Home again

In case you haven't figured out, we're back. The trip was long but went fine thankfully. The weather was okay when we arrived back in Saskatoon at 8 p.m., -4 or something, so it wasn't too much of a shock to the system. But it's getting colder again.

It was strange to see snow again and the flat, straight, almost empty roads were also a switch. I slept 12 hours and feel like I've almost gotten back into the right time zone, 13 hours back. We'll see how it goes tonight because it takes time to adjust.

I'm very thankful for how well the trip went. Can't believe it's over. Will post pictures soon, hopefully tomorrow.

On way home

I'm in the Hong Kong airport. So far our trip has gone well and almost uneventfully - our vans to get to the Bangkok airport were a bit late but we arrived in good time. Connections for our flights through Vancouver and Calgary are good, not long, but it will be a very, very long day. Pray for safety and rest for us.

I'll send more details on our last day which was really good and post some pictures when I'm home.

2nd last day

Yesterday was a hard day for many people on the team. After a very long (10 hour bus ride) from Pua to Bangkok, we boarded vans to Chonburi for another 2 hours. We then spent a good part of the day at the Tiger Zoo here. The team was really looking forward to this but exhaustion and the shock of the heat and humidity made it a bit hard to enjoy. Please pray especially for Ashley and some others who are quite tired now.

The Tiger Zoo was pretty neat though. For a bit more than a dollar, you could hold and feed a baby tiger or ride an elephant (I did both). I also volunteered during the elephant show to lie down on the ground and be stepped over by 7 elephants. Fortunately, they knew what they were doing and I survived the ordeal! We also saw a girl stick her hand and then her head in the head of a crocodile. Wow!

In the evening, we watched a new hip-hop ministry that they have started at the church and spent some time sharing and praying together. As I said earlier, many of the team are pretty spent and ready for a rest and home. We are staying at the church and do not have the same privacy and comfort in accommodations as we did up north - all the guys are sleeping on the floor in one room and the girls in another. Pray for continued strength and energy and health as we finish up here. Please pray especially for Ashley and others who are quite tired now. Pray for Karis who is actually not getting better from her sickness - has a bad cold at very least. And pray for Sherry who is also quite wiped by the heat and tiredness. I'm feeling and doing well thankfully.

Today, we heard from some of the Team 2000 people about what they are doing now here in Chonburi. We also heard testimonies of three Thai women who became Christians because of Team 2000's witness. So cool! We saw a little baby who they are caring for at the Abundant Life orphanage - he was diagnosed as having HIV/AIDS when he first came to them but since then the doctor has told them that he no longer has it - he and another baby were miraculously cured!

Tonight we will help the TREK team that is here with teaching English to university students at the church. Tomorrow we will put on a kids carnival in a new area where they are planting a church about 8 km from here. We'll also spend some time in personal and corporate debrief. Pray for God to encourage each one of us and continue to lead us in our next steps. We want to finish strong and be able to celebrate what God has done in and through us.

We leave early Thursday morning the 25th, 6 a.m. for the airport and home. We'll finally arrive in Saskatoon at 8 p.m. that same day. A very long day!

Thanks for your prayers!

Chonburi

We arrived safely and uneventfully in Chonburi. It was a very long bus ride though - 10 hours! After quick showers, we left for the Tiger Zoo. This was really neat. We got to feed milk to a baby tiger, watch elephant, tiger and crocodile shows, get rides on an elephant and do other things. I volunteered to lay down down on the ground and be stepped over by 6 elephants!

Tomorrow we'll be meeting some of the missionary team (Team 2000) here, doing some
English teaching prep and then teaching university students English in
the evening. A pretty slack day. Lunch on the beach too!

I didn't have time to write about our last few days in Pua. They went really well. Saturday afternoon we put on a carnival for the kids at Kathy's Home. Then in the evening we had a birthday party complete with birthday cakes and ice cream for Mike and spent some time affirming Mak and Narola and praying together. Sunday we had church at Kathy's Home with the children there and also had lunch with them. It was a very very nice way to end our time in Pua.

Now there are just two full days left here. We leave Thursday morning - it's Monday night now. Please continue to pray for team dynamics and personal transformation for each of us as we continue to see what God is doing here. Thanks!

Traveling south to Chonburi

We are leaving in an hour for the south. We'll ride on a bus overnight for 10 hours and then take a van ride to get to Chonburi and Team 2000. Please pray for safety and good rest. Our vans will be comfortable. Also pray for team unity - nerves are starting to get frayed a bit more as the days go on. Thanks! Sorry I don't have time to write more right now. No real health concerns - praise the Lord!

Last day teaching

Today was our last day teaching. I was glad to be able to get into the classroom again. It has been a challenging experience for our team. Some classes are very eager while others are quite undisciplined, show up late, and do not pay attention. But I'm glad we could all have this opportunity. John and I taught 3 classes this morning - the first two were quite good but the last was not very good at English or interested. Being in the classrooms has definitely given us some unique insights into the culture here and the education system. One thing they seem to do is group the best students in a class and the worst in another. We did clearly see the differences in the classes although there did seem to be one or two eager students regardless of the class.

As I wrote yesterday, we were given part of the morning assembly. It turned out we only had about 1/2 an hour. First, some of the Thai students performed Thai dancing and music. Then our team sang some worship songs, did a skit about how we do not need to earn our way into heaven, and Matt Smith gave a short talk on the invitation to accept Jesus as the only way to be saved. Some of the students and teachers paid close attention, others did not. Not sure if they understood much even with Mak translating. But we are glad that we could praise God at this public school. And if even one student is starting to think more about God and how Jesus is different, that is good. One small step at a time! Sherry and I were given seats of honor at the front and at the end, they presented all of us with beautiful handmade cloth bags and took pictures of us with the teachers. Very much a culture of ceremony!

Tomorrow afternoon, we will put on a carnival/children's day at Kathy's Home. We will prep this tonight after we go to Kathy's Home as usual. This should be a lot of fun. We have brought face paint, balloon animal materials and miniature hockey sticks from home among other things. The kids there are really nice and it will be great for our students to serve them in the way and just have fun with them, without having to be limited by language.

Please continue to pray for each of us. I am doing well now, over my bronchitis, and looking forward to the rest of our trip. Karis is also getting better. Please also pray for Mak and Narola - they work very hard, are tired, and haven't gotten any break for a long time now and will be receiving another team as soon as we leave.

On the mend

Good news. I am feeling much better and Karis is starting to get better herself! Both she and I did not teach yesterday or today but the team was able to get along without us. As far as I know, everyone else is doing fine healthwise which is really good. Thank you for your prayers!

I finally got to see my Thai parents yesterday. They took me out to dinner at a nice restaurant and ordered all my favorite Thai dishes. I stayed at their house for night, in the same bedroom that I slept in 10 years ago. After breakfast, my Thai mother took me to the school where she teaches kindergarten. I toured the school, greeting each of the teachers and the students. That was fun. Afterwards, we went to a textile shop where they make beautiful clothes, placemats, scarves and the like, by hand and on looms.

Some of the team members are going to stay at Thai students' homes tonight. Most of them will go in pairs. That should be an interesting experience for them - really an honor for them to get to do this.

Tomorrow is our last day at the high school. We have been asked to lead the morning assembly for 1 hour. This is an awesome opportunity! Please pray for the team, especially those who are going to be leading in music and doing skits and sharing testimonies. May God be glorified in this and may Thai people be drawn to Him.

It is so hard to imagine the cold and snow in Saskatchewan. I admit that it is hard to think of going back! Here the days are wonderfully nice and warm and the evenings cool and pleasant. How can I describe the beauty of this place and the warmth of the people? I am so thankful for the blessing of being here and what God is teaching us and how he is using us, even in small ways.

The team

I am very thankful for my team - Sherry and the students. They are really enjoying being here in Thailand and are soaking up the opportunities. Many of them have said how much they like it here. They are starting to learn more of the language and are getting to know the kids at Kathy's Home and the teachers and students at the high school. Very good attitudes. They are also for the most part enjoying teaching English - which itself is a very huge answer to prayer. And we thanked God last night for how our team unity has improved and for how good it is! Praise God for all of these blessings.

I'm feeling quite a lot better. But now Karis probably has bronchitis - she's resting today and she'll go to a clinic this afternoon when it opens. Please pray for patience for her - she really wants to be with the team and teaching English.

So the team minus Karis and myself (we're grounded) is teaching at the high school again this morning. They'll have the afternoon free and then go again to Kathy's home. Two more full days like this.

I hope you're all doing well. Thanks for your posts and for your prayers!

Day of Rest

Today we had a much-needed day off. I rested because I'm still not feeling better. I also went to the doctor, found out I have bronchitis and got a bunch of medicine. I'll lay low tomorrow. I'd appreciate your prayers for my health and that of the rest of the team (who all seem to be fine thankfully).

The rest of the team did their own thing. The guys all bought soccer jerseys and played soccer with the kids from Kathy's home. Some of them went to find a silver factory - they didn't find it but ended up at the home of a private silver maker who sold them some jewelry. Some of the students also bought various things at the market.

The only downside about being stuck in my room was that the resort had been invaded by the teachers from this district. There were two separate parties going on for most of the day. They both had karaoke machines blaring and the ones who "sang" for the most part couldn't! Pretty terrible noise all day, even with my window closed. My iPod was very much a God-send!

Tomorrow the students will teach again. Pray for continued opportunities to share God's love with the students and teachers there.

Village and high school teaching

We got back from the Hmong village yesterday afternoon. That was a wonderful experience! We enjoyed painting the inside and outside of a small church there - it only took about 4 hours to paint the walls and window trim and stain the shutters. I hope to post pictures soon.

After that, we all waded in a river there. So refreshing! However, it was a bit awkward for us and more for the local people - there was one woman upstream from us who discretely took a bath right in the river wearing a sarong. This is a place for kids to swim, people to bath etc. We ate supper there, cooked by some Hmong women - purple sticky rice and regular white rice, pork and beans, ginger and pork and a spicy salsa-like condiment. Delicious though very different from Thai food. After that, we attended a prayer service at the church. Cacophany of prayer! The way they pray is to name the prayer request and then pray all at once together. Nice, because then we could participate. We went to bed right afterward. In fact, the village was quiet by 8. We went to bed around 9. The guys slept in one house and the girls in another. We had brought sleeping bags from home and Narola had bought sleeping mats. Few of us slept more than a few hours unfortunately. The village was alive with sounds of...roosters crowing at all hours, dogs barking and women preparing breakfast from 4:30 onward.

So we emerged from our sleeping bags at 8 very sleepy and mostly not in very good moods - except for Sherry who is a morning person and seems to always be in a good mood! Breakfast was leftovers from the night before. I wasn't too excited to eat rice yet again but settled down once I got some instant coffee and orange juice that I had brought from Pua. We attended church in the village which was neat - a small congregation of faithful Christians. Sherry gave her testimony and we sang a few songs for them. Mak preached and the pastor translated into Hmong. It was also really neat because they had a child dedication for a very young couple. We drove back to the resort in Pua right away. We rested, Josie and I bought and ate a delicious, very juicy pineapple that cost only about 60 cents, I found a bakery which had nice banana muffins. In the evening, we ate at a very nice outdoor restaurant on a hill overlooking the town of Pua.

This morning, we started teaching at a high school here. First, we were introduced in the morning assembly. We each introduced ourselves in Thai and then some students pinned corsages of the school flower on each of us. We were treated like royalty or superstars! After that, we taught two or three classes. John and I had a break for the first period. We then taught two classes of grade 11 students. That was fun, playing charades with them and talking about the sports and activities they enjoy.

This afternoon, we celebrated the birthdays of three members of the team (Sherry, Mike and Eric) as well as Narola. She had a carrot cake and we had bought ice cream. How nice! What a wonderful blessing Mak and Narola are!

Update on health - I'm still not feeling 100%, still suffering from a cold especially in the mornings and evenings. We will have the day off tomorrow which will be very nice. I will sleep in and later will go visit my Thai parents who I lived with when I was first here 10 years ago. So please continue to pray for health for our team, a good rest tomorrow and continued success with our teaching the following 3 days.

I haven't had many chances lately to post on this blog. WE are all doing fine, although some of us including me haven't been feeling too well today. Teaching these past two morning at the elementary school went really well. I was teaching grade 6 with John and we had a good time teaching them Hokey pokey and other things. In the evenings, we've been going to Kathy's Home and doing testimonies and performing songs and skits there. Mostly we've been enjoying their wonderful singing.

Tomorrow the team will drive to a Hmong village and will stay there overnight. We all brought sleeping bags and will be staying in Hmong houses. We'll be whitewashing a church there and then participating in a church service tomorrow. Should be fun.

However, we need prayer for health. A number of us are fighting sickness and tiredness, including me. Pray in particular for Ashley and myself.

Thanks.

Cute kids

Today, we spent some time getting an orientation and some delicious pineapple from Mak and Narola. The fruit here is so good! Orientation included some do's and don'ts (don't step on coins or touch someone's head or point with your feet; do ask questions and seek to learn, try to speak Thai, try to understand and live as the Thais here, embrace the opportunities of each day and see each thing we do including English teaching as relationship building and ask God to help us in what we do). Mak and Narola are excellent teachers and they have a lot of credibility since they have been missionaries in Thailand for 14 years and Nepal before that for 8.

After orientation, we visited two schools (the elementary and high schools we'll be teaching at) and also visited Kathy's Home (the children's home that Mak and Narola started). Wow, the kids are so cute! At both schools, they were both excited and shy to see us. They seem to especially take to the guys on our team - I guess they're so tall and remind the kids of some of the sports stars they've seen on TV. They went crazy when one of the guys took out his camera, posing in crazy ways for him. Anyway, it was good to visit these schools - it helps give us an idea of what we're getting into. Students were quite nervous before this. We'll teach tomorrow and Friday at one school (grades 1-9) and then next week, we'll teach 4 days to kids from grades 7-11. It'll be fun - and a good reminder of what I did when I was here before.

In the evening, we visited Kathy's Home. 45 kids meet every evening for singing and bible study. They can sure sing! After they sang some worship songs, two of our students gave testimonies and the music group performed two worship songs. That was cool. After that, we had about 10 minutes to mingle with the students. It was fun to ask and answer questions in English (I tried to not use my Thai too much so they could practice). Very sweet kids. They really enjoyed Matt's magic tricks. It was cool to see how each member of our team found a way to connect with the students. I look forward to our visits there each evening.

I've turned into the waitress for the group for meals. But the students are actually starting to learn how to say things in Thai so hopefully they'll be able to order for themselves soon. I'm excited to see how motivated many of them are to speak Thai and impressed by their language learning abilities. Nothing like an immersion experience to spur a person on to learn another language!

Team times have been good. Some of us are struggling with culture shock or other things but for the most part we are doing well. We really desire for open, honest, real and loving relationships with each other. Not always easy but by God's grace we pray it will happen. It has already begun. We're studying Philippians together which has a lot of challenging things to say about ministry and servanthood in teams. We enjoy our singing together - we have a very musical group and two guitars and a drum to add to the mix. I love these times!

Tomorrow we'll have to get up early to have breakfast and then be on our way to the school by quarter to 8. The morning will be spent teaching in the school, we'll have lunch at the school with the teachers, we'll spend the afternoon prepping and resting and then will be back at Kathy's home in the evening.

I'd appreciate your prayers for continued health and energy and good attitudes as we embark on our English teaching. Nerves have been calmed somewhat by our school visits today. Pray for team unity and wisdom especially for Sherry as she deals with personal and team issues. I am thankful for this day and what we were able to do and learn and what God has brought us each day we have been here in Thailand.

Paradise!

Yesterday was a good but full day. We spent the morning resting and then did a whole bunch of things in the afternoon. We visited a Christian counseling centre where my friend Annie works. This is a counseling centre for missionaries from around Asia as well as Thais. Incredible ministry - a lot of brokenness and healing. After that, we went to Agape Children's Home. This is a ministry to care for AIDS orphans started 10 years ago by one woman from Newfoundland who took in one AIDS baby who is now a pretty and thriving 14-year old girl. We got to hold and feed babies, play with toddlers and meet some of the Thai and foreign volunteers there. Wow! After that we went to a Buddhist temple on top of a mountain overlooking the city of Chiang Mai. Very dark and depressing and also a real tourist trap. But it gave students a good idea of what some of the spiritual dynamics are here. Finally in the evening we did more shopping at the night bazaar.

We're now in Pua, Nan. We took a 6 hour van ride to get here from Chiang Mai. We're staying at an absolutely beautiful resort overlooking the city, surrounded by lush green mountains. And the buildings themselves are made out of teak. So pretty and restful! I feel so spoiled staying in such a beautiful place! And believe it or not, the place costs 200 Baht/person/night - less than $7 including breakfast!

Supper was interesting - we walked down the hill to a small restaurant. My Thai abilities were tested as I read the menu written in Thai, ordered in Thai and translated for the team.

Anyway I have to go. More later.

Tomorrow we'll do some orientation and prep for English teaching. We'll also visit the children's home that Mak and Narola have started - 45 kids live there so they can go to school.

Day 3

Hi from Thailand! Sorry I haven't had a chance to write yet. We're all well.We arrived on Saturday morning in Bangkok and stayed there for one night. We had tons of fun exploring the city in tuktuks (3 wheel taxi) - it was a blast racing down the streets in a procession of 5 of those vehicles, veering between buses etc. Life on the edge! We wanted to check out the Grand Palace, an elaborate and beautiful temple but it was closed so we wandered around the markets near there, buying fruit shakes, silk skirts etc. Then we went to an open-air restaurant for supper. I had a delicious green curry that was served in a coconut. We got to see some beautiful Thai dancing and skilled martial arts.

Yesterday we had planned to go to a Thai church in the morning but decided to instead have our own worship service at the guest house. We met an amazing couple who are originally from Pakistan but had to flee because of persecution for preaching the gospel there. They are now living in Australia, teach Bible college courses about outreach to Muslims and also preach and teach all over the world. Their faith and trust in God is astounding! What an example and challenge for us! It was great to sing together - one of the students had brought a guitar and another a djembe (a kind of drum) - and we then shared a little about what God is teaching us here and prayed together. We had fried chicken and rice at a little restaurant just down the street - 25 Baht, about 80 cents for a very decent meal.

In the afternoon we flew up to Chiang Mai. We were met by the missionaries, Mak and Narola and taken to a guesthouse here. It's in a great area close to a huge night bazaar. Vendors set up tables to display their wares and the tables go on for blocks and blocks. So last night the team went shopping at the night bazaar. It's expected that you'll bargain for everything there, start at 50% of the price they ask and then go up. Some of the team really enjoyed this and got some great deals on things there - necklaces, tshirts, silk scarfs etc.

Instead of joining the team, I met up with a good Thai friend. She picked me up by motorcycle and took me to a huge open air restaurant here for BBQ. Probably a thousand people there. Everyone gets their own food from a buffet, much of it raw meat and vegetables, and then goes to a table to BBQ it on a small table-top hibachi type thing. A fun very social way to eat and visit. It was great to see my friend and meet her new husband. When I first met her 6 years ago she wasn't a Christian but now she is and it's so cool to see how she is growing in her faith. But she is still struggling and I'm glad that we continue to be friends.

Today we're continuing to explore Chiang Mai. We're going to visit a counseling center for missionaries, an AIDS orphanage, and hopefully also a huge Buddhist temple on a mountain overlooking this city. Should be very sobering and eye-opening for the team.

I'm so glad to be back in Thailand - my 6th time! The team is doing well and I'm enjoying getting to know them and seeing their good attitudes and adventurous, open spirits. Please pray for continued health and safety and a growing understanding and love for the people here. Pray for opportunities for us to be witnesses and to display God's love.

Tomorrow we'll head out to Pua, Nan by van with Mak and Narola (the missionaries) to begin teaching English and helping with a children's home there. It'll be great to be there again - my 2nd home from 10 years ago when I first lived in Thailand.

Bye for now - would love to hear from you!

Katherine

More information to come...

More information will be posted as the team departs for their missions trip. Please check back here for regular updates.

Team Thailand

Thailand Team 2007

Back Row: James, Rhonda, Josie, Renee, Karis & Mike

Middle Row: John, Matt R, Mitch, Matt S, Byron, Nick & Eric

Front Row: Ashley, Sherry(leader), Kathrine(leader) & Randi