Adventure-us

Ten years ago this month we finished up a week in Abbotsford, British Columbia. We were participating in an event called Spring Adventure. Little did we know that the adventure would begin after that week.

Spring Adventure was a time for us to get to know an organization called MBMS International and for them to get to know us. While there, we stayed on the campus of Columbia Bible College.

Less Adventurous

There were times for meeting in groups and some times for more adventurous activities.

One adventure we had was to hang on some cliffs.

More Adventurous

At the end of that week of evaluations and such we were invited to continue to further explore working with MBMS International.

The ten years since have been quite the adventure both for us and our organization.

The organization has changed a couple times and and with each change came a new name. The first change came shortly after we joined, to MB Mission, and more recently the name has changed again to Multiply.

As for our adventures, well, the most obvious has been the moves.  First to Canada for a few months, then back to Fresno for just over a year. Then to Thailand.  Just over a year in Bangkok, where living in a mega-city was a bit of an adventure for us country folk. After conquering the concrete jungle,  we moved to a nearby province named Chonburi seven months. That Christmas we moved just north to Chachoengsao where we lived for almost a year.  After a few months in North America, it was onto the far north of the country to Chiang Rai province for a few years. Then a few more months in North America before settling into Nong Khai in northeast Thailand for the past two years.

New places. New faces. New assignments. New languages.  New teams. New opportunities to see God at work in different circumstances. Opportunities to see churches birthed and to see people come to new life in Christ. Opportunities to have our faith challenged.

It's good that God has blessed us with a love of exploring.

We're never too old for new adventures. Abram was a young 75 years old when God told him to leave his nice home in Haran and go to a place that God said He would show them. (Genesis 12:4) He didn't have his first kid until he was 100! Imagine having to wait until you're 122 years old to watch your first kid graduate college.

Sometimes, though, we'd like there to be a little less adventure. While getting to live in different places and meeting different people can be fun, it can also be a bit wearying.  As we age, we find we don't have the energy that we used to have.

One thing we are sure of though is that the changes will keep coming.  Ten years ago, we went to Spring Adventure.  Since then there have been ten years of adventure.  In the next ten years the adventures will continue. We will meet new people and make new friends.  We will experience joys and sorrows, blessings and loss. At some point during that time we will probably officially retire (whatever that is). We will probably move at least one more time.

I thought it was hard to start over in my 50's! I hope that when I get to be 75 I will still have faith like Abraham and be willing to embark on whatever new adventures God calls me to.

Partial Fulfillment of Perpetual Wanderlust

I.e. On the road again

That's how it seems sometimes.

Today we are on a journey to Isaan to find a place to live for the next few years.  While I was planning the journey, I noticed that Google Maps traced out a route that was a bit shorter than using the more major roads.  It would cut about 2 hours of travel time.

But I was a bit dubious.  I was thinking that we would be ready to spend the night somewhere along that lonely stretch, and it did not look like there were a lot of options for lodging in the the small villages along the way.  I had pretty much decided not to go.

But then we made good time getting to the turnoff for the shortcut--and that in spite of stopping by the motor vehicle department to renew vehicle registration.  So I figured we should go for it.  A few miles in, we came to an intersection and as I rounded the corner, my brain made a mental jump.  A sense of adventure kicked in as we entered what  for us was new terrain.  This is not an area frequented by foreigners.  There are not many people to speak English to.

Eventually we made it to Nakhon Thai--or "Thai City", as it translates.

It was interesting looking for a place to stay.  We drove by one place that Google Maps showed, but the outward appearance was not too inviting.  So we turned around and went to another place we drove past earlier.  There was a registration booth, but no one was there.  There was a bell to ring, so we tried that. No response.  So we drove down the road further and saw the Petch (Diamond) Resort.  Like the previous place, there was no one around.  We rang the bell that was there.  No response.  But there was a phone number on the window, so we tried that.  That met with more success.

A few minutes later, a couple of people showed up on a motorcycle to help us with our rooms.  By this time, there were several of us waiting.  We decided to splurge and spend some extra dough for an A/C room--$15 altogether.

Is the pretty girl included with the room?

The resort might have more visual appeal at another time of year.  Right now it is the end of dry season and the fields are bare. A cow and her two calves were trying to scrounge up a few morsels in brown soil.   Soon, the paddies will be flooded and shortly after that they will be green with new rice.

View from our room

The better days of the Diamond Resort are behind it.  Still it is nice, quiet place.  Like the place we stayed a couple nights ago, the  rooms have names instead of numbers.  "Diamond."  "Gold."  We are in "Silver."

Diamond Resort

The resort is in a residential area with a lot of run down homes.  This is a farming community and it appears that there is not a lot of money to be had.  We took a short drive to the first restaurant we could find.  "End of the Sky" (Plai Fa) is a Thai style buffet where you cook your own food.  When we first arrived, we weren't sure the place was open because it was so quiet.  But soon the place was bustling.  Many people were getting take out, which means they would give you a bag and you can fill it for 200 baht (about $6).  So people were loading up their bags with raw meat and fish to take home.

We ate our fill and headed back to the resort, then went for a walk down some of the alleys. The people were friendly, although obviously not used to seeing much in the way of foreigners walking down their streets. One woman pointed out where the Seven Eleven is--I guess she figured that's where a foreigner would go to get food.  (She was right.  We had just been there to get some food for breakfast.)

End of the Sky Restaurant

Tomorrow morning, we will head out towards Nong Khai.  We are about an hour drive from the Khorat Plateau--which is the region known as Isaan. Then it's about 4 more hours to our final destination. We are excited to be looking for a place to live.  We have no idea what we will find.

We are going to a District called Phon Phisai.  It is the next district to the east of the city of Nong Khai.  As we go to Phon Phisai, we are mindful that God is already there.  "For what great nation has a god as near to them as the LORD God is near to us whenever we call on him?" we read in Deuteronomy 4:7.  As we journey into what, for us, is the unknown, we are glad that God is near to us.  All we have to do is call on Him.