| Hey everyone.... I've moved. You can now find me at meephotonitnoy.blogspot.com. Its more of a photography blog and the pictures that I take! Come visit! Lorida |
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| So its been a long, very long time since I've posted anything. I was in the US for the summer. I had an awesome time. Here are a few pictures. I got to meet Raygan for the first time. I fell in love with his energy, his smiles and his ability to entertain. I hate the thought that I will miss out on the next year of this little man's life. It was fun spending time with all of my nephews.  
Kyran  
Keishon 
Adison 
Keishon and Nick 
I also spent some time at Faith Builders. I was there for their summer term. i had a great time and was challenged. I enjoyed getting to know some amazing ladies including these two. Below: Judi Gingerich, Bethanie Burkholder and Lorida Burkholder 
I've been crazy busy since I am back in Thailand. I enjoyed going back to the children's ministry again. I love those kids.  
And a few artistic shots. I've enjoy doing more of these kinds of shots.   
Blessings to you! |
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| On Saturday we had a kid’s event at a local church where we teach English. We teach at this church on a regular basis but every three months we have a large event where many community kids come to learn English. 
Normally, we have about 80-100 kids to this event but this Saturday we only had about 30 kids. The reason for this was there was a ceremony at a local temple where boys were being ordained as monks. The majority of the people here in Chiang Mai are Buddhists. I don’t know much about the religion. I was told that if a boy in a family becomes a monk that will earn merit for their family. All of that is nice to know. It’s like facts in the encyclopedia, just words on a page. It doesn’t affect me because it’s not real to me. I don’t know any monks. They are people I see but I don’t know them. But those facts, those words on a page become real, when you see children, young boys becoming monks. These just aren’t any boys either. These are boys that I know, boys that have been in my sister’s English class. I know their names. Seeing boys that I know at this ceremony to become monks just really hit me. This is real. Their religion is just as real to them as heat in April is to Chiang Mai. 
It’s real. They are lost without Christ. They don’t know Jesus. Being at that temple, seeing the boys bowing to their parents to honor them just drove the fact that they don’t know Jesus deeper into my heart. It made me so sad. I wished we could of watched more of the ceremony but there wasn’t enough time. 
This is one of the boys that comes to our English classes. And here are a few more pictures from the kid's event.   
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| various pictures from this past week at the retreat... 
 
   
Mercy Came Running Once there was a holy place
Evidence of God's embrace
And I can almost see mercy's face
Pressed against the veil
Looking down with longing eyes
Mercy must have realized
That once His blood was sacrificed
Freedom would prevail
And as the sky grew dark
And the earth began to shake
With justice no longer in the way
Mercy came running
Like a prisoner set free
Past all my failures to the point of my need
When the sin that I carried
Was all I could see
And when I could not reach mercy
Mercy came running to me
Once there was a broken heart
Way to human from the start
And all the years left it torn apart
Hopeless and afraid
Walls I never meant to build
Left this prisoner unfulfilled
Freedom called but even still
It seemed so far away
I was bound by the chains
From the wages of my sin
Just when I felt like giving in
Sometimes I still feel so far
So far from where I really should be
He gently calls to my heart
Just to remind me ~Phillips, Craig and Dean |
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