I have recently received news that Valerie Elliott, my friend with advanced Stage 4 melanoma, passed away last night. She leaves behind a family and a husband who I'll be praying for almost constantly. If you could lift up a prayer for Valerie's Mom, Dad, and relatives, as well as her husband, Brad, I'm sure they'd appreciate it. 

This ache I have in my heart for her family is all too familiar. Why must we know the feeling of sorrow and heartache all too well? I know, because this world is sinful. This feeling I have is the same I had the morning I found out that a fellow student in high-school died the previous night in a car crash. This feeling is similar to, but milder, than the one I had when my mom called me to tell me my Nana passed away. These are memories I will never forget. I hate that we all have these horrible times etched onto our brains. Thankfully, we have the hope and the great promise that one day all pain, sorrow, and sin will be wiped away. What a great promise this is! I thank God that there is something better than death, sickness, and pain. 

"He will remove all of their sorrows, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. For the old world and its evils are gone forever." Revelation 21:4

Loy Kratong

Loy Kratong is a traditional Thai holiday held on the full moon of the 12th month in the Thai calender. It does not fall on the same date every year(full moon), but it usually falls in November. Loy means "float(ing)" and Kratong is a "raft". Kratongs are beautiful floats made from banana tree and leaves, flowers, candles, and incense. Each float is different, but a lot of the ones I saw used orchids(mi favorito flora). The purpose of releasing the rafts is apparently so they can apologize to the river for polluting it. I've also heard another theory that suggests that it is a time and way to worship their ancestors. I've also heard that it is to wish away bad luck. I'm not sure if it's one, none, or all of these things combined, but it was fun to see a Thai tradition and take part in it too. 

It all started yesterday morning at school. At 8:00am, the program started. They had set up a

stage and a sound system. Parents were ushering in, and I began noticing little girls that were elaborately dressed in traditional Thai garb. Then I remembered that on Loy Kratong, there are usually beauty contests held. I just didn't know our school would have one! Before that could start though, they had a couple of groups of students do performances. One was a groups of 4 girls that danced to the "Loy Kratong" song and did Thai dance(if you've seen ANTM in Thailand, you'll know what it looks like, haha). After this, the beauty contest began. Apparently, these things last FOREVER. It went on for over an hour. The little girls were precious though! They were dressed to the hilt. They had make-up on, their hair was done in up-do's, etc. In the end, my EP5 girl got 3rd, my EP3 girl got 3rd, and my EP2 girl got 2nd! I was so proud of them! 

After Wednesday night prayer meeting with the Pastor at the Language School, Mike, me, Maria, Merika, Lucas, and 3 Thais(that I can't remember the names of) headed out to the river for Loy Kratong. We took a 71 bus to the BTS, then took a long BTS ride to the river(which I can't remember the name of). Once we got down there, I realized just how popular of a holiday this was. There were people everywhere! People of all ethnicities were there as well. We walked around a bit, watched the fireworks(which reminded me of home and my b-day), then lit our candles. We made our way down to the river, and set our rafts free. It was pretty cool. Of course, I wasn't praying to my ancestors, but it was a neat idea to think of setting the raft go for "good luck". I simply sent up a little prayer. With muddied knees, I joined the rest of the group and we made our way back home. 

It was definitely an interesting and fun day full of Thai traditions and culture. I enjoyed learning more about the culture I have been immersed in for 4 months now. I hope you all have a Happy Thanksgiving! I'm making a pumpkin swirl cheesecake for the group here. Miss you all SO much. Please don't forget to pray for the Elliott and Miller families. It's hard to lose a loved one, even when you know you WILL see them again. 

Chiang Mai Tuesday - Last Day

Tuesday we woke up early again, but not quite as early as 6:45am, like on Monday. We were picked up by the company we had booked the trip with, and the driver told us it would be an hour trip. We all yawned and tipped our heads back and tried to doze over the next hour. 

Once we arrived, we hopped out of the van and followed our guide, a really nice Thai woman. She was fairly young, but knew so much about wildlife and nature! We arrived at a primitive Thai village, and she guided us around telling us about the people. The village was practically deserted, and she told us that the men and boys went away early in the morning to work during the day. Only the younger girls and women were left making hammocks and scarves. They were all smiles for the short time we were there. After this, we made our way up a surprisingly steep hill. Halfway up the hill, I noticed she was pointing to a plant on the ground. We all stepped closer and heard what she was saying. She said that if you touch the plant, it would "close". I honestly didn't understand completely. The stems and leaves looked like a baby fern. So I glided my fingers down the leaves, and they all folded in towards each other. It was amazing. I've never seen anything like it before(other than a venus fly trap), and Stephanie got a video of it. How amazing is God's nature?

We continued our hike through the outskirts of the village. We noticed that each hut had a HUGE pot bellied pig tied under it. Apparently, it's a custom to keep a pig, and then on a very special occasion, they slaughter it and celebrate. Everyone in the 

village keeps one. Interesting, eh? 

Throughout the hike, the guide told us some interesting

things about the local flora and fauna. She showed us one tree in particular that amazed us! The tree is Teak(you may have heard of teak wood), but its leaves are what we discussed. She pulled a leaf off the tree and rubbed it between her 

fingers - she held her hand up and it looked like she had dipped her fingers in red paint or blood! I mean, they were BRIGHT RED! We all gasped and immediately went over the the tree to get a hand on this amazingness. She also told us that they used to use the teak leaves for war paint. Makes sense, doesn't it?

We were treated by beautiful scenery! We also tromped through rice fields and over bridges(some a little "iffy"). Honestly, I was just enjoying the fresh air! It could have been the ugliest views around me, and I wouldn't have cared because I was breathing fresh air! Living in Bangkok definitely has its perks, but it comes with pollution! But, the beautiful views were a definite +plus! 

After an hour of hiking, we began descending down some rather precarious steps. We all slowly gathered our footing as we traveled down hill, and stayed that way for a few minutes. Our next view was a spectacular waterfall! It was so refreshing. It was sending out plenty of mist and they also had a snack/drink area where bottles of water were available for purchase(way to ruin a good nature story, right?). We spent 20 minutes at the waterfall before we headed back and it was marvelous to spend some time sitting down enjoying nature. 

Lunch was SO GOOD. It was rice, coconut/potato soup, and something else I can't recall that was yummy. The end of the meal signaled dessert time! This was delicious pineapple and watermelon. I had my fair share(probably more) of pineapple and was SO content! After lunch, we....guess what? Climbed back into the van! This wasn't for too long either. It's a good thing too, cause it was getting a little warm outside! We were told ahead of time that we were headed to the elephant riding extravaganza! We were pretty stoked, to say the least. 

Before we hopped out, the guide stuck her head into the van and

asked if anyone wanted to ride on the neck of an elephant. She said that this would allow her to use one less elephant. I waited a moment trying to allow anyone else that wanted a chance, to take it, and finally enthusiastically raised my hand! Once there, we applied sunscreen(apparently not enough) and readied ourselves for the journey. We needed to get into groups of 2, with one group of 3(my group). Stephanie and I assumed we'd be together(because we love each other SO much and can't be separated), so that left us with having to find an addition to our group. One of the other girls that we didn't know from the group agreed to join our group, and once everyone else was 

paired up, they began bringing the elephants up. Everyone else "mounted" their elephants, and we were last. After Stephan

ie and the other girl sat down, I hopped onto my awesome ride. They positioned me right where the neck and head meet. To me, it felt like I was sitting right on top of his brain! My feet were right behind his ears, and they continually flopped against my legs. I

 WAS IN HEAVEN. This riding experience will have to suffice for my lack of equestrian riding this year. Our elephant was attached to the one in front of it, which the other two girls(friends of the girl with us) were on. We had one guide with us(on the other elephant) and he was pretty comical. Every couple of minutes he would say, "Oh my Buddha!" Don't know if that SHOULD be funny or not, but I admit that I chuckled more than a few times. If you don't already know(which most of you DON'T), elephants are crazy BUMPY. Seriously, when they're climbing hills or walking fast, you are jostled around a ton. I had the time of my life in those 40 or so minutes. Once our time was up, I reluctantly hopped off of my new friend, Mango, and proceeded back to the van. 

Our last adventure of the day was a bamboo rafting trip. Unfortunately, water is involved with rafting, therefore, there are no pictures at all to prove that this was actually done. I only have amazing memories! Steph, Mike, and I were all on a raft together and Leah, Tatiana, and Erin were on one together. The rafts are basically just a bunch of bamboo poles tied together. You can either sit or stand on your way down the river. We chose to stand of course! Each raft had a guide that held a long bamboo pole, whose purpose was to change direction. You see, I say its purpose was to change directions because our wonderfully kind raft guide found another use for this long pole. It was used to SOAK us. He would slap the pole on the top of the water, and apparently he had practiced this and could splash water on whichever person he intended. Stephanie and I were soaked to the bone. When we heard Mike chuckling behind us, it was all efforts turned towards him to soak him as well. All Steph and I had were our hands. So, we bent down and used our cupped hands to throw as much water as we could on him. Eventually, our efforts paid off because Mike fell off into the river not once, but twice(in a row)!!! It was so funny. Stephanie nor I could muffle our laughter and were laughing so hard that we couldn't hold ourselves steady and fell over! 

This day was perhaps the most exciting one I've had not only while here in Thailand, but EVER. I enjoyed it so much and the only thing that could have made it more perfect would be if I could have shared it with my mom as well! I know she would have loved every aspect of today! Love you Mom! 

Monday in Chiang Mai - ZIP-LINING!!!

Monday started off early. The zip-lining company confirmed that they were, in fact, coming to pick us up. This was done a week or so in advance. Anywho, they came and picked us up at 6:45am. Yes, indeed an early start, but we were so stoked to have this opportunity! After they picked us up, we stopped at 2 other places to pick up 3 more people: a couple from Canada and a girl from Denmark. We introduced ourselves and made ourselves comfy for the hour or so ride to the jungle. Once there, I once again felt a bit queasy(I get carsick REALLY easily). After a few minutes of the fresh air, I felt better. We filled out a few forms, all used the restroom, and were finally on our way! We followed our leader to a place where we could put all of our backpacks and purses and such while we were gone. All we needed were our cameras to document this stupendous occasion! Next, they fitted all of us with harnesses. Let's just say that I was excited, thus my face in these pictures......And for all who don't already know, harnesses are the new fad.

After getting harnessed and helmeted up, we

 hopped into another van for a quick ride. We

 hopped out and surprisingly, our destination was not far off from the road. We walked down a pathway a short distance, and we could hear the whoops and hollers of people! It only took a few moments to reach the first platform. There was a group in front of us, and we got to see the last of them step off the first platform and experience their first zip-lining!!! Once the first group was done, our guide(one of two) decided to wait for a little bit so we wouldn't have to wait at every platform. After 10 minutes or so, it was our turn! Mike was first out of our group to experience it, and I can't be sure, but I think I was second. Can't remember.....haha. Once he turned to me, it took me a second to realize what I was doing! I was about to step off of the steady and reliable platform to "fly" through the

 jungle! I giggled, took a moment, and 

hopped off. I let out an excited "hahahahooooooooaaaahahhhhhhahaha!" and when I got to the next platform our other guide asked me, "Are you OK?" You see, Thais don't really let their emotions out. They don't show when they're excited or mad. So I guess I surprised him. Let's just say that by the end, he was more than used to outburts of excitement. The

 third line was the longest of all 17. I really enjoyed this one. It gave you the chance to look down and all around at the beauty surrounding you. The air was clean and I hadn't seen that much green since I left the States. This line was also the first one we used our 'brakes' on. Our 'brakes' were bamboo pieces in the shape of a wishbone. You simply place the cable you're sliding down right in between the two pieces that make up the wishbone shape. Amazingly, this slows you down immensely. So, when the guide yells,"BRAKE!", you brake. They told us if we didn't brake, then our faces would then come face to face with the tree. Haha - this was incentive 

enough. It wasn't hard at all really once you get the hang of it. 

After the first few cables, we got to be pros at it! The only surprise after this were the drop-offs. There were some platforms that you had to be lowered down off of to get to the next one. This was by far the most exciting for me. You simply step of the platform, hang in mid-air for a moment, and they then lower you down. Except our guides were rather humorous, so they teased us. They'd let you down slowly, then drop you really fast, then let you down slow again, then drop you fast, then you'd stop really close to the ground, but not close enough to touch. They were serious pranksters! But that's what made it so fun! Stephanie, unfortunately, didn't like this on

e too much. This obviously fueled Sam's teasing and pranking. Sam was quite young(around our age) and had too much fun teasing the girls. He'd walk up behind them on the platform, grab their leg, and yell. Erin, Leah, and Stephanie would scream EVERY time. 

Once we reached the last few cables, we caught up with the group that was in front of us. They seemed to be moving at a much slower rate. We had to wait for a time, but it was okay. We realized that our time in this beautiful jungle was ending, and therefore, were patient. Near the end though, we realized that we were quite high up. You see, on the previous cables, there was so much vegetation below us, that it didn't really hit us HOW high 

we were. At the very last one, I got a picture of the last platform 

and the tree it was in. You can see just how high up we were. It was so fun! I'm so glad we got to experience this AWESOME

 adventure. I'm thankful to Stephanie who found this place on the internet, e-mailed them, and got confirmation. Without you, Stephanie, that adventure wouldn't have been possible. Well, now that I sound like I've accepted an Oscar, I'll end this little note.....