sawatdee ka

These past two days kind of ran together for me. It all was kind of lumped into this one big introduction for the new interns. I woke up early and went running. It is pretty quiet here, which is a nice change from Bangkok. I will be happy when I find some cool running paths around here though. It always takes a little while for me to get my bearings. After my run I came back and took a shower-a for real shower! It had heat and everything! After my shower I got dressed and packed for the next few days. Robert picked us up about 8, and we drove over to Sean Todd’s house-another missionary on Robert’s team. I rode in the back of the truck with a missionary couple who was here visiting from Cambodia. They live in Phnom Penh and go to church with the Dolans. It has been really crazy these past few weeks realizing just how small and interconnected this world is. At Sean Todd’s house, we had the most amazing French toast that I have ever had. I don’t just throw that compliment out all the time either. It was delicious! After breakfast, we had a short meeting with Sean where he clarified what their mission in Thailand was about. He spoke about the Great Commission. After Sean spoke, David came and spoke to us about the importance of quiet time and journaling. He seemed really passionate about it, and his message was just really great! After that, we all loaded up in the truck again and went to have lunch at a local Thai restaurant. I am so glad that people here have been ordering for us because I would have no idea what would be good to try. Everything we ate was so good though. It was kind of spicy, but I have decided that growing up with my mom and dad’s salsa has adequately prepared me for it. After lunch we grabbed a cup of coffee at a Wawee Coffee House and had a quick question and answer time with all of the missionaries. They all seem so passionate about their mission here, and it is amazing to me how well they have adapted to life in Thailand. After the coffee shop, the five of us girls, Ohg, Poi, P’Wah, P’Pui, and Robert all drove out of Chiang Mai for about an hour for our Houseboat trip. When we got out of the van I couldn’t believe how beautiful it was. We hopped on a boat to take us to where we were staying, and it seemed like the further and further we got, the more secluded and stunning the scenery grew. We finally made it to our floating guest house, and all of the Thais had to room with one of the Americans. I got to room with P’Pui, which I was really excited about. John and Julie told me that she would really be a great friend to have while I was in Chiang Mai. We all quickly changed into our swim suits and jumped in the lake. It was kind of nice to let loose and have fun for a while because it seemed like we had been in this hardcore absorption mode for so long. After it started getting dark, we all changed and met for dinner. I got to sit by Robert, and we tried to make up logic puzzles, which turned out to be harder than it looked. After dinner it was still pretty early, but the newly arrived interns were still suffering some from their jet lag, so they all went to bed pretty quick. I stayed up and talked to P’Pui some, which was really cool. She has led a really cool life so far, and it seems like she will be a really great Christian role model for me to learn from this summer. The next morning, we all woke up pretty early and got some breakfast. I got some banana pancakes, and with the scenery around me, I felt like I was living a Jack Johnson song. After breakfast, Robert let us have some quiet time. He said that we are going to have an hour every day completely devoted to spending time with God, and I am really excited about that. Sometimes it can be hard to set aside times for that, and I think that is going to be a really great gift here. After our quiet time, we had a few hours of Equipping Time, which is just kind of like a discussion/devotional type meeting with everyone. I think once we all get to know each other more, that time will be a really great opportunity to grow and share with each other. After that, we all packed up and headed back to Chiang Mai. I was really glad to get back and have a few hours in the afternoon to ourselves because I was pretty exhausted. I got to take a short nap, but I woke up to the construction going on outside my window. I decided to run to 7-11 to pick up some medicine because I was feeling a little under the weather. When I got back, it was time for us to go to Robert’s house for Cell Group. I got to meet some other members of the churches here and the rest of Robert’s family. The atmosphere was so nice and relaxed; it definitely put me at ease. We all ate dinner together, and then circled up for a short devotional, during which we were prayed over by the entire group. It is so cool to hear all of the different accents and languages coming together for this one unified purpose. It illustrates so beautifully how we can all be unified through Christ. After the devo was over, we all came back to the church. The five of us retired back to our section, and we had a short time of sharing about our experiences so far. It made me really excited to be here with everyone. I think that spending the summer with these girls is really going to be a neat opportunity!