Some pics

At the pier.

The band at the prayer/worship service.

This is Bill and Sybel in the warehouse. This is where we work to put the packets together that we pass out.

This is the pastor that we did the slum ministry with.

This little boy ran and jumped in Darrin's arms as soon as we got out of the car. This was the 2nd slum that we went too.

This is the 1st slum we went too...their laundry.

This is where they get their drinking water as well as their water to wash themselves and their clothes with. There are fish swimming in the bottom of this well.

These are the homes of the people in the slums.

Homes again...notice the roofs.

This is the ladies distributing the food that we took into the slums.

Angel and a little boy that lives in the slums.

This is the orphanage we went too where the kids sung us songs and we had to sing back to them.

Not a very clear picture but you can see the couple are praying and offering food to their god.

This is all of us at the pier. Not a very clear picture.

Wes

Anna

A poor blow fish that got out of the water somehow. The men put him back in the water but unfortunately it was too late...he was belly up for the rest of the night. :(

Angel's scooter. I really want one of these!!

Darrin at the 1st orphanage we went too.

The kids at the orphanage.

This is a major road, probably as big as Alcoa Highway and as busy with NO lines! Now, if you have been to Thailand you realize how the driving is there. If not, let me tell you...lines are just a suggestion. People are all over the place all the time and the scooters are everywhere!

This is some fruit that we got from a street vendor. Tasted kind of like grapes but not as sweet.

The fruit before it is opened.

Our bathroom. The drain on the left is for the shower - it overflows. Also the squirty thing....which is used instead of TP.

Our bed in the hotel. Very pretty, huh? Yes...but also VERY hard. Seriously, I have bruised hips. :)

Home

We are home! After about 27 hours of flying and layovers we arrived at the airport today around 2:20pm. I didn't sleep any on the long flight so needless to say Darrin and I are both worn out. In the 27 hours from the time we left to the time we arrive I slept about 4 hours total.

One story... on the way to the airport our driver was probably in his 50's. He said to Darrin and I "we all want to go America but we have no money". I was very sad and felt very blessed at the same time. Outsiders want to come to America so bad but they don't have the money and here I am on this trip. How blessed that Darrin and I are. What a wonderful opportunity we had to go to their country once again.

It is now 8:19pm we just woke up to eat something and then back to bed.

Can't wait to see you guys!

Love in Christ.

Wednesday

Today we went to the a ministry stie for worship and prayer time. There was a band of four guys...probably in their early twenties. One of them also had a short sermon. You could just tell from these guys music, sermon and prayers that they really love God. It was such a blessing to be there. This ministry site is one that goes out into the bars and witnesses to the bar girls. They bring them into a 3 month program to teach them trades so they can make money and get out of the bars but most importantly they teach them about Jesus. They have moved into a new facility and just today were able to purchase the building instead of renting it. It cost over 1 million US dollars and they were able to raise the money in 7 months!! Isn't God amazing?? The facility they are now in has a bakery, a salon and a place where the women make cards, journals and other crafts to make money.

The worship once again was amazing. So touching and so wonderful. We sang songs that we sing in the states however, there were people from all nationalities singing and praying in their own languages. This was my favorite thing from two years ago and I loved it just as much this time. After the service we were able to go out and purchase a few things from the ladies and they were so grateful.

We leave the hotel tonight at 9pm, it is 2:26pm right now -- about 3:30am your time. Our flight leaves Thursday morning at 1:30am and we will arrive home at 2:00pm. Short flight, huh? Ha!! I wish!!! Due to the time change it is just as long as the flight over here was. I know from last trip the jet lag really hits once we get home. I am sure that we will go home and immediately crash. When we get there it will be 1am our time here. So....

I am glad to be going home but I am very sad also. The team here is wonderful as always. It is wonderful to meet new friends and sad to leave them. Two of the guys that are here are long term volunteers. They are here on their own time and money. They are both young men relying on God to provide all their needs - literally. They get support from friends, family and churches. Please pray for them as they carry out God's desires for their lives. I am sure it takes a lot of faith to step out like that. One of them was telling us that he left a very good job in Texas - offered a lot of money but knew God was calling him here. He sold everything he had and came. The other is getting ready to get married in just a month or so. Remember him and his wife to be in your prayers also. Once they marry they are planning to go back out into the mission fied - wherever God leads.

One of the ladies that is here needs prayer also. Her family is in another country and her parents are sick. None of her family except her is a Christian. When she was growing up, in her country, she never heard about Jesus...ever. She was an adult teaching her language in another country and one of her students invited her to church.

In fact, just pray for the whole team that is here full time. That and all the ministries that are here in Thailand. Like I was sharing previously this is such a spiritually dark country. In November the 5th - 8th they have something called Pattaya Praise. A lot of different Christian artists gather into different parts of Pattaya and praise God. Pray that changes will happen through that. Pray that revival will break out here in Pattaya.

Can't wait to see you all and share more stories...Unfortunately on a blog I can't share names, exact places, etc due the the privacy and safety of the teams in place here but I can't wait to share more in person and show pictures!! I didn't take as many this trip as I did last time but each picture has a story and means something wonderful!

Thanks so much for reading and your prayers for Darrin and I while we have been here. It has been truly wonderful and such an awesome trip. We are so blessed to have been able to come back once again!

See you soon!!

Love in Christ,

Tuesday

Last night we distrubuted with a couple that has been here for a week or so. They have two children ages 8 and 3. The mother was saying that she asked her 8 year old daughter what she wanted to do on her last day in Thailand and she said "I want to give Bibles out".
At the end of the night, Wes asked who wanted to pray and the 3 year old little boy said that he did. His prayer was "God, please, please please let them read your Bible. Please please please let us here you and not the devil. Amen" Wow... if we all had the hearts for others that these kids do...

Today we went to the slums. The slums are the poorest villages in Thailand. We only went to two of them but there are many more. This morning we first met the local pastor who does this ministry at the grocery store. We shopped for rice and other items that the Thai people use. Pastor S. and his son do this ministry on a regular basis.

On the way to the slums we stopped by another orphanage. The children there sang us songs then in turn expected us to sing for them. I am not sure what they were expecting but I bet we didn't give them exactly that. :) For those who have had the wonderful privilege of hearing Darrin and I sing well, you know that we can't. :) It was Darrin and I and another couple Bill and Syble.

At the first slum we went to we got to go into their village and see where they live. There were children and animals running around. Their homes are basically just blankets and sheets hung up and some sort of roof over. At midnight they walk 2-3 hours to the ocean to fish. They catch the fish to sell to vendors. They get 20 baht for 3 fish. 20 baht is not even $1.00 US dolllar. They do this from midnight till morning. They then bring the fish in and clean them through the afternoon. They lay the fish out to dry and then sell them. They get their water from a well there in their village, they wash their clothes with the same water in tubs. The water is not clean and I imagine not very sanitary. They have no sewer or septic system. The people were so grateful that they were there. They just kept saying "thank you, thank you".

The second slum we went to there were more children in this one. We weren't able to go into their village but they came to us. We were on a dirty concrete slab with a roof and some ceiling fans. The children were running around and playing with each other. The smaller ones were crawling on the floor and some weren't even able to walk yet b/c they were so young. I seen several of them who didn't even have diapers on. They were crawling around in their t-shirt and nothing else. Again, these people were so grateful that we were there.

This experience was very humbling and very rewarding. Our poor and homeless people in America have so much more than these people. Here in Thailand there is no government assistance. When I hear someone complain about what they don't have I just have to shake my head...these people literally have nothing. We just need to remember what we do have.

Please remember to pray for Pastor S and his son who do this ministry. These people need this in such a bad way. What a wonderful way for people to show Gods love to these people that so many would find disgusting or not worth the time or money. When I seen their sweet faces and their grateful hearts they are beautiful.

Thailand is such a beautiful place...but such a spiritually dry place. This morning while Darrin and I were waiting on our ride I sat here in the lobby and watched a very young couple, probably in their 20's go out and burn incense, leave flowers and fruit at this shrine they have for their god. It was very sad. Thailand is in such a spiritual battle. I wish that at the end of the day they would see that their fruits and drinks are still sitting there untouched. Their god isn't real and we know the living God. The God who can give them life. When you pray please pray for Thailand. Like I said it is a beautiful place but they need God here. I often hear people say that missionaries need to stay in America, people there need God just as much. This is true -- however, at home I see a church on every corner. You can't drive for 2 miles with out seeing a church. Why aren't all our churches going out and helping in their own neighborhood? Here in Thailand there is like only 2% Christian. If Christians from somewhere don't come to help and show God's love to these millions, who will? Anyway...

We leave tomorrow. I am excited to go home but I have loved my time here. This time was a more blessed time I do believe. I am sad to leave. I wish that Darrin and I could spend more time here, more time in the culture, more time with the Thai people.

Please remember to pray for Thailand.

Monday

Yesterday we went to a church service here in Thailand. The church met in a small room. We sat in those white plastic chairs that you see on porches and in yards in the states. Every chair was full, there were people standing in the back. The service was in Thai but there was a lady that was translating into English. I understood most of it. :) The church sang 4-5 worship songs before the service. Very, very moving. When they pray...they pray all together out loud. It was a wonderful sound. There was an air conditioner but it didn't work very well. There were two fans on the wall that were blowing that made it feel better but it wasn't very cool. As I sat there in the service I couldn't help but to wonder how we in the states would react if our church was like this. How would we feel to stand through the whole service? How would we react to being hot through the entire service? These people were there to worship and to learn God's word. There was a man playing guitar, a lady on keyboard and a couple others singing. Nothing fancy, nothing extravagant by our standards. Although, I know that when God heard their worship He was pleased. I just can't help but think this is true worship. When we put all our worldly comforts aside and focus on God...

This morning Darrin did lobby ministry with a man named Mark that is here. There were 23 tourists scheduled to leave. While down here they gave out 30 packets and Bibles. Most everyone took one. One lady took 7. There was an older man who told Mark (who speaks Chinese) that he has been looking for somewhere to buy a Bible but hasn't been able to find one. Darrin said it was a wonderful experience, very touching.

Today we will go to the warehouse were they assemble the packets that we hand out to the tourists. We will work there for 4-5 hours and then back to the pier tonight.

I have came down with a cold...so if you are reading this pray for healing. :) I finally this morning found some cough drops and some tylenol at 7-11. I have been looking for something for days but due to everything being in Thai I had no luck reading the label.

I will try to post more tomorrow.

Be blessed.

Saturday

Today was a fun day. This morning we went to the orphanage and spent 3 hours there with the children. There were about 24 kids ages from toddlers to about 9-10 years old. They were so much fun to play with and just be around. We sang songs with them, played games. Several of the kids just wanted to be held. It was a very rewarding experience. We went with another team that is here from Virginia. The older boys played soccer outside for a while.

This evening we done another distribution. Tourisn here is kind of slow so it wasn't very busy and we are already in at 8:24 which is very early for this distribution. Hopefully it will be a little busier the other nights that we go.

Tomorrow we will be going to a church service. The church is the church for the team that lives here. Then we will have the rest of the afternoon free. I am not sure what we will do...shopping. :) Today, we took a nap.

Not sure about the naps though...we took a little one yesterday and were up at 2am, then again at 4am. When we woke at 2am I said to Darrin "well, this must be the jet lag". I am feeling pretty good right now, not very sleepy. We had dinner at the pier this evening. We had some fruit and some other meat things on a stick. :)

Thanks for the prayers that we know you are lifting up on our behalf!

ps. The team we were with today are leaving tomorrow. Please pray for their safety home.

Love in Christ,

We are here...

We arrived here in Pattaya around 3am last night. It is now 9:33am, we just had breakfast and have a meeting with the team we are partnering with at 10:30am. We got a few hours sleep last night but feel pretty good this morning.

Yesterday was a tiring day. I said quite a few little short prayers to God yesterday about everything it seems. From getting through immigration and customs on time, finding our ride, and getting our luggage. I wasn't too confident after our little issue at the airport in Knoxville but I know that God is in control and we may have not known what was going on but He did.

Tomorrow is a full day. We go to the orphanage so I am very excited about that. Today we just meet with the team then have distribution this evening at a local restaurant where the tourists frequent.

I will hopefully have more stories to tell tomorrow!

Be blessed...

Just a quick note to say that Darrin and I are in Korea. After a mix up this morning at the airport with our tickets we got another flight on a different airline. We have a several hour layover here and then our flight to Bangkok, the last one! For which we are very thankful!! I tried to log on and send a quick note from Atlanta and had trouble with that computer. This one will be quick because I keep hitting something on this keyboard that changes my keys to Korean characters. So... keep praying. We are tired but looking very foward to arriving in Thailand and getting a few hours rest before we start.

Love in Christ,

Today is the day! It is now 4:15am and we are getting ready to leave. We are going to drive to Maryville to Darrin's moms and she is going to take us to the airport. Our flight leaves Knoxville at 7:05.

Please pray for both Darrin and I. We have both been feeling a little of a cold coming on. I started taking medicine yesterday. Please pray we stay completely healthy at least until we get back home. :)

Be blessed!
Love in Christ,