Update from Chiang Mai

I am not sure if what I have said in this blog makes any sense, because it is late here and I am tired.

Well it has been a while since the last blog, mostly because it took so long to upload the pics so I thought that I would make another one for my loyal readers (and for the not so loyal ones too). Now where did I leave off. Oh yeah, about it being hard to live in the camp, because I didn't know anybody, and didn't feel connected to God or the church. While I think it was the next day, that I realized that it was all true about God being there, even though I didn't feel Him, and I remembered something (probably it was God who reminded me) that I have told people in the past, that we walk be faith and not by sight, but we also walk by faith and not by feeling. We shouldn't make our spiritual decisions on what we feel like or don't really feel like, but on what we believe. "I don't feel like worshipping", "I don't feel like listening or obeying", "learning patience takes too long". If this is how (and I am not trying to make accusation or anything) we always reacted everytime that we are even slightly attacked, then I don't think much would be accomplished for the Lord. We must perserve, and doing all that we can to stand, just stand for what God wants us to take a stand for, and He will come through for us and He will show Himself to be faithful yet again. So basically, I decided that it was true I was being discouraged, but then I took the example of King David, when he encouraged himself in the Lord, and decided to swing the sword that I had, and to stand up and take back my inheritance and heritage that the Lord my Daddy has given to me, and to stop it from being taken any further. Now of couse this is with the strength that my God has given me, and it is my God that tied up the strong man satan, to enable me to ransack the enemy's house, but I just decided to finally let my God lead me. So I no longer feel like I am distant from God, because feeling close and actually being close are not necessarily the same thing and when I truly believe that I am close to Him (because I was the whole time), or more importantly, that He is close to me, feeling close soon follows after. Yeah so I'm good I guess you could say.

Oh, funny little story. Yeah so after I got back on track, or everything worked out with God, everything was going great. Then on Tuesday, an American woman came to visit Mae La camp, and wanted a tour of the camp to see what it was like, because she was coming back next year to work in the camp. So since everyone else was busy and I knew quite a bit about the camp already, I volunteered to be her tour guide. So I took her to the market and we got some really good, and really cheap rotti (a East Indian desert thing, that the Muslims make), and walked all the way to the end of the market to look at the brand new trucks the Karen Muslim refugee shop owners have. After that I took her up the windy confusing path to Lae Htee's house, so she could see what a refugee house looks like. When she had talked with Lae Htee and his family for a bit, we were off to see another college (we started in a college) that is right against the mountain and gives a good view of the rest of the camp. See the only weird thing was, that she would always walk a couple steps behind me, even when it was a wide path. I thought that maybe I was walking a bit fast or something, because she was wearing flip-flops, so they are harder to walk in and probably not the best thing for windy, uphill, dirt paths. So I tried walking slower but she still would walk behind me, so I asked if I was going to fast for her but she said that is was fine. This was kinda weird, but doesn't mean anything until, I kept seeing her checking me out every time I looked back at her. At first, I thought nothing of it, and when it was every time I looked back, I started to get suspicious. Then when I looked sorta looked back, but more at what seemed from her perspective to be the mountain, and saw her basically staring at my rear-end, I kinda knew it was coincidence anymore. And when we were at Lae Htee's house (before I saw her staring), she said kinda out of nowhere how impressive it was that I could find my way back to Lae Htee's house and how good of a tour guide I was being, and other weird things like that. Again, I thought that this was a little weird but thought that I shouldn't be so judgemental, so I brushed it off. Then when we were going up to the other college, where there is less people than in the market, (this is when I caught the staring) she started hitting on me, and complimenting me, and I am not talking about a little flirting, or a nice comment or something. I mean, out of the way compliments, and totally obvious flirting (so obvious that she was flirting, some of the stuff she said didn't even make sense). This is when I started wondering why I would ignore such obvious warning signs. I mean I can't really blame her, considering I never told her that I have a girlfriend (it never came up in conversation) in the five minutes that we talked before we started our tour of the camp. It also would seem like such a burn/insult to bring up at this point, so I just started walking faster, and if she wanted to get out of the camp, then she would have to stop talking and start walking. Well she kept up and cut back on the flirting, so that was good, but of course, after returning from the college (we where almost there when she started the flirting) she suggested that maybe we could go to the actual mountain, which was only 150 m away, and which there are absolutely no other people, because we could probably get a better view. Yeah she said it, 'to get a better view', because that is exactly what she meant. A better view behind some trees, where no one else is, far up the mountain. I kinda just stood there, and was a little freaked out, and suggested that we better get back because you are not allowed in the zone of the camp that we were in after 3:00pm, so we wouldn't have time to explore the mountain. It was only 1:00pm, and the mountain was right there, so we would have had plenty of time to 'get a better view', but I kindly declined, still a little freaked that it was actually happening to me. Stupid satan, right after I fight through a little oppression, there is some temptation right in front of me. The battle seems never ending, but thankfully it belongs to the Lord. Well I basically b-lined it (went straight back) to the college again and sorta avoided her for the rest of her stay. Praise God I made it through that one.

Well here is a little update on what I have, am, and am going to do in the next little while. Last Friday (Jan 26) I preached about worship and what it is, at the college that I took the American girl to, and taught them most of the song, "How Great is Our God", all except the last part because I ran out of room on the board. I spent Saturday and Sunday in Mae Sot, taught English on Monday and Tuesday, in both the college and at the camp office. Wednesday is a Karen statutory holiday (Karen Resistance/Revolution Day), so no school, and this is the same day that the American woman went back to Mae Sot (only one day). I also checked my e-mail on Wednesday, and found out that Craig Black, a good friend of the family, is in Thailand, and that he wanted to see me, so I e-mailed him back, and today, Thursday, I took the bus up to Chiang Mai to visit him. Oh and guess who was on the bus, the American who had been hitting on me two days earlier. They also had assigned seating on the bus and she was seated right behind me. The really messed up part is she told me that she was going to Chiang Mai, next week, and I never knew I was going until after she left, but then she must have changed her mind, and then she was sitting behind me. Anywho... tomorrow, Ray, Bonnie and I are going to Craig's place, to have dinner and watch a movie. Saturday, Craig is taking me out to a buffet for my birthday (maybe), and right after, Bonnie and Ray are having a party for me at House of Hope with the women that stay there, and some other people that they know. Sunday is when I go back to Mae La, and then on Monday, when it is my birthday, Lae Htee and his family are going to through a party for me, and I think that the school might be doing something too, but that is still suppose to be a secret. Lae Htee's mom has even made a tribal skirt thing (think kilt), and has arranged for a matching tribal shirt, backpack type of bag, and head band to be made from scratch for me, all for my birthday. I think that I will pay for most of it because that is a little expensive for them (I know they are giving the skirt thing to me, but I am not sure about the rest), especially since they hardly know me but hey whatever. Thank God for His favour that He has given me with the Karen. Well this blog is longer than I intended but hey, I hope that you have enjoyed it.

So blessings on you all, in the mighty name of Jesus Christ, and please continue to pray for me, and thank-you for your prayers that you have already given for me. As you can see, your prayers are very important. Thank-you for the time that you spent reading my blog.

No pics, sorry.