Funny Things!

Have you ever been placed in a situation and wonder how on earth you ended up there? Recently I have been reminiscing about why exactly I am in Thailand and how it came about. I have come to the conclusion that God sure does have a sense of humour, and I am in for one wild ride.

I knew coming here that God wanted me to be here. I never would have imagined that I would be coming to Thailand. To be completely honest, I usually would look at a place, decide how many snakes lived there, and if it was any more than 2 I would seriously reconsider going there. Having this as my criteria for places I would visit, Thailand was obviously not top of the list. To be honest, I had never dreamt of going to Thailand, nor given it much thought before God made it clear that he wanted me here this year. Like never before, I felt like God was leading me here and had a purpose for me here this year. I still am unsure of what that purpose is, and despite many difficulties here thus far, still know that this is where I am supposed to be. It has been a turbulent journey of sorts, and I more than anything would love to be snuggled up in the arms of my mom and dad, but I know that God has a purpose for me here, so I am embarking on a journey here that will (and has) come with struggles.

Here are some of the many reasons God has a sense of humour in sending me here:
1. The population of snakes in Thailand is probably more than the population of people. And there are a heck of a lot of people in Bangkok, let me assure you. I have no proof of this statistic, nor am I about to willingly embark on finding proof for this statistic, but I am almost positive this is the truth. I have never met anyone in my life that is as scared of these creatures as I am, so it is humorous to me that God chose the snake capital of the world for me to live. And I'm not talking garter snakes (which are terrifying also)...I mean pythons and pit vipers. Everywhere I go, I am constantly on edge. My heart is in a constant state of panic, and I often feel like I cannot breathe when I have to go outside in the dark by myself. In fact, I have stopped going outside in the dark, because I just can't do it. In fact, right now jungle ball (the best game ever) is about to start, and I am too scared to leave and go outside in the dark to get to the gym. I know it's pathetic, but I am phobic of snakes, and apparently they make their appearances at night often. God, you're funny!
2. I am allergic to seafood, and I have been sent to the area of the world where EVERYTHING has seafood in it. Before I came here I only ever would get sick to my stomach from seafood, but since being here I have had three allergic reactions and gotten hives. Great. In Canada it is very easy to ignore seafood, and usually no one ever needs to know that you can't eat it. Here I need to tell everyone, everywhere that I can't eat that, and I never know until after if there is seafood in what I ate. God sure is funny!
3. I am pretty good at sweating in Canada, and here the weather gets a few thousand degrees hotter than Canada (give or take 975 degrees). I must say I am getting more accustom to the weather here, but I also think that is because we are transitioning from hot season to monsoon season, which is cooler. Today was really, really humid, but generally the temperatures have been much cooler. I just checked the current temperature, and here is an idea of what "much cooler" means: it is 30 degrees, and it feels like 40 degrees. That is unfortunately what "much cooler" is here. In fact, I only brought one sweater, but have been wearing it frequently these days because I feel like it is getting cooler. I cannot imagine what will happen to me when I return to Canada. Bring on the parkas! Once again, God sure is funny!

Even though all these things seem to make one wonder why I would be here, I know that there are many reasons that make Thailand a great place for me. After all, it is called the Land of smiles, and I do love to smile! It's funny to see where God has placed you, and to think of the journey that led you to that place. I know I am here for a reason. I don't know what it is, but I trust that God is going to reveal that in his perfect timing. I am happy that I did not choose where I would go directly after school, because often my plans are selfishly motivated and are far from God's plans. He never promised me that His plans for me would be easy, as I am definitely experiencing, but He promised me that He would go each step with me and never leave me. This is what I will hold onto as I venture further into this wild ride I am on.