buses, scooters, and cars oh my!

As our Sunday closes out here in Chiang Mai we can't help but feel extremely excited and blessed to be here. Today was an awesome day of getting to meet most of the families that we will be working with and spending more time venturing out into the city. We are just so thankful to God for this incredible opportunity and pray that we are humbled and in tune with His will and calling for our lives this week.

After breakfast we spent time down in the lobby welcoming families and getting to know the missionaries. We were impressed by the maturity and eagerness of the kids and we are definitely excited to spend more time with them this week. We also met together as a team to go over the plan again for Monday. After the meeting and lunch we broke into groups - some continued to greet the families as they arrived, while others went into more detailed planning for Monday's adventure.

At 4pm we met up with some of the international missionaries, as well as some local missionaries, and headed out by 'red trucks' to church. We were invited to attend the Chiang Mai Community Church - a church in the middle of the city that caters to the english speaking international community. It was a unique experience and definitely a blessing. The Senior Pastor, Rupert Abbott, spoke on our need for healing. Heather Smith, a woman who has worked at the McCain Rehabilitation Center treating lepracy patients, shared two testimonies of God's hope, joy, and salvation for two individuals suffering from lepracy.

At the end of the service the congregation was each given three pieces of paper. On the orange paper we wrote down something in which we were thankful to God. On the green paper we confessed our sins to God. And on the white paper we wrote down hurts in which we were suffering. Each of us rose and took our pieces of paper to the front of the church. We placed our thanksgivings and confessions in baskets under the cross, and pinned our hurts to the cross. We then took communion and made our way back to our seats. It was a very moving and powerful symbol of the power of Christ in our lives.

One of the more memorable moments of the church service was when we were worshipping God in song. Some of the songs were not as familiar to us, but it seemed everyone knew Father in Heaven...

Father in heaven, how we love you
we lift your name in all the earth
May your kingdom be established in our praises
as your people declare your might works

And as we hit the chorus the whole congregation was standing and singing, many with their hands raised high...

Blessed be the Lord God Almighty
who was and is and is to come
Blessed be the Lord God Almighty
who reigns for evermore!

After church we headed back through the city towards our hotel. Along the way we stopped off at a hole-in-the-wall mexican restaurant that we would not have been able to find had a local missionary not recommended it. The sun had gone down, a light breeze had picked up, and we sat in an open aired restaurant reflecting on the day and sharing good fellowship.

The Team is asking for special prayer as we begin our week with the kids tomorrow:

• Renewed strength and energy after the jet lag and adjustment to the climate change - both for the leadership as well as the kids (some of whom are still arriving!)
• Safety for all as we travel around the city tomorrow on our adventure race
• Humbled spirits to be open to God's will for this week

Thanks again to all our pray partners and trip supporters who made this trip possible - please continue to pray for us and share your words of encouragement!

We have added new pictures, so check them out...