Dateline: Bangkok

To All,

We made it! Bangkok, Thailand, here we are. Even though we are leaving for Chiang Mai at five this evening, we have been in Bangkok for the past two nights. We've gotten an excellent taste of the local food (love it!) As far as the culture as a whole, we will get a better feel for it when we are in Chriang Mai for a longer stay. Today the rest of the group went on a Temple tour in the city. We opted out because of jet-lag on all three of our parts. Yesterday was a stretching day for our little cherub, too. However, last night she got better sleep with a two-hour intermission to watch "Happy Feet" with Mommy. Our plane rides were uneventful (thankfully), but the constant security checks in the airports were just plain OLD after a while. As everyone has told us, Dakota is a very popular attraction when we walk around our little area of the city. The Thai people believe that lighter skin is more attractive than darker skin. Popular cosmetic companies even have "whitening cream" on the supermarket shelves. They don't understand why we would ever go tanning or buy those self-tanning lotions. Beauty is in many forms. If "beauty is in the eye of the beholder", then everything is beautiful because God beholds all. (I, Carson, am very blessed to behold two of God's most beautiful creations every day of my life.) It is challenging and yet fulfilling to attempt to communicate in a different language. Why fulfilling? For me it satisfies a desire in me for a challenge. However frustrating it may be, when the time comes that I successfully, in however broken Thai, receive an understanding nod from a Thai person, it encourages me to do more. Better language skills will come with time.

We'd like to apologize for not sending a newsletter lately. The last week of class seemed to fill up quicker than we expected. At some point from Chiang Mai we will get one to you if we have your mailing or emailing address. (If we have neither of those for you, then please email us that info at: hershy414@yahoo.com .)

Thank you for your prayers! When we get distracted from our purpose for these next two months we get back on the right path by remembering who we are truly serving. And we know that your prayers help tremendously to bring us back into focus. Enjoy the pictures that we post. There will be a series of photos of a stow-away that came with us. Oh, the mischief he'll get into. No telling where he'll show up. He helps to lighten our spirits, too.

God's Love To You All,

Carson, Kathy, Dakota

P.S. The one picture at the top is from our six hour layover in L.A. We took the time to leave the airport and go to the infamous Santa Monica Boardwalk/Boulevard.