10/1/2017 0 Comments My last day at ismThe last two weeks have been a bit of a whirlwind to be honest. A lot has been thrown at me, some good, some bad. Distractions have been popping up left right and centre, which let's face it is a smidge problematic considering my rather short attention span anyway, and considering the fact that the course material really does require your full attention.
However, the course material has been really interesting (the good kind of interesting). Personal week and Ministry week are now also completed. Personal week was a very revealing week. We did all sorts of personality tests, learning about our personality types, conflict resolution styles and spiritual temperaments. To be honest I could have predicted the results (that I am a hyper organised, goal oriented person who likes to find compromises until pushed when I become quite direct) so that was not at all surprising. However the surprise came from the fact that three out of four members of the group shared much of the same results. Jenna and I were almost creepily similar in our results - maybe that would be why we get on so well. I particularly enjoyed the talk on the Father Heart of God by John Robinson (although lets be honest I am a tad biased given he is my awesome big bro). It was weirdly nice to hear a familiar English accent! The day after his talk, the ISM team headed off to do some prison ministry in partnership with Life Centre Church. To say I enjoyed it would be the wrong phrase, but it was definitely an experience that I won't be forgetting any time soon. After signing a lot of forms and other documents we were allowed through the initial gate into the holding centre where the refugees are held (sorry to disappoint but I wasn't visiting any hardened criminals). Then before we could actually go to the visiting area, I got a very friendly pat down from the female guard, which definitely took me by surprise; I mean I cannot possibly fathom what on earth she thought I would be smuggling there. Anyway after the search we went through to actually visit some refugees. The refugees I visited were all Pakistani refugees who fled to Thailand in search of better opportunities for Thailand, but instead they were caught for overstaying their visas and put into the prison. One lady had been there for two years, and has been separated from her husband ever since. Seeing the sadness in their eyes was just overwhelming. But they also displayed overwhelming love and kindness. These people have barely anything and are surviving on very little, yet they were so grateful for a visitor that the one couple I visited first gave me a hand made bracelet. The husband made it himself, and gave it to me with blessings. I put in on in front of them and have not taken it off since, nor do I plan to take it off. On Saturday we all spent the day at the beach of Koh Samet. It was an absolutely stunning beach, and not bad weather either. It was overcast, but it was still warm and not raining so that's always a good thing. During our time on the island I went parasailing! It was so much fun. I have to say there were times at which I thought, ok well this is how I die. But I survived and even enjoyed the experience overall so I count it as a successful experience. The rest of the day was spent swimming in the crystal blue seas and laying on the white sands. I helped Jenna get some good pictures of her in her mermaid tale, and then it was time to go back to base sadly. We all left with a sense of happiness, but also a killer sunburn. We all look still a little like lobsters, as if we didn't stand out enough already in an Asian country haha. For a couple of days Nathan was so sore he couldn't even put his backpack on without a nasty grimace on his face resembling that of someone being tortured. Ministry week has been riveting. It has focused on some of the issues that I will run into during my time in Thailand. We have discussed aspects of Buddhism, human trafficking and prostitution, the demonic and even gender confusion (lady boys). Tomorrow is the day that I leave ISM to go to help John and Gillian in their ministry at Place of Grace. I am looking forward to moving into a flat and meeting my new room mate. I am especially looking forward to having a nice flushing toilet, and only three people using the wifi at one time as apposed to at one point 30 people using it. Most of all though I am looking forward to jumping in to helping out with the kids' ministry clubs. It is what I came here to do, so I am glad the wait is over and I can actually get to it!
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AuthorChloe. 19. Novice blog poster so bare with me as I detail my experiences on the other side of the world. |