So December was a VERY busy month for us! Sweet December, followed by the King's birthday weekend extravaganza, then a trip to Mae Sot (4 hours on a super windy, hilly road) to take care of work permit stuff, then that very same week, H2O had an huge Christmas outreach on December 16th! There were about 300 hundred people here. People from a nearby refugee camp were brought in, people were sleeping everywhere! It was interesting. Also during this time, they had a group of people from Singapore here doing a teaching on cell groups, a lot was going on. The outreach was a pretty big production. They had a stage set up in the back, TONS of food was prepared for 3 days straight, huge speakers brought in... I was surprised. Throughout the whole ordeal, Doris and I were kind of lost in the sauce bystanders. We did help decorate the stage though! So much was going on and since we do not speak the language, it is difficult to get in and help out. After that, H2O was pretty much done with Christmas. That was one whole week before Christmas. I was hoping to maybe open gifts with the kids on Christmas morning, but they had already received any gifts they were gonna get. I guess things are just not done like back home. As an aside, Thailand is a Buddhist country, so they allow people to celebrate whatever holidays they want, but on a national level, Christmas is not celebrated. This means no wide spread decorations or talk about it. The week after the outreach was uneventful.On Christmas Eve, we went to a refugee camp. There are a total of 9 along the Thai-Burma border (I will give more information about this in another post later). There is a family in town that we know very well and that is where they used to live, they now rent a house in Umphang (although they still have their house in the refugee camp and are registered there). We spent the night there, so that was how I spent my Christmas. It was actually quite sad being there. There are literally thousands of people who live there and they have nothing to do and nowhere to go. Their houses are constructed in the most rudimentary fashion, made of bamboo. It was very cold the night we slept there and no houses in Thailand have heat and these houses aren't even completely closed in. We slept on the floor with a mosquito net around us. I was pretty bundled up too. In the morning when I went to brush my teeth, I did not understand where they were directing me to go to do it... they were pointing to the "kitchen" area. I was like, but where do it spit? They said right there, on the floor of the house, just wash it through the floor. I was a bit overwhelmed by their living conditions and quality of life. I was depressed being there. I did meet some very nice people though. No matter how little they have, they try to give you something, it is a very kind gesture. We attended a church service on Christmas where they asked Doris and I to share a little bit so we did. They they served lunch. Afterwards, we walked around the camp and we went home a little later. The following day a missionary who has been serving here in Thailand for 52 years came to town, so we went out with him and his group. They were in the general area for 1 week and through a couple we know here who used to work with him, we were able to partake in their outreach. It was a really wonderful time and very refreshing. We went to a village near the Burma border. It is quite isolated, so a lot of the people still retain their traditional ways. We drove for 2 hours, then had to transfer to a 4 wheel drive, there is no other car that would be able to make the next 1 hour drive. The road itself was just cut last year. when there was no road back in the day, Allen, the missionary would travel by boat, then elephant. If there was no car available, we would have to walk and it would have taken up to 4 hours! Allen is 80 years old and last walked in August! (When I refer to walking, I am talking only about the last road we drove on for 1 hour.) However, the teenagers still have a way of being "modern"! Some had their hair dyed blond, some wore skinny jeans, it never ceases to amaze me! Sadly, many young kids there smoke too. There is a beautiful waterfall there that I ended up climbing down (which I was not expecting to do!) and there are pools at the bottom to swim in. We slept there that night. We went home the next day then met back up with the team the following day, which was New Years Eve. Allen was visiting the people that he has ministered to for the last 50 years. It was really nice getting to meet these people. They shared their testimonies of how they came to know Jesus, we sang and ate. For New Years, we were hoping to spend it with friends at their house with the team, but we had to go out to a church for a few hours. I was so tired! We eventually went home and I was in bed by 11:30pm. I had been sick since just after Thanksgiving with a cold that just wouldn't quite. By this point, I was going through rolls of toilet paper just blowing my nose all of the time. I think my cold got worse when I slept in the camp and in the village. We slept on the floor and it was cold both times.By New Years Eve, I developed a sore throat and a fever. But No rest for the weary, we were up the next morning to go back to Mae Sot for a visa run! Thank God Allen and his team were heading out that day, we got a ride with them instead of in the blue car.... I think I would have died! I went to the doctor in Mae Sot and was put on antibiotics. Doing much better now but the cold is still lingering a bit.
Sorry I do not have any pictures to show you, my computer with the pictures is dead :-( Also, you have been cheated out of more detail since so much is clumped together, sorry. There is still more to tell, so I will try to post several times this next week until you are all caught up!
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