Mixin' things up

As you can see.... things have changed on "Thai Adventures." Inspired by the improved Six Chicks' blog and talented D.O, I put in a request. Thanks to D.O.... I now have a cool new banner! My roommate wrote a song about how sad she was that I didn't pick her to be my designer. But, she gets paid the big bucks to design things for M's everyday. So, I gave her a break and went to my friend who works for free. :) Thanks D.O!

You can all tell him how much you love the new look.... comment away!

HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR!

Last weekend we had 4 glorious days of no work. Thanks to the Chinese, we got to spend a couple days chillin' out in nature and hanging out with friends. Besides the fact that we had 2 days off of work, there wasn't much else different this holiday. The only exception being the stylish clothing line in Lotus of red Chinese New Year apparel. Classy, I tell ya. We had a weekend of luxury camping at it's finest at Obkhan National Park. We showed up to rent tents and they little guys set them up for us.... then hauled the wood for our fire. When we failed at starting our super cool bonfire, a little Thai guy ran over to us laughing and got the blazes going so we could cook our food.

I made hobo dinners for the 12 people in our group. It was interesting cooking them in a huge fire pit. But we made it out alive and our food actually cooked just fine! Almost gourmet.

A few families we know were there camping as well. Our British friends NEEDED their kettle ready for tea time. This is the picture while things were going ok... before the kettle crashed and pretty much burned.

It was a wonderfully cool night.... filled with s'mores, shooting stars, and fire walking.

The next day consisted of hiking, cliff jumping and a little swimming. Foreigner locals call this place "the gorge" as it has about a 25-30 foot drop you can jump off of into the river. After I watched multiple people do this without dying, I tried it for myself. SO FUN!

Isn't God's creation just beautiful?!?! It's always good to get out and see a new view of it. This place was basically hiding in our backyard--- only a 30 minute drive from my house. We're gonna have to make a return visit. I can't wait to see this place during rainy season. :)

A Blessing to GIVE!

Today was the big day!!! It was like Christmas in February. Excitement filled the air as we rounded the corner, driving into the House of Blessing. 123 pairs of eyes grew bigger with each glance at the gifts we brought. This children's home houses 123 kids who are well cared for and are taught many useful things for their future along with the precious gift of God's Word.

Along with a trunk I brought back from America filled with goodies (candy, underwear, art supplies, friendship bracelets made by students in Texas, pictures of people who gave money, etc.) I went shopping with my roommate to get the remaining needed items. We laughed a lot as we lugged several overflowing shopping carts through our would-be "Wal-Mart" in Thailand. We had a ton of fun counting out 123 pairs of sandals, 123 pieces of candy (several times), 123 notebooks, 123 pencils, 123 toothbrushes, 123 tubes of toothpaste, 123 bars of soap, 123 balloons, etc. You get the point. We also were able to buy a bucket full of art supplies and another bucket filled with sports balls.

I want to send HUGE THANK YOU to those who gave money to help fund this project. These kids and their care-givers are so grateful for your kindness. I was able to share with them about the different families and kids who helped out. Many of them don't own their own things. They each received a gift bag with some personal goodies and picked out a pair of sandals. I shared with them that many people in America know them by name and have been praying for them. Before we passed out the goods, we all stopped as they prayed a blessing over each of the families and individuals who gave generously to them.

They loved looking at the pictures of American kids and families and reading notes from some of you. I will be framing the pictures in one large frame in the next week and bringing it back to the home for them to keep.

With the remaining money given, I was able to help my house church here in Thailand purchase a new water filtering system and larger cooler/water dispenser for the home. This was a huge need they've had. Thanks for being a blessing to these kids in Thailand! Continue to pray for them as they are encouraged to love and serve the Lord with their lives. You can also pray for the Lord to provide permanent families for them. I trust that He has an awesome plan for each one of them. He is a good Father who loves without condition.

Enjoy the pictures below! :)

House Church friends sorting the gifts into bags:
Our Big Day:I explain to the kids where all this stuff came from. In line... ready to receive their gifts:Hangin' Out with these precious children:

KHORP KHUN MAK MAK KHA!!! PRAJAO UAYPHORN KHUN KHA!

THANKS SO MUCH!!! GOD BLESS YOU!

Just playin' around

Last weekend started a bit early as I headed out to a nearby village with 38 high school Seniors. Grace International School's annual spiritual emphasis week ended with a day of ministry in surrounding communities. We went to a small village that my house church here has been building a relationship with. This area actually has two connected villages that share a public elementary school. The 70 kids that attend this small school are so so precious. Not very often do they have visitors. They gave us the royal treatment--- performed traditional Thai dancing and served more food than we could've eaten in days. The kids were so excited to have a day of fun with the Seniors. The 12th grade class split up into groups to lead songs, arts & crafts, and a game time. We had planned on doing some painting jobs and clean up work in the villages, but that was rained out. So with a change of plans we got to spend lots of time with the kids. At the end of the day 3 of my students prayed a prayer of blessing over the school. The school administration was very receptive of us being there and want us to come back ASAP. It was great to see my students share the love of Jesus with these kids and school staff. I look forward to bringing future teams out there to continue to water the seeds already planted.

During arts and crafts time, the Seniors taught the kids about Valentine's Day.... and they made a few cards. Some of our boys got lots of practice cutting out hearts. Just precious. :)

Of course, game time was a hit. They loved learning English songs. These kids make me smile---- they're just so stinkin' cute!



Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo BooksThe night before, I was out at Tesco Lotus (our Wal-Mart here) and found these balloons. THe kids thought they were the coolest things in the world. The balloons alone could've entertained them for hours.

Saying our good-byes... or sawatdii khas.

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books
As if I hadn't had enough time with these super cool 12 graders, we had a Senior girls night/sleepover at my house that same day. About 13 of the girls came... we had fun, ate lots of junk food, played a game, read magazines that involve important things in the life of a girl, watched a couple movies, and stayed up WAAAY past my bedtime. But, it was worth it.... because I love them. I'll have to get pictures next time.... apparently this is going to be a monthly occurrence. We'll see.