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!

Day Eight

Friday, October 23rd

We started the day by loading up all of our luggage & leaving the village to go back to Chiang Mai. We left Yasa's house very grateful for his & his wife's hospitality. They were so welcoming & kind to us our whole stay.

Yasa & his wife

Our elders, Kirk & Brian, with the Thai elders

One last group shot before leaving the village

On our drive back to Chiang Mai, we stopped at an elephant camp. It's not really a camp as much as it is a tourist attraction. They don't use the elephants for anything. They do put on an elephant show & then we got to ride on the back of some of the elephants for about 30 minutes.


Elephants welcoming us to the show

Elephants that we all sat on bare-back when we first arrived

Souvenir shops

Waiting for the elephant show to start

Elephants bathing in the river

Robbie volunteered during the show & got to "play" with an elephant

Waiting for our elephant ride

This is the trail we took through the trees, up & down many hills...it was VERY bumpy!

After leaving the elephant camp, we drove to a Lisu village & set up for another clinic on someone's front porch. Before we began, they served us lunch. One dish they fixed was chicken head soup. It is an honor if they offer you the chicken head to eat, so Kristen & Robbie took the honor for our group & shared the chicken head!

We gave a soccer ball to the kids & they loved playing with it!

After finishing lunch, we started the clinic & saw about 50 people in a couple hours.

After finishing the clinic, we finished the drive to Chiang Mai. We stopped at a gem factory before checking into the Prince Hotel. After getting cleaned up, we went to a Night Market. This was a market that covered several blocks. We were able to get all of our souvenirs here to take home. We must have been tired at this point because there aren't any pictures from this day after the clinic!

Day Nine

Saturday, October 24th

After eating breakfast at a restaurant across the street from our hotel, Stephen picked us up & took us to the site of the new Christian Training Center for our last clinic. On the drive there, we passed a Buddhist center, where a festival was taking place, and a Hindu center. The Christian Center is on the edge of Chiang Mai and sits in the middle of a rice field with mountain around it in the distance.

When we arrived, Stephen showed us around the building that is being worked on now, which will be for housing.

After our tour, we held our last clinic in tents that were set up on the grounds of the Christian Center. We treated mostly older people at this clinic. One man traveled overnight on a motorcycle through the mountains to come see us. He brought x-rays of three cysts in his neck that he had taken from seeing a doctor previously. The doctor had told this man that he had cancer & that there was nothing they could do. It turned out, that he just had the same fatty cysts that we had been removing all week. So, at the end of the day, Kirk removed two of the biggest cysts that were causing him a lot of pain & numbness.


People waiting to be seen in the clinic

Kirk & Alicia removing cysts

People waiting to be seen

Halfway through the day, we took a break to have lunch...a picnic on banana leaves! Everything was delicious & we ate the whole meal with our hands!

After we saw & treated everyone, we boxed up our extra supplies to be sent to a local doctor. We then went to a large gem factory to get some souvenirs, then we all went out to eat at a Thai restaurant. There were about 25 of us all together! At the end of the meal, Mary brought out a cake for Deb's birthday, which was on a travel day, the 26th! It was delicious!


Deb surprised by her cake

Most of the group sitting at the restaurant

After we finished eating, a few of us went back to the Night Bazaar to get a few more souvenirs. We didn't have any Thai drivers with us, so we got to experience a ride in a tuk tuk on the way back to the hotel! We then finished packing & getting ready to leave the next morning.

Day Ten

Sunday, October 25th


We all got up around 4:00am and loaded our luggage & ourselves into four trucks that took us to the Chiang Mai airport. After we got all checked in, Saengduan presented each of us with a bouquet of roses. They were so beautiful! We all walked to the furthest security area that those who weren't flying could go to. We all got in a circle & Brian led us in prayer. We then had to say good-bye to all of our new Thai friends, which was very hard to do! Since we couldn't take fresh flowers with us on the plane, we gave them to all of the Thai women.


Our group getting ready to leave Chiang Mai
Kirk, Robbie, Brian, Scott, Alicia, Terry, Linda, & Kristen


Our first flight was to Bangkok. We had about a 4 hour layover in Bangkok before flying to Taipei. We were so glad to see "American" food. We all ate at Burger King, except Kristen & Brian who ate Thai one last time.

Kirk enjoying his meal

Robbie was REALLY glad to see Burger King

When we landed in Taipei, we had a 6 hour layover before our flight to LA. So, a majority of us got a massage and Deb & Alicia got pedicures. It was so nice to be able to relax before our last long 11.5 hour flight!

Deb enjoying her pedicure

Alicia enjoying her pedicure & Linda relaxing after her massage

Kirk found a couch to nap on, hoping he could adjust to the time change better at home

We made it to LA with no problems & had a short layover before flying to Chicago. We could definitely tell we were back in the States as soon as we landed. People were in such a hurry & not quite as nice as the Thai people we had just spent a week with. We were finally able to use our cell phones, so many people made phone calls home.

Linda calling home.

Terry calling home

I guess we got tired of pictures, because there aren't any after leaving LA. We arrived in Chicago safely & with all of our luggage! Alan & Debbie Siltman picked us up at the airport & drove us home. It was so good to see them & to finally be home after the long travel days!

We all had such an amazing trip! We definitely felt God's presence & protection throughout the week. We were able to treat many people, see many sights, and made many new Thai friends. It was an experience we won't soon forget & one we hope to have again soon!

"Thank you" doesn't even come close to expressing how grateful we are to each and every one of you. There are no words to express the gratitude we feel for your support of us through prayer & financially. We really wouldn't have been able to do this without all of you & appreciate each and every one of you.

Stay tuned for updates on our next trip...

Serving Him,

The ACC Mission Team