On Thai Time now!

While the lifestyle and pace of Cambodia is certainly slower and different than the US, we hit another pace here in Thailand. We lovingly call it - Thai Time! The culture here is very relational and not time-based at all. If you are in conversation with someone and need to be somewhere, the conversation and the relationship is the highest priority! We could learn something from that! Most of our day on Saturday was spent in travel to Thailand. There is no direct flight from Phnom Pehn to Chiang Mai, so we had to fly to Bangkok then onto Chiang Mai.

Our plans had been to stay in a hotel here, but the Asia's Hope Thai staff insisted that we stay with them. Again their servants' hearts and their desire for relationship. So we are staying in 2 groups - 6 of us are staying with Zack & Ying - the son and daughter-in-law of Tutu(the Thailand country director). Ron and Madeline are staying with Tutu. We unpacked, experience a Thai grocery shopping excursion then off to the largest orphanage in Chiang Mai. Doi Saket 1 is actually in a suburb of Chiang Mai. This orphanage houses 90 children - 40 boys, 40 girls and 10 babies. The girls here are the children who have lost their father. They served us a Thai dinner and we spent some play time with the kids.

We are preparing to head to the worship center this morning. Their Sunday morning service is normally a 2 hour service with worship and an American missionary, Mike Flinchum, preaching in Thai. This morning will be very different. The staff has planned a memorial service for their deceased staff member, Duang. They have had no service for the children to participate in and have closure. Please pray for our team that we can be a comfort to these children and staff this morning. That we can hug, hold and comfort each child that needs it and that we can support the staff as they minister to the children and each other. May God's grace, love and comfort flow through us in spite of the language barrier.