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My desire is to keep this site as 'family friendly' as possible. However, I just had to post this picture that we took on our trip to the Burma border yesterday! We've been living here for about a year and a half and I still am awed at some of the things I see!

During the 3-day Songkron festival, the drivers remove the tops of their tuk-tuks. This allows the passengers to receive the maximum wetness bestowed upon them by others.

Songkran - The World's Largest Waterfight

"Songkran" is a word from the Sanskrit language which means to "move into" and refers to the orbit of the sun moving into Aries. It marks the end of a 12-month cycle and the beginning of a new solar year. Songkran is therefore a New Year celebration.
It has turned into the biggest water fight in the world. No one who leaves their house will come back dry, as the streets are lined with willing assassins armed with water pistols and buckets of iced water, and the roads are congested with trucks full of people also armed and executing drive-by attacks. It’s the hottest part of the year in Thailand (which is a great time to have a water festival), but also the driest with droughts raging all over the country (which is maybe not a great time to have a water festival).
Apart from marking a new beginning, Songkran is also a time for thanksgiving. It is an important time for individuals to reflect upon the many acts of kindness and thoughtfulness each has personally experienced and to remember how such acts of generosity and compassion bring peace, happiness and well-being. Songkran is also the time for reunions and family ties are renewed.
The underlying significance of Songkran is the process of cleansing and purification - the purging of all ills, misfortune and evil and starting the New Year afresh with all that is good and pure. Water is symbolic of the cleaning process and signifies purity.
Pray with us for the Thais that they could accept Jesus who will truly cleanse them and make them pure!

Bailey cool...

The perfect picture of hot season in Thailand:
You wear sandals,
You need a hat to protect your head,
You need to drink,
And clothes are, well, optional...

disclaimer: the following story is graphic...

Today I came up on a nasty bike accident. I saw a pool of blood and 2 mopeds laying in the middle of the 4-lane highway. The apparent riders were sitting in the median strip holding their bleeding heads while they waited for the ambulance. I didn't see any helmets, and without them, a road/head battle is always won by the road... The fact that the riders were sitting up was a good sign, however.

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Check out the Chara Ministries link to get an idea of what we do!

Here's Bailey in his new sailor outfit from Aunt Lenora. He's so proud of his hat. Actually, he's proud of any hat, beads, or article of clothing that can be pulled over his head!