I'm here!

I’m now here in Khon Kaen after a safe and uneventful (but fun and adventurous!) 30+ hours of travel (including layovers). The land is tropical and beautiful, the weather is warm, and lizards abound inside and out. On my first flight from Columbus, Ohio to Newark Airport I met a lady named Lisa who has recently become Catholic. I was able to talk with her about who Christ is and what it means to have a relationship with him. On my next 14 hour flight to Tokyo I had an empty seat next to me and then an older gentleman who kindly let me in and out of the row and pointed out the rice fields of Japan. I had 2 empty seats next to me for my 3^rd flight to Bangkok and I was able to see Mt. Fuji since we passed right by it.

Then, in Bangkok, Bonnie met me at the airport and I spent the night at her house. Since we got in at midnight I met her husband and children in the morning; they were very kind and generous hosts, and I was blessed by their hospitality. My final 45 minute flight to Khon Kaen I sat next to a kind man from Singapore who was traveling for his job in the oil industry.

At the Kohn Kaen airport I claimed my baggage (all of it made it!) and then was surprised to find a large welcoming committee of most of the missionaries and their families (one of the children was sick) and staff from Campus Crusade. More pictures at the Weimer's blog http://www.weimers4thailand.blogspot.com/.

I am now living with the Offutts—(Ted is currently in the states and will be back soon), Kaylin, Kylie (age 16, an awesome girl, and my roommate for the next 2 weeks), and Noah. Their oldest son, Connor, is now in the US for college.

My first evening in Kohn Kaen the team met at the Weimers house to eat their favorite foods including cashew chicken, a coconut with chicken soup, and mango with sticky rice. They shared a little about themselves and we enjoyed a short time of singing and prayer.

There is so much new here I wish I could tell you about it all, or better yet that you could come experience it for yourself. But please know that God has been very good to me and answered prayers. I am enjoying the banana and mango trees, cows occasionally crossing the road, having small lizards in the house, brilliant blue beetles about the size of ladybugs, tile in every house and bathroom, and occasional torrents of rain.

Today (Monday for me…Thailand is US time plus 11 hours), I spent time with Debbie getting to know her, learning some about Thai culture and greetings, and went to lunch with the her, Doni, Asia and Coleman. Tomorrow morning I will go to the bilingual school with Kaylin and be in Kindergarten for the morning. Then, after lunch, I will have an hour language lesson. That will be my normal schedule Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. Mondays and Wednesdays I hope to teach an English club at the university and meet students there. That’s pretty much all I know about my schedule.

Really, though, this trip isn’t about schedules. It’s about being available for God to teach me and to use me in others lives. Schedule? Who needs one of those. J