Before coming to Thailand, Anita and I used to take care of an elderly couple. Unfortunately they have since passed but they do have two sons. One of which lives in Thailand.  As we were making plans to come here, we thought how cool would it be if we could one day visit Ken. We knew he lived in the North of Thailand. We emailed each other back and forth a couple of times and had tentatively agreed to during the course of the year somehow see each other.

Its been a full week since I’ve been here, and I can say that this has been one of the most different mission trips I have ever been on so far. The main reason is that this is not the place that I have dreamed about going to. It has not been of me in any way and there is not anything I can boast of. I did not have any desires of my own to come here. I never had a heart for the Asian people or nations. I had my own ideas about missions and was planning out my own mission life. A life in a poor village of Africa. But God said, “Let go my child…leave it to Me to decide where you should go.” It was not without tears, but God helped me to let go.  “The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps.” Proverbs 16:9. I thank God that His plans are greater than my own and that He did not let me go the way I wanted to go, but instead, kept me on the path of His will for me and gave me the necessary desires for a people and nation I never planned on coming to. God was teaching me to trust Him in this new step of my life. To believe that His plans are greater than I could have ever dreamed of for myself. “For I know the plans I have for you…” Jeremiah 29:11.

Rainy season is here! That is wonderful news for the hottest province in Thailand-the place we now call home. But rainy season also means one other thing-bug season. For the past 3 weeks we have seen over 3 different types of bugs. They are harmless, but many. My first reaction to seeing hundreds of bugs on our bathroom was horror, but now its normal for me to take bugs out of my hair, from under my pillow, or off my towel. Sometimes I would hear scratching noises under my pillow and wouldn’t sleep until I looked underneath and saw a bug trying to stay alive.

It has been a while since we blogged and I apologize for that. I’d like to blame it on the busyness but I don’t think that’s right. Thailand has become our life. I think I can safely speak for all of us and say that we have certainly adapted to the lifestyle. It is no longer strange to live in a bungalow amongst the gecko’s, Tu-key’s, squirrels, and yes even RATS! (I think there’s only one….at least that’s what I tell myself) The bugs certainly don’t bug us and the rain…well you learn to live with it. The rooster crowing at all hours of the night is normal and the neighbors’ dog stealing our bread is something we just shake our heads at. We often talk about how hard it would actually be to return to the way of life in America. Life here is simple and easy to enjoy. We daily see God’s blessings and His hand in our lives. Not to say that we wouldn’t experience this in America, but like I said…we’ve adapted.