We had a great couple of weeks with Sue and Kez and really enjoyed seeing how much they enjoyed their time here.
Unfortunately I was ill the week before they came and got worse the first few days they arrived so stayed in bed ... I had done well to avoided sickness up until then!
The night before Kez and Sue left one of the Sisters in the congregation (Boo) thanked us for coming to the hall and all the friends that have visited. This was funny because we were worried whether it might be a distraction meeting so many different people and changing every few weeks. However the fact is many of the Brothers and Sisters haven't been abroad, some haven't even been to Bangkok, so when Brothers and Sisters choose to spend their money and time visiting their little congregation in Phayao they really appreciate it and love meeting Brothers and Sisters. Whenever anyone has left someone says 'we will see you in the paradise'.
Something that made me laugh is the other week we had a thunder storm during the Sunday meeting and the hall just started to leak so Brothers were going up and down the hall onto the platform with buckets, towels and mops trying to catch the water!
Ministry has also been difficult as quite a few times we have turned up to ministry groups with no one else there!
At first we were a bit discouraged, but you remember that we came to the congregation to help so we know things were not going to be perfectly organised so we just get on with things. If anything it has been good because it pushes us to try harder at return visits and calls ... these can be a struggle with the limited language we know but we have had some good conversations!
We are enjoying time with the congregation more and more. They now love the Monday night picnic and football and even one of the oldest members in our hall came to watch with her zimmer frame and chair .... I asked if she wanted to play but she declined!!
One of the young studies in the hall was working in the market every night but one night was short of staff so Mel and I offered to help him out. So we put on the aprons and cooked these Japanese dough balls in the evening market. You could tell all the locals were wondering what we were doing there!
Many people have asked us about the trouble in Thailand yet so far we have seen no trouble in Phayao. We do have to live by the curfew and are back in our house at 22:00. (Easy for us early birds) If you stay out then an army van patrols the streets with a big spot light. There are a few soldiers around the lake and bus station but nothing to worry about. In fact, I even asked for a picture with one young soldier and he was obliging.
My parents arrived to Phayao on Sunday which is brilliant and we were both very happy to see them. They are already loving their time here. Were all going to Chaing Mai for a few days next week which will be really nice.
Sorry it is a bit of a scatty blog but its hard to remember everything that has happened and I just type as it comes into my mind.
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