Families, Mountains, and Villages

Hello everyone. Sorry that it's been so long since our last post. We have been busy and have had little reliable Internet access. On the 26th we went to Payap university. We had lunch there and were given a tour of the university. We met some of the Christian volunteers that work in the dorms there. After lunch we went to McGilvary Theological Seminary. We watched a presentation about the history of the seminary and got a tour. We learned about a Thai artist that uses Thai art style to paint different bible scenes. We bought posters of his paintings. Later that night we went to Bill Yoder's house. We were so happy to have cheese, real cheese on crackers. We also had chicken and mashed potatoes with cake and ice cream. It was so amazing and we greatly enjoyed the American food. We spent the evening talking with Bill and listening to his stories of his many years as a missionary in Thailand. The next day we went to Bo Sang to visit an umbrella village. Afterwards we went to San Kampaeng ceramics. We watched the workers making and painting ceramics. Between the two places we did a lot of shopping. That evening we went back to Payap University to have dinner and then met with a professor from McGilvary who gave us a presentation on mission in Asia. On the 28th we went to a market then met at Esther's house to watch a presentation about the Free Burma Rangers group. They are a group that helps villages in Burma that have been attacked by the Burmese army. They help provide them with early warning and evacuation as well as supply food and medicine to the Burmese people. Afterwards many people from Payap came over for spaghetti night at Esther and Rob's house. It was an amazing dinner. We got to meet and talk with many new people and learn about what they do in Chiang Mai. We spent the next day at Prince Royal's College setting up for the English camp the next day. Afterwards we stopped and got some ice cream. Saturday was the English camp between 4 local schools. The camp went well and we had fun teaching the students about ASEAN. July 1st we headed out early in the morning to travel through the mountain to Fang. We really experienced Thai time at the church there. The service started an hour later than it was supposed to. After church we had lunch with the church members. Then we met in the church and in sports draft fashion were picked by our Thai families. Over the past four days we spent a lot of time with our hosts and truly became part of their families. We got the chance to harvest and plant rice in a paddy. It was a good experience. We took lots of pictures to help capture our experience. We were also taken up the mountain to see different villages and visit a school for Burma students. The mountains were so amazing. We were above the clouds at some points. The road was an interesting ride with its hairpin turns and super steep inclines. We were also taken to the the Thailand-Burma border. We got to look into the Burma side base camp. I got a picture of a Burmese solider looking at me through a spotter scope. Throughout our time in Fang we were treated so well and we can never repay our families for the love and hospitality they showed us. We truly became sons, daughters, brothers, and sisters to our families. The experiences we had there will be with us for the rest of our lives. Today we left Fang and drove to the river to travel by boat to Chiang Rai. We took two boats, one of which wouldn't start so they had to switch boats in the middle of the river. Along the way we stopped at a Lahun and Karen village. I got my picture taken with a good size python. I was pretty excited about it. The rest of the river ride went well. It was so beautiful. We enjoyed some bananas and corn on the boat ride. We all stayed dry except for Marshall who got hit by a rapid wave. This afternoon we arrived in Chiang Rai. We walked around the city and got dinner after a nice long afternoon of napping. Tomorrow we go to set up for our next English camp. Eric Juengel Summer Service 2012