tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18250569687165438152024-03-13T13:15:30.237-07:00Mark's AdventuresMarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14738543664056835964noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1825056968716543815.post-67776084654746341142008-12-08T14:51:00.000-08:002008-12-08T15:04:35.492-08:00Contemplative Study<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRh69qiwOnzbXsY6qUh4TYNJ21xsKSu8nJmO98RPiWYhGM6MwhRFQVQtsrQYWKiuc5dWm8RAHhyphenhyphen8Pw8W7d8PLRPmc7HFNOuEWS46C0m7-j08vBVppp6wjN4IhPj4jJ6jrFNbZzSw17Gw/s1600-h/portrait.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRh69qiwOnzbXsY6qUh4TYNJ21xsKSu8nJmO98RPiWYhGM6MwhRFQVQtsrQYWKiuc5dWm8RAHhyphenhyphen8Pw8W7d8PLRPmc7HFNOuEWS46C0m7-j08vBVppp6wjN4IhPj4jJ6jrFNbZzSw17Gw/s320/portrait.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5277559007278305858" border="0" /></a>Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14738543664056835964noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1825056968716543815.post-90625459315887896512008-11-24T19:48:00.000-08:002008-11-24T19:50:17.802-08:00The layer masks say it all.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXEc1v3NKbxl-K0jpnKZt0q3f4mbXYPVmyVKIay2VxMHy2gd8rzmclYAjOIne2irzW0NaLJEmv_cRhTH-_mWpjARVW-lL9iTS-Nz8JL-8609MrbfchFEUjQHOOjisKL1z5XA99c6z2LA/s1600-h/College+CofC.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 206px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXEc1v3NKbxl-K0jpnKZt0q3f4mbXYPVmyVKIay2VxMHy2gd8rzmclYAjOIne2irzW0NaLJEmv_cRhTH-_mWpjARVW-lL9iTS-Nz8JL-8609MrbfchFEUjQHOOjisKL1z5XA99c6z2LA/s320/College+CofC.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5272437366594301234" border="0" /></a>Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14738543664056835964noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1825056968716543815.post-60848376142208837462008-11-10T20:26:00.000-08:002008-11-11T10:00:40.363-08:00A Blurred, but Relaxing Weekend<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd6ZqiAw2yOzgbnIn5Q-cXeHX6ON0KXdEyTdMjh-JFHEj2qP3UuWyOfqmzrrbgvYBVEgqKzzWKSYLkboszKDxEyhc58dqJdgC4jxTW2Qs-he6feBBxjjs83Zz7Y0BC3w7Tgzz0HQ3itA/s1600-h/Slide2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd6ZqiAw2yOzgbnIn5Q-cXeHX6ON0KXdEyTdMjh-JFHEj2qP3UuWyOfqmzrrbgvYBVEgqKzzWKSYLkboszKDxEyhc58dqJdgC4jxTW2Qs-he6feBBxjjs83Zz7Y0BC3w7Tgzz0HQ3itA/s320/Slide2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5267461302263936706" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjICyqPZ3ZWsYMpnsRSJ7D0jsgj3_s4m3gWVBBiEuKj_6Ap_IESx00trJRLvSh8tVvC8TOS-8pZ-Y5WTOGLNk8_po25tzTv1xEjJSwAU1aqZrnOHaSqtwMDn0vzb9BSVTOLeEh667vkIA/s1600-h/Slide1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjICyqPZ3ZWsYMpnsRSJ7D0jsgj3_s4m3gWVBBiEuKj_6Ap_IESx00trJRLvSh8tVvC8TOS-8pZ-Y5WTOGLNk8_po25tzTv1xEjJSwAU1aqZrnOHaSqtwMDn0vzb9BSVTOLeEh667vkIA/s320/Slide1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5267461207881244914" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCnuaZyTXrgQS8xm8P5R952sJNrGmL2chyIHzveh2Vetws-UhBpupiPBoEJ5qQbHEYE3-DU672EmLmGk3VGWJ_U3kLjt3pPmnvoht8vwIRxOzU9zjntOVznEgO_1Lh4gy0E4iqVHl66A/s1600-h/Fire.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCnuaZyTXrgQS8xm8P5R952sJNrGmL2chyIHzveh2Vetws-UhBpupiPBoEJ5qQbHEYE3-DU672EmLmGk3VGWJ_U3kLjt3pPmnvoht8vwIRxOzU9zjntOVznEgO_1Lh4gy0E4iqVHl66A/s320/Fire.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5267460899743071234" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwTIEJRAqbILkReQJ2PCeVeYLACBNxNfKlFCBwoheIYVY29aJdfgBr60xVFHd2wsPvgagisF_MOvQg81XM1AUs3a1HUVgqKesQkKvXpZ-1m4tEtwjAo7yuDCXddzWbdOXhr8e8JRE-Cw/s1600-h/Swings.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwTIEJRAqbILkReQJ2PCeVeYLACBNxNfKlFCBwoheIYVY29aJdfgBr60xVFHd2wsPvgagisF_MOvQg81XM1AUs3a1HUVgqKesQkKvXpZ-1m4tEtwjAo7yuDCXddzWbdOXhr8e8JRE-Cw/s320/Swings.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5267461015935857458" border="0" /></a>Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14738543664056835964noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1825056968716543815.post-29694800552763443342008-10-14T09:40:00.000-07:002008-10-14T10:18:25.888-07:00Jacob's Dream<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfAQ4ehNMc-fCQ_oJR_Qci-CSBDo3nvqfYNUAIXQ7pRi1UeJ14wULxNYkLEuM3zHWlonXLomiseFQ2OujmzGBLcA4lQXENnDkC2riMU0OVDP6Jadztnw5CYHZVzKiS5wxeYNEh9SOVWg/s1600-h/IMG_4000.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfAQ4ehNMc-fCQ_oJR_Qci-CSBDo3nvqfYNUAIXQ7pRi1UeJ14wULxNYkLEuM3zHWlonXLomiseFQ2OujmzGBLcA4lQXENnDkC2riMU0OVDP6Jadztnw5CYHZVzKiS5wxeYNEh9SOVWg/s320/IMG_4000.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5257060114019101506" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjveiB5D68ptLPXyBHFyBr4gFYj1QBgd6MTDZtcABXpNzWySUnpoJy1h5W-VKz9AUsChpj0OfatThNZ3Y2J-_2UH_D-e1ufi-lB1bqwg2hIubu3JbTIEzjRt88HdVSDezzfIAwSt6PUog/s1600-h/IMG_3999.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjveiB5D68ptLPXyBHFyBr4gFYj1QBgd6MTDZtcABXpNzWySUnpoJy1h5W-VKz9AUsChpj0OfatThNZ3Y2J-_2UH_D-e1ufi-lB1bqwg2hIubu3JbTIEzjRt88HdVSDezzfIAwSt6PUog/s320/IMG_3999.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5257050753439341154" border="0" /></a>Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14738543664056835964noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1825056968716543815.post-71474607966119763462008-10-02T10:06:00.000-07:002008-10-02T10:07:39.138-07:00Butterfly Season in Abilene<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibHykm8hZ2ssJnOEkXmcRFPBiGzTZjnBSIWvwT5D7kUWQ6F0LUWCSnem3YG1IUNUtfBXy7zWXM6brfXYKwaCqf6C14wERdMqEN1MXADqk13p-zpa5RkzAQsC4h75ptuhAUc3W-z7wFgw/s1600-h/Butterflies.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibHykm8hZ2ssJnOEkXmcRFPBiGzTZjnBSIWvwT5D7kUWQ6F0LUWCSnem3YG1IUNUtfBXy7zWXM6brfXYKwaCqf6C14wERdMqEN1MXADqk13p-zpa5RkzAQsC4h75ptuhAUc3W-z7wFgw/s320/Butterflies.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5252604249889107410" /></a>Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14738543664056835964noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1825056968716543815.post-44251992158011793622008-09-02T19:07:00.000-07:002008-09-02T19:46:13.128-07:00Some Pictures That Describe Me<embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf" width="400" height="267" flashvars="host=picasaweb.google.com&RGB=0x000000&feed=http%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2Fmarky.doug%2Falbumid%2F5241488767506770321%3Fkind%3Dphoto%26alt%3Drss" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer"></embed>Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14738543664056835964noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1825056968716543815.post-50010620123798692702008-08-26T10:47:00.000-07:002008-08-26T10:50:06.763-07:00Back In the Swing of ThingsYesterday I started my Junior year of college. This semester I'm taking a photography class and I have to keep up with a blog so here it is... There will be more posts to come.Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14738543664056835964noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1825056968716543815.post-31027527781116660392008-02-03T08:29:00.000-08:002008-02-03T16:28:55.257-08:00La Playa de Punta del Este, Mucha Escuela, y Momentos DivertidosHola mis amigos! First of all I want to say I’m sorry that this might be a little long, but this past week has been very busy. Last Saturday the whole group went on an excursion to a beach resort city called Punta del Este. We left around 8:30 in the morning to head towards Punta del Este. After about 2 hours we stopped at Casa Pueblo a house built on the ocean at Punta Ballena by Carlos Páez Vilaró, a famous Uruguayan painter. We stayed here about an hour and looked at some of his artwork and enjoyed the fresh air of the ocean. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNm95jRbhtXa6P5oGkvMGdS8H6gj0yfL0yt4TaFS3Y3D8fPgLmleSLqNCwGCYdisNucZWEJ34Y2e1s4Qu1Cqi-Tj9L04YaVTlU8LtepAcCRVV5fRWYx2xFGDZ7-1oUPhoiqPnZzXXEGg/s1600-h/Los+Dedos.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNm95jRbhtXa6P5oGkvMGdS8H6gj0yfL0yt4TaFS3Y3D8fPgLmleSLqNCwGCYdisNucZWEJ34Y2e1s4Qu1Cqi-Tj9L04YaVTlU8LtepAcCRVV5fRWYx2xFGDZ7-1oUPhoiqPnZzXXEGg/s320/Los+Dedos.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5162794258892927010" border="0" /></a>We then headed over to Punta del Este. When we arrived we took a boat over to Isla Gorriti, an old pirate island now used by many rich yacht owners for an exclusive beach. We had packed our lunches so we ate a sandwich and chips and then took off to explore the island. Sarah Boyd, Rachel, Branson, Kelsey, Nick and I took off towards the less people part of the island and enjoyed exploring and taking a lot of pictures. It was fun just to hang out for the day and enjoy God’s creation on the island. We then headed back towards the beach part of the island and saw probably 100 yachts docked right off the island and lots of people tanning. The whole group left the island around 5 and we went to “Los Dedos,” the fingers in the sand, to take pictures. After a few minutes there we hopped back on the bus and headed towards Piriapolis for dinner. We arrived at the restaurant on a hill overlooking the city right before sunset and it was gorgeous to see the sunset over the ocean as we ate. After dinner we all went to get on the bus and it was gone. The bus driver didn’t tell us anything so some of us were starting to get worried. We had had a problem with a tire on the way there so we thought he went to go fix it and sure enough he came back about 30 minutes later with the tire fixed. It was a great day!<br /><img src="file:///Users/markfoster/Pictures/Kodak%20Pictures/01-30-2008/IMG_2265.JPG" alt="" /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_7yFivnJDXmYiZ4ttQvhzXJ9yhHqAZxu7VOlm12D6FJL1TDd-cdwgh5o-feiMlX9a_y_3E2IcM0W_JdN18CE7EdSNu3ewxQvOrK3y75-O8WWoOerquRAgfLbcDWNvdo_fV2rUsKcV9g/s1600-h/IMG_2265.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_7yFivnJDXmYiZ4ttQvhzXJ9yhHqAZxu7VOlm12D6FJL1TDd-cdwgh5o-feiMlX9a_y_3E2IcM0W_JdN18CE7EdSNu3ewxQvOrK3y75-O8WWoOerquRAgfLbcDWNvdo_fV2rUsKcV9g/s320/IMG_2265.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5162795448598868034" border="0" /></a> On Monday we had classes, but that night was the Nacional vs. Peñarol fútbol game. Nicole and Rachel bought tickets Colter, Josh, Sarah, Amanda, Tina, Courtney, and I earlier in the day than everyone else so when we got to the game we realized that we had to sit in a different section than the rest of the group. It was still fun because it was a smaller group and we didn’t stand out too much. The game was to start at 9, but there was a pre-game before the real game. When it came time for the players to come out on the field each “team” side started shooting fireworks from in the stands and screaming and chanting. It was crazy and fun to see how much spirit they had for their teams. It was exciting to experience a real fútbol game.<br />Besides those outings we have hung out around Casa ACU doing lots of homework. The classroom is getting hotter, but at least we have a fan that works now to circulate a little air. Amélia, our Spanish teacher, is getting funnier everyday with her stories and adventures with “imagination.”<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5WDCSAptoK4vjzLvhJhwSTu7Tj5m0A3YeIKlrxANkOajy5DCLVUzWCH5LZmMPsGgFR3aJzzqEdUEQN9ePez2qkc3OEA-qG8H2TdWb_ipptjtrq7vKIDHUP5_UCY4sxaxbxxAsfoXD2g/s1600-h/DSCN0003.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5WDCSAptoK4vjzLvhJhwSTu7Tj5m0A3YeIKlrxANkOajy5DCLVUzWCH5LZmMPsGgFR3aJzzqEdUEQN9ePez2qkc3OEA-qG8H2TdWb_ipptjtrq7vKIDHUP5_UCY4sxaxbxxAsfoXD2g/s320/DSCN0003.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5162799777925902418" border="0" /></a>One last story. We need to have a yellow fever vaccination before we go to Brazil. So Friday morning most of the group went down to the port to get the shot. After going through security and being starred down by everyone we passed we made our way into a building and up creaky stairs to find the vaccination office. With people smoking in the surrounding offices, we stood in line to go into the little room. After we got our shots we headed back, but now several people have been getting sick so we're kind of worried about the sketchy shots…<br />Another week down and many more to go. Please pray for our group’s sanity and safety being so far away from family and so close to each other. Love you all!!!Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14738543664056835964noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1825056968716543815.post-1887578017939900552008-01-25T05:47:00.000-08:002008-01-25T05:56:05.177-08:00Hamburguesa con queso, por favorSo one week down and I feel that this is going to be a pretty fun semester. So far I’ve been able to get around quite easy with the map Kelsey Young gave me that she used last semester. We have been to the beach and have enjoyed a gorgeous afternoon at the park where I read underneath a huge shade tree. It is fun just to get out of the house and see what you’ll find next.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigmZLz96Mmle-D2Tld1x07Y_f8H8-q7Pyqc6O5hbna6u0q0ubb6r-a320aAuhSgPzPL1jGxT3bUNgsMkuii5soSK94V3mbr43D3OR4d5O8ZEMvkoO61cN1tVPtsxBPGsGPAz-EC5oP9g/s1600-h/Mis+amgas+de+la+hamburguesa.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigmZLz96Mmle-D2Tld1x07Y_f8H8-q7Pyqc6O5hbna6u0q0ubb6r-a320aAuhSgPzPL1jGxT3bUNgsMkuii5soSK94V3mbr43D3OR4d5O8ZEMvkoO61cN1tVPtsxBPGsGPAz-EC5oP9g/s320/Mis+amgas+de+la+hamburguesa.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5159410889815568370" border="0" /></a> Last Saturday we went in search of a fast, cheap meal around Casa ACU. We found a Hamburguesa cart…stall…street vendor…I’m not exactly sure what you call it. We walked up and ordered. “Hamburguesa con queso, por favor.” Which was followed by a “huh?” or say it again. We repeated ourselves and they understood. Let me back up. There are three girls about my age working at this stand and we are the only customers at the time. So they then asked something in Spanish that I guessed was asking what we wanted on the burger. I took a chance and got the “chimichurri sauce.” One of the girls figured out that we don’t speak much Spanish and she tried to use her English skills with us. It was fun trying to order and the hamburguesa was pretty good for a dollar. Since then I have been back several times and the girls always laugh when they see me or someone from our group.<br /> Classes are going fine. We have lots to read, but very interesting readings (and if you hear that from me you know something is up). One thing about the actual classroom is that it is hot and small. Also the desks are very small and hard to get comfortable when you have one class after another. Our Spanish teacher Amelia is very funny and is whipping us through our Spanish book at lightning speeds. She makes it fun, but I can tell it is frustrating for some that have never had Spanish before.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMGjJ1XE0OGVFQh1Bh2hsyQNTMSjCvhtL0XiPcSeUR_rk5YOx_YTNDUk9wD0OLo4YjJ2mkMxkfcKbHabBVvqt-BbGAbHk4KAR7rCwnaFShxRnzKUlDf2B9j1yRIZtXhXOGQvACQWevuA/s1600-h/IMG_0023.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMGjJ1XE0OGVFQh1Bh2hsyQNTMSjCvhtL0XiPcSeUR_rk5YOx_YTNDUk9wD0OLo4YjJ2mkMxkfcKbHabBVvqt-BbGAbHk4KAR7rCwnaFShxRnzKUlDf2B9j1yRIZtXhXOGQvACQWevuA/s320/IMG_0023.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5159411980737261570" border="0" /></a> Our final story for the week is quite funny. Last night was the first parade to start the Carnaval season. This is the lead up to Fat Tuesday and lent things…I believe. Well we walked down to a part of Av. 18 to get seats right before the opening float came by at about 8:45. Then we sat and sat and didn’t realize that there would be 10 minutes between all 71 floats. We watched as little kids ran in the streets squirting confetti stuff everywhere and on everything. We saw different “acts” that would come down the street dancing or doing some routine. It was fun just to watch the people around us and see their reactions to the things going on. Around 10 o’clock several of our group decided to head back to Casa ACU because we knew the parade was not going to be over until at least 1 or 1:30. After they left we watched a group of tango dancers come by and then a truck drove by with “dancers” decked out in feathers and scandalous costumes. As the trucked passed by there was a pole in the middle of the truck where a “dancer” was doing her thing. Everyone’s reactions were hilarious. It was funny to also think about how ACU paid for us to see this since they are the one who bought us the seats. After a few more floats we head back through the crowds of smoking drunken people to arrive again safely back at Casa ACU with funny stories to tell.<br /> No class on Fridays so we have been kind of lazy this morning. I woke up about 10:30, but this afternoon we are going to the Pre-Colombian museum for our INTS class. Tomorrow we are going to Punta del Este, a resort beach town. Chau!Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14738543664056835964noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1825056968716543815.post-3816705529480377262008-01-21T05:43:00.000-08:002008-01-21T05:45:27.968-08:00Bienvenidos Montevideo!Hola!!! This is our first Monday in Uruguay and we started classes today. Since our first day here we have been getting to know the area around Casa ACU. We found where we can buy groceries, Disco, where we can get soap and shampoo, TaTa, and where we can eat really good emapanadas, Molto Bene. It has been fun just to be able to get out and try to learn where things are and practice the VERY little Spanish I know and feel comfortable using. The area of town that we live in is bustling with busses, cars, bicycles, and lots of people walking as well. I enjoy trying to catch someone’s eye and seeing if they will smile back at me.<br /> So far the Casa ACU “family” is getting along well and we are learning to cope with late nights and early mornings. We all love the food Raquel and Mariella cook for us during the week and I can smell the wonderful aromas right now as I write this blog. Also yesterday we had a big warm welcome from the Iglesia de Cristo on the other side of our building. We enjoyed many kisses, Spanish miscommunications, and wonderful food and fellowship. I can tell it will be necessary to go to bed pretty early on Saturday night so I will have enough energy to understand the service and the side conversations afterwards.<br /> Also another thing to tell about…yesterday, Holly, Josh and I rode the bus to la playa de Positos where I proceeded to lay on the beach without any sunscreen and now my back is totally sunburned and is feeling quite warm at this moment.<br /> Hope all is going well with you and pass on this blog to whomever you think will enjoy reading about my adventures abroad. Adios!!!Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14738543664056835964noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1825056968716543815.post-89736885613431489312007-06-24T09:36:00.001-07:002007-06-24T09:59:09.462-07:00New People, New Faces, New BeginningsIt’s been a while since my last post and many things been going on. The Payap interns, Jason, Marvin, Kyle, Pui, Un, Amp, Erika, Casey, Marissa, and I, along with Robert Reagan, the missionary here, went to have some bonding time up on the mountain at Crazy Horse rock climbing. We climbed up the mountain and then repelled down into a cave. It was lots of fun climbing around and doing some outdoor adventure stuff.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5YMWzTHn3vF1NHYEX9fGQjLxMlE9RJvwW-XnQVYYKcbbGiGD0m9f3j9rC2p6rPGJXECfoT4t73BrhuBC4ESOYOGux_LV-nUFJqKDkuH_rikne1RDRcu3sLezvURRb4kf9qk7EGIDteQ/s1600-h/repel.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5YMWzTHn3vF1NHYEX9fGQjLxMlE9RJvwW-XnQVYYKcbbGiGD0m9f3j9rC2p6rPGJXECfoT4t73BrhuBC4ESOYOGux_LV-nUFJqKDkuH_rikne1RDRcu3sLezvURRb4kf9qk7EGIDteQ/s320/repel.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5079673028887558930" border="0" /></a> We stayed there most of the day and enjoyed getting out and doing something new. We have been having more and more people coming to the zone for English class and just to hang out. Each week we have cell group on Thursday night where we eat and then have a devo together. Our group is growing every week. God is working in great ways here! We are having many non-Christians starting to want to know more about this Christian thing. It is awesome that Christians that were brought to the zone as non-Christians are now teaching their friends about Christ. There are some amazing stories of how many of these students have found Christ out of Buddhism. Please pray for all these new Christians and for them to share their story with their friends.<br /> “Friday Night Live” is one of the activities the zones, Payap and Chueng Doi, do to get to know new people. The first one we had this summer was a scavenger hunt around the area of town where Chueng Doi is located. We had lots of fun trying to get a picture of some random things. I’ll put up pictures on facebook of all these things soon. So, if you have facebook, check ‘em out. We had lots of fun and by the way my team won! It was a good time to meet new people.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjYRb5V_lIMcTtHq-WNS9lGa0tqxhGuZ7sXzS68v5FDYIC0EHNUIH_xbnk9nCkbjGbddoHv5e06hIH0cWoKkK_b3RkuCSSLPwgi0D5LVVBs_dU32sFI5m6drqWm6q_F3gFizjoDiERKA/s1600-h/fnl.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjYRb5V_lIMcTtHq-WNS9lGa0tqxhGuZ7sXzS68v5FDYIC0EHNUIH_xbnk9nCkbjGbddoHv5e06hIH0cWoKkK_b3RkuCSSLPwgi0D5LVVBs_dU32sFI5m6drqWm6q_F3gFizjoDiERKA/s320/fnl.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5079673458384288546" border="0" /></a> After we watched the pictures of each group we hung out for a long time just having a time of chillin’.<br /> Last Sunday the church at Payap had a fellowship meal at P’Rang’s house. We had some amazing fried chicken and homemade French fries. It was a delicious meal, and the best part is that Minter brownies have made it to Thailand.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRSXW1LwBxJa0oIxojv9pmxolyhbhn9atRlR73HinKxc6SgUWbFxs1rPO1wvXpefR8TYX3p_W41yQVxgjTj_B6rQaQGlGEufMphOGsz0TuXGcFwOY6FExNENcx-j3YZygvX2SjrxamEQ/s1600-h/brownie.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRSXW1LwBxJa0oIxojv9pmxolyhbhn9atRlR73HinKxc6SgUWbFxs1rPO1wvXpefR8TYX3p_W41yQVxgjTj_B6rQaQGlGEufMphOGsz0TuXGcFwOY6FExNENcx-j3YZygvX2SjrxamEQ/s320/brownie.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5079673930830691122" border="0" /></a> After many hours of searching for ingredients, especially the chocolate and peanut butter chips, Marissa and I made some very delicious brownies. Everyone at the meal enjoyed the brownies so much that they were all gone when we left. It was a great time of singing and fellowshipping with the church members and some of the new students. Kyle Miller told of how much he enjoyed Chiang Mai and then we took him to the airport to send him back to the states. His time here was short, but like all of us he talked of how he has been touched by the people here in Thailand.<br /> The next day, on our Sabbath, we went out to a waterfall and hung out for several hours. It was very relaxing and refreshing to just sit in the cold water and listen to people play the guitar. We also went down a short waterfall into a little pond.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOILwmSqfN-pVIm_caNSw9qvS-WdtVhVgoVF3BPC4_U2veS8CkrPTSjDCHEftieKRNH4-iq8Acl6V-8UcGnjz80BPZff9Y6gFO4df8fT_uqyHCpH67eoSusDFgMSHn_a2MGDxJGu0pZA/s1600-h/waterfall.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOILwmSqfN-pVIm_caNSw9qvS-WdtVhVgoVF3BPC4_U2veS8CkrPTSjDCHEftieKRNH4-iq8Acl6V-8UcGnjz80BPZff9Y6gFO4df8fT_uqyHCpH67eoSusDFgMSHn_a2MGDxJGu0pZA/s320/waterfall.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5079674403277093698" border="0" /></a> It was fun until the current picked up. I went off the little waterfall and got pulled back around behind the waterfall before I could grab the side. A little Thai guy had to come pull me out. It was a funny experience. After we left the waterfall we went and hung out at a cool coffee shop close to Chueng Doi called Mo’s. It was a very relaxing day. That night I started to feel sick. It started on Sunday afternoon, but then it got worse on Monday and Monday night I didn’t sleep much. I felt so gross and the next morning I went to the chemist around the corner and some medicine. I made it through equipping time, but then I had to go back to sleep. I fell asleep on a couch upstairs while everyone went on campus. Then about 1:00, I woke up to the desk in the room shaking and making noise. I had no idea what was going on, but I found out later it was an earthquake. Monday night and Tuesday were rough days trying to get over being sick. Wednesday was really refreshing because I got out of the zone and hung out at Chueng Doi in the morning and then Robert took us to his new house that is being built. It was nice to do something different one day. On Wednesday night we had a great time of prayer. We went up to the third floor here at the zone and sang and prayed for about an hour. I really enjoy hearing prayer requests from the students here. It allows me to realize these people are going through stuff as well as myself. It also reminds me of our Friday prayer time with the Minter U. I love this time during the week.<br /> On Thursday we had a time of solitude. Each of us was asked to go to a place and not talk to anyone and listen to what God had to tell us. I felt led to go to Starbucks.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU0lxQ4g5jo6bg0LYLK7dyy9mpj85how9YWenT16YxW7eRsZj290Bust7ZolTbk6ZuL2V-wOxSTVUPjOP5bDGOOETSJQ8TAp9FXjcmvbJiPZ84mCAFe5SqlqWNtDmKtSziQE-HmdDGeg/s1600-h/starbucks.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU0lxQ4g5jo6bg0LYLK7dyy9mpj85how9YWenT16YxW7eRsZj290Bust7ZolTbk6ZuL2V-wOxSTVUPjOP5bDGOOETSJQ8TAp9FXjcmvbJiPZ84mCAFe5SqlqWNtDmKtSziQE-HmdDGeg/s320/starbucks.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5079675365349768018" border="0" /></a> I know you are thinking Mark and Starbucks…solitude? Well it was an amazing day. I got my coffee went upstairs and prayed for a while and then listened to what God wanted to say. God showed me many scriptures that hit me where I needed to be hit. Lately I have been struggling with judging others and worrying about how people judge me. God allowed me to stop worrying about this and give it to him so it can’t get in the way of his work. It was a great day of reflecting on what has gone one so far here in Thailand and to be refreshed by God’s word. After about 6 hours of solitude we met back and went back to the zone. Thursday night is cell group. This week Amp cooked cashew chicken and it was “arroi” (delicious). Aong, the student I mentioned before that started coming just recently, was the MC for the night. He had to have an icebreaker game and introduce everything. It was a great time to see him getting involved in an upfront position. Also we had 36 people at cell group!!!!!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9Zv5OYdebS5klROKmD1L2LYzyQH6eprDFOC9iUYr5DgEDQtzWy4fRACcWkXE_N-zvS6H5fERiwTHrfg_CysRvkkAgHecWKzY2KqM-6S7fUqbIa4NRFZA2abIz9C_Wqbuumkrdrr44aQ/s1600-h/cell+group.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9Zv5OYdebS5klROKmD1L2LYzyQH6eprDFOC9iUYr5DgEDQtzWy4fRACcWkXE_N-zvS6H5fERiwTHrfg_CysRvkkAgHecWKzY2KqM-6S7fUqbIa4NRFZA2abIz9C_Wqbuumkrdrr44aQ/s320/cell+group.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5079675734716955490" border="0" /></a> It was awesome because Robert was telling us that usually they only have about 15-20 people. This group is growing every meeting, and it is awesome.<br /> So I bet you are getting tired of reading, but there is still more going on here. This past weekend we had an English Camp on Doi Sutep, which is the mountain on the border of the city. We had 40 people from both churches. We had several students come that had never been to the zone, and now they are signed up to come to English classes during the week. It was a great to be able to be out of the city and hang out in nature and just hang out with everyone.<br /> I pray that you all are safe and having a blessed summer. Please keep praying for all the new students here at the zone, Aong, Bon, Pui, Pun, Arree, Oil, and Dome to name a few. Also please pray for all the interns here at the zone, Un, Amp, Marvin, Jason, Marissa, Erika, Casey, and myself to keep strength spiritually and physically. God bless each of you in all you are doing this summer.Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14738543664056835964noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1825056968716543815.post-9626556125567146262007-06-10T21:47:00.000-07:002007-06-10T22:10:23.862-07:00One Awesome Week DownAn amazing week down and so many fun adventures to come. Today is our Sabbath day here at the Payap Christian Zone so I decided to catch you up on what we’ve been doing this last week. I’m going to give you a schedule of a “normal” week here at the Zone. Sundays begin with church at 9:00. Church lasts until about 10:30 and then class until 11:45. So it’s like the Minter schedule of Sunday worship. After church we go around to a local restaurant and then the afternoon is on our own. Then we have been going to Walking Street at night on Sundays. It’s a night market only open on Sundays. It’s crazy to see all the people and the street vendors.<br />Mondays are our rest days that we can do whatever we want.<br />Tuesdays through Fridays are pretty much the same during the day. We have equipping time at 8:45 where we have a time of personal spiritual equipping. We are going through the book of John and Richard Foster’s spiritual discipline book. At about 11:30 we walk over to the Payap campus to eat lunch with people. After that we walk around campus inviting students to our free English classes at the Zone. Around 2:00 we head back to the Zone to have a time of rest until 3:00 when are supposed to be downstairs to be friendly and greet people when they come for English class. The evenings are filled with amazing food and then hanging out at P’Little’s milk shop. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtsq2hU-P-rn-p_dK4mj84dPXiFP3-TpKcknEpiJUE3d0x12IE4LhyfaKw7z1N56SWaP8U4UsasP720nwRSb337uSNkjIZcMbXSGgbaeLVOcBcBM_3kaF8t9nSrnjg8Rs_wjRrhj6-kA/s1600-h/100_2752.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtsq2hU-P-rn-p_dK4mj84dPXiFP3-TpKcknEpiJUE3d0x12IE4LhyfaKw7z1N56SWaP8U4UsasP720nwRSb337uSNkjIZcMbXSGgbaeLVOcBcBM_3kaF8t9nSrnjg8Rs_wjRrhj6-kA/s320/100_2752.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5074664667523693026" border="0"></a>She is a lady from the church who lives just two doors down and she has her milk shop out in front of her house.<br />On Wednesday nights we have prayer and singing at 20:00 and Thursday nights we have cell group with dinner at 18:00 and devo at 19:00. That’s our “normal” week.<br />I say “normal” because after this last week those were the only things that seem like we will do them every week. We also did about a thousand other things. Here are a few highlights. Last Monday Marissa, Kyle, Jason and I climbed up one side of the mountain here in Chiang Mai. Jason had found this trail and wanted to take us up it to see if it led to this old temple, and it did. It had some awesome views and I took several pictures.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkDhmB6tqiHru0uwyXTfBATqBNlBj6wMck2W7dgF_AOASzpe5u9hOeYT16_tuijTQjVManbH2RdM0WN_2wsdYwu10Uv_Mbzn757DiqJ1kjdRZ7I27gV439tDZUqNCD4ojsj5B5OWBEkA/s1600-h/DSCN0046.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkDhmB6tqiHru0uwyXTfBATqBNlBj6wMck2W7dgF_AOASzpe5u9hOeYT16_tuijTQjVManbH2RdM0WN_2wsdYwu10Uv_Mbzn757DiqJ1kjdRZ7I27gV439tDZUqNCD4ojsj5B5OWBEkA/s320/DSCN0046.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5074665204394605042" border="0"></a> On Tuesday was our first day on campus. We handed out a lot of flyers for English class. When we got back to the zone there were four freshman guys hanging out and wanting to sign up for English class. Yes! God is amazing and brought four new people to the zone. After Tuesday the guys have been coming back often to just hang out. Also one of the guys, Aong, came to cell group and to church this past week. It’s awesome because he is so open just to hang out with us and he has never been around here before. Please pray for him and his willingness to stay around and get to know the people at the Zone and God more.<br />Friday was different than “normal.” We got up at 5:30 and took off for Bakaew for an English camp at a school there. My group got to the school a little late and the other interns had started singing and doing games with the big group of kids in about 6th through 8th grade. After a little introduction we split up into groups so we could do individual English stations with the groups of kids. My group was “body parts.” It was fun doing “head, shoulders, knees and toes” and “Simon says” with the kids.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSF10U8p_d3wWjEhfGiux90v2ULSWWg2k7RL4xj0wqOogfEGLGS5wpz8YQ-66k_kTYdg5VPPqN3WDpDTmewvI8DsTeVygLYrm3Hj3d-RJedsLVja_ZwTBWUZ9go6Z-bjUPfOHhmaISHw/s1600-h/100_3451.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSF10U8p_d3wWjEhfGiux90v2ULSWWg2k7RL4xj0wqOogfEGLGS5wpz8YQ-66k_kTYdg5VPPqN3WDpDTmewvI8DsTeVygLYrm3Hj3d-RJedsLVja_ZwTBWUZ9go6Z-bjUPfOHhmaISHw/s320/100_3451.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5074665887294405122" border="0"></a> After a while all the little kids (probably about 5 or 6 years old) started coming out of their classes and attacking the playground where we were doing the stations. It was so much fun having all these little kids with the biggest smiles running around and wanting you to take pictures of them. It was amazing to see how our group interacted with all these kids. It was a blessing to me to see these kids being so happy just running around and being loved on by our group.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwl86pXSh3aJXUfhGPDbqgIePROsIwtZf1JXX8_r-8B7TzyV41g7eGGC2hI3ksMln-um79US2G0LSQiSxczdMHr0wxWk1H7Ve1wEdE5el5iuddchJ3kOqAqEyq4C5HEDWIja3lz24f_g/s1600-h/DSCN0160.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwl86pXSh3aJXUfhGPDbqgIePROsIwtZf1JXX8_r-8B7TzyV41g7eGGC2hI3ksMln-um79US2G0LSQiSxczdMHr0wxWk1H7Ve1wEdE5el5iuddchJ3kOqAqEyq4C5HEDWIja3lz24f_g/s320/DSCN0160.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5074666295316298258" border="0"></a> After we finished the school day we went back to where the girls would be staying. It was where they have church. We hung out there until it was time for dinner. While we were sitting around talking a gorgeous rainbow came out.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-jQkVV_XrcfF7zUSVlrNOeYKMP2MLulqnKyq35a-xNcGfCN3Pd5303SIlujc4BLxRheHtW0PtR7-lmVY_Eg-LMk9isVpIzR-UX3aIzI9E6w3HU3gsuwwMJQvp40zPnRKHSNmx4xZ5Pw/s1600-h/100_2908.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-jQkVV_XrcfF7zUSVlrNOeYKMP2MLulqnKyq35a-xNcGfCN3Pd5303SIlujc4BLxRheHtW0PtR7-lmVY_Eg-LMk9isVpIzR-UX3aIzI9E6w3HU3gsuwwMJQvp40zPnRKHSNmx4xZ5Pw/s320/100_2908.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5074667124244986418" border="0"></a> The weather there is about 10 degrees cooler than in Chiang Mai and the scenery was awesome. After a very delicious dinner with smoked chicken we went in to have a devo. After a few songs we found out that several of the kids we had worked with earlier that day had come up to participate in the devo, but there wasn’t enough room inside to fit them all. So we moved outside and kept singing. It was a blessing to see these church members out in the country worshiping together. It was an interesting night because we slept in a church member’s house on the floor. I was woken up by the rooster outside at 4:00, 4:15, and then sporadically until I got up at 7:00. It was fun. On Saturday some of us went back to the school to paint.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVWVMK5EeUI_WxhgjNoWVGyhY6av41nf0vFjMN0hA7TgzBmBv2S01IGvnSHxbiRM8C49Q04nR7DdVfftbRJ-X1JwGIB8epDY_dOTBjAFZPk4c1XFzpd03SAAuimfs6i1s_qj6Obw698A/s1600-h/DSCN0287.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVWVMK5EeUI_WxhgjNoWVGyhY6av41nf0vFjMN0hA7TgzBmBv2S01IGvnSHxbiRM8C49Q04nR7DdVfftbRJ-X1JwGIB8epDY_dOTBjAFZPk4c1XFzpd03SAAuimfs6i1s_qj6Obw698A/s320/DSCN0287.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5074667798554851906" border="0"></a> It was fun to work with the kids from the school doing a project for them. Then on Sunday we went to a local orphanage with the whole church. We hung out with the kids all afternoon. It was a fun weekend!<br /><br />Please keep everyone here at Payap in your prayers: Jason, Marvin, Marissa, Casey, Kyle, Erika, Un, Amp and me. Please also remember Aong and the new students coming to the Zone. Thanks for your support and keep praying!Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14738543664056835964noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1825056968716543815.post-22472416984246145962007-06-03T21:28:00.000-07:002007-06-03T21:57:31.728-07:00I should have known...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj66Q5MM9cfjPfnkCUiH2OCSFwHLTX4Jvy7I5QFGt-S-1hd9Givi_UyIuaAHmj1FTZ5df01dl2I7ZE7WRKH5OcLRg6VFnrRQwUlnX50tsR00y7-2vSIWF68Gdok4c0Gtd8LLjRT00EoWA/s1600-h/100_3348.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj66Q5MM9cfjPfnkCUiH2OCSFwHLTX4Jvy7I5QFGt-S-1hd9Givi_UyIuaAHmj1FTZ5df01dl2I7ZE7WRKH5OcLRg6VFnrRQwUlnX50tsR00y7-2vSIWF68Gdok4c0Gtd8LLjRT00EoWA/s320/100_3348.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5072068614492093442" border="0" /></a><br />I should have known when I changed planes from American to Japan Airlines and the seats got closer together. I should have known when I got off the plane and the jet way seemed a bit small on all sides. I should have known when I met Nueng that I had come to the land of very small people. You all know me and you know I am not a small person in any way. This is a prelude to the amazing and hilarious massage I received last night.<br /> This past weekend the Chiang Mai team consisting of 2 long-term missionaries, 4 long term apprentices, and 9 short term interns all went through an orientation to help the newbies get settled in to the Thai culture. We prayed for the city from a mountain over looking the city.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheydDLdrlBV7ZAlxLIlyEZ3GuO-__kheuR7w_yuzRshdiiB2vDKCB6SI3rxVJ9BX8pVA3TzULHFLY_H48IAZSgSLtBxoyOwxGHIDQoYC07DIkzrZpDJfjGjd_1fymFTm4Mv6NKOpqXJg/s1600-h/100_2741.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheydDLdrlBV7ZAlxLIlyEZ3GuO-__kheuR7w_yuzRshdiiB2vDKCB6SI3rxVJ9BX8pVA3TzULHFLY_H48IAZSgSLtBxoyOwxGHIDQoYC07DIkzrZpDJfjGjd_1fymFTm4Mv6NKOpqXJg/s320/100_2741.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5072066011741912002" border="0" /></a>We learned some new words and phrases like: “bye gin cow” (let’s go eat), “hawng nahm you-tee noi khrap?” (Where’s the bathroom?) and the best and probably most used “put pasa Thai die nit noi” (I speak Thai a little bit). We ate some amazing food.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJKsR3oXtm8-8M0ihhdJNbY0jrVWym5SUguPqGgk2DvMlBRyXtE-OlYWGKK4m2D-lNrpKR6gNI0_4QE2bQTbpvnXKVnOgWoxNdakKxIW2GanZmVNuWg6YnDskhuOHrFl9BOkFspWLEHg/s1600-h/100_3317.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJKsR3oXtm8-8M0ihhdJNbY0jrVWym5SUguPqGgk2DvMlBRyXtE-OlYWGKK4m2D-lNrpKR6gNI0_4QE2bQTbpvnXKVnOgWoxNdakKxIW2GanZmVNuWg6YnDskhuOHrFl9BOkFspWLEHg/s320/100_3317.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5072066660281973714" border="0" /></a> Also, we are getting to know some incredible people here. The people are willing to help you in any way they can and are very inviting to all of us new people.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwC5P91Iwm2iOdwPogGghqXix0eDVYDZC2aK-F9_8eddcrPszPk6JpeEKsciaav0vXKzURkkPq8UEuKFojR8pKLFpz8fMB-ZkP3fLJbndV17sDrNgKTcLvA7VapBDwPd3gJIJBqrdyTA/s1600-h/100_3355.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwC5P91Iwm2iOdwPogGghqXix0eDVYDZC2aK-F9_8eddcrPszPk6JpeEKsciaav0vXKzURkkPq8UEuKFojR8pKLFpz8fMB-ZkP3fLJbndV17sDrNgKTcLvA7VapBDwPd3gJIJBqrdyTA/s320/100_3355.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5072067386131446754" border="0" /></a> Well on the schedule after all the orientation was over was to get a traditional Thai massage. Not everyone wanted to get one, but I thought it sounded cool so I signed up. We have reservations at “The Best Massage” down in the tourist part of the city. We walk in, take off our shoes and put on slippers. We go up stairs and go into this big room. There are mattresses on the floor and little outfits on top of them to put on. Well I saw a big mattress so I thought this would be for a big person and that the outfit on it would be big—o contraire! I slip the shirt over my head and it gets stuck. I can’t pull it down or off. Two of my friends, Adam and Kyle, had to pry the shirt off my body. I found a shirt that “fit” and put it on. The ladies came in to give the massage and they look and me and laugh. She tells me to lie down. My feet hung off the end and they started laughing again. The massage began and I was about to fall asleep when she tried to stretch my leg over the other one. My body didn’t want to go that way and sprung back in the opposite direction sending the little lady flying. Everyone started laughing. This happened a few other times when she was trying to do different exercises. It was a very funny experience.<br /> Mondays, like today, are our Sabbath day. We have planned activities every day but Monday, so today we are just hanging out around the zone. Today school started at the Universities so a lot of the kids (who are actually 3 or 4 years older than me) go back to class today. One of our new friends Nueng is graduating today after she presents her dissertation over bone and joint stuff. She is sooooo excited to almost be over with school so she can have fun as an intern for a while. Please pray for all the students and the schoolwork that will soon be pouring in.<br /><div style="text-align: center;"> I hope all of you are doing well. Please comment on the posts and let me know how things are going for you. Please pray for the work that we will be doing this week. God bless each of you.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxAuR0Uc3GEcZOqBj3kPgo9zkqKmh8I-dhREVJKR9H4zQ_2Ohcx3y7O4lEQ2faMvNC5bw6CcoiziyhmnRWl5dbWuKzybWKyTqHtBW8lmPqbjPXP__nLhVgPJyMZ2ODHLs8GQrjtdlHzA/s1600-h/Group+Doi+Sutep.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxAuR0Uc3GEcZOqBj3kPgo9zkqKmh8I-dhREVJKR9H4zQ_2Ohcx3y7O4lEQ2faMvNC5bw6CcoiziyhmnRWl5dbWuKzybWKyTqHtBW8lmPqbjPXP__nLhVgPJyMZ2ODHLs8GQrjtdlHzA/s320/Group+Doi+Sutep.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5072067849987914738" border="0" /></a>The whole Chiang Mai group!<br /></div>Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14738543664056835964noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1825056968716543815.post-37396508240634401572007-06-01T07:26:00.000-07:002007-06-01T07:56:54.478-07:00Cute, Delicious Apples and BananasToday was the first day we started "working." All of the interns from ACU and Harding and the apprentices who have been here for a while started our orientation today. We did some Thai culture study and ate some amazing foods. We learned some fun words today, some of which are displayed in the title. It is sooooo much fun making a fool of yourself trying to speak Thai. The people are so willing to teach you and it's fun to learn! Please pray for the interns to integrate ourselves with the people here and to learn the language to be able to reach out to those we meet at the campus.Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14738543664056835964noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1825056968716543815.post-32595422715321415962007-05-31T15:47:00.000-07:002007-05-31T16:27:59.104-07:00Good Morning from Chiang Mai<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiciViSSbtbHaeAmYFyAL1e-qd2QuhrkValFbgaEldCPioyxCaj8XrB-BVJeFJkJ3gPIM_y3n64f4UF1w3hFHVDqg0ergjD1N5cZgw2BtWNoY_mJdmdI-v5aJ2b719G2v_ET8lFnmgcvw/s1600-h/groupBangkok.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiciViSSbtbHaeAmYFyAL1e-qd2QuhrkValFbgaEldCPioyxCaj8XrB-BVJeFJkJ3gPIM_y3n64f4UF1w3hFHVDqg0ergjD1N5cZgw2BtWNoY_mJdmdI-v5aJ2b719G2v_ET8lFnmgcvw/s320/groupBangkok.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5070866521865419650" border="0" /></a><br />Wow! After two long days of traveling I'm here in Chiang Mai where I will be for the summer. We got into Bangkok Wednesday night about 9:00. Larry Henderson met us at the airport and we went back to the church in Bangkok to spend the night. It was about 23:00 and we hadn't eaten anything for awhile so Jeremy Hegi and Ton took us down the street to get some noodles from a street vendor. They were delicious! After finishing our bowls we headed back to the church to sleep for a few hours. Larry wanted to show us a park that many people go to early in the morning to exercise so we got up at 5:00 to head over to the park. We walked around looked at some interesting aerobics going on and saw a big lizard like animal. The group picture is us in front of the pond in the park. After the park we headed back to the church but not before buying some Chinese pork dumplings. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjAfQZT1p-7gsQAFlHxaPRMXPqiVLstzp0vKkulB2SKGAVv2Y5Utitb7RdgToZZNB9X2JAIvRy-omUK5tCZ5M7tQWpPgSgL50cH9-t5QEBAXu-IvS0wIwl0Mn5OHWxdhpVmnCVSpYubQ/s1600-h/funnyFruit.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjAfQZT1p-7gsQAFlHxaPRMXPqiVLstzp0vKkulB2SKGAVv2Y5Utitb7RdgToZZNB9X2JAIvRy-omUK5tCZ5M7tQWpPgSgL50cH9-t5QEBAXu-IvS0wIwl0Mn5OHWxdhpVmnCVSpYubQ/s320/funnyFruit.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5070866259872414578" border="0" /></a>Also on the way back Jeremy bought us some interesting fruit that had crazy hair-like things growing out of it. When you popped it open it looked and tasted like a peeled grape, but it had a big seed in the middle of it. After eating a few of these, we headed to the ATM to get some money and then go to 7-Eleven to get some juice and breakfast stuff. We went back to the church, met the interns that will be staying there and joined in on their Bible study. Afterwards we packed up and headed to the airport. Our flight left about 13:35 so we had a little time to sit around in the airport.<br /> We finally got to Chiang Mai about 14:45. We got our baggage and walked out into the arrival lobby to find a group of about 10 people waiting to meet us. They were very excited to meet us. Robert Reagan met us and loaded Casey, Marissa, and I up and took us back to Payap Christian Zone. He showed us around and let us unpack. On the first floor, it's just a hang out place. There is a ping pong table and couches and plenty of cards. After we unpacked, Marissa and I went downstairs to meet people and hang out. Casey went with some of the other interns to be interviewed by someone. While Marissa and I were sitting down stairs one of the girls asked Marissa if she knew how to play Nertz. At that moment I knew I had come to the right place. ;) I joined in and we played for about an hour until the electricity went out because of a rain storm. We went upstairs where some girls were cooking for cell group that night. It was almost time to eat so we set up a table and sat down. We ate and then went back downstairs to have a devo. It was a great first day in Chiang Mai! Everyone is really friendly and I know that this summer is going to be great.Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14738543664056835964noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1825056968716543815.post-12263144528332597312007-05-28T11:04:00.000-07:002007-05-28T11:10:57.559-07:00You Say Goodbye and I Say Hello or Sawatdee KhrabAfter saying goodbye to everyone for the past three weeks is getting tiring. As you leave college you say goodbye to those who have graduated, those who aren't coming back, and those you'll see again, but not for a very long time. I'm ready to hello. Say hello to all the new people I will be meeting this summer. Say hello to all the students at the church I will be working with. Say sawatdee khrab to all the people I might meet on the street or on the Payap campus. I'm ready to start this adventure and let God use me for his work in Thailand. Please pray for my team safe travel and for us to get adjusted quickly. Also pray for the people we will be working with and for them to be open to the Gospel. Thank you for your support and my next post will be from Thailand. =)<span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: tahoma,arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"></span>Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14738543664056835964noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1825056968716543815.post-57145894282669482782007-05-18T10:37:00.000-07:002007-05-18T10:51:05.842-07:00Crazy AsiansYesterday we started our pre-classes leading up to leaving for Thailand on the 29th. We have a man who is working on getting the word out to missionaries about the tragic epidemic of AIDS/HIV. It is sad to hear the thousands, really even millions, effected by this tragic virus. Today we heard of all the people effected in Thailand. It gives me a perspective of the people we will be encountering. These people are living in one of the most effected countries in Asia. Please pray for the Thai people's awareness of this virus and for them to work towards preventing the spread of this disease. Also please keep my team in your prayers as we can minister to these people and all the Thai people we might be in contact with. Here is a picture of the team so you can put a name to a face as you pray for us this summer.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh6b_lTTLtEubCRJ2L03LriojFYG6BCiGDFStkJ-FihMUeKwdCaza48xo6RPcQC5diZvBm8vE4o1lpvqC8vbD8R4TRsMfiVL50UgSd_7MmGV4OpLf5kdsMNYmI-B0M4yQ_JZWjtuQrAg/s1600-h/100_2597.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh6b_lTTLtEubCRJ2L03LriojFYG6BCiGDFStkJ-FihMUeKwdCaza48xo6RPcQC5diZvBm8vE4o1lpvqC8vbD8R4TRsMfiVL50UgSd_7MmGV4OpLf5kdsMNYmI-B0M4yQ_JZWjtuQrAg/s320/100_2597.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5065959444420328274" border="0" /></a><br />From left: Nathan Ritter, Cassie Tamez, Adam Browning, Marissa Walker, and Me.Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14738543664056835964noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1825056968716543815.post-65750280998577193592007-05-13T14:53:00.000-07:002007-05-13T15:02:24.470-07:00It's almost hereIn a little over two weeks I will be traveling with 4 other ACU students to Chiang Mai, Thailand to spend my summer there. I hope to be able to have weekly posts on this blog to let everyone back home what has been going on. I'm really excited and am very appreciative of everyone's support so far. Please keep my team in your prayers during the whole summer. Their names are; Adam Browning, Nathan Ritter, Cassandra Tamez, and Marissa Walker. I will have a picture of us soon.Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14738543664056835964noreply@blogger.com0