Thailand is Sanuk Sanuk (fun fun)!!!

A lot has happened in the last month, and it's hard to put into words, so we've put up some pictures also. We went to the beach for a retreat with the Central Thailand Student Ministry Team. Jonathan played in a basketball tournament and won!!! We went climbing in Lopburi. Ashley turned 28. And, we continued studying Thai Language.

Prajuab Team Retreat

16 people met at the beach at "The Pines" for a retreat to get to know each other, relax, and study and worship God together. "The Pines" is a special retreat place owned by OMF for OMF missionaries to use. It was a fun time to get to know the other "student ministry workers". We had time set aside each day to read and pray by ourselves, to worship God together, and for fun team building games. We celebrated Ashley's 28th birthday in Prajuab. Ashley went with the girls for a massage, then we all went to the beach and played games and ate, and came back to "The Pines" to eat cake and ice cream. Ashley was given several nice gifts and cards. Thanks for everyones birthday wishes!!! To see pictures of Prajuab click here.

Basketball Tournament

A group of guys that Jonathan plays basketball with invited him to play with them in a tournament in a nearby city. The tournament had 7 teams and had a $250 cash prize for the winners. WE WON, in overtime thanks to a missed layup at the buzzer by the other team. The game was played outside in the dark on cracked concrete, and the refs apparently had some connection with the other team that made them refuse to call fouls against them. Basketball in Thailand usually has very little contact, but this game felt more like football and took Jonathan a week to recover from. Afterwards, we posed for pictures and went out to eat to celebrate.

Climbing in Lopburi

We found some climbing in Lopburi. We borrowed a motorcycle from Off and Pheung and drove about 15 kms to a temple at the base of a big 600' tall mountain. Just getting there was an adventure, not really knowing where it is and not yet too comfortable driving a bike. Luckily, we found the cliff easily and found some easy climbs to warm up on.Climbing for the first time in 9 months also has some challenges. We remembered how to do everything but our hands and feet are sore from the sharp rock and tight climbing shoes and we also have lots of mosquito bites. The climbing was fun though, and it looks like there is quite a bit of climbing to explore while we're here (especially after the weather cools down). For our climber friends, we'll explain a little more. The rock is limestone and is bolted with nice new bolts. Most of the +-40 climbs are 5.10a-5.11b. There are a few multipitch climbs, including a 6pitch climb that goes to the peak (you must rappel the route to get down). Most of the climbing is vertical, but there are a few cave formations with some hard routes.

For more pictures of climbing, basketball, dancing, and Lopburi click here.