ants

This summer, for my internship with Moody, God is sending me to Thailand. My excitement and fear for everything is building with each passing day. Moody tries to prepare us as best they can, requiring a 5-7 page country report. For that, and also just out of pure curiosity, I've been researching Thailand a lot the past few weeks. The goal is to learn how to not be offensive to the people of Thailand. Things learned so far:

~Smile, it'll cover a world of frustration.
~Don't show your frustration or anger, loss of one's temper is terrible.
-Feet are never to be pointed at anyone, that is insulting.
-To Buddhists the head is sacred, therefore it should never be touched.
-The king is held in high respect, don't say anything disrespectful.

The culture where I have been raised is so very different. My hope is to be mostly a learner, trying not to offend while there. When things get stressful I do have a bit of a temper, so this is something I know God will have to help me with. One thing that I discovered: in Thailand they eat ants. Part of being a learner is eating what is served to you. Can't wait.




On a completely different note, but related because its about ants. God has been trying to teach me to look out of my little ant hole and see the much bigger picture. The past week has been pretty stressful homework wise, plus other distractions in my mindset and life, some good, some bad. But the result has been I have been terrible selfish. Example: I'm gathering prayer partners for my internship. I've asked a few good friends if they would pray for me one day a week. One of my friends (I'd left a message about this on her phone) called me yesterday. My class was just starting, so I did not answer, but I thought to myself "She's probably calling back about the prayer thing" (ME focused...always). She wasn't. She left a message saying that she was really hoping to talk with me, that she needed to process through stuff with someone. That smacked me in the face. Stop thinking your world is all that matters.