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Good Morning Chiang Mai!!

A New Year card from Payap Christian Zone Church of Christ

on Mt. Muanganui

port in Wellington

Merecats

"Where we love is home-home that our feet may leave, but not our hearts." ~ Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.

Everybody...I'm HOME!!! It is so wonderful to be back home and be with my brothers and sisters in Christ for Christmas. It is summer in NZ so it would be nicer and cooler here in Thailand, specifically Chiang Mai.

Wellington

Before I left Palmy, I wasted about 2 weeks watching movies in my room on campus. Then I went to Wellington with 3 other Thai friends. We wanted to go to the zoo. We found out later that the zoos in Thailand are a lot better. Well, it was a long day 'coz we left Palmy at 11:30 a.m. and came back the next morning at 4:30 a.m. We didn't sleep and we went to many places which I prefer not bother to describe here. Anyway, we had a great time together.

Do not blame the transportation in Thailand. Read this story...

I took a bus from Palmerston North to Tauranga coz i wanted to spend the rest of my time before going home in somewhere nice and with good friends. So, Tauranga is the best choice. On the day i was travelling, I needed to change the bus so I waited for another bus in the area called "Cambridge" in Waikato. I waited, waited and waited...the bus didn't come. I walked around to look for a place that I could sit down and wait for Eddie to come get me at 11 p.m. or midnight but every place closed at 10 p.m. So, I thought I would have to sit in front of the tourist information center or "iSite" by myself. Do u believe in miracles?? After an hour and a half, I was sitting in the public toilet thinking "what if the bus came right now..." I walked back to the iSite and there it was...the Kiwi bus. The bus turned around and stopped at the bus stop. I stepped up and asked the driver whether he was going to Tauranga or not. He said yes, so i ran grab my heavy stuff. I sat down on the bus thinking to myself 'thank God, am I really on the bus or am I dreaming?' The driver said "sorry, we are a little late. Have u been waiting for a long time? It's just one of those day." I thought "why today?"

Tauranga

I hung out with Eddie, Joshua and Annie and their friends from the South Pacific Bible College. Eddie and I spent 2 days shopping for souvenirs. Then we went to Mt. Muanganui. It was so beautiful. It's not a very high mountain and the trials are quite easy to hike. The same evening, after hiking up the mountain, I was there for the SPBC's graduation. After that, I took my stuff from Annie's house to Eddie's because we had to leave at 4 a.m. to Auckland airport. Eddie asked me to stay up all night coz he thought if he slept, it'd be hard for him to get up. So, I did...I had a lot of fun playing on the Internet, especially taking Friends trivia. Eddie finally took a few hours nap. Nick, one of Eddie's friend, went with us to the airport coz he would drive Eddie's car back to Tauranga. I took a nap in the car. It was raining so hard. I thought the flight would be cancelled but it all went well. We flew from Auckland to Sydney.

Sydney-Embarrassment

We were there for more than 12 hours. I read, walked around, watched people, or played Yahtzee. It was tiring and boring. I went to buy some stuff from Duty Free and I accidentally dropped a perfume bottle because the cap didn't fit with the bottle, so I picked it up from the cap...the bottle flew...slowly and landed on floor. Everyone turned and looked at me. I heard a lady said "uhh, smells good" I didn't know what to do. The staff asked me "are u ok? r u ok? Did u get hurt?" I said " I'm ok...i'm really sorry" He said "it's ok...the most important thing is u r ok and didn't get hurt. walk around and have a look at other stuff. Don't worry. I'll take care of this." So, that was another experience I'm thankful for.

Thailand- The land of smile :)

We landed at Suvannabhumi airport at 3:30 a.m. Then we took a taxi to Don Muang airport. this time Eddie had to pay for the overload luggage because it was domestic with a low cost price. It was not too much like mine though. We got to Chiang Mai airport on Dec. 10th. P'Jan picked us up. I was a bit disappointed seeing P'Jan wearing shorts coz I thought the weather would be a bit cold but it turned out that it was really hot.

Forget about the weird weather and the global warming!!

Like every year, Cheung Doi and Payap had a Christmas party at P'Young's house. The new guys, "Birthday Suite" band, did a great job entertaining us. 2 of them are interested in studying the Bible. And we, the Payapians, are going to sleep over at the Reagan's house on the New Year's Eve and have some grilled pork.

Alright, life at home has been incredibly awesome to me. Though nothing much is going on, i just like the way it is. I don't really get on the Internet as much as i did in NZ. I guess...because all i want is here...my family and friends. I mean for those of u who r not in Thailand...I still miss y'all as always. But I'm saying that because I'm now in my comfort zone, I have all my strength here...comparing back in NZ, I often put updates and get online all the time because I need someone to support me emotionally and spiritually. and I really appreciate those who have been in contact with me all the time.

Well, I guess, it's getting too long now. I'll end here...and will c u soon!

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!!! May the Lord our God bless you richly and keep you safe. May you be filled with love and joy.

In Christ's awesome love,