Highlights from the past 2 weeks

Sa wa dee ka!! 

I got back this morning from Chiang Rai and Chiang Mai. What an adventure! It was really a wonderful experience and I'm glad I had the opportunity to go. It was cool to get an inside look into what life is like in northern Thailand and learn more about the life and family of my friend, Pin. Here are some highlights from my trip:

-An overnight bus ride with reclining seats

-Meeting lots of people in Pin's family in Chiang Rai and being warmly welcomed

-Seeing where Pin grew up, where she went to school, and going to her favorite ice cream shop

-Hiking and seeing a beautiful waterfall

-Seeing lots of rice fields and the most GREEN I've ever seen 

-Eating on the floor, basically outdoors, and everyone eating out of the same containers

-Seeing life lived simply and getting to experience some of that too

-Travelling to Chiang Mai and staying with Pin's younger brother

-Playing with her 7-month-old nephew and 7-year-old niece

-Spontaneously going swimming in a stream

-Seeing lots of different kinds of fruit trees and eating straight from them

-Having a sleepover with Pin's niece and being asked lots of questions in Thai

-Staying at Pin's cousins' house and playing with more kids

-Going to the Chiang Mai markets

-Going at least half way up a mountain and seeing a great view of Chiang Mai

-Getting a taste of what it is like to be the only foreigner 

-Being safe and feeling healthy the whole time =)

I'm excited to get back to another week with my kiddos in Pattaya. Continue to pray for lives to be changed in the slums and on the streets of Pattaya. Pray for my heart to be changed as well. I have been in Thailand for 5 weeks now, and I have 5 more weeks in Pattaya, before doing some travelling and  then coming home. 

Before I left for my trip, we had a great sleepover with the PSM kids. We took them swimming, watched a movie, played water balloon games, ate peanut butter and banana sandwiches (spreading my love for these to Thailand), and painted nails with the girls. We also had times of singing and Jacie and I both lead a devotion. On Sunday, we took them to church, and they preformed 2 dances they have been practicing. They had a blast (and so did I)! 

Tonight I'm going to a party at the Tamar Center. A new group of people (who come from various backgrounds...lady boys, prostitutes, single moms) start their training this week!! 

Thank you for your continued prayers, encouragement, and support. It means so much to me!

Chiang Rai and Chiang Mai with my friend, Pin

This is the story of two girls who took a trip to Chiang Rai and Chiang Mai. 

We stayed at the house of Pin's aunt in Chiang Rai.

Here's where we ate. Sharing food with her family in a circle on the floor. I loved it. 

And sometimes we had some breakfast guests. 

Here's where Pin and I slept. 

One day, we went to a waterfall (naam dtok in Thai).

We crossed this bridge. It was my idea.

A little scary...

But we made it! 

And here's the waterfall. 

Beautiful. 

We sat there for a good 45 minutes. It was awesome. 

Here we are at Pin's favorite ice cream place. 

Pin writing down our order, since I don't write Thai yet.

This is our order form.

And here are the ice cream creations. I had green tea ice cream with sticky rice and peanuts. 

A roi = delicious

Chiang Rai is in the mountains. There are lots of rice fields. It is so green and so beautiful. 

Here are some rice famers. 

This is a boy I met on my walk. 

He told his sisters to come look at the farang who was walking by, 

so I started to talk him in Thai.

Then we went to Chiang Mai to stay with Pin's younger brother. This is Pin's nephew, Lin Ja. 

And this is Pin's niece Mo Ta Noi. She wanted to teach me how to make a turtle. 

We got to have a sleepover with her and she asked me a lot of questions in Thai.

One day, we rode around the city in the back of a truck.

We drank coffee, took silly pictures... 

And ate these delicious sunflower seeds, roasted with ginger. Yum. 

We walked around this park with lots of different kids of fruit trees.

This is a farang (white person) holding a farang (guava). =)

This is a little caterpillar. Don't worry, I didn't eat it. 

The groundskeeper gave us a whole bunch of fruit to take home. =)

All this fun tuckered out this little one.

Then we went to stay with Pin's cousins. 

Pin's cousin, Chickee made us papaya salad. =)

These kids were cute and fun! 

Little Natalie and Pang

Pin's cousin adopted Natalie. She is disabled. She was so cute and a little sassy. I liked  that. =)

Me with all the kids

We took a ride up a mountain to see the view of Chiang Mai.

Beautiful city

We didn't forget to smile on this trip.

We had fun! 

PSM Sleepover!!

The theme for the sleepover was "Wider than the Ocean",  and we had a bunch of beach activities. 

I talked to the kids about Psalms 139, 

how they are each fearfully and wonderfully made and 

how great God's love is for them.

The kids coloring in their Bible lesson books.

We took them swimming and they had a blast! This is Mu.

Beautiful Bell.

Our beach picnic with my favorite peanut butter and banana sandwiches!

I was a little nervous if they would like them, but they loved them!

We did an art project on the walls, telling the kids that their hand prints are unique just like they are.

It turned out really cute! 

Here's the group! So fun! 

We had some free time. Benz asked me if she could make a robot with the hot glue guns.

She was so creative! 

Me, Bell, and Benz

We watched "Tangled" on a projector and had coke floats! 

In the morning, I made them scrambled eggs (with pork, like they like it =).

Bell wanted to help. 

In the morning, we painted nails. 

We play water balloon games and had a water balloon fight.

We tie-dyed t-shirts with tumeric and grape juice! 

Finally we went to church and the kids performed 2 dances that Aom taught them. 

They were so cute! 

The sleepover was so much fun, and the kids had a blast! One of the girls came back to the center after the sleepover was over, and said that she was lonely and missed being around everyone. 

Pray for these kids to know Christ's love for them is wider than the ocean.