I realized that it had been a lot longer that I thought since I last blogged.  Time flies!  Its almost March!  In barely over a month we will have our spring break with 2 weeks off.  After that its only 6 weeks left in the school year.  Its flying by.  This month has been mostly uneventful.  I'm currently trying to plan a trip to Chiang Rai with a couple of friends.  My schedule is pretty easy since I'll be off during that time but theirs is not.  But we have to plan soon however as the big Songkran holiday is coming during April.  This is why I want to get out of Chiang Mai. Songkran is a giant water fight that actually starts a few days earlier in Chiang Mai because this is party central as far as that holiday is concerned.  There are Buddhist roots but the water is the most noticeable part of it.  The rest of Thailand also celebrates but on a smaller scale.  It gets crazy and full of traffic here.  In Chiang Rai, I want to visit a family who lives with the Akha tribe and see what their ministry looks like.
One of the really cool things about being in Thailand is that I get to see missionaries in the field in action.  In America, we have things we do for Christ but we are so busy with life in general, its hard to see it.  Here I can see it.  I see all of it in fact.  I see families and singles going for it and loving life.  I also see families in turmoil because they got off track somewhere along the way and their kids are coming in second or third to their mission.  But what I like most is seeing what people are doing.  Last year I stayed the night at a home that rescues kids from the sex trade and does outreach in the prisons.  God has been protecting them from the people who want to kill them for taking these kids.
There are my friends in the south who I hope to join one day who use Muay Thai- a national sport to reach people for Christ.  Don't worry, I won't be doing Muay Thai but rather joining the fellowship.  My body could never handle that sport. :) Some of you know our friends in Mae Sot who reach out to the people there and the children in the home.  They built a new home last year.  Those are just some of the people I have met since I've been here.
My Church in in Chiang Mai has 3 children's homes however only one is close by.  Those are the only kids I really know.  Our congregation is comprised of mostly college age students.  If you were to come to a service, you may need earplugs if you aren't used to loud worship.  But we love it. If you are thinking of coming to Thailand, come visit Seng Sawang church.
If you're thinking my thai must be awesome by now, umm well not really but is coming along.  My hearing gets in the way most frequently as I don't hear everything I need to make sense of things.  I also forget a lot of words which drives me nuts.  But on the plus side, my reading is getting a little better.  I try to read worship songs so I can worship in Thai instead of falling back on English(if they put it on the screen) all the time.  Sometimes, I attend an English church in town later in the day so  I can hear things in English once in a while.  I joined one of their worship teams(have no idea how many they actually have-maybe 4 or 5). Totally loving that even though I've only done it once.  I'm getting so much bolder in singing.  Its nice to sing and focus on the words rather than how freaked out I am.

6th Grade Dance from our recent Thai Day celebration

The walk up to the Doi Suthep temple with Aunt Carol

Before the zipline with Aunt Carol

By the way, if you are wondering, I will be in CA only from June 7-28.  I plan to spend 2-3 weeks of July helping at the Sunshine Academy summer camp in China.
I also forgot to mention that I had a wonderful visit with my aunt Carol.  She's my first family member to make it over here for a visit.  We did as much as possible during the 4 days she spent in Chiang Mai.  We did the zipline through the jungle.  Mind you, it wasn't one line, it was more than I could count high above the ground.  I stopped hanging on by the end. It was a blast.  We also went to the Maekampong waterfall on the same trip.  We hit up the Maesa elephant camp but didn't get to ride elephants.  We went rafting in Chiang Dao.  We hit up the local walking streets and went up to Doi Suthep.  A local mountain with a temple on top.  I still think Wat Thum Seua in Ao Nang is more impressive though.