Had a great experience with Lily, my laundry lady.  I`ve made a real connection with her over the last week in particular.  God has given me the Thai I need, some of it just little phrases that team members and Pastor Sandra have taught me.  Then, today I was able to share the gospel with her through giving her a Jesus video and telling her that it was the story of Jesus, my friend.  She was delighted and I pray she will watch it and that God will plant and water the seeds and that Lily will become a Christian.  I know I am leaving soon but I know I can trust Jesus with this.  It is not me who saves others; it is God.  I am the branch attached to the vine and Jesus will cause the fruit to grow.  It is just so exciting and humbling to see God work through me and I want to thank God for giving me this opportunity and praise him for what he will do.

So, Jason and I have a few less holes in our head...ahem, teeth, now.  With no dental plan at work (really ought to speak to management about this, hee hee), we decided to go to the dentist here in Thailand.  The place was amazingly clean and the dentist and receptionist spoke English and the technology was top rate, at a low price.  Or at least much cheaper than in Canada.  They can even do fillings without freezing if they are surface cavities.  Jason felt just as good coming out as he did going in.  What a treat for him!

Not sure if there`s much else to report.  It is getting hotter and hotter and the weather is a bit more unstable.  Lately, the days are hot and sunny and the clouds build into a thunderstorm in the evening.  Some people experienced a brown out yesterday.  I had never heard of that before.  It is like a black out except the electricity only partially goes out.  It is odd the things that work and the things that don`t.  Likely hard on electronics.

Went to Nai Yang Beach on Sunday, possibly for the last time.  Loved swimming down the beach a bit but the coral was too far for the kids to swim to.  Went back to the usual spot after a while to do some snorkelling.  The sea lice were biting bad near the shore but out over the reef it was fine.  The kids had some bad reactions to the sea lice and we didn`t waste any time in the water when we got back.  Was so fun to have a family time as Krina came out with us in her pool ring.  We got her goggles to work better and she enjoyed sticking her head in to see stuff this time, too.  We were all excited to see God`s beauty again and were ecstatic to see another new fish.  Riley is a joy out there, too, and has an amazing eye for creatures.

Couldn`t resist a taste of home so we headed to the airport, 5 minutes away, for a Burger King burger.  They tasted amazing so imagine what our home-grown burgers will taste when we get back home?!

God has been speaking and working in our lives over this past while.  He is readying our hearts to say the good-byes and go home.  I am now looking forward to and excited to be going home, because I know this is God`s will for me.  I am sad to say good-bye but I am accepting more and more what God has done in me through this experience and anticipating what he will do next.  I believe He`s giving us a bit of a vision or at least an excitement as we anticipate or wait for God will do in and through us when we arrive home. 

The sermon seemed appropriate again as we learned about the day of opportunity.  Every day is an opportunity.  We must pray in faith.  We need to change, as much as we hate it, in order to become more Christ-like and grow in faith.  We can`t rely on programs or church but on Christ.  We need to change for the better.  Prayer should reflect our total belief in God`s authority and power to change circumstances.  People let us down.  Attach yourself to God and he won`t let you down.  Look for the opportunity to be a better person.  Take hold of the opportunity or the enemy will.  Failed opportunities to exercise faith become the devil`s opportunities to attack us.  Use the armor of God.  A key thought is that if your armor is on, Satan can`t get near enough to you to use the close-range weapons of knives and swords.  He can only use the fiery darts and arrows which are long-range weapons, unless our armor comes down/off.  Our shield of faith extinguishes these arrows (Ephesians 6).  So, if we feel betrayed or stabbed in the back, the problem is not the person who wronged us, but our relationship with God.  Hmmm, that`s a tough one.  Also, we often wonder why when it rains trouble, it pours.  Satan can`t get a Christian down with one attack so he tries to use multiple attacks.  The lesson through it all is to trust God and forgive.  Even as Christ died in agony on the cross, he blessed us all as he prayed forgiveness for us who put him there, and he saw you and me, too.  That is true love.

So, what opportunities will you and I have today?  Will we use them?