If you are as old as me you will remember dialup, then we had a much faster system and now we expect to have a connection that surpasses the speed of light! Many of us have our phones connected to the internet for easy access to the internet for all sorts of thing. Me, I’m a little old fashioned. I prefer to use my phone for phone calls. Funny that. Mind you I also use the camera, music and contacts. Coming overseas I’ve needed to download communications apps like Viber, What’s app and then in Cambodia I was living with Koreans and they had Kakao Talk so I got that too. On arriving in Thailand I was told that LINE was what is needed to communicate! Will it ever end and why can’t everyone just use one?
All these apps of course all run off an internet connection so if you, like me have limited internet on your phone you depend on the free wifi w
hich fortunately outside Australia is available at most cafés and restaurants. Praise the Lord it has also been available at all of the places I have stayed although usually intermittently due to one thing or another. At Hod I have not been disappointed I’ve been able most days to access wifi but recently, possibly due to the extreme heat it has become more and more difficult to access the network. Of course it is now that I need to pay some bills in Oz and I’m waiting on some important emails. I’ve also bought two online e-books which are usually delivered straight to my tablet but as yet they have not arrived possibly due to the weak connection. The past few days have been very frustrating waiting for a strong enough connection to send and receive emails. Today nothing but a yellow triangle with an ‘!’ or if there is a connection I’m told ‘limited’ which basically means a signal but not strong enough for you to access! Some things really try my patience!
Fortunately this morning I’m told there is someone coming out today sometime to check the connection for us. I just need a bit more patie
nce now and God willing it will be done before the end of the day. Things can work very slowly here, no one ever seems to be in a hurry. Oh look I have two bars and wow my email has arrived. Praise the Lord!
Now here’s a funny story of when I misunderstood the local Thai. Maew usually puts some lunch aside for me as I have been having two meals a day, breaky and lunch at 2pm. I usually go down to the kitchen and see what she has left for me. Today I walked passed the office to see there was a meeting on. I realised Maew must have forgotten my lunch as there wasn’t anything left out as usual. I decided to walk to the local roadside stall which I knew was there from my morning jog. It was a hot walk and I passed a few places that looked like they had closed after lunch, many people sleep in the heat of the day. I came to one stall and inquired what she had. She sold larp and curry. Ok, I like both of these and it seemed the only meat was beef or that’s what I thought. There was no rice left which was ok as there was some at the home. She dished me up the larp from the ice chest? Hmmm that 
is a bit strange I thought as larp is usually minced beef cooked mixed with fresh spices. My order was put into a plastic bag and tightly sealed with an elastic band before putting into another plastic bag with some fresh vegies. I paid and took my very red cold packet home. I put two spoonfuls into a bowl which turned blood red, it was then I realised what I has earlier suspected. It was beef but I had missed a very important word ‘blood’. I had just brought back a traditional northern dish, fresh beef blood larp! Now having been warned not to eat raw meat of any kind I decided to decline this delicacy. Instead I fired up a couple of eggs and warmed up the leftovers from breakfast to eat with the rice. That will teach me not to go on my instincts and to listen carefully when making an order!
Maew apologised later for forgetting my lunch and laughed at my story. She asked if I would like the larp cooked. I told her she was welcome to it. I’m not really into eating blood of any description raw or cooked unless of course it’s part of my rare steak. That’s how I DO enjoy it!
At night due to the bugs that are attracted to the light, I usually don’t turn on the inside lights even though I have n
etting on the windows as some bugs and mosquitoes always seem to find a way in. The sun sets around 6:45pm and it’s still light till around 7:30 so I have light enough to wash and prepare for bed. If I’ve come back in the dark I leave the outside light on while I bathe. I used to sit outside and read or work on the computer but even with repellent I was eaten alive or annoyed by the flying bugs so I stopped doing that. Also I didn’t want to leave the outside light on for too long as the bugs also attracted the geckos. There were none of the large noisy geckos in or near the house and I didn’t want to attract any either. I valued my sleep more than having light. It’s amazing what occupies your mind once you have nothing to distract you. It was a great time to pray for all my friends and family.
Sunday Pastor Sombat and his wife invited me to join them at a small local village church. Before the service Pastor Sombat baptised a member in the nearby dam before returning to the church to preach. He was the guest speaker this week, one of the pastors at the home is the regular pastor and oversees about 20 people. After church we cleared away the chairs and sat on the floor to eat lunch before returning to the home in Hod. Some of the girls gathered around while Ps Sombat presente
d me with a gift of thanks. A Karan national costume. I felt I really hadn’t done much to receive such a lovely gift.
My bags were packed, the house swept and I was ready to go. I left my heavy suitcase with a box to be taken into Chiang Mai when Pastor Sombat went in this week and took a smaller bag, my tablet and backpack with me to Mae Sariang, the capital of Mae Hong Son province. I arrived at our rendezvous outside the 7/11 store to wait for Fay. As I jumped out she must have seen me and jumped out of the car beside us to our right. She too had only just arrived. We then chatted all the way up the mountains to Emmanuel Home the boarding house she had established over 15yrs ago. It was opposite a tertiary college where some of the boys studied. These young men are from Karen families in the mountains bordering Myanmar.
That night I was introduced to the house parents and ate with the boys boarding here before returning with Fay to her home. Fay had a lovely room prepared for me on the second floor which overlooks the fields which stretched out towards the mountains. It was very picturesque especially when the rays streaked the sky in pink with the setting of the sun or the morning clouds hung low over the valley.
Tuesday 19 May, Fay took me into to Mae Sariang which is a town in Mae Hong Son Province, Northern Thailand. Located near the Myanmar border, the town is slowly becoming popular with those wanting to trek away from the crowds. Here she took me to the hospital where she used to work when she first came to Thailand. The hospital has been converted to a Christian Centre for the Development of People with Disabilities (CDPD). We were shown around 
then bought some of the products that were made by the children here. Fay then shouted me lunch which was at a local Thai restaurant and was very nice.
During my time here I was able to share the Word at the evening devotions as well as help Fay out with some computer skills. I really enjoy her company and wonderful hospitality. It was a lovely break for me especially as most of the time I was here there were periods of rain which ushered in the rainy season and the cooler weather.
Today, 21st of May, I’m traveling back to Chiang Mai on the 11am bus which God willing will arrive around 2pm.
Pictures: 1. Sunset over the mountains Mae Sariang 2. Mae Saring lizard 3. Large green beetle 4. Members of Karen Church at Baptism 5. Karen Church Baptism 6. Hod students and Ps Sombat giving me a farewell gift 7. Fellowship at Mae Saring
Prayer & Praise Points:
Please continue to pray for all the Lord’s workers here both the locals and the missionaries who are faithful to His calling.
Please pray for the Lord to make it clear where He would like me to visit after Chiang Mai. I continue to praise Him for His leading and guidance since coming to Thailand for all the places He has lead me to. I have truly been blessed.
Praise the Lord for ongoing good health and safety during my travels.
Please continue to pray for my mother’s ongoing health. She is very well at the moment having just turned 88!
Thank you all for standing with me in prayer as I continue on my adventure.