At the art exhibition with Robert, Pui, Marvin, Un, and James

Thai rappers at the art exhibition and concert

Payap University

Mint pouring water on her head at the end of the Water Game

We Became Bridges!

It is Tuesday morning and Hil and I are sitting around waiting for our new friends to come pick us up to take us to the mall. Yesterday was a wonderful day full of adventures! We started the day by taking the long trek to Carrefour which is a huge super store like walmart, yet very different. The other Thai intern Bon thought we were crazy for walking "So far" but we had no other choice we can not drive a stick... yet. In actuality the walk was only about a mile on a busy road. We had a wonderful time there stocking up on needed good such as towels and breakfast food. We discovered that mustard is not readily available here. Since we bought some ham they decided to throw in some free wieners for us. They are kind of scary looking, but we are willing to try anything. Speaking of trying anything, we purchased our first cup of Thai tea, we tried it, and we did not like it, but we are going to try to force ourselves to. After out carrefour adventure we ate lunch and walked around Payap University. We ran into some of our friends that we met on the plane from Seoul. They are two Americans who are studying abroad here in Chiang Mai. It was good to see some familiar faces. Then we rented a movie from a place next door. We thought we were buying it, but it was very difficult for the lady to explain to us that it was a rental place using only charades. We rented "Facing the Giants" which is a Christian inspirational film about American football, something we did not expect to find at a local rental place. That evening we were pleasantly surprised to be interrupted by Bon who informed us that our new Thai friend, Doa, was here to see us. She brought along her friend Mint to meet us. At that moment we knew it had happened. The moment we had been waiting for. Our purpose has begun. We became a bridge! We were drawing non Christian Thais to Christian Thais simply by speaking English. They are both English majors and desperately want to practice with some native speakers. We had dinner with them and some of our other friends here at the Zone. I ate the spiciest food I had ever put in my mouth and I thought I was going to die. Our friends and Hil did not think I could finish it... but I did! Booya! After dinner we were part of the craziest card game I had ever been a part of. "THE WATER GAME!" This game is all about making other people drink water until the want to explode, and you must earn your bathroom privileges. Every card you flip over tells you a specific tack you must complete with water, it was so much fun. The game ended with our new friend, Mint having to pour water on her head ten times... I hope she comes back! The day ended with a game of good old Texas hold 'em! It was a great ending to a great day!
Amanda

Address

The address here at the Zone is:

Christian Zone
113/1 M. 1 Payap rd.
T. Nongpakrang, A. Muang
Chiangmai Thailand 5000

We would love to get mail from you!

First Sunday!

We are both exhausted but it has been a really great day. Apparently we are not all the way adjusted time wise yet because we both woke up at about 5 and then had 4 and half hours to get ready for church. We met a lot of new people today and heard a lovely lesson that was actually in English with a translator but the rest was in Thai. We both are really ready to start learning some Thai so we can communicate better. Everyone was so kind and welcoming and things are off to a great start. After church and bible class we went out to lunch with a lot of the pe nong (brethren) and met several people that work at Grace International School here in Chiang Mai. It is a Christian school here that ministers mostly to missionary kids in Southeast Asia. Afterwards we rested and I played cards for a long time with P Bon and several of the students that have been coming this summer. It was fun to play and have them talking all around me in Thai but still be able to know what was going on with the game. Later we went to an art exhibition that was put on by Thai Christians and I was amazed at the art and the music that they played. There were even some really good Thai rappers! A late night plate of pad thai , a crazy cake and ice cream next door, and a long but really fun game of volleyball on campus did us in for the night. We have met so many people and though its kind of hard to keep all the names straight in this one day I can't wait to meet more!

Hilary

The Zone Our New Home

We Are Here!

Greetings from Thailand!

We made it safely to Chiang Mai. We were traveling for 29 hours and we are very glad to finally be here. The flight was long, but fine. We met some nice people in Tokyo who were coming here to study abroad at Payap University. We also met up with the Todds, who are some of the missionaries here in Chiang Mai, on our plane from Seoul. Once we got here we went straight to the Reagan's house and went to bed. This morning we had a lovely breakfast with the Reagans, Marvin, James, and Bon. Afterwards we had our fist Bible study from the "Red Book" which is the study book we will be using most of the time to teach people who are interested in becoming Christians. We are now at the Zone where we will be living. We have gotten settled in and went to the 7/11 right down the street to buy some shampoo and banana bread. That is really all that has happened so far. We are trying to get over jet lag so we are probably going to go to bed early today. We are excited to eat our first Thai food meal for dinner this evening! Here is a video of where we are living!

We leave in a week from Tomorrow!

We leave in one week from tomorrow! I can’t believe it. Hilary and I leave at 7:30am on Thursday morning. We are getting so excited for our departure. We now have our visas, international driver’s license and luggage; all we have to do is fill it. I am finishing up my last week here at Camp of the Hills. It has been a great summer. I have truly enjoyed working along side Drew. The two of us have grown in love for each other and in love for this camp. Hilary has been out here twice this summer, once just for a visit and once as an Aggie HYPE sponsor. The week that she was here, she was my personal assistant. As camp winds down, the reality that we are leaving in a week is finally setting in. Hil and I both have mixed emotions. We are so excited to spend the next several months in Thailand, but we are also sad that we will not get to see all of you much over the next year. But we love you all very much and will miss you dearly. Skype us, and read our blog. We are going to do our best to write at least every other day. But remember… we are not gone yet! Give us a call this week and tell us bye. Love you all!