3rd health fair: not what we expected

Bob keeps telling us to be flexible.  We expected up to 100 kids today.  What we (and the church leaders) didn't know was that there was a major kids' sports event happening today that involved 8 villages.  So we ended up with about 20 kids.

But we're experts at our making our presentations now.  And we're starting to be able to evaluate what we can do to make this a better experience in the future.  Below you can see KK helping with the photo booth. 

The church building is a beautiful new facility for which they had a grand opening just a couple of weeks ago.  It's a sign that God is at work in Roi Et province (of which Roi Et city is the capital). 

On the health front, KK and Maddie still are bothered by their mosquito bites and KK got another.  So keep praying for them.  And a couple of other people are experiencing physical ailments.  Malvin missed the day because of a fever.  He joined us tonight for devotions and debriefing, so he'll likely be with us tomorrow.  Jessica had some stomach pains and got some medical help from Hans and his traveling medicine cabinet.  Pray that she'll be fully recovered tomorrow.  My back seems to be about the same.  The back brace is helpful although not fun in the heat.  And Tylenol helps.  The nurses are telling me that I need to stretch my back so that the pinched nerve will get unpinched.  I'll try that tomorrow.  Thankfully it's not interfering with sleep.

Part of the reason Jessica wasn't feeling well was that we went out for Thai food (duh!).  What made this a special treat was... air conditioning!  It hit 97F today and is supposed to be 99F tomorrow.  The food was good and there was more variety than last night's chicken, chicken and more chicken (although it was great chicken).  Jessica probably ate something that was a little more spicy than her stomach could handle at the time. 

At the restaurant we were divided into youth and geezers (and those willing to associate with geezers).  You can see Hans at one table with all the older folks (I, Steve, am taking the picture) while Joseph (left) and Mod (or is it Mot? not sure of the spelling) are sitting with KK, Kat, Maddie and Becca.  Guess who's partying?  Guess who's paying?

But the age diversity of our team is a real blessing.  It seems that everyone works well together when age helps to guide the perception of roles and hierarchy.  And we have credibility with all ages because of our age diversity.  It takes a village to reach a village.

Our day closed with hearing testimonies from 3 of our team, one from the USA, one of the missionaries and one of our translators.  It was a reminder that the call that God places on our lives, sometimes to serve in another country, is a joyful call and a source of great fulfillment.  And it was a reminder of the adversity that people in Thailand face for making a commitment to follow Christ. 

Although we had an easy day today (except for the heat), we're anticipating a real test tomorrow: 100-200 kids in 99F heat.  So please keep us in prayer.

Finally, here's a photo of a sunset in Roi Et, viewed from the central park that is a source of civic pride.   As the sun sets on these Buddhist temples, may God bring a new day of the knowledge of his love and his kingdom to the people of Roi Et.