Farewell Chiang Mai and Hello Phuket

Greetings from Thailand

We said good-bye to the city of Chiang Mai on Monday Jan. 28, but not before spending some time with a remarkable 35 year old woman with three young children whose husband was away in China working to translate the Bible into the Tai Lue language, which is spoken by certain people groups in China, Thailand, Burma and Laos.  She also shared with us stories of her own ministry to sensitive jungle areas of Burma, sharing the gospel and providing Bible training to new believers. This is a woman with no apparent fear of man because of her strong faith in God to provide and protect her as she works for His kingdom. Her work has led many to Christ including military leaders who have been used by God to provide the necessary protection needed to accomplish her ministry. We have chosen not to give her name nor include any pictures due to the sensitive nature of her work. She said that the village people are always so happy to receive what she has to offer and there are more to reach than she is capable of doing alone.

 Critters like this one we happily said good-bye to in Chiang Mai 

Mingling with the open market vendors in Chiang Mai was always a very interesting time as we sampled various delicious native cultural dishes, smelled the various fragrances both pleasant ones such as those from flowers like the Jasmine blossom or unpleasant like those from the stinky displays of drying fish or simply looking in wonder and trying to imagine how anyone could eat such a thing. One item that is banned from many hotels and from being transported in public vehicles because of its terrible mid-stage rotting onions or manure smell is the infamous Durian fruit. We actually got up the nerve to try eating some and after getting it past our nose (Gary found it more difficult than did Moriah or Lyndell) found it to be remarkably quite delicious. We found it quite interesting in that we were given a plastic bag to hold it, so our hands would not be contaminated with the unpleasant smell, which could last for days.

Brave girl trying Durian (notice plastic bag)

Outdoor street dining and an example of some wonderful traditional Thai cuisine.

Traditional herbal medicine pharmacy

Squid anyone? Actually very good when fresh (after cooking of course).

Hopefully no hoof and mouth disease here.
(We haven't been hungry enough to try pork knuckles and tongue yet)  

Decisions, decisions which tea is best?

You must choose your herbs carefully for Thai cooking.

A few unique fruit juices not usually found at Super Walmart.

We decided to make one last visit to the temple "monk chat" and found a young man, named Chaidech, who had been a monk for about 7 years trying to earn merit for a better life attempting to avoid the evils of this world by becoming a monk. We spoke to him and shared stories of Jesus and how Jesus has earned the necessary merit (righteousness) for us, as well as paying the penalty where we have fallen short.  He mentioned that his best childhood friend had become a Christian and was studying at a seminary in Sweden. This friend was always telling him that Jesus loved him, but he was not quite sure what that meant. He had ever never really heard the gospel before, so we took the time to make it clear to his understanding before praying with him and bidding good-bye. We also gave him the challenge to begin reading the book of John and asking God to open his mind to the truth on how to attain eternal life and avoid the judgment. Our hope is that we may have helped him take one more step towards a commitment to Christ and finding Him as his greatest treasure.

Young monk who showed an interest in our story.

Rules before entering temple
(Lyndell and I had a difficult time observing #7)

Next on our agenda was to fly to Phuket, avoiding the train this time, and meet up with the six others who were coming to Thailand from Minneapolis to join us for the work we would be doing in Bangkok. Phuket is a vacation destination for many travelers around the world because of the natural beauty of this location in southern Thailand.

Sunset over Siray Bay,  Phuket Island

Since our friends did not have the previous experience we had riding elephants they signed up for a tour to do so and we decided to join them when we learned we would be riding on a chair this time instead of bareback. We had visions of Hannibal's elephants crossing over the Alps to invade Italy as we comfortably ambled along a well worn path through the jungle.

Two cute little monkeys

A genuine Thai elephant massage.

Which side is our most photogenic, our front view?

or our backside?

Maybe this water buffalo would be more economical.

The next day our group chose to take a tour boat for a six hour cruise of several smaller islands that afforded a unique opportunity to view and take pictures of the magnificent artistic handiwork of God utilizing wave action and the rise and fall of the ocean levels thousands of years ago.

 Our tour boat on the Andaman Sea

James Bond Island

Cn you tell Moriah has been working out in the gym?

Many pictureque steep cliffs made finding beaches difficult.

Looking for a landing area.

We spot an opening as we approach the shore by canoe.

We decide to paddle through the opening in the cliff wall.

Beautiful pool on the other side.

We didn't take Moriah along just for a free ride

Paddling back out through the cliff opening.

The few days we were able to spend in Phuket for some R&R with our friends were a bonus we eagerly took advantage of while on this side of the planet. Now that the new coming members of our team had rested up a bit from the long flight from the USA we were all ready to travel to Bangkok and check in to our upcoming month long lodging arraignments nearby the school where we would be teaching. We are all eager to meet our students whom the Lord has ordained for us to teach and introduce to His saving grace.

Saying good-bye for now.