aloha, group classes and "i do"s

It's been an eventful second week! The first Let's Start Talking team hosted their final party; a Hawaiian theme. Our Chinese friends who are completing a university transfer program at Payap University (some of whom are pictured above) have really been enjoying activities like this at the zone. We said "Aloha" (goodbye) to the first team and "Aloha" (hello) to the second team! We'll miss you, Toni, Greg, Captain Mark, Sharon and Kay Lee! Thank you for all your prayers, for your hard work and love for your readers, and for your commitment to the mission in Thailand.

Kathy, Larry, Phil, Kent and Sam arrived from Texas last week and have been hosting reading sessions and parties at the Zone. A few members of the team work for Abeline Christian University. They've been wonderful! At this morning's meeting, it was hard to hold back tears as we talked about progress with some of the nonchristians they are studying with as well as obstacles in their faith.

Grace Ong (green shirt) arrived this week to join Mit (white shirt) and I in our internship training. We've gotten to meet lots of people coming to hang out at the Zone, join the group classes on the basics of Christianity for some of the Chinese students that Robert (orange shirt) leads, and begin our individual Thai study. In addition to helping out the LST team with parties and with getting to know their students for follow up, we take every chance we can to observe activity at the church in general to broaden our knowledge and experience base for missions in the future. I love my team! Grace and Mit already have a lot of deep relationships with friends at the Zone from being involved in the yearly Angkor of Faith mission trips to Cambodia. We had a brainstorming session at a coffee shop the other day to come up with some ideas for activities we can organize for this summer and I was really impressed with their creativity in and excitement for ministry.

It was a joy to be able to see Marvin and Oi, young Christians at Payap, recite their vows to each other on Saturday. The couple had already had their traditional Thai wedding recently, but also hosted this beautiful ceremony in a small park area on the campus. There were lots of family and friends to help celebrate, and the reggae theme made for a really fun atmosphere! If we're Facebook friends, you can check out my album with more of the pictures.

A big reason I'm so thankful for the opportunity to be an intern in Chiang Mai is that I get to spend time with Ying, Gade, and Gae (left to right). At some point, each of these three Thai Christian women have all come to Japan to be interns with Ibaraki churches. It's been really great to reconnect with these tremendously spiritual girls and use some Japanese again!

Thank you, Lord, for the opportunities to learn. Please continue to use me in Chiang Mai and open my eyes wide to open doors in ministry. In Jesus, Amen.

safely in Chiang Mai

I arrived safely in Chiang Mai, Thailand on Tuesday morning. It's been really great to reconnect with people I met last March and be a part of lots of activities that are happening at "The Zone." The Payap Christian Zone is part of the church here, basically a huge room on the first floor with a ping pong table and guitars lying everywhere. I was surprised to see a drum set pulled out of a corner last night, too! It's a really great place for young people to come hang out together. There is always someone around. College students at Payap University usually walk by the building on the way to their dormitories, so there are a lot of students who stop by to spend time at the Zone.

On the second floor of the building are the kitchen, Robert Reagan's office and a few dorm-style rooms. The auditorium for worship is on the third floor.

The first Let's Start Talking team is about to finish out their three-week project and the second team will be arriving to start their reading sessions on Monday. There will also be quite a few more interns arriving shortly, so it will be good to work with them, also.

My brother emailed to check on me, having seen the headlines about more deaths in Bangkok due to rioting. I'm so glad to be far away from all of the protesting and here in Chiang Mai with friends I trust completely. Let's keep Bangkok in our thoughts and prayers, hoping for peace and healing.

The only concern for my safety I've had to deal with so far was this little friend that came to hang out in my shoe yesterday...