I Ran Up a Waterfall, and Walked Out of the Desert.

Pretty interesting title eh? The first part is literal, and the second part is figurative. Anyways I will explain what both mean.

After I recovered from being sick, I started teaching again, and I don't think I realized what I had done to myself after just missing two days. In the one week, they had a writing exercise, and grammar exercise due, a spelling quiz, and a mid term on the Friday. I had planned ahead and spaced them out to give myself enough time to finish marking each thing before the next day, so I wouldn't get swamped. Then I was sick on Tuesday and Wednesday, and the writing and grammar exercise had to be handed in on the same day, and the spelling quiz also had to be on Thursday. On top of that I didn't even have the mid-term written for the students to take yet. Needless to say I got swamped the exact way I had planned to avoid being swamped (did I mention that I have 46 students). Well I managed to mark all 40 or so spelling quizzes and finish making up the 6 page midterm, but that kept me up till about 11:00. On Friday I had the 3 hr midterm, and in combination with the other two assignments I had literally just under five inches thick of paper that I had to mark. This is the problem with having 46 students, you have 46 individual items to mark every time you assign something or have a quiz. It is Monday now and I have finally managed to finish marking the midterm after about 20 hrs of work, but I can't say the same about the two assignments. It was a really super cool fun time marking the midterm though. Well after such a boring intro I will get to the good stuff that you have been waiting for, and that the title had enticed you into reading.

So I ran up a water fall, and down and then back up, and I stopped at some spots in the middle to splash water at people younger than me. Well they started it (and I ended it). OK a little explanation. Judi Miller and Faith Black have come over to Thailand for a couple weeks after Craig Black (Faith's husband), so this past weekend (yes the one that I had 5 inches of papers to mark), I went to Chiang Mai again to visit them. It was the only time that I would get to see them, plus they had a package to deliver to me from my friends and family back in Canada. There was something from someone else too, but I can't remember who. Oh yeah, my girlfriend who loves me, Elisa. Anyways... I got there on Friday night and left on Sunday after church, so it was a really quick visit. But it was Saturday that was the day of significance, for it was the day that gives meaning to both parts of the title. On Saturday morning, Bonnie, Ray, Faith, Judi, and I went with all of the women from the House of Hope, or Nuu Rain, and everyone from the BBF orphanage, to a waterfall that is about an hour away from Chiang Mai. We had rented a couple of song taos for the day, and all +40 of us left from BBF, and went with our delicious food to the waterfall. The only thing about this waterfall is that the rock on top is limestone, so after the water has eroded it enough, it is like sand paper. Seriously, I was standing in the middle of the crystal clear, warm waterfall, on a +60° incline in the middle of a tropical jungle in +30°C weather in the middle of February as if I was standing on dry, level pavement. Man, Thailand is rough. Well I ran up and down the sand paper waterfall so many times I wore out the finger prints on a couple of my fingers and got a couple of blisters on the bottom of my right foot, one of which opened. Did this slow me down? Well a little bit, but that was just because it was hard to run on the outside part of my foot. After being forced to endure such an awesome place that seemed as if we had transferred to the pages of some fantasy novel, my captors made me eat their delicious food, and pressured me into enjoy their pleasant company. I tell you I had been taken by my free will to enjoy such lovely place of God’s awesome creation.

After we had enjoyed running up the sandpaper waterfall, we went back over to BBF and bought some ice cream for everyone. We didn’t stay long because we needed to get some supper, before we headed out on the next part of our arduous journey, a prayer/worship meeting at the same missionary family’s house that I visited the last time I was in Chiang Mai with Craig, the one with all of the kids. The only difference is that there weren’t as many kids this time. Three of the four boys were off with their dad on a Boy Scout trip, and only the youngest one, Josh (I think) was there. The two young ladies were there too, and their mom, along with two women who were visiting from China. Also, Ray wasn’t feeling very well so he stayed home. Oh and three women who were the neighbors of the family came over to join us too. So as you can see, it was a whole bunch of women, me and the youngest son, which doesn’t really mean anything. It was just kinda funny that it was a ladies worship night with Dave and Josh. I guess you could say that this where the walking out of the desert part comes into play, because this is where it comes into play. As Amber (oldest daughter that is in Thailand) and I where finishing up some basketball that we had been playing while we were waiting for the worship to get started, Faith started the worship on the piano. We came in and I grabbed the nearest guitar to join Faith. After that it was just worship song after dancing worship song, after slower worship song. It was great! I mean fantastic, I absolutely loved it, and it was exactly what I was looking for. Anyways, the desert part; while we were worshipping Bonnie came over and prayed for me, and said that God wanted to anoint me again or more (she wasn’t sure). It was really quick and to the point, and she wasn’t even sure what God meant, but I knew. I knew the moment she came over to pray for me, it was my ticket out of the desert that I had been in for 4 months. It was such a comforting relief to be out of the dry land of my spiritual walk that I had been in for those 4 long months. I wouldn’t change it though, if I could do it all over again. Maybe I would have let God go further with me instead of be as lazy as I was at some points, or been more diligent about some things like tithing and stuff, but whatever. Thankfully His merciful love endures forever, and His mercy is new every morning and His grace is sufficient. So I will get right next time. Anyways… after we got into the worship, then God lead us to pray for one another, which turned out to be really awesome. When we were praying for the Chinese lady, some one saw that God had given her a brand new set of armor, and another person saw that there was two heavenly figures standing very close on either side right behind her. These were angels from what I could tell, and then God reminded me of some scripture that He wanted me to tell her. It was that more important than the angels standing behind her, the glory of the Lord is our rearguard. Also that it is Him who walks where ever she walks, because He will never leave her or forsake her, He will never abandon her or fail her, because of His awesome love for her (this is true with all people who want God to love). I can’t say it was as prophetic as what the others saw but the testimony of Jesus, how much He loves us and what He did for us, is the spirit of prophecy (Rev. 19:10). We also prayed for one of the neighbors, and I can’t remember all of what was said (it was all good), but I remember someone saying that she was walking on a rocky hard path, and God told me to tell her, that He is the Way, the Truth, and the Light. He is the truth that put her on the path, the light that guides her on the path, and He is the path that she walks on. The Solid Rock of our salvation, the Stone that the builders rejected, that has become the chief corner stone. Jesus doesn’t just light the path He is the path, the Way to God. Well the only other part that I remember of the top of my head is the part where God wanted me to sing a word that He had for someone. The word was, “no longer your master, but you husband I will be”. So after everyone was there, I sang it like I was suppose to, which I think was a first time singing a word, aside from singing something prophetic in a worship service. Anyways the next day I went to church at the same place we were at 2 weeks before, and ducked out early to catch my bus back to Mae Sot. The next day I came back to Mae La, to find 58 Koreans staying at the school. The entire upstairs is full of make shift beds to accommodate the massive influx of people. On top of that there are other foreigners that have come to visit at the same time, and they have had to make room for them as well. I am really glad I to have my own room right now, and since the Koreans are occupying all of my students I am not teaching until after they leave tomorrow. Well that’s all that I have to say so God bless you all mightily and thank you for your prayers and/or for reading my blog.

Pics (top to bottom): A Bunch of People Eating; Me Standing in the Waterfall (some of the girls that I had the water fight with are behind me); Ray making sure he didn't wreck his watch (it's waterproof/water-resistant till 200 ft); My Opponent (this is the girl that started the waterfight, I don't think she realized what she was getting into); My Angry Look (Faith Black in front of me, some of the BBF girls, and one of the managers of BBF (she is married to Prakit) behind them); The BBF girls (eating lunch); The BBF guys (also eating lunch, there are more than just this); Judi Like Eat Chicken (eating with the ladies and Prakit (the other manager of BBF) who is behind Judi's arm); Getting Ready to Eat (almost everybody that came is in this pic, except me, and Ray who was taking the pic); Mmm... Chickeny (Me, Prakit, and Judi); I Probably Splashed Water Up Her Nose (Some of the girls that I had a water fight with); Do You See How Steep it Is? (Me standing in the middle of the waterfall); Again the Steepness (Faith and me in the background splashing someone with water); Yeah Double Bouncing (on the trampoline at BBF, double bouncing a bunch of girls).