Sweet Surprise...

Well, I have a bit of time to kill before my fabulous friend Steph (featured in the picture) arrives here...she decided to make a surprise appearance in Sauga city tonight...driving all the way from London because I selfishly wanted to see her. Tomorrow morning we plan on treking up to Harvest Barrie as a good friend of ours (Sarah) is on the worship team, then we're heading back to her place for a feast. Sarah has three little kiddies that I'm stoked to play with them...such sweet kids!

Wow - as I'm typing this, Steph arrived! Must go!

Proof?

Just take a look around you...He's everywhere. We serve a living and active God, who desires to have an intimate relationship with us, His children. How deep the father's love for us...

"Quotes"

One little secret about me: I love a good quote. I love quotes that take a moment to sink in and digest. I do enjoy funny quotes, but I especially appreciate quotes from invidiuals whom have much Godly wisdom. Individuals such as Piper, A.W. Tozer, MacArthur and the like.

Here are a few of my favs:

"The holiness of God is the most fundamental reality of all. It refers to the reality that God is utterly unique and in a class by himself—that's his set-apartness—none compares with him. There is no other Creator, no other sustainer, no other final measure of good and evil. He is utterly set apart in a class by himself, unequaled, unrivaled, totally underived, absolute in his being and perfection, without beginning or ending or improvement. In a word his holiness is the supremacy of his infinite worth among all that is." John Piper

"He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose"
Jim Elliot

"You can't learn while you're talking" Beth Moore

"To inculate me from the praise of man, He baptized me in the criticism of man, until I died to the control of man" Francis Frangipane

"God does not call the qualified, He qualifies the call."

"The main thing is to keep the Main Thing the main thing" (referring to the Cross)

"God’s holiness is not simply the best we know infinitely bettered. We know nothing like the divine holiness. It stands apart, unique, unapproachable, incomprehensible and unattainable… Holy is the way God is. To be holy He does not conform to a standard. He is that standard" A.W. Tozer

"Hast thou no mercy, rendering none."

Treadmill thoughts...(my thinking time)

People are different, cultures are different, but we all have the same need...Jesus Christ. My last night in Thailand I had the opportunity to have dinner with three Thai girls (plus Bec), where we were able to encourage each other and share what the Lord is doing in our lives. It was incredible. They had just gotten back from a missions trip to Burma (when the cyclone hit) and their passion and love for the Lord was so evident. Although these girls have so little in the material sense, they truly do have so much -- an intimate relationship with Jesus Christ. I think it puts a lot of us to shame here in the Western world. I was sharing with someone the other night about the conversations I had with these Thai girls and how their relationship with the Lord was so encouraging to me, and his response: "Canada/north America is one of the hardest places to be a Christian". After some thought, I realized this statement does have some truth to it. If you think about it, here in Canada we have everything we "need" - clean water, great food, and a solid roof over our head that doesn't leak at night - all of which aren't the case in Thailand (and many other countries). Anyhow, our lives here are so abundant and filled with "stuff," that it's so easy to feel like we don't "need" the Lord...it's so easy to push Him aside and do thing on our own. Rely on our own wisdom (or lack of). I'm guilty of that for sure. We (myself included) so quickly rely on our own strength and depend on ourselves to get through each day...it's almost scary. It blows my mind that we can trust God with our eternal destiny, yet fail to trust Him with the small details of each day.
Anyhow, my thoughts are a bit scattered right now, but I guess I'm just "wowed" how Christ's love truly transcends all borders. Christ's love is universal. He IS love. I may not have been able to speak Thai(at the dinner, one girl translated), but I pray that each person I came in contact with during my time there saw just a glimpse of Christ in me, the hope of glory. Perhaps it was just a smile I gave them, or a little wave, whatever...I just pray that Christ's love shone through.

More thoughts to come...

Livin' for eternity,
A



(these are the three Thai girls I had dinner with)

You just can't stop Him.

During my time in southern Thailand while staying at the hotel, we had a few english stations on the television. Anyhow, as we were flicking through, American Idol popped on and the performance I have posted above was playing. It was incredible. Here I was, sitting in Thailand, watching American Idol...hearing them sing "Shout to the Lord," with millions of people watching worldwide. All that ran through my head was...Nothing can stop Jesus Christ. No secular television show can stop the power of our Lord.
Apparently, this was the second time they had sung the song. The first time was at the end of one of the shows (but they substituted "my Sheppard" for "my Jesus"), but due to popular demand (topped the itunes charts)...they brought the song back one more time WITH the correct lyrics.
God will let nothing steal His glory. And if we don't cry out to Him, the rocks will.
Go Lord go!!

We ride elephants, not cars.

Today was incredible!! Bec and I had a super early start this morn and decided to trek over to the mountains (on her motorbike) to visit the elephant camp. But, I must mention one thing first...motorbikes here in Thailand, I think, must be made specifically for the Thai people, whom are a wee bit smaller than us white folk. So, it was absolutely hilarious trying to get two white girls up this mountain to get to the elephant camp, while all the Thai people are buzzing by us. I could have run faster than the bike was going...apparently there's a weight restriction that we didn't know about! ha! Bec pretty much had her legs down trying to push us up at points. Too funny.
Anyhow, once we arrived there, we were greeted by about 10 elephants just bathing in the river...not more than 10 feet from us. When they stretched out their trunks you were close enough to touch them...super duper cool. Then we get to watch the elephant show for an hour, seeing them do a ton of neat tricks -- play soccer, paint pictures, throw darts, stand on their rear legs -- definitely have pictures to come. Toward the end, the elephants come right up to you in the stands and you can take pictures with them...I stood in between four of them, then they proceeded to wrap their trunks around me!! I think I half excited and half freak right out, as I thought they could squeeze the life out of me!
Following the show, Bec and I went on an elephant ride for an hour through the Thailand jungle...absolutely incredible. There's just something about walking through God's creation on the other side of the world, on top of an elephant, that cannot be described. I had never really been through the jungle here yet, so to be able to do that on the back of an elephant was amazing. It undoubtedly gave me a whole new perspective on the Lord's incredible creation. Pictures to come as well.
On our way back down the mountain (WAY easier going back down...) we stopped in at one of the national parks, which had a total of ten waterfalls. We didn't really realize this national park was more of a "hiking" thing, and trying to trek through the jungle/park with flip flops (and ponchos) was quite the adventure. It seemed as though we were making our own path half the time two as we hiked up to see the top waterfalls. The verse that was rolling through my head the entire time was "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it" (Matt 7:13,14) The path to the narrow gate is undoubtedly harder and far less travelled...and that truth came alive to me today like none other.

Anyhow, all in all, it was a fantastic day. We ended with grabbing some dinner at the local night market, then enjoyed the Alvin and the Chipmunks movie. Very cute - recommend it for sure!

Tomorrow is my last day here...not too much planned, perhaps stopping by the silver factory for a bit and maybe the night market, but that's about it. I have to gear up for my 20 hour flight back home!

See y'all soon!

Much love,
A

Mother's day lovin' from Thailand.

Well, since I'm not able to be at home with my mom today on mother's day and I've had some time to think about what a wonderful mom I have been blessed with...I thought I'd share a few of these thoughts with y'all.

1) My mom's servant's heart is incredible. She puts everyone before herself daily, without expecting in return. Her desire to serve others and serve at church is encouraging and contagious!!
2) Her humility. To me, humility is knowing our place before God (very low and dependant) and before man (considering ourselves less than them). My mom is a great example of humility for me...
3) Proverbs 31: A Wife a Noble Character. Need I say more? I'll let that speak for itself. Give it a good read...
4) Her continual and unconditional love for me, regardless of the amount of times I screw up and times where I think I'm always right (when I'm not).
5) My mom is hilarious...one of the few people I can bust a gut laughing with. That's so important. Her humour is matchless (although I think I come close sometimes)
6) Her patience. I think she models that for our entire family.
7) Her love for the Lord and discipline in her walk with Christ.
8) When people say "Wow, you're so much like you're mom!!" I take that as a HUGE compliment.

I could go on, but I will stop for now. In Proverbs is says "train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is older, he will not depart from it" (22:6) My mom (and dad too!) did a great job as parents, raising me and directing me in the way I should go...and I pray that I will never depart from those ways.

Hopefully you'll read this sooner than later mom...so HAPPY MOTHERS DAY! Love you!

It's my last day here in Koh Sumai...yesterday was great (and first day I was feeling well). I rented a seadoo for a bit yesterday, so Bec and I had a grand time on that. We of course had to follow that up with a nice Thai massage and a beautiful Italian dinner. Nice life eh? I can't complain!

Ok, I'm off!

Thai Flu -- watch out.

For almost four days now I've caught a brutal case of the "Thai Flu," or so it seems...hopefully nothing more serious. It's put a whole new meaning to the word "flu bug" for me. I will never again complain about having the flu in Canada now that I've experienced what having Thai flu is like. Guaranteed. You can hold me accountable to that. I think it's just this bad because I just have no anti-bodies or defence mechanism to fight of this bad boy.
My diet: bread and flat gingerale. Tonight I thought I'd try and eat a 6 inch sub from Subway...stupid stupid me.
However, the weather here in the South has been fabulous. I've managed to sneak in some sun and work on my tan, so that's been nice.

Anyhow, once my health is back to normal and my brain is functioning, I do plan on posting a few things for y'all to read.

Don't forget: Mother's day on Sunday (note to self)

Please pray for my health as the Lord leads...and that Bec STAYS healthy.

Much love,
A.

Lessons Learned?

1) "Im almost done" or "just a couple more minutes" in Thailand translates into 2 hours later. If you struggle with patience, don't come to Thailand. haha.

2)When driving through the mountains, there's no where to stop for the bathroom.

3) "Squatty Potties" don't always have toilet paper. A squatty potty is pretty much a hole in the ground...the name explains it all really.

4) Thai people don't actually eat Pad Thai...SLIGHT disappointment.


Anyhow, those are just a couple of the things I've learned the past couple days. We are back safe and sound from Burma..the cyclone didn't really affect us. Every Sunday night there's the huge walking street night market which was really neat to check out once we get back from Burma. Yesterday was a pool day...we just crashed a local hotel pool, so that was pretty sweet. We had been busy travelling around the city for the past week, so a quiet pool day was much needed. In the evening, Bec and I went to the Chiang Mai night safari, which was, well, interesting. It wasn't exactly what we had expected...but it was cool seeing all the animals. No cool pictures though...it was too dark and no flashes were allowed. Bummer for sure. The motorbike ride there and back was very exciting though. We had seen lots of signs for this "night safari", so we figured that last night we'd just drive to the streets where we saw these signs, then just follow them...apparently that wasn't the GREATEST idea, but hilarious nonetheless. We made it there before closing, so mission accomplished in our minds.
In a few hours we're taking off down south to Koh Sumai island for the week. We're just going to be lazy and enjoy the beaches...perhaps go for a Thai massage, as that's super popular to do here. We had one a couple days ago and it was fantastic, so we're going to go again in the south. Pray for good weather and no more cyclones!!

Anyhow...must go pack! Not sure when I'll get Internet access again, but I'll try to keep you posted as best as I can.

Sending my love back to Canada,
A.

Another funny, well, sort of.

As mentioned in the previous post, we (5 of us) are en route to Burma today with the ONLY purpose of renewing Bec's visa. It's about a 4 hour drive to the Burma border, then we'd check out a town just on the other side for a bit, then head back that evening. Anyhow, we get about an hour away from the border - keep in mind that the roads aren't all nice and paved, so it's really quite the trek to get to the border - and all of the sudden Bec lets out a wee scream. Instantly I knew it was because she forgot her passport. And sure enough, her passport was left in Chiang Mai...which was the entire point of our trip. ha!! I definitely let out quite the awkward laugh at that point. Anyhow, to make a long story short, we're currently stuck at a small border town on the Thailand side of the border, waiting for Bec's passport to arrive on some random bus in a few hours. It'll be too late to cross the border by the time it gets here, so we're stuck here in Chiang RAI for the night. We'll head over to Burma tomorrow. Needless to say, it's been quite the adventure. Gotta love travelling with Bec... :)

Not to worry, we're all safe and sound here for the evening...I'll report back later.

Quick funny story for you...

So, over the past few days I've been trying very hard to learn and practice the Thai language...I'm very keen on being able to speak a LITTLE bit of Thai. Anyhow, in my desire to speak or answer in Thai as much as possible...I've had a few funny slip ups. I've learned words like "hello" "thank you" "thank the Lord" "very very hot"...anyhow, I was walking out of a store the other day and meant to say "thank you" to the store owner as I was apparently really excited about what I bought...but instead, I bellow out "THANK THE LORD"...Bec quickly ran off, and I stood there looking a little stupid. With 98% of the population here Buddist, it was quite funny.

Well...off to Burma.

Adios!

Chiang Mai's national pass time: Shopping

Yesterday was a fantastic day of shopping. Bec, myself and 3 other American missionaries hit up all the local hot spots to get some fun stuff. Our first stop was the silver factory here...5 pieces of super nice silver jewelery for around 30 dollars, Canadian...you can't beat those prices in Canada!! After that, we checked out a couple "Saa" paper factories and had the opportunity to actually see the Thai people make the paper. The amount of work that goes into making saa paper really makes you appreciate it a heck of a lot more. I took a picture of each stage of the process, hopefully to post shortly. There were a ton of cool photo albums, picture frames, and stationary to buy...plus stacks and stacks of saa paper (great for scrap booking). Following those factories, we went to this incredible wood/handy craft village...for sure a highlight of my trip here so far. The village was lined with the cutest stores and factories all with handmade wooden things (mainly mango wood)...it beats anything you'll find at Ikea, hands down. The prices were great - so much I would have loved to ship home for my mom, but at the end of the day, it's really all just "stuff" and abundance. Things we really don't need, ya know? It's very easy to get caught up in all the shopping and buying stuff because the deals are fabulous and the quality is great...but you are quickly brought back to the reality of abundance of our Western lives when you see the conditions that a lot of the people here are living in, and what they have to survive each day.
The Lord held off the rain the entire day, so that was a huge answer to prayer. It started to pour just as we were going home, which meant last night was movie night. Bec was also showing me some pictures of her last year here in Thailand, which were amazing.
Today a bunch of us are driving across the border to Burma...will report back on that later.

All my love,
A.

11 hour time change, killer.

Never in my life have I woken up at 4am, 5am or 6am and actually been awake and ready to take on the day...except while here in Thailand. Definitely gives me a few more hours in the day.
The past couple days have been sweet -- not overly touristy, but more so just enjoying the slower pace of life. A couple days ago we hit up one of the malls here in Chiang Mai, which is similar to the malls in Canada, for the most part. It's 4 floors, and the top floor is where the Thai people mainly shop, so you're able to bargain with them, which is sweet. Bec speaks Thai, so we get a better deal automatically, also sweet. We also went and got our nails done (TONS of little places around here to do that)...we thought it was a pretty good idea for our upcoming trip down south to the beaches.
A couple nights ago we hit up the night bizarre -- the streets and open yards are lined with stands of local, handmade stuff. Lots of great stuff for super cheap prices, thanks to Bec. On Sunday evening there is the main "night market" where two main streets are shut down and the Thai people set up their little vendor stations to sell their stuff. I'm excited for that. It'll be different stuff and more selection than the night bizarres (which is already huge in my mind).
Yesterday morning when Bec and I were heading out to her Thai lesson a scorpion greeted me at the door...i freaked. They tried to convince me it was just a cricket, but trust me, I know a scorpion when I see one. Bec saved the day and got it away. There are little lizard type things that crawl around the walls and ceilings of the house, but they seem to be pretty harmless.
Yesterday Bec took me on a huge motor bike ride around Chiang Mai, so that was a ton of fun, although my butt was killing towards the end. Motor bikes rule the road here -- there are a ton with no rules -- which makes for a good time. I also get some reading done (This Present Darkness, Peretti), which I'm thoroughly enjoying.
Today the plan is to meet up with a few other American missionaries and go to the silver factory, which is a little ways away I think. I'm excited for that...lots of handmade stuff, but nice silver.
Anyhow, must get going...everyone seems to be waking up now and the day is starting.
I'll try to post a few pics in the next day or two!

Sending my love from Thailand,
A.

ps - I don't read over or proof read these posts - sorry!!