand! My flight leaves in about 24 hours and I'm onward to Kenya via Mumbai, and Dubai! Woohoo! Now lets just hope my work permit gets approved soon, and that I won't have any problems at Kenyan Immigration. Onto my packing... oh how I love that word already... not!

Hello, Goodbye. Settle in, pack up. *repeat!*

It's been an exhausting few weeks, but so worth every single minute!!
I'm back in Bangkok now, so hopefully I can get caught up on my blog, laundry etc. We were just in Mae Sot which is right by the Burma border. We stayed at a Burmese Refugee Camp and I'm really glad I got to experience that. The students' first language is Karin (Hill Tribe Language), so Fern and I taught both English and Thai in a Christian school at the camp. Its really sad seeing how they live, and knowing that they're just stuck there. It's not safe for them in their own country, but yet, they're not free to live in Thailand either. I loved those Karin people!! They are so hospitable even though they have pretty much nothing.
Previously, we were in Mae Hong Son, where we also worked with Burmese Refugees. Fern and I stayed with an elderly couple who are from the States... amazing people who were a real blessing to us! I had so much fun with them, and I love their outlook on life. They're so full of life, and are living it to the fullest. They work at a Bible School right on the Burmese border, so we joined them. Fern taught them how to make various types of jewellery so that they have a way to somewhat support themselves.
Before Mae Hong Son, we stayed with Sam and Alisa in Chiang Mai. I know Alisa from last year because she did her DTS with me in Chiang Rai. They're newly married, and run a christian private school with Sam's parents. We had a chance to help out there too, and work with some of the students. While in Chiang Mai, I also got to see my first 'Muay Thai' boxing match. It was pretty cool.
Then as I already mentioned in my previous blog, I was in Chiang Rai before that. The wedding was AMAZING! It was so incredibly precious, and Karis was absolutely beautiful. The reception was so cool too, and they both had something unexpected planned for each other. Karis had learnt a Thai love song, and sang it to Noom... he ended up joining her for the chorus and they sang to eachother. Noom also sang a song to her, and had a slideshow to go with it. Then Karis' younger brother sang a song to them that he had written himself... there weren't many dry eyes there! It was really sad leaving Chiang Rai, and the base that I had learnt to call home last year.
Now I have just under a week left in Thailand, leaving just enough time to hit up an island yet before I go... I need a mini vacation after those few weeks that I jam packed full! haha