Bangkok, Thailand - A Quick Recap

I am sitting in an air-conditioned internet cafe as I write this (the nicest one I've seen in Thailand so far and it's about 90 degrees outside). Sandra and the children are sitting on a sofa about 10 feet from me watching the Cartoon Network while I've been answering e-mails and trying to reconnect to the Western world.

Thailand has been incredible and a confirmation of the direction we were receiving from the Lord. The food is absolutely incredible (spicy too, just the way Sandra and I like it).

One thing that I've noticed is that the Thai people absolutely love children. Noah, Bianca & Gabe are like celebrities every where we go. They kind of lead the way and we stand in the backround for moral support when needed. The cool thing is that because they are so highly esteemed in Thai society, it has opened many doors for us to witness to people who we might not have otherwise had the opportunity to witness to (God bless them, and I was worried as to how they'd handle the trip). Needless to say, they are enjoying it.

Some highlights of the trip so far:

• Temple tour of all the main Buddhist Temples in Bangkok, we prayer walked around them, toured them and prayed for the people worshipping Buddha, as well as got an incredible glimpse of Thai culture and religious life. That was Day 2 in Thailand.
• Witnessing to many people who have never once heard the name Jesus in their entire life, and many others who have heard the name but don't know Him yet!
• God gave me a word in prayer (yeshou) back in December. That word would often times come out, however I didn't know why or what it meant. We went to a little slum to do ministry and hold a church service one evening and the pastor was speaking about Yeshou, guess what that means in Thai? Jesus!!! How awesome is He?!?
• Being able to point to the sky for God, our chest for our Heart and opening our arms wide to indicate Jesus and witnessing and speaking of the Lord that way when no one understands eachother due to the language barrier (priceless and beautiful!).
• Spotting a Komodo Dragon in a marsh near the church that was located in a rainforest area just outside Bangkok.
• Eating bugs and seeing live crabs at the local market (Noah ate a grasshopper, not too bad for a picky eater, eh?).
• Bianca made a new friend at the church we were working at.
• Getting to know our new Thai friends who faithfully serve our same Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Their hearts seem so simply sold out and focused on Him.
• Eating sticky rice and all kinds of new foods.
• Cooking Mexican food for our new Thai friends.

I can't tell you what a blessing it is knowing so many of you are all praying for us! It is an incredible blessing and a priviledge and we would just ask that you continue to pray that the children (ours) will be bold and that we (mom & dad) will lighten up and enjoy this incredible adventure God has us on. Tonight we leave for Chang Rei (Northern Thailand) at about 5pm for a long bus ride. We arrive sometime tomorrow morning. Any prayers for that will also be appreciated.

God has done some amazing things and we know He has much more in store for us. Thanks for your continued prayer support and encouragement. We are such priveledged missionaries to have the support of River Valley Church and our friends and family back home.

Running the Race,

Ron & Sandra

Ministry Prep

We had team time today and prepared for upcoming ministry at the church we're serving in a rainforest area about 1 hour outside Bangkok. It is a poor community where the Thai government has been relocating people to after removing them from areas where they were basically squatters. The needs are incredible.

The children (Noah, Bianca & Gabe) are doing well in learning their parts for the dramas we'll be presenting as part of our ministry.

This afternoon we went and handed out tracts outside several public schools and factories in the area. It was amazing to see the level of interest in the children. Many have never heard Jesus name and many of those who have do not know Him personally.

Tonight we had our most authentic Thai dinner which involved sitting on the floor and eating sticky rice with a variety of Thai dishes. It was delicious, but more importantly, it was a blessing to eat alongside the staff at the church we are serving.

Father, bless this church, it's staff and those who have already come to believe. May they witness to many more in their community and continue the incredible work they've partnered with you in!

Temple Tour

Today we had a 7:30 breakfast at the Bangkok base and headed out for the temple tour. I think we took every form of transportation Thailand has to offer including - foot, bus, skytrain, boat, gondola and a tuk-tuk (a 3-wheel taxi). At the temples we visited we took in the sites and culture and prayed for the people worshipping.

Father, it's amazing to see how many people don't know you.

Sawatdee kahp!

Day 1 in Bangkok. We arrived last night about 9:30pm and rode on the back of this open-air truck/taxi thing to the YWAM Bangkok base. We got settled and went to sleep, although our bodies now think it's early morning. Tomorrow we'll get up early and have a full day which will supposedly help us acclimate to the time change (I'll write more later and let you know if it works).

We had orientation today which included an overview of YWAM Thailand, the base we're staying at, some basic Thai, like saying, "Hello," and how to Wai someone properly (the folding of the hands held up to the face with a bow while greeting them). We also learned how to use a squatty potty! Very important when you have 3 children.

Thank you, Father, that we arrived safely to Bangkok, Thailand, for Noah's and all the children's health and that we are all in good spirits!

Somewhere Between Dallas, TX and Tokyo, Japan

Just got done watching, "A Beautiful Mind," while the children have been watching The Cartoon Network on the airplane. They have the same 1.5 hrs of cartoons that the children keep watching over and over. They are loving it!!! Noah has been keeping his food down and he's progressed from sprite and crackers to rice and a little chicken. The nice thing about being on an airplane with a sick child is that they have plenty of those little bags handy!

Thank you father, for the ample supply of barf bags, and for Noah keeping his food down.

In the Air, Somewhere between McAllen & Dallas

After getting up at 4:00am on 1/5 and heading for the border (3 hrs), we got in to Texas and ran some errands and then headed off to Burger King for lunch, our first real American food in 3 months. That was a treat for the children. Ran more errands after lunch and then met with the families hosting us overnight before our 6:ooam flight this morning. That's when things got interesting. Noah, who was doing fine all day, seemed really tired after lunch. While I and some of the other guys from our team started a pick-up game of touch football (using a roll of toilet paper since we didn't have a football) Noah was napping in the van. All of a sudden, he started throwing up, which lasted until about 2:00am.

We were all up at 4:30am and then off to the airport. We got to spend the night with Paul & Colleen Bifford, a couple we met last year in Monterrey who are now working at a church in McAllen, TX after several years of mission work in Monterrey, MX. They were so understanding, prayed with and for us, and I'm sure God ordained that we'd be staying with them, with a sick child and all.

Going through security in McAllen, TX to begin our journey to Bangkok almost went off without a hitch, when all of a sudden Noah, who was keeping down Ginger Ale since 4:30am said, "Dad, I think I'm about to get sick again." We were right at the point inside the security area where you take off your shoes and put your laptop in a bin and send it all through the x-ray machine before walking under the metal detector. So what did I do, I asked Noah, "Right now?" I'm not sure what I was thinking but I could tell by his face that he was about to lose his cookies again, so I said to the security person, "Can I use one of these bins for my son, he's about to get sick?" I'm guessing she doesn't have children because she looked at me kind of strange and it seemed like she was about to say, "No," until I said, "Either he throws up in this bin, or it's all over the floor and table, which do you prefer?" At that point she reluctantly agreed to let us use the bin. Not a moment too soon, as soon as I handed it to Noah, he doubled over and vomited a couple times into it.

Spiritual attack? Nerves? Motion-sickness from the long van ride? Not sure. He's never had motion-sickness in his life and he seemed pretty excited about flying. I know of only one person (or principality) interested in preventing us from going to Thailand, so I lean toward some feeble attempt of the enemy. But, it is hard, when you have a sick, vomiting child, to face the prospect of getting on an airplane for what would be 26 hours of travel with all the layovers. The thought did cross my mind of not going. Press on is what I kept thinking. I especially thought of Pastor Rob's verse, "Pressing on in Christ." So we did. We all prayed for Noah in the airport and he's been fine ever since!

Bianca prior to boarding the plane said, "Daddy, when the plane goes up in the air, is it going to tickle my tummy?"

Thank you, father! Thank you that you love my children even more than I'm capable of, and that you answer our prayers!

Preparing for Thailand!

Father, I'm beat...tired from packing our whole house up today. We were all done at about 11:00pm and over to the base for a couple hours sleep before getting up at 4:00pm to leave for McAllen, TX where we will fly to Dallas, TX, then on to Tokyo and then to Bangkok. Prepare me for Thailand, Father.