First Days in Chiang Rai!

On Wednesday we arrived safely in Chiang Rai (just a short hop on a plane from central Thailand to Northern Thailand near the Myanmar Border). As we got off the plane we were greeted by an entourage of the extremely hospitable folks that run the Child and Family Prison Ministries in Chiang Rai which cares for children whose parents are in the Thai Prison System and don't have relatives that can adequately care for them. Ryan Roe, who is the deputy director of the ministry, is our point contact person, he already feels like a brother to us and has accomodated us so well. Ryan's parents, Judy and Steve, are also visiting from the states and are a wonderful encouragement! Then there is the wonderful Amy who cares for the girls in the girls house and being a native Thai is who we go to to ask about certain foods, learn to cook from, and enjoy laughs with. Arlang and Jinda are the married couple who provide care for all the children and even have a biological son of their own named Prame. It has been a wonderful blessing to experience authentic Thai life and see the beauty of a diverse family, with few biological connections, come together to share life. It has truly touched us to the core. So, now that you know everyone, let me tell you what we have been up to and why this blog post is a little late!
Wednesday, our first afternoon in Chiang Rai, we experienced the Thai Megamarket, moved our big ol' backpacks into Ryan's room(he graciously gave us for the week) and then got to go pick up the children from school. After the first afternoon we fell in love with these kids! Honestly the most well behaved and sweet children, there are 5 in the ministry family ranging in age from 5 yrs to 12 yrs. We spent the first night seeing the houses and enjoying a delicious homemade Thai meal together. We also visited the night market and a Thai Swensen's (so much better than in America).

Yesterday, Thursday, we visited Big C (which is like a walmart) and got supplies for Braam's First Birthday! Amy taught Christina and I how to cook a few thai things in preparation for the celebration. Then last night we had a party, ate good thai pork and green tea ice cream and helped little Braam blow out his candles! This was such a beautiful picture of what the Kingdom looks like: the diversity of God's children pulled into one big family to celebrate, love and laugh together!

And finally, today, we travelled to another country! Well just across the border to Burma (or Myanmar if you wish). We stocked up on inexpensive dvds and looked around the stalls. A quick note on Burma: Many of you have heard of the political upheaval taking place there currently, although we didn't experience any turmoil, the oppression of the Burmese people is extremely tangible. The beggars are rampant and their pleas heartbreaking, it has a much different feel from Thailand in the sense that the people's plight is quite evident. After getting back from Burma we journeyed to see the monkeys (which are actually scary little creatures, especially when wanting the peanuts from your feeding bucket). We also hiked up to a beautiful lookout and awesome caves. After that we headed home to freshen up for the 3rd of July celebration(we know a day early ;) Rachel, a friend of Ryan's, and also very connected to the kids, teaches English at the local university so she had some of her students over for Thai BBQ and American S'Mores! We played with the kids and spoke with the Thai students and had a wonderful independence day celebration!

So yes, we have experienced so much in the past few days and gotten to understand more and more about the ministry and how this beautiful family works together. On a side note: Along with trying the strange new fruits, learning more thai words and practicing our wai(bow) christina got her first motorcycle ride in, in fact, she drove Ryan's motorcycle home from the kid's house (a heart attack also almost took place, until of course we realized she made it home safe ;) Don't worry Mama Louie, the motorcycles are more like scooters here anyway. Okay, so blessings to all back home reading this! I need some sleep: tomorrow we are taking the children to go ride Ostriches and Elephants, should be an awesome day!

Love you all a lot,
Kaitlyn and Christina