This has been a whirlwind of a week. After spending a week going though our belongings, selling some things, giving other things away, the moving truck showed up. That was only last Friday.
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| Loading the moving truck |
After the moving truck left, we did some last minute cleaning--of the house and then our sweaty bodies--and then jumped in the truck to try to get to Phon Phisai before the moving truck--sometime the next day. We spent the night in a hotel along the way, but were off by 4 am on Saturday.
Arriving in Phon Phisai, we found that our road was flooded. In places the water was over a foot deep (good thing it had gone down some, the neighbors said.).
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| Our road the day after the flood |
When the truck arrived a few hours later, the church members helped us to unload. Then we went to Nong Khai to buy a bus ticket, came back home, did some shopping for groceries, and then collapsed in bed.
On Sunday, after church, we took a van to Nong Khai (about an hour drive) and then got on the overnight bus to Chiang Mai.
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| Waiting in the Nong Khai bus station |
We were headed to Chiang Mai to formally launch our team and do some planning. There were lots of questions to try to answer. One question was, "what will we call the team". Sorry--haven't answered that one yet.
But here we are. The Isaan Team, Or Nong Khai Team. Or Phon Phisai Team.
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| The Unnamed team |
We also tried to decide on a name for the new church that has been started. I tried to draw inspiration from a sign I could see across from the Hotel we were staying in.
But we figured that "support for wealth and peace" might send the wrong message. So we decided on using the name of the village it is in: Ban Dawn Pho (Sacred Fig Hill Village) Church.
After a few days in Chiang Mai, we took a bus back to Chiang Khong, where Junji and Hitomi were waiting for us with our car. We drove back to our old house to pick up some plants and then headed back towards our new home. We drove a few hours on Friday, then all day Saturday, dodging some thunderstorms in the mountains of Loei province.
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| Stormy Weather in Loei Province |
Now we are just a few hours away from home, having spent the night in the city of Nong Bua Lamphu. This city draws its name from Nong Bua--Water Lily Pond--which is located in a park in the town.
Anyway, by whatever name our team is known, we are ready to head back to Phon Phisai to nurture the fledgling church that God is using Somdy to help begin. This task of caring for the church seems a bit overwhelming.
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| Called to Care for the Flock |
We are reminded of the prayer of Solomon:
Give me an understanding heart so that I can govern your people well and know the difference between right and wrong. For who by himself is able to govern this great people of yours? 1 Kings 3:9 (NLT)
The church may not yet be great in number, but we still need God's wisdom as we lead.
