When I begin to wonder if our trip is really encouraged by God...especially after having so much fun...something happens like this: we had lugged about 70 pounds of children books with us that I was hoping to find a good home for in Bangkok so we didn't have to lug them any further. About a month before we left, a man visited our church who was involved in a mission (Servant Works) helping young women in Bangkok get out of the prostitution ring. Many of them had children. After several emails, I got their Bangkok phone number and so I tried calling. No luck. I asked the clerk at the hotel we were staying to try the phone number. Jackpot. Not only did he contact them--he knew the director!! Of all the hotels in Bangkok we could have stayed in ...how can you not get goose bumps and feel that God is smiling down on us!!

Servant Work:

Today (Sun) it was good bye Bangkok...hello Phuket or should I say paradise??? We arrived at Bann Malinee where sweet, fresh pineapple juice & a gorgeous beach awaited us. As the four of us floated in the turquoise water, we laughed & said, is this really a mission trip??? We reassured ourselves that we were filling our spirit so that we had lots to give later. Eric (the Belgium B &B owner)had a three course meal ready for us to devour when we got back from the beach. Elsi dove into the soup only to get a red pepper in her first bite--HOT!! That should have taught Bob not to do the same thing but guess he had to experience it for himself. Lesson: red or green could be mean. That sure didn't stop us for loving the shrimp coconut soup, egg rolls and two other dishes that were gorgeous & delicious but I sure don't know what they were. A long soak in the pool was a soothing way to end this day.

Monday morning began with an amazing breakfast buffet--fresh local fruit, cheese, liver pate, homemade breads/rolls, bacon & eggs. Eric had arranged for a driver that took us all around the island. We saw poster perfect beaches on bays filled with yachts, sailboats and long boats. We walked Kamala beach where just a few years ago the tsunami killed many and destroyed so much. A monument that looks like a tumbleweed.

Next we went to a gibbon rehabiliation center which has had much success. I wish I could send you the sound they made as they talked to each other.

Then we hiked up through a rainforest to a waterfall. It was fun to see the kids swimming in the pools playing on floating logs. In route we passed through towns with some of the same small businesses that we saw in India and Kenya--I honestly think there is a manual out there that tells how to build a small business in a third world country. Phuket's were a bit better. Right next door to these shacks were 7/11 stores. Here tires are used in so many ways. They make trash containers by turning them inside out and mounting them on halves of bicycle tires. Motor cycles had large side cars mounted on a single bicycle wheel. And on last great idea, the traffic lights have count down numbers. We ended up the day with a great swim and another gourmet meal which included crab and duck. Does life get better??