I was staring out the front window of the school’s 12 passenger van on our way to Chiang Mai for a weekend of fun visiting elephants and tigers. We were trying to pass two motorcycles when I saw one of them starting to turn. He didn’t see us at all but Kru Daeng (our contact and driver) slammed on the brakes. I closed my eyes but heard the crash as the motorcycle hit the front of the van and the man rolled up onto the windshield. When I opened my eyes again I didn’t see the man and was sure we had run over him. The van came to a stop and several people jumped out. I stayed in the back and started praying. Thankfully, I saw the man get up and stumble over to the side of the road. I was shocked he could even move! Hilary, a NICU nurse, did an evaluation the best she could and came to the conclusion that he only had some scrapes and bruises. Again, I was shocked and completely in awe of the miracle we had witnessed. I finally got out of the van as the 80 year old man, Achom, was getting in to his son’s truck to be taken to the hospital for an official check-up. I asked if we could pray for him and Kru Daeng informed me that he was a Christian! In a country that is 98% Buddhist, we were in an accident with a man who believes in Jesus Christ. We prayed for him before he left and then turned our attention to the van. There was a good bit of body damage to the front and the windshield had a large crack from where his head hit. We noticed something was leaking and initially thought it was the coolant from the radiator. After some more investigation (Thai cars are a little bit trickier than American ones), we realized it was just the windshield wiper fluid! The van was working fine and we decided to continue on with our fun filled weekend.
We went to Maetan Elephant Camp and saw an elephant show, went on an ox-cart ride, rode the elephants, and went on a bamboo rafting adventure down the river along side elephants bathing and chilling on the banks. Then we went to Tiger Kingdom and got to hang out with the big cats. They were pretty intimidating. During all our fun, Kru Daeng got a call from Achom’s son, informing him that Achom went to the hospital and everything checked out okay. He only had some cuts and bruises. We spent the night in Chiang Mai and went to church before heading back to Mae Ai. We stopped to visit with Achom and his family on the way and they invited us in to their little internet café. We learned that Achom was the first Christian in his village and all his family has recently come to know the Lord. He told us, “I would be dead if not for God.” He has an incredible testimony and we had the opportunity to pray over he and his family again. We encouraged him to stay strong in his faith because it is obvious that the Lord still has more for him to do on this earth. I love meeting people on the race and seeing the Lord work in their lives. I am constantly reminded of His faithfulness and love for people all over the world.
We are back in Mae Ai, a rural village in northern Thailand where we are teaching English at the local Buddhist school. It has been great to be back in the classroom and Thailand is absolutely beautiful! Two teammates and myself will be heading back to Chiang Mai in just a few days to meet up with our parents who will be spending a week with us doing ministry and experiencing a little of the Race. Please pray for safety as they travel and for our time together in Chiang Mai. Can’t wait to update you on my time with them. Thanks for your prayers and support!
P.S. Several of my teammates are still in need of financial support. The final deadline has passed and they need as much prayer and support as possible so they can stay on the field. Please pray and consider supporting them financially.
Nick Cummings ($4,000 short)
Hilary Rogers ($3,400 short)
Zach Murphy ($2,800 short)
Anna Jepson ($600 short)
P.P.S. (For Becky) Laundry this month is pretty awesome! I fill up the wash basin with the water hose, put in my clothes and soap, then turn on the spin cycle for about 15 minutes. I drain in then do the same thing again but without the soap so it will rinse. Then I move it to the air spinner to get most of the water out and the whole machine shakes and moves around the room. Then I take my clothes out and hang them in our bedroom to dry (we can’t really hang them outside because we are living at the school and there are kids everywhere). So yeah, nice to not have to do it by hand!
Here are a few pictures from the weekend!
