Day Seven

Thursday, October 22nd

This day began with a new experience for some of us. We got up & got ready around 5:00am to go to a morning market. The market begins before the sun rises & is only open for a few hours, but it is very busy! There were booths set up outside, little shops, & the market. There was everything to buy from fresh veggies & meat to candy, coffee, & souvenirs.

Booth set up outside the market

Shop outside the market

Brian, Terry, Robbie, & Mary inside the morning market checking things out

Fresh meat

This is the road we took home...it rained a little the night before

Once we got back from the morning market, we all loaded up the trucks and went to a Chinese village, Nau Ok, to set up another clinic. We set up in the church at a Christian school. We saw about 75 people during this half day clinic. We were going to go to an orphanage after this clinic, but found out that the kids were on a field trip.

This woman came from China & started the school

A new building under construction at the school...notice the bamboo scaffolding

Women waiting to be seen at the clinic

Men waiting to be seen at the clinic

Alicia examining an infant

Brian & Terry examining a young boy

While we were running the clinic, Brian & Robbie were able to go to the classrooms & teach an English class.

Girls on one side...

Boys on the other...just like church!

Brian teaching the alphabet

After cleaning up the clinic, we were able to play with the kids a little bit before leaving.

Linda & Alicia passing out candy

Robbie taking pictures of the kids who were LOVING it!

Linda, Alicia, & Deb still passing out candy

After leaving the school, we went to a restaurant for lunch. We had the best chicken noodle soup! After eating, some of us walked around the village to explore & see the sights & found a very pretty lake.

Chinese restaurant

Standing around outside the restaurant

Bagging corn to be trucked out

Fresh peanuts drying

The lake we came upon

Beautiful flowers

After walking around the Chinese village, we loaded up again & headed for the border between Thailand & Burma. The part where we went was fenced off & is not a crossing point, but we still wanted to see it to say that we were right next to Burma. Because it is not a crossing point, there were guards there to make sure people didn't illegally cross.

The whole group at the Burma border

After seeing the border, we drove back to Yasa's house. We thought we were going to set up for another clinic, but instead we sat around talking. Somehow we got on the subject of baptism & Kristen asked us if we'd been baptised by immersion. We all said yes & asked her if she had. She said she hadn't, but that it was something she had been thinking about recently. After discussing it with her & talking with Stephen, Kristen decided to get immersed right then! After talking with the elders, Stephen got us all loaded up in the trucks & we headed to a river dam. We're not sure how they got there, but there were MANY Thai people from the villages. Kristen thought about it & decided that she wanted all of us in the water with her when Stephen immersed her. It was kind of tricky & very slippery, but we all made it & surrounded her & Stephen. When we looked up, all that Thai people had gathered on the side & were singing hymns. It was SO beautiful!

Stephen praying before Kristen's baptism

A group hug with our new Sister!

Kristen SO happy!

When we got back to the house, some of the Thai men prepared a Korean barbecue for us. It was the most interesting eating experience we had while in Thailand! They set up charcoal pits in the middle of three circles. On the charcoal was a tin dish that had a ring around the edge & a dome in the middle. They poured water around the edge & this is where we cooked noodles & greens. The dome in the middle was to grill our meat & fish on. It took a little to get used to, but by the end of the meal we were all enjoying the food & able to use chopsticks!

After the meal, our group went inside to wait for everyone to finish eating because there wasn't room for all of us at once. Before we knew it, it was 8:20 & we were wondering when we would be going to church. After awhile, a few people came inside, then a few more, & before too long the whole church was sitting in Yasa's living room! So, we had church at the house...it was wonderful! Scott, Brian, & Deb all gave their testimonies. We then heard the testimonies of a man who fled from China because of persecution & Raymond's testimony. Brian then finished up his sermon series on spiritual unity. We then sang "How Great Thou Art". Our group sang the first verse, the Lahu people sang the second, Lisu sang the third, and we all sang the choruses. It was THE most beautiful moments we had with these people. It was awesome to be worshipping the same God with all of these people speaking many different languages!