Day 14 (Friday 28 February 2014) by Robert

The morning started early as we headed to Soi Suthep mountain for a half-day of Solitude. After studying in our morning equipping session about the Spiritual Discipline of Solitude, we wanted to put it into practice. (Solitude - being alone with God to give Him our full attention and listen to what He is trying to communicate with us.) The weather was beautiful as we crossed over a wooden bridge and headed to our place of solitude. 

Each of our places of solitude were spaced apart along a forest trail. 

And some beside a babbling brook.

Each of us were spaced out along the trail of solitude so that we could not see each other.

But we were within earshot of each other in case we needed help.

We then spent the morning communicating with God and listening to His desires for our lives. 

Vern (Malaysia) took position 1 along the trail of solitude.

Then Kara (USA) took position 2.

Ben (USA) took position three along the trail of solitude.

Shuen (Australia) was fourth along the trail.

Then Joshua (Myanmar) took the fifth position along the trail of solitude.

Then Gillian (Singapore) took the sixth position on the trail.

And I, Robert (USA),  took the last position on the trail of solitude. 

About 1 p.m. we went to eat at the new Maya Mall and had a time of reflecting on our day of solitude. 

Just as when we practice a sport or practice playing an instrument, the spiritual discipline of solitude must also be practiced in order to become better at listening to God. Most interns who come to Chiang Mai have never practiced this discipline of solitude before and most are grateful to have been given a chance to understand this practice. 

In the afternoon, Ben, Vern and I went to buy plywood and some 2x4’s and bolts to build a bunk bed for refugee students

who have just moved to Chiang Mai to study for the GED test. By the time the sun was going down, 

the bunk bed was just about finished. Thanks Ben for designing and building this for the students. 

And thank you everyone who helped donate money to purchase the wood.

One of our new sisters at the Christian Zone is Melody. She just returned last night from a trip to China. Today she wanted to serve everyone at the Christian Zone by cooking Chinese food. Needless to say, it was really delicious. It always is. Melody is a talented cook with the heart of a servant. 

Day 13 (Thursday 27 Feb 2014) by Kara

The day started off with a plan to visit some friends across town.  They are from a school on the Thai-Myanmar border.  They have come to The Zone for an intensive English week twice before.  Currently, they are in Chiang Mai to attend BEAM, a school to that helps students from Burma receive a GED equivalent.  We wanted to see our friends and measure for a bunk bed that they need.  After we arrived, we caught up and measured for the new bed.  They accepted an invitation to join us for Cell Group and hopped in the truck to go back to the Zone.

Wagapaw and Dtu Dtu with the girls in front of The Zone

At the Zone we played ping pong and card games until time to prepare for dinner.  Gillian generously volunteered to cook for Cell Group.  We helped chop and wash under the guidance of chef G.  We made pasta with olive oil, mushrooms, and bacon.  It was delicious. Balloon also made omelets with pork and onions.  We ate together as a church, and then headed downstairs for a lesson.

Vern shared with us a great lesson about The Lord’s Prayer.  After the lesson, we celebrated Gip’s 12^th spiritual birthday.  After a long day, some of us called it a day and went to sleep, while others continued the Thursday night Movie night tradition.

Until next time,

Kara

Day 12 (Wednesday 26 Feb 2014) by Ben

I spent the morning designing a building.  The Chung Doi Church of Christ is planning to plant a new church outside of town.  They heard that I studied architecture and asked me to facilitate the design.  The commission to help with the design came at a time when I was really missing architecture and was an answer to my prayers.  I love that I am now doing something I love and serving God at the same time. 

Robert, Kara, Na, and I had lunch at the WEAVE organization.  They are organizing a leadership camp for refugee students in a few weeks.  It was great to talk with them about their work and make more solid plans for the camp.  We will be planning and executing activities for one of the days during the weeklong camp.  Stay tuned for updates on this awesome experience.

Sai came by for English lessons after we returned.  He had an assignment over an condensed version of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.  Joshua taught Sai from the book of Luke while I read the book.  After that, I help Sai to write a good summary of each chapter.  Joshua and I made a great team today. 

Then we headed to Gethsemane Childrens Home.  I always leave that place feeling better than I came.  Ven and I are getting better at Takraw, but it will take a while before we match the skill level of some of these 12 year old kids. 

Until next time,

Ben

Day 11 (Tuesday 25 Feb 2014) by Joshua

Our intern group had enjoyed every activity in the Zone and other outreached areas far away from the Zone. Today we learn about fasting in our morning equipping. We decided to fast the whole day. We planned for the leadership camp which is going to be held at the refugee camp. Since we are fasting we did not have lunch.

The afternoon was quite relaxing because we have free time. We  went Doi Saket 2 orphanage. We bought food for the children because they do not get to eat meat very often. We played Takaraw with the children and taught them English. After that we sang songs and prayed. we came back to the Zone at a bout 8:00 Pm. Everyone rested and went to bed.

Day 10 (Monday 24th Feb 2014) by Vinod

Monday's are our day off, so I wanted to sleep in but we decided to go to the Umbrella factory nearby instead. Lou Lou (a woman from China) drove us to the factory. Although I was half asleep on our way there, as soon as we got there I was wide awake! It was so pretty. They had so many colored umbrellas and beautiful paintings. Sadly, we weren't allowed to take pictures of the paintings so I can't show you all how awesome they are. The best part was each of us got something painted, except for Joshua. I got my Bible and my phone cover painted, while Gillian got her bottle painted and Shuen got her bottle and phone cover painted.

After that, we decided to walk across the street to get some souvenirs.  That's when we all saw the other half of Shuen. She was on fire (no, not literally)! She was on a shopping spree. She walked into most of the stores and went 'ohh... that's pretty'. It was a fun time for the girls though. We headed back to the Zone around 12.30pm. The rest of the afternoon was a lot more relaxing. The guys stayed back and chilled at the Zone while the girls when out to Central Festival which is a huge shopping mall.

We wrapped up our day at Lou Lou's house. We had hot pot where there were 16 of us. I sat at the table with the most spicy gravy along with Karen, Wijit, P'Gip and P'Ying. It was so spicy that half way through we all couldn't feel our lips (due to the spicy-ness!) but it was delicious nevertheless. It is such a blessing to be surrounded by so many amazing and loving people and I thank God for such a great family here in Thailand.

                                               The Entrance to the Umbrella factory.

                                                    Gillian and Shuen goofing around.

                                                                         Nong and I.

                                                                    Shuen's bottle.

                                                                  Gillian's bottle.

                                                                    My phone cover.

Day 9 (Sunday 23 Feb 2013) by Gillian

Sundays are always wonderful. Woke up early to a beautiful, cool morning with the sun out, and got to just sit on the balcony and spend some time chit-chatting with God. It's been a while since I've been able to do that, and I've forgotten how nice it is just being in His presence - not praying about anything in particular but just blabbering about anything and everything. And eating my yogurt at the same time. See, that's the awesome thing about talking to God - He can read your mind so you don't actually have to use your mouth when you communicate with Him, and you can go ahead and eat your yogurt without worrying about having to hastily swallow it and reply with something. Such morning chats with God are awesome :)

Worship was uplifting and inspiring. My favourite part about it is that even though we sing in Thai, most of the songs are very familiar, so I still understand what I'm singing and the passion is still there. The sense of unity from being binded together by God's love and the music is an experience like none other, and it just makes me feel so recharged. Joshua delivered a good sermon that morning as well, focusing on a passage in Matthew, reminding us about how God's love is priceless and unconditional.

After that we had a meeting to discuss church matters, followed by a potluck lunch! And oh, what a feast we had. Chicken cutlet, BBQ chicken, stir-fried veggies with garlic, eggplant with minced pork, Chinese dumplings, and sooo much more. The food was cleared out rapidly and the fellowship over lunch was great. Sigh, potluck lunches are such amazing blessings to everyone.

The rest of the afternoon was spent chilling around, and in the evening we headed over to the gym and pool at Grace International. Great facilities, great company. Wi, Kara, Na, and myself went for a very nice swim, and Shuen got to have her first workout at the gym! With the guys and P'Jan (who is ridiculously fit man, it's crazy). She came out feeling so pumped and ready to go. Although..it was 7pm so we weren't going anywhere. HAHA.

We interns went off for dinner with Balloon and Wi, which was really great. Balloon shared his testimony with us, and that was very powerful. It just reminded me of how our God is a loving, capable, and powerful God - and He has such a strong desire for a relationship with each and every one of us. It blows my little mind.

All in all, I'd say it was a good day :) Time spent with God and His people, with so much good food and fun. SORRY NO PHOTOS. Everyone was too busy having fun.

Day 8 (Saturday 22 Feb 2014) by Shuen

At 4 AM, the chickens woke up...... and so did most of us. But no one actually got out of bed till about 7 am. It was already dark when we arrived the night before, so when I woke up, this is the beautiful picture I saw of Balloon's village! 

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A few of us walked down to the farm to pick fresh vegetables for breakfast. When we got back, the food was already beginning to smell great! We had rice porridge with pork, fried garlic, parsley and stir-fried vegetables. 

After our delicious meal, we went for a walk around the village and took in the view of the hills and plantations. We also saw many houses, a school and a church. It was pretty funny that Balloon was related to half of the village and seemed to know everyone we walked past. It was refreshing to see how they live such simple, yet contented lives. It reminded me that in every situation - past, present and future, I have so many reasons to be thankful and joyful for all that God has blessed me with. I am so glad we had the opportunity to take an overnight trip to visit Balloon's village. It was a wonderful experience spent with lovely people!
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When we got back from our walk, we said our goodbyes, packed our stuff and then headed back to Chiang Mai, stopping on the way for lunch.

Once we got back to the Zone, some people rested, while others hung out downstairs. That night, Ben, Wijit, Wi, Karen, Kara, Gillian and I went to a night market that was close to the Zone. On our walk home, we walked past a place that apparently does good Thai massages and so I made a mental note to make sure I go back sometime!

Day 7 (Friday 21 Feb 2014) by Kara

Balloon’s Village

At the beginning of the week, we had made a plan to travel to Balloon’s village.  We have been trying to go for a long time, but the timing never worked out.  The plan was to leave on Friday and come back Saturday afternoon.

We woke up Friday morning and had an excellent equipping time from David Allen, another missionary in Chiang Mai.  He spoke to us about having real faith.  His words were very powerful.  At the end of his talk, he showed us a video about a woman who had real faith.  Here is the video:

After equipping we ate next door at a Thai restaurant.  We ended up with one too many plates, but Ben and Vern quickly solved that problem.

We spent most of the afternoon packing up and getting ready for the trip.  Having a road trip playlist is a must. After packing all the necessities in the truck, we headed off to Balloon’s village.  Some of us rode in the back of the pickup.  We jammed out to music, until our speakers died.  After they died, we decided to sing hymns.  We all chose our favorite hymns and sang them as a group.  It was a blast.  We were glad that speakers died.

 

Here is an awkward bathroom picture that we found on the way up to Balloon's village.

The road to Balloon’s village was both bumpy and curvy.  The sky became dark before we were able to arrive.  We couldn’t really see where we were going, but we could tell we were deep in the hills somewhere.  When we finally arrived, we unloaded all of our stuff into Balloon’s uncle’s living room/kitchen. It was a big open room that was able to fit all of us comfortably, as well as a pit for a fire. We cooked our Mama Noodles (similar to US Ramen) and hung out as a group.  We played cards and talked until about 10.  At 10, we rolled out our sleeping bags and hit the hay.

-Kara

Day 6 (Thursday 20 Feb 2014) by Ben

Thursdays are awesome because we have cell group, The Zone’s midweek meeting that includes a meal, songs, a short lesson, and lots of fellowship.  This Thursday was even better than most because the interns were here and provided company and helped with activities around The Zone. 

After equipping, we hopped in Robert’s truck and headed to the Khao Soi place that he favors.  The red curry with crunchy noodles and meat gets me every time.  There is a guy out front who sells fresh squeezed orange juice.  (Robert got 3 of them) 

After lunch, we came back to The Zone so that everyone who had students could teach for the afternoon.  I taught Sai, a young man from Burma who is studying for his GED so that he can enter college in Thailand.  I have been teaching him for 5 months now.  Last month, he was admitted to the GED program (which is taught in English) and has been coming more frequently for help on his homework.  Today, however, he didn't have much homework and opted to study the Bible with myself and Joshua.  Joshua speaks Burmese and was a real asset in trying to explain some of the concepts from the book of Luke.  We will be teaming up to teach Sai from now on. 

After all the classes were over, the feast began.  Church meals  always taste better.  Then, we sang songs and had a short time of sharing from Wi, a sophomore at Payap.  It all ended with “movie night”. We watched Ender’s Game downstairs on the projector and enjoyed the last few hours of the day.  

Day 5 (Wednesday 19 Feb 2014) by Joshua

I woke up at 7:00 Am. We had equipping at 8:30 to 10:00 Am. After that, Vern, Ben, Eric, and I went to Doi Saket to help with building a wall. We mixed cement with sand and gravel. We mixed half a bag of cement with 10 buckets of sand and gravel. We filled form work with the mixture.

We had grilled chicken., tom yam fish, watermelon, pineapple and rice at 12:00 Pm for lunch. After that, we rested till it was time to fetch the children from school. Ben and Vern went to fetch the students.

At 5:00 Pm we went to the Gethsemane home to teach English to the children. We split up into groups to teach English. My group was in charge of teaching grammar. We played 'takraw' with the children. Before we left, we gathered and sang Open the Eyes of My Heart and prayed together. Then, we came back to the Zone.

Playing takraw

 

Piggy backin'

Vern and Thi Thi

Shuen climbing

Kara's life in Ben's hands.

We decided to go rock climbing. I thought it was going to be a rocky place but it was nothing like I expected it to be. I was very happy because this is my first time. We came back the Zone at 10:00 Pm.

Day 4 (Tuesday 18 Feb 2014) by Vinod

Today was the first day of morning equipping! YAY! I thought we were gonna do the red book but P' Robert decided to do the book on Spiritual Disciplines. It was good. The first topic was on "Into His Presence". We learnt that the purpose of the internship is to let God in and go into His presence so that he can change us. Once we were done with equipping, we headed out to Payap University cafeteria to have lunch. Ben, Shuen and I met two English teachers, Mary and Julia from the States.

My afternoon was spent teaching and getting to know Eric, my student from China. He is a 45 year old guy who came to Chiang Mai for a vacation. It's funny how he got to know about the Zone. It all started with Karen volunteering for Warm Heart Worldwide Foundation by selling scarfs, so while she was selling them she met Eric and they talked. Karen found out that Eric wanted to learn English so she told him that we are offering free English lessons at the Zone. He arrived at the Zone around 1.30 p.m the next day and we talked and got to know each other. Somehow he reminds me of Yoo Jae Suk. (a guy from a Korean show called Running Man)

The highlight of our day was visiting the Doi Saket orphanage. Initially when we arrived we were all anxious as to what to expect. Gillian was a little bit worried because she thought she was not good with kids but as soon as she got off the truck she found a new best friend, Tii Nii. I found a new best friend too!! His name is Ja Yang. We split into groups and taught the children English. I was paired up with this awesome young man who's name is Wijit. We taught the kids about body parts and we sang the 'Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes' song to help reinforce. After that we played a little bit of Takraw and sang some songs. The kids over in the orphanage and sing really well. They sang 'Open the Eyes of My Heart', it was beautiful. Right before we left, Eric asked this question, "How are these kids so happy when they have so little?" It struck me because I had never thought about it. It got me thinking as to how is it possible that the kids can find joy in small things and I, on the other hand, can sometimes feel unhappy even when I have so much? That's when it hit me and I realized that God is an awesome God and he takes care of us no matter what our situation is. It was such a great experience and I bet we all learned a lot. We ended our adventure at a superb noodle stall. (yum yum) Needless to say, I felt so blessed today.

Playing games with the children

More games

                                                  Eric, Ben, Wijit and I with some of the kids.

                                                                  Gillian and Tii Nii.

                                                       The caretakers of the orphanage.

                                          Tii Nii, Fon, myself and another girl. (I forgot her name)

                                                               Shuen and some kids.

Wrangler and I.

Ja Yang and I.