~First Experiences at SO (Prt.1)~

Greetings, missionaries!

Many things have happened in the last week and a half (since we've been at Sunshine Orchard) that I better give you all an update before any thing else happens that I would like to write about. So, I'll share some highlights:

On Tuesday, August 2, Micah Haberkam arrived at our friends, the Kiers, who live in Ayutthaya. We packed most of our belongings into the truck bed, that night. We left very early, Wednesday morning, for a several hour long journey to Sunshine Orchard.

Tying down the tarp over our luggage

The trip was tiresome, but gorgeous, especially when we got into the breath-taking, lush jungle with jagged, high hills everywhere covered with beautiful green, wet foliage and red dirt. Once we got into the jungle, the road was quite windy and also steep in some areas.

On our way, we stopped at two towns, Mae Sot and Meta, to buy some much needed household and personal items. We met up with Maria Adams in Mae Sot, so we could put the stuff that we bought into the back of the Adam's truck because there was no room left in the Haberkam's truck for more stuff. I rode with her the rest of the way to SO.

As you all probably know, it is RAINY season, here. We saw rivers, creeks, and some rice fields that were flooded. Parts of the road had eroded and there were mudslides that had covered parts of it. Trees and branches also laid on the edges. Later, our closest town, Messalet, was flooded in some areas and some people lost their homes.Our own creek has been so swollen that it's been like a small river for a while.

We went to our first worship, that night. I wish you all could be here for at least one worship or especially a Sabbath. The enthusiasm of our students (young children, youth, young adults) gives me BIG smiles. They sing their WHOLE hearts out. We have a hundred some students and most of them come from Buddhist families. So, hearing them SING good Christian songs, is beyond wonderful.

Leading out in song service.

The students take turns having a special music for every morning and evening worship. Some of the older students take turns giving the morning worship talks and the teachers take turns for the evening worships. Usually, a student or teacher that I'm sitting with will tell me what scripture that the talk is based on. At least I'm able to get that much out of the talks. :) Thankfully, Thara (male teacher) Ehk'nyaw and his wife, Tharamoo (female teacher) Edisay speak and understand English fairly well. When he speaks at worship and on Sabbath, he'll talk for a while in Karen and then translate it in a summary to us. It's so nice. He also translates for us "gohlawas" (white people) when we speak. 

Tharamoo Pagudoo doing evening worship.

Well, I think this is a long enough post, so I'm going to continue in another one called "First Experiences at SO (Prt. 2)".