Flight of the Gibbon

Four like-hearted friends and I enjoyed a day of zip-lining,

repelling, and hiking through the mountain jungles of northern Thailand.  

An hour van ride outside of Chiang Mai and into the mountains brought us to Flight of the Gibbon terrain.

 Geared up and ready to go!

 We were ensured the zip line was strong and safe.  Sometimes we couldn't see the end of the route, but that just added to the adventure. 

 Our awesome guides took great care of us and made the trip fun with plenty of joking. 

 "Always stay attached"

Maybe Sean is confused by the picture. 

She flew through the air with the greatest of ease...

 Repelling from one layer of the tree to another.

 Three at a time!

 We all made it to the ground safely. 

And there were actually really gibbons in one of the trees!

Someone Special to Me

Pang and me during the summer we met in 2008.

"Can you correct these for me?"  Pang asked as she handed me a paper.
"Sure. I'd be happy to."

Correcting students' practice English writing is nothing new, especially in exam season.  What I didn't expect in correcting this paper, was to be reading about myself.

Someone Special to Me
Julia, who is from U.S.A is my special friend.  She is around 25 years old.  She is pretty with her oval face pointed nose and her eyes are brown.  In addition,  her personality is friendly humble, casual and fun to be with.  She is study Thai Language, and right now she can speaking read write and understand Thai Language and Thai culture very well.  Fulthermore, she is pay attention with anybody who is around her.  Usually she and I we are spend time together by go to noodles restaurant place.  And sometime we go to night market.  While she always help me with my English homework.  She is very kind woman and she is very special of me.

There's plenty to correct, but Pang clearly communicated her point this week, and it made me feel special. :)

Broken Home

All 20 girls on a fun day to Dream World last year.

(Dream World is like Thailand's Disneyland.)

The dripping faucet nagging of a roommate, gossip that makes the concrete structure shutter, seemingly overbearing demands of dorm parents stack up like dirty laundry constantly calling out, “Take care of me!” At times, the brokenness of our home hollers like a toddler throwing a fit in the middle of the grocery store.

For our dorm, this past week has been one of “hot hearts,” as it is phrased in Thai. Students have been pushed to the limits, annoyances heaped, frustrations mounded.  To top it all off, end-term testing starts this week.  Patience is short and tempers quick to flare. From the time of Adam, every home, every city, every country, has had its measure of brokenness.  In this season, ours is blaringly evident.

But in the midst of it all, moments of peace and promises of a time when hearts are less hot can be found.  Drifting from the gap around the doorframe in one room comes the laughter of those huddled around a computer watching a comedy.  Seeping from the cracks in the wall of another room, notes of a picked guitar and aged worship tune escape.  Dripping down from the stained portion of the ceiling are the squeals of delight as makeup is shared and everyone gets dolled up for a girl’s night in.

Stateside Refreshment

 My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest. (Exodus 33:14)

Even though my time stateside was busy, it was incredibly refreshing.  I enjoyed visiting with many families and friends.  Each visit was an encouragement as I saw more of God's big picture for reaching out to people in every continent and his detailed plan of reaching people in every community.  It began with a skype meeting with missionary friends in Spain and flowed through a dinner with friends who are serving with international students, families who are being intentional in their neighborhoods, and others who are reaching out in their workplaces.

Time with family was most special.

God's perfect timing allowed me to be home to celebrate with over 100 people from church as 13 (if I remember correctly) people publicly declared Christ as their Lord and Savior--aka got baptized.

A family day trip took us to some of Nevada's peaks where we bumped in the jeep up to mines and beautiful viewpoints.

 

I picked up climbing for the month.  A little bit outside, but mostly in the gym.  It was fun to return to a missed hobby.

 I enjoyed cooking and baking in a "normal" kitchen with all the "regular" utensils.   It's amazing how many things (such as a whisk, potato masher, pastry blender, rolling pin, spatula, mixer, etc.) you can learn to live without when they aren't in the drawers.  But when those utensils are available, they sure do help.

The real test though was cooking Thai food.  Had I learned enough from my friends to reproduce it in the States? Above-- sticky rice cooking in a basket I brought back from Thailand.  Left-- I found the type of pumpkin we use in Thailand at an Asian market!

Most everyone who tried my Thai concoctions liked them, so I guess my dorm cooking lessons were a success. My friends will be proud.  :)

Hiking and exploring God's creation with friends was another highlight.  Getting out of the concrete city of Bangkok and into the mountains, walking by (or through) lakes, and visiting Vinice Beach were all memorable moments.

 On the morning of my flight, Kendell and I jumped on friend's a trampoline before heading to the airport.  It was the perfect end to a wonderful trip.