It's been a long time since my last update. Since my last post, term finished, I finished teaching Thai, I had preparation meetings for the mission trip, and I went for and returned from the mission trip.

I got back on Saturday night. Since then, I've had some time to think about what I've gone through in the last 50 or so days.

First though, I should make an announcement. I am single again! Sorry if I haven't told you personally but I really didn't know how to go about telling everyone about my status. In fact, I thought I would let the fact come out by itself. However, after I attended the ordination service of one of the Chinese service pastors, I was talking with Emilline when she said to me, "Hey, how come you haven't told me you're attached?" Apparently she'd been reading my blog but since I hadn't been posting for a while, she of course had no idea what my current situation was. So I decided to post this announcement which would have been made earlier except I really didn't have the time or inclination to make it.

There were a few people I did tell. They weren't anyone special but they just happened to be around when I felt like talking.

Anyway, the mission trip and the preparation for it was a great time for me. It was a time where God's sovereignty and provision was demonstrated in what I saw and experienced. It began with the formation of a team which didn't come together till 5 weeks before the mission trip. At one point, it looked as if we would not be able to send a team but in the end, we had everyone we needed to carry out the ministry we set out to do. I wouldn't go so far as to say it was a dream team, but that wouldn't be too far from the truth. By the time the trip came around, I felt quite confident about the mission we were embarking on.

This time round, the team consisted of myself, Brenda, Esther Lim, Doreen, Rose, Junwei, Robert, Crystal, and Christina. Acaan Jaey joined us along with Acaan Thiang and Lek and Lam from Santhiphap Church Bangkok. It was a surprise to me that Brenda decided to come on this trip. After all, Thailand in June is really hot. But she came, and she got Esther to come along as well. That meant we could run a proper children's program in addition to the other activities we had planned.

The trip took us from Bangkok to Ubon Ratchathani to Nong Khai and finally to Buriram via Udon Thani and back to Bangkok. That's a lot of travelling and I thank God for his protection over the team throughout the trip.

At Ubon Ratchathani, we stayed at Santhiphap Church Ubon where Acaan Misook is currently serving together with Youmi. We did tracting at the Rajabhat University; this was an interesting experience for me and I was glad to have to opportunity to reach out to the students there. Back at the church, we conducted a children's program for the 20 or so children who usually come to the church. On Sunday, we attended service at the church. After lunch, there was a 3 hour slot for resting which I put in the program to make sure we didn't tire ourselves out in the first few days of the trip. Brenda asked me if it would be possible to go to Big C to escape the afternoon heat. I decided that it was a good idea. First though, there were dishes to wash. Me, Brenda, and Rose took just over 30 minutes to wash everything then it was off to Big C. At Big C, I bought myself two large packs of Cheetos, each holding 12 packs of Cheetos. Esther asked me who they were for and I said they were for me. However, as it turned out, they weren't for me.

Back to church for the second children's program and dinner then it was time for our first prayer meeting. Misook and Youmi shared about their current ministry and future aspirations. Apparently, Ubon Ratchathani is known as the "Flower of the Buddha". We prayed that it would become a tree of God's planting.

While we were staying at the Ubon Church, Khun Nuut and Khun Wichaa came down from Yasothon to cook for us. It was good to be able to see them again even though we would not be visiting Khokcaroen Church on this trip. The church itself is a terrace shophouse. It is a new development and is thus quite a comfortable place. I think it did help us refresh ourselves for the next 5 days of school visits and other ministry. There was also a Japanese lady, Yuko, who is a recent convert who had come to visit Misook. She asked if we would allow her to join us on our mission trip and I decided she could.

On Monday, we visited two schools. First, we went to a secondary school. I was assigned to teach 3/2 which was the second best class in Sec 3. Together with Esther, Crystal, and Lam, I taught some basic English with emphasis on proper pronunciation. To demonstrate my point, we played "Pass the Message". The message to be passed was "Coca Cola tastes too sweet". Only one team could pass the message accurately with the rest coming up with rather bizarre editions. Everyone quite enjoyed themselves and I was quite happy with the start we had made.

After lunch, we went to a primary school. That was a completely differerent experience. I decided to give them word practice since the class I was teaching wasn't quite up to doing sentence practice. We played "Win, Lose, or Draw". There was a little controversy over the counting of scores but we managed to declare a winner in the end.

Then it was into the vans, and off to Nong Khai. We stopped off at Lotus to buy paper plates to lessen the amount of dishwashing. At this point, it is worth noting that the van travel times were shorter than anticipated. This was because our drivers seemed to have no trouble traversing the distances at great speed. The average speed of the vans was around 120 km/h with 130 km/h being reached along certain stretches of road. The high speeds made for a bumpy ride and at one point on the way to Nong Khai, I felt a little ill.

We stopped for dinner in Sakhon Nakhon. This is the dog-eating capital of Thailand. We didn't have dog for dinner though. Now I know the Thai name of one of my favourite dishes. It's phad ka phaw which is fried minced pork with basil. After dinner, we went on our way. Around 9:30pm, we arrived at Santhiphap Church Donkor which is just outside the village of Donkor. Acaan Nung is serving there. He'll be getting married in October and his wife will join him in Donkor.

On last year's June trip, I had the opportunity to work on the construction of the church which was completed last August. So it was wonderful to see the new church. Unfortunately, there are a lot of bugs at the church as it is an isolated building which many bugs are drawn to. I am hoping to arrange for electric bug killers to be installed at the church.

After a reasonable night's rest, we visited a primary school. I've been to this school before and on my last visit there, we played soccer with the school children. This time round, we were just going to teach English. My teaching team was given the Primary 5s and 6s. There was a little snag, we had to teach in the assembly area where there was no blackboard. I had to think of something different to do, settling on a variety of games to get the students to read certain English words. The students were so quiet that Acaan Nung remarked it was like a cemetery. Ha.

After lunch we went to visit some families. Some of these are believers who have seriously ill family members and some are unbelievers who are open to Christianity. This was a really touching time for myself and my team. We met a husband and wife, recent converts and new members of the church who had to care for their 26 year old son who has been in a state of paralysis for the last 17 years. In the tears of his father, I could see how much he loved his son and how he wished he could bear his son's suffering. Among the other families we visited, we went to the house of Saeng and Dao. Dao is a bedridden man who has been in this condition for about 8 years. 2 years ago, Acaan Thiang began to visit him. He accepted Christ back then and was baptised last year. Even though he is bedridden, he loves to read the Bible and listen to sermons on tape. His wife Saeng is a committed member of the church and on most Sundays she will arrange for Dao to be transported to church for service.

The final house we visited was far away from the church. In fact, it was far away from the village. The family living there is very poor. They are not yet believers but they have been touched by the love that the Donkor members have been showing to them in their visits. Apparently, the father is ostracised by the rest of his brothers and sisters. He had suffered some serious head injuries in the past that left him unable to walk. One day, some church members visited him and prayed for him. Now he can walk a little and even work in his field. Because his family is very poor, he cannot afford to send his 3 sons to school. So they stay at home and help around the house.

There were a lot of things to think about as we walked the kilometre or so through the fields to our vans. One of the sons accompanied us as a courtesy. Along the way, I was talking to Brenda. The conversation began with trivial stuff but by the time we reached the vans, we were in a rather more solemn mood. We decided to give some of the things we bought at Big C to the family. I can't remember what Brenda gave, but I gave them half of my Cheetos. It was the only thing I could give them as they happened to be in the van.

Back to church for the children's program. About 30 children came. After dinner, we had the second prayer meeting of the trip. It was good to see the members of Donkor Church. Since the building of the church, the membership of the church has been gradually increasing. Some of the members even come from neighbouring villages. There were 4 girls at the church who are young but committed believers. They were 13 when I last saw them and now they're 16. They remember my name which makes me ashamed as a still don't know their names. I should find out what they are. The prayer meeting had a good atmosphere. However, some bugs managed to get into the worship room which made for some discomfort as they crawled wherever they pleased.

After the prayer meeting, we switched off the lights and commenced to sweep the bugs out of the room (the girls were going to sleep there). Then we had a debrief in the dark. That was an interesting experience.

The next day, we went to another primary school. By this time, I had discovered that the rest of the schools we would be visiting were primary schools and not secondary schools as I had been previously told. There had been a miscommunication. Nevertheless we were prepared for the changes. At this school, I decided to let the students do the simple worksheet before teaching them two songs. This class went better than the previous day's class though it certainly helped being in a classroom.

By this point of the trip, time was passing a lot faster and we soon found ourself on our way to Buriram. However, we weren't going directly to Buriram. Joy had joined us at Donkor and now we were going to send her to her home in Udon Thani. I didn't know this though, so I felt it was rather curious that we were going to Buriram in an indirect way. I asked the driver if we were going to pass through Udon Thani and he said no (though he really meant we would not be passing through the city of Udon Thani). Then I saw on the map that we were headed for Non Saat which is where Joy lives. Acaan Jaey then told me we would be dropping Joy off and asked if we could stop for a while at her house which is right next to Santhiphap Church Non Saat. I said it was fine. As we approached Non Saat, I wondered if Doreen knew where we were (she was in the other van). You see, one and a half years ago, Doreen and I were in a team that came to Non Saat. While we were here, she made friends with a little boy. While this trip was being planned, she asked if we were going to visit Udon Thani and she was a little sad when I said we wouldn't be. So when we had gotten out of the vans, I asked her if she knew where we were as we were approaching Non Saat. She said she knew and that it was exciting for her. Unfortunately her friend was in school when we were at the church. Still, she was glad to be back in Udon Thani anyway.

Pray for Santhiphap Church Non Saat as the villagers of Non Saat are quite indifferent or even opposed to Christianity. There are no real members to speak of and the locals do not allow their children to come to the church on Sundays as to them it means that their children have become Christians. This is not surprising as there is a huge temple complex not far from where the church is. But God is bigger than any temple and nothing can prevent His will from being carried out.

Then it was back to the road on our way to Buriram and Santhiphap Church Dunmon. I was feeling a little fluey by now and I took some medicine along the journey. Admittedly, I was a little apprehensive about going to Buriram having not been there for 5 years. My last visit there was a difficult experience as there were a lot of mosquitoes there. So you can imagine my surprise to see what a beautiful place the church had become! Some renovations have been made; the guest rooms are more liveable and the worship room is no longer an oven as insulation has been added to the roof. It was good to see Acaan Bunkong and Acaan Kham again. They look younger even though 5 years has passed!

There weren't too many mosquitoes at the church, though there were a lot of frogs! Those who were not afraid of the frogs had fun removing the frogs from toilets and common areas as those who were afraid of the frogs looked on.

After a good night's rest, we began our final day of ministry with our last school visit. We were told that we could teach for two hours instead of the one hour that we had been given at the previous 4 schools. But when we got to the school, a kind of Teachers' Day ceremony was being carried out. All the students had to gather in the assembly area. Then they came forward in groups bearing small bouquets of flowers. Group by group they knelt down before an altar on which a Buddha statue was placed. The altar was flanked by the Thai flag and the King's flag. On their knees, they bowed low to the ground. Then on their knees, they shuffled towards a row of chairs where some teachers were sitting. They then bowed before their teachers and received words of encouragement from the teachers. The ceremony took a long time and we were left with a little under an hour to teach English. But it was nevertheless a great experience for us to be able to watch this ceremony.

Before we split into classes, I got Doreen to teach the students "J-O-Y". She was a little nervous but I think she did alright. Class went well. This time I asked the students if they knew the word "favourite". They said no so I spent half an hour teaching them about favourite fruits, colours, and animals. Then I taught them "The Lord of You and Me". By the end of the class, all the students understood the concept of 'favourite". I felt so pleased.

With the school visit over, our school program was over. Now all that was left was visitation of members, children's program, and prayer meeting. Visitation involved visiting six households to pray for the members. That was really tiring but it was good to be able to minister to the people we visited. When we visited the house of a member who is a deacon at the Dunmon Church, he asked us to pray for rain as it had not yet rained in Dunmon village even though it had already rained everywhere else in Buriram.

Back to church for the children's program. We were going to be doing the house project. Brenda had done an example already with "Children, Obey Your Parents" written on it. I joked that we should have a Thai version with not just Thai words, but a Thai look. She said I should make one then so I took the basic house and added some wooden strips for stilts and roofing. I drew a gecko and a water jar with a frog, and a sticky rice basket, together with a Bible. Then I wrote the Thai words down.

While the children's program was going on, the sky began to darken as if rain was going to fall. I went outside to take in the laundry that some of us had done earlier that afternoon. The church members who were preparing dinner were excited by the prospect of rain. We were all glad that God was taking the opportunity to demonstrate that He answers prayer. Soon enough, the rain came down. As the rest were busy with the children's program, myself, Christina, and my van driver helped to bring in the bicycles which the children had ridden to church. Oh, the rest of my Cheetos ended up being given out as gifts to the children.

The rain was nice and cool and although it wasn't a long shower, it provided welcome relief for all. In fact, it seemed that God timed the rain perfectly to cool the earth and yet allow the children to go home and the members to come for the prayer meeting without getting wet.

After a quick dinner, I took the opportunity to wash my face. I felt much better after that. At the prayer meeting, we had a good time of prayer and worship with the church members. During each of the prayer meetings I could really feel the power of prayer as we raised our voices to call out to the Lord.

Then it was over, and I held another debrief. I decided to give more time to sharing as we might not be able to hold a debrief as easily in Bangkok. After the debrief, I sought out Doreen, then Rose, for individual debriefs. Doreen was the assistant team leader and Rose was the trip treasurer on this trip. Doreen was feeling a little disappointed with her performance but I told her that she really should be quite happy with what she had been doing. I think she will know how to lead when the time comes. Rose quite enjoyed the role of treasurer even though there were a few times when she entered wrong data in her calculations. It was good to talk to them as I think it is important to introduce younger people into leadership positions.

After breakfast and group devotion the next day, we set out for Bangkok. We would be passing through Nakhon Ratchasima where we would stop for lunch. We had lunch at The Mall which is a large shopping complex in the city. I had khaaw muu krorp (shao rou fan) which tasted really good. I have never had such excellent shao rou fan in a food court anywhere in Thailand or even Singapore. Some of the trippers wanted to take thirty minutes to look around but I decided against it as I didn't think it would be easy to assemble everyone after thirty minutes. As it turned out, some of us went into Watson's on the way out while waiting for others to come out from the toilet. Some of us took the opportunity to weigh ourselves. One of us had a rude surprise! Hee.

Back on the road, we left Nakhon Ratchasima and entered Saraburi. Along the way, Acaan Jaey told us that there was a big fruit market along the road. She wondered aloud if we would like to stop there for a while. Brenda said there was no point thinking about it since only the team leader could make such a decision and that I was not likely to say yes. I was smiling to myself when Acaan Thiang said to me, "Brenda asks if we can stop at the fruit market." I turned around and said to Brenda, "Why don't you just ask directly? Why do you need a messenger?" Then I said we would stop at the fruit market. I didn't buy anything there but I had half an ear of corn to eat.

Before long, we were nearing Bangkok. I felt a sense of completion as we neared Bangkok and our hotel, Town in Town Place. We made it there safely and checked in without any problems. The team had dinner together at the restaurant then I decided that we could go anywhere we wanted after dinner provided I was properly informed. So, one group of us went to Pathumwan (MBK area) and the other went to Sanam Luang to join the procession celebrating the 60th anniversary of the King's coronation after which they would go to some night markets.

Shopping went alright. I didn't have much to buy anyway, just some snacks for my mum, some souvenirs for sis, and an England shirt and a cotton dressing gown for dad. I managed to get the stuff for mum and sis.

After breakfast the next day, I declared the mission trip officially over. Brenda went off to meet her friends and the rest of us had our own activities. I told the rest that I would be heading to Chatuchak market to get the England shirt and try to find the dressing gown. Doreen asked me if I would be joining the rest of them for lunch at Fortune Centre at noon. I said I should be able to make it but if I couldn't make it they should go ahead without me. But Doreen said, "No, you must come!" I said, "Why must I come?" She said, "Because, because, because...... we will be celebrating June birthdays!" I laughed and said I would be there for the lunch. It seems I'm not the only one who can't keep a secret!

Got to Chatuchak and quickly found the England shirt. The dressing gown proved harder to find and I was about to give up when I saw what looked like a dressing gown through another stall. Walking around to the shop for a closer look, I found what I was looking for. I bought two of them and proceeded to meet the rest for lunch.

Lunch was good, and all too quickly it was over. Four of us would be going home that day (me, Esther, Robert, Crystal) and so we took a taxi to the hotel. As we were approaching the hotel from an unfamiliar direction, I almost lost the way. But we made it back safely. After a short rest, we set out for the airport. With all our luggage, we squeezed into a taxi and left for the airport. Arriving at the airport, we were staggered to see the long queues for our flight. We chose the leftmost queue which looked to be the shortest. However, an additional counter opened and the other two queues now looked shorter. But an additional staffer came to serve our queue and so our queue went faster.

Flight was delayed a little and it was a little bumpy especially at the start. But I got back safely and I am really joyful that the mission trip went so well. Thank You Lord!

During this trip, it was nice to feel young again. I thank God for placing the right people around me in this time and for showing me who my real friends are.