back on Canadian soil!!

Hello All
Just though we'd let you know we've arrived back in Canada. We've gathered our bags and are going to hopefully get a hotel shuttle soon.
You'll hear more from us another time... for now - off to the hotel.
Janelle

Homeward Bound

Hello all,

   We're doing our last good-byes, a meal, and heading to the airport. Thought you'd appreciate seeing some flight info:

CHINA EASTERN AIRLINES

MU 0206

Duration: 4hr(s) 20min(s) 

CNX CHIANG MAI, THAILAND

PVG SHANGHAI PUDONG, CHINA

Aircraft: AIRBUS INDUSTRIE A320 JET Distance (in Miles): 1661   

Departing At: 3:35pm

Arriving At: 8:55pm 

____________________________

CHINA EASTERN AIRLINES
MU 0597
Duration: 10hr(s) 20min(s)

PVG SHANGHAI PUDONG, CHINA

YVR VANCOUVER BC, CANADA

Aircraft: AIRBUS INDUSTRIE A332 JET Distance (in Miles): 5615  

Departing At: 11:50pm
Arriving At: 7:10 PM 

_____________________________OVERNIGHT IN VANCOUVER

WESTJET WS 0448 Duration: 2hr(s) 39min(s)	YVR YWG VANCOUVER BC, CAN  -  WINNIPEG MB, CANADA		Aircraft: BOEING 737-700 JET Distance (in Miles): 1163 Stop(s): 0
	Departing At: 9:15am Term inal: MAIN TERMINAL	Arriving At: 1:54pm

Day "Jet" (Nine. The last of our days here in Thailand)

The last full day in Thailand and we used it to experience some of what Thailand and Southeast Asia is known for: Elephants and Tigers.

We were accompanied with a couple of the Centre's short term English teachers whom we have come to be friends with and began the day at the Elephant camp. We fed elephants bananas, watched the trainers bath them in a river, rode them, and watched a show where the elephants played soccer; painted pictures; threw darts; etc. It was quite a new and wild experience for everyone. Most of us had never felt their leathery, hairy skin and elephants became a greater reality for us who have had little if any real experience with them in the past. What grander among the beasts of the earth over which man has been given dominion.

After lunch we visited the tigers. The big ones could be watched outside and above a fenced area where they scrapped and swaggared and acted remarkably similar to the household feline pet. There was another area with younger, much smaller tigers that the youth walked amidst and were able to pet. It was that kind of 'once in a lifetime' experience that everyone had with a great smile on their faces. What majesty of the animal kingdom creation.

Afterwards we rested up a bit and were taken to a place for dinner with traditional Thai dancing. Near the end of the show, after all other dinner guests had already left, the performers came down and asked us to dance with them which many of us did and we all had a great laugh over. 

While it may be seen that the day was all spent on our selves, doing 'the tourist thing,' we felt honoured to witness this other viewpoint of the works of God in this area of the world, to see how ALL of creation has been formed for, and to proclaim, the glory of the Lord. Elephants are also a huge part of Thailand's culture and heritage. It's beautiful how something so simple can help build our understanding of another place and another people. It can allow for a point of connection and means to start a conversation. 

Sighs are in the air as people begin to pack. This was a very valuable trip for all who came and I pray it has been valuable also to those of you who have been supporting this work of God in various ways, but through prayer most significantly. Thank you oh so much and we look forward to seeing you soon.

Mark

Weekend Reflections

     The weekend was good for the group, nobody got too badly hurt and everyone came back healthy. Some of the things I really enjoyed about the english camp were how the people changed from the beginning of the camp to the end. In Thai culture it is not widely accepted to speak of personal things and feelings, but some of the people really began to open up in the camp environment, which was great to see because its unhealthy trying to act happy all the time when you're really not. While we were waiting to leave the camp, there was a monk in full orange robe on an iPhone 6, killing the flies around him (which is hilariously non-Budist).

     Coming back to Chang Mai actually felt surprisingly good, having coffee and being in a place that I kind of knew, without the bugs made me feel refreshed. The big activity today was going to the walking market. It was fun, and there were many beautiful things, but there was a lot of sadness in it. The beggars that were there were likely not there on their own accord and were enslaved by someone more powerful. It really showed the sad parts of Thailand with various types of slavery that we only saw a small portion of. 

      After the market I did something that really made me happy; I did something somewhat independent. Dependancy is something I struggle with at home, so leaving the taxi truck alone and walking into the market then bartering for a backpack (that I got for a decent price) and then going to get a coffee after that was different of me. The ride back from the market was exhilarating, first I should explain that the taxies in Thailand are a bit different. They are usually red, modified pickup trucks with passenger areas in the back with an area where you stand near the hitch. Those twenty minutes on the back that taxi were an incredible way of experiencing Chang Mai. I could see everything, and it was a magical experience. 

     At 9:30 we came back to the hotel and did our debrief, which I really like because I can talk honestly group and its usually hilarious (because I'm there).

by Aiden

Weekend Pics

Friday

I am having a really great day today.  I woke up at 6:30, which strange enough was sleeping in.  Breakfast was yogurt and granola.  We are now all out of granola. (It came from home - cereal is really expensive here) We weren't quite finished painting the room in The Centre so I got to paint again!  We actually had orange paint today instead of the cheese whiz coloured paint yesterday.  Painting went fairly quickly compared to the other painting days.  I cannot paint without getting paint on my elbows, knees, feet, hands, hair and glasses.  Luckily, I had time to clean myself up before we went to lunch.

We ate lunch at Sam's favourite place.  I don't know what the actual name of the restaurant is, but it we all call it Sam's favourite place.  The people there know us as regular customers.  Every time we walk past the restaurant they have smiles waiting for us.  I ate PadThai.  It was so good!  I was little surprised at how much I liked it!  For those of you who know me well, you are not going to believe this.  I tried squid!  Just one small bite, but it was pretty good.  Mark had a meal with the squid and I had to try it just so that I could say I have tried squid. 

We then went to the centre for a staff meeting.  We prayed together about the english camp coming up.  I am learning what a difference prayer can make.  God is moving here. 

I am going to be tired tonight, because Robyn and I had a late night last night.  We were both feeling tired, but as soon as we lay down to sleep...  We were not sleepy in the slightest.  We were laughing so much and having amazing conversations. We ended up staying awake until about 11:00 before deciding that maybe we should take some gravel to help us sleep.  Robyn had the chewable kind that tasted like orange, but it made our tongues go numb.  We fell asleep shortly after.  

I love all the plants here.  Hedges shaped like elephants; I mean, how cool is that!  I am getting used to the heat here, although sometimes it is overwhelming.  We are going to the english camp later today.  I am going to see the jungle!  Mornings are my favourite time of day.  The temperature is a little cooler and I love to hear the birds sing.  

Thank you for praying for me.  I have really felt God here and have grown in my faith.  The team is getting along well. Time is flying by.  I love you all.   

Jolene

Note from Janelle: You will not be hearing from us until Sunday night (our time - which is your morning) because we are going off to English camp. We will be driving about an hour and a half up into the mountains to a 'resort/camp' type place. We are very much looking forward to being there, and hanging out with the students. Please continue pray for us  - I know lots of you are - please don't stop! Pray that God would use this weekend to soften hearts. This is a very difficult place for the gospel to break in - but with God - all things are possible. Pray that He would save, and that seeds would be planted, or that seeds would be watered. 

On another note - we want to praise God for the incredible team God has given us! I'm not sure we've ever had a group that has been this flexible, or so willing to participate or try anything. Our team unity is great, and there has been no whining. Even jet lag has not really been an issue (other than waking up really early in the morning and maybe needing an extra coffee here or there. My guess is the way home might be a different story) But praise the Lord, it is so clearly Him, and His sustaining grace. 

Oh  - and it's dry season, so really smoky and smoggy, and even the waterfall at the camp has completely dried up. I've beeb praying for rain, and praying that it would rain on Friday afternoon, (which it currently is) and as I write this - it is now raining. The smell of rain is delicious! Thrilling. 

Look for our next post Sunday!

the centre- where we spend lots of time

 Breakfast at the lake/reservoir on the university campus the other morning

 Early morning run for Doug, Braedy Mark and Janelle around the university

the street we walk a lot of times every day - that the centre is on

Thursday

Today started off amazing by waking up at 6:44, the latest I've slept all trip. After getting all cleaned up and having a nice cold Thai iced latte, the group and I went for a walk through the university and to a little table by the lake. We then enjoyed a breakfast consisting of yogurt and oats, which has become a favourite breakfast among the group. Once we finished we headed down toward the Centre and met up with David, one of the centre’s staff. David led us to a section of the camp where we would be handing out flyers for the Centre. David had told us to meet him in the cafeteria once we were done handing out our stacks of flyers so we went about our business in the mild temperature of roughly 36 Degrees. Now when we tried to meet up after handing out our flyers we were informed that the meeting place was mis-communicated and that David had gone missing, so we were stuck outside for some time before we could call him. 

After our trip to the university Melody picked up the group and brought us to her place. Mark and Doug…. Mark, then took Sam and Melody’s vehicle for a test drive, and were quite thrilled due to the fact that it is a right hand drive, And, standard. Janelle also decided to try something and her and Jolene jumped on a scooter and drove that around. When we had enough of this excitement Sam and Melody ordered us pizza that was probably twice the size of the usual medium pizza back home. Having enough food was not a problem at all, and to top off the meal Melody made us all mango smoothies. 

When the food had come to rest and the energy levels started to wain down Sam started to talk to us about something he had heard. It was about a lady whose job was to take care of those who were dying and only had a couple of hours to a couple of weeks to live. She would scrape the sores off the peoples legs and let the puss out then cover it up with bandages. One day, while she was doing her job, a lady walked by where she was working and observed her doing this. She then proceeded to say, “You couldn’t pay me a million dollars, to do that!”. Now the hard working lady looked at her and replied, “You couldn't pay me a million dollars to do this either, but for Jesus I will do anything”. This sparked the group and really inspired me and gave me a little more understanding on what it means to serve God. Serving him isn’t about doing what you are comfortable with or really good at necessarily, but being ready to serve him even if he calls you to do something you have no experience in or that you aren't used too. God gives you your talents and everything you have, everything in your lives is a gift from God. He gives you gifts and in return asks for you to be faithful, humble, praise him, and be willing to follow him and go wherever he needs you too. 

Braedy

P.S. Hey Harley

        The reference to the McDonalds story is from my first interaction with someone who spoke absolutely zero english. It came down to her actual taking down a menu so I could physically point at everything I wanted. This happened at the Kunming airport, and it was one of, if not thee most impressive buildings I have ever seen. But their entire menu was chicken. Feel free to ask more questions, I love hearing from you and i’d love to answer anymore questions, or just tell stories.  

From the Group

  Have a goodnight! or a good morning! 

A Few Wednesday Pics

 Playing games at The Centre

 Jolene hard at work painting

Sam drops in for a nice midmorning conversation.

Tuesday

Some of us playing games with students at the centre

Tuesday, March 29, 2016

Today was filled with lots of heat, stresses, and also joy - the Lord gave us strength and energy to persevere. We started to paint the main room in The Centre, and hopefully we will finish tomorrow! We had lunch at Sam's favourite place again today, and then we went to interact with the students at the Centre. At around 6:00 we left to go to dinner in the market and do some shopping. Every Day our team does a debrief, and at the end we share a high, a low, and an awkward part of the day. This is what mine were:

High: I liked the painting because I am a project person, and I wanted to get it all done today, however I am okay with waiting a little to finish.

Low: Was also to do with the painting. I am a perfectionist, so I take a little bit of a longer time to do something than others, and when I make mistakes, I get that much more frustrated. For the longest time I continued to paint the wall paint onto the base boards, and this consisted for like a solid hour, to the point where  I just started to carry a wet cloth with me because I'd paint the baseboard so often.

Awkward: I have a fairly loud laugh, and while playing a game with the students, I laughed, and I saw them look and then begin to talk in Thai, which made me feel a little awkward because I have no idea what they were saying. They seemed to be talking about me. 
Another awkward moment was two minutes ago when Janelle started getting loopy because she's over tired. For my sanity, I should probably leave this and let her go to bed, before things get too weird. :) Thanks for all the prayers and support, we miss and love you all!

Robyn

9:37pm

Monday/Tuesday Pics

Lunch today at Sam's favourite hole in the wall Thai restaurant - Fantastic food!! Everyone loved it!

Our morning visit at the Wat, first we had to climb a LOT of steps. (picture doesn't even show the top) 

Hopefully I'll get some of Robyn's pictures off her camera tomorrow - I'm sure she's got lots, and much better than my iPhone snapping, (mind you our internet is rather slow and uploading these two took forever!) Anyways, this will hopefully give you all a little picture into our current world for now. Good night our monday is done and it is sleep time! Janelle

Day "Neung" (One)

Sah wat ti cap! Greetings!

We are here and we are right into it all, and it is so good.

To boot, we all woke up having had a fairly restful night for just having traveled 40 hours and Melody Kuka took us on a tour of a Buddhist temple. She initially brought us to a shrine where many Thais pray to Buddha (against Buddha's own teachings) for blessing when starting a new business or honk when driving past for good spirits to protect them on their travels. From there we had to drive further up the mountain to the temple. 

However, Melody's remote stopped working and her key wouldn't open any doors, which had never happened before. Only after praying over the vehicle and fiddling around with the remote for a while did it open. Was there an evil spirit in the vehicle? were the batteries just low and the key worn down? I can't tell you confidently one way or the other but this I can: the acknowledgement of my dependence upon the Lord in all situations, 'big/small'; 'significant/insignificant'; 'sacred/secular', grew from that experience. It was too bizarre for me to pass it all off as merely coincidence and in so doing refuse the Lord to work in my life and teach me that there is more to this world than flesh and bone. We fight the powers and principalities that cannot be seen with physical eyes and cannot be won by physical means. To ignore is to loose.

The temple itself was extravagant. Much beauty, much craftsmanship, much significance, much devotion, much twisting of truth, much hopelessness. It was helpful to see, so as to better understand the Thai culture and the background of the people both around us, and those we interact with. That's what I really want to talk about now so I'll leave off talking about the temple.

All afternoon was spent hanging out at the Centre talking with University students and it was so good. All of us were able to jump into conversation with the students rather quickly through playing card games or the students having been assigned to ask us questions or joining in on an English teaching class. I tend to have difficulty initially engaging in conversation with people, strangers and people I know well. But today it was smooth and easy and enjoyable. I met new people and remembered their names and even learned to correctly pronounce some Thai. They are really fun to hang out with. I really look forward to seeing them again, continuing conversations, and building stronger relationships with them.

Please continue to pray for us. Already we seem to see the Lord begin to work amidst this group and we desire more of it, deeper change, greater love. We love you and I thank you again.

Love,

Brother Mark

p.s. Frog legs do not taste like chicken...but pretty close.

Note from Janelle - for the Wiebe family - Jolene (though not convinced at first) also tried the frogs. 

travel pictures

Here's some pictures from our travel day yesterday. We're eating breakfast now and off to a Wat (temple)

Arrived!

Greetings from the Malin Residence in Chiang Mai, Thailand. We have just finished our first evening debrief of the week and are on our way towards bed (7:30 Chiang Mai Time). Its been a long couple days of travel and we are very ready for a fully horizontal sleep in a very firm bed.

Quick point form flyby of the day:

• Arrived in Shanghai, China in the fog, went through a maze of corridors, had to sit in a 'transfer station' which was less than inviting, but eventually made it to our connecting flight to Kunming, China. 
• Kunming was an incredible airport. Built in 2012, the Chinese spared no expense and created an architectural masterpiece. Look it up if you're curious. But apparently McDonalds isn't the same in China (I'll let Brady, Robyn and Jolene explain their adventures another post)
• Hitting Chiang Mai was incredible - wonderful warm air, warm smiles of the Kuka's and a wonderful dinner at an open air restaurant close to our hotel. 
• The day was filled with many 'firsts' - so much excitement (and a little fear at times) with all the new things to experience. But all of our team did an incredible job navigating security check points, baggage claims and drop offs and some gruelling hours of flying (sleeping on a plane for long hours is no easy task)
• Team unity is going great - but continue to pray in this area. Anxiety, fatigue and heat have the potential to create struggle relationally. So far so good, but pray.

Good night from Chiang Mai - as the Karaoke bar below our room begins to really warm up!

Doug 

(Last you'll hear from me for a while as the others will now take over this blog tomorrow)

Teetering on the Pacific Rim

It's been a great evening of travel and we now sit comfortably in Vancouver International airport awaiting our 1:30 (Pacific Time) flight to Shanghai. Our first flight was full of excitement and wonder as our team enjoyed some really nice views of the Rocky Mountains and the beautiful decent into Vancouver. There was much excited chatter as some of our team got their first view of the ocean coupled with a beautiful sunset. Supper was fantastic as we hopped on the Sky Train and took a short trip into the city to a restaurant named 'Bibo'. Bibo served great Italian food (served and cooked by some very clearly Italian employees), which we enjoyed at a high table over much thanksgiving at the beauty and adventure we have already experienced.

Now we are tired and back through security. Only 6 hours or so to stay awake. Pray for those who don't like coffee.

Next post - Shanghai (or Kunming, we'll see what happens)

Doug

our bags are packed...

So our bags are packed, and we’re (almost) ready to go - off to Thailand! Please pray for us in the following week:

1. A growing faith for all our team members. Pray that God would open their eyes, and at the examination of other cultures and religions - that they would see the grace of God so gloriously beautiful. 
2. Pray for team unity.
3. Pray that we would be a blessing to those we are in contact with.
4. Pray also for the Thai university students that we will be in contact with in our english classes and camp. Pray along with Paul’s plea in Colossians 4 “that God may open the door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ.”

I asked our team a few questions and here’s their thoughts:

1. What are you most excited about?

• I'm most excited to build friendships with the people we meet at the centre
• I am most excited about seeing Sam and Melody.  I love to encourage people and I'm very much looking forward to serving them.
• I’m stoked for the opportunity to be Interacting with the Thai university students
• Seeing what God will do in and through our team

2. what are you most scared about?

• I'm anxious about communicating wrong and offending the people on accident.
• team unity
• I am nervous about being in the most radically different culture I'll have ever experience
• the unknown

3. what would you like learn?

• I'd like to learn about their culture and their practices, and what they do in their spare time.
• I would like to learn conversational Thai or, more probably, how to discuss Christianity in a predominantly Buddhist environment. 
• I would like to learn more about myself on this trip.  Lots of my boundaries have never been found or checked.  I want to see how I will react to a new culture.  The only culture I've ever known is the typical North American culture.

4. What are some more specific prayer requests:

• A safe flight there and back
• To be courageous and to get out of my comfort zone
• That much to be learned and practiced by all involved
• For the measure of health that will most glorify the Lord.
• People would be encouraged by us

Schedule

March 25th we are heading to Chiang Mai, Thailand to serve along side our church's Sam and Melody Kuka at 'the centre’ (www.thecentrethailand.org). We have included our proposed schedule to help you see how to pray for us each day. 

Friday - March 25  4:41pm depart Winnipeg, 5:45pm arrive in Vancouver

Saturday (26)         1:30am depart Vancouver

Sunday  (27)                  5:00am arrive in Shanghai, China,11:20am arrive in Kunming, China, 5:20pm arrive in Chiang Mai, Thailand Sam and Melody pick us up, supper and check into accommodations 

Monday  (28)          visit a wat, (Buddhist temple), orientation at the centre, outline week’s activities,

Tuesday  (29)          Paint, mix with students, plan shopping list for cooking night

Wednesday  (30)          paint, shop and prepare for evening cooking class with Thai students

Thursday  (31)          prepare for english camp, mix with students,

Friday (April 1)          final prep for camp, english camp (with Thai university Students, outside the city at a camp)

Saturday (2)             english camp

Sunday (3)         english camp

Monday (4)         Clean up from camp, Tourist day

Tuesday (5)         3:35pm departure, 8:55 arrive in Shanghai,11:50 departure, 7:10pm arrival in Vancouver         

Wednesday (6)         9:15am depart Vancouver 1:54pm arrive in Winnipeg