Northern Thailand

We flew to Chiang Mai in northern Thailand on Tuesday and then took the 3-1/2 hour bus ride to Chiang Rai on Friday. This is our last stop before heading back to Bangkok on Monday, have a day there and then fly home on Wednesday.

 Riding an elephant. The first missionaries rode elephants from Bangkok to Chiang Mai, a distance of 465 miles, and it took 4 months. Slow but steady, and they can haul a lot.

There are some familiar sites here but this is the first time that I've seen a Dairy Queen outside of the US and only the second time outside of Texas. Where is the other one? York, PA.

Dave and I are standing at the overlook of the Golden Triangle. That is the Mekong River behind us. We are in Thailand. The Mekong is heading north into Laos. Over Dave's right shoulder is Burma (Myanmar). The triangle gets its name for when gold was traded for opium.

Established in 1998, the beautiful campus of Mae Fah Luang University in Chiang Rai. I understand that most classes are conducted in English. The university is named for the mother of the current king.

Rose Martinez cooking meat and veggies at the table of a neat restaurant we went to last night. Rose has four children's homes including one in Cambodia. She's been at it since 1980. Early on I could tell she was a "kindred spirit." For more on her ministry visit http://mmfthailand.org/.

A couple of the young ladies from Rose's Home that went with us. They ate and ate and ate. We had a lot of fun.

I'm sitting next to another of the young ladies. Her English was very good and she helped me pick out what to eat. The people here are so gracious and hospitable.

After supper we went back to Rose's to watch a big football game (that's soccer for you American types). They are big Manchester United fans though it seemed that half the kids watching got pretty excited when Manchester City scored it's only goal.

Rose is sitting on the couch. Like us, she didn't know a whole lot about soccer until she moved overseas. Now she is a huge fan and it is a big connecting link with her kids.

Here are a couple of videos from church this morning in the Chiang Rai Full Gospel Church. The first one is a choral group accompanied by old, native Thai musical instruments. The second video is a familiar worship song for those of us in Guatemala and perhaps it is in English, too.

Southern Thailand

Here are some more shots from our visit to Southern Thailand.

I'm standing here with a team from The World Race, a ministry where folks visit 11 countries in 11 months. I'm exhausted just having visited two countries in three weeks! Great group of guys and gals, and we enjoyed hanging out with them.

Mountains shoot out of the beautiful Phangnga Bay which empties into the Pacific Ocean.

Our boat went through this opening under one of the mountains in the bay.

Ok, 007 movie fans, this is "James Bond Island" from The Man with the Golden Gun. It is actually pretty small. It is so small that it's official name is Ko Tapu or Nail Island.

We were driving down the road when all of the sudden we encountered this elephant trotting home, guided by his rider who is talking on a cell phone. (Thanks, Bri, for the great photo!)

Phangnga

We flew to Phuket in southern Thailand last Friday. Fellow NLAI workers Wasan and Uraiwan Sriwattananuphong picked us up. We then headed to Takuapa, Phangnga Province.
Volamos a Phuket en la parte sur de Tailandia el viernes pasado. Nos recogieron obreros de la Liga, Wasan y Uraiwan Sriwattananuphong. De allí, nos fuimos a Takuapa que se encuentra en la provincia Phangnga.

Saturday Wasan and Uraiwan took us to Baan Nam Dem (Salt Water Village). Over 2000 people lost their lives when the Sunami hit at 10:40 a.m. on December 26, 2004.
El sábado Wasan y Uraiwan nos llevaron a Baan Nam Dem (Aldea de Agua Salada). A las 10:40 horas el 26 de diciembre de 2004, el Sunami chocó a esta aldea y 2000 personas perdieron sus vidas.

This is one of the boats carried inland by the Sunami. We are over 1 kilometer inland here.

This is a sign with a map showing the location of this boat and the path it took when the Sunami carried it inland.

Dave Depew walking by the memorial wall with names of victims of the Sunami.

Here Wasan is standing next to one of the houses he built.

Wasan has supervised and built some 80 houses for people who lost their homes.
Wasan ha supervisado y construido unas 80 casas para las personas que perdieron sus hogares.

Dave preaching on Sunday morning to Wasan's small but dedicated congregation.

Dave shown visiting with Uraiwan and Wasan in the shade of their home. Temperatures have been around 90 with high humidity.

Wasan pastors a church in Takuapa. Uraiwan pastors a church in Phangnga Town. Less than 1% of the population in Thailand is evangelical Christian. The majority are Buddhist and there is a growing Muslim population. The work of evangelism and discipleship requires intercessory prayer, living and working with the people, building relationships and trust, and perseverance. Pray for Wasan and Uraiwan.
Wasan es el pastor de una iglesia en Takuapa y Uraiwan es la pastora de otra en Phangnga. Menos de 1% de la población de Tailandia son evangelicos. La mayor parte son Budistas y la población Musulmán está creciendo. El evangelismo y capacitación de nuevos cristianos es una obra que requiere oración, viviendo y trabajando con la gente, ganando su confianza, y perseverancia. Oren por Wasan y Uraiwan.

The food in Thailand is unbelievable. This was one of my favorite dishes which we ate picnic style: fried chicken, sticky rice and fried onions, served in a banana leaf. We ate with our hands. (Yes, Honey, I washed my hands...I think.)

Bangkok

I got to meet former co-workers of David and Susan Depew, John and Kim Quinley. They are doing a fantastic work of micro-enterprise development as well as work with women and children at risk.

John took us to see a couple of things they are doing including this center where they are employing folks to make beautiful leather purses to sell. They are seeking to lead women into freedom...not only freedom from poverty, prostitution, etc., but true freedom...freedom in Christ! If you'd like to read more about what they do, visit their website: http://www.stepaheadmed.org/.

Today, Dave took me on the skyrail and then a boat on the Chao Phraya River that runs through Bangkok to visit the Temple of the Emerald Buddha. It is located right next to a couple of the royal palaces including the one of the famous King Chulalongkorn, son of the king protrayed in The King and I. He ruled from 1868-1910 and is regarded as one of the greatest kings who brought about many reforms, especially in education.

Dave and I watched and were moved as masses of people filed through the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, bowing and worshipping. Lord, reveal yourself to the people of Thailand!

People kneeling and lighting incense.

King Chulalongkorn's Palace.

Dave and I flanking the palace guard right after the changing of the guard (click on video just above this photo to watch changing of the guard).

Off to Asia

After being snowed in in Newark which delayed us for a day, finally left on our 16 hour flight over the Arctic for Hong Kong and on to Manila. Spent the weekend with David and Susan Depew's son, wife and family, Micah, Kristy, Ethan, and Molly Vorariskul. Great family! Had wonderful time with them.

L-R: David Depew, Micah and Kristy Vorariskul, and me at Faith Academy.

They teach at Faith Academy, the largest MK school in the world. Beautiful campus and fantastic job they are doing with MKs. Went to the American Cemetery where 17,000 American soldiers who gave their lives during WWII are buried. Names of an additional 34,000 Americans as well as Filipino Scouts are engraved on the walls of a beautiful monument. As Micah said, we were on "hallowed ground."

Flew to Bangkok last night (Monday) and got to guest house @ 11:30. Great breakfast. Sitting outside enjoying the beautiful tropical weather.

John Quinley, who along with his wife, Kim, have a tremendous work in Thailand, and I joining Ronald McDonald in the traditional Thai greeting.