Home at Last

Our flight arrived into Bangkok on time at 3:20 (ish) and we were met by Matt who is a missionary here and married to one of Pastor Al & Terry's daughters. We had a very comfortable drive to SriRacha, the main highway here is very good and when I asked the speed limit Matt informed us it was somewhere between 120 to 140 km per hour - whatever the mood strikes ya I guess!

The humidity struck us right away, like as soon as we set foot off the plane and into the walkway tunnel to the airport terminal! It was like trying to breath thru a steamy hot washcloth! I thought that maybe it was just because the sun was beating down on the metal tube but nope - it is just that humid all the time! In fact it is so humid here that as soon as Dean stepped out of the van his glasses fogged up! If the camera wasn't packed I would have gotten a picture for you all! It is growing on us though...we are sure that it has to be therapeutic!

Our first evening was pretty laid back. Matt brought is to the Light House which is the building where El Shaddai 2 is. This is the second children's home started by Pastor Al & Terry. It is also an apartment complex that houses single missionaries and bible college students. It will be our home for the next month or so until we move into our own place. After all 16 of our bags were carried up 3 flights of stairs Matt took us to a bank to get some money changed and then we met with is wife Becky for a bite to eat - our first authentic Thai meal. It was very good - even if there was a bit of hog hair left on Dean's pork...he's such a trooper though, he just ate it anyways!

As some of you know we are pretty sure that we have a house lined up for the end of September but after getting here we have found that it is a bit far from the bible college which is where we will be spending quite a bit of time so we may do some more looking around to see if we can find something that is a little closer.

The girls are both settling in well. They get to share their own room down the hall from ours and they like the independence that comes with that. Julia is really looking forward to some exploring and to seeing an elephant. Baylee has met a few kids that will be starting bible college next week and we are really hoping for her to get connected with some great kids.

Our staff orientation is next Friday and Saturday and this is really where we all get our direction for the next year. Dean and I are both looking forward to this as it is not only when things really get started but it will also be when we ourselves get to connect with everyone else working here.

Today is Sunday and we had our first experience at the Thai church. It was pretty neat to hear familiar songs like "Come, Now is the Time to Worship" and "My Redeemer Lives" sung beautifully in Thai. Tonight we will go to Pastor Al & Terry's church which is called The Tower and is at the bible college for English church, we can't wait to go and meet more people!

This pretty much brings you up to speed; we have been pretty laid back since we have arrived. It has been good though as it gives an opportunity to get over the jet lag and get the girls started in school (which is tomorrow, and not at all overwhelming - really its not!) before things start jumping next week.

Please continue to pray for our family; its your faithfulness in this area that keeps our family covered and on track.

We would love to hear from you so drop us a line anytime!

Blessings and love to you all,

Dean, Kathy & the Girls

Ps, I have tried & tried to get new photos onto the blog for you all but I seem to need some help with our new Mac computer! As soon as I am able to get someone to help me figure it all out I will get some pics on there so check back in a little bit, sorry ;)