Sam, Janaya, Katy, and me on the river taxi
Yesterday morning, Dave and Melanie took us on a cultural excursion to Wat Po, or the temple of the Reclining Buddha. It is 15 meters high and 46 meters long, completely covered in gold leaf and mother of pearl. Our tour guide there was very good, yet it was still hard to go to a place where people see this as their god. We also had fun getting there - a new city bus, the SkyTrain, and a river taxi.
Our tour guide describes the artwork on the walls
When we got back, we went back out to Mahathai. Katy Veldhorst, Kristie, Janaya, and Janelle worked on the murals some more, and then we rounded up the kids for one last day in the park.
Megan, Fa, and Katy V
Chasing a frog in the park
Another cultural phenomenon here is pop in a bag - we love it!
Cheerleading led by Sam and Erica
Our last night of VBS went really well. We told the story of Peter walking on water. Being there three nights in a row has really helped us to build a relationship with the kids. We'll be back for JoyKids (another kid's class) this weekend, so we'll see many of the same kids then.
It is Thai custom to take off your shoes before entering a house, so here are all the shoes outside the sala during VBS!
The whole VBS crew!
Cara and Elizabeth hand out candy at the end of the night
Today our focus shifts to the university. We'll spend some time on campus again, handing out flyers for the coffee house tonight. We'll play a little more badminton, and then go to the coffee house being held at the ministry center tonight.
Please continue to pray for us as we start to wrap things up around here. It's hard to believe that it's Friday already and we only really have about 3 more days left with these wonderful people. Please pray for our health as well as a few of us are dealing with colds and runny noses. Thank God with us for Dave and Jan, Melanie, Go, Keiow, Yu, Pawn, Mary, and the rest of the team that has made our stay so wonderful and Spirit-led.
I love that you've been able to do so many different things - learn Thai, teach English, hang out with kids, lead VBS, explore the culture, learn about Buddhism.... it all sounds like a really well-organized, well-rounded, fun trip. Enjoy the last few days! Can't wait to see more pictures & hear more stories!
ReplyDeleteAny parent reading this should be proud of this group. They have represented Illiana well but more than that they have lived with great Christian maturity here. We will miss not having them help us with the special summer ministry the remainder of the summer...any parents willing to let them stay? :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for keeping us updated. It was great to be able to follow all of your activities and see all the wonderful work you have been doing. It sounds like you are having a lot of fun and keeping very busy. We are anxious to see you all again but we know that God will use your work there to plant seeds in the hearts of the Thai people. Thanks Dave for all you did to make this trip such a memorable one for the girls. We know that Cara would love to stay longer :) We will be praying for a safe return home trip. See you in a few days! God Bless You All! Deb Zandstra
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