Thailand Mission and Cultural Trip 2013 - Journal 1

This is my ninth year leading a mission and cultural trip, supported and sponsored by Walla Walla University. It is one of the highlights of my year. If you have followed previous blogs, you can appreciate that statement. If you are new to my blogs, take a glance at earlier blogs to get a taste of what is yet to come. The following link from one of my 2009 blogs (http://blessingsfrompedrito.blogspot.com/2009/08/thai-09-journal-24.html) will give you a philosophical overview of the project. I’m also the International Service Committee chair for Rotary of Walla Walla club. We have also adopted Thailand as one of the areas in the world that we have placed special emphasis, working closely and in partnership with one of the Rotary clubs in Chiang Mai. Our Rotary club assists with some of the expense for me to audit our projects and plan for future projects. We at WWU have also done a Mission trip to Chiang Mai Adventist Academy and are sponsoring students there; and plan to continue that relationship in the future. So I’m beginning this trip by heading to Chiang Mai. PS.: I don’t intend these journals to be masterpiece essays. They are reports. So forgive any sketchiness. And remember, they are my personal jottings and not official, formal reports. Enjoy the fun! Enjoy my journey!

It’s a long trip: Approximately 10 hours to Tokyo and another 6 hours to Bangkok. Each seat has its own movie screen, with numerous movies, games, TV, and music channels. There are about 3 meals on each flight. I watched “Life of Pi.” Great and appropriate movie; especially since we will be spending a day with the tigers. I spent most of the flights reading and sleeping, in order to get my body adjusted to the new time zone. We are 14 hours ahead of the West Coast of the US. Things have changed and the flights to Chiang Mai now leave out of the old airport. So when I got in last night about midnight, I had to take a taxi to the Amari hotel right next to the domestic airport. It is a fancy hotel. They were out of the deluxe room I booked for $45.00; so they upgraded me to the super deluxe! It was a wow! This morning I just walked over the connecting bridge from the hotel to the airline counter!

LaWa hostel residents

Dr. Boonthong, a past president of Payap University, and a very active Rotarian was at the Chiang Mai airport to meet me. They have me booked right next to the Night Market in the Centara hotel. A great hotel for less than $40!! Joan EuBank, and James, one of the students from the LaWa Hostel, picked me up from the hotel and took me to Chiang Mai Adventist Academy. It is Mother’s Day in Thailand (the Queen’s birthday), so it’s a holiday. But Nid was there to meet me and show me around the campus. We also talked about including CAA in next year’s 10^th Anniversary Thailand Trip.

The highlight of the day was the visit to the LaWa hostel. This was the first project that our Rotary

Rotary Scholarship recipients

club was involved in in Thailand. We have written grants to supply them with computers, provide great sanitary facilities and pure drinking water; and we give them $1000.00 in scholarships, annually, for the older students to go to University. Six of the scholarship recipients were there to thank Rotary of Walla Walla. I was very proud of them. I ended the day with a lovely dinner at the home of Alan and Joan Eubank, and then a little jaunt around the Night Market.

Thanks for your prayers and support. If you bookmark this link (http://people.wallawalla.edu/~pedrito.maynard-reid/gallery2/main.php/v/ThailandCulturalandMissionTrip2013/PedritoThailandpictures2013/) you can follow my daily photo blog. As usual, my photos are in descending order.