Leaving Phuket

This morning I woke up around 6am, which happens when you go to bed at 8pm because your completely exhausted. I noticed right away how sore I was from our previous days boat adventure. I decided to ignore my body's complaints until we went to breakfast and my stomach decided to rebel as well. All of the new, overwhelming smells were finally, well, overwhelming me. Breakfast has been my favorite meal of the day so far in Thailand, but not today. I'm thinking that the boat ride has taken a toll on my equilibrium and now everything I smell makes me want to, well you know.







We just got on a plane to fly to Chaingmai. I cannot wait to see this city that I've heard so much about. It'll be nice to see some familiar faces there as well since the Missionary retreat for Asia Pacific is going on there this week. We are especially looking forward to getting to see Zach and Danika M. and their kids.

Well, I'll try my best to write again soon, although I can't make any promises. :)

Touring the Islands

Today we took a tour of a the Phi-Phi islands off the coast of Thailand. One word: UNFORGETTABLE. The islands were so magnificently beautiful that it didn't even matter that the sky was grey and overcast. (It is the rainy season here).

                         

We traveled at high speeds by speedboat over the choppy Andaman Sea in the Indian ocean. It was completely exhilarating and a little painful. Kinda like sitting in a metal can that's being dropped over and over again on the cement. But I loved it! There is nothing like sitting at the very front of the open boat as your flying over the waves. I felt like a little kid, having the time of my life. As I bounced around in the front of that speedboat, holding on tight to keep from flying off my seat, I could feel my Father smiling over me, enjoying me, enjoying His creation.

                         

We stopped to visit several different Islands. One was called Monkey beach. The trees and ground were covered with long tailed monkeys and people were throwing them bread. We stopped at another beach to swim and relax, then we stopped at an inlet to snorkel for a bit. We loved seeing beautiful blue and yellow fish swimming around our faces. It was an incredible experience. But as we sailed from island to island, I couldn't help but wonder about the locals that lived and worked there. Do they have an adequate witness of the gospel? Do they have anyone in their lives to tell them the truth about the God who adores them, who's heart breaks for His lost children. He sacrificed His own Son for them, out of love stronger then we can ever comprehend. But who will tell them? As I sat on that boat today, I begged the Lord of the harvest to send forth laborers to these islands.

Our First Three days

Ok, here it is... A blog from me. I'm sorry it's taken me so long to write, but it's honestly taken me a while to find the words for the overwhelming feelings I'm experiencing here.  I know my husband has already written a couple of blogs and filled you in on some of our excursions so ill just summarize the past few days in my own words...

Day one: The highlight of the day for me was going on a tail boat tour down the Chao Phraya river. The incredible sights and smells were unforgettable.  Then we walked through Pho Wat, home of the reclining Buddha and the Golden Buddha.  To be honest, day one was the hardest for me so far.  I've never been a fan of large cities and Bangkok is far the largest I've ever visited.

Day two: We spent this day seeing more of Bangkok and doing some shopping at an incredibly large mall called MBK where you can barter over the price of your purchase. (which I'm really not good at bartering, but fortunately my husband is.). This day was much easier for me but more difficult for Marcus and Alli. It's so strange to me how culture shock affects people at different times and different ways.  We have found food to be the most difficult issue today as we have been out and about.  We keep thinking it would be nice if we just had someone to tell us what was good to try.

Day three:  Today we flew to an island called Phuket.  The shoreline is dramatically beautiful with crystal blue water and sandy white beaches.  It's a lot more relaxing here then it was in Bangkok.  The food is much spicier in the south of Thailand but a helpful missionary friend advise us to use the words "my pet" a lot, which means not spicy.  We are loving the Thai food.  I have developed a passion for mango which I never knew was so good!  We took a shuttle from our hotel to Patong Beach which is lots of shopping and at night turns into a bar/ party scene.  Just down the road is a public beach.  We got suckered into getting our pictures taken with iguanas and a marmoset, which was way to cute not to hold, we'll at least until he bit me.

More to come on our adventures in Phuket....