Day Picnics

January has been the month for picnics. All the grades have gone on day picnics as well as other groups (like the dorm staff or afternoon work groups). There is always a lot of excitement and anticipation in the air as the time gets closer to leave on a picnic. For the grade 9 & 10 picnic we left early in the morning and arrived at the riverside before breakfast. After breakfast and worship, we spent the rest of the day playing games and just having fun with each other. We ended the day with a nice campfire worship that everyone participated in. 

I will always treasure those moments... the moments of laughing together, chasing each other on the sand, enjoying special food together, laughing some more, taking a refreshing dip in the river, reading the Bible, singing together, and much more. 

These are two of my 10 graders - they love to have their picture taken. 

Saw Eh Shee has quite the look, don't you think? :)

Myint Htay is making a funny face in the background, 

which is not out of character for him at all. 

The beach was such a nice sandy place for our games. 

This game especially had us laughing. Mrs. Steck was right in the middle of the fun. 

I love their facial expressions in this one. 

Thara Di Yay enjoyed the games too! 

He helped a lot to translate my explanations of the games. 

A Karen Bible

I'm thankful the Karen characters don't just look like random lines and circles to me now. 

I can read most of the letters now (although I still don't know what it all means).

I think we were playing "Monkey in the Middle" here. 

Striped jackets seem to be popular here. :) 

I like it when they actually smile for pictures. 

Paw Wah Wah & Ma Shwe Win - two of my sweet 9th graders. 

I told you they like to take pictures. 

Than Than Aye & I

Please pray for her - She has a pretty bad family situation. 

The scenery was splendid! 

This was taken at the dorm monitor picnic. 

All the dorm staff - a lot of them are my students. 

Don't they look nice in purple? 

By the end of the day, we were all sweaty, sandy, & worn-out... but nonetheless happy. 

Please pray for the precious students here at Sunshine Orchards. Many of them have had really hard backgrounds. I want them to experience Jesus as a true Friend. They need to find comfort, security & peace in a saving relationship with Jesus. Even though friends may leave them and family may reject them, Jesus will always be by their side. Please pray that they will surrender their lives fully to Him - no matter what rejection they may face from their families. 

And for those of us, who come from supportive Christian homes (even though they are not perfect)

--we have so, so much to be thankful for!  Don't take your family for granted. 

Weekend Adventures

This last weekend the Steck family, Raquel, Hailey & I went on an adventure to see some new places in Thailand. I'll take you on a little photo journey through our weekend. 

 One of the many beautiful views during our car ride

 The old station wagon - almost ready to leave. 

We spent the night in a hotel in Mae Sariang (about 2.5 hrs from the school).  It was so nice to have warm showers and real beds to sleep on there. 

On Sabbath morning we enjoyed a special breakfast while we watched Ouachita Hills Friday night vespers live. Raquel's sister gave an encouraging message for her senior speech. It was so nice to see all of my family members come up on the screen during the program. We were so thankful to have a faster internet connection to be able to watch it.  

 Here's the five of us girls - Hannah, Sharon, Raquel, me, and Hailey - by a painting at the hotel. 

They're a fun bunch to hang out with. :)

After we packed up we headed up to the highest mountain in Thailand. The road was steep, curvy, and bumpy, but the views on the way up were beautiful. Once we arrived at the top, we weren't able to see very much because of the clouds, but we enjoyed our time nonetheless. 

Hannah Marie & Hannah Joy :)

We had to pull out our jackets because it was chilly due to the higher elevation. 

 We had many photographers on our trip. 

We ate our lunch at the top of the mountain. The school's cook had sent some special curries (fake meat curries with garlic, tomatoes and onions) along with us for our picnic.

Notice the sign (7 - Living Together). 

We thought it was an appropriate place to get our extended Steck family picture. 

We enjoyed a hike through the jungle after lunch. 

Here's another pic of our adopted family 

That was a big tree!

 Enjoying the view arm in arm

The front view - with a random Thai guy

A pagoda at the top of the mountain - made in honor of the King of Thailand. 

We enjoyed the view and tried to stay warm while Mr. Steck read to us from an inspiring book called "One Miracle After Another." We almost read the entire book during our weekend trip. I've read it before, but it's definitely worth re-reading. We serve a powerful God! 

(If you haven't read it, I encourage you to do so.)

We then drove over an hour to a campsite near the gorge. 

Our little campsite the next morning - I enjoyed sleeping in my hammock. :) 

We had our breakfast by the rushing river. 

The Sunday morning breakfast that chef Hannah (Hannah Steck that is) had prepared -
Spaghetti, homemade spaghetti sauce, papaya, pineapple, bread & more. 

We then walked to the nearby gorge and hiked a trail that had another nice view at the top. 

Walking across that bridge at the top of the gorge was exciting. :)  

 Next we drove back to Mae Sariang and down a long, pot-holed, bumpy road to the Salawin River. 

We took a boat ride just before dusk - the temperature was perfect. 

I looked a little dusty from our drive out there. 

 The other passengers on our boat ride. 

We had a wonderful time. I will always treasure these memories with friends. 

We made it safely back to the school at a late hour on Sunday night and thankfully we were all in one piece. Praise the Lord for His protection over the many miles we traveled!

Our Recent Escapades

Here are a few random pictures from our recent escapades.

A few Sabbaths ago we enjoyed visiting some beautiful waterfalls near the school. 
The next day a group of us went on a strenuous 1-hour-long hike up to a pagoda at the top of a mountain. I think it was the steepest trail I've been on - the Karen boys we went with led us straight up the side of the mountain. It was very enjoyable even though we were covered in sweat, mud, and rain water by the end. Needless to say, we slept very well that night. (To read more about our adventures you can read Raquel's blog - raquelariel.blogspot.com)

The spectacular view after our very strenuous hike up to a pagoda. It was worth the effort.

Me watching the girls slide down the rushing water slide

The kids love to have their picture taken.

K' Nyaw Paw enjoyed splashing us in this picture.

More posing girls

 

Here's two of my sweet eighth grader girls

 

Some of the girls and I went right underneath the base of the second waterfall we went to. 

It was amazing to watch the water cascading over the edge from below. The water coming down on us felt almost like a powerful massage. 

My mission partner and I in the mist of the waterfall 

The four happy water fighters. 

 Teachers can have fun too! :)

 

This was very refreshing!

 

Priceless expression 

Wet & dry at the same time

Another view at the top of the mountain

I loved the many different shades of green. 

I'm thankful for these girls!