Day1: Under the Influence

The idols speak deceitfully,

diviners see visions that lie;

they tell dreams that are false,

they give comfort in vain.

Therefore the people wander like sheep

oppressed for lack of a shepherd.

Zechariah 10:2

All our luggage arrived! We landed late last night and headed straight to bed. After a great night's sleep we awoke to sunshine and warm weather. Today was our first full day in Thailand and right from the beginning we realized we were in a different culture. Rice and Pad See Ew for breakfast? Yes and it was delicious! We sat aside a creek and ate our breakfast (and scrumptious coffee) and listened to Judy, our Missions Coordinator, tell us more about Remember Nhu and the culture of the people of Thailand. How to say hello and thank you, what to do and what NOT to do and other tips we needed in order to be culturally aware.

One particular note was the intention of Remember Nhu to have us learn about how prevalent Buddhism is and how that can have such great negative influence on trying to raise Christian children. Buddha is everywhere - on the mountainside we were able to see the statue below.

This is Wat Phra That Doi Saket, a nearby Buddhist temple that we could see up on a hillside from the road we were traveling on. From the platform on the top of the hill we could see the villages of Doi Saket and the smokey air from the crop burnings that are going on during this time of year.

Then this evening we went to see the girls in their home - the best part of the day. We had dinner and spent time getting to know each other, or for some of us - get reacquainted. So much fun and instant love for these girls. Even though there's a language barrier, we found we still were able to communicate with the girls, sometimes with a little help from Google and music.

Tomorrow we visit a hill tribe and hopefully get the privilege of going to the middle school graduation. We look forward to seeing what God has in store for us this week. We already feel His blessings and His love with us.