Our trip back from Mae Sot was beautiful. Aaron took us back in his car since he had to go to Chiang Mai anyway. I was amazed at some of the beauty I somehow missed on the way there that I was able to witness on the way back.
Unfortunately, I somehow contacted a virus from either food poisoning or some other way, and ended up being extremely sick that evening - like more sick than I can ever remember in my life. I kind of want to forget most of that though so I'll save you the ugly details. Thankfully, I was mostly better the next day, and at least fully functional. I even tried eating again, and had some more amazing Thai food.
I was so glad I was feeling better the next day because we went to go visit Partners Relief and Development that day. We had sort of met some people who work for Partners in Mae Sot at the house church we went to, but it was good to talk to some people that work in their main office. We even found out that one of our acquaintances from Biola worked there so that was kind of neat to make that connection. We learned a bit more about what they do and how they are serving the people of Burma there. Prior to our trip, we had been reading the books that they have published, so it was fun to be there with them. As much as we like what they are doing, it was pretty obvious that we were not a good fit for their organization. Phil's skills are too specialized, and though I could teach ESL, I'm not yet certified, and I need to focus on homeschooling our boys.
Since Partners was on the other side of town from our hotel, we needed to find some good transportation. We walked a bit to the brand-spanking-new mall in Chiang Mai called Central Festival, and as soon as we walked in, we felt like we were somewhere in downtown Seattle or San Francisco. We were pretty tired, so we didn't explore the extremely modern five-story mall, but we stopped at the closest coffee shop in it to enjoy the A/C and get a drink. Next door to this shop was a Starbucks, and it was across the way from a Cold Stone. The place was expensive so I doubt we'd find ourselves in this mall much (we don't like to go to the mall now anyway), but it's nice to know about.
On Friday, we met with the Free Burma Rangers. FBR provides humanitarian relief to Internally Displaced People (IDPs) inside of Burma. Their website explains it better than I can:
When we visited their main office, we discovered that they had an acute need for their computer database system where they document what their teams are doing inside of Burma. The following day, we then got a chance to talk to someone that had been working on the database a few years ago, and Phil got a better understanding of what their needs really are.
After talking with them, we realized just how much Phil's skills line up so neatly with the needs of FBR. We are now in the process of applying with their organization as volunteers, and we hope to be joining them next year. With the joy that this brings, it has been difficult to let go of our desire to partner with the Charis Project. We hope that we can maintain our relationship with them, and hope to visit them in Mae Sot again - next time with our kids in tow!
We have a lot to get ready for in the coming months. We appreciate your prayers!
I'll leave you with the FBR motto:
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| A village on a river |
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| Transporting an elephant. |
Unfortunately, I somehow contacted a virus from either food poisoning or some other way, and ended up being extremely sick that evening - like more sick than I can ever remember in my life. I kind of want to forget most of that though so I'll save you the ugly details. Thankfully, I was mostly better the next day, and at least fully functional. I even tried eating again, and had some more amazing Thai food.
 |
| Pineapple Fried Rice at the Night Bazaar |
Since Partners was on the other side of town from our hotel, we needed to find some good transportation. We walked a bit to the brand-spanking-new mall in Chiang Mai called Central Festival, and as soon as we walked in, we felt like we were somewhere in downtown Seattle or San Francisco. We were pretty tired, so we didn't explore the extremely modern five-story mall, but we stopped at the closest coffee shop in it to enjoy the A/C and get a drink. Next door to this shop was a Starbucks, and it was across the way from a Cold Stone. The place was expensive so I doubt we'd find ourselves in this mall much (we don't like to go to the mall now anyway), but it's nice to know about.
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| Phil relaxing |
On Friday, we met with the Free Burma Rangers. FBR provides humanitarian relief to Internally Displaced People (IDPs) inside of Burma. Their website explains it better than I can:
The Free Burma Rangers (FBR) is a multi-ethnic humanitarian service movement. They bring help, hope and love to people in the war zones of Burma. Ethnic pro-democracy groups send teams to FBR to be trained, supplied and sent into the areas under attack to provide emergency medical care, shelter, food, clothing and human rights documentation. The teams also operate a communication and information network inside Burma that provides real time information from areas under attack.A more detailed description can also be found here.
When we visited their main office, we discovered that they had an acute need for their computer database system where they document what their teams are doing inside of Burma. The following day, we then got a chance to talk to someone that had been working on the database a few years ago, and Phil got a better understanding of what their needs really are.
After talking with them, we realized just how much Phil's skills line up so neatly with the needs of FBR. We are now in the process of applying with their organization as volunteers, and we hope to be joining them next year. With the joy that this brings, it has been difficult to let go of our desire to partner with the Charis Project. We hope that we can maintain our relationship with them, and hope to visit them in Mae Sot again - next time with our kids in tow!
We have a lot to get ready for in the coming months. We appreciate your prayers!
I'll leave you with the FBR motto:
Love each other. Unite and work for freedom, justice, and peace. Forgive and don’t hate each other. Pray with faith, act with courage, never surrender.
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