Recap

It has been a whole month since I returned from my internship around the world. It has been a long and crazy month back home. Adjusting to the time zone and catching up on sleep, processing everything that happened over the previous nine weeks, and fitting back in to normalcy have all been part of this past month. It was easier yet harder than I would have expected. I didn't experience some of the re-entry issues I was prepared for, but other things hit hard. My mind has been all over the place, from Japan to Thailand, to Peru, to home. My dreams are a jumbled mess of different experiences from everywhere I have been. Though life is starting to feel normal again, I am still very much adjusting.

I arrived back in Minneapolis the night of Tuesday, December 18th - one month ago from today. It was a whirlwind of activity. Three days after coming home, on December 21st, I graduated from Northwestern College and celebrated with some family and friends. Two days after that I was back at church and back at the Latino Ministry. The following day began the celebration of Christmas with extended family.

I would have liked to write a recap for everyone sooner than this, but life has gotten in the way from me being able to sit down and process everything I did. I want to preface by thanking everyone for your love, prayers, and encouragement from the very beginning of my journey to now. This internship wouldn't have been what it was if it wasn't for the great support base I had back home.

JAPAN
Japan was our first stop. Over the two weeks we were there, we participated in disaster relief with the Shiogama Bible Baptist Church. Five hours north of Tokyo, Sendai was hit the hardest by the tsunami and earthquake over a year ago. We spent a day driving around in a neighborhood where there was total devastation. Very few houses and many foundations of houses. Deserted beaches and mountains of rubble. It was very hard to take in. We spent the day praying for the country and the Japanese. Only about two percent of the entire Japanese population are Christians. Shinto and Buddhism permeate throughout the people and culture. To be Japanese is to be Shinto. To be Shinto is to be Japanese.

A couple praying to their ancestors at a Shinto shrine

Foundations of houses that once stood

One of many mountains of rubble that gets sorted through for recycling

 Two different days a small group from our team helped some oyster farmers get their crops back in the water. Scallop shells are placed between two strands of a twenty-foot rope. The baby oysters on the scallop shells will take two full years in the water to mature. After two years, the oyster farmers can harvest the oysters. The government will test the oysters for radiation, and then the farmers are able to sell the oysters for food. The oysters are the farmers' only source of income. The tsunami wiped out their entire crop. The farmers had to start from scratch after the tsunami hit. A tsunami warning in early December threatened their crops once again, but by the grace of God the tsunami subsided by the time it reached the shores of Japan.

Putting scallop shells into ropes which will be submerged in the ocean for three years

Our team also visited temporary housing for people whose homes were destroyed in the disaster. We heard many personal stories from the individuals we met. Family members reported dead, and some still missing. Insurance agencies have reported many neighborhoods unsafe to life in after the tsunami and/or earthquake hit the area; they would not provide insurance to the families who used to live there. As a result, many people will spend the rest of their lives in the temporary housing.

Some people we met in the temporary housing

A few other things we did during our stay in Japan included having dinner in Japanese homes (a unique experience), building large meeting tents for house churches, playing with children at parks, cleaning up a park, and singing gospel songs during church services. Leaving our new friends at the church was very hard for all of us. We enjoyed getting to know Jun, the oyster farmer; Hiromi and Julia, two of our translators from the church; and many of the missionaries there.

setting up a meeting tent for a future house church with Samaritan's Purse

cleaning up a park that hasn't been touched for over a year

L to R: Aya, Hiromi, me, Julia; women from Shiogama Bible Baptist Church

THAILAND
From Japan we flew through the Singapore airport to Bangkok, Thailand. We spent the entire month of November in the Bangkapi district. We taught conversational English at Santisuk English School. Teaching with one other person from our team, we would teach two two-hour classes each day, Monday-Thursday. When we were not in class, we were expected to spend time with our students. I did not know at first what I thought of teaching English. I was a bit nervous and unsure if I had the ability to, especially to university students and the working class. In all honesty, the first week to week and a half was very challenging to me. The heat and limitations of food I could eat was taking a toll on me. I struggled adjusting to the culture and learning the tonal Thai language. But one Saturday, some of our students took John and me out to the Crocodile Farm and Ancient Siam. My perspective changed as I was able to simply live life with my students. I could see beyond the language and cultural barriers, the Buddhism that is very much part of Thai life, and the age differences. My students became my friends and I enjoyed spending time with them.

my night class

at the Crocodile Farm with a real tiger

at the Crocodile Farm riding an elephant 

From an outside perspective, one might ask, "How is going on outings and sightseeing ministry?" Evangelism takes time and should not be rushed into. I learned this very early on. About one percent of the entire Thai population are born again Christians. Most people in Thailand have never heard the name of Jesus before, let alone know who He is. That fact blew my mind. Part of our curriculum at Santisuk included a reading comprehension where we read a passage from the New Testament. In Level 1, the class I taught, we simply introduce who Jesus is. We learned about Jesus healing a paralyzed man, feeding 5,000 people, casting out demons, and raising a boy from the dead. My students were amazed when we told them Jesus was a real person and these stories are real events in history that happened 2,000 years ago. However, there lies a challenge in differing worldviews. A Buddhist views the world very different than a Christian. As a short-term volunteer at Santisuk, we were to begin telling our students about Jesus and building relationships with them. The school and Peace Fellowship Church would continue the relationships and be able to share the Gospel with the students farther down the road.

All thanks to Jesus and the work of the Holy Spirit, some of our students grew curious of the things we were learning about and about Jesus, who had the power of God. With Christmas coming soon, one student asked about Christmas. Another came to our Thanksgiving church service. One student, after reading the story of Jesus raising a boy from the dead, wrote this question to us, "Do the Jesus can made everyone to have life?" When I read that, I got chills and wanted to cry. I thought, this is why we are here. We so desperately want everyone to know Jesus, but shoving it down their throats will only push them away. Seeing our students start to think in this way is enough for me to say that my time in Thailand was successful and rewarding.

The hardest part about leaving Thailand for me was knowing that I may not ever see some of my students again. Ever. For those who do not turn to Jesus, I will never see them again in all eternity. When that hit me a week before we left, my heart ached. I got a small glimpse of God's heart for His people. God so longs for us to repent from our sins and turn back to Him. In the New Testament, we often read that Jesus had compassion on people. The word compassion is splagcnizomai in Greek. It literally means to be moved as to one's bowels (sermon from Pastor Troy Dobbs). You feel for them and love them so much it hurts, essentially. I felt a physical pain in my heart for my students. And my ministry in Thailand didn't end when I left the country. It continues now through staying in touch and through prayer. I will not give up on my students.

On the ferry heading to Koh Lan beach

after "playing" a banana boat; L to R: Yana, me, John, Heng, Cartoon, Rachel,  Nammon

some students from our afternoon class; L to R: Nammon, Nann, John, Paang, me, Zan

Celebrating the Loy Kratong festival; L to R: Heng, Aod, David, Tong, John, Cartoon, me

with Eve and Heng on our last night

L to R: Phet, Nammon, Zan, me, Da, Val, Yo

SE ASIA
What a beautiful, tropical area! Because of the region and to protect the missionaries there, there is very little I can say about our five days in SE Asia. We spent most of our time doing prayer walks around different cities. There are three major people groups where we were. The nationals are required by the government to be Muslim. There is also a great presence of Buddhism and Hinduism. The hardest part of my internship was the five days we were in SE Asia. It was very spiritually dark and the devil has a very strong hold on this area. I experienced spiritual warfare, mostly in the physical sense with migraines. I had three bad migraines over the course of five days - the worst it's been in two years. Yet God used this time to remind me He is always with me. One day we spent some time at a waterfall. While most from my team went in the water, I chose to sit on the rocks and listen to the running water in hopes to calm my spirit and ease my headache-turn-migraine. That's when God showed up. God sent a butterfly to flutter near me. Butterflies rarely stay in one area for more than a minute tops. However, this beautiful yellow butterfly always stayed in my eyesight - usually within five feet of me - for an entire thirty minutes. I wouldn't have thought anything of it if I hadn't been so spiritually and physically weak at that moment. But I could almost hear God's voice whispering to me in the light breeze, "I will never leave you nor forsake you. I love you. You are mine." Not only was this little butterfly a reminder to me that God is always with me, it reminded me that God is omnipresent. Even in an area such as SE Asia where there are virtually no known Christians, God is there at work.

JORDAN
We left the tropics and went to the Middle East for a week. Jordan, unlike the rest of the Middle East, is quite peaceful. Many refugees from surrounding countries flee to Jordan for safety. The first two days we were there we visited Madaba, Mt. Nebo, the Dead Sea, and Petra, learning a bit about the country and seeing biblical sites. We then made it farther north to Amman for the remainder of our time. Our focus in Amman was with refugees, primarily from Iraq. We had the chance to visit a few families in their homes. They warmly welcomed us in and offered us tea. They shared their stories with us. The two families I visited were Sabians, or followers of John the Baptist. Their stories included family members being murdered, their shops and homes being destroyed, and being told they had six hours to leave the country or they will be killed. "Return, and we'll kill you." They flee to Jordan, where they will be safe. However, they are not legal residents, so the adults are unable to work and the children cannot go to school. The families I visited told us that Iraq is behind them, Jordan is not their home, and they desire to move elsewhere. One family desires to move to Australia, but do not have the funds to do so. It was very heartbreaking to hear their stories. As we left the homes, we gave them a $30 gift card to a supermarket, enough for two-weeks worth of food. At the end of the week, we also gave each family a warm blanket.

Standing on Mt. Nebo, Moses' view of the Promised Land

floating in the Dead Sea

Treasury at the entrance of Petra

The church we worked with has established relationships with the refugees. They have several different meetings and programs each week and provide for some basic needs of the families. The women of our team prepared and led both a girls' meeting and a women's group. Some of the girls and women were Christians, others were Sabians or Muslims. The biggest thing the church was working on with the women as getting them to pray out loud. Kai, our team's co-leader, had the women stand in a circle holding hands. Each one of us in the meeting prayed one sentence out loud to God. We broke the sound barrier, as the missionaries called it! That was the first time the women had ever prayed out loud.

Amman

We ended our time in Jordan by visiting a missionary in his home on the other side of Amman. He told us of the work he and his wife are doing. He also explained to us the effects that tribalism has on the Middle East. It trickles down into every aspect of life. Remember back in Bible times, tribes were very important. People identified themselves with their tribe and tribes warred against other tribes. That still exists today in the Middle East. Learning about tribalism gave us a whole new perspective on the events that we hear about on the news, even when it comes to terrorism and the war in Iraq that's been going on.

We all have stereotypes and views of other people. Before going to Jordan and meeting Iraqis, I was a bit wary, but not overly concerned. I knew that the stereotypes of Iraqis is not an accurate one, and went into it with an open mind. I came to find that the more I talked to different people in Jordan, whether they be Jordanian, Palestinian, Iraqi, or Syrian, the more I knew that they were just like me - normal people - who happen to live in a dangerous part of the world. From the Iraqi families we met to the Egyptian sandwich maker down the street from the church, they are very friendly, nice, and hospitable to us and I found it very easy to love them.

ENGLAND
We ended our internship around the world in Buckinhamshire, England. We stayed at the British headquarters of WEC International, an old Victorian manor. The last five days were for us to debrief about the previous eight weeks. We had two to three meetings each day. The rest of the time was ours to relax, explore the manor grounds, or go into Gerrard's Cross, the little town we were in. We spent one full day exploring London, which happened to be the nicest day. We even had the privilege of having Northwestern's president, Dr. Cureton, with us for the first few days. We enjoyed the evensong at St. Paul's Cathedral in London and a kids' Christmas program at an Anglican church in Gerrard's Cross. It was a good few days to relax and rest up before returning home to Minnesota.

Bulstrode Manor, Buckinghamshire

Big Ben, London

the Tower Bridge

St. Paul's Cathedral 

Now that I am home and graduated, I am figuring out what is next. I want to be a missionar in Peru. I have been praying about how to make that happen. It may be through the EFCA (Evangelical Free Church of America) as I was originally thinking, or it may be through a different organization. God will reveal that to me in His timing. "And my God shall supply all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:19).

I want to thank everyone who supported me financially and prayerfully and who sent me encouragement along the way. This was not simply my trip, but one I hope people back home could experience a little through my blog as I traveled. Thank you, thank you, thank you for all you did for me, known and unknown to me. I hope you can be blessed knowing you were a blessing to me.

63 days. 21 people. 5 countries. 1 God.