We Made It!!!

After travelling to Chiang Mai, Chiang Dao, Chiang Rai, and back to Chiang Mai, we finally packed our bags and headed to Lopburi. And, when we say packed our bags, we packed a lot of stuff. After being in Thailand for 6 months we had accumulated a lot of things; bikes, helmets, books, clothes, stuff. But we fit it all into 6 bags (minus bikes) and rented a songthaew to take us to the train station.

The Train Ride

It is a 12 hour train ride from Chiang Mai to Lopburi, and because the trains were full, we had to take a train that left at 2:50pm, arrived at 2:50am, and didn't have A/C. It did have convertable chair/beds, a fan and a window. For the first few hours, we hung our heads out the window and sweated, but then it cooled off and we enjoyed our ride through Thailand. We even got to sleep some.

Finally at 2:50 am, we ran off the train with our bags (barey able to fit through the doors), ran down to the cargo train to get our bikes (very glad that they were still there), and took a seat. Shortly after, our new friend Caroline picked us up, and took us to the Lopburi Youth House where we will be staying the next few days. We'll look for a more permanent place to stay, meet the OMF team in Lopburi, and start studying Thai.

We added some more pictures as well.

WOW!!!

Guam was great, but we left with some good options and a few ideas but not feeling certain about any of them. We planned to go to Chiang Mai and settle down and try to help YWAM in any way we could. But, we had 1 last person to talk to first. We set up a meeting with Overseas Missionary Fellowship (OMF) at their Bangkok office.

We arrived in Bangkok on Monday afternoon (March 10) and went to the OMF office to stay for 1 night. We really expected to meet with OMF in the morning and then to head on our way to Chiang Mai and help with YWAM. But, while in our meeting we saw many intriguing things, and so we went to Lopburi to see a little more. We sat at a bus stop for 2 hours with 2 big bags waiting for a bus to a small town to meet people we had never met. Jonathan almost lost it, thinking Ashley was crazy to think we would ever find anything in Lopburi. But, we made it, and the first person we called in Lopburi was so excited to meet us they offered to pick us up and give us a tour. After seeing the Youth House, Thai Language Center and talking with many wonderful people in Lopburi, we decided to continue on to Nakhon Sawan to learn more. Jonathan was still weary, thinking that we were wasting ours and their time and would most likely go to Chiang Mai as planned.

In Nakhon Sawan, we met Johnny and Ann McClean, the pioneers of a college ministry (similar to Intervarsity/Campus Outreach) that has spread to three towns in Central Thailand. We immediately felt at home and stayed up until midnight talking with them about everything, the good and the bad of them, us, OMF, and Central Thailand. We were impressed at the way everything was organized and strategically set up to share about Jesus’ love with the students of Central Thailand. We were excited when we learned that they had a program that would encourage us to further our language study, disciple us, help us disciple others and still give us opportunities to see other ministries. It seemed too good to be true so we asked for more information about the specific program we’d be doing. We spent the next morning praying, talking, and just being amazed at how this seemed perfect for us.

So, the Big News is, we’re headed to Lopburi for the next 9 months. We will study Thai at the best language school. We will be a part of OMF’s "Trained to Serve" program to train us to lead student ministries. We will help Off and Pheung, a thai couple who are leading the Youth House student ministry in Lopburi. We will get to develop relationships with students through playing basketball, running, teaching English, or any other way we can. The Youth House will organize several events to invite our friends to and guide us as we try to share about Jesus with those who are interested. We are very excited about this next step. We are sure that God led us to meet these people and opened many doors for us to convince us that this is where He wants us for now. We are truly amazed at His guidance for us. He is always faithful and always on time, even if it is at the last second.


Amima's Wedding
After traveling from Guam to Bangkok, to Northern Bangkok, to Lopburi, to Nakhon Sawan in 4 days and meeting with 10 people, we set off to go to a little village near the Burma border to go to Amima's Wedding. We took an overnight bus, another bus, a songthaew, and then each rode on the back of a motorcycle to a little Lisu village where Amima lives. We got to watch as the entire village came together to prepare for the wedding by building tables and benches out of bamboo, chopping firewood, butchering a 220 pound pig, cooking enough rice for many people, and decorating the house and church. It was a very interesting experience. We wish we capture Lisu culture and send it home in some way, but it would be impossible. Their dress, smiles, laughter, intelligence, and history is all so intriguing. We met several people who speak 5 languages fluently. Several people who recently came from Burma with nothing and have managed to survive and thrive.
The wedding was long and involved 3 sermons and a couple songs. The church was packed and even the windows were full of people looking in on the ceremony. The couple exchanged 2 simple gold rings, and walked out. In many ways, it was similar to an american wedding. After, we all walked to their house and had a big feast. We had alot of good food, and got to talk with several friends from DTS who had come as well.
It was bittersweet, as we enjoyed seeing our friends but it was also hard to tell them we were moving far away. We had all hoped we would end up living near each other. But, they were very encouraging to us to follow where God was leading us and to come back to visit them as much as possible.

What Now?
Now, we have a few more bus and train rides to see Art and Ponglak and Somkit in Chiang Rai and then to move our things to Lopburi. We are excited to settle down in one place for awhile. Luckily, bus rides in Thailand are very cheap. Please keep us in your prayers the next few days that we won't lose anything and that we will find a place to call home in Lopburi.

Top of the World!!!

Top of the World!!!
Tim, Connor, and I (Jonathan) decided to brave the horrific weather, life threatening altitude, low visibility, flesh eating animals and dangerous terrain to climb to the top of the highest mountain in the world, Mt. Lam Lam. We took turns carrying our pack (Connor is 42 pounds and didn’t like walking on the slippery mud) uphill for 2 hours in 90 degree heat. Near the top, visibility was reduced to 10 feet due to the 10 foot tall grass that overgrew the trail. After losing our way and crawling through the jungle, getting attacked by ants and mosquitoes, we found the summit and bravely hiked the last few feet, reaching an altitude of 30,357 feet. We were filled with awe at the view. You could see the entire island of Guam, the ocean, and the jungle we hiked through. We signed the summit register, took some photos, and headed down to reduce the risk of getting altitude sickness.
Mt. Lam Lam is higher than Mt. Everest, if you count from the bottom of the Marianas Trench at the bottom of the Ocean. But, Mt. Lam Lam is only about 1311’ above sea level, which makes it a pretty easy day hike for the family. If you decide to hike the tallest mountain in the world, we recommend sunblock, long sleeve shirt, and most of all, mosquito spray. Connor was covered with mosquito bites on his face, arms and legs.

We had a good last week in Guam. We went snorkeling, saw big seaturtles, sharks, and stingrays at UnderwaterWorld, hiked on the beach and to waterfalls, and ate some good food. We also joined Tim and Joann at the Marriage Enrichment class at church and for a BBQ at the beach with their “Flock Group”. It’s nice to know that even though they don’t have family here, they do have a strong church family to grow with.

The Akha Dorm
Art added an update to the Akha dorm blog. We plan on going to see him soon and can add some more info as well. Please keep him in your prayers as he tries to prepare for the students who will be moving in soon.

Our Plans…
We have now been homeless for 9 months. We have had a lot of fun, seen a lot of cool places, met a lot of people, and learned a lot. We left America expecting that God would lead us each step of the way, and He has been faithful. So, you might be asking, what’s next? Well, that’s a good question, that we have some surprising answers for you, but we want to keep you in suspense for a day or two. In the meantime, check out a few more pictures we added to our Guam photo album.

Guam

It has been a great 2 weeks so far with Tim, Joann, Connor and Eliana in Guam. Click HERE to see some pictures from our time in Guam. Our first few days here we realized we had been missing some of the comforts of civilization. Heres a few:

• Family and Friends



• Flushable toilets (especially ones that you can put your toilet paper in)



• Hot showers and water pressure



• Cereal and milk for breakfast instead of rice



• MEXICAN FOOD, Nachos, Burritos, Tacos, Chips and Salsa



• Washer and Dryer



• Having Internet at home



• AMERICAN FOOD



• Did I mention Nachos and Breakfast burritoes



• Full conversations without referencing our Thai Phrasebook

It has been nice to get some of the comforts of home. But, mostly we have enjoyed getting to know Connor and Eliana. Connor is almost 4 and loves to wrestle, hike, swim, and loves anything with Star Wars. We have watched Star Wars 1-6 since we've been here, and some of them we've watched a few times. When he's not watching Star Wars, he's often humming the tune of Star Wars or saying "the force is strong with Luke". Every morning we sleep to late, he knocks on our door and says matter-of-factly "its time to wake up guys, look outside, see, it's light outside, that means it's time to wake up." He is so funny and continues to shock us with his extensive vocabulary, ability to spell and remember things.

Eliana is 18 months old and she loves to eat. She eats more than Connor. Blueberry Yogurt is her favorite, and if you try to give her Strawberry, she'll give it right back to you and ask for a different kind. She likes to eat the yogurt, and then take the rest of it and give herself a facial/ mudbath.

Ashley and Joann both started the visit not feeling well so the first week we all stuck pretty close to the house so we could pump the vitamins and rest. We're both feeling better now and are thankful for everyones prayers!

Since we've been here we've spent a lot of time playing with the kids. We've gone snorkeling a few times. The snorkelling here is great, with beautiful coral, tons of fish (so many we're afraid we're about to get attacked), lots of starfish, and nice clear blue warm water. The beautiful coral reminds us of Jean and Jerry's sea aquarium in Florida. We've gone for several hikes to secluded beaches, Japanese Caves and guns and cannons from World War II. We've gone for a few runs. On Guam, they have a 5k race almost every Saturday at 6am. Jonathan and Tim ran 2 of these races so far and Ashley did the last one. Jonathan won his first race ever but didn't realize it so we left before the awards ceremonys. Even though Tim beat him, apparently runners aged 20-29 are not as fast as the older runners, and Jonathan won his age division both weeks. Ashley also won her age division and came in 2nd place overall among girls. They are fun runs, with start times before the sun comes up, tons of friendly people and families, views of the beach and always a nice sunrise.

We've also enjoyed getting to catch up with some friends and family on the phone or internet. We feel a little like computer geeks, but after 5 months with very limited internet access, we have some catching up to do. We didn't even know who won the Super Bowl! We've also been listening to sermons from Flatirons Community Church. Even though we're far away, it still feels like our church, and the messages still apply to our lives.