Start:	Apr 7, '08
End:	Apr 11, '08

YWAM - Conference on Frontier Missions
Chiang Rai, Thailand

Cue Veggie Tales music:
And so what what we have learned applies to our lives today
And God has a lot to say, in His Book...
You see we know that God's Word is for everyone
And now that our song is done
We'll take a look

Haha...
Conference is over and I am once again in my Limbo, este Bangkok Airport. Waiting.
Yes, I am perpetually waiting... <Sigh!>
Enough angst.

COFM08 was so much fun and I've learned so much. Actually, everything I asked God to teach/show me, He has. I came to the conference knowing only 2 people and now I think I've been able to have a conversation with at least 3/4 of the people there. I think it's really only in multicultural Christian crowds where I can let my neon light shine. I'm more careful around everyone else, they're so easy to offend.

Anyway, I don't know how much I can elaborate about what I've learned: a lot about my compassion (and extreme need of more!), but I don't really know how to explain that... He's confirmed my call to faraway lands, just wonder when that's gonna be.

And as I've been saying, he's confirmed my feminine side. Let's just say twitterpation is getting harder to hold at bay, and I'm trying to keep my walls lowered. The moat is drained. But the dragon is still inside. She's a bit too hard to tame right now.

I decided REALLY late last night that since Andrew Quinley still hadn't replied to my emails (his family is here in Chiang Rai and I wanted to go to their church...) I would just go ahead and take advantage of the small group tour being offered. BHB1,100 for the car + guide + gas for the whole day isn't so bad. Told the night guard as much and tried to get some sleep.

Tried...

And tried...

Got buzzed awake by my alarm, just as well as I was in the midst of yet another teeth-falling-out dream. I haven't yet adjusted the clock in my mobile phone, so I reset the alarm and went to sleep again. My phone buzzed my awake again and I realized in my doziness I had reset it to a too-late time. It was 9am, when we were supposed to leave. So I threw some clothes on and went into a garden to see if I had caught the group.

Long story short, the guide had just arrived, so I had just enough time to better pack my stuff and put on my sunscreen. I was going to go around with a young German backpacking couple also staying in Baan Bua Guesthouse and No, our guide, was going to drive us around,

First stop: Visiting the Hill Tribes.
It was an hour-long drive up, and Dana and I spent the first couple of minutes doing the whole "getting to know you" thing, then the rest trying to get some rest. I just ended up with a crick in the neck, something that always happens to me when I try to snooze upright.

The hill tribes were very interesting. There were the Akha, the Long Neck Karen and the Big Eared Karen tribes all living together in the same area. A lot of the tribes migrated from the Burmese border not far from Chiang Rai. I'd read about the Karen in the book "Eternity in their Hearts," written by the same man who wrote "Peace Child." Very interesting stuff, I highly recommend it.

It was a bit of a tourist trap with souvenirs everywhere, but at least they were very reasonable priced. And it was interesting to see the women in full costume. They have a lot in common with the indigenous people in the Philippines, some of the hand woven patterns are almost identical to the Ifugao's.

Second Stop: The Myanmar-Thai Border
Another hour-long drive to the border. The Mekong is really small there, amazing that such a piddly little body of water can separate two big nations.



Had lunch here. Bit of a communication fiasco and I ended up with two bowls of noodle soup, the first with pork, the second with chicken. Sigh... At least I hadn't had breakfast so that should fuel the rest of my day.

Third Stop: The Golden Triangle Viewpoint
The Golden Triangle (composed of Thailand, Burma and Laos) was a region famous for opium and so-named because they used gold as the standard currency for opium trading.

Growing opium is illegal now, so there are at least 2 museums in the area dedicated to educating the public about opium, its effects, and its penalties.

The Mekhong behind the pretty lady in the pic is home to the world's largest catfish, which can grow to around 2.5m. You can ride that baby to work!!! LoL. They start fishing for that monster next weekend, during the Thai new year.

There were 2 old Buddhist temples in the area so got to see those, as well as a new and humongous golden buddha.

We spent another hour in the car going back to Chiang Rai town, had a quick shower and headed over the night market for dinner. Mild green curry with chicken. Mmmm... Had to dig out the Thai phrasebook to make sure it had no beef or pork, or was too spicy. But worth the effort.

Then had my first Thai massage. Just one hour, wanna go for two next time. It was GOOD, and funny because my masseuse and I couldn't communicated, so I couldn't really tell her what I wanted apart from my facial expressions, which under normal circumstances are pretty
comedic anyway. LoL. It was fun.

Then spent a good while uploading pix while trying to get sleepy.
My twit said it best:


I'm still weighing the pros and cons of heading over to Chiang Mai for the Songkran (New Year Water) Festival... It will be packed with tourists, and although I am one myself, I prefer to go when no one else is there.

 
I finally made it! My photoalbum says it all, but here are a few highlights:

I made it to Chiang Rai, Thailand, safe and sound, complete with welcoming party c/o my accommodations, Baan Bua Guest House. They have a cute web site and  free WIFI!!!

Napped for a bit then headed over to the Night Market to grab some grub. Literally.

I've been wanting to try fried insects (or flied insects as the locals say) since I saw them on our family trip to Bangkok in December 2006.

Quite yummy! The bamboo worm and house cricket are my favorites, the big water beetle was a bit too hard to eat, tough shell and all.

Did a little bit of pasalubong shopping, VERY small items because I have too many friends <ahem> and some birthday presents.


God is funny, he's also answering my prayer about affirming my feminine appeal... in unexpected but nonetheless welcome ways. ^_^ 'Nuff said.

I finally made it to on the plane to Chiang Rai. After checking in (super bangag mode) went to my assigned gate. Tried to get settled, dozed off, then got woken up by airport personnel and evicted. Apparently, you have to go to the gate right before boarding, which kinda sucks.

So relocated to the benches just outside the gate and tried to snooze... not very successfully. When I woke up, a English senior was sitting next to me reading a paper. He spoke Thai and helped me figure out where I was supposed to be. Turns out there's a reason I was evicted. My flight ended up being assigned another gate... which also happened with my Cebu Pacific flight. Anyway, because I'm me,  I struck up a conversation.

Ooohboy. Didn't take us long to establish that I'm a Christian and into missions, and he was violently against any missionary attempts to convert Thai buddhists, and especially against American evangelical charismatic groups. As our discusson progressed, I kept my cool (partly because I was so sleepy) and just tried graciously to explain why I as a Christian actually practice the Great Comission.
I actually agree with him about a lot of things, about how "weird" some sects really are, and about how annoying it is that a lot of "Christians" are rnothing more than posers talk the talk and think they're so holy, but really they're not. As I like to say: just because you sit in a garage and wear a ferrari sticker on your forehead doesn't make you a car.

But that's a whole other blog post about why I can be a Christian and still wear my spikes and be a happy emo!

Again, my twits said it all:
"On plane, spoke w/ an old Brit expat environmental chemistry professor antpathic against evangelistic missionaries. I discussed graciously. And this was me trying to be gentle, gracious and a good testimony on bangag mode. Talk about being thrown into the deep end. God is funny.. "

And God really does have a sense of humor, and that meeting with the 69-year old British academic was my first REAL experience to DO apologetics, one of my long-term passions and obsessions. When you ask God to use you, you better be sure you know what you're doing!

When the plane landed, we parted ways. Nothing was resolved, but we didn't really expect it to be. Before my mangling and restoration experience, this conversation would have left me discouraged and even more cynical. But from where I stand now, it's funny that an encounter with a skepic has reminded me of how real God has shown Himself to be in my life. It's just a pity that this man was so closed that anything I would say (very diplomatically and politely!) about authentic Christianity was met with a condescending "Sure, sure."

I was reminded of why I'm here in Chiang Rai. It's not about imposing a religion (which I think is wrong). It's not even about transforming a culture. As I kept telling that professor, it's all about encountering Jesus Christ.

I resolve to know nothing except Jesus Christ and him crucified. (1Cor2:2)
The truth is that Jesus, the Son of God, gave up Heaven to live on earth as one of us. Lived a perfect life and lifted it up to God as an offering on the cross. He gave up his life to pay the penalty of our sin. And death could not hold him, He rose again. The good news of the Cross gives me and all others who receive it power to live lives of freedom and victory.

That's all I need to know. That's all there is to know.

As promised, this next update is being blogged from Bangkok Airport, where it turns out i WON'T be spending 11 hours. Because of Cebu Pacific's infamous lateness, that time will be shorter.

Oh well, at least I was able to meet new people from YWAM. As I was speaking to these much more mature workers, and listening to how God has worked in very different, but nonetheless very powerful ways in their lives, I realized how this trip could really be a turning point for me. I mean, I'm living the dream, baybeh. Independent woman, dream job, dream bachelorette pad, I really can't imagine it can get better than this.

But it can! (And no, I don't mean I need a man, because I don't.)
Because God is the God of the INFINITE! Meaning it just keeps getting better!
From glory to glory, from strength to strength, to infinity and beyond!!!

So I was pondering these things in my seat on the plane when we finally boarded. We even had to relocate from Gate 3 to Gate 15... Haaay NAIA. Good thing my ADHD tendencies prevent me from ever getting bored. Weird noh?

The girl in front of me in the line as we were boarding was my seatmate (I saw her seat was 22E, I was 22F. Yes, Leo's Byakugan and Allen's Sharingan are somehow rubbing off on me) so I said "Hi!" Once we got settled in our seats, turns out she, Sheila, was with Hot Legs, a Filipino dance company I actually knew about because one of the women in my small group is also a dancer. Turns out that our common dancer friend (Twinkle) was actually subbing for Sheila while she was going on holiday in Bangkok.
God does not play dice, and we DID pray for divine appointements, so !pt to God!

Ayun, because we left late, most of the othe passengers were trying to sleep so I tried to nap as well. No such luck. So instead I prayed about the trip and committed to the work I know by faith God is going to work in me.

And as I was having my own worship service in my seat thanks to my beloved walkman and looking out the window (I got a window seat!!!) at the clear night sky, I saw a falling star. It fell exactly in front of me, and I just knew.

I've been praying for a very critical something to be planted in my heart, and I believe He's going to bring Breakthrough this week. (And again, no, it's not a man.)

So expect more exciting updates!

In the meantime, I have to refine my talk, prepare my slides and maybe even handouts. I'm in Starbucks, and my twit says it all:
"I'm in Starbucks BKK Airport. My chipipay estudiante d'Katipunan technique works here too! I go a quiche, hot water & used my baon Tazo tea!"
Harang naman kasi talaga ang mga airport prices, but I will keep ordering "real" stuff because I'd feel guilty otherwise. LoL.

<--- She looks soooo tired.

It's been a LONG day, a long week even, but thankfully it's almost done. For the first time in so long, I am able to sit down and blog.

I am someone who can't sit still. I probably had undiagnosed ADHD, but by God's grace, I still turned out "ok". Not normal (perish the thought!) but... functional.

Anyway, I'm off to Thailand for a YWAM conference, and I'm so excited to be energized to be a bringer of the Evangelion!!! (Did any of you understand that?)

Basta...

So I'm in the Naia lounge, waiting for my plane to start boarding.

        FREE WIFI IN NAIA!!!
                    WHO'D HAVE THUNK!?

And to meet up with some new friends from YWAM, who I've never met before, but who are on the same flight as me from Manila to Bangkok.

Will be boarding any minute now.

My next post will be from Bangkok Airport, where I will be spending 11 glorious hours, hopefully solitary. ^______^

I can only rock the planet because I stand on the Rock of ages. ROAR!!!