Hi Friends and Family,
I am going to frantically write this blog update since the power is going on and off (thunder storm outside) and I am in the remote, western mountains of Thailand doing “Man-istry”.
Team Luminous was together during the first week of April, helping out at the Garden of Hope (check “My Links” section on left) with their pizza party, children’s drop-in center and english teaching classes. So many opportunities, such a vision…I think many folks on the team want to come back some day to help out again. Did you hear…a fully stocked restaurant in Singapore closed down and DONATED all their equipment (serving bowls, ice maker, baking trays, etc.) to the Garden…what a blessing!
Last week Monday, Benny and I headed out to the Mountains of Thailand to join up with the other 11 guys on our squad to help with Manistry. It is totally beautiful out here! Our first day of ministry consisted of driving an hour through the river / road to this remote mountain village to bring a finalle to a 3 day long youth conference…our goal was to teach them some games and have fun! …but when overseas…always be prepared to be shoved on stage and asked to share a few words of encouragement and a song. We pulled it off like a bunch of World Race rock stars. Another highlight so far was defeating the Thai national soccer team (well, almost) with their own home field advantage. Man, some of those guys have canon’s for feet! Check out some of the scenery and painting work we missed at another Dave’s blog site http://davebrown.theworldrace.org/?filename=pictures-from-the-village
Today, we (Benny and I) just returned from a trip to Burma (Myanamar) so that we could come back into Thailand and get another 15 day visa (but it will still run out before we leave Thailand on May 5 or 6…we just love Thailand so much!). It was quite an adventure crossing the bridge in the rain, spending 2 of our 3 hours with a “tour guide” never leaving our side and then finding a guesthouse in the rain back on the Thai side. It all became worth while when we found out that there was a Canadian restaurant in town. Canadian burger (at least 1 lb.) with Canadian back bacon (ham) and cheese was just what we needed to cut through the cold and remind us of our own version of The Shire (Did you know Benny was born in Three Hills, AB, Canada!?!)
April 26 begins our Thailand debrief, where all the scattered teams, separated couples and our spectacular coaches, Mike and Patti, get together for some incredible worship, check in time and relaxing by the beach. I really hope there will be a beach volleyball net close by!
Oh…and if you were wondering where our next month of adventure will be…Team Luminous is heading to Vietnam!
