Update from Alicia

It is Monday afternoon here in Thailand. The team left Chiang Mai last night at 8:30pm (Thailand time). They should be landing in Chicago at 9:30am on Monday (CST).

We had an amazing week! We did two full days and a morning of clinics in the villages. The first clinic was in Mae Tae, the village where we stayed for 3 nights. We saw & treated around 200 people that day. The second clinic was in Piang Luang. We also saw & treated around 200 people at this clinic. During the morning clinic we saw around 35 people. The conditions we treated were gastrointestinal issues, allergies & colds, pneumonia, and a lot of aches & pain. Kristen removed fatty cysts from 4 different people. We also gave swine flu vaccines & fluoride treatments. We were not able to get the typhoid vaccine from customs, so please pray for guidance & wisdom that we will either get our money back or be able to use the vaccine somewhere in the near the future. We also used Sunday school lessons to teach around 60 kids throughout the week.

The last two nights we stayed in Mae Tae we had a time of devotion & worship at different houses. The first night we went to a traveling evangelist's house, Barnabas. The second night we went to the chief of the village's house. Both nights were wonderful nights of fellowship with our Lisu Brothers & Sisters in Christ!

The last two mornings in Mae Tae, Brian, Robbie, & Todd went wild rooster hunting with guides from the village. They didn't shoot anything, but heard some roosters. The Lisu people don't hunt for sport, but are hunting for their food.

We returned to Chiang Mai on Friday. It was about a 3 hour drive. When we got back Brian, Robbie, Todd, & Terry helped the contractors mix concrete & pour the floor in the new addition at the Gospel Center. They worked for about 3 hours! There was only one minor mishap when Robbie got a piece of wire in the side of his foot.

On Friday night we all went out to eat at Pizza Hut & shopped at the Night Bazaar. The pizza was actually pretty good! We all got pretty good at negotiating prices & got some good deals!

Saturday morning we had another clinic at Bethlehem Gospel Center (Stephen & Mary's). We saw & treated around 20 people. Most of them were evangelists that work with Stephen. We were out of most of the medicine from the previous clinics, so we wrote down what everyone needed & went to the pharmacy in the afternoon. I (Alicia) went with Stephen around noon to the airport to pick up Tim & David, who came as representatives of ACMI, the missionary sending organization I am a member of. They came to Chiang Mai to meet Stephen & build a relationship with him, & work out some details.

Saturday night a group went up to Doi Sothup, a Buddhist temple on the side of a mountain. We all took a cable care up to the temple. Todd, Becky, Janice, Simeon, & Alicia walked down the steps. Becky counted & from the top of the temple to the road, there were 295 steps! After that, we all then met at a buffet, which had raw food to cook in Korean barbecue style, or food already cooked. It was very interesting! We are guessing there were over 1,000 people there. They also had entertainment. After eating, a few people went back to the Night Bazaar to finish getting souvenirs.

Sunday morning we went to a Presbyterian church, only in name, that follows New Testament doctrine. David preached the sermon on what the church is supposed to look like: first, loving God above all, & second, following the Great Commission. It was a great message for both the American church & the Thai church! Following the service, we had lunch with the church members. It was delicious!

Sunday afternoon was spent packing & getting ready for the team to leave. We had a devotion time together right before leaving for the airport.

Overall, we had an amazing week! It is such a blessing to be able to spend time & serve the Thai people. They are an amazing people in a beautiful country, so grateful & thankful for the help we provided for them! We may not see the results of the work we did, but we planted many seeds for the evangelists to follow up with. God also blessed each one in our group with this opportunity to learn & to grow in Him.

Thank you all SO much for your love & support in our preparing for this trip & during this trip. We couldn't have done it without your help. May God bless each & every one of you for that.

If you would like to hear more or have questions, please don't hesitate to talk to a member of the Mission Team. We would all love to share our stories, our experience, & our reason for going with you.

Serving Him,
The ACC Mission Team

Alicia will remain in Thailand until March 4th. If you would like to read more about her stay, visit her blog at http://www.ajcrabtree.blogspot.com/