Thailand - Third Wave [Day 6: Cultural Immersion]

I know that my experience in Thailand and at Third Wave is taking a long time to appear here on my blog, but bear with me! We are nearly done!!! And I can't wait for you to see some pictures and hear about these last few days :-)

Friday January 6 was ouir "cultural immersion" day. As the day went on, I realized that "cultural immersion" was just a fancy term for "sight-seeing" ;-)

We had an early Plenary Session that morning (8:00am start), titled "In Our World".
Then we headed out for a long day of seeing the sights and spending time with each other.

I was not feeling good all day. After a few days in Thailand, the food really began to affect me. The worst began on Friday - I was feeling VERY light-headed, slightly dizzy, and couldn't really focus on much at all. I later found out that Thai food has a lot of MSG, so I think that would have been the major reason why I felt the way I did - especially since I had been on my Whole Food Detox. Going from very healthy, non-processed, non-fatty [etc] foods, to eating everything that was served [including this food loaded with MSG]... Well, I can understand why my body reacted that way!

Anyway, so even though I felt terrible all day, I faithfully took photos so that I could go back and look at the day with fresh eyes!

First, we went to this temple:

So many statues inside the complex...

Just in case you missed them - see the little people in the bottom left-hand corner? Now you can see the real size of this thing!

And so many people there to pay their respects.

It was crazy.
It was crowded.
It was hot.
And with my light-headedness, I got out of there as quickly as I possibly could.

I spent the day with my new friend Jamie. Loved getting to know her a little! We were seat-mates (is that even a word?!) on all of our travels throughout the day.

With one gorgeous young lady!! So blessed to have met Jamie

After sitting down outside the temple waiting for the others to come out, we wandered down a small strip of markets just across the carpark. There were some pretty weird, wacky and wonderful things there!!

And I met a lovely gentleman who just happens to be the pastor of a church in South Africa, that my pastor planted years ago! It was so cool to meet him!

Me and Uncle Kenneth. He just loved being called "uncle" ;-)

Next, we drove to a Thai village, that the Queen of Thailand set up, basically as a place for disabled and disadvantaged people to work at. They do handicrafts and many other things, and people (aka, tourists, like myself) can go there, watch the work being done, and purchase the products.

Jamie and I wandered through the Bird Park...

Andre, this one is for you :-) His name is Joe ;-)

...the Aquarium...

...the streets...

...the workshops...

This man is glass-sculpting...

...they HAND-MAKE figures like this! Amazing! (sorry, the photo quality isn't terrific)

Making beautiful wall hangings, tables, and more, with coloured glass - mosaic style. This man has one finger on his left hand, and you can see his fake right arm. Blows me away.

These are tiems when I wish I was an artist! How cute are these?!

...and when we went to the cafe to rest (I was feeling even worse by this point), we got interrupted by this little cutie:

He flew right inbetween Jamie and I [scared the living daylights out of us!] and calmly sat on the table and looked at us!

Ohhh, and Jamie tried to kill me:

hehehe... Good times!!!

At around 5pm, all of the Third Wavers joined up again, and had our official group photo:

The entire Third Wave group!!! Almost 200 people, from 55 different countries!!

Chilled out for a little while, and played a game, similar to duck-duck-goose, believe it or not ;-) Pretty funny! And more dangerous than you would think!!!

Thai-style duck-duck-goose

Then, we piled in buses and took the short ride to have our buffet dinner.
We were welcomed by these gorgeous people!

The tables were set on a cement "decking" type area, set right on water! The chairs had chaircovers; there was music playing; tables of food (although, I heard some people didn't get any food :'( Maccas run for them that night!)...

See the lights strung up? They looked beautiful when it got dark!

Our welcome drink! Exotic!

For me, it was nice to just sit down and [try to] not think. I was thankful that the sun was disappearing - the day had been SO hot! - although night-time = mosquitoes.

Terence, Bradley and Jamie

We had some beautiful girls dance for us...

...and some beautiful boys as well ;-)

And some crazy-amazing-out-there-scary sword fights!

These fights were so real. Some girls actually screamed because they thought heads were going to be chopped off. I would have as well, only I was filming the fights, and didn't want my loud voice to be blasted into the microphone. You're welcome.

It was such a beautiful evening! Although I wasn't feeling well, I made sure I took everything in. I tried not to miss a moment. Because I knew that I probably won't get the chance again to be with 200 brothers and sisters in Christ, all from different family, race, culture, nation and language, fellowshipping under the starry sky, living for the same God. This was such a rare and beautiful experience. I breathed deeply. I drank in the laughter. I fixed my eyes on everything, etching it all into my brain.
Oh, what a mighty God we serve!!!

Jethro

And finally, the night was finished by sending off these beautiful lanterns.

I'd never experienced that before, and it was so fun; so breath-taking. It was the kind of thing that made me want to just sit down and stare up at the stars and at the dozens of lanterns floating in the sky. I was in awe of the Lord's greatness, and the huge privilege it was to go on this trip.
Thank You, Jesus!!!

~Rachel

WF Detox -Part 5-

So continues my Whole Foods journey.

It is continually a struggle! A struggle to eat only whole foods - nothing processed, with nothing artifical - no sugar, no wheat, no dairy.
Continually satisfying when I overcome in the smallest area - when I choose nuts and seeds over chips; when I don't eat the garlic bread on the side.

I want more of the satisfaction. I think the struggle will remain, but it is ENTIRELY WORTH IT when I do succeed; when I am true to myself; when I hear people say that they can see a difference in my skin. Those are the moments when I realize again that I need this. Not to look like some super-self-controlled girl (pfft! Like that's true!) to other people...

But remembering that this is for me.

Because I can sneak in some "no-no's"; hide in the corner and stuff my face with some food that I shouldn't be eating... But who is this afffecting? Me! And only me!! It matters to no one else what I eat.

So I need to look to the future, at the benefits that I will see. 
I need to stop doubting.
Stop giving in to temptation.
Stop saying "tomorrow I will start again".

I need to make the right choices.
Remember that this is for me.
And it needs to be today. It needs to be now. It needs to be tomorrow and every day after.

WF Detox -Part 4-

Hum.

Whole Food Detox.

While the last few weeks have been a total fail with this Whole Foods Detox, I have good news!!

It's coming back!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

YAYYY! It feels SO good to be getting back on track!!! It's about time!

Some of the thoughts that have been going around in my head are "I've failed so much, what's point of even trying?" or "It won't make a difference if I just eat ___". I have been trying to get back into the detox (after a weekend in Sydney, which of course was a complete fail), but it has taken days and days. One of my excuses was that I had to "ease" back into the detox (didn't want to make myself sick); I allowed myself "one 'bad' thing" per day (which often turned into two... or three... or four...). I figured I shouldn't be too hard on myself; shouldn't stress myself out about it. Turns out, the guilt of failing day after day laid just as much (if not more) guilt and stress on my shoulders!

But yesterday I succeeded IN FULL! I ate oats with quinoa, dates and honey for breakfast, a delicious Chicken Lentil Curry [left-overs] with peas and corn for lunch, 3 corn thins with peanut butter in the afternoon, and then 2 amazingly tasty Mexican Burgers with salad and a baked potato for tea. Mmmmmm!!!

It is amazing how good I feel after conquering just one day :-D Some of you [okay, many of you] may think that is sad and slightly trivial, but this journey for me is really important.

And it has been weighing me down. A lot.

But after just one day of victory, I feel a lot better and very encouraged to keep going.

I have to say, it's the snacking that's the hard part in this detox for me - especially when I'm at home all day. Just having all the food there, in the pantry and in the fridge, at my fingertips, makes it so hard :S Even coming home from work, the first thing I think is "what can I have to eat?", even when I know I'm about to exercise, or have jobs to do. Being at work generally isn't a problem. There's chocolates and chips and things going all around (Christmas = treats!), but I've not had one. (I did sneak a leetle bit of fruit cake last week though) Because I bring food to work, I know that is all I can eat for the day - plus, I am trying to save money at the moment, so I don't want to go buying snacks.

So, what have I learned from the past few weeks?

1. When I give myself too much grace, I keep sliding down a path that I really don't want to take.
2. Pushing myself to achieve my goals is TOTALLY worth the amazing feeling when I do succeed.
3. I feel a lot better physically, mentally and emotionally when I eat right and stick to this detox.

I think I am beginning to see that the feelings and the outcome of doing things right and sticking to my guidelines, by far surpass the short-term good feelings that come from eating the junk food!

Never, ever give up.

Ever.

WF Detox (Why? and Guidelines) -Part 2-

To read Part 1 of my Detox journey, go here.

It has been almost 1 whole month of my detox. I have been wanting to journal the entire journey, but other things have been higher on the priority list.

Today, I want to share with you why I am doing this detox, and the "rules" of it.

Why? The Reader's Digest Version:
I have been wanting to improve my skin condition for some time now, and a friend told me about her sister who did a whole-foods-only detox over a period of 3-4 months, with results of lovely, glowing skin.

This inspired me, and after asking a bunch of questions and deliberating for WEEKS whether I should give this a try or not, I decided to give it a go. I figured that I wanted to try something natural for my skin and body - and I tell myself that even if the results for my skin aren't fantastic, at least I have been healthy ;-) (yes, I have a lot of faith. I know. Sad. :-/ )

Background information:
Over a year ago, my doctor prescribed some medication, basically designed to improve skin conditions such as my own. I took the medication faithfully for a few months (and my doctor even prescribed a stronger dose) with absolutely zero results. This is what made me hesitant to try other medications or even go to a dermatologist (plus, I can think of better things to spend my $$ on! - although I have not completely ruled out visiting a dermatologist one day, if needed).

I have also been reading a lot about how valuable nature is. God has created so many things that are good for us!!! We just need to learn to use it to its greatest potential! I believe that SO MANY of the foods we consume in today's society is just a waste of the goodness that God has already prepared. Sure, junk food is yummy. Sugary, carby, fatty foods taste good. But is it actually good for me?
I am beginning to believe that when I eat the simple, wonderful, flavoursome foods that God has given me, surely I will become more healthy for it!!


So here I am! Eating only whole foods, and eliminating some foods that can highly affect the skin or aren't highly nutritious.

Here are the guidelines of this detox. I want to stick to these rules as closely as I possibly can, and by writing it down and telling friends and family (aka, being accountable!), I will be able to abide by these more effectively.

Whole Foods Detox Guidelines

• No dairy
• No wheat
• Minimal sugar - honey and fruits are fine at the moment, although I want to look at which fruits I could / should eliminate, to get the best out of this detox
• "Whole Foods" = eating any food that has not been processed and does not contain additives, such as preservative, food acid, or anything else that is not completely natural

Everyone asks how I can do it. They ask me, "Isn't it boring?! What on EARTH can you eat?! I could never do that!"

And yes, it is hard. But, with time, it is getting easier.

In the beginning, I felt like I had to eat foods with no additional flavourings. Ack! How boring!! I love different flavours!
But as I began cooking more and searching for recipes, I have realized that I can eat any spices - just look at the ingredients list of practically any spice, and you'll see that it is all just ground leaves / seeds etc. Too easy to flavour meat dishes with spices! I can also have curries. And adding lemon juice, garlic, and even vinegar, to various foods can add an abundance of flavour.
There are so many wonderful flavours that I have seen in recipes and haven't tried yet; so many that I WANT to try...
And if I was not doing this whole-foods-only thing, I would still be stuck with a bunch of the so-called "essential" flavours that we all use on a day-to-day basis - but I am finding that these pure ingredients often taste and feel way better anyway!
So far overall, this has been a pretty cool journey. I have learned a fair bit so far, and am ready to learn MUCH more! Be prepared to hear more about my Whole Foods Detox :-)
~Rachel

WF Detox -Part 1-

On Thursday the 14th of Ocober, 2011, I began a whole-foods-only detox.

The view behind this is that the foods that enter our body can and does affect our overall health - and later, I will share with you why I started this crazy idea to eat only whole foods.
Today, most foods contain all kinds of preservatives, flavourings, thickeners, stabilisers, acids… and much more, that our bodies just do not need! Imagine a car, whose owner fills up the petrol tank with a mixture of water, various oils, and maybe even tar (yes, I realize those substances are completely random. This is my point). Now look at your own body and think about what you feed it every day. Do you feed it the foods that your body was originally designed to consume, or is it a bit overloaded at the moment with many foods that, really, when you think about it, probably aren’t doing your body much good at all?

I began this detox when my family was on holidays – perfect, so I could watch what I ate, and not worry about what everyone else was eating!! From Wednesday the 12th of October, I began to watch what I was eating, and, except for a few leftovers that needed to be eaten, ate only whole foods.

I continued eating my normal soaked oats with quinoa and dates for breakfast. For lunches, I made salads. One of these salads was a red kidney bean and corn salad, which I adapted – I used peas instead of the kidney beans, as we didn’t have any kidney beans in the pantry – and it was delicious! I loved the lemon and spice flavourings. I began eating only fruit, vegetables and nuts for my snacks, and had corn thins for one meal.

I began feeling quite nauseated on the Friday afternoon, after I ate only half of my plain salad sprinkled with pepper for lunch (no cheese, no meat, and practically no flavouring. I think this may have been what messed with my poor tummy). I couldn’t quite put my finger on the full reason of why I didn’t feel so good. By Saturday afternoon, it really was not good. I went to a party with a friend, and when the foods came out, they included a salad platter. Originally I thought, “Perfect! Soemthing I can eat!” But after a few moments, I realized just seeing the salad made me feel sick. I began to realize then, that I may have gone into this detox too quickly! It didn’t even enter my mind to ease into this different way of eating. To perhaps allow one or two food items a day, like bread or cheese or some other packaged food.

But, since I hadn’t done that, I had to suffer the consequences!! I felt ill for the next 3 days, and struggled to eat very much. I steered away from salads, and made Lamb & Spinach Koftas and Chicken Lentil Curry - I ate these over and over again for the following days.

Come back to read more of my WF Detox story!

~Rachel