I arriived about four hours ago at the volunteer house where I will be staying. I met my roomate Sophie, a young Thai woman who works at Night Light Design. She had my bed ready, my part of the closet cleared to hang my clothes, and a fresh towel set out for a hot shower...none of which I've done yet because I am trying to be quiet so everyone can sleep! From what Annie (the director of Night Light) shared on the way from the airport, most of the women at the house are in their 20's and 30's so I am sure I will be like a mother figure to many of them. Actually, that may be a large part of my ministry this time. There are so many hurting women here who need a mother's love and care.
The time difference...my computer is still on SD time and it says Wednesday, 4:15 pm. In Bangkok is is Thursday, 5:15 am. So, it is 13 hours ahead of Central Standard Time. It will take me awhile to get that in my head.
Today will be a day of reconnecting and meeting new people at Night Light. I am really trying to learn everyone's name which is difficult since Thai names are hard to remember. There are three women named Nat. three Oy's, three Ems, and other names like Tuk, Gate, Moy, Oy, Rat and Rin. These are all nicknames. See why I am confused!
My first street outreach is Friday night. It will be interesting to see if there have been any significant changes. Driving from the airport through the area where Night Light is located and I am staying, we saw several groups of eastern European women. Obviously the trafficking hasn't stopped.
Blessings from Bangkok (BKK)
