It's A-baht Time

The Baht jokes were flying today as we thought of every possible way to work Thai money - Baht - into a line.

• Get your baht over here
• Sitting on your baht
• The pay toilets cost 1 baht leading to "bottie pottie" or "1 baht allows you to sit on your baht"
• You just love me for my baht.

You get the gist. We were in great spirits and corniness as we toured Bangkok with Nat and her brother Neil. They were wonderful hosts and tour guides as we visited a couple of Temples and the Grand Palace complex. We ended the day by visiting an eight story mall. The food court included whole ducks and chickens minus feathers ready for consumption. Think of the Christmas Day dinner scene in "A Christmas Story." So we opted for pizza. Not too many adventuresome eaters in this bunch. I did eat boiled rice with spicy salad in it. Thanks again to the Cheeks for showing me what some of that is.

The highlight of the day was the ride from the Grand Palace to the Golden Mount Temple in Tuk-Tuk's. These 3-wheeled golf cart like vehicles driven by descendants of kamikaze pilots careened their way through the city. Traffic laws appear to be based on the premise that if you can nose your way through, hit the gas and go. At every stop light motorcycles and scooters zip by between the rows of cars and line up at the front of the intersection ready to take off. Driving is pure chaos, but thrilling nonetheless. Six Flags should come up with a ride like it.

Now for the real reasons that we came 12,000 or so miles around the world. We leave tomorrow afternoon for a coastal city. We will have a couple of vans making the 90 minute trek. And so begins our work seeking to spread the Word to Chinese tourists. We will have orientation and begin getting involved with the ministry there. This trip has been a great time of camaraderie and fun, but we are all here to see what God will do in and through us. In my quiet time today I was reading about when God called Samuel and Eli told him to tell God "Speak, Lord for your servant is listening." God told Samuel that what he would tell him would make everyone's ears tingle. We are tingling with excitement over what God is about to lead us into. We can't wait to get there.