monday in chiang mai

Three words to describe our first day with the MKs: Awesome, Awesome, Awesome!

For the Team the day started at 7am with breakfast, followed by a quick huddle to align our azimuths and get focused on the day. At 8ish we began meeting with MKs in the lobby of the hotel and taking them down to the Cave (this place is incredible, you have to see the pictures to understand how fun this place is). At around 8:30 and with the majority of the MKs in the Cave, we started our week with introductions and games to help us all learn each other's names. We also broke into groups based on their mission fields (Americas, Asia, and Europe) and played the m&m game to help everyone get to know other people from their mission field area. Kevin and Lauren (one of the older MKs) then led the group in worship and we broke down by age groups for the devotional time. Teresa led the game and devotional time for the younger MKs and Peter led the devotionals for the older MKs.

Through these He has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. 2 Peter 1:4

We came back together for snacks followed by some additional teaching, as well as some down time for the MKs to get to know each other. At noon we broke for lunch and released the kids back to their families...

Today's afternoon activity was the Amazing Race: Chiang Mai! After lunch we quickly broke the MKs down into four groups (Team Elephant, Team Monkey, Team Snake, and Team Dragon) and gave each group their first clue. After locating their drop off point on their map, the teams hopped in the back of their respective 'red trucks' and we convoyed down to the middle of Chiang Mai city. In teams of 8 the MKs navigated their way through the Old Chiang Mai City (the original city which is still partially protected by the wall and moat) using their map and clue sheets given to them by their 'Thailand Tourguides'. Some of clues included:

Find your way to the pagoda located in the middle of the city that was partially destroyed in the 1500s by an earthquake. How many elephant trunks are on the building? Take a picture of your team ringing the bells.

At the corner of Mun Muang Rd and Ratchamaka Rd exchange $12 into Thai currency. Cross the street to the local market and purchase enough elephant carvings for each member in the team. The team who gets the best deal will earn bonus points.

The MKs had a great time working together using their clues, their map, and their experiences in foreign countries to make their way around this new environment. In a little over two hours the first team made their link up at the rendezvous point having hit all the objectives - Team Elephant! Shortly thereafter the rest of the teams arrived and we hit up the local transportation (a mixture of different vehicles) for rides back to the hotel. Once at the hotel we met up at the hotel pool and spent a good hour listening to the words 'marco' and 'polo' being yelled out with such power that the news reported there were dogs in Cambodia barking back.

After swimming the Team walked up the street to another restaurant recommended by the local missionaries - The Duke. After sitting down and reading the menu we realized that the 'chef' was a local but had spent a good majority of his time in the Chicago area, so most of the food old fashioned american grub - pizzas, burgers, sandwiches and Teresa even ordered some bbq ribs!

After dinner we hosted movie night in the Cave for the MKs and then called it a night. It was a long day - for the MKs and for us, but we are so excited that the first day was a success... only by the grace of God are 8 'adults' from Peoria able to spend hours with 30+ MKs (ages ranging from 1.5 to 20) in the middle of Chiang Mai city with ZERO incidents. Praise God!

Tomorrow is a whole new day and we are already anticipating it! The morning will be similar to today, but in the afternoon we are taking the MKs to one of the largest, and oldest, Buddhist temples in Thailand. We expect great dialogue to come from this experience and look forward to some of the MKs sharing with us knowledge that they have acquired from their own countries on the subject.

Many people have asked about Catharine Coon - her travel has been unfortunately delayed, but she is hoping to make it in to Thailand Tuesday evening. Please pray that her flight will come through and that she will be able to spend some time with other missionaries here in Chiang Mai... the Thailand Team is definitely looking forward to meeting her!

155 pictures were uploaded tonight, so feel free to check them out!