The drone of the monks chanting over the loudspeaker and the beat of the drums sound dreary and sad. The monastery down the road from us is having some sort of special ceremony. We are wondering how long they will keep it up. I hope they give it up by the time we go to bed.
We went into Chiang Mai yesterday and stayed overnight at the condo so we could use the faster Internet to Skype with our kids. It was so good to see them! I still shed a few tears every time we visit long distance, though. Becky’s family was at Beth’s house so we saw all the those grandkids together. The kids were busy playing a game of zombie hide-and-seek, so we only saw them as they chased each other past the computer camera with the “zombie eye,” which was a small rubber ball. Those who were touched by the ball had to stand in the bathtub, which was the zombie cooking pot, until everyone was caught. What a blessing to see happy kids and hear their shrieks of laughter!
I was so aggravated when the condo management refused to let us out of our lease, but what a convenient thing it has turned out to be. It is refreshing to have a get-away place with air conditioning — and no ants! Bro. Anond drops us off on Friday afternoon when he takes the Camps back. I do a little shopping and get my nails done — a real treat. We eat American food at the mall, and generally have a nice break. Brother Anond picks us up when he gets Sarah from her special Saturday classes.
This week we also went to the airport to see if we can get our tickets changed to a more convenient day and then to the airport mall to check on the Internet. They will call us on Tuesday. The last time they said that, it was six weeks before we heard from them again, but we are praying that the Lord will speed things along for us. In the meantime, I am making do with the exceedingly s-l-o-w air card, which will get my blog posted eventually, although it balks on posting more than a few pictures at a time.
It’s getting hotter here now, with the temps projected to hit 100 several days next week. I’ll believe winter is over when the kids quit wearing their coats and fleece pajamas, though!
Tomorrow we head out for another two hour journey through the mountains to the troubled Plang Hoc church. They, with great difficulty, stood up against a pastor who went rogue and started preaching heresy. He and his family caused the church a lot of grief, including stealing the pulpit and the chairs. Se Bat is pastoring there now, and we are happy that he returned from Burma and is back to lead them. We don’t know if he will continue working at the children’s home, too, but he will do it at least part time until other arrangements are made, which is a relief to all of us.
Just scratched my head — and a spider fell out onto my keyboard. I must have picked him up when I was walking after we got home. Sure wish these pesky critters didn’t find me so attractive!
Paul has the bed made out, and has checked it for ants, so I guess I will try and get this posted.
Blessings from Thailand
Susan