Thoughts from Bangkok — Already 9 months in!

Hi Everyone!! Alyssa here, dialing in from the roof of my condo, which seems to be my favorite spot to write. Weather has finally cooled down and it feels sooo pleasant out. A bit of wind, not too sweaty at all, and no longer April (the hottest month haha). One of the reasons I am up here is to help with my writers block, as I am having a difficult time knowing what to share – things haven’t been the easiest this week, but I think you all deserve to be looped in when things are hard too. Definitely good to be real sometimes!

I think it’s a mix of homesickness, some plans changing, and just having an off week at work, and I am feeling a bit unlike myself. There are really spectacular weeks and then there are really hard ones, which seems to be rhythm of life this year. When our time here is so short and so purpose-filled, I can find myself feeling guilty when I am sad or homesick, because my enneagram seven just wants to make the most of our time here and be full of adventure and joy every day. A year, however, is just too long to be happy all the time, so I find myself reconciling the need to be happy and the reality that not everything is always exciting; although of course everything is beautiful and growing, perhaps this is not always easy to see in every moment. 

Some of the hard things we are navigating this month include challenges we have encountered with our visa situation, sometimes just feeling the weight of the language and cultural barriers that make it more challenging in forming deep friendships, being stretched professionally because we are working in a field that is completely outside of our previous expertise, and both of us getting sick last month. 

Additionally, for me personally, one area where God has been stretching me is in my faith. As I read through the Bible this year and spend time professionally and in a part of the world where I encounter suffering and injustice more directly, I have found myself wrestling with difficult questions about God's character and the way faith is lived out in practice. 

While that process has sometimes been painful and frustrating, at this point I am moving into a space where I am researching a lot more, it is helping grow Alek and I closer together as he helps me research (he really is the best- he is like with me and for me and always recommending podcasts and is just such a good conversationalist <3), and I trust that asking hard questions is part of growing deeper roots, so I am just learning to be patient and stay curious.

With all that said, we are extremely grateful for our time here, even in the tough moments, and know that this is one of the most growing and special years of our lives. I still can’t believe we got the opportunity to do life together in this way and serve IJM in the field. We are also gearing up to head back to the States in September(!!!), which is honestly crazy to think about. While the last week has felt a bit funky, I think we are both realizing how soon we are leaving, and I know that realization will shape so much of what we do and how we spend our time over these next few months.

Now that I've spent several paragraphs being v introspective 😅, I should probably actually tell you what we've been up to.

We went on our visa run to Vietnam, where we were able to meet up with several of my friends from college. We were in Northern Vietnam in the mountains for a few days with Brooke, Quinton, and Bethany, and right after that Cambria came and met up with us in Hanoi. It was seriously so fun to explore Vietnam with such close friends. We may or may not have picked up a few bed bugs along the way, but hey, I guess that's just part of the experience (shrug) LOL.

We also had some visitors briefly which was a blast - Sally, Sue, & Ed stopped in Bangkok on the last stop of their cruise, and we had a great time! <3 They came to our church, we did a cooking class, and toured around a bit. As always, tons of delish food.

We had a really fun day trip to Ayutthaya, the ancient capital of Thailand, with some dear friends from work and language classes. Our buddy who went with us actually grew up there too, so we low-key had the best guide and got to learn so much about the city from someone who knows it so well.

Lastly, we spent a quick one night weekend trip in a province about an hour away from Bangkok called Suphan Buri with one of our coworkers who lives there. It was a beautiful, quiet, town, and we had such a restful time. She graciously toured us around, and it was such a special experience to see a part of Thailand we probably never would have visited on our own. 

One of the most amazing parts of our time here has been getting to see Thailand through the eyes of our Thai friends :) We feel really blessed.

For work, we have been up to a lot as well. I was able to wrap up a few stories (copy, photography, and video) for both a survivor and a partner organization that you will probably see at some point if you follow IJM on social media. That was a wonderful experience. I learned a lot and got to dig deeply into the stories of some really powerful experts in the field.

I am also helping put together a presentation that our country director will share at a conference in Korea. The topic is justice system strengthening as a development strategy, which is so cool, and I am incredibly grateful to be learning so much about the subject from an academic angle. I have also discovered that I really love speech writing, which has been fun to learn about myself!

Alek has continued doing so much for the office. He is working on redesigning our office layout to effectively accommodate our growing headcount, and has been using his CAD skills to the max to draft different options. He is helping our team with financial planning, and of course is still running point on our contract with our media consultant, which he is doing a phenomenal job managing.

One last big note for him: he is implementing the second phase of our outreach to migrant workers, encouraging them to report labor abuse to the Thai government. He is a superstar and somehow always doing so much to serve. :) #proudwife

We have one big praise report and a few prayer requests:

• Praise Report

  I was able to visit a Thai court for a judgment hearing in a human trafficking case our team has been working on for years, and the ruling was truly, truly justice. Both defendants were sentenced to 35 years in prison, which from what I have gathered is quite a rare outcome in these kinds of cases. It was an incredibly powerful moment and such a tangible reminder of why this work matters.

• Prayer Requests

  • Alek is still healing from his hip injury- the recovery time is very difficult to read, but can be up to a year. He has been diligently doing physical therapy and is feeling loads better, but still can’t run or jump without hip pain. Please pray for continued healing, discipline in physical therapy, and a successful competition.

  • Pray for me as I continue serving in the prayer ministry at our church. Pray that I would show up authentically as I navigate some of the faith questions I shared about above, while continuing to go to the Father alongside my brothers and sisters in Christ.

  • Pray for our work, that we would be encouraged to keep going, remain faithful, and finish the race well.

  • Pray for our remaining time in Thailand, that it would be marked by joy, peace, and a deep awareness of God's presence.

  • Pray for Alek as he heads on a men's retreat next weekend, that it would be a refreshing and meaningful time with the Lord and other guys from our church.