Life on a tropical island!

Sorry for the recent lack of updates but it's difficult to find Wi-Fi when you're staying on a beach on a tropical island!


After a 4 hour journey down to Koh Chang, we arrived to find the only way to our accommodation was via the raft crossing! Ajaan Bu had found a real gem for us, with huts right on the beach!


After a relaxing first afternoon, on Tuesday we decided to go on an adventure, it consisted of riding elephants and then going swimming with them! It was a fantastic experience that I'm sure we'll all remember for a very long time!


We spent quite a lot of the time away just relaxing and enjoying the stunning views. Kate and I treated ourselves to another Thai massage on the beach.


Pi Kung continued to provide us with outstanding Thai food with a vast selection of sea food served with a beach view!


We're now back in Chon Buri again enjoying great food before flying out at 9am in the morning.


Our time here has been a brilliant experience, we've met so many kind and generous people and it will be a shame to leave them. Thank you to everyone who has helped make this trip possible, we've really appreciated your support!

Sam

Last day at Power Church

Yes, there was no blogging yesterday. I was too busy preparing my sermon for today i'm afraid.

So, today was our last day at Power Church and i was about to make my 'preaching via a translator' debut. In some ways its been quite a sad day, because there will be some people that we probably won't see again for a very long time. Our time with everyone at Power Church has been an amazing one. I think about all the westerners who travel through Thailand every year. I imagine that their experience of Thailand is very much as a spectator. i don't think that any amount of money could have bought the experience that we have just had. Being able to live with a Thai family and be part of their lives for the last week has been so much fun.

Anyway, back to today. Sunday's are always an earlier start with breakfast freshly prepared by the assistant at Seven Eleven. We then had an hour of games and songs with the children before joining the adults for the main church service. Today was the Thai Queen's birthday, which means that it is mothers day here. To celebrate this the church had a special service for all the mothers. It was really nice to see the church honouring all of the mothers and encouraging their children to thank them for everything that they'd done. Next up was me. I was a bit worried whilst preparing my sermon. I didn't want to say anything too complicated as i didn't want it to get lost in translation, but i also wanted to bring something fresh and new. I think it went alright, although you're never quite sure what the translator is saying. He may have been telling the congregation to get their rocks ready for a good old fashioned stoning!!

After lunch was more games. Tim and i had the older youth building towers out of newspaper, whilst the girls got the younger kids to make a mess. I think that their was a purpose but no one can really remember.

Our hosts have literally paid for everything for us all week, and have run around after us like the best parents you could ever ask for. So tonight was our turn to go some way to repaying their kindness. We took them to this amazing restaurant. The whole table was litterally covered in dishes - most of them fresh out the sea that day! So dinner for 12 people, of the freshest seafood possible, all for £35!!!

Tomorrow's our holiday. We thought that today was going to be the day that we would have to say goodbye to everyone, but instead Ajaan bu and Pi Kung are come on holiday with us too. Pastor Bu has offered to be our driver and Kung has offered to be our chef. Seriously, these people never stop giving!!! We're off to Koh Chang to see the elephants, which Kate is quite excited about. I think we're all really looking forward to a few day RnR after a very busy week.

Martin

That time we nearly lost Sam...

Today was our last day of teaching in school, in a different school today - the children at this school were a little bit more rowdy than we have experienced so far, but they were all really enthusiastic and willing to take part, which was good. We had lunch at the school, with the principal, which was nice, although he did suggest that Sam might like to stay in Thailand a bit longer (which our Thai friends thought was very funny). She did turn him down though, and is still with us!

In the afternoon we went to Ang Sila, a small fishing community a near the church. We did a bit of shopping, and walked down to the sea, but it was very interesting to see this side of Thai life - with some of the not-so-attractive bits (an old man drunk in the middle of the day and a snooker hall that we have heard has girls as young as 11 or 12 working as prostitutes). It really made me think about the struggles and problems this country faces, even though much of it is hidden behind welcoming smiles and superficial fun.

In the evening we went to the church prayer meeting, with worship, fun and friendship, and then went to the market with some people from the church - it was great just to enjoy being with people and have fun with them. One thing that really struck me tonight was how everyone in the church was engaged with what was going on - from six-year olds to elderly people. Everyone joined in with the worship in different ways - some sitting quietly and reflecting, some singing, some playing instruments, children making up actions to the songs and adults joining in with them. When it was time to pray for each other, everyone was involved, with children praying for each other and for adults. When it was time to share testimonies or ask for prayer, children were speaking at the front without being seen as "cute" - what they had to say was just as valid as anyone else. The church also has leadership weekends for the children, mixing fun with Bible studies and training, to prepare them to be the future leaders of the church. It really made me think about church being a family and what that really looks like...

Hannah

Masaman

Numbers 1 to 20, days of the week, months of the year and bingo. That's what Kate and I taught in school today to a class of 16 Thai children all wearing what looked liked scouts and guides uniforms, very smart. The first farang (foreigners) to visit that school for 5 years, a shame we were only there for one day. Tomorrow we're going to a different school.

We had a pretty relaxed afternoon, lunch in a cafe, walk round a market and then home for a few hours to chill out. We were then served another great Thai speciality, Masaman curry, really good. Every day we get to try a new dish, all of which are delicious. Masaman is a muslim curry from southern Thailand, if you ever get the chance, you're in for a treat.

This evening we went along to a house group, which was interesting to see, lots of energy, smiles and fruit. So far I think we're all having a great time, Thailand's a great country, our hosts are really friendly and accomodating and always wanting to spoil us, we're all working hard and the food is well worth writing home about!

Tim

School, sun, sand, sea, songs, silly games and som tam

So, day two in the primary school teaching English. We swapped classes so we could teach the same lesson as we did yesterday which gave us a boost of confidence. After we finished our lessons, and had lots of pictures taken with the pupils, we were summoned to the head teachers office! But it was ok, we weren't in trouble; she just wanted a picture taken with us as well!

After another experience of a new Thai dish for lunch we headed off to the local beach for a few hours, where we enjoyed the sun, sand and sea (which was a cool 32 degrees!). The girls went for a paddle, while the boys went for full submersion!

This evening we went out again to another community. The ride in the back of the pick-up is one of my favourite parts of the day, to sit in the open back watching the world go past, waving to other motorists, smiling at the four people on the motorbike and enjoying the breeze! The evening consisted of singing more kids songs, playing games and giving a testimony. On the way home A (yes, that really is someones name) was asking me what poor people look like in England. What has hit home over the last three days is that actually even those who are 'poor' in England really have far more than some of the people we've visited could ever imagine!
Sam

Our first day at school

So, today was our first day at school. Up we got, showered and smartly dressed in our Sunday best, all ready to go help the Thai children to learn some more English (although they know quite a lot already). I don't know about the others, but I felt quite over dressed by the time we got to the school, as everyone else was in jeans and t shirts, but it was ok, and fun nonetheless.

We taught two classes, me, Hannah and Tim in one group and Sam and Martin in the other. We did a lesson on meeting and describing people, and the other class did describing things. I'm not sure we taught them anything new, but they had fun running around and causing havoc in their classrooms. The school kids were great and all identical in their matching uniforms, they were really enthusiastic and had a go at everything we asked. As it is Hannah's birthday today (Happy Birthday Hannah) we were taken out for lunch after school and Ajaan Bu ordered the most food I have ever seen. We did our best to eat it all, but even the boys were beaten by it!

We then had a look around a brand spanking new shopping centre, which was nice. We didn't really buy anything as it was all about the same price as the UK which was quite disappointing as I was looking for some bargains.

This evening was another village outreach including dinner with our village hosts. We sang some songs, played some games and Tim gave his testimony, it was a really fun evening, but a bit too hot.

When we got home it was more birthday fun, which included birthday cake (and candles), made for Hannah by one of the ladies from the church. Altogether a good day!

Kate

Our "day off"

Ok, so today was our "day off". Well that's what we thought. Yesterday we were beginning to plan what we might do - go to the beach, go to the zoo, etc.. But Ajaan Bu had other plans. Tim and i were going to help him shift a couple of tons of sand from the front of his house to the back. To be honest, Ajaan Bu and Pi Joy have done so much for us that it is the very least that we could have done to repay their kindness. So Tim and I expelled our body weight in sweat, whilst being kept topped with ice cold Pepsi by Pi Joy - Pepsi has never tasted so good!

Whilst we were breaking our backs the girls continued their training in becoming experts in Thai cookery. I think that they especially enjoyed preparing the raw prawns. This generally involved ripping its head off and tearing off its legs. This was all in preparation for the amazing prawn curry that we were to later enjoy. Our hosts have invited Pi Gung, who is an amazing cook, to come to their house and cook for us all week. This means that we are being treated to some of Thailand's best home cooked cuisine.

After all that hard work we were treated to an amazing lunch before being whisked away to receive some much needed Thai Massage. This was Tim's first experience, and i'm glad to say that it was a positive one. If you have never experienced this delight, it can best be described as "enforced yoga". There was one moment when i was being folded in half and sat upon! This might not sound like everyone's cup of tea but believe me it is extremely relaxing.

Our "day off" then continued with a visit to a local village where many of the children who come to Power Church are from. This was a real experience. The people of this village are obviously very poor. Many of the houses consist of only one room where extremely large families all live. We walked around the village and invited many people to come and hear us sing and listen to Ajaan Bu talk. It was a really great evening. We were able to give out gifts and show people that they are loved. We also saw a massive flock/swarm/herd(?) of giant bats fly directs over us. Seriously, there were thousands of them, all the size of chickens!! On another note, i nearly didn't make it out of the village. I was propositioned by a lady looking for a husband for her daughter. Pi Gung had to quickly point out that i was already married to Hannah. I thought that this was have put her off the scent, but as we were driving out she grabbed my arm to try and hold on to me. A lucky escape i feel!!

Our "day off" has been nicely rounded off with that amazing prawn curry that i mentioned earlier. We're all having an amazing time and really looking forward to the rest of the week.

Oh yeah, if any of you have been trying to post comments to any of our posts but have failed, its because we hadn't turned that function on. It should all work ok now, so comment away.

Martin