We had an early start this morning. I got up to pack a small day pack before we loaded up the bus for a 7:30am departure. We had a three hour bus ride to the Kok River. I have really loved bus rides this summer. It provides such a great opportunity for fellowshipping with one another. Kelly came back to sit with us for part of the ride and tell stories. He is one of the best storytellers I've met, and he has led a life that is sanuk mak (very fun) so he has a lot of stories! When we made it to the river, I was so excited to see our rafts waiting for us. There were six bamboo rafts waiting to take the 36 of us six hours down river to the Honey Tree hill tribe village. I rode in a raft with Terri and the "Four Big Pizzas" (Austin, Shawn, Michael, and Trent-the four biggest guys on the trip). Lunch was waiting for us when we boarded our raft, and it was quite a spread! We had spring rolls, chicken, bamboo soup, bananas, and oranges. My favorite was the cucumbers though. They were amazing in the sweet and sour sauce! After lunch, we all played a game of Uno. I laughed so hard the entire time! My raft may not have had the most stimulating conversation or been the most relaxing, but I can say without a doubt that it was the most fun and entertaining. After Uno, we all enjoyed a nice afternoon nap on the bamboo raft. I slept pretty hard too-I woke myself up snoring a few times. When I woke up for good, I decided to go swimming in the river alongside our raft with Shawn, Michael, and Austin. Changing in the "bathroom" on the boat was like being born again. It consisted of a small rectangular-prism sticking off the side of the boat with two bamboo planks for you to stand on. The woven walls were pretty sketch. I wouldn't doubt that I gave the other boats a show through the gaps in the weave. Going in was a pretty big risk too because if the other people on the raft decided to shift the weight towards the bathroom while you were in it, you could find yourself shin deep in the Kok River. I managed to make it out in one piece though, and I was in the water in no time! It was so much fun! Just looking around at everything made me so thankful to be where I was with the people I was with. When we finished swimming, we all hung out for the rest of our raft time. Upon arrival at the Honey Tree Village, we all unloaded and reported to our assigned houses. It amazes me how the people in these villages are so welcoming-opening their home to a bunch of strange Farongs. Even though they have so little, they freely give us so much. It kind of reminds me of how life in the early church might have been. We all met for dinner that the entire village had prepared for us. It was delicious-cashew chicken and Thai omelets. At dinner, I got to talk to Sarah (Kelly's wife) for a bit. I wish I could spend more time with her because she, like Kelly, seems like a wonderful Christian example. After dinner, we all circled up for a devo, and I guess we drew a crowd because a lot of the villagers came out to meet us. since this was a hill tribe village, none of them spoke Thai but instead spoke another dialect, so Kelly had to speak in Thai for us to a Thai translator who then spoke to the villagers-it was quite a communication ordeal. It is cool to see some things overcome and transcend barriers like that though. We asked if we could sing a few church songs for them, and then they reciprocated with some of their church songs. This is one of the few Christian villages in Thailand, and after they sang some traditional church songs, they sang some songs they had written. It is so cool to see people express their faith in their own, uniquely individual ways. They also performed some of their cultural dances, and I discovered that my lack of rhythm and dancing ability is also something that transcends cultural barriers. When all of the night's activities were over, we all sang "Amazing Grace" in our respective languages. It was a perfect way to end such a wonderful day!
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