Thailand adventures

We are back safe and sound after a wonderful week on our 'VASE' mission trip to Thailand. We had a great team who gelled well together and who we were so pleased to watch as they evolved into an amazing bunch of teen missionaries!

The first part of our trip was spent in the Nakhor Pathom area where we stayed in a church and then did some flood relief work at a small rural church nearby.  The church had been amazingly supportive to their community - they housed about 200 or so people feeding them 3 meals a day during the flooding. The water took 2 months to subside, and in fact is still there in some parts as it is so flat.

After our day working in this area, we were taken to 'Phetchaburi' where we ran an 'English Camp' which had a Bible theme. We had 29 Thai students come and join us for 2 1/2 days, and our kids lead activities and helped them to improve their English language skills. It was great to see the GSIS students become close friends with the Thai students so quickly, and the camp was a great success. The kids didn't want it to end, and there were many tearful goodbyes!

The language barriers came down pretty quickly, and the Thai kids had a chance to practice their English with English-speaking bi- or sometimes tri-lingual peers. A recipe for success!  The venue was a Catholic retreat camp which looks well used, and has great facilities. The bedrooms were fairly rudimentary with just mats to sleep on, but they were air-conditioned, which allowed all of us to sleep well. The temperatures were in the 30's most days, with mild humidity, so it was hot at times, but pleasantly so. The mosquitoes were annoying, and managed to find me no matter how much bug spray I had on!
The final day was spent tidying up, having farewells, then visiting a cultural centre called 'The Rose Garden' where we bought a few souvenirs and saw a show, then a visit to a shopping mall to eat and buy gifts etc before heading to the airport. It was enough to satisfy those of us who like to shop, and those who just enjoyed being back in the city before having to go home again.

The highlight of the Friday excursion would have to be the elephant ride at the 'Rose Garden' - one to tick off the bucket list!!!

Thailand here we come

We are less than 24 hours away from our next big adventure - helping lead a VASE trip to Thailand. VASE meaning - Vision, Action, Service, Evangelism. We have 13 middle and high school students and 4 adults on our trip and we leave early tomorrow morning, arriving in Bangkok in the morning. The first part of our trip will involve some hands-on work, possibly painting, in response to the flooding that happened around December. The second part of the trip is to lead an English Camp - middle school students from a Christian school will be attending, and we take a two-pronged approach - partly we evangelise and partly we teach English.
This is new territory for Mike and I in many ways - not only have we not been to Thailand, but we have not been on a short-term mission trip either. Nor have we had very much to do with middle or high school students - so it is excitement tinged with a little bit of nervous tension as we spend today relaxing in preparation for the 5 days ahead. It will be over too soon, I"m sure!!

We have had a busy 2 weeks back at school, both of us straight into our units of inquiry for this quarter and our kids getting straight into their learning again. Mike has 'exhibition' coming up - a very big deal for grade 5, and something that is going to take over his life for the next 2 months while they get their personal action projects underway. All part of the culmination of the "PYP' programme under the IB banner, a way of finishing elementary school and drawing together the threads of their learning into some form of social or community action in response to an issue they feel strongly about.

My class are studying the Human Body, currently looking at the skeletal and muscular systems. Great fun so far - they've made model skeletons and have undone owl pellets to discover animal bones inside etc etc etc. Great fun!

The last 2 weeks have gone really fast, but it seems ages since we were back in NZ with our families having Christmas and New Year with them. This week is Lunar New Year, so we are being wished 'happy new year' all over again! We were taken out to dinner on Friday night to a restaurant owned by some parents of children in our classes, where we were wined and dined to the extreme. The food just kept on coming,and we both felt so full - too full - but it was delicious!! The restaurant was called 'Bonsuwon Galbi' - Galbi is the local delicacy - seasoned beef BBQ with many different side dishes. Stunning food!!

Here's a few links to explain a bit about where we are going to in Thailand, and our VASE trip link.

I hope this post finds you all well - don't forget to drop us a comment!! It makes us realise that people are reading the posts and helps us to keep in touch :):)

flooding

This is where we are being taken on Friday after we are all finished...
Rose Garden tour

Christmas Holidays 2011

We have had a wonderful time back in New Zealand with family and friends, and are refreshed and ready to return to Korea. It's amazing how quickly 3 weeks can disappear, but it won't be long till the next break. Our next adventure is only a few weeks away, when we take a team of teenagers to Thailand on a missions trip - a very, very big step of faith for us who have never done anything remotely like that before, but with 4 adults and 14 great teens, I'm sure it will be fine.  Really. Well. Hopeful.!!!

Christmas holidays for us this year began at Ngatiawa, sharing the time and place that our son and daughter in law call home. This place is very special, and you find yourself relaxed and refreshed after spending time there - truly wonderful. Find out more on their website here.

The second part of our holiday was back down south to where we have spent most of our lives thus far - and time spent with family and friends catching up made it feel like the 6 months we have been away were merely a small droplet in a bucket. It is so nice to have relationships like that where we simply pick up where we left off.

It's time to head back to Korea and continue on with our work, our contractual obligations, but also new adventures. Exciting times ahead!