Joelle says 'This Place is sooo cool!"

We are at the beach in Thailand right now and the beach is especially nice, there is hardly anyone on it accept local fishermen at fishing time and a few other people from the guest house we are at. Juniper tree Dolphine Bay (http://www.juniper-tree.org/dolphin-bay.html) if you are curious for more. This place is so beautiful, I saw the sun rise this morning, only because a howling dog woke me. After I saw the sun rise though I wasn't so mad at the dog :) today while we were walking on the beach we saw 2 jelly fish and 3 octopi, there are also lots of crabs. Joelle was saying over and over "this place is sooo cool" We all agree. The other amazing thing we experienced today was kayaking to an island and feeding some monkeys. There were a lot of them and they knew we brought food so they welcomed us. We were not too sure at first but we warmed up to them and beached the kayaks. Lots of them jumped onto our kayaks when we were close enough to shore. We got out of the boats to take pictures and walk around with the monkeys, one climbed up my leg and another jumped on my back, that was a little too close to the wild. The girls kept them back with their paddles, though one ran up the paddle toward Seraya and she flipped that monkey off real fast. The protector monkeys didn't like that very much and came after her. That was when we decided we should get back in our kayaks and keep kayaking around the shore of the island.

Another day in paradise.

Praise:
- We are all healthy
- We get to enjoy God and his creation here in Thailand

Prayer:
- We would be prapared for Saturday when we join fellow beleivers at the refugee camp

How I'm feeling:
I think it's kinda obvious - thrilled to be here!

The past week

Warning** I'm on a time limit for the internet and no spell checking and no editing has gone into this post***

It has been more than a week since I last posted and a lot has changed since my last post. We are in thailand now at a place I will forever remember as paradise...I can not even tell you how happy I am to be here it is an amazing place the Lord has led us but before I tell you all about here let me tell you about some of the journy of our last week. We went to Lake of Shinning waters home on Monday and painted with the kids. They had a lot of fun, we all had fun. These kids are so precious. We miss them already. ON Tuesday we went back to Anita's Home the kids here are a little older adn some are already very good painters. We visted more with the parents of the home. We are feeling the connection with them, they shared many things on their heart with us. On Wednesday decided to change our flight to an earlier date to Thailand because we had our heart set on a few days at the beach and for so many reasons it was proving to be a bad idea in Myanmar. Thursday we went to Lake of Shinning waters again and then friday we enjoyed one last day at the market shopping for gifts and souveniers. Sorry if I am running through nthis a litte fast I want to get to the good part before my internet time is up. We frew into Bangkok Saturday with a plan to go straight to Pattya to a nice fancy hotel with a pool by the beach but as we were getting off the plan we mentioned our destination to a dutch woman and she and a few others that heard our plan strongly advised us not to go there. So now we were in the airport without a plan. it was a very frustrating 2 1/2 hours but we chose a hotel in the city and went. It was a very nice hotel fancy for us adn it cost a lot too. so we only stayed 2 nights and tried to enjoy it. But the best part happened last night when a place we had really wanted to go to had room for us so we took the 4 hour bus trip and we found paradise. This place is on a quiet strip of beach this is not a hotel it is a rest house for Aisian missionaries. It is like an all inclusive. we have been here one night and plan on staying 4 before we go to the refugee camp. I hope you get the picture I am so happy and I have nothing more to ask God for because it is all praise today.

Our Sunday

We had a very blessed Sunday. Ben shared the sermon on the mount - yes
all the sermons he preached in 3 months at EMMC in one sermon. It was very
condensed, but it was good, as I know we all had no doubt about. The
church we went to was a house church. The kitchen and living room were
packed, so packed in fact that the kids and some women had to sit outside
on the driveway just outside the front door. Ben stood beside the front
door in the corner between the two rooms. There was also a lot of singing
and prayer. Though it might not be as simple as you imagine, they had a PA
system with a pulpit and flowers to decorate. All but Ben's sermon was in
another language. After church they had prepared a meal for us and we ate
with them. Then we returned to our hotel in the same back of the pick up
that we arrived in. The girls were pretty excited to be going to church in
the back of the box(covered with a canopy) We had a nap and went for ice
cream before we were picked up to go to evening English church by a friend
from one of the homes. We went by taxi. The church is very lively and on
this day there were a lot of visitors from Mylasia and the preacher was
also from there and he spoke very powerfully for 1 hour and 20 minutes.
The girls managed to make it through because he happened to be very
entertaining and there was a little girl just in front of us that stared
at us the whole time. She seemed like she had never seen white kid
before. When the service was over we went back to our hotel room but by
this time we had not eaten supper and since we are all feeling better our
appetties are getting bigger. So we did what we have been doing for 4 days
already we took a Trishaw to our favorite restaurant. That was our Sunday.
Thanks for the prayers once again and I want to tell you what the preacher
said, and what we are learning to do so much more. Keep out eyes focused
on the God's glory not on the enemy's glory. Enemy wants to rob us, God
wants to lift us up. We may have obstacles to overcome but none are too
big to
overcome, look straight into the glory of God.

Praise:
- I am not dizzy anymore
- Ben had an awesome message from God's word

Prayer:
- our one friend here will have strength to overcome her obstacles.

My feeling today:
- The poverty is so sad

We are doing much better.

Well the last two days have been wonderful. We are all feeling well! I
love life again. Praise the Lord! Thanks for all your prayers, they are
felt. Yesterday I had this great post all witty and full of life to send
you but then at the end I went to spell check it and it got deleted..turns
out Canada and here has the same problems - you have to save it to get it
back. So anyway, I won't cry over spilt milk, I'll just try again, the
only thing is I don't feel so witty today. :)
Any way here goes, yesterday we painted with the kids at Anita's home and
they had such a great time, we all had a great time. The other day when we
first met the kids I asked them what they wanted to be when they grew up
and many of them said Artists or painters-- even before they began. They
had been looking forward to it for a while.
The kids are so beautiful and generous and they just love Joe, Ray and
Ari. When our girls look hot they fan them and hold an umbrella over them.
For our girls ego - I made sure to tell them not to get used to it. LOL
all I need is our girls to come back from here more princess than they
already were. It was especially hot today while we were at the zoo with
the whole group.
We gave the flute that our friend Peter Wolf gave us to give to them and
they were so thankful, one boy started playing it right away. It has been
one of their prayers to get a flute, a real flute. Big thanks going out to you Peter.
We found this great restaurant to eat at. It is called the Monsoon and it
is a western restaurant, we were very adventurous to begin with and got
quite sick so now we are not taking chances with the food. Our appetites
are very small and so we don't need to eat much - one meal a day in
addition to our small breakfast in the morning that our hotel provides.
One fun way to get around is by Trishaw - a bicycle with a side car for
passengers. This is how we went to The Monsoon last night. It is a lot of
fun.
the Home parents at Anita's home are becoming close to us. There is so
much I want to tell you about them - later. The grandfather invited Ben to
speak at the morning service tomorrow, this is such a great honor. Now he
just needs the guidance to know what to say, pray for him.

Praise
- Emotionally I feel so much better
- painting went well
- kids are feeling better
- we have made some great connections
- the spirit has led in so many ways

Prayer requests
- for Ben as he speaks tomorrow
- as we plan for the days between our time here and flying on July 1st to
Bangkok (adventure vs. stick it out in the city)
- That our girls we eat the food that is served us at the home we are
going to tomorrow (they eat the western food we order but the food served
in a home has all gone uneaten, I fear this is insulting)

My feeling today
- healthy is exciting, I love this country and I'm happy to be here, I
love my family.

Continued Praise & Prayers!

God is good... the girls feel so much better and we went to one home today and did the painting and balloon animals. They were so thrilled. It was such a good day.

I also feel a lot better emotionally. One prayer is that Ben is feeling sick now. I know it's working it's way around. Could I possibly stay clear of this one?

Can I keep him?

We are loving these kids so much. There is one little boy in particular
that we all think would fit fabulously with our family. "Can I Keep Him?"
..Ya I know You all warned me "you're gonna want to take them home with
you." Of course we can't but we can enjoy and love them all here. Till now
we have been getting to know each other, tomorrow Lord willing we will
start painting. the kids are so excited, we asked them what they want to
be when they grow up and a good number of them have decided to be artists
or painters, even before they have begun.

Thanks for all the prayers

Prayer requests:
- The enemy would have no hand on diverting us with sickness
- We would make good food choices
- The girls will feel 100 percent
- I would feel lifted and be able to sleep well tonight
- The kids will all have a wonderful time painting

Praise:
- Ariel is better
- God is so good and we love these people a lot

My feeling:
Honestly I feel down today and need to be lifted. I have prayed the breath
prayer "Abba I belong to you" a lot, and tears are so close and welling in
my eyes even as I write this.

Thanks for being there for us, I really feel the connection.

Pray for Ariel

Ariel was not well last night, this morning she is feeling a little better but can you please pray that she will feel 100 percent better. Also pray that we find a restaurant we like today we have all been eating so little. This place is very different. The people have been so great and we have taken many pictures and short spurts of video. Today we have a driver hired for the whole day. We plan to go to the Lake of Shining Waters home but we have to wait to see how Ariel is feeling. Our time difference is 12 1/2 hours ahead of Manitoba time in case you are wondering.

Where our legs will take us

We went for a walk just for our first look around, lots of old run down
> building, puddles from the rain, beautiful friendly people, vendors
> selling anything and everything. On our way back we passed a sign that
> said baptist church we went to the door and there was a group gathered
> inside. The usher spoke English and invited us in. I looked at my family
> thinking - will they really enjoy this? - in another language and in this
> heat?? we have only been here for a few hours...my legs and mouth moved, I
> hardly think it was me because I did not want to go in. Ben agreed I know.
> We went into the church and sat somewhere in the middle were there was a
> pew open. We turned a lot of heads as we entered. Almost right away the
> girls complained and wanted to go... the service was not going to be over
> very soon. I kept thinking "why are we in here? was I so tired from the
> flight that I walked in my sleep into here." The heat was bad, there was
> no breeze. A kind lady behind us passed a hand held fan to the girls. It
> felt good but how much could we take. The man speaking in from bowed his
> head - It was time to pray. We bowed our heads and I started to pray my
> own prayer "Oh God what are we doing in here? Please help the girls make
> it through the service..it would be so rude to leave just after we've
> arrived. there must be a reason you have led us into this church. Please
> Lord why are we here, help us make it through." I put that prayer on
> repeat for a while -- it was long prayer. When the prayer was done I felt
> confident some who if we waited God would show us the answer. a few
> minutes passed - We had been there maybe all of 15 minutes, Seraya asked
> has it been an hour yet? Can we go?" Ben looked over at me-- we can't make
> it to the end of the service, I feel like I am going to faint. I see it in
> his eyes too. I whisper to him that he and Ariel should go now to the back
> and we will follow --so we don't make a scene. he goes I wait. Suddenly
> the prayer is being answered A man who can speak perfect English comes and
> sits beside me
> telling me that an English service held in a different place in the
> Evening is the place we should go, he understands we are struggling, with
> the language and the heat. I see we were led to this seat to get this
> information and so I know I can leave in peace. Thank God. We go with this
> man later to the English service it is a huge blessing to worship with the
> believers here and being led in this way. I was in awe of God. The last
> thing I will write is the writing on the wall in the church. Sorry if my
> writing it very choppy my time is short here.
>
> "To have ten thousand members who are Christ centered and spirit filled
> believers and to reach the people with the gospel and plant many churches"
>
> Prayer requests
> - We will stop feeling dizzy and get good nights sleep
> - the home tomorrow will be a blessing
>
> Praise
> - the way God leads
> - safe travel here
>
> feeling
> - surreal
> - happy
>
>
>
>
>
>

One Sleep

We drive to the coast today(about a 6 hour drive). One more sleep until we fly out. Tomorrow we leave!!

Prayer requests:
- that we won't forget, lose or have anything stolen, like passports or a bags
- the girls will get along well, squashing selfishness and jealousy (good one for all of us)
- that we will move through the airports with ease and there will be angels to help us along the way

Praise
- for the great time at my parents and Zeke really adjusting well
- Ben and I have such an amazing friendship

How I'm feeling:
- Extremely excited and a little nervous

A Bear

Yesterday morning started out pretty normal. I woke up at 6:00 my dad was already up and had mate(green tea) ready. We usually sit at the table, drink mate, visit and then read our Bibles, and my dad reads the daily bread, but first we needed to take Zeke to do his business in the pasture(training him where to go). The dogs played and did their stuff and we came back inside. Then Dad looked back out the window and saw a black bear wandering in the yard, right were we had just walked. Can't believe he was there with us and we had no idea. Tito barked and attacked, Zeke started barking from a distance and then went to the opposite side of the house to bark--what a chicken! Can't expect too much protection from him. LOL I ran to get the cameras and to wake Ben and the kids. Soon we were on the front steps watching this authentic nature show before us. It was very cool. The bear seemed to have no fear of the dog or us, he just calmly sauntered where ever he wanted, at least until Dad shot him with the sling shot. Then he made a quick exit up the hill. We won't soon forget the experience. Thanks God for letting us see a bear.

Who Cares?

What time is it when the clock says "Who cares"? - It's the best time of your life. The clock on the wall of my parents house ticks away pointlessly with these words scrolled over it's face. That's life in the mountains. It feels so relaxing not to care about the time, you eat when you're hungry, you work and play in the day and sleep at night. But it's hard not to care about what time it is because it is something I'm so used to. I hope you find some time today to say who cares about the time, don't have to be in the mountains to relax a little.

The Adventure has Begun

The adventure has begun. I don't know how to really feel about that, I'm terribly excited, almost like I'm living someonelses life, yet I am afraid, not for what is to come(like many of you think we should be) but now that this long awaited adventure has begun it will all too soon be over. But no sense wodd'n up my panties over it, instead I'm going to spend every minute living in the moment. And at this moment I'm going to share some time with you.
We left Altona Saturday at 1:00pm drove through the night and arrived here just in time to enjoy some of my mom's home cooking got supper and to help milk Buttercup.
A small thing but huge prayer request was answered upon arriving here at my parents. We wanted Zeke(our dog), who will be staying here for the duration of our trip, to get along with the farm animals. He has done really great so far -No dead chickens and Zeke and Tito(my parents Dog) are best friends already. PTL

Answers to prayer:
- I want to tell you God cares about small details. Like the prayer for Zeke, in the last week God has answered so many that might seem small but are just what we needed.
- Someone to help Ben in a pinch at the Costco Pharmacy to get our malaria drugs -Thanks God. Then I found out they would cost more than we thought but minutes after finding this out and beginning to stress about the extra expense Ben walked in with a card from a friend with a beautiful encouragement in it and some $! I felt the arms of God wrap around me in that moment. Wow! Why do I always forget God's provision and faithfulness?
- Another item we needed at the last second at Rexal drug store, that they apparently never carry, they just happened to find in the back and sold it to us for 25 cents! I was praying right there at the counter as they were looking for it. God rocks!
- Zeke getting on with the animals
- All the preparations were completed before departing, only forgot a few items - that we have noticed so far. What a praise!

Prayer requests:
- That we will follow the spirit every day
- That we'll have a uneventful flight on Friday and that our luggage will make it too.
- That Zeke will get used to being a farm dog (outside all the time)

My feeling today - Sooo happy! -I just love the mountains, hasnt really registered yet that we leave for Asia on Friday.

Thankful Thursday

I am thankful to God for
- Ben who is just sooo awesome!
- Ariel who is compassionate
- Seraya who loves to snuggle
- Joelle who is a good listener
- people groups who make the world interesting
- internet to communicate long distances
- health
- a calm and peace that surpasses understanding
- people who support and pray for us as we go to Asia
- all the people who have wished us a good trip
- sun
- 2 days till we leave
- people who invite my kids over
- my parents and their beautiful place

5 days till blast off

A 2 square km area with 40-80 thousand people living in it.
A refugee camp in Thailand, This is one of the places we will go to on our trip to Asia.

Answers to prayer
- We are now confirmed on our invitation to the refugee camp. Just got the email this morning
- Ben and I have felt unified

Prayer requests
- That God would prepare our hearts and minds for what is ahead.
- that nothing important will be forgotten
- Ben will be efficient in his school work. (He is no longer auditing the class)

My feeling today
- on top of the packing and cleaning and motivated, with a smidgen of worry that something important will be forgotten