We Made It

After some long flights and no sleep, we made it to SE Asia on Tuesday afternoon. We forced ourselves to stay awake to help lessen the jet-lag. We had some "get-a-ways" to the local immigration office a couple times to check in. It was quite the adventure, but it exposed us to some of the culture in our new home. It's a very diverse place with some of the most wonderful people.

We've started our orientation class this week. So far, we've gotten our handphones (cell phones for those of you in the States), went to a pharmacy where we decide how much and which medications to take, and we've been to many malls. We took a ride in a taxi, a van, a bus, and a small truck that has the bed of it covered with benches in it to get places (we always had someone with us that could speak the language). There are lots of restaurants that are seen in the States: KFC, McDonalds, Pizza Hut, A&W, Wendys, Dunkin' Donuts, and even a Chili's. So, even though we're miles away from "home" there are aspects of our new home that make us very comfy.

Here's a couple of experiences we've had:
- While registering with immigration, I had a killer headache. I needed some caffine or some kind of kick to pick me up. We went a street vendor and ordered a nice, cold, coke in a bottle. The vendor takes our coke and pours it in a plastic bag and sticks a straw in it! They reuse all their glass bottles, so we got our cokes "to-go".

- We went to a huge expo celebrating the diversity of our new home. Several vendors were selling hand-made crafts from their home region. We were waiting at an ATM for our friends to withdraw money, and I sat next to a small boy that had two red balloons. I pushed on his balloons. His dad, who was also standing in line, grabbed his son's hand and placed it on my arm. He kept saying "He just wants to touch you, He just wants to touch you." and then began apologizing. Our new friends believe that if their children touch a Westerner that they will be blessed with happiness, wealth, and prosperiety.

We look forward to sharing more with you, and thanks for showing an interest in what our Father is doing around this area.