February 12, 2023:
Our team finished today with a grateful kind of tiredness.
We started the morning at Good News Church where our Mighty Oaks Staff brings a lot of leadership and many of our sponsored families attend. 
I was asked to prepare an activity, game or craft to do with the children before the church service.
I led a learning activity where someone is blindfolded and led by verbal instructions through a maze of children to reach the speaker at the other end. The children were enthusiastic as we took turns with different variations of distraction and leadership through the maze. We talked about the benefit of having someone walk us through the maze instead of shouting instructions over the crazy noise of life. Having the Holy Spirit to lead and guide is such a gift. David is so great with the group and added jokes and fun commentary to my instructions as he interpreted them. It was a fun way to begin!
I led a learning activity where someone is blindfolded and led by verbal instructions through a maze of children to reach the speaker at the other end. The children were enthusiastic as we took turns with different variations of distraction and leadership through the maze. We talked about the benefit of having someone walk us through the maze instead of shouting instructions over the crazy noise of life. Having the Holy Spirit to lead and guide is such a gift. David is so great with the group and added jokes and fun commentary to my instructions as he interpreted them. It was a fun way to begin!Gan opened the morning in prayer and invited our team up to introduce ourselves. They surprised us with a gift of orchids that are grown on the sides of trees here. They all know how much my Mom loves them!
Steve spoke about what kind of legacy we want to leave in life. He did a great job of tying in the morning learning activity so the children could connect to his message. Gan is a wonderful translator. It is exhausting work to listen hard to what is said and then switch languages to capture the thoughts. I am amazed by Gan and David as they demonstrate their love for people in their serving. It is clear that the people love and respect them! Mighty Oaks is in good hands with the staff here. They are awesome people who invest deeply in others.
At the end of the service, Gan invited our team to pray for anyone who wanted prayer. The front of the church was full of people kneeling on the rugs to pray with us. It was a special time of connecting in spirit that transcends words.
After church lunch is shared by everyone. There is a group who serve selflessly in the kitchen to make sure the physical needs of the community are cared for.
Throughout the morning, Mom would reconnect with people who rejoiced in seeing her again.
I captured photos for Mom and after each encounter, I would ask about the story behind their connection. My parents gave one woman a hearing aid they upgraded from, and she could now hear! A blind elderly woman used to crawl around on the bamboo floor of her hut to avoid a hole in the middle that dropped several feet to the ground since it was erected on stilts. Mom and Dad used donations to have that house dismantled and a new concrete home built for her family. 
Story after story helped me see how my parents’ lives are woven into the fabric of the people here. I met my sponsor child at church today. Nat is a beautiful young teen with a reserved manner, but we quickly embraced and felt comfortable standing with an arm around each other as we waited for Gan to facilitate a conversation. She is precious. I am so thankful we got to connect. I will see her again at the camp next weekend!
This afternoon, we hosted a celebration of my Dad’s life at the Mighty Oaks Ministry Centre. It was a beautiful service with elements from our Thai friends and our family.
So many people came from the early days of my parents’ Thailand trips. It was like a reunion for Mom. I tried to keep up with her after the service to capture photo memories of this special day. We met many of our Mighty Oaks graduates who are working in a variety of stable professions. Some travelled three hours from Chiang Mai to be there.
After everyone left, Steve, Mom, Sylvia and I gathered on the upper deck to talk and relax. David, Gan and Beulah (their amazing teen daughter) brought dinner in tonight and we enjoyed recounting parts of the day and one another’s company as we ate together. Mom shared about how in the early years she had to work hard to change mindsets. It took persuasion for some parents and grandparents of our sponsored children to value education over getting them working earlier. The investment in a brighter future has brought a new level of security to whole families. There is so much to be grateful for, and so many young ones we continue to meet who need a chance at an education and a supportive community to become all they can be. This work is just getting started!
February 9, 2023
Today was our first full day in Chiang Mai. We are still resting up from travel and so are enjoying seeing Mom reunite with dear friends that live in the area! This morning we had three special guests join us for breakfast. I was taking pictures of our beautiful surrounding when Pastor Somsock and his wife and Tippewan stepped into the courtyard with Gan! Mom was surprised and thrilled to see them. Mom shared photos and stories with these friends she has made over her seventeen trips to Thailand.
After breakfast and goodbyes, we headed to a favourite destination in the area: The Umbrella Factory. Historically, the umbrellas were made by villagers for ceremonies in the monasteries, but as they grew in popularity, they became a source of income post-harvest season. It is a pleasure to watch this 200-year-old craft still performed by hand. The shop is full of vibrant colours and provided Sylvia with lots of great gift ideas!
We had lunch back at our hotel before heading up to a temple that sits at the top of a mountain overlooking Chiang Mai. The view is incredible, and the flowering trees and plants are matched in beauty by the ornate gilded craftsmanship of the temple and grounds. It is easy to get a feel for the Buddhist roots in Thailand and the striving for peace, serenity, and enlightenment.
We sat by a small lake surrounded by terraced flower gardens for dinner. We soaked in the fragrances and colours of spring after leaving the cool greys and browns of Canadian winter. It was a feast for the senses. It is easy to find gratitude for our days together here!
I am loving the exchanges around the table, in the truck and walking along the way that happens in community. Today David purchased some pads for sitting in the back of the truck. I found it a way more comfortable way to travel! I got some amused looks from local motorists as I faced the oncoming traffic! 
We are so grateful for these days of regaining strength for our time in Fang! We head up to our Mighty Oaks Ministry Centre in Fang tomorrow! We can’t wait to see the land and buildings that have developed from generous donations since the last time I was here in 2015.
