One week into the mission...

LONG FLIGHT: My day started Wednesday morning February 6 at 3:30 am. A short trip to the Sacramento Airport and off to LAX where I had a five hour layover until my 1:50 PM flight to Taipei, Taiwan. I sat in front of China Air for two hours napping and reading. It took me a while to get worried that no one was even in line to check in so I asked and it turned out I was flying Air China and not China Air. This made me glad the layover was long enough but I still had about an hour to spare. Before we boarded I met up with the other Student Missionary, Robin. We were able to fly aisle seat (thanks Christy) and this added leg room was most appreciated. After 15 hours of smooth flying we landed in Taipei and boarded China Air again to Bangkok. This flight was only about 4 and we arrived in Bangkok around two Friday morning Thailand time.

FIRST DAY: After two hours of sleep we headed off to Thai language school. We took motorcycle rides to school and it was quite the introduction to Thailand. I liken riding one of these to playing an arcade game of Road Rash…except it’s your life at stake. They pretty much take the fastest way possible to your destination which means passing parked cars at high speeds and close distances. Keeps you awake and gets your adrenaline pumping for school for sure. Robin and I were starting a day late so it took us a little while to catch on. The language is pretty unique and will definitely be a challenge to learn but is already becoming a way of life as we talk to street venders and the locals.


A begger/saxaphone player on the street

BON KRUT (Or something sounding close to that): We learned that we arrived just in time for vacation. So after eating grabbing some food and packing up we rode third class on a four hour train ride to Bon Krut and the beach. We met up with some other SM’s from Chang Mai and from other bases around Bangkok and settled in for the uncomfortable ride. After about four and a half hours we learned that our actual stop was still a full two hours ahead of us. So after two full days of travel and running on only two hours of sleep we pulled into our destination and slept. On Sabbath we hung out on the beach and drove to a Buddhist temple. Saturday night we went to a Muiy Thai kickboxing match. It’s pretty crazy because they have kids fighting from ages 7 all the way up to heavy weights. I guess they want to start them early. But I would not want to take on any of these kids even at their age. They know how to use their legs and are as agile as gymnasts.

Temple in Bon Krut

Robin swinging at the beaches



Riding in Bon Krut



The four SM's at Bon Krut

SHAVED HEAD: My dreams of dreads were shattered when I realized the hair is not worth the heat. It bore down on me quick and on the third day in Thailand I shaved my head. Hope your happy Kim

TOILETS: The toilets here are squat and spray. I hear it builds the thigh muscles.

OUR HOME: We live in the third story of the building across the street from the church plant. Entering this building is like levels on a video game. We have four doors to lock every time we enter and exit the building. The walls are only sheet rock so the sound travels pretty freely through the house. We are very grateful for the roof over our head and the A/C is an added comfort we are very appreciative of.

A rare look at free flowing traffic along side the BTS

BTS: Bangkok Transportation System. We board this every day for school and back. It is also called the Skytrain. It is just one of the many means of transport in this massive city but is probably the most efficient. We use student passes and get discounts but a normal trip is around 40 baht. That’s around one dollar US.

Our side of Bangkok at night

Some wild life