Settling in

We spent about six hours today in transit, and only about one hour of that was in the air. The flight from Bangkok to Chiang Mai is short and uneventful; it's the getting in and out of airports that takes so long.

After a long, long day, however, we're finally settling in at our house in Chiang Mai, graciously loaned to us for a couple weeks by a Thai friend of Tutu Bee, our country director.

After arriving at the Chiang Mai airport at about 4:30pm, we dropped our bags off at the house and headed to a wonderful little roadside restaurant in Doi Saket before joining the team from Goshen, Indiana for the evening at our DS1 campus. (The mediocre lunch at the Bangkok airport cost 8 times as much as our delicious dinner; truly the best meals can be found at the least impressive eateries.)

The kids and staff from 8 of our 10 Thailand homes joined together for a service of thanksgiving and dedication of the home that had burned down in December, and which was rebuilt quickly by the generosity of a number of our churches, Grace Community, Goshen Indiana, included. It was a treat to have Pastor Jim Brown and a team from the church present for the occasion.

Unfortunately, the service lasted longer than our energy, so I had Khun Cho, one of our staff, drive us home. The kids and Kori are in bed and I'm waiting for Tutu to arrive with some supplies for our week -- the house we're in came without towels and linens. 

I'm completely beat. Everyone's in relatively good spirits. Kori and Xiu Dan are fighting their strep bravely. I count all of these as blessings. Soon, I hope, I'll also be counting sheep.