Bangkok & Chiang Mai, Thailand 2013 (Family Vacation & 52ndAMF)

July or August is the month that I always look forward to since I started attending the Asian Mission Forum last 2012. Why? Because I get to travel overseas with my family. That includes my Grandparents, my Dad's brother and now, also brother's girlfriend which started attending just last year 2013. This yearly trip-I hope so-is not only a family vacation where we just chill at the hotel, eat some good food, stroll around or swim in the pool. It also involves spiritual activities for spiritual growth. We get to meet new people and make new friends all over the world. We get to hear good and encouraging messages from Keynote speakers and we get to attend breakout classes which we can also learn a lot. Asian Mission Forum is an event or conference we attend every year where all missionaries all over Asia meet up and have fellowship. Now a days, not only Asian missionaries attend but also their families, friends, church members and even interns from Christian schools in the US also attend this conference. 

Well because me and my family get to travel overseas for the AMF-yes we do like traveling-me and my family do a lot of sight seeing, local food tasting, and all those touristy stuff. Ya know what I mean. :) Me and mom likes to try new things, do new things and see new things. So my mom usually do the planning, like where to go, where to eat, etc.. etc.. 

Last Asian Mission Forum 2013-I know... Sorry for posting so late-we went to Thailand. AMF was held in Chiang Mai for 5 days. We also stayed a couple of days in Bangkok before we flew back to the Philippines. It was my first time in Thailand which made the trip more exciting. Excitement to see Thailand was the best feeling to cover up my post-terrible-breakup-syndrome at that time. Thailand was beautiful. The malls were huge and some were cool looking. The traffic in Bangkok was like in EDSA, Philippines and for me I think it was worse. But what I love the most was the food. Pad Thai!!! Writing this and remembering the authentic Pad Thai just made me drool. :)) I had so much fun in Thailand with my awesome family. Don't you just love traveling with your family? I DO! Nothing beats that! There were still a lot of things in Thailand that I was not able to do though like riding an elephant, trying the Thailand beaches-I they're beautiful too-the floating market, watch live Muai Thai fight and visit some other cool temples. If given the chance to go back to Thailand again, I would. 

Bangkok, Thailand travel pictures to be continued... :)

Angkor of Faith 7

Angkor of Faith is a mission program founded by the Church of Christ missionaries from Thailand and from Singapore. It's about sharing and teaching God's word to the children (orphans, street children) of Siem Reap, Cambodia. Youth of the Church of Christ all over Asia and parts of the world unite and work together serving the Lord with these kids. 

It was a blessing that I was able to attend the Angkor of Faith in its 7th year and fortunately the Philippine team was the one who organized for this year. It was a life changing experience for me even though we have a lot of street children and orphans too here in the Philippines. I can say that the children here are different from the Philippines which I really admire and wish that the children here too would have the same attitude. The Cambodian street/poor/orphans kids were very determined and sweet and kind. They were eager to study and to learn. They are all very sweet children, they know how to show love back to those who show love and care for them. It was really amazing and heart melting to see the kids.

Angkor of Faith 7 started in March 17-24. It was a 5 days mission trip and the theme was "In The Beginning" which was about God's creation. We taught the children so many things like VBS songs, the story of God's creation, crafts, games, and many more. We also had a HYGIENE DAY were we teach them how to keep themselves clean. These kids had no idea about taking a shower or brushing their teeth and just even washing their hands. No wonder there are so many kids who gets sick in Cambodia. We also took all their lice from their head. We definitely did so many dirty stuff that's beyond our comfort zone and it was all worth it just seeing all the smiles and laughter of the children. We have never imagined that we could do all of those things. 

It was such an amazing week and even though the weather was very hot (hotter than the Philippines) and dusty and uncomfortable, everything was worth it. If God willing, I hope and can attend again next year and I hope this blog entry inspired everyone. We always have to remember how blessed we are in sooo many ways. Have a great day!

Some pictures from AoF7: