We spent 3 days at the school here in Baan Nam Kem holding an English Camp. But it wasn't really about the English, it was about the time we spent with the kids and the realationships we were going to form while we are here. It also was an opportunity for the CDC to reach out to these kids as well. We did games, music, English, sports and we took lots of pictures with the kids. They loved having their pictures taken with us and then looking at it through the camera. By the third day our kids had bonded specifically with certain Thai children. They knew their names and were exchanging gifts with each other.
Thursday evening we went to the beach where they have a memorial of the Tsunami. There is a wall of pictures of those who were lost in this village. It was very emotional to not only look at the memorial but to be standing in the very spot where the Tsunami took place, you just can't describe that feeling. We had pizza on the beach and held our service that evening in the pavilion on the beach. There could not have been a more perfect place to sit and listen to the word of God, with the sun setting, the cool breeze from the waves of the sea and the peaceful feeling that God was with us. Randy Tucker shared with the team and it was just a powerful, powerful time with God.
Friday we ended our English Camp at the school here in Baan Nam Kem. It was a very emotional time for all of us. Even though we can't understand each others language, there was still a connection made and many new friendships made. We invited all the kids from the camp to church service this morning at the CDC that is a children's church. It was great to see this morning as we arrived many of the kids came. They were here almost an hour early waiting for us to arrive - it was so sweet to see the look on all their faces when we pulled up. Especially the girls who were waiting the arrival of Mario (aka Blake Tucker).
We had a Thai church service Friday night at the CDC with some of their workers. Three of them shared their testimonies with us about how the came to know Christ. A couple of them had lost children in the Tsunami - it was heart breaking to hear them tell the story of the Tsunami, we could see their pain and heartache as they shared. They all had come through some very tough struggles, yet they have a joy in their life through Christ. It was such a blessing to all of us to get to hear their stories.
Saturday morning we headed out to go clam digging! We loaded up in long tail boats and took a 30 minute ride out to where the water was shallow trying to dig for the clams before the tide came in. However, it came in very quickly and we had to keep moving down stream. Just as we arrived at our digging location and unloaded the boats, Randy Tucker let out a scream as if he had been hurt by something. As we got him out of the water it was evident he had been stung in the foot bad by something, we were assuming a stingray, but we weren't positive. It was obvious that it was an unbearable pain. So we loaded him in a boat with one of our missionaries to interpret for them and they headed back in to the doctor. It was a tense moment for the team and a little scary for all of us for a while, but we are so thankful that it was a stingray and not something more serious. He is doing pretty good now.
After clam digging and lunch at the CDC we went on Elephant Rides. That was a blast! Something we will never forget. We also got to see an adorable monkey show and another snake show with a King Cobra! It was probably around 16 feet long, the guys who work with those snakes are nuts!!
We left there and finished up some shopping in a town called Khao Lak - once again it was extremely hot, but it was fun and we got to get more trinkets to remember our time on Thailand. We ate dinner at an international restaurant that had american food and ice cream!!! It was a treat for most of the team to have something familiar like Hamburgers and Spaghetti!
When we returned to the hotel we all met together and Troy shared a blessing that he had received from each high school student as he observed them on this trip. It was a sweet time together to hear him share so many neat things that our kids had done this week. They all went out of their comfort zone and did things they would never have done had they not been on this trip. To watch God speak to each one of them in a different way. This has truly been an amazing trip.
We are at the CDC now having children's church, then we will have lunch here and jump in the vans and head to Phuket to the airport to start our journey home! At first it seemed like 10 days would be so long, and now we can't believe it is already time to go home.
Pray for us as we travel home, that we can keep the same excitement we all feel right now when we return back to our life in the states again.
The Thailand Team
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