Day 15: Easter Sunday and a Baptism!

 

I had the honour of being asked to pray for Jayzin just before he was baptized

There were a lot of songs for the Easter Service - some even in English!

We're getting to watch a surprising amount of hockey while in Thailand! The Cougars play an 8am game on Sunday morning here, which means it was a 6pm back in BC, so a great way to kick off the day!

After some hockey we took the kids to the pool for a little bit before Dave picked us up to go to their place for lunch at 12:30. It was really nice - Dave picked up some candy for them so they could do an Easter Egg hunt! We had some homemade quiche and muffins made by Dave, and sat and chatted. We were also the beneficiaries of some of his fancy blueberry-note coffee. We drank it straight (over ice) and it was actually nice! It was not bitter at all and didn't have a nasty aftertaste or anything like that. Dave is quite the coffee afficionado (which I guess comes in handy with the work they are doing with the coffee company in Myanmar) so we learned a bit of what makes some of the coffee different here versus back home.

Louise drove us home around 2:15 so we had a short amount of downtime before heading back out to the church. Dave picked us up just before 4pm, and by the time we got to the church they had just started filling up the baptism tank! (and by that, I mean a grey tarp lining the inside of a metal frame, which had a major leak in it so we had to keep the water running to keep it full!) We socialized and talked with people, listened to some of the rehearsal for the violins that were going to be playing, and waited until everyone who was supposed to be there for the baptism had arrived (probably around 5:15).

Jayzin has quite the story (I'll provide a brief version of it here, but if you're not subscribed to Dave & Louise's newsletter I'd highly recommend it! It's possible she puts more of his testimony in a future one). Jayzin is here by himself, at 15. His parents sent him here 6 months ago when the military conscription started in Myanmar. He is from a Buddhist family and didn't know anything about Jesus...but the uncle and aunt he was sent to live with became Christians a little while ago! When he first arrived they asked him if he wanted to come to church and he said "yes", although he didn't know what that meant. He came and they started having a prayer time, and during that time he had a powerful encounter with Jesus and has decided to follow Him!

The church service was amazing. Most of the music was in Myanmar, but there were a few English songs they included, as well as some dual-language songs. Similar to what we experienced at Kingdom Life Church in Chiang Mai, it was so great to be able to worship together with those who serve the same God on the other side of the world! Louise preached, with translation help from Pastor Stephen, and although our kids did OK...by the time we hit 7:30 they were done so we had to cut our time there short. We caught a Grab to the mall to grab some dinner and then came back to the hotel to get ready for bed.

One thing that we've heard over and over again from Cynthia and Dave & Louise is the actual "cost" to choosing to follow Jesus for Buddhist people...it is a big deal. For them, they are choosing to put their trust in Jesus to save them, rather than their own "making merit" to earn a better place in the next life. The countries of Thailand and Myanmar are also so embedded with Buddhism that it is not just religious but also cultural. When they leave this to choose Jesus it often creates division with their family, communities, and everything they know. It is a BIG deal and it is one that they don't choose lightly because of the cost. Please pray for Jayzin and all of the Buddhist people that are making the brave decision to follow Jesus.

A Day Off

 

We said goodbye to Cynthia and Maceo

The card game, "Lost Cities", once again travelled with us to Thailand!

When Cynthia and Maceo offered to drive us to Mae Sot last Tuesday they did not know that they would both feel sick to various degrees and would end up staying an extra 3 nights. Between a bad cold, migraines, sinus infections, and difficulty breathing due to air quality (it's burning season here so kind of like forest fire season back home) they not only stayed the extra 3 days but didn't even get to really get out to explore Mae Sot, join us for any of the ministry opportunities, or even really play in the pool. Today, however, before they checked out of the hotel, we did get the kids together in the pool for a few hours of play time while Cynthia and Lindsay went out to grab coffee and bring back some lunch.

Before spending time at the pool in the morning, however, we were able to catch the first 1.5 periods of the Cougars-Chiefs first playoff game! Go Cougars Go!

After the pool we ate a quick lunch around the pool and got cleaned up before Cynthia and Maceo had to start on the 5-hour drive back to Chiang Mai. Once they left, we did some journaling with the kids and finished off the movie we had started the night before.

By mid-afternoon we were ready to go out exploring so we took a Grab to a market and wandered around. It was hot, however, and Juliet was quick to point that out. James also really wanted to buy a tie-dye t-shirt he saw (with the $0 he had saved up) so we decided to extend him some grace and purchase the 100 baht shirt for him (that's like $3.85 CAD). We then walked to an amazing little Burmese restaurant Dave introduced us to for dinner. The restaurant is called Mingalarbar, which means "hello" in Burmese. I just realized that I have switched from saying "Myanmar" to "Burmese." As far as we can tell when talking to the Myanmar people, they also interchange it.

We came home shortly after 5:30 and took the kids to the pool for a few hours where Lindsay played with them for a bit and then we sat and played Lost Cities. This is a card game we actually brought to Thailand with us back in 2009...except it was during that trip that we had the bug spray explode (this post even exists to immortalize that event lol).

We finished at the pool, got ready for bed, and watched another movie with the kids. We are finding that we often have a time in the evening after things have wound down. We also want to keep the kids up a bit more in the evenings to get used to it, but will have to revert them back to a more standard bedtime once we get back home.

Tomorrow is Easter Sunday and we will be meeting up with Dave and Louise for lunch (and a possible Easter Egg Hunt!), going to a baptism, and the church service. We will see what all happens!

Good Friday - Sharing the Gospel at 2 more refugee camps

 

Hkun Myat (pronounced "Khun-yah") passionately shared the Gospel with the village. His wife, Nu Nu, helped with logistics, translation, and leading activities with kids.

Louise shared her testimony and the Lord's prayer with the translation help from Pastor Stephen

Pastor Stephen, Hkun Myat, and Louise all preached the Gospel and seven people stood up to say they wanted to receive Jesus!

Dave picked us up at 9am and took us to grab some Myanmar breakfast to-go before heading to Lighthouse to load up the truck with supplies. Once we got to the church we grabbed some canned fish and noodles, picked up pastors Stephen and Michael, and met Louise and headed about 10 minutes away to meet up with Hkun Myat and Nu Nu, a Myanmar couple who has decided to leave their jobs, start a pig farm to provide for their needs, and dedicate their lives to sharing the Gospel and giving hope to other Myanmar refugees!

The first camp we got to we met outside on tarps again. Louise and Nu Nu led some kids activities with a parachute and a ball, Pastor Michael led some music, Hkun Myat preached, and Louise told her testimony and shared how in the Lord's prayer we are asking God's Kingdom to come to Earth...and what an amazing Kingdom it is, filled with hope, peace, love, healing, and belonging...for all peoples! We ended our time together by praying for all the elders/adults there and then giving some canned fish and noodles to them to thank them for coming. Someone in the village was also selling coconut water so we bought enough for all the kids in that village and the next one to hand out.

We then drove to another village and met in a one-room hut/home. Pastor Michael did some music, Pastor Stephen preached, and Louise told a bit of her testimony and had our family come up and help act out the parable of the Unforgiving Servant (Matthew 18:21-35). She shared that because she has been forgiving of soooo much she has the ability to forgive others, including those who have deeply wronged her. She shared that one of the ways we can start to follow Jesus is by forgiving other people too. After this, Pastor Stephen spoke for a bit and asked if anyone would be interested in receiving Jesus and making him the leader of their life, and seven people stood up and said "YES!" Praise God! After this we gave out more canned fish, noodles, and coconut water and then headed to get some lunch and take our kids to a waterfall.

Louise took us to a waterfall nearby and to grab some lunch. The lunch wasn't great, unfortunately, and Louise actually got sick later that day and the next. We were fine, thanks be to God! The waterfall wasn't big, but instead had multiple tiers that you could go up to and stand in and have water pour on you. The biggest pool, however, was at the bottom of the falls. We stayed there for an hour or so and the kids rented inner tubes and played at the bottom. After that we left and came back to the hotel.

We got ourselves showered and cleaned up, walked over the mall to grab some dinner, stopped in at a little kids fair across the street to let the kids ride some electric scooters, had a quick dip in the pool, and watched half of a movie with them before calling it a night.

Day 12: A Visit to Open Heaven Church

 

Lindsay shared her testimony of God's goodness and provision during our adoption of James and pregnancy with Juliet

James was great at playing with the other kids (this was a game of dodgeball)

We didn't know what we were going to be doing today as we hadn't exactly formalized our plans with Dave & Louise the day before (today was the final day to get that grant proposal in so they were busy!) We had a slower start to the day, waking up around 8am, so figured that we would use the morning to hang out in the pool (Lindsay and the kids) and I spent some of the morning working on our budgeting/month end and a proposal I needed to submit for work (I should have done it before we left but things got busy!)

The kids had a lot of fun at the pool--thank goodness there is one, otherwise they might be a little more stir crazy than they are already--and they stayed down there until about noon when we ordered in lunch.

We messaged back and forth with Dave and decided that he would pick us up around 4pm to go to an outreach church event at a Myanmar refugee camp that Lighthouse MB Church was involved with. For the rest of the afternoon we finished watching the movie Wonka (that we started the night before), picked up a few small grocery items, and went back in the pool...it was a low key afternoon too!

Dave picked us up at 4pm and we went to Lighthouse to meet with everyone. They have 15 interns that live, serve, and learn together at the church. Every Thursday night they split up into teams and go do outreach at different Myanmar refugee camps. Dave loaded up his truck with us and a number of other people from the church (interns and members) and we drove about 10 minutes to a camp that was tucked away on the land of a Thai family, off-the-beaten-path. Dave said that it is common for refugees to gather together under the leadership of an elder who will help negotiate on behalf of the community. They aren't a formal church with a building, but as a group of people coming together to learn about Jesus, they are calling themselves "Open Heaven Church."

As you can see from the photo and video above, the village is modest. There are elevated wood huts on short stilts, dusty roads, and limited services. They do have wells for water, some electricity, and their own small store setup, but it is very modest and a far-cry from anything that we have ever seen back home. We had a bit of time before things "started" to play dodgeball, walk around, and talk with people. One of the church members, Chris, and one of the interns, Mai Mai, were able to do translation for us.

When it was time to get started, the interns setup a couple tarps to sit on and many people from the community came to join us. The adults all sat together on the tarps in one area, and the children all joined together in another area. The children did lots of songs, colouring, and crafts, and James stayed there with them the whole time! Lindsay and Juliet stayed for a while and then came over the adult tarp as Lindsay and I were going to share a bit of our testimonies (with translation help from Chris).

Pastor Michael led a few worship songs in Myanmar and everyone sang and clapped. Lighthouse has been involved in the community for at least a year (we aren't sure how long) so they had some familiarity with the songs already. Lindsay and I both shared testimonies, as did another Myanmar fellow, then we all prayed and handed out some cooking oil and noodles. We weren't there for long - maybe 1.5-2 hours, then we went back to the church to say goodnight.

Tomorrow we are going to go to a few other small outreach events the church is doing so we will report back on that tomorrow!

Day 11: An introduction to Mae Sot

 

Lindsay and Juliet standing at the border-market between Thailand and Myanmar

Worshipping with Lighthouse MB Church in Mae Sot...all in the Myanmar language!

We went out grocery shopping first thing in the morning today to stock up on peanut butter, bread, water, cereal, and some other snack foods...as a note, most of the "western" brands are VERY expensive! We didn't pay close enough attention and accidentally spent $12 on a box of cereal - yikes!

After grocery shopping we walked back to the hotel, ate a bit, and got ready for the pool where we were meeting Cynthia, Maceo, Dave, and Louise at 10am. The kids played in the pool for a couple hours while we tried to find shade and talked. Dave & Louise are presently working on a large grant proposal that is due tomorrow so that was taking up a lot of time by them and their team, but as it has the ability to make such a big difference in supporting the financial needs of their churches and ministry. We agreed to meet a couple hours later again to have lunch and talk some more and make a few plans for the day.

After the pool we met with Louise for lunch, and then went out to the Rim Moei Market which is right on the border of Thailand and Myanmar, just below the 1st Friendship Bridge that connects the two countries. The covered market area is similar to many of the other markets we have seen with toys, electronics, clothing, dried food, ammunition...wait...that's new...and the outdoor part of the market is actually straddling the border. You can see in the picture with Lindsay and Juliet that the stalls are actually on the Myanmar side of the border, divided with that metal railing and razor wire, and you walk on the Thailand side. Most of what was being sold there was alcohol, cigarettes, watermelon, and dried food.

We left the market to head back to the hotel to lay down for a while and cool off before heading out again at 5pm to go to the Lighthouse MB Church. It is a church for Myanmar people in Thailand, pastored by Pastor Michael and Pastor Stephen. Both of them, and a number of the people there, speak English to some degree. They don't actually speak much Thai so they also use English with those that don't speak Myanmar.

The service tonight was a praise, prayer, and testimony night. There was a number of worship songs they did (all in Myanmar) so we gave James and Juliet our phones to use Google Translate to translate the PowerPoint slides. The translation was far from perfect, but it did give us a sense of what the songs were about. After that, a younger man (probably our age) came up and gave his testimony. It was quite the testimony about his life before Christ where we was involved in prostitutes, alcohol, and with HIV/AIDS. It was a long testimony (about 30 minutes) where he talked about all that he faced, his coming to know Jesus, being addicted to porn, being prophesized over that he would lead his people to Jesus, having his sores from HIV/AIDS healed, choosing to go Church over work on Sunday (which is a BIG deal), and eventually getting married. His testimony was full of the grace and goodness of God and how his life has changed as a result of the work of the Holy Spirit working in his life. He spoke exclusively in Myanmar so I'm very thankful for Pastor Stephen who sat behind us and translated!

We stayed for a few hours until the kids got overly restless and hungry, then left with Dave to grab some food and eventually head back to the hotel. Our plan is to meet up with Dave & Louise around noon tomorrow so we'll see what happens then!

Day 10: lots of kms travelled

 

We all spent the morning climbing up and down the Sticky Waterfalls in Chiang Mai

Today was our check-out day at the AirBnb, but we hadn't made our way to the Sticky Waterfalls yet! First thing in the morning, we booked a driver to take us an hour north of Chiang Mai to the Sticky Waterfalls where we spent the morning, until about 1pm. The waterfalls are not "waterfalls" exactly, but water cascading down a few hundred feet of rock that has limestone deposits and pits in it, such that it is very grippy and you can walk up and down them!

It is quite lush and a much cooler temperature than the surrounding area so it was a nice break from some of the heat and smoke that we are experiencing due to the "burning season." There were a number of shallow pools at the base of 4 different sections of falls which weren't exactly the type of pool to sit and relax in (with all of the tourists and the shallowness). It was a good place to spend the morning but the kids started to get antsy and wanted to leave after a while, so we hopped in the van and went back to the AirBnb to check out around 2pm.

The driver then took us to Cynthia's as she and Maceo offered to drive us to Mae Sot once Maceo got out of school. We packed up some food and hopped into Cynthia's car and started the drive around 4pm. The drive went surprisingly quickly, but we are all glad we had taken Gravol as the 5-hour drive had plenty of turns and winding corners...yuck! We were very thankful to have Cynthia available to drive us and James and Maceo played Nintendo in the back seat the whole way so there is a strong chance that when asked, "What was your favourite part of the trip?" James will answer "playing Nintendo for 5 hours with Maceo"...also "yuck!"

We arrive at the hotel in Mae Sot at about 9pm. We checked in, ate a few snacks we had with us, and went to bed...it was a lot of driving today!

A bit of a slower day

 

We were able to spend a bit of time at Naomi House (info about it below - check out the links!)

Today ended up being a bit of a slower day.

We stayed in our apartment until 12:15 today waking slowly, eating slowly, starting to pack slowly, catching some hockey highlights--GO COUGARS GO!!!--and trying to help James find some medicine for his sore tummy and diarrhea (found some, so now we'll see if it works...needless to say, I understand the extreme end of being sick in Thailand!) I think the slowness of the day was a blessing; we will have a long and full day tomorrow, so moving at a slower pace today was much appreciated.

Cynthia came by at 12:15 to take us to Naomi House which we learned about last year as we started looking into Multiply's ministries in Thailand. Naomi House has gone through some changes in the past few years as they have had an amazing opportunity to partner with some companies and become their direct sewing house (such as Adorn in the US), but they still have Siriwan and many of the same girls from the website and the videos there. It was one of the places that Juliet wanted to go see as she found the story of girls seeking asylum as refugees and needing support coming out of really bad situations moving.

After Naomi House we went back to Cynthia's and had a bite of pizza (yes...pizza...and very good thin crust pizza actually!) before hanging out for the afternoon and eventually meeting other Multiply Missionaries, Sarah and Ozz Fast Kumrod (Ozz was sick at home with the littlest child). Sarah was actually part of Team 2000 that came to Thailand 24 years ago (along with Dave & Louise Sinclair Peters and others). It was really nice to be able to spend time with Sarah and her 3 oldest boys and hear about their lives, ministry, and put faces to names :)

One thing that has struck me is that although there are so many missionary organizations and people here--and no, they do NOT know each other lol--it has been in almost every instance that once you start talking to someone they ask a variation of the question, "So - are you here because you're exploring mission work?" The answer we give is an honest one: we want to be open. Lindsay and I have often felt like it's a matter of time before we go into vocational ministry. We have seriously prayed about this over the years in context of camp ministry and church ministry, but we've never felt that specific calling. Don't get me wrong: we fully believe that everyone is called into ministry (Matthew 28:19-20 - Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age). We also believe that the call into vocational ministry is a specific calling - that is the one we are open to and waiting on. It has been really neat to see what it can look like here in Thailand and we're very thankful for the opportunity we have had to spend the past number of days with Cynthia and here about what God is doing in her context. On Wednesday we will have a chance to start our time with Dave & Louise and we are equally excited - bring it on!

Day 8: The Global Church

 

We joined the Rim Khan Fellowship Church on Sunday night (Uncle Deng, and Deng and Khong's family had already left before taking this photo). In the photo is our family, Cynthia and Maceo, Muay, Aire, Nui, and Noi.

In the morning, we attended Kingdom Life Church

Cynthia had recommended we go to Kingdom Life Church for the morning...we're super glad we did! It is a Thai church that does translation to English for both music (on the slides) and through a radio transmitter and someone who does live translation for the speaking. It was really cool! We can't understand Thai yet we were able to worship alongside an international community in both English and Thai. We were also able to understand Pastor Sidney's message and learn and be encouraged alongside everyone - it was so cool and we're so glad we could attend!

After church we stayed for a quick lunch and talked with a missionary originally from California (Brandon) and another fellow and his wife (he was German and his wife Thai, although she spent many years in Germany). It was a very welcoming church and very vibrant...as James said, "They move a lot" meaning they like to dance, raise their hands, and shout "Amen." From our more restrained Mennonite perspective, it was more charismatic, and it was certainly encouraging to hear their heart for the Gospel in Thailand!

We needed a bit more food (that wasn't spicy for the kids) after church, so walked to a cafe for some chicken nuggets :). We then caught a Grab to Cynthia's place and prepared for church with Rim Khan Fellowship Church. We planned out some activities that we could do with everyone (origami), soccer, and badminton, and grabbed some donuts to share from Dunkin Donuts.

When we arrived at Aire and Nui's house they had their carport empty and setup with some folding tables and chairs. They also had a projector screen and had just been given a new projector and speaker to use for videos! Cynthia loaded up some Thai worship songs from YouTube, and after spending some time socializing, Juliet and James lead some origami crafts (a bookmark, a ball, and a throwing star...) and we started with the music. We had no idea what the songs were, but it was great to be able to be part of it! The kids stayed for that part of the church service.

When the songs were over, the kids (both our kids and Deng and Khong's and Maceo) played soccer and badminton while Cynthia did a study on Blind Bartimaeus. We couldn't understand what she was saying, but we could tell that she was emphasizing that he was an outcast and pushed aside by everyone. He then--out of faith--called out to Jesus begging for mercy and his healing...and Jesus heard him and called out to him. Jesus heard him in his suffering and in his low place in society. Everyone seemed fairly willing to share and speak, which was neat to see their active participation.

When it was over we all ate dinner together. Nui made some rice, fried cabbage (yummy!), panang curry, and soup, and there were donuts. It was great to sit with everyone and although we couldn't understand each other much, we were able to connect over food, faith, sports, and origami. It was a great day!

Day 7: Elephant Day!

 

We spent the afternoon at Elephant Jungle Sanctuary

This was a last-minute booking. We had 2 bigger touristy things we wanted to do while in Chiang Mai: spend time with elephants and go to the Sticky Waterfalls. The complication came in trying to schedule everything in! We hadn't thought through things far enough in advance so busy last night (Friday) we were at the computer trying to figure out what to do and sending messages to people trying to figure out what we could book. We decided to do a Saturday afternoon trip to see elephants!

We were picked up at our apartment at 11:30 and after picking up 5 other folks from another hotel (all from Utah) we drove an hour and a bit out to Elephant Jungle Sanctuary Chiang Mai. There were 3 busses of people who came out, so about 25 people total.

When we arrived, we all put on Karen Tribe shirts (well...those of us who didn't find it too hot...) and were given some information and safety instructions before we started with feeding the elephants bananas. After, they put out piles of grass and corn (as in the picture) for the elephants to eat while we able to get closer to them, pet them, and get photos with them. There were 5 elephants, 4 adult female elephants and 1 young male elephant (beside James and I in the photo).

After that, we made these "vitamin balls" for the elephants to eat that is supposed to help with digestion. It was a mix of young green plants, rice, tamarin, probiotics, and bananas. We then fed these to the elephants before taking them to the river to play in the water.

Playing in the water was pretty cool! We all splashed the elephants and they seemed to be fine with it (...I suppose they might enjoy it...I just know that as I don't like it when other people splash me so I have a hard time not projecting my own feelings on these kinds of situations lol). We then took them to a mud pit and spread mud all over them. The elephants use the mud to protect their skin from the sun, wind, and bugs, which is why that is the last thing, after the river.

We then cleaned up, had a quick dinner, and hopped back on the van to come back. We got back to the apartment around 6pm and headed out for a late stroll at the Saturday night walking market. It wasn't nearly as busy as China Town in Bangkok, which I think the kids enjoyed. Each kid was given 200 baht (about $8 CAD) to purchase something. Juliet bought a dress and some small stuffies (she also had to contribute some of her own money) and James bought a toy and some sun glasses. He didn't have enough money to buy the sunglasses so he tried bartering...no fear in that child! He didn't get much a discount, but I think the lady thought he was cute for trying so he did get a bit of money off.

We then grabbed a late night snack of crepes with bananas and strawberries and came back to the apartment...it was a late night and was good to get to bed after that!

A little of everything

 

Lindsay and Juliet really enjoyed the orchids at the Royal Gardens

It's hard to imagine this was our 6th day in Thailand already! Time has flown, and maybe for the first time, the kids have yet to seriously complain about missing home! Praise the Lord!

Cynthia took us to Grace International School first thing in the morning for a tour. She volunteers there once per week and Maceo attends, so while they were busy, we received a tour from the admissions office. It is quite an amazing campus! There are multiple beautiful buildings, large hallways, open-air hallways, every classroom has lots of windows, and the general look and feel is very crisp, clean, and professional - it was quite something to see! They are a Christian school and although it is largely made of missionary families, there are kids with no church affiliation who attend and come from all over the world - it really is an international school! Within the school they actually have three (3) language options: English (the majority), Thai, and Korean. All of the non-Thai teachers and staff are missionaries who raise their support while the Thai staff are salaried. James and Juliet were a little interested and concerned that we were going to come here to teach and pull them out of Cedars...we told them "not yet" lol

After the school we took a Grab to the Royal Park Rajapruek which is a large gardens. It isn't quite Butchart Gardens, but there were some nice flowers and elements to it. It was also quite a large grounds so they have a mini bus that goes around every 15 minutes and allows people to hop-on-and-off. Everyone was allowed to pick 1 area they got to explore and even then we ended up being there for probably 3 hours!

For the afternoon we had a short pool time before Cynthia and Maceo picked us up to go out for dinner and Kung Fu Panda 4. All the kids were quite excited and it was good for them to be able to spend more time together.

A different perspective to Chiang Mai

We spent some time with Deng and Khong and their young family

 

Cynthia took us to an elephant cafe to feed and pet some elephants

When we were here in 2009 I remember mostly doing the tourist-y things (see these two posts: Back from the Bush & Day at the Zoo). I suppose we maybe had a few other experiences that weren't exactly tourist-y, but largely the memories that I have are of the tourist-y things. That isn't bad, and certainly we will do some of those things while here this time, but today provided a different perspective.

We met up with a missionary from Multiply, Cynthia Friesen, this morning and went out for coffee together to get to know each other, learn about her and Maceo (her son), hear about the work of the church in Thailand, and find out what God is doing in Thailand. We met Cynthia through some of the other Multiply missionaries that are connected to Westwood (Dave & Louise Sinclair-Peters and Bob Davis, also from Multiply).

Side-note: we went to Bella Goose Cafe which also has an interesting story as a social enterprise that helps provide employment and vocational training, English training, professional development, and sponsorship to people coming out of tough conditions (such as juvenile detention). They seek to equip and empower people to change their family tree through holistic care and support...very awesome!

Cynthia has been called to plant churches and raise up Thai leaders in the churches. After the coffee shop, we stopped at a 7-11 to buy rice and eggs that we could take with us as we go visit some of the new believers in the village they are church planting in Rim Khan (Rim Khan Fellowship Church). Before heading out we quickly met up with Aire, one of Cynthia's teammates, who lives in the village and who hosts the church in her and her husband's (Nui) carport on Sundays.

We have lots we would love to share about some of the wonderful people we met, but would prefer to share in person, so we'll keep things simple here :)

The first stop we made was to the house of Deng and Khong. They are a young Myanmar couple with 5 children, including newborn twins! Deng first came to know Jesus during the Christmas outreach event they ran at the Buddhist temple in the village, and Khong afterwards. Deng has such an infectiously big smile!

The next person we went to go visit, auntie Mai, was actually at work, but her daughter, Ning, was at home so Cynthia and Aire talked with her for a bit and then went to a nearby store to get her some small cakes she really enjoys :)

The final person we went to visit was Uncle Deng, who is an older gentleman who came to know Jesus only a few months ago after the Christmas Outreach. He has experienced the transformation of Jesus in such amazing ways in his life and testifies to the goodness of God.

There was so much to take in during even these 3 short visits...we are still processing it and we know the kids are as well. It is amazing to see how in their poverty and brokenness, people are meeting Jesus...it really is amazing...but isn't it also exactly what Jesus meant when he said, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 32 I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance" (Luke 5:31-32)?? It's also amazing to see the contrast between what we know in Prince George and what some people here know in terms of access, money, and privilege. We are still trying to sort out how to think about it so I'll leave it here for now.

After the 3 stops we had a short amount of time to drive to an elephant cafe where we were able to feed and pet some elephants! It was very cool and was something that was on "the list" to do.

For the evening, we went back to Cynthia's place as Maceo was done school and ordered a bunch of Thai dishes and ate dinner together. The kids played and we talked. Our kids are all the same age and in the same grade so it gave us some easy talking points and frames of reference for understanding each other...after all...busy 9-year-old boys are always worth talking about :)

Days 3 & 4 - Two very different days of travel

 

Spending time in the Pak Khlong Talat (Flower Market)

Outside Wat Arun at sunset

Today was a busy day with lots of "things done" which made Lindsay and I quite happy! Oh...there was still complaining...buuutttt we were able to still make use of the day and there wasn't any trips to the pharmacy for Juliet!

We left the apartment at 9am and took the BTS to Sathorn Pier so we could take the Hop On Hop Off tour on the big river in Bangkok, Chao Phraya River (yes, we managed to convince James to take another boat lol). This tour is on a large boat with a rooftop sitting area and an air conditioned inside. We took the 30-minute trip all the way up the river and hopped off on the first stop, Phra Arthit. We didn't take much time to explore as the next boat came 30 minutes later, but we got to enjoy a bit of quiet green space.

The next stop we hopped off at was Tha Maharaj which was a short walking distance to the Grand Palace. We didn't want to spend the 500 baht/person to enter it as we knew the amount of time we'd get the kids to last wouldn't be worth it. Instead, we wandered the streets and stood outside the Palace...annnndddd sure enough the kids started to complain so we pulled-the-plug and hopped back on the boat.

With frustrations high, we forced them to endure another stop at Rajinee so Lindsay could enjoy the flower market. Surprisingly, we lasted here for over an hour! It was in the bottom floor of a GIANT warehouse so out of the sun, and with all of the flowers, both Juliet and Lindsay were interested. There was fresh fruit, plants, and flowers.

We then went back to the apartment for 2.5 hours to cool down and quickly go in the pool. Afterwards, we got a Grab (like Uber) to Wat Arun for the final hour that it was open. It's quiet a fascinating temple due to the design, restoration attempts over the centuries, and the intricacy of all of the porcelain used to decorate it.

Once we finished there we took our last boat trip to the other end of the line at Asiatique. It is a large open-air tourist area with many stores, outdoor eating, shops, theme park rides, and beer gardens. It is all on the river so really a beautiful setting. We were out until 9 (which was a surprise!) and went back to the apartment.

Today was another day of travel, but this time it involved a VERY LONG and heavy-traffic Grab ride to the airport (1hr 40mins), a 1hr delayed flight, and 1hr 15min flight to Chiang Mai. We left the apartment at 9:20am and didn't get to our new apartment until 3pm - yuck!

We'll be in Chiang Mai until the 26th so we took the time to unpack, set things up (it is a nice 2-bedroom apartment), and go for a nice dinner...actually, we figure it was the best food we've had in Thailand and it was less than $20 CAD!

We're looking forward to meeting up with one of our missionary friends--Cynthia--tomorrow. She also has a son, Maceo, who is the same age as James and Juliet! They are excited about that - stay tuned for an update then :)

A good 2nd day...often cut-short...but good :)

 

Lindsay and the kids standing on the main street of Chinatown

I remember searching for internet cafes, bringing our digital camera and USB cord, and only able to post things in areas with good internet...14 years later, I'm sitting in bed with my laptop while Lindsay searches Google on her phone "what is a planters wart?" for Juliet. Things are certainly different this time around!

We ended yesterday by heading back to the nearby mall to find dinner and grab some groceries. The mission was accomplished, but the kids were tired so we didn't last long with the mix of smells that bothered James and Juliet's complaining about her wart and a sore tummy. Speaking of Juliet, due to her ailments, we stopped at the pharmacy twice yesterday and had to buy her a new pair of socks! The only thing I'll say about travelling with kids is that everything takes longer to get to and then once you're there you leave much faster!

Today, we got rolling around 10:30am. We decided to try Grab--the Thai version of Uber or Lyft--for the first time and then proceeded to use it 3 more times. It's much cheaper and faster that even the metro lines when you have 4 people, so it's very worth it.

We started our day at the Golden Mount Temple, climbing to the top. We all enjoyed smoothies on the way up, and with the breeze, the temperature was actually quite nice, despite it being in the low-mid 30s while on the ground. The kids had a good attitude and seemed to enjoy the activity, although later in the day Juliet expressed that one of the statue scenes of dead bodies being eaten by vultures she didn't like (which I definitely understand!)

From there we took a Tuk Tuk to Khaosan Road. The kids REALLY wanted to take a Tuk Tuk, and although Juliet seemed to like it, James might not have as much. He was the eager beaver who wanted to go on one, but we're guessing he found it a little too "dangerous", much like the boat ride yesterday. We'll see if he's up for one another day.

At Khaosan Road we walked the streets and eventually grabbed lunch at a place that definitely was into selling weed (which is now legal...also different than 14 years ago). After an overpriced lunch, we went back to our apartment to cool down, slow down, and have some pool time. At 6pm, we then decided to head out to Chinatown, which Lindsay and I somehow missed when we were here before!

Chinatown is bustling! Lots of cars, lots of people, and lots of shops and stalls. We grabbed a little bit of street food before sitting down to eat, and spent some time wandering around. It was likely the combination of time of day (7ish), that the kids were up since 6am, and the business of the market, but again, we had to leave a bit sooner than we would have liked due to an overstimulation(?) of people and craziness. We know that Bangkok will be the busiest place we go while we are here so perhaps once we head on to Chiang Mai our kids will find things a bit more comfortable (in a social sense). We think this is a lot for them, but for their first cross-cultural experience, they are jumping in with two feet!

Tomorrow is supposed to rain, so we'll see how it goes and what we get up to - maybe it will be an "in-day" :)

14 Years Later and We're Back!

Juliet and James enjoying mango and watermelon smoothies

OK...so there is no WAY that Blogspot is still a good form of blogging (...if that's even a thing these days...) but we figured that it would be fitting to pickup where we left off 14 years ago when we left Thailand. Afterall, the dream at the time was to travel the world and have a blog for each continent...ah, to be so young and naive!

Well, from the main image it should be clear that although Lindsay and I are back, we're not alone - we have two 9-year old children in tow! We started our planning for Thailand almost 1 year ago when we started imagining what it would/could/should look like to take vacations under the guiding reality that we are God's money managers and the money in our care is to be used for his purposes...so needless to say, this trip isn't all beaches and beer!

Today is Sunday, and on Wednesday we leave for Chiang Mai to learn more about the missionary work we support up there, and then down to Mae Sot for the same purpose. We pray to be a blessing however we can. We pray that we will be able to share the Good News of Jesus. We pray that we see God do amazing work and that our faith is strengthened. We pray that our kids' lives are changed and their hearts are permanently set on Jesus. Please join us in these prayers - we look forward to sharing what happens with you!

Today was a slog. We hopped on the plan in PG at 8:15pm Friday, had a quick changeover in Vancouver, then a direct flight to Bangkok which put us here 1.5hrs earlier than expected, or at 3:40am on Sunday. We are staying at an AirBnb and arranged to meet the owner between 6-6:30 so we had some time to kill at the airport. We did some currency exchange, grabbed a SIM card, and sat and killed time for a bit.

After that we took a cab to our accommodations and like a newbie I didn't force the taxi driver to use the meter - doh! The condo owner figures we would have saved about 200-300 baht, or $8-12...next time!

After getting into our place around 7:30--it was about a 45 minute drive from BKK airport--we laid down for a 2 hour nap...well, all of us but James, who entertained himself and kept waking me up. We pulled ourselves together and left the house around 11:00 and walked down the street to a large mall to grab some food, socks and eye drops for Juliet, and catch a skytrain (BTS) to a pier where the kids got their smoothies and we took a boat up the river.

Well...that was short-lived as James was terrified of the crazy nature of the boat driver, so about 10 minutes later we were off the boat and back on another skytrain (MRT) and back to the condo. In all fairness, we're super tired, it's 34 degrees, and the sun is blazing...I think the plan for the rest of the day is to have a low-key late afternoon, grab some dinner at the mall and breakfast foods, and maybe check out a small nearby market if it's open.

Tomorrow we'll see how everyone's doing and hopefully get out a bit more :)