Reunited

It's Thursday morning in Thailand right now, and both teams arrived in Chiang Mai around 2:30 yesterday afternoon. The Laos team arrived first, and when we saw them from the bag check, I don't think any of us could contain our excitement. It was so good to see them again and hear stories! It feels great to have the whole team together.

They had an amazing week...most of them took at least one spill off of their motor bikes, so they have some nice scrapes and bruises, but overall, they are healthy and rested after their day off in Laos on Tuesday. Laos is a closed country, so mostly they just prayed in preparation for ministries that are beginning in many of the villages. But they were able to witness a baptism and have several other really good conversations. They said that they all have left thankful for the openness we can have in the US, and even here in Thailand, and with a greater depth of understanding of the truth of spiritual warfare. Pray for openness in Laos - people really are in bondage there, and are blinded to the truth.

The Thai portion of the team had a surprise when we were waiting to board the plane - our one missing bag was found and had been checked on the plan! Our whole time travelling was such a blessing...we had a lot of delays and other issues, but we didn't have to go through customs (when we arrived in Bangkok at 4 in the morning, I don't think the guard at customs wanted to deal with eighteen 50-lb bags, so he just waved us through), we made our connecting flight to Bangkok, and our missing bag was found.

The Thai team was pretty exhausted by time night hit yesterday. Most of us had only 2-3 hours of sleep in the previous 24 hours, so after dinner, we just went to bed while the Laos team enjoyed the night bazaar for a few hours. Today, we are taking a slow morning to recover, and run a few errands, and then we will drive out to Om Koi after lunch, where we will eat dinner and spend the night. On Friday morning, we will make the final few hour trek out to the village.

One of the best parts so far is just how joyful everyone is. Even when we were tired yesterday, we are a team, and we are excited to be here. Pray for continued right hearts and unity on our team. Pray for those of us who just arrived to adjust to the time difference and the weather (it is HOT). Pray for the ITDP staff as they drive us out to the village and prepare everything for us there, and for the Karen, that they would have open hearts. Pray for continued health and safety for everyone, and that we would have a smooth trip out to the village. Finally, pray that the Lord would be glorified in everything. That is the ultimate end of it all.

For the team,
Katie