Perils of a Sojourner

The last few days of my stay in Mae Sariang came with a bit of a shock and surprise.  The day after the funeral I went with Mae Wanchai into the market where I had to borrow some money for although I thought I had some with me, it wasn’t enough. When we returned, I went to my stash of cash only to find all but a few Aust dollars were left and no Thai baht even though I had just withdrawn some before coming to Mae Sariang.  I was puzzled and looked all over thinking I had maybe put them somewhere else.  I turned everything inside out but nothing turned up.  Hmmmm now I was getting worried and started to think maybe I had been robbed.  But where? Had I put the money in my purse? After a stressful few hours we committed it to the Lord.  I had gone over and over in my mind till it was all just a blur of could or maybe’s.  On returning to Chiang Mai I went through everything in the bag I had left behind just in case I’d stashed it there but nothing turn up there either.  The whole event was very bazaar.

My prayers are that the culprit would be convicted and come to repentance.

It had recently been raining heavily and as night fell the frogs and the native bird (which sounds like a monkey) began their nightly chorus. The world around me hadn’t changed, but within was a niggling sense of uncertainty. I brought these thoughts under control and submitted myself to the Lord. Through this experience I have seen it is the Lord and He alone who is my provider and it’s in Him I trust.

Then, just as I was about to post this chapter of my life I read this:

‘May God Himself restore to you something you lost and never thought you’d get back again. May He heal a soul wound you thought you’d never get over. May He pour out an abundance of joy and hope that makes you celebrate before the answer comes. And may thriving, rich faith mark your life in every way. You have access to the Most High God. May you live accordingly. Have an expectant day today!’

My response? AMEN! The Lord is amazing in the way something comes up to encourage at just the right time.

That Sunday we had an amazing day of activities at the church. It started as usual with the prayer, bible study and the morning service then continued with a fellowship lunch and a fun activity afternoon. The highlight was the welcome of three new believers to the congregation and in the afternoon a Karen tribesman who played on his hand made guitar.

During my stay at the Emmanuel Home, I mentioned in a previous blog, I had helped plant vegetable seeds which were brought over by another Australian visitor. Just before I left these seeds had germinated.  Springing forth from the mud and mire where they had laid dormant, they were brought to life by a little water and warmth.  Up they came raising their lush green leaves towards the light.   I love gardening.  I love to see this amazing journey of life from a dormant seed.  Mind you, I also enjoy the harvest and the feasting that comes from it but not this time.  It was time for me to move on and leave the harvest and feasting to others.

I was back in Chiang Mai on Monday afternoon.  Tuesday afternoon, with map in hand I boarded a yellow song tao.  Mornings are usually my time to catch up on computer and other stuff, afternoons set aside for exploring and the like.  Today I decided to venture out to see where the yellow song tao would take me.  I had been as far as the Airport Plaza but wanted to know where else it went and for how much.  After my first yellow song tao trip, which cost me 100 baht on a route I can’t remember, to the green bus station to catch a bus to Chiang Rai, I decided this time I would find out what the real price into the city was.  I later found out that this particular yellow song tao had taken me slightly off their normal route and this is why I was charged the extra farung (westerners) tax.

The road the River Hotel was on was south, which was a direct route into the old city of Chiang Mai which is surrounded by a square moat. The city sits astride the Ping River, a major tributary of the Chao Phraya River which flows through Bangkok. Chiang Mai means “new city” and was founded in 1296.  The city walls were constructed to keep the city safe from danger.  Much of the wall has been destroyed during past wars and invasion but parts have been restored including the five gates and bridges into the city.  Each gate, corner and the two fortress are named. Local Chiang Mai people traditionally believed that the city’s guardian angels reside at each gate and corner, and they maintained the city’s prosperity and fertility. Every year a ceremony was held to worship them.

The yellow song tao entered the city through one of the ancient south gates and passed right through the ancient city, passing many temples before exiting through the northern gate.  From here we continued north turning right at the Chang Phueak Hospital before turned back towards the old city to follow the moat east towards the river and finally south where we eventually stopping at the Warorot Market.  It was here we all disembarked.  I back tracked to a fruit market we had just passed to look for some bananas and durian.  Then from Warorot Market I asked around to make sure I was catching the right yellow song tao home.  A local taxi driver asked where I wanted to go and quoted me 400 baht!  I told him I was catching a song tao for 20 baht.  Two Thai girls who overheard our conversation smiled at me knowingly.  I wasn’t going to be caught out again.

Wednesday, having organised with new found friends to meet at the Airport Plaza at 4:30pm I set off to have my morning coffee at the River Café but mistakenly overshot the mark so remained on the song tao till I reached the Airport Plaza.  Here I wondered around till I found the cheapest coffee, which ranged from 99 baht to 55 baht.  I sat with my cuppa from 12:30 till 4pm entrenched in an amazing book ‘The Sacred Romance: Drawing Closer to the Heart of God’, which Fay had lent me.

Diane and Earl arrived having completed their Thai studies and together we scanned the isles in the food court for a dish that would tantalise our taste buds.  I have found that a Thai meal is the size of our entree, so off we went on to have a second round and finally finished with an ice cream.  Mine was coconut flavoured with crystallised pineapple, soft coconut squares and topped with peanuts.  Yummm!  I was then kindly taken back to my hotel room where we continued our conversation till well after 10pm.

 

Pictures:   1. Flowering tree in Fay’s garden   2. Karen Church    3. Traditional guitar    4. Lunch after church    5. Seedlings     6. Walls of Chiang Mai taken from song tao     7. Diane, Earl and me.   8. Grace visiting Mum in recovery

Prayer & Praise Points:
From the 8-16^th July I have some free time and I’m not sure if I should remain in CM or not.  Please pray I will know clearly what the will of the Lord is during this time.

Praise the Lord for my time in Mae Sariang and in particular for being able to spend more time with my friend Fay.

Praise the Lord for His divine health and safety keeping during my time in Thailand.

Praise Him for all my friends and their generosity and love during my travels.

Praise the Lord those in Perth who have visited my mum in hospital.  Praise Him for those who have continued to pray and visit her in her time of need.