Pictures!!!

This is us at a hill tribe church in the middle of the jungle.

Let me start off with some more Thailand Tips:

#2: try everything offered to you. Our best meal so far was the one the missionaries warned us not to eat. It was sooo good! (Just remember to pray really hard after eating tribal food. We haven't been sick yet, praise God.)

#3: Use a clean toilet when you find on, even if you don't have to go that bad. The squatty potties are not as bad as they seem. And they're only in remote/removed areas. Hotels, shops and resturants in Chiang Mai, and Zoe houses have real toilets. Cherish them.

#4: Bring ear plugs on Team overnighters. Communial sleeping rooms aren't always fun, or very quiet in the middle of the night.

#5: If you get motion sickness, come prepaired. These roads through the jungle made the Sierra roads seem like freeways. But getting there is half the fun, or at least that's what someone who'd never been car sick said.

Well, I have so much to say I don't even know where to start. The zoo was fun, mostly because we could have reached out and touched the animals they were so close. (Yes, we did a few times. I pet a deer fawn the size of a cat, and Jonathan fed a giraffe.) Thankfully, the dangerous critters were further away.

Except for the giant spiders. Those guys surprise you. We would be walking along, looking at a bird or tiger, look up and see a huge spider hanging above the walkway. (A reminder for everyone reading this: we look for stuff like that. Most people won't ever see this part of Thailand. We do because we're on the look out for it.) So, here's a video of one of the spiders. The brown thing is Jonathan's hat. I'm grateful he wasn't touching this one with his hand.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hxbttNFeqSQ

Now onto the spiritual stuff. We have recieved our 'list' which outlines the stuff Zoe would like us to accomplish while we're here. I'm very happy to say that it's our S.H.A.P.E. exactly. They pegged us pretty well. This past week we've been doing a lot of observing and learning. Part of our purpose for this trip was to check out what a short term team looks like. And it looks pretty good. Zoe really looks after the needs of their guests, short or long term. What our Sanctuary trip will look like depends a lot on who goes and how adventureous they are.

Thais love to worship!!! The few (4 I think) services we've seen have all been filled with worshipers. I've put a few videos of worship from different places.

Zoe Children's Home Worship
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MC48N_OLx_k
Corin Children's Home Worship
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1vbVBpunvKY
Corin Church Worship
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rbW8hvfqAw
And fun with kazoos that the SFV team gave to the kids.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJSoSmbtC9I


You may be wondering about the language issue. Well, we're just quick studies and we're can communicate perfectly.... Ok, not really. Chiang Mai is the second largest city in Thailand (population = Santa Clarita), and a major tourist destination. Because of that, most Thais in Chiang Mai speak at least some English. The Zoe teens have been learning English for years, and a few are actually conversant. They all help each other and there's lots of laughter, creative hand motions and sound effects. All said, it hasn't been a huge frustration. If you can though, learn as much Thai as you can before you come. It will help greatly and they love that westerners care about them enough to learn some of their language.

Now what you've been waiting for... pictures!! Unfortunantly, I'm going to redirect you to another site that's specifically for pictures. I have so many that I didn't want to bog this one down. Please remember when viewing, that we like gross things so that's why there are so many bugs. Most people won't see these guys. (Unfortunantly, I only have 6 up so far, many more to come though!! Please be patient, thanks!)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/20359761@N00/

We love you all!