Welcome to Chiang Mai!

“You know what? Even if everything goes wrong—if I lose my luggage or my flights—everything will be fine, because God will take care of me,” I said with calm assurance. Later, after my entire flight was cancelled due to the Air Canada strikes, rescheduled on the spot, and followed by a too-short layover in Toronto that caused my luggage to be left behind in Canada, I reflected that one should not put the Lord God to the test.

I joke a bit, because in the end all the roadblocks I encountered didn’t ruin the trip or cause too much trouble. God did, in fact, take care of me—and the test was for me, not for Him! I’m happy to say that last week I arrived in Thailand in one piece and have been enjoying my time here very much.

Familiar territory

Chiang Mai is not unfamiliar to me. I lived here for one year in 2012 and have visited several times since. So returning again felt like the most natural thing in the world, even though I haven’t traveled much since leaving Taiwan in 2019.

I stayed with my friend Myra for the week and adjusted to the 12-hour time difference. We got straight to work preparing for the upcoming team retreat and CBU seminar—the main point of the trip. But I did take a couple of days to venture up north to visit some dear Millar friends who are working there.

A mini Millar reunion in Thailand!

Visiting Caleb and Raquel, and Connor and Cheyenne, was like reconnecting with long-lost family. We immediately fell into easy conversation about our work, our challenges, our lives, and about Thailand itself. I loved seeing how they’re building their families and faithfully carrying out the work God has given them here. I also loved the location they live in!

Chiang Mai is busy and bustling, but the region near Chiang Rai, where my friends are, is mountainous and natural. It is the rainy season this time of year. Enormous clouds—like cosmic palaces and temples—loom over the earth during the day, and terrifying tropical storms often crash down at night. It’s a magnificent display of the beauty and power of this earth—things you sometimes forget about when you’re in a city, sheltered by the infrastructure of man. To be clear—I was still sheltered in Chiang Rai. Though the storms roared and thundered outside, I slept like a jet-lagged log.

I returned by bus to Chiang Mai on Thursday, feeling a little motion-sick as the bus wobbled and swayed through endless construction zones, up little hills and down little valleys. I was very happy to step off and be back in Chiang Mai again.

The next few days were filled with work and airport pickups. Now, our whole team is together, beginning our retreat. It is so special to see all my long-time Create Seeds friends and co-workers in person, and to get to know a couple of new ones as well! (If you’d like to hear more about this part of my trip, I have a ministry newsletter that I update every month—you can find more details there.)

One week down, four to go!

My first Thailand week has been a success. Friends, food (lots and lots of amazing Thai food! My old favourite is krapao, and of course I had to have a Thai tea right away when I arrived!), and beautiful tropical scenery have been the defining features of this trip so far.

The first time I travelled to Chiang Mai, I was only 19. Travelling was a lot different then. Back in those days, many of my grown-up friends and family carried the weight of my travel problems—more than I was able to appreciate at the time. Now that I’m older, much more of the problem-solving falls on me. And when I do receive help, I’m far more aware of just how helpful it is! Ultimately, I can see how God is my Help—whether through gracious friends letting me use their Grab app when mine didn’t work, or my dad helping with financial transfers when I hit roadblocks online, or my new teammate playing djembe alongside me as I led worship for the first time here, giving me confidence with his steady beat.

I have so much to be thankful for, and I look forward to seeing how God leads me through the rest of this trip. I’m sure there will be more tests and more joys, and I can’t wait to tell you all about them!