WOW….what a week what a week. i don’t know really where to start and fill you in, so i will do my best. i think the last time most of you heard from me, i was about to catch a bus and go to a remote island…well….let me start there…
so i left the comfort of my cozy internet cafe, met up with the rest of the world racers (and a few other people) and we all (about 30 of us) were off to a tropical island. little did we know just how tropical, little did we know just how much of an island. we loaded ALL of our bags and us in the back of a large covered pick up truck and we were off for our 1hr ride to the boat. we spent 1hr riding in the back of this truck. it was so hot…i mean hot….hot…hott!!!! and we were all crowded in together, sitting, standing, in laps, you can only imagine.
so we get to the boat and look out on the ocean and it is the most gorgeous view ever. we look at the boat that us and our stuff is about to go on and it looks just like survivor. we loaded everything on (it is only by the grace of God that we did not sink) and head over to the island. on the way over, i have never felt so much like i was in a scene in survivor. the boat looked just like it, the islands all around it, and the fact that we were headed into the middle of nowhere and that’s what it was an island in the middle of nowhere. but i have to say, it was so exciting.
we finally get there and it is absolutely breath taking. a small island, with 6 small villages, all wrapped up in cultural life, it was great. we stayed in small bungalows the first night with no air, no running water, squattie potties, and electricity for only about 6hrs a day. after the first night in this place, hot, with tons of bugs, and the lord only knows what else, we decided it would be better to camp outside, so for the next 4 nights we do just that. it was awesome (yes…totally NOT me…but i loved it).
while we were on the island, we were able to do some amazing ministry (that i can not say alot about) and have some fun too. i had a “motor bike” accident and have two huge bruises on my knees, and then was riding one again and touched the muffler and burned my leg and now have a “thai tattoo”…at night, we would gather around the fire together and cook out food, prawns, crabs, and anything else we could get our hands on that day…fun times, fun times. all i have to say though is that island was incredible, the lord is working, he used us, and the ways he blessed us were incredible.
sunday was our sabbath day so we took this time to go and see the “hidden beach”. we took a boat about 20 minutes out where we had to jump out, and swim to a cave, where we had to go through in the pitch black dark, but then come out on the other side with the most beautiful setting…it was a private/hidden beach. it was incredible.
monday morning, bright and early at 6am we woke up and got ready to leave our little paradise. it was sad to go, but we were all excited because we were about to begin a major “race”. the boat (this time 2 so we didnt sink) and the truck (2 of these as well) took us back to trang where we were given a list of things that had to be completed upon arrival in phucket. the team who finished all this first won.
well..as soon as the paper was handed to us, we (the brown team) were off. we found a truck that would let us ride in the back and we piled us and all of our “crap” in and we were off on our journey. we chose to go and do the elephant riding first. on our way there (about 4 hrs away) it started to storm so jessica, anita, and i got completely soaked, it was so cold. it finally quit raining and we were almost dry when the storm came again…no fun…but don’t you worry, we got to where the elephants were and they had already closed. anita and i sweet talked them for about 20 minutes and the finally let us in. as soon as they did, the lime team came up and red and blue…hahaha…we beat them all and they were now “stuck” and had to wait until the next day to ride.
we did our ride and now we were off to climb 3,000 stairs to the top of a temple. we did this too…the place was 2 hrs away, so we got there at 11pm and friske, paul, and anita climbed those stairs in a little over an hour. now we had to get back to phucket and get to the beach and swim to an island and get out flag before everyone else.
the race was really on now…along the way were small challenges like, buy a souvenir shirt, a ball, a “loud frog”, tell about buddhism and christianity, translate a verse into thai…etc etc…AND eat a cricket, locust, or roach and a worm…
we finally find the beach at 5am and realize we still have not eaten the “bugs”…so our search for the bugs was on. we could not find them anywhere. one lady was in her yard chopping leaves off her banana tree so we could eat her worms, we were on our knees in the grass looking for grasshoppers. we finally made it to a “market” and found locusts and worms. YEAH!!!!
so we were now off to meet the rest of the team and “eat” with them and swim so we can finish the race. so we did our “eat”….this was absolutely disgusting. the locust was not cooked (just dead) AND when i put the worm in my mouth it was still moving…yes it was alive. i could not believe i did it, but i did and as soon as all the team did, anita was off to do our swim across the ocean to the island.
after a couple of minutes, we looked over and she had our flag waving it in the air…we WON!!! we could not believe it. it was so great…this race was so much fun and so close. but for the first time brown team actually WON!!!!!
so for those of you who have been wondering where in the world we have been the past week, that was a very quick update. we are now in phucket resting up from our race (i am now going on 43hrs…NO sleep) and will meet back up again tomorrow to start ministry here in phucket. i hope to be in contact often, now that i am back in civilization.
we have tons of beautiful pics…problems with the camera, i promise they will come soon.
