Week 2

Hello all,

We are currently on our way to Pai, Thailand to teach English.  We will be the honored guest speakers at a 30 hour English course for the district court staff of this tiny thai town.  This van ride has given us an opportunity to reflect on our last week.

Last Monday, we took our day off and used it for a date night.  Kara and I went to eat at "Tex Mex", a little Mexican resturaunt right here in Chiang Mai that actually serves us cuisine resembling Dallas Mexican food.  We are still looking for that pot of gold that makes food like we had in San Antonio. After dinner we walked around the market near the resturaunt. Then we called it a night.

Tuesday was a typical day without any extra activities.  We teach English on most days from 3-6.

Wednesday, we taught English at the zone as usual, and then went to the Gethsrmene Children's Home to teach and sing songs with the kids.

Thursday, we bought a motorcycle!

Friday, we had cell group and ate some amazing kaow soy.  It's a red curry soup with noodles and topped with crunchy stringy things.  

Saturday, we relaxed in the morning, and then went to eat homemade Chinese food and study the bible.  

Sunday we had worship, taught an English class, got a massage, played volleyball at the international school, and finally watched White House Down at the church. Also, I learned to order my food "piset", which means "extra".  This new word has helped me to get the Texas sized portions I'm used to when we go out to eat.

Yesterday, we took our new motorcycle to the mountains.  We went to see a waterfall and then drove up and down a sweet mountain road, stopping at overlooks along the way.  It was a very nice ride that I hope to make often.  

And now, we are in a van on the road to Pai.  This road is rumored to have 709 curves before arriving in Pai, but I don't plan on counting.  

Until next time,

Ben Wilde

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Our First Week

Our first week has been full of adventure. We have both been under the weather this week. Prayers to get better and to stay healthy are greatly appreciated. Sunday night we went to Walking Street. Walking street is a big market that happens every Sunday. They sell everything from handmade jewelry to fried bugs. Out of the group that was going, only Ben could "drive." Using his optimism he Is richly blessed with, he rose to the opportunity. No left side of the road, stick shift obstacle was going to stop him.

On Tuesday we went to an orphanage to love on some babies. This particular orphanage only holds newborns to 5 year olds. We had so much fun playing with the kids and holding the babies. I  (Kara) held a baby named Da. Da's parents tried to have her aborted, but she survived. Da is a testament to God's will. God's will wins over abortion.

On Wednesday we went to another orphanage. This orphanage has older kids (5-18). Here at Gethsemane home we taught the students English and worshiped with them. We sang songs like father Abraham and Blue Skies and Rainbows. I was in charge of teaching the older kids English. I taught possessive adjective and pronouns, a topic I'm not sure I understood before I taught the lesson.   We will be going here every week to tech English and sing songs with the kids. Can't wait for next week!

On Thursday and Friday we taught English. Every Friday we have Cell group at the church.  We eat together, sing songs and them someone shares a lesson with the church. This Sunday Ben shared about his walk with Christ.

Saturday, we had a mugata party to celebrate the work of the church secretary Bon. He is moving on to a new job so there was a great party in his honor.

Bon's mugata party

Yesterday we had church service at the zone and then we had a church service at the Leprosy home.  We meet lots of people that are missing legs and fingers because of leprosy. One lady that I talked to has had leprosy for over 30 years. She came to love at the leprosy home 30 years ago and that's when she came to know Christ. In the hometown that she moved from no one was a Christian and she had never heard about God. Her story reminds me that God is in control. He makes good out of even the worst situations.

  

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The Old Gang

Just wanted to send a shout out to last years AFC Thailand team and to encourage anyone who is still at A&M to take one of these trips if you get the chance.  I was able to go on two and these trips dramatically changed the course of my life to this point.  Kara and I took the second trip together and it was the during that trip that I realized that I wanted to marry her.  I saw her servant heart and compassion for others and tons of other great things and knew she was the one for me.  Now that we are graduated and married, we have come back to this place to continue where we left off.  God placed an opportunity in my life one Sunday afternoon.  I took it and I am so glad that I did because if I hadn't, this awesome chain of events might not have started.   So ya, shout out to the previous AFC teams and we both cant wait to see next years group in Chiang Mai.

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Eating at EatDrink Coffee

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Payap University

Welcome to Payap University.

Taken from their website:

"Payap University, established in 1974, is a private institution founded by the Church of Christ in Thailand. Payap is a founding member of the Association of Private Higher Education Institutions in Thailand, and an active member of the Association of Christian Universities and Colleges in Asia, as well as the Association of Southeast Asian Institutions of Higher Learning."

Kara and I woke up early this morning (from jet lag) and took a walk around campus.  Here are some photos we took and some images we found on the Internet that can help familiarize you with the area. As our primary ministry is to reach students at this university, we want to know as much about this place as we can.  Right now it feels like freshman year all over again.  So many places to discover and people to meet.  

Typical campus building 

Chapel

Ben and a dog

Chapel

Flowers on campus

More flowers

Campus Map

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We have arrived!

Hello All,
     After 3 days of traveling, we have finally reached our final destination of Chiang Mai Thailand.  I put together a short video cataloging the trip and showing off our new accommodations.  We have a bathroom with a western toilet and hot shower, a queen sized bed, and a balcony to name a few of the great things about this place.  Tomorrow morning, Worship starts at about 9:30.  Enjoy a brief look at the last few days and be looking for more updates as we settle in.

Ben

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11 more days

Hey everyone,

It's been a fantastic summer for Kara and I.  We were married May 18 and moved to Buena Vista, Colorado so that I could build a house here in the mountains.  My friends and I had designed the house during our last semester at Texas A&M.  Kara found a job babysitting some young kids and a 19 year old autistic young man.   We have found a church home at the Mountain View Church of Christ.  The people there have taken us in during our first few months of marriage and really showed us true hospitality.  There is a potluck lunch EVERY Sunday and everyone is invited.  We have really enjoyed getting to know everyone from this church and hope to keep in touch with them through this blog.  We are close to leaving Buena Vista for San Antonio to get ready for our journey to Thailand.  Please keep us in your prayers.  The flight leaves from Houston on August 20th.  

Ben Wilde

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Background

Ben and I have both been to Thailand.  Ben went two summers ago with Aggies for Christ.  He decided to go back again the next summer and lead the trip.  Ben had told me about how amazing Thailand was and that I had to come back with him.  I agreed and went last summer.  I too fell in love with the country and the people.  In Thailand I meet some amazing warriors for God. People that really know what it is like to change their whole lives to follow Christ.  When we were in Thailand, we traveled all over helping build playgrounds, teaching English in public schools, and teaching an English camp.  Every place was so special and we learned so much in every place.  Chiang Mai stands out in my mind as a place where God reminded us why we were really there.  When we first got to Chiang Mai we were reminded that we were in Thailand to not only help people with the physical needs, but their spiritual needs.  If you give someone a cup of water they will go thirsty, but if you get them the truth they will never go thirsty again.  That day our group prayed that we would be able to share the good news with people.  That day we were able to talk to three nonbelievers about God.  We're excited to go back to Chiang Mai and tell others about God.

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Preperation

Life is such a whirlwind right now. In 2 days we graduate, 11 days we get married, and in less than a month we move to Colorado.  That list doesn't even included that we will be packing up our belongings and moving to Thailand in  about 3 months.  With all this going on, we want to make sure that we don't get  so overloaded with stress that we forget the important things in life- communing with God, and showing others his love.  I have been praying for the people we are going to meet. I pray that their hearts will be softened, and the holy spirit will give us the right things to say. Please pray for us too as we prepare for Thailand.

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Where do we begin?

Hello Family and Friends,

    Kara and I are finally putting our future plans on the internet!  We have been planning on getting this site up in preparation for our trip, but have been too busy (with wedding and school stuff) to get it done.  Now as school winds down and the wedding gets closer, we find ourselves with a bit more free time to focus on the future and we want to use some of this time to start communicating with anyone out there who wants to know about what we are doing.  We will be putting out print communications as well, but we find blogs and Facebook the most effective ways to communicate with large and diverse groups of people across the world. Please enjoy as we bring tales of our day to day life as we prepare and as we live in Chiang Mai, Thailand for a year.   

      

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