Thailand- Day #1

The shear magnitude of what could be included in this post, is exactly what has kept me from posting about it. I've been procrastinating due to the many experiences and hundreds of pictures I could share about. I hardly know where to begin. That, and the fact that so many people have said they're dying to hear about our trip, but when we start to get into the details, they seem to kind of 'glaze over' and seem totally uninterested (though there have been a few exceptions to this.) And I guess I understand it a little bit. When you haven't been there, experiencing it for yourself, it just isn't quite as captivating. But I must admit that its left us a little deflated and not as quick to share.

None the less, I know there are many of you out there that actually are interested to hear about our vision trip to Thailand, and so... this is for you. Finally. Thank-you for your patience :)

I'll break it down a day at a time so as not to overwhelm you...

The trip over there was LONG but thankfully, pretty uneventful. Callie was an even better traveller than I could have ever asked for. I didn't even have to nurse her during take-off & landings. She was either asleep already, or totally un-bothered by the altitude change. She was happy during the long flights and slept really well in the provided bassinets. We flew Vancouver to Tokyo and then Tokyo to Bangkok. It was a total of about 18 hours of flying (in which I only slept about 2 hours combined) and then once we arrived in Bangkok, we had an hour car ride to Chonburi, where we finally settled into our guest house. By the time we got settled & into bed, it was about 3:00am local time. I was extremely concerned for Callie because after 19 hours of travelling, and roughly an 8 or 9 hour time change, the fact that we had to be downstairs for breakfast by 9am and off to a soccer camp by 10am, was a little disconcerting. But... much to my surprise, she went right to sleep and switched over to the new time change as if it was nothing. She was up and happy the next morning and ready & raring to go. All I can attribute it to is the power of prayer! We definitely felt your prayers, specifically for Callie, so thank-you!!!!

Jon & Callie watching morning cartoons at the Vancouver airport...

Our first day in Thailand included helping out with a soccer camp at a local school (the YWAM group that was there was running it), touring through AngSila (a community within Chonburi, where Team 2000 has planted a new church), enjoying an authentic Thai lunch at the beach, orientation with Ricky Sanchez and an evening of shopping & perusing the Bangsaen night markets. It was a long day considering we were dealing with jet-lag and extreme heat (it was winter time while we were there but it was still usually around +35 celcius or more with the humidity every day). We quickly realized that sweat was just a new part of our every day wardrobe, and there was no getting around it. :)

One of the very first things we learned about Thai people (by personal experience) was the fact that they LOOOOVE white babies. Honestly, there are no words to describe the infatuation they had for both Callie, and her little buddy, Solas (son to Tracy & Cecil- one of the couples on our team). And we're not just talking about Thai kids. It was anyone, any age, any gender. They all flocked to the babies, wherever we went, and always touched them. Whether it was squeezing their legs, or holding their hands, or even asking to hold them... the babies were in constant limelight. Surprisingly (and much to our relief), Callie didn't seem to mind. I thought that having a million and one hands touching her constantly, and faces right up close to hers would upset her, but she just seemed puzzled and curious about her audience.

Tracy & Solas getting ready for some soccer.

I love Solas' shades...

Our team getting the low-down from Ricky...

This was a very common sight throughout our trip.

Not necessarily the part of Callie being held by a Thai person, but definitely the attention part... :)

AngSila soccer camp...

Touring through AngSila.

Boats being built by local workers...

Walking through the AngSila markets...

(Jon, Callie & Paul- one of our team members)

Karen Sanchez giving us a demonstration of one of the market drink specialties...

Traditional Thai lunch at Bangsaen beach...

The food was IN-credible...

This looks a lot like cooked bugs but it was actually delicious BBQ'ed chicken...

SO good...

"Hey Mommy.

It sure is hot here!

I'm lovin' this naked freedom right now." ;)

The ladies that cooked the meat for our lunch...

Cooling off back at the guest house.

We took a little blow-up travel tub with us. Callie loved relaxing in it every evening...

The view from our room at the guest house...

So, most of the first day was spent seeing the local area and hearing a bit about the Thai people & their culture.

Highlight for Day 1-- It was really neat watching/interacting with the kids at the soccer camp. A lot of them come from very poor families so it was fun to see them enjoying themselves playing soccer with the YWAM team. It was a free camp for the local children & it seemed to be a big success. The kids were able to enjoy playing soccer, doing relays & hearing testimonies from the YWAM'ers. All in all, a good start to the trip.