Stories

We arrived back in Chiang Mai last night, and have spent the day with elephants, tigers, shopping, and reflecting on our time in the village. As we prepare to step on an airplane to head home in almost exactly 24 hours, I asked each of the battle buddy teams to share a story from their time in the village.

"One of our favorite memories was when a couple of the ITDP staff, some of the teachers, and villagers would come to our hut late at night for English lessons. It was cool for them to be able to learn English, and we got to learn some Thai and Karen. More importantly, though, those times provided more opportunities for relationships." - Laura, Nikki, and Christine

"When we were most tired and were heading back to the village after a long day's work, we found our motivation to keep going as we were greeted by the cutest Karen kids you've ever seen. Most of the time, they scared us to death as they jumped out from behind a bush, or shook a tree, pretending to be a scary animal, or simply ran up and grabbed our hands." - Kaitlen and Destiny

"The first day, we just cut wire with a bunch of the women, and we had some of the kids hanging around playing shy. They wouldn't talk to us. When we were done working for the day, we headed back to shower. We heard a voice or two outside of the shower and some laughter and figured that a few of the kids wanted to play. But when we finished, we were shocked to discover that there were not one or two kids outside the bathroom, but 12, all waiting to play." - Katie and Hannah

"If there is one thing I learned on this trip, it's being submissive. I came on this trip with the mindset that we would be coming in and serving the people, but was humbled by the villagers we served with. I soon learned that we knew nothing about building a water tank. But under Ohmotep's leadership, and everyone's hard work and willing hearts, we finished. God is good!" - Sean (and Charlie)

"My experience in Thailand can be summed up in two words: God moving. The best memory I had in Thailand was seeing the smiles on the kids faces. It was great to get to know the Karen people and I can't wait to come back to Thailand." - Chris (and Brian)

Please pray for continued good health for the team as we travel, and that we would enjoy our last day in Chiang Mai. Tonight, we are going to dinner with a show that has traditional Thai dancing, and then shopping the Night Bazaar again. Tomorrow morning, we head to Doi Suthep Temple, a Buddhist temple just outside of Chiang Mai. Thank you for all your prayers and support. They have not gone unanswered. The Lord is faithful, and that has been so evident through our time here. May the gospel go forth and much glory be brought to His name from our time in Thailand. All praise and glory be to Him!
For the team,
Katie