Here's just a few more pictures from mom's visit here. Here we are having dinner for Mom and Janie's birthdays, my housemates, my friend Stephanie and Ae. Here's a photo of mom and Janie at the gardens. Janie and I with a fire dancer and then us having one last good dinner at the beach....... And mom is being respectful and waiing the kids.....it's the thai way!

the beach....Koh Chang....

We flew to Bangkok and stayed the night. Then the next morning we headed down to Koh Chang. We had a very nice guy drive us down in his van. We got there in the early evening and had dinner and then played in the water for a little bit. We spent some more time shopping.....I know...we are at the beach....but mom couldn’t resist! It was shopping paradise! We had massages, laid by the pool, played in the ocean, read, ate amazing food, watched fire dancers, saw some beautiful sunsets, played some more and rested. Ah, it was very nice! Then we were picked up by our nice van driver on Saturday. He took us back to Bangkok and the next morning I had to say goodbye to mom and Janie. Mom I did cry after I walked away. Just thought you should know! I am so so blessed that both of them were able to come and visit me. I am so glad they got to share this adventure together. And I am honored that they will take those amazing 2 weeks back with them and share it with as many of you as they can. Enjoy listening to their stories! It was a time I will never forget!

Mom and Janie got to finally hang out with the kids and take their gifts to them. Mom played with them and Janie did some hair ministry! (Thanks Jane!) We took the kids to go feed the fish and on sunday mom and Janie got to go to the River of Life with the kids, which is where we take the kids to church each week. It’s a children’s home down the street from BNJ. And that ends our time in Chiang Rai....we had to say our goodbyes and then we are off for the beach.......

We got to Chiang Rai in the evening. Mom and Janie stayed up at Paul and Penny’s house in their guest bedroom. (AKA- Luke and Pen’s old room) I stayed in Jaci’s room and some nights in the girls house. I woke up several times to the girls staring at me saying “P’Kyndra is sleeping in our room!!” It was fun! While in Chiang Rai I took mom and Janie to the Night Bazare where a bunch of handicrafts are made and sold in a market. It’s pretty fun. It was hard to pull mom away even when people were closing down their little booths! That woman loves to shop!! She loves giving gifts!! I also took them to Companion coffee shop, which is where I spend a lot of time with my friends P’Lut, Nok and Oct. It was really fun! And since Mom and Janie had their birthdays right before and while here I took them out to a really nice resort called Naga Hill and they had a real thai massage and then had a very nice dinner. It was really fun.

We had a day at the Mae Fa Luang gardens (the kings mother’s gardens up on Doi Tung). Then we proceeded up to the Golden Triangle........mom continued to shop!! haa haa! We then headed to Mae Sai, which is the border town next to Burma. More shopping...... And then ended our venture at a beautiful pottery place called Doi Din Dang. I won’t tell you how much mom spent there!! Haa haa.....Love you mom! We ended our evening with a lovely dinner with Penny at the house!

My mom comes to visit.....

Seeing my mom here in Thailand was probably the highlight of my year! It was such a blessing to show her my life here. I also got to show her and her friend Janie all around Chiang Rai, Chiang Saen, Mae Sai, Pattaya, Bangkok and Koh Chang. I got to show her where I have been living for the past year, where I work, what I do and who I spend my time with. It was really nice! We had a blast traveling with all of their luggage!! haa haa! They didn’t pack light that’s for sure! They brought gifts for all of the kids. The kids always love that! What kid doesn’t!?

When they arrived, Robin and Whim (I grew up with Robin in Coulee Dam, Wa, she now lives with her husband Whim in Bangkok) took us out to a fabulous place called Yellow Yellow really close to her school. It was delicious!!

Then we went to the bus station where we would take a 2 hour bus trip to Pattaya and stay the night. My friend Nuch met us there and took us to the hotel. I made her stay with us too! It was really great to see her. The next day we went to visit the Tamar Center so that Janie could meet the director of the ministry and see the hair salon there. (Janie is a hair dresser in Oregon). So she was very interested in seeing how the ministry worked there. That was really fun. I got to see some friends there as well. For those of you who did their DTS outreach with me and are reading this, I got to see Angel. She looks good and is doing really well. Then we headed back to Bangkok where we would then get on a plane to head to Chiang Rai.

Housemates.....

I don’t know if you have met Mike and Bec and Bethany..... they are my house mates. Mike and Beck will head back to Adelaide in January and Bethany will head back home in February. I still have time with them and am enjoying getting to know them. Mike has been helping out with maintenance and doing electrical work around the property and also takes the kids to school in the morning. Bec has been helping out a lot in the office. She has been doing so much along with picking the kids up from school and teaching english at the school that our kids go to. Bethany has been keeping the BNJ garden up, doing landscaping around the property and also has been painting the volunteer house. I am excited about that part! So that’s them....They are all Australian. One thing I have learned from the Aussies that I have met here is that they all have been easy to love and love easy! I am blessed to have a new family in Adelaide that I can go and visit! So that’s them.........