Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

We have just finished our day and you are in the middle of yours. It has been an amazing two days, we have been so busy that I haven't even had a minute to write. I will start from today and hopefully have time to back track a bit.

This morning we went to the Chiang Rai International Christian School to visit the school that Ruth Fox has been especially involved with over the past 10 years or so. Today was significant as the school had a special dedication of the new elementary building as well as a Thanksgiving feast shared by over 250 children, kindergarten to 12th grade and their family and friends. It was a lively, energetic group, each class sharing in music or for the high schoolers, someone in history that had made a significant impact on their lives....to name a few, Mother Teresa, Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Albert Einstein, Nelson Mandela.

The buildings of the school are built beautifully in the Thai architecture with many organizations, including ABC International Ministries. The school is set in a rural location with rice fields and a serene temple in the distance. We spent the morning observing the activities of school and I came away wishing I could start school all over again just so I could be a student there!The meal was a typical "American" Thanksgiving with chicken instead of turkey but many of the other trimmings. There was lots of tropical fruit to remind us where we really were which was a treat. After the program and meal we hurried home to change foran afternoon outing. Our destiny? A Karen village upriver where one can ride elephants!

As my family well knows, elephants are one of my favorite animals and I couldn't think of a better way to spend time on Thanksgiving, could you? To get there we hopped in a long motorized Thai boat where four of us sat and took in the stunning, rural scenery of northern Thailand. We sat of the floor of the boat on a padded cushion and the boat was low to the water, so we almost felt like we were in the water. Since it was a hot, sunny day it was cool and refreshing!

The Kok River is wide and muddy, so we really felt like we were on a safari. There were mountains in the distance and groves of bamboo that graced the shores. We saw a Buddhist shrine on a huge rock formation, fisherman, egrets, a kingfisher, as well as other birds we didn't recognize. The boatman was very skillful as we weaved passed other boats, under bridges, curving around bends bringing us finally, an hour later to the Karen village. We walked ashore with our small part of 7 and only four of the group were up for an elephant ride through the village and jungle.

The elephant and mahout, come next to a platform where we sat on a specially made chair that would take two passengers, Steve and I on one and Rosemary and Ruth on another. Our two elephants followed each other, the Karen mahout gently speaking the whole time. We were given cut sugar cane to pass to the elephants as we walked along. When we ran out of cane the elephant stops briefly to grab some small bamboo plant or banana leaf or a whole stalk of sugar cane! The mahout tries to discourage them from doing that but it’s usually to no avail! They are always hungry!

The elephant moves through his path very relaxed and accustomed to traffic of cars and motorbikes and even little children nearby. It was so sweet to see how they fit into the village life of their life-long friends the mahouts. I was a bit startled when our mahout jumped down off the elephant to use our iPhone to take our picture and then instead of getting back on the elephant, walks behind us talking to him the rest of the way! (just Steve and I on his back...yikes!) Then in mid walk, Steve is invited to climb down off the chair onto his neck for the rest of the way. He said he could feel the muscles in his neck and feel the bristles through his pants. Awesome opportunity and the elephant calmly continued his trek.

The rest of the group that chose not to ride, Chuck, Sandy, Cathy and Connie stayed behind in the village and sipped iced, Thai coffee and watch village life, elephants strolling by and the river close by. After about an hour, we returned to the platform, dismounted and I got to pet the elephant and he responded by looking me right in the eyes and gave me his trunk as a "hand shake." I couldn't have been happier! I thanked them both for this rare and great treat of spending time with them. After a cold drink of iced coffee we returned to our boats for a refreshing ride home to once again take in the beautiful scenery. Steve and I both felt like we had died and gone to heaven! This is what heaven will be like folks!

 

It’s another late night, so I will close for now, even though I am leaving out more I'd like to say.

Love and prayers to each of you,

         Nancy & Steve