Camping in the Mountains

        Right now in Thailand it is 12:50 in the afternoon and we just got back from spending a wonderful night camping in the mountains. We left yesterday afternoon and headed to Doi Suthep, which is a huge temple on the side of the mountain. After a long hike up about 200 stairs we were finally at the top and we were able to go inside and see the ornate carvings and beautiful golden buildings. Most of us had been there before, but it was fun to be there again with our friends from Japan who had never been there. We then headed farther up the mountain into some monsoon rain, but finally made it to the top where we stayed at a coffee plantation. We had a wonderful meal together of Robert's famous "Pasta de Pollo" soup and ended in the night with a time of worship and fellowship. We sang songs in English, Thai, Japanese, and even threw in a bit a Spanish. We shared the stories of our spiritual walks and laughed together until the electricity was shut off at 10:00pm. The night was cold, but we were all able to sleep on mats on the floor. It was a blast camping with all of the interns, Robert, James and the group from Japan. We will miss them a lot when they head back tomorrow. 

        This past Sunday was also a blast. The lesson at church was in Thai, but with the help of our good friends James we were able to get the main points. The singing was amazing! Joel who is the missionary who brought the group from Japan is a singer, and when I say singer I mean this man can sing! He led worship and it was so mush fun to worship with the Thais. After church Hilary and I taught the kids class... well kid class. We only had one student named Ong Lee, who was a ball of energy! We taught him to sing "Jesus Loves Me" (HYPE/ Camp of the Hills style) and "In the Beginning." Then we went over the story of creation, and although there was a language barrier, I think he understood the main idea of the lesson. After we finished the lesson, Ong Lee sang Jason Maraz's, "I'm Yours" to us and it was hilarious! That afternoon we had another driving lesson and we are greatly improving in out stick shifting abilities, although we are still struggling with the blinker. We always manage to turn on the windshield whippers. We are learning how to do everything the opposite way. After a bit of practice in an empty field we drove on the access road of the super highway. It was an interesting (scary) experience. We all survived and are ready to try again! We ended our Sunday with a trip to walking street, which is a huge open air market where everything is super cheap. Hilary and I both purchased some fisherman pants. Both Sunday and our camping trip were tons of fun. I don't think we had done anything yet in Thailand that we have not enjoyed. We are looking forward to Cell Group (Dinner and Bible study) tonight. 

       Miss you and and love you bunches!