The work begins....

Well hello there, fellow readers! Let me tell you a little bit about my day….

I woke up at five….I’m trying to wake up early every day to keep my body in pace with the time change, and it’s worked pretty well so far! I’m not too tired, and I sleep very well through the night. I like Thailand, and I think my body does too. Took a shower…now, let me tell you, the shower here has a HUGE window beside it. Outside you can see the treehouse-like village that I live in, the farms, the cows, which look NOTHING like the cows I’m used to, they’re far more albino and anorexic, the chickens, the river, everything! Not to mention the sounds of Thailand- Motorbikes passing through, the weird birds calling out what sounds like “Eat Me!”, and chinchooks burping for everyone to hear. Chinchooks are lizards that reside in every nook and cranny of this building. Some are as tiny as my pinky, others are huge and want you to know where they are and what they’re doing at any given moment. I love them, and I often find myself conversing with them as I make tea by the stove or sweep the dirt off of the balcony here. I’m a fairly interesting person, so they don’t seem to mind, right? Anyway, I was so distracted by the sights and sounds that I must’ve been standing in the shower too long, because all of the sudden the water just (BLIP!) shut off. Shampoo in hair and everything. Lucky for me there was a small trickle coming out of the shower head, so I contorted myself around in various positions until my entire head had been soaked. Haha! It was quite an experience. That tells you a lot about Thailand though. So much to take in! It’s wonderful!

Today was my first day of work. When I got to the office, half of the team was already there and starting. I pulled my laptop out and began what I thought might be easier than it sounded. NOPE! Oh my Moses, the paperwork with FBR is overwhelming….there’s so much to do!

Let me explain what FBR is…the Free Burma Rangers is a non-profit relief organization that sends out teams of ex-military personnel, missionaries, and medical professionals to aid the people in Burma. Burma is faced with SO much political unrest and distress. The Burmese government has taken abusive action on the people there, and it has ended in numerous deaths, executions, burned homes, villages, and people, as well as much sexual abuse, etc. that has been brought on the Burmese people by the military soldiers that they should be able to follow and trust. One of my jobs today was to look over the website and organize the photos and reports that have been posted by the relief teams in the past year and a half. I saw things that no one should ever have to see. I was devastated. My team consists of all guys, except one girl that I’ve barely seen, and I didn’t want to cry in front of them, but it was hard. I live in Illinois, and applied this as if there were this kind of thing going on in Indiana, or Iowa! It’s so close to Thailand! And no one seems to know about it. My job is to process the reports sent in by the teams in Burma, and to make sure that we’re tracking the teams at all times, so that they don’t come into contact with any of the Burmese officials. Though not common, since they’re well-prepared, being caught has led to the death of some of the Rangers…the government is not soft on those who are assisting the people. You can find out more about them at www.freeburmarangers.org.

All that to say, I need your prayers. It’s a difficult job, and I need to be able to do it without actually thinking about what I’m processing and putting into the computer. I have to focus, and realize that processing these reports is assisting every member of every team. And pray for FBR. They need it.

I worked from 10-5, since they start at 10, and I left early because I had to get home somehow, and I’m not allowed to be out at night after six. A nice man in a motorbike taxi drove me to the street where my apartment is located, and he blew me kisses when I gave him the equivalent of 3 dollars for the ride. Wow! No sir, thank YOU! It’s stinken hot here, and you saved me a sweaty mess! Haha…

Oh! I have discovered the fruit of heaven! It’s called lie-chee, I did that on sound, not spelling. It grows on trees here, and it comes in this hard, pointy shell. You have to bite the shell until it breaks, then peel back the outward skin until, HALLELUJAH! you see the white fruit inside. It tastes….well, amazing. I love the food here! I went shopping in the supermarket yesterday and I could barely take it all in! By the way, the Thai people shop with their carts the way they drive….no rules, just run ‘em over and do your business! I LOVE IT!

Well! Tomorrow’s a new day! I feel like I haven’t shared half of my adventures, but more will come! And hopefully pictures….I’m TERRIBLE at taking them!

Your friend,

Kendra