Today was the prison ministry day! We had a long 2 ½ hour drive through the Thailand mountains and finally arrived in a different province. It was so beautiful! We were next to a body of water and there were palm trees and mountains all around! It felt like we were in Florida or Hawaii rather than Thailand!
The prison was crazy. We breezed through several gates and soon were in walking around among the inmates. We had guards with us, but only two or so, and none of them were armed in any way. Honestly, it was a little scary. I have never even been inside an American prison, let along a Thai men’s prison! And the fact that Ashley and I were American girls meant that a lot of the inmates were quickly aware that we were there.
There was a Thai pastor and three Thai students who Tutu, Eric, David, Ashley and I went along with. We all were seated in the front of a old-fashioned partially outdoor schoolroom. The inmates who wanted to attend our little “service” quickly filed in.
I am not going to lie- I have never been so intimidated in my life. Ashley, Eric and I each prepared a little message to give to the men, but I felt so inadequate to speak to a room of men, who were older than I was and had definitely experienced a lot more than I had in my easy-breezy American life so far… What do you say to a group like that?! There were about 20 of them in the little class room, but many more working out or hanging out outside the room were paying attention most of the time as well.
The Thai students began by leading a few Thai worship songs (after we introduced ourselves) and my fears began to melt away as I watched some of the prisoners passionately worship Jesus.
After the Thai students got done leading some songs, Eric, Ashley and I sang two worship songs in English. We each prepared a small 5-10 minute sermon/sharing from the Bible. Eric and Ashley both shared with a salvation theme. I shared out of Philippians. I explained how Paul was a successful man, but counted everything as a loss compared to knowing Christ. He also went through very difficult times once coming to know Christ, but Paul writes about forgetting the past and looking forward to the promises he has for us. It went extremely well- a lot better than I could have imagined. They were all very appreciative and open and very glad that we were there.
We went to the women’s side of the prison next. On the way over we were told that we didn’t have as much time compared to the men’s side, and that we shouldn’t share what we had prepared, it was too long. When we got there, on the spot they just asked us to sing a song. After the first song, we were told we had more time, so we sang another. Then, Tutu asked me to share my testimony. So, I got up and was about to share what I had prepared, but she said no, just to share my testimony. Out of a room of about 50 women, only 2 in the front were Christians. She said they just wanted to know about my life, so just talk about my life in the United States to them. So… completed unprepared and mad at Thai culture once again… J I just prayed! This was a time when God could have the spotlight because I had absolutely no idea what to say! I just talked about my life in the states, my hobbies, school, what I want to do… and I’ve found that there is just no way to talk about my life without saying something about God. I’ve never really felt that I have had much of a “testimony”. Especially compared to the women in the prison, I have not gone through any horrible things in my life. But God has blessed me so much and been so consistent in sustaining me throughout my life that it was incredible to be able to share with the women the love I have for the lord and what role he plays in my life. The two Christian women up front were really excited to hear me say those things and I pray that it was of some encouragement to the other women as well. When I got done, Ashley was asked to do the same kind of thing, and she did a great job of thinking on her feet J
Honestly, being in the prison with those people was a really new experience for me, but God works in ways that we do not even know and I just pray that maybe something unplanned was accidently said that will plant a seed that we probably will never know about.
Day 28
Today Ashley and I went to Thai cooking school! This was so much fun! I loved it! We learned how to cook Pad Thai, spring rolls, cashew chicken stir-fry, Hot and sour soup with shrimp, green curry, and sweet sticky rice with mango! They were all made from scratch and all the most incredible recipes I have ever tasted! After preparing each dish in our outdoor kitchen stations, Ashley, I and two guys from New York would sit and eat our dishes! It was awesome because the food was incredible and I was so proud that I had actually made it!! We took a break half way through the course and the lady, Yui, took us on a tour of the market and showed us what everything was and how to recognize and pick out ingredients! She was so fun and so kind and made it an incredible day. It was an awesome way to get more familiar with Thai culture.
Kaillie, the other intern, came to Thailand today and we got to catch up with her and visit the kids at Doi Saket Orphanage 1. So fun… but tomorrow is our last day! Crazy…
Yay for Thai food!
I'm so lucky to have a friend who's more Asian than I am! ;)
Welcome Home! It has been a blessing to follow your blog. I felt like I was back in Thailand!! I can't wait to hear your stories!
God Bless
Dar