Our Night Market Booth

Dear Friends,

We don't have a lot of email access these days and there's a line up for this computer but wanted to say hello and give a brief report!

We are all doing well. No worries AT ALL here from Bangkok's problems. We are not in an area of the country where the Red Shirts are from (they come from cities in the north) and although the Thais are glued the the news stations, there is no danger to us at all. Please pray for our friends in MBMSI in Bangkok and surrounding area, but we are very safe here.

As always planned, we will not be going back through Bangkok. We fly directly from Phuket to Hong Kong (then to Toronto) on June 5. We then go to Debrief at Camp Crossroads and return to Waterloo Friday June 11.

Our team just finished at our booth in the Night Market here in the city. Thousands of people come to it each weekend and there are all sorts of things for sale- "unique" foods, clothes, illegal music and dvds, jewelery, fortune tellers, live music, beggars, puppies, machetes, you name it- its for sale. We have a booth and offer things like face painting, balloon animals, baked treats with scripture attached to it, practice English with the Thais (they all want to learn). Generally we just try and promote the centre that the our local hosts are about to open this week. We are quite the attraction for the Thai shoppers. Apparently they've never seen Farung (foreigners) have a booth before, and can't believe we want to give things away for free!

Please pray that all the legal and financial details would come through this week and the centre could be opened! this will be the site of church, English classes, a youth drop in, the MBMSI offices and generally just a permanent place in the community right on a main street. The team is good. Very mild bouts of different stomach stuff or heat exhaustion over the past few weeks that has taken a few of us out for an afternoon or something. Thankfully nothing major. Some interesting encounters with spiritual oppression. Satan has made himself very comfy in Thailand and has noticed we are here.

Overall things are good. We're learning, laughing, and sweating in equal portions. I'm still longing for softer hearts amongst all of us towards the poor and the poor in spirit here in Thailand. Please pray for that.

love and peace Jo