I have come to learn that I am a past-oriented person. The way that I face the future is by reflecting on my past experiences and emotions. This blog is part reflection, part practice in thankfulness, and part of my grieving process… so that I can walk forward stronger. In January 2020, I complete a 30 Day Yoga Challenge titled “HOME” through Yoga with Adriene on YouTube. After the 2019 Christmas holiday (when Kelly came to visit me in China) our school commences for two weeks of classes before Lunar New Year holiday. On January 20, my roommate Grace, our friend Gloria, and I fly to Thailand for a planned two week holiday to visit Grace’s parents. There are whispers and rumors that a sickness has become an issue in western China. I think little of it. I meet an elephant. On January 29th, while still in Thailand, we receive news that our school decided to delay opening for two weeks due to virus outbreak in China. Classes are scheduled to resume online temporarily. Grace, Gloria, and I decide to extend our stay in Thailand for some fun and sunny weather. At the end of the month, after much deliberation and prayer through November and December, I send in my official resignation letter to ISQ. We are living in the village where Grace’s parents have agreed to take us in for an extended amount of time. The well runs out of water on more than one occasion and Thailand hits the start of dry season. School is delayed reopening for another two weeks. Grace, Gloria, and I are teaching online through Home-Based Learning from Mae Ai, Thailand. We adjust to the one hour time difference between Thailand and China while teaching. The news projects the virus is spreading and getting worse. I begin to have nightmares. I run 42km in 29 days. I begin applying for jobs and have interviews with schools in Fiji and Austria. On February 11-12, we travel to Chiangmai to renew my soon-to-expire tourist visa for another 30 days. School is delayed another four weeks. I make plans to return to China anyways as rumors spread that the Thai immigration office is turning away requests for renewed visas. I continue with job interviews in South Korea, England, Bolivia, and Fiji. I run 32km in 31 days. China closes its borders to all foreign countries. I cry a lot. After 55 days in Thailand, I decide that I will return to America to wait until I can return to China. I say what I think are temporary goodbyes to my roommate Grace and friend Gloria. I fly home with over 50 hours of travel time from Thailand to Atlanta, Georgia through Malaysia and Qatar. My friend Brittany picks me up in Atlanta and I feel strange. I am reunited with Benji and my family. I continue teaching online, but now with a twelve hour time difference. My classes run between 6:00 PM and 2:00 AM EST. All four Manning siblings unexpectedly end up back at home due to Coronavirus hitting the USA. At this time I am hopeful that I will get back to China before the end of the school year. I apply and audition for Sight & Sound Conservatory. I continue teaching online (resulting in poor sleep and many tears). Live classes, assemblies, parent/teacher conferences, and staff meetings take up hours of the day and night. I run 40km in 30 days. I begin meeting with a global counselor from Barnabas International. My brothers and I compete in Bradley James’s unofficial “Merlin” Quiz Night where we finish in the top ten of thousands of contestants. I am overwhelmed by the uncertainty of when I will get back to China and turn down all job offers from Fiji, South Korea, England, and Bolivia. I am still clinging to hope that I will get back to China before the end of the school year. I discover podcasts and begin listening to many in all my free time. I run 22 km in 30 days. It begins to dawn on me that I may not make it back to China before June, I choose to remain optimistic. I begin to video chat with friends who are still in China at 5:00 AM or midnight to talk them through packing up my apartment. It is a really difficult ordeal. I am still teaching online through the night. I attend the Odyssey Representative Meeting online… it is a very emotional encounter. I celebrate my 29th birthday with flowers and take-out from a Chinese Restaurant. I am still praying that I’ll get back to China before the end of the school year. I quit running due to stress and grief. In Qingdao, school resumes in person for those who are still in China. I am now teaching online to a class of students who are together without me. The borders do not reopen. Grades are due, goodbye videos made, final staff meetings and classes occupy more time. I watch the 2020 Graduation online. My friends finalize things being packed up at my house and classroom in China. I ball my eyes out through my “Exit Interview” with LDi. My items from China are shipped on June 17th. I think that I will never look at a teaching position again. I begin applying for local jobs. My counselor invites and encourages me to attend a debriefing conference in Oklahoma for expats and mission workers who have returned to America. I am blessed by sweet friends with the funds to pay to attend the conference. I complete my taxes. I have a follow-up conversation with the school in Fiji. They give me a 10 week extension to decide if I am interested in coming in 2021. I purchase a microphone and begin auditioning as an audiobook narrator on ACX. I apply to a local dog camp and boarding facility. I fly out to Tulsa, OK on July 27 for the Interlude Conference. I attend the Interlude Debriefing Conference in Tulsa, OK. The time is healthy, but hard. I meet wonderful kingdom workers from all over. I reconnect with friends from Senegal while in Oklahoma City. I decide to register for a masters class for the fall in order to get my teaching certificate renewed. I am hired as an audiobook narrator for a junior author from Florida (his novel follows the journey of four air force pilots after the attack on Pearl Harbor). I interview and get hired at a local dog camp and boarding facility. My brother Nick transfers universities and leaves home. My sister Kelly begins graduate school to become a Physician Assistant in Pennsylvania. My brother Timmy moves out before starting his senior year of undergrad. I am the only kid at home. We celebrate Benji’s sixth adoption day! I temporarily dye my hair purple because that’s how I’m coping, haha. I pitch a new podcast idea to Kelly, who agrees to join me as co-host. I reconnect with some friends from university. Kelly and I begin recording a new podcast titled “Not A Lady: A Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman Podcast”. The podcast discusses the famous 90s Western starring Jane Seymour. Kelly breaks down the medical practices in the show and I talk from a historical/literary perspective. I work full time at the dog camp and begin private pet-sitting jobs on the side. I record, edit, and produce 50+ hours in order to complete the audiobook. On September 18, Not A Lady Podcast launches on over eight different podcast streaming services. Two months later on September 26, I pick up four suitcases from Black Mountain, North Carolina containing my items from China. I visit with some China friends nearby. I begin a recertification course online and continue working at the dog camp. Over a week after picking up items from China, I finally open them and go through them. I am thankful, but also heartbroken to find a number of sentimental and priceless items are missing/were lost. I am hired by a local pet sitting company. Not A Lady Podcast publishes five episodes. Benji and I dress up together for October 31 for the first time in three years. I complete the eight week recertification course with 100% average. Not A Lady Podcast reaches over 1,000 plays across eight episodes. I continue to work at the dog camp and pet sit on the side. I begin going through all the items I have had in storage for the past three years. Considering my anguish and the strain of getting my things from China/losing precious items, I decide I want to get rid of a lot. Kelly comes home for Thanksgiving as a surprise and our family spends the holiday together. I officially sign a three year contract with a new school beginning in January 2021. I begin the visa process for my new job. I turn in my two weeks’ notice at the dog camp. I will continue pet-sitting privately until my departure date. Our family is blessed to be able to spend our first Christmas in our home together in years. I write this blog because I find it hard to look to the future without processing the past. The truth is that I (and everyone else) will likely be processing and grieving 2020 for the rest of my life. Don’t get me wrong, I am thankful for the many unexpected blessings I experienced this year. I just find it hard to celebrate things like “I spent a whole year with my parents and Benji!” when I realize that it came at the cost of saying goodbye to friends, animals, and students in China. It’s just how my brain and emotions work. It is not right or wrong, it’s just me. I’ve learned a lot about myself this year. Some good, some really bad, most of it just hard. I know everyone will have their own 2020 story. I’m still unsure about how to talk about mine. I haven’t written a blog in five months. I’ve found it extremely difficult to talk about myself and my emotions (especially when I consider the thought that no one wants to add my struggle to their own). This blog—of writing out my year—is not the most poetic, profound, or pivotal thing I’ve ever written… but I think it has helped me through another step in my grieving process. A step in the right direction. At one point this year, I told my mom, “I have nothing to show for 2020.” But reading the above, I can see that is just not true. I have A LOT to show for 2020, some really beautiful and great surprises… and yes, many really emotional and difficult hurts and losses. I do have a confession for you, though. When school ended in June 2020, I told my family that I wanted to quit teaching. I never wanted to be an educator ever again. After all that happened with administration in 2018-2019 and the cutting of the theatre program at ISQ in 2019, I felt rejected and unappreciated. Then, with teaching online in the Spring of 2020, I felt exhausted, overworked, and abandoned. Teaching online striped away everything I love about being a teacher (namely relationships and time with others). I’ve been very lonely living in North Carolina with my parents. My family moved here after I had already moved out at 18, so I have no friends here (and it’s really hard to make friends amidst a pandemic, y’all). For the past nine months, I’ve seen maybe 20 people total outside my immediate family. I recognize that many people share this experience. All my lowest points in the last two years led to me want to be finished with teaching forever. Yet, the Lord worked on my heart – as He always does. He gave me some hard physical labor at the dog camp and some sweet puppy loving to remind me how much I love teaching. I love my students. I love the opportunity to create. I love my passion for theatre as a tool to transform. I love my heart for Third Culture Kids and the ministry of the performing arts. I love every trial that the Lord walked with me through while in China. It drew me closer to Him and helped me know myself all the more. In 2012, I was thrown off a horse in an accident that should have taken my life (read about the accident HERE). It took about seven months before I was able to get back on a horse (full "Wounded Series"). 2020 feels appallingly like the emotional equivalent of that accident. I’m ready and excited to mount up and use my gifts, talents, and passions to serve the Lord again. Thank you to those of you who prayed me through this year. And thank you for your patience and encouragement as I struggled to find my footing amidst the chaos of all that’s happened this year. The Lord is good and I remember that most of the time. So, the final thing to do would be to announce where I’m going next. I put it in another blog, and you can read all about it HERE. Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!
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This blog was originally drafted in March 2020 If you read my most recent blog, you know that my roommate, friend, and I were on an 11 day holiday in Thailand for Lunar New Year when (what felt like overnight) the whole world turned on its head. We received word from our company informing us that all schools in China would not be allowing any student or staff on campus temporarily for the next two weeks due to the threat of the virus. Instead, every school in China would be taking up an online initiative known as HBL or Home Based Learning during the ‘short’ hiatus. Those two weeks slowly turned into four weeks, which was forced to extend into six weeks and now, as I’m writing this, we have just received news that it is unlikely we will return to school until probably eight weeks from our initially scheduled return date (though at this point many people suspect it will be even longer). So, this is a blog reflecting on the past month of online school and my displacement in Thailand. First, I have to list all the things I’m thankful for in this crazy situation… I am thankful for a place to stayMy roommate’s family welcomed us for a short 11 day holiday and continued to welcome us when our little holiday turned into a full time almost 55 day residency (for me). I have a roof over my head, a warm bed, a nice bucket of water I can sometimes fill up for a shower, and access to a hot water kettle for all the tea and coffee needed to survive teaching online. I absolutely recognize I could have ended up in some hotel or trapped inside my own home in China. I am grateful every day for the hospitality and generosity of my roommate’s family. I am thankful for delicious foodGrace’s mom’s cooking. There is nothing like working knowing that you don’t have to worry about meals. Plus, she’s feeding us some of the most delicious brain food ever. I don’t think we’ve eaten the same meal twice. Grace’s mom might be an angel. I am thankful for the internetI am the queen of love/hate relationship with the internet, mostly because I realize how addicting technology can be. That being said, though the home we are staying in does not have WiFi (something I have actually come to love deeply because I NEED to unplug at night), it’s only a short trip to the office in order to get unblocked, free internet access (absolutely vital to running classes online). I am thankful for Grace and GloriaGoing through this situation, running classes online (when you were totally unprepared to do so), would be stressful for anyone. You know what would have made it more stressful? Doing it alone. I am so grateful to have Gloria and Grace beside me to bounce ideas off, to ask questions, brainstorm together, oh, and if we’re honest, whine and complain to someone who understands how challenging and impossible what we’re doing is sometimes. I am thankful for Thailand's weatherIt’s 90 degrees every day and there is not a cloud in the sky. I’m running every day and I’ve got a sandal tan lines to die for. I will never complain about being ‘trapped’ in such a sunny, warm, beautiful place. I am thankful for my healthI have been working out more in the past six weeks than I have in my entire life. Running over 5K, completing a 30 day yoga challenge, push-ups, ab workouts, you name it, I’ve been doing it in the name of getting out from behind the screen and finding some routine. It’s also a control thing. I can’t control anything in my life right now, except my body’s effort and the growth I see in my endurance and strength. Also, I may have totally called home to tell my family that for the first time I can see arm muscles that I never even knew I had. I am thankful to be growing fit and healthy during this time that seems full of nothing, but question marks. My Current State of MindIt’s hard to explain what this situation has been like. At first, it was kind of fun and exciting. Wow! We get to stay in Thailand for another two weeks, it’s going to be so chill! Online school? How hard can it be? NEWS FLASH: It’s not chill and it’s really hard! First, there was the homesickness. Homesickness is something I’ve boasted that I’ve never really felt. Instead, I find myself wide awake at night thinking about how much I miss my house and bed left behind in China. I worry about my plants with no one to take care of them. Then, there’s the nightmares. Nightmares of returning to China and running out of water. Nightmares of food shortages or graphic, horrible dreams of my family members dying terrible deaths and I wake up crying in bed. After that, comes the neck pain and backaches from sitting over a screen just typing and video chatting with students and planning and grading and making a video for tomorrow’s class which gets interrupted when you have to troubleshoot a students’ technology issue, all the while thinking to myself “When’s the last time I took a break or had a drink of water?” I try and connect with every kid through email and video chats, but I still feel totally alone and disconnected from my entire world. Meanwhile, this little hiatus keeps getting longer and longer with casualties and impacts and threats seem to be growing larger and larger. By the way, can people please stop telling my mother all the horrible things they read about or saw on the news? Because my mom is going to worry enough without you telling her the newest conspiracy theory that we end up talking about every time I call home. On top of all this… have I mentioned that I’m job hunting? Nothing to add more pressure and uncertainty than applying and interviewing for international positions amidst a global pandemic. This is a topic for another blog all together. As the days went on, the isolation grew. I’m alone in a foreign country where I can’t speak the language. I’m staying with the most wonderful family… with whom I also can’t speak. The adventurous little experience is growing into an unending, unresolvable struggle. It’s week seven of not being in my own bed. It is week seven of only having two people who I can actually have a conversation with face to face. Things aren’t getting easier and the “end” remains unknown. Meanwhile I’m only two weeks from having to renew my Thai tourist visa for the second time (I had 30 days and was able to extend for another 30 days)…Thailand may be closing it’s borders soon and we’ve heard the rumor that officials have been rejecting second visa extensions. I know that I don’t stand alone during this time of chaotic uncertainty, while I recognize that I have a lot to be thankful for, I feel overwhelmed by my lack of control and the uncertainty of my coming days. I would like to be able to return to China, finish the year well, get the closure goodbyes I need to leave China well, and then head onto wherever the Lord would have me go next with confidence and thankfulness in my heart. At this time I ask for continued safety, healthy, and energy and motivation to continue to be an encouragement and role model to my students. Blog completed/posted in July 2020
My roommate Grace, friend Gloria and I made plans late in the Fall of 2018 to spend Lunar New Year 2020 with Grace’s family in Thailand. It’s been an unticked checkmark on my travel to do list since arriving in China. It seemed that the Lord knew I needed to meet and become close friends with Grace (whose parents have been missionaries in Thailand for close to 30 years) for Thailand to finally happen. I truly had no idea what would be in store for us on this trip, and you all know I’m not just saying that because Grace did all the trip planning, haha. Still, this particular blog is going to focus on the wonderful vacation the three of us had, before things really took a turn for the unplanned. This blog is about our 11 day Lunar New Year holiday in THAILAND. Departure from China, Arrival in Thailand We flew from Qingdao Airport to Incheon Airport in South Korea and our first order of business was to hit up the fast food restaurant I find myself missing the most living abroad—Taco Bell. You might be surprised (or not) to find out that China doesn’t have a lot of Mexican style restaurants, much to my disappointment. We traveled first from South Korea to Bangkok, Thailand, where we stayed overnight with Grace’s ‘aunt’ (the missionary kind). The next day, we had breakfast in Thailand before flying up north to the city of Chiangmai. Here, Grace’s mom picked us up and welcomed us with fresh handmade Thai jasmine leis. The rest of our trip can be split up into about five big categories: Thai Markets, Thai Food, Thai Culture, and Thai Village Life. THAI MARKETS During our time in Chiangmai, we were enjoyed visiting a variety of Thai markets. These markets included Warorot Market, Meecho Plaza Temporary Markets, Sunday Walking Street, the Chiangmai Night Bazaar, and Baan Kang Wat Arts and Crafts Market. The Thai markets each have their own feeling and charm. Sunday Walking Street and the Night Bazaar are two of the most well-known and popular, staying open late into the night. Vendors sell souvenirs, collectables, handmade [insert anything you can think of], clothing, bags, keep-sakes and more. The street food is delicious and fun to try. Two things that surprised me about the markets, was how many streets would be closed off on the weekends or for one evening simply to host hundreds of sellers and tradesmen. Another thing that surprised me was when we were at the Sunday Night Walking Street. An announcement was made and Grace told Gloria and me to freeze. I was taken aback with the busy street full of shuffling shoppers and loud, motivated sellers suddenly became still and quiet. Everyone turned to face one direction along the street as music suddenly blared across speakers set on every street corner. The vibrant market was frozen as the music played. When the song was over, the voices began to echo again and the shifting movement of crowds slithered down the streets again. Grace explained that they had played the national anthem. There is great pride in not simply for Thailand, but also reverent respect for the Thai Royal Family. Grace explained that even before watching a movie in theatres all the movie patrons are asked to stand as the King’s Song is played before every film. I discovered once again that I’m a poor barterer (especially when I cannot speak the language), but walking amidst the music, colors, smells, and feeling traditional roots of these many markets was not only fun, but a real cultural experience. THAI FOOD Thai Hot Pot (MK), Mama Pad, Kuey Teow, Kuey Teow Tom Yum, Khao Man Gai, Khao Soi, Pad Thai, Bahmi Giew Moo Daeng, Niu Kao, and Rotti. These are just a few of the different food dishes I tried while in Thailand. Grace’s family is definitely a foodie family, so she were determined for us to try every traditional dish there was to offer in Thailand. I don’t know that I’ve ever eaten so well in my life. Then there were the variety of fruits we tried, guava, mango, pineapple, watermelon, rose apple, strawberries, coconut, and papaya. It was hard not to be obsessed with the fresh fruit. Grace is obsessed with Thai Bubble Tea, served cold and sometimes with whipped cream on top, it is very different from the bubble tea I have become accustomed to in China. THAI CULTURE Thai Massages and Thai Hot SpringsGrace’s mom insisted that most Thai thing you can do in Thailand is get a Thai Massage and visit a Hot Springs bath. I wasn’t sure what to expect for either experience. The massage parlor was a little room above a shopping complex. We changed into loose fitting, almost pajama like capri pants and a button-up top. Then, for two hours these little old ladies find every sore muscle, tight knot, and aching ligament. It was very relaxing at most points, when they weren’t working in a spot where you’re thinking “OW!”. I’ve had more than my fair share of Chinese massages and I have to say that the Thai massage was far more relaxing and pleasant than the, you’re going to be sore for weeks because of how hard I’m going to work this trouble area attitude of Chinese massages. I must be a bit of a pain lover though because I keep going back. Later, when we went to the hot spring I really had no idea what it was going to be like. Many, many Asian countries enjoy public bathing houses/parlors that Grace and Gloria have been going to since they were children. Public bathing… not really a Western thing. In fact, when we arrived at the front of the mineral springs bath house, Grace told me the receptionist said to her co-worker with shock, “A foreigner!” upon seeing me in line to go into the bath. Mineral hot springs have been identified in many cultures and countries as having great health benefits. That being said, my only context for ‘hot springs bath’ was visiting the ancient Roman Baths in Bath, England in 2015. You know, where there’s a giant pool with hundreds of people walking around naked? I know, I know, not the mental picture you wanted. It wasn’t the mental picture I wanted either, so I was a little nervous. Thankfully, this was not that. Instead, within the bath house there were many little rooms with a single bath inside. The mineral water is scalding, so you have two faucets one for the mineral water and one for cold water… basically to keep your flesh from burning off. You then can spend as long as you like in your little room with your bath. Do people walk around with no clothes on, you want to know? I mean yes, but not if you don’t leave your little room, haha. The minerals are said to be really helpful for all sorts of skin irritations and inflammations. I don’t think this will be on most people’s Thailand “Must Do” List, but Grace’s family has come to these baths for years. She assured me it was a, “very Thai experience.” Mind you, prior to going to the hot springs I’d been struggling with some severe itchy, dry skin (probably brought on by the dry Qingdao winter), but after the hot springs, the itchiness stopped. Could it be due to the Thai climate or a result of the bath in the mineral hot springs? Anyone’s guess, I suppose. Buddhist TemplesI was unaware of the sheer number of shrines and temples I would find decorating every street and shop when coming to China. Every little store, no matter how small, has some sort of family shrine on display. Usually the little shrines are kept with small gifts of food or drink placed on or beside them. Even as we drove through the most remote mountain regions of Chiangmai province, if you squinted for a closer look into the surrounding mountains you would find giant statues of Buddha on display. The more gold in the temple, the more money people give, and the more likely your wishes and prayers are to be received. Doi SuhthepThe most famous Buddhist temple in Chaingmai is known as Doi Suhthep. After being in Thailand for a only a few days and passing hundreds, I am not exaggerating, hundreds, of temples along the busy streets and narrow mountain roads, I asked if it was possible for us to visit one. I had never visited a proper Buddhist temple before and I wanted to see it, but also have the opportunity to lift up the lost people of the world, whose hope is in good words and gold statues to bring them peace, hope, and salvation. We traveled up the mountain in the back of a Song Teuw, packed in tight with eight or nine other people. Not for the faint of heart-or motion-sick prone (me). I would like to say it was an enjoyable experience, but I’ll leave it as an experience. Song Teuws are the most used type of public transportation in Thailand. There are buses and taxis, but Song Teuws can get you there quicker and cheaper. Doi Suthep Quick FactsDoi Suthep Info "A Thai saying goes, 'If you haven't tasted Khao Soi or seen the view from Doi Suthep, you haven't been to Chiang Mai.' The main reason many visitors come to Doi Suthep National Park is to visit Wat Phra That Doi Suthep, a venerable and venerated temple that is one of the most holy Buddhist sites in Thailand. Wat Phra That Doi Suthep is a major pilgrimage destination, especially during the Buddhist holidays of Makha Bucha and Visakha Bucha (February 13 and May 11, respectively). This awe-inspiring temple is crowned by an elaborate Chedi (Monument), 24 meters (79 feet) tall and gold plated from top to bottom." [Travel Source] We climbed up over three hundred steps to get to the main temple. Women were asked to wear a skirt to cover their legs and everyone had to take their shoes off. It felt eerily to me. Statues of every size and shape covered in gems or gold. Incense being burned constantly. Money poured out over little golden money boxes. The larger statues were placed in rooms, surrounded by expensive décor, framed by large ivory tusks. The unexpected element was the temple dogs, who lay down and slept amidst the crowds of worshippers and tourists who came and went. Worshipers bring money, food, and flowers to bow before these statues and give out their requests. Some monks reclined in corners of the temple, observing and praying. "In Thai culture, the status of kings have been rated by the number of white elephants that were in their possession and they have been historically considered a symbol of the King’s majesty. Hence, the late King Bhumibol owned the greatest number of white elephants. He had 21 white elephants and this can be regarded as an unprecedented achievement. Eleven of these elephants are still alive but only five of them have royal titles." [Phuket News Source] Thanathon Tangerine OrchardsIn the town of Fang, close to where Grace's parents work is Thanathon Orchards. This orchard is famous for being the location where oranges were farmed for the first time. The orchards now boast more than 10 orange hybrids. The grounds were really lovely and we had an amazing time walking around and seeing the many different fruit trees spread across acres and acres of green land. Chiang Mai Umbrella Making CenterWe spent a short afternoon at Bor Sang Village in Chiangmai visiting the umbrella making center. This is where thousands of paper umbrellas are handmade and designed. These umbrellas are an icon of Chiangmai. Visiting the center you can walk through and see each step of the umbrella making process, from the creation of the fine paper to the wooden frames that are designed one by one. Finally, the master painters created elaborate designs on the umbrellas that ensure each and every umbrella is 100% unique. The center boasts not only full size "hand-painted umbrellas," but also "tiny cocktail umbrellas, large parasols for gardens or patios and other handmade products – all made from sa paper (produced from the bark of the mulberry tree) and, a more recent development, cotton. The design has also evolved, from the original floral patterns to depictions of Chiang Mai’s rural scenery and even abstract patterns" [Travel Source] THAI VILLAGE LIFE After a number of days spent in Chiangmai city, Grace’s mom drove us three hours north, toward the Myanmar/Burmese border to a little town called Mae Ai. Mae Ai is the town where Grace’s parents have worked as Korean missionaries for almost thirty years. Thirty years. In two years I’ll have been alive for thirty years, so I really have no context to understand what thirty years of mission work in one place looks like. From my observations on this trip, staying with Grace’s family, thirty years of ministry looks like shopkeepers who know your order before you arrive. It looks like restaurant owners asking where your dad is every time you come to visit. For Grace, it looks like being away from Thailand for two years, but when you return the old men and women of the village get so excited over seeing how pretty you’ve become. Grace’s mother took us to visit a small village outside of Chiangrai (a neighboring province), you could only get to this village by walking across a narrow bridge over a huge river and as we’re crossing a girl on her motorbike almost jumps out of her seat because she recognized her. They hadn’t seen each other in a few years, but they knew each other. I love that my family has served as missionaries in so many different locations: France, Cameroon, Senegal, Lancaster Country, PA to Waxhaw, North Carolina. It means we have people we know all over their world who we love to reconnect with, but it’s fascinating for me to see and interact with people’s whose whole world are built around one tiny little town. Grace’s family has been working with a Thai minority group called the La-Hu. A really cool connection between Grace and my missionary families is that the La-Hu Bible was translated in the early 2000s by Wycliffe Bible Translators. Grace’s father took Gloria, Grace and I to visit the Wycliffe branch in Thailand, called Wycliffe Thai Foundation. Grace’s parents run dorm facility for La-Hu students who want to get an education. Currently, their complex is home to over 40 middle and high school students from the surrounding villages. Village life is just as slow and laidback as you would imagine it to be and I LOVED it (little did I know I would get to spend far more than four days living it, but that’s another blog). Who knew how much I would love bucket showers after morning runs along rice patty fields, below mango trees and around hillsides of pineapple plants (Did you know pineapples grow in the ground?! Why am I the only one that didn’t know this?). Plus, every home has at least two or three dogs (most of them friendly) and the people here smile all the time (Did you know one of Thailand’s slogans is ‘Land of Smiles’? They’ve earned it). Grace’s mom cooked some of the most delicious Korean meals I’ve ever eaten with, get this, no oven, no microwave, no stove, and a sometimes empty well. This is village life. It’s sort of sad that I long to be a part of some grand theatre ministry, but am absolutely in love with life in quiet, rural agricultural villages. Just a reminder, I guess you can’t have it all. This getaway, this quiet, peaceful rest found along the mountainous border of Burma and Thailand, living and watching Grace’s parents service with Thai and La-Hu people was really rejuvenating. I certainly didn’t want to leave when it came time to go from the little village, but I was able to be pulled away with that knowledge that I had the world’s largest mammal to meet! ELEPHANT JUNGLE SANCTUATY Our trip was almost finished, but before we left I had one request, “Grace, I don’t have any requirements for what we do in Thailand. You can plan whatever you want. I just REALLY want to meet an elephant.” This was my one wish and I had repeated it over and over again to my roommate even two years before when we planned the trip in 2018. So, on Monday, January 27th we headed to spend the day with three families of Asian elephants at Elephant Jungle Sanctuary in Chaingmai! This is an adventure I will save for another blog (which I will link here when it is finished). THE UNEXPECTED DELAY Throughout the time we were on this trip, there were murmurs, whispers, and many a message from my mom with information about the spread of the CoronaVirus in China. On January 29th, the day we were scheduled to fly to Bangkok in order to return to China, Grace, Gloria, and I received an email from our company/school that the government was mandating that no school in mainland China was permitted to open their doors while the threat of the virus was rising. The plan was to resume with school after two weeks of an online initiative we were calling HBL or Home Based Learning. We decided to extend our stay for about 12 days longer… and more on this unexpected turn of events will be another blog… detailing how our 11 day Thailand vacation turned into (currently) seven weeks displaced and working in Thailand. |
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