Waterfall Trip

Today was one of our field trip days. We spent the first couple of hours at Eden House playing games while six of the girls were at school receiving their report cards. We left Eden House about 11:00 a.m. and drove about thirty minutes to Huay Mai Sai, up in the hills a bit southwest of Eden House. Some of the staff was away in the morning, so I was asked to drive one of the trucks. It was my first experience driving from the right side of the vehicle, and I was a bit nervous beforehand, but it went well. I turned on the wipers instead of the turn signal one time, but other than that mistake it was a smooth trip. Driving is quite a bit different here than at home - the roads are narrow and drivers need to pass the many motorbikes on all of the roads.

We arrived at Huay Mai Sai and set up for lunch. During lunch, we heard thunder and guessed a storm was heading our way. It rained hard for about 20 minutes, but after it stopped we hiked up to the waterfall and had fun swimming with the girls. Bob, one of the staff, joined some of us jumping off the rocks into the deep part (about 6 feet) of the pool. Some of the girls climbed up the rocks and slid down as well. It was a fun trip, and it was may favorite waterfall of those we've visited so far over the past three years.

On the way back from Huay Mai Sai, we stopped at the market for vegetables. I had a coconut and some sticky rice with black beans cooked in a bamboo shoot. The market was interesting, with lots of fruits, vegetables, poultry, fish and even insects.

We went to ice cream with Audrey, Nok, Bob and the girls from the third house before dinner, and I had fun talking with Nok, Momo and Pon. After ice cream, Audrey took the team to Rajhapat University, where Ratana will attend school. We toured a nice garden and took a group photo before returning to a dinner of rice, egg, and soup at Eden House.

We will start worship soon. It has been another good day. I've been able to talk to some of the girls today about school, and I am impressed by the grade point averages these girls achieve. They are a bright group, and Eden House is making a huge impact on the lives of the girls by providing an education that would be otherwise unattainable.

Time for worship now. Thanks again for your prayers - Mark.

From Alan

Good Evening Northlake,
We just got done with dinner and have some down time before evening worship and teaching. The time is going by so fast, the girls are so amazing. They just want to be with us all the time. We are playing games right now. The one we start with is not the same one that we end up with, the girls are so creative.
Darren Trimble eat your heart out, for the last 3 days I have been helping out in the kitchen. It is an honor to help out in the kitchen, yes they even let me use the very sharp knives and I haven't even cut myself yet. I will be coming home with several great recipes, just hope I can find the ingredients.
Today we went to some waterfalls with the girls and staff. while we were having lunch the heavens opened up and it was a downpour. we waited for about 20 minutes and the sun came back out and we headed to the falls and had a blast. Some of us were brave enough to slide off the rocks into the water about 20+ feet. Audrey got photos and hopefully we can get them transfered to the blog.

Must leave for now hello to the Hurley's small group,
Thank you for all your prayers Northlake,

Alan Yoder

From Connor

Well, this is my third time coming to Thailand and i love it just as much as i did the first time i came. And i'm not just talking about the food. There is never resting here at Eden House for all 33 girls are always wanting to play. Whether we are at the pool, playing cards, hand games, sports, or trying to understand why they are laughing at us, the team is always having fun. Even while i'm sitting here typing this, Nim (one of the younger girls) is wanting me to play a version of rock, paper, scissors that the girls made up. i can hardly resist the temptation to join the girls in playing Bop-it after Steve interrupted and told me to come blog.

There is nothing that i would rather do than be here where the house is so full of unconditional love and joy. From the moment when you walk in the door to the moment you leave, the girls are wanting you to play with them. i've never been to another place where the people love you just because you are there. The girls are a true example of God's everlasting love.

For me, this year has already been so different from my past 2 trips. i came here thinking that i knew what was going on and how things go. Unfortunately, i was dead wrong. The hotel's breakfast is served way differently, places that the team goes to relax is new and in a different location, i now am running the games for the whole trip, and which girls i hang out with are different.

When i've come before, i used to stay with the older girls at the first house and barely ever see the younger girls. This year is different. While i do still play with the older girls, the younger girls come to the first house and always want me to play. They have become addicted to calling me corn in Thai, which is the nickname given to me by the older girls on my first trip in 2007 and has for some reason stuck with me ever since. i'm constantly telling them that my name is Connor, not Cow-po. They are always trying to hang around me and gaze up at my head that is 6' 3'' above the hard tile. i get so sore sitting down but i have to deal with it for that is where the games are.

The older girls are constantly changing also. Wasana, who went from happy to scorn (in a good way), is now always happy. She is such a gangster (jk). Dao is now mocking everything i do but still likes for me to talk to her. I do also. Linda is still biting me and telling me about boys and tells me to get a girlfriend. I change the subject. Siwaii still does the Thriller dance that i showed her on my first trip and asks about my dad Darren who couldn't make it this year, but who came on the past two trips. Patchala is still the loudest and is always smiling, and Awroni is hurting me when i mess up in hand games. i would write about all the girls, but there is so much to say.

All the games that we are doing are put on by me, matt, and dodge. It took some planning, but most use little supplies. The one that used to most has also been my favorite so far. You but a banana in your mouth and panty hose over your head and try to squeeze out the banana into a cup. Although most the girls couldn't get the stockings over their heads, it was still funny when they starting to yack out the bananas. i may be mean, but 20 young girls yacking on a full banana in their mouths and spitting them out is funny to me.


TO BE CONTINUED....

From Dodge

Hello to all who are reading this. Sorry that it has taken so long for me to write on the blog. I have had a hard time finding it. Anyway, I have had a good time so far in Thailand. The people here are really fun.

The trip to Thailand was really long but worth the wait. There were three flights, the first one was 14 hours long from Seattle to Taipei. The second flight was 3.5 hours long from Taipei to Bangkok. The final flight was 1 hour from Bangkok to Chiangrai. The first two flights were with EVA AIR. The planes are nice and everyone gets their own in-flight interactive TV.

As I expected, it is very hot and very humid here. Thankfully, I haven't got any sunburns yet and I hope that I won't get any until the end of the trip.

The food here is great. I especially like the fruit. It is a lot sweeter than I'm used to. I am not as much as a fan of the spicy food but it still tastes good.

The wedding was interesting and was different than what I expected. I thought that the wedding would be a really big deal and the guests would be interested in what was going on, but I couldn't even hear what was going on because everyone around me was talking. I suppose that I should stop trying to guess facts about the culture. Now that IO write about it, that fact seems really obvious.

I've made friends with many of the girls at Eden House. They know a lot of games and are willing to share the games with me. I have a hard time playing as I just learned how to play a lot of them.

Every day we have worship, games, and someone teaches about being a missionary. Today, March 30, is my turn. That is later in the day though. I pray that I will be able to say the right things and that what I say is meaningful to the girls at Eden House.

From Carla

Hello on Monday from Thailand. The first few days we were here were cooler than usual, even some rain thrown in, but today we have hot weather. We are spending all of today at Eden House. We tried to make ice cream this morning, but half us ended up with chocolate milk instead, it still tasted good! This year we are playing lots of games, sequence, dominoes, etc... it has been a lot of fun. You sit down to play and within minutes you have a little partner that joins you :)
The trip really feels like we are here to visit family that live far away. The tween/young teen age girls have changed so much since last year. The oldest girls in the second house are now too old/too cool to color! It has been wonderful to meet the new 9 little girls from the 3rd house. The littlest ones have been falling asleep in someone's lap each night when we have speaking time. They are adorable. Each year I see a new facet of the girls' personalities, each year someone new decides you are not so scary anymore and comes up to give you a big hug out of the blue. It is really a blessing to be here again, and I am so grateful I got to come.
Tonight we will be playing capture the flag, we'll see how many farangs pass out :) We miss you all, thank you for your prayers.

from patti

It is so crazy to think that I am here in Thailand again after 3 and a half years. I look at these girls and I am so amazed at how much they have changed. And the new little girls, they are so beautiful! One little girl Nim has taken my heart already. What a blessing it is to be able to invest into these girls lives. When I sit and listen to the laughter that fills this house I am reminded at how much God loves us and protects us. I think I speak for us all when I say that we as a team feel very honored to have been apart of Nok and Bop's wedding today. Looking around you saw many, many people helping to make this a special day for them both. We had some rain first thing this morning and when it stopped it became very humid. The weather all in all has been GREAT! Not to hot! Thank you all for keeping us in your prayers.

PS - Darren, I miss you very much and wish you were here with me. The older girls all say to tell Mr. Bean sawatdeeka! Love you and can't wait to see you.

Patti

From Megan

Sawadii Ka,

Wow, today has been crazy. I am writing this at 6:00 PM Thailand time, it's 4:00 AM at home. It's Saturday here and we got the privilege of watching a Thai wedding. Nok and Bob's wedding was one of the most beautiful ceremonies I've ever seen, there were gorgeous Thai flowers and over 300 people in attendance. It was unbelievable how many people showed up and, despite the fact I understood very little of what was spoken, how similar the wedding was to American ones. I am so glad I was able to watch the two become one family, I am close to both of them. The weather today is very hot, it is not very humid though. I am still adjusting to the time change, but I tell you these girls can keep you going...They have more energy than the Energizer Bunny. From what I can tell most of the people here are incredibly tired, me included. I am sorry to tell you that I don't miss Mill Creek one bit. I wouldn't trade anything to go home now. I do miss my family and friends though. But honestly if you weigh out the rainy Washington weather with Thai massages, the beautiful scenery, and the amazing hearts of these girls, they've got you beaten. I hope to write you all soon again so I can keep you updated on how amazingly our trip is!

Take care and please keep up your prayers for safety, health, and most of all to make an impact!

Megan

from matt

THURSDAY
Well the plane ride was really long but fun. Plus its really humid out. It was all worth it though when we got 2 Chang Rai. When we got out of the airport it started to rain with thunder and lightning. I love the room I'm staying in. Got a nice view of the pool. The AC is always on high when I'm in the room. Dinner was really cool and interesting.
FRIDAY
Well um it was really weird waking up in the morning cause I was still use to Seattle time. The breakfast was really good. I love how in the hotel there is always music playing. Then I just hung out in my room for awhile until lunch. After lunch we went back to the hotel and had 20 until the girls came to play in the pool with us. It was really cool meeting them for the first time. But it was tiring after the fact. Then the girls went back top Eden House and we had enough time to take a shower and get ready to head to Eden House. We had dinner there and played some games then we had worship. Then Tyler spoke. After she spoke we were there for about 45 minutes and then headed back 2 the hotel.
Saturday
We went to a wedding for some of the staff at Eden House. That took up most of the day. Anyways its been fun so far.

from jordan

so basically you should never go to thailand with any expectations. they will ALWAYS be exceeded and it will be way better than you ever imagined it could be. the first word that i think of when we're driving to eden house is "beautiful". everything about this place screams out "gods creation". the people here love you without a thought about it and welcome you happily with open arms. you will never feel unwanted or unloved here, not to mention the food is amazing!!!!!!! ive learned so much from the girls at eden house and they seem to like when you try to speak thai and fail miserably. from the second you walk in the door to the moment you leave, you are surrounded by little hyper-active girls that just want to love on you and be where you are. they are so happy with how little they have and are so greatfull for the little things that they get.
today (friday) we spent all day at a thai wedding. it was amazing. i never thought i would see 400+ people crammed under little tents and neber imagined i could sweat so much in my life.
thailand keeps getting more amazing every day. everyone should take the time to go on some kind of mission. it will really change your life.

Wedding Day

Today we were able to attend Nok and Bob's wedding ceremony at Eden House. We had been praying for good weather, and we were a bit concerned when it began raining lightly around 7:00 a.m. We experienced some heavy rain earlier in the trip, but this was just a brief shower and the weather was beautiful for the ceremony. The wedding began at 10:00 a.m., and ran for almost 2 and 1/2 hours. I videotaped the ceremony, and my location near the front provided me with a great view of all of the activities. I really enjoyed the spoken Thai language and songs, and seeing the unique traditions.

There was a large group at Eden House (maybe 400-500 people), and after the wedding we had a great lunch with Massaman curry, tom kah gai, pad peuw wan, gang gai, and sticky rice. When lunch was finished and the crowds left, we helped break down the chairs, tables, and tents. The afternoon has been spent at Eden House, with games, laughter and good discussions. This has been our first full day with the girls, and it has been very good.

Last night Steve and I were able to attend Patchara's and Daoprasuk's graduation ceremony from the English Extracurricular Program (EEP) at their school. For the pas three years, about 25 students have focused on English studies from Grades 7 through 9. The program seems to have provided some unique opportunities, with camps, field trips and other special activities. During the ceremony, they showed movies, mock news broadcasts, and MTV-type videos that the students produced. We had dinner at the graduation ceremony. It was a lot of fun, and Steve and I felt honored to be invited to attend. It was a special night for me.

It has been fun rooming with Steve. We're each struggling just a tiny bit with the time change, and have alternated waking each other up in the wee hours of the morning. I'm hoping that we can each sleep through the night tonight.

Well, I guess that is all for now. Thank you for your prayers. I am blessed to be part of this team.

Mark

First full day

We arrived in Chiang Rai on Thursday without incident. We made all of our connections, got through immigration without a problem and got a surprise when we checked in for our last connecting flight. Vern was waiting for us in Bangkok. He was traveling up from the south, where he was helping a friend out with a project for the previous 4 days and made sure to get the same flight as us to Chiang Rai. It was a real treat to see him early.

Upon our arrival and a VERY bumpy landing, we were welcomed by all of our bags and an immigration official who was wondering why we had so much luggage and what we were doing there… Audrey came to our rescue, springing us from the holding area with her explanation of everything and so we proceeded to go load up the vehicles.

It was a very cool and muggy afternoon and no sooner than we got outside to put the luggage in the trucks than the first real rainfall of since December started to fall in the form of a good old tropical thunderstorm. Within minutes the streets were flooded with water and lightening struck all around us with thunder booming unreassuringly close. In other words – spectacular!

By the time we got to the hotel it had all but stopped. We showered and got ready to eat dinner with the McCauley’s. After dinner some of the more adventuresome and less sleepy of our group went for Thai Massage next store to the hotel with Vern. For the equivalent of about $7 USD we received 2 hours of stretching and elbow in the small of our back, neck and shoulders. Someone about half way through fell asleep and started snoring… but I won’t throw them under the bus for the moment.

Friday, dawned bright and early for me, but the rest of the team slept till it was time for breakfast at about 8:30. After breakfast, we unpacked all of the team luggage and organized all of the things we needed for the rest of the week. We ate lunch at a Kow Soi Gai (chicken soup) shop and then the girls from Eden House came to the hotel to swim in the pool.

After everyone, except Patti, got all wrinkly from being in the water for almost 2 hours the girls headed home and we got ready to follow them a little bit later.

During our preparation for this trip we once again stressed the need to be flexible (not exactly my strongest attribute) because things can and do change frequently in the schedule as things come up that are beyond our control. Mark and I discovered that first hand on our way with the team to Eden House as Audrey called to discover if we were dressed nicely, because we were expected at a school ceremony for 2 of the girls who were in an English program. We walked all of 15 feet into the Eden House compound to get into Audrey’s car as the team arrived with Vern.

Mark was scheduled to speak to the group last night after we had some time in singing, so our plans had to change almost instantly. Tylar volunteered to speak and Carla took over the rest of the program for the evening. Both events went well, and while I cannot comment with specificity as to what occurred at Eden House last night, I heard very good things about it. It turns out that Mark and I got to go to Daoprasuk’s and Patcharah’s English Program graduation from school. It was nice to be able to see a different side of the girls life than what we experience while at Eden House and get to see their school friends, classmates and teachers. It was culturally fascinating and we were honored to participate. We did stick out like foreigners however and it seemed that every time that I turned around the school photographer was taking our picture. It was pretty funny.

Saturday Morning has now dawned with birds chirping in the courtyard of the hotel and the sky just now starting to get a little less dark. We have a wedding to attend this morning and possibly for our entire day. We are going to have to take it 1 minute at a time, since no one can describe for us how we can help or what is actually going to happen… (You may be finding a theme here…) since schedules are more a thing for crazy type A farangs (foreigners). Regardless, it will be another full day that will bring us back to the hotel, ready for a meeting with our pillows. Perhaps my meeting tonight will be longer than the past 2 nights combined. I think I could really appreciate 7 straight hours of sleep…

Steve 5am Saturday.

Hello Taiwan!

We are waiting here in the Taiwan Airport for our next flight. So I am killing time here on the computer. So far everything have been very uneventful, and everything has gone very smoothly. We are looking forward to arriving in Thailand in 4 hours. Here is a picture of our team while at Sea Tac.

I am looking forward to our next update from Chiang Rai!!!

Mexico Missions Team!!!

Clarissa is leading a team to Parras Mexico in June and early July of this year. Information coming soon on where to pick up information and when the application window is. We are all very excited to be able to have a team visit Vida Nueva again this year.

Thailand Team March/April 2009

So 11 of us will be making the trip from Northlake to Eden House starting on March 25th.

Here are our team members (Bios coming soon):

Steve
Hi! I am one of the pastors here at Northlake, and I am 33. I am really looking forward to hanging out in Chiang Rai. Carla and I got to live at Eden House for 4 months in 2005 and have a very passionate heart for what Eden House does for the girls that it has rescued from dangerous situations. This will be the 4th team that I have led and really look forward to taking new people to experience what my wife and I have. On a completely frivolous note: Mangoes and Sticky Rice - Here I come!!!!



Mark

Sa-wat-dee krap (hello!),

My name is Mark Reinikka, and this will be my third trip with a Northlake team to Eden House. I’ve been attending Northlake with my wife Shonda, daughter Megan, and son Matt since early 1997. Megan and I made our first trip to Thailand in 2007, and we feel a strong connection to Vern, Audrey, and the entire Eden House group. Thank you for your prayers!

Connor










Dodge







Tylar
Hi, my name is Tylar Gagnon. I am 16 years old and go to Bothell high school and Cascadia community college. I have been attending Northlake Christian Church for about 4 years. I love to spend time with my family and friends. I also enjoy cooking a lot. I love working with children and serving God in anyway possible. I'm going to Thailand this year because the past two times i have gone have drawn me closer and closer to the girls. I feel this is what God wants me to do. My life is changing more and more and i am becoming a stronger Christian everyday.




Alan









Jordan









Carla









Patti









Matt

Hello everyone!

My name is Megan Reinikka! I'm 16-years-old and living life. I'm sorry to say that I've never won an academy award, I've never won a Nobel Peace prize, and I've certainly never run for president. On that note, I would like to say that I am doing my best to make a difference in the world. I've been attending Northlake since I was 5, so many of you will recognize my face. : ) This is my third year going back to Thailand, it's such an amazing place. I love the people there, Vern and Audrey, and all of those beautiful girls. God has really created a save-haven at Eden House and I truly feel that he is calling me there. I hope to be able to return year after year. Thank you so much for keeping me, and the whole team, in your thoughts and prayers!

Be praying for us as we are gone, and check back for updates on what is happening while we are there!