Thailand!

Taken from my journal:
Day 1:
Got in around 2 am I believe, and was up and ready for church that morning at 9am! Our group of 5 from Calvary met up with a family of 4 from Kansas, we also had some Calvary members who have been living in Thailand meet up with us. We then went to lunch to brief. I had my first real Thai meal and was a little worried about that because I cannot eat spicy food, but they have a variety of foods that aren't. A few of the team went to the BSC (Baptist Student Center) to have a banquet but I opted out for sleep. I slept for 11 hours that night.
Day 2:
Woke up at 4 am to go to a prison about 2 and a half hours away from Bangkok. The countryside reminded me of Uganda's countryside. When we got there we had a program for them. We sand and taught them some hand movements to a song, Josh and Meghan shared their testimonies and then Ray preached. When the program ended and the Thai missionary helping, asked who wanted to accept Jesus, every hand was lifted in the air. God is so good. We then had lunch at this ridiculous restaurant called Chockchai. It was all out American western themed, it was pretty hilarious. We then went to the BSC and just had conversations with some students who are learning English. Meghan and I presented the gospel to a guy who said he was an atheist  and believed all religions, but liked Christianity the most. I also talked to a girl who is now a good friend of mine.
Day 3:
Great day to say the least! We went to another mens prison for drug addictions. I shared my testimony which I practiced over and over in my head, and somehow, spoke it just like I planed all thanks to God! I was terrified because I HATE standing in front of people, let alone speaking, but I did it and I thought it went very well. Ray preached and was just lit  on fire by the Holy Spirit! Everyone was listening and looked interested and at the end when asked who wanted to accept Jesus, again every hand was raised. We then went to the BSC later that day and I got to speak to a few people for a long time.
Day 4:
Started the day off wrong. We weren't needed at the BSC until 10:30am, so we had some free time, meaning we could sleep in a little. Everyone thought we would wake up naturally, go downstairs and eat, relax and then go. We couldn't have been more wrong. Us 3 girls woke up to Josh knocking on our door and saying when we were leaving because it was 9:40! So we got ready, missed breakfast, and rushed out the door. We went to a BSC staff meeting which was amazing. We had lunch there and then went on a mini tour of the city, thanks to Meghan. We went to a large shrine of some god. Very eery, though it was mid day, hot and extremely sunny, it was dark and ominous. The statue was beautiful, but it was made by human hands. Many people were bowing down, giving sacrifices, and lighting insence. Very sad and disturbing. Why worship and pray to something that is dead, statue, stone? My God is ALIVE!
Day 5:
Went to the IDC (Immigration detention center). These people have overstayed their visas and so they get locked up until they can get a plane ticket home, though some do not want to leave because their country is too dangerous. I got paired with a woman named Mythilly. She is from Sri Lanka. It is hard to talk to the people because you are behind a fence and then there is a walkway and then they are behind another fence. It's also very loud because so many people are there on either side of the fence talking at once. The woman I got paired with has 2 kids, a girl, 10 years old and a boy, 14 years old. They are both in there with her. Their father was once with them at the IDC and got out and went back to their country to get bail for his family, but the government murdered him and send a picture of his deceased body to the family.That was about 4 months ago. They have been in there for about a year and a half. They plan on getting out soon and going to New Zealand. I then walked over to a tall German woman who was on my side of the fence. She was singing to a few people on the other side. Shew as singing the song in Thai but I recognized it immediately. It's a beautiful worship song. A man and wife were listening, the wife was crying and the husband was wiping her tears. It was a beautiful moment full of peace yet desperation for God. I had to bite my lip so that I wouldn't start balling. At night we went to a bible study at a restaurant owned by one of Thailand's celebrities. She's a Christian and so she hosts a bible study there. There were apparently other famous Thais among us, but I wouldn't know.
Day 6:
Today was a more relaxing day. We went to Baiyoke Tower which is the tallest tower in Thailand. We had lunch at a restaurant at the top of the tower. Food was alright but the view was incredible. We then went to the VERY top which revolved so you can see the whole city. We were able to see for miles, the visibility was excellent. That night we had Friday Night Life, which is a night where Thai students can come and get some practice speaking English, by playing games that revolved around us Americans and singing worship songs. Oh, we also had buffets for breakfast, lunch and dinner..
Day 7:
One week! I cannot believe it has already been a week, then again it feels like it has already been 2 weeks. Today we went to Ampawa, a town about an hour and a half outside of Bangkok. We went to a meeting place where they were discussing ideas of planting a church. We talked, sang songs, a guy preached and then we went to lunch, where I had to go to the bathroom SO bad. It was a sketch place but they DID have a toilet, however it was disgusting. Dirty bathrooms and showers are one of my biggest fears in third world countries. God sure does have a sense of humor and I made sure to tell Him when I was attempting to use it. We then went to floating market which was really cool. Meghan and I happened upon a cage of 2 beagle puppies for sale. We instantly fell in love. We held them for about 20 minutes. If I lived here, I would definitely be taking home every dog I found. There is a ton. We then had dinner and later that night Meghan and I got full body massages. Haha, they were so cheap, but it got awkward!
Day 8:
Today was our day off! We went to church, Josh preached an awesome message about unity in the body of Christ. Then we went to JJ market which was awesome. Lots of walking. We went to another part of town to get something. We ended up finding a street vendor that sold fried chicken. It was a pretty funny sight, 4 Americans squeezed onto a cement platform eating friend chicken like it was going out of style. Us girls then went and got a foot massage which was AMAZING! Thailand has the BEST and cheapest massage places.
Day 9:
Today was amazing to say the least. We went to the womens prison. Meghan was to preach. She stayed up late preparing a sermon but by morning, she was unsure. We picked up the prison ministry team. While we were waiting for them Meghan went away to pray and came back later saying she wasn't preaching her prepared sermon, God told her no, and gave her the word "Healer". She said even though she had nothing prepared, she had a peace. On the way there we looked up verses that went along with God being a Healer. I then decided I needed to share something at the prison. Pat asked me earlier if I wanted to share something and I said no. Suddenly while finding verses with Meghan, I felt God telling me to speak to them. In the car ride there, one of the prison ministry volunteers briefed us on what to expect, saying many of the women were Christians. After she briefed us Meghan turned to me and said, "Lauren, God just told me 'These are My people' before Teewan told us that." I got goose bumps to say the least.While Meghan was preaching she got choked up and started to cry while explaining to the girls how much God actually loved them. She said He was screaming in her ear to tell them HOW MUCH He did. Many of the girls were crying by the end. God's presence was so evident, it was amazing. Only my God can bring prisoners to tears!
Day 10:
Today we went to the boys JDC, we performed a skit which I think went pretty well. Don't know if the boys understood that you cannot serve both Jesus and Buddha. They believe that all religions are the same and that Jesus was just a good guy. Many buddhists believe that.
Day 11:
Today we went and visited Rahab Ministries. The street is was on was littered with trashy bars and even worse were the bar names. We visited with them and was briefed on the ministry. We then made jewelry with some of them. When we left we prayer walked down the street they are on, which is the red light district of Thailand. So much sin is there and that ministry is right in the middle of it. It was a great example that us Christians need to be light in the midst of darknes.
Day 12:
Our last day :( We ended it well. We went to the IDC in the morning. God laid it on my heart the week before to sing worship songs with and for the prisoners. Everyone was kind of iffy about it but we decided we would do one song. When we got in, I decided we probably weren't going to sing because it was so loud and everyone was busy. Halfway through, someone started singing and then we all joined and sang joyful worship songs. Prisoners were crying and dancing. So many of us were singing that a lot of the prisoners started singing and leading some songs. It got so loud that the prison guard came over and told us we had to stop. The joy on their faces was unmistakeable. Jesus was amongst us and everyone could feel Him. It was truly amazing. Now I am on this African airline, it's dingy and outdated, I'm a little terrified but cannot wait to be back in Uganda!