Funniest moment
Paul – When our contact Somchart asked us if we knew how to fix bicycles, our team leader Wade replied, “umm… I’m going to have to say no.” Later that day, Dan and I fixed broken bikes!
Katrina – Looking back, it was probably our first night in Bangkok – our team went to the biggest market in the country that afternoon and got lost on the way home. We tried to take the sky-rail and a bus before finally convincing a taxi driver to take 6 of us at once. Then we had so much trouble communicating with him that we ended up going in the complete opposite direction to what we needed. It took over 3 hours to get back, but we finally made it!
Paul – Seeing the orphanage kids sing at the front of church every Sunday morning. It is so pure and real.
Katrina – Paul and I were able to get away for a few days this month to have some quality “married time”; it’s a luxury on the race. We earnestly prayed for our marriage and God moved immediately. Amen.
Best thing I ate
Paul – Hmm… the right answer is pad thai, but, I just loved all the food because it was oh so spicy and delicious, especially the cauliflower for breakfast… mmm!
Katrina– Pad thai (as amazing as you can imagine it would be!), noodle soup (served at roadside noodle shops with plastic chairs, your choice of noodles and meat with surprise meat balls – at first, we were so hesitant because we had no idea what we were eating, but it is oh so delicious, especially with extra chili peppers, bean sprouts and hot sauce!), and double drink (My favourite bottled beverage. Flavour = butterfly pea and berry).
Craziest thing we did
Paul – Using a chainsaw to completely destroy a huge pile of firewood that needed to be chopped. Let me paint you a picture here. The chainsaw was kind of broken and would turn off if you didn’t have it going at full blast. So, Dan and Wade would keep feeding me logs while I sweat buckets in the hot sun trying to cut as much wood before the chainsaw broke again. It was so fun just working hard and sweating for the day.
Katrina – RODE ELEPHANTS!! For $3!! It was such a wobbly ride. Afterwards we got so close we could touch them; it was kind of scary standing beside such a huge creature and their trunks made me giggle like a 5-year old.
Who we’re going to miss the most
Paul – The boys we played soccer with almost every night. They would be at school till 4pm then get home to get there cleats on and we would literally play until there was no sunlight left to see the ball.
Katrina – The pre-teen and teenage girls; they were shy, but so beautiful and loving. We bonded when I shared pictures of family and when we sewed fabric purses together.
Something I learned
Paul – That even though you may not speak a lick of the Thai language, that showing true love for these kids goes past any communication barriers.
Katrina – Gardening can be a very peaceful activity. It was a great time to pray and worship the Creator of all things.
Most challenging moment
Paul – Staying positive everyday while doing little tasks around the property. Some days we would be shaving bark off of bamboo, sometimes picking weeds in the garden or chopping firewood.
Katrina – There was a lot of miscommunication with our ministry host. He assumed that we were wealthy Americans who would be bringing an extra $1000 to do a construction project. So when he found out that wasn’t the case, we were put to work with a lot of menial tasks. He viewed gender very stereotypically and wanted the boys to do all the hard work while we women cleaned up their messes. We allowed it for a few days but were quick to pick up the machetes and show that we were just as capable.
Most fun moment
Paul – Hiking a mountain for 30 minutes to get to a 70 metre waterfall. It was gorgeous!
Katrina– I loved riding in the back of his pickup truck through the beautiful northern hills of Thailand! It’s an incredible country and I hope to go back one day. I also really loved the night markets – it was such a cool cultural experience with art, music, lights, food and handicrafts!
Most rewarding moment
Paul – Seeing our contacts 2 year old daughter warm up to us after crying every time she saw us cause she was scared of white people… gotta stop being so scary!
Katrina– Teaching English and having the kids participate in our games. They were so eager to learn and it was rewarding when we realized how much they had learned because we were there.
Most beautiful site
Katrina– On one of our days off, we went to Khunkorn Waterfall and hiking in a national park. It was such a beautiful hike through the jungle with wild bamboo growing everywhere. The waterfall was 75 metres tall and freezing cold but I braved the temperature and took a shower by its’ mighty power.
