:: Reaching Nepal ::

I am alive. That?s the first bit of good news. I arrived back in Chiang Mai yesterday, took a shower (I was stinky), and fellowshipped with some of my co-workers. These last four days have been one crazy adventure after another. Many of the adventures have brought advancement to the kingdom and some were just plan weird, but I will tell them all to you so don?t worry.

Day One- March 11, 2006

Not an overly exciting day. I woke up and filled my backpack with tracks, Bibles and books in both the Thai and Karen language. Next, I went to the bus stop to catch a bus to Chiang Ri and I made it just in time to buy a ticket for the last bus of the day. Now in Thailand they have three classes of buses: 1^st class, 2^nd class (A/C), and 3^rd class. Since it was the last bus of the day it was a 3^rd class bus. Now normally I wouldn?t care which bus I rode, but remember I am in Thailand and it?s over 90 degrees outside. If you know me at all you know this combination equals one thing?.sweat. God was good though and provided me a seat by the window. What started out kinda gross ended up being a nice ride.

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? The day ended with me checking into a $4 a night guesthouse near the center of town.

Day Two- March 12, 2006

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? I woke up later than expected, but it was nice to get some extra sleep. I opened my Lonely Planet and found a shop close by that rented motorcycles. For 500 bhat a day (around $12) I rented a Honda 250cc dirt bike. After a few hours riding around the city I met up with a group of Philippino missionaries who have planted a church in Chiang Ri. It was so amazing to see Asians reaching other Asians. The Philippines is one of the few countries in the world that has moved from a receiving country to a sending country. This is the ultimate goal of any missions team: reaching and train nationals, planted indigenous churches, and assist nationals in helping their churches start mission movements. The Philippines is a prime example of this dream.

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? Around 3 o?clock I hopped on my bike, said a quick prayer for my safety (I am still kinda new to this motorcycle thing), and headed to Mae Sai. The trip was about 60km with a nice paved road the whole way. Now Mae Sai is the most northern town in Thailand and borders the country of Myanmar (Burma). Mae Sai is a small town of 10,000 people, but is full of personality. After checking into my guesthouse for the night I walked to the river and sat down on the Thailand side overlooking Burma. There I prayed that God would captivate the land of Burma like He did in the days of Adoniram Judson. While sitting there, my fingers turned the pages of my Bible to Psalm 62, 63 and 67 and I read these passages out loud to God and to the land of Burma. Here are just a few verse that I long for Burma to understand.