Monday, June 16, 2003
Wow, what a great weekend! We got to spend some wonderful quality time with our team (all 12 of us from the three campuses). Saturday we students from North Chaing Mai College and Chaing Mai University went to the elephant camp. Elephants are one of my favorite animals, so it was really exciting for me to go. We watched a brief show with some of the elephants as they did some tricks, like roll logs, play musical instruments, and play soccer and basketball. After the show they gave us a bunch of bananas and sugarcane to feed them with. I had never really been that close to an elephant before.. it was really fun. After the show we took a ride in wooden ox carts. The older man driving was pretty funny.. when we starting moving, I called out to the half of the team that was riding in a separate cart, "Rock and roll!" He picked it up almost immediately, and started calling out, "Rock and roll!" to everyone we passed. He then let me get up front to the driver's seat and steer the ox cart. After that we got to actually ride the elephants. We rode in twos along with a trainer. The passengers ride in a sort of roller coaster seat, with bars around it and a seat belt; the trainer rode on the head of the elephant. It was really fun.. we got to go around the mountains on beaten paths, as well as through 2 rivers that weren't too deep. The trainer even let some of us ride on the head of the elephant for a while (of course I had to try it out). It was a blast.
After that we breaked for lunch briefly and we were off to some tourist traps in the area. We visited a huge umbrella factory, where they make the sai paper (really pretty paper has a rough texture) and then use it to make fans and umbrellas. There are also artists there that paint designs on the umbrellas and fans. After that we visited a silkworm factory, where they showed us how silk was made as well as how they weaved the silk and other threads to make fabric. It was really neat. They also have handicapped Thais to paint designs on the cloth. I met one of the workers there.. he had no hands, but he painted beautiful flowered patterns on cloth. I said hello to him in Thai and he greeted me in English. He said that he didn't know any more English, but he smiled and I understood and we communicated from there on out with gestures and broken English and Thai. He actually let me help him paint a little on the flowers.. so someday someone around the world will have a beautiful white tapestry with red flowers that I helped to paint. After that we visited a pottery place with amazingly beautiful stuff. It's too bad that it would weigh too much to buy a lot. The northern Thais are famous for their sage-colored glaze that they use on their pottery. Sage is my favorite color, so I had to buy a mug with elephants carved into the sides. I also got a light red-clay colored tea set shaped like elephants for a very good price.. I've learned that as my Thai improves the Thai people are more generous with their discounts. They generally open up more as well in general, so I am eager to learn more Thai and build more relationships with the people I meet.
Yesterday we had our first church meeting/service at Quintin and Kim's house. The 12 of us were there, as well as two students from Chaing Mai University. It was really great.. we sang some songs, a couple of us shared our testimony, and we shared a bible story- the one about Jesus telling Peter to cast the nets out after he hadn't caught anything that night, and they pulled in so many fish that the boats started to sink. One of the students was amazed at the story. He has said before that he is a Christian, but it is more of a borderline belief that several Thais practice- they pray to Jesus and believe in God, but they also continue Buddhist practices.. sort of covering all their bases. We hope that he will come to realize that when you truly follow Jesus you don't need to follow anything else.. He is our everything, and because He is we do not worship or follow any other god. We always have to remind ourselves that we cannot push. Here in Thailand we have to share the gospel in the same way that we do anything else here.. it is all about relationship-focus, not time-focus. We are so used to being task/time-oriented in the U.S., but here in Thailand everything is really laid back and relationships matter more than how long something takes.. "Mai pen rai" is the motto here, which means "Nevermind," "It doesn't matter.." People say it all the time.. it's more about quality than quantity. It's a little frustrating sometimes (like when they say you will get your much-needed laundry back when they promise it but you get it three or four days later with no explanation)... but that's just the way it is. To each his own.. I'm getting used to it.
Okay, it's about time for lunch. Tonight after we leave we are going to Kan-tok, which is a sort of traditional northern Thai dinner theatre. It is very traditional: you sit on the floor and eat with your hands, and people bring out bowls of different food at once for you to eat. There are also dancers and music and stuff. It's also outdoors, so if it is a clear night then we can see the stars and everything. I'm pretty adjusted to Thai food now, so I'm pretty excited about trying some new stuff. Will keep you posted.. please keep praying for our team. Some of us (not me, thankfully) are getting a little under the weather, like cold or allergy-type symptoms. No one is too bad, but a couple have been feeling a little under the weather. Please be praying that we stay focused on our mission here and always for more patience, understanding, and guidance. I'm praying for you all at home as well. Please email me and let me know what is going on with you guys.. I miss hearing from the states from time to time. Have a blessed day.. actually, look for the blessings; they're already there, it's just a matter of if you see them or not!
After that we breaked for lunch briefly and we were off to some tourist traps in the area. We visited a huge umbrella factory, where they make the sai paper (really pretty paper has a rough texture) and then use it to make fans and umbrellas. There are also artists there that paint designs on the umbrellas and fans. After that we visited a silkworm factory, where they showed us how silk was made as well as how they weaved the silk and other threads to make fabric. It was really neat. They also have handicapped Thais to paint designs on the cloth. I met one of the workers there.. he had no hands, but he painted beautiful flowered patterns on cloth. I said hello to him in Thai and he greeted me in English. He said that he didn't know any more English, but he smiled and I understood and we communicated from there on out with gestures and broken English and Thai. He actually let me help him paint a little on the flowers.. so someday someone around the world will have a beautiful white tapestry with red flowers that I helped to paint. After that we visited a pottery place with amazingly beautiful stuff. It's too bad that it would weigh too much to buy a lot. The northern Thais are famous for their sage-colored glaze that they use on their pottery. Sage is my favorite color, so I had to buy a mug with elephants carved into the sides. I also got a light red-clay colored tea set shaped like elephants for a very good price.. I've learned that as my Thai improves the Thai people are more generous with their discounts. They generally open up more as well in general, so I am eager to learn more Thai and build more relationships with the people I meet.
Yesterday we had our first church meeting/service at Quintin and Kim's house. The 12 of us were there, as well as two students from Chaing Mai University. It was really great.. we sang some songs, a couple of us shared our testimony, and we shared a bible story- the one about Jesus telling Peter to cast the nets out after he hadn't caught anything that night, and they pulled in so many fish that the boats started to sink. One of the students was amazed at the story. He has said before that he is a Christian, but it is more of a borderline belief that several Thais practice- they pray to Jesus and believe in God, but they also continue Buddhist practices.. sort of covering all their bases. We hope that he will come to realize that when you truly follow Jesus you don't need to follow anything else.. He is our everything, and because He is we do not worship or follow any other god. We always have to remind ourselves that we cannot push. Here in Thailand we have to share the gospel in the same way that we do anything else here.. it is all about relationship-focus, not time-focus. We are so used to being task/time-oriented in the U.S., but here in Thailand everything is really laid back and relationships matter more than how long something takes.. "Mai pen rai" is the motto here, which means "Nevermind," "It doesn't matter.." People say it all the time.. it's more about quality than quantity. It's a little frustrating sometimes (like when they say you will get your much-needed laundry back when they promise it but you get it three or four days later with no explanation)... but that's just the way it is. To each his own.. I'm getting used to it.
Okay, it's about time for lunch. Tonight after we leave we are going to Kan-tok, which is a sort of traditional northern Thai dinner theatre. It is very traditional: you sit on the floor and eat with your hands, and people bring out bowls of different food at once for you to eat. There are also dancers and music and stuff. It's also outdoors, so if it is a clear night then we can see the stars and everything. I'm pretty adjusted to Thai food now, so I'm pretty excited about trying some new stuff. Will keep you posted.. please keep praying for our team. Some of us (not me, thankfully) are getting a little under the weather, like cold or allergy-type symptoms. No one is too bad, but a couple have been feeling a little under the weather. Please be praying that we stay focused on our mission here and always for more patience, understanding, and guidance. I'm praying for you all at home as well. Please email me and let me know what is going on with you guys.. I miss hearing from the states from time to time. Have a blessed day.. actually, look for the blessings; they're already there, it's just a matter of if you see them or not!
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