"Search for the Lord and for His strength; continually seek Him." I Chronicles 16:11

Saturday, January 8, 2011

Our First Complete Day

How could it get any better than to have the first full 24 hour day in our new country be Sabbath?! After a good, very sweet night of rest, (it is so wonderful to have bedtime and rest, horizontally after over 24 hours in mostly a sitting position!  Even Davis, the one who states, "I'm not tired", most of the time, responded to the question during worship of "something that we were thankful for", said, "For rest")!   After personal worships, family worship and a breakfast with Rose Apples, papaya, fresh pineapple and mangosteens, we headed for church about 30 minutes away.

The church here in Ayutthaya, is located on an island, in a business section.  The sanctuary is upstairs and the area where they have fellowship meals is downstairs in the Buddist Study Center office.  It is small but cozy with air-conditioning! Scott Griswold translating during Sabbath School and one of the young pastors translated during the sermon time.  For the sermon we along with the Knecht family were asked to share in about 15 minutes each, "How God has Lead to Bring Us to Thailand".  Afterwards they gave baptismal certificates to the two women that were baptized on Christmas.  The team was so excited to see this fruit of their labors and God's tender wooing.  There were many tears.

I counted how many people were present: 15 Asians (Thai, Filippinos, and East Indians), and 18 Farongs or Americans. One of the Pastor wives who was SS Superintendent, while welcoming said (per translating), they were excited to have all the foreigners so they could have foreigner food during the fellowship meal!  That was a different thought for my mind!

We ate a very fun, a bit spicy, delicious vegetarian meal. Visiting with the various people while we ate.  After lunch Scott was taking anyone who wanted to go to pass out tracts. So our children along with all the children and various adults headed out, but before they left, Scott came back in to make an announcement.  Unknown to us, the church group had taken up a collection of money to give to us to send us off on our mission.  How amazing, here in the mission field where money is tight, they took up a collection for us to help with the mission work we were going to be doing.  Several times during this preparing time, we have been given money from missionaries.  They are the ones that truly understand the need for more laborers in the field to help with the harvest. Tears were present as all this went through my mind on their sweet and generous gift!

My ankles have been having a hard time with the long time sitting with them dependent (hanging down) and not being able to walk as I need to, they have been swelling.  So M & M, along with Miew, Laren and myself took our tracts and headed to a beautiful park where we could walk and pass our tracts out.  It was so pleasant!  What beautiful trees, flowers, birds and bridges.  It was near old temple ruins, large ruins. We saw elephants giving people rides (for a fee of course), small ponies pulling people in carriages, several medium - small Water Monitor lizards and one larger one and people we could share our tracts with. Laren and Marilee were enjoying everything that reminded them of Africa and reminiscing. What fun it was to see them together enjoying their sibling relationship.

After both groups finished we made a plan to met at the elephant corrals.  There were lots of babies and the two smallest were 2 and 3 months old!  So cute!  One ran all around us, rubbing up against us to be petted, checking us out with his trunk, exploring everything around him.  It made you want to just be able to take him home!!  We got to go down to the river and watch several elephants taking their baths, obeying very well their trainers commands!  We would like to go again sometime on a weekday so we could ride one.  Don't know if that will happen since we head north Sunday a.m.  There was a couple there with their baby boy, around 9 months, taking pictures, riding the elephant, enjoying it all.  Scott began a conversation with them and found out the Thai man's father was a Christian and lives in Ayutthaya.  So Scott wanted to met him.  Thai Christians are rare with their culture so intwined with Buddism.  We found out later that the young Thai mans wife, who was American was Mormon.  She and her husband live in Utah.  Her brother who is also Mormon and lives in Utah had some health issues and ended up going to Weimar for the Life Style program. He is now very interested in the health message and what Seventh-day Adventists believe. What a Divine appointment! All while watching and enjoying God's large creatures, the elephants!

M & M had a Bible study to go to after the elephant corral and then a funeral.  So we transferred over with the Griswolds and Knechts and headed to the Griswolds for an evening of games and fellowships which had been planned on Friday. After worship we began the various activities the Griswold children (and parents), and planned for us.  What a fun time we had as families being together, enjoying our children's joy and all of our deepening friendships.  We played, we ate, we visited, we laughed, we grew closer, but the time came when we needed to leave as we still are working on the jet lag issue and it was time to go to bed. Now it was time to say good-bye as we would leave early Sunday morning.  What a special Sabbath and day in every way!  Wouldn't you say is was a great day for an anniversary?  Laren and I  met on an island as student missionaries and here we were 22 years later, celebrating again on an island, in the mission field.  A very special first 24 hour day!

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