Camp was a great success. We had lots of Thais, a bunch of Chinese, a group of Singaporeans, a handful of Kiwis, a few UKians, two Aussies and a Brazilian. Definitely merited its title as an “international” camp. We had: silly games… skits and studies about the true meaning of Christmas… coconut palms by the lakeside… crazy games… salty, sticky, ricey “porridge” for brekkie… little thatched-roof huts...

Last night we held a “party under the stars” on the rooftop of the youth house. Due to pollution and generally unclear Thailand skies, there weren’t a whole lot of stars to party under, but the view of the sunset was pretty good. Two students I had had a lesson with earlier that day arrived announcing they’d brought me a gift. They’d brought me two bags of food. Great, anyone who knows me knows I love food, right? Well, this kind of ...

Sunday we had church; completely in Thai of course, but the pastor’s wife kindly sat at the back with us and translated. It was actually very similar to a NZ church service, but with one added extra: food and fellowship afterwards. Mostly everyone sticks around afterward for a feed, and it’s a great community builder. Maybe something we need to think about introducing in NZ… One kind churchgoer offered us a lift home in his... not quite sur...

So we returned to Nakhon Sawan along with a huge bunch of NU students who were coming for the combined CU party in the park. The transport? Songtheow. We thought there’d be a few, or two at least, but no, all 34 of us piled into a single songtheow! Though this one was a bit larger than the norm, it was still a tight fit. And a bit of a worry for us when the police stopped us. But, after checking the driver was licensed, it was all go again. The trip dou...

Finally got to meet some Thai students at the "Cool Cafe" last night; found them lovely, if a little shy, and most of them speak enough English to get into a convo of some sort. Have been picking up some Thai, little by little, though as a tonal language, it's difficult to master.It's exciting to start building some relationships, and to learn a little about what it means to be a Christian in Thailand, a predominantly Buddhist country.Bussed up ...