We just returned from a day at the BMV. Not an hour or two at the BMV, a day. But it was worth it - Bret now is a proud owner of a Thai motorbike license. We had no idea it would be quite the accomplishment it was. The driving test was the easy part; it was the written test that was a bear. He was given a manual to study and told to study for 2 hours before coming back to take the test, and study he did. I even quizzed him and he knew every bit of that manual - down to how many meters away from emergency vehicles you had to stay. It was a bummer that when he went in to take the test, most of the questions were not at all the information he was given in the manual. Oh well - we can't expect ease in every aspect of moving to a new country. But, alas, 7 hours after walking through the door in the morning, Bret came out with his own license. We will proudly keep it in our scrapbook for years to come.
On a more serious note, you may have heard about all of the flooding that is happening throughout Thailand - mainly in Bangkok at this time. The floods affected our area a couple of weeks ago, but now the water has made its way to the south. It's interesting being here in Thailand and knowing what is going on just 8 hours south. We have heard of the devastation and are praying that the water will make its way out of the country with the least bit of further damage, but as we're praying we are hearing that things are likely to get worse before getting better. In order for the flood waters to reach the ocean, they have to travel through Bangkok - a city of 9,100,000 people. According to Reuters Africa, Thailand (the world's biggest rice producer) is already estimating a loss of 24% of this year's crop. Laos, Vietnam, and Cambodia have already lost substantial amounts of their crops as well. We, of course, have heard much of the devastation, but I wonder how much is being televised around the world. I can imagine that it is known, but I certainly can't be sure. We've heard that nearly 400 people have died in the flooding, and I can't imagine how many more will suffer because of their rice loss. Please be praying that people will turn to Jesus Christ for comfort and provision. We are wondering if there is good that we can do while here in regards to the flooding. I imagine that just like with Hurricane Katrina 6 years ago, that the Red Cross and other humanitarian aid organizations will be at work in Bangkok and the surrounding areas. We would probably need to wait until the flooding has passed and help with the clean-up. Please pray for our wisdom as we think about what we can do. Please also pray that the missionaries in Thailand will bring the true news of Jesus Christ to the people through their words and actions.
More news to come soon....we enjoyed 4 days with our high school students at Hume Lake Camp Thailand at the beginning of this week. We'll share some videos and tidbits about that time soon.
We love you!
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