SONGKRAN! A 4th New Year!!!!

One of the perks we enjoy serving God overseas is that we celebrate 3 New Year celebrations. The first is Jan 1. The second is the Lunar New Year, often called the Chinese New Year (even though many Asia countries have the same) in late Jan, early Feb, and then there was Nawruz, the Kazak, or Persian, New Year which takes place in March. Well, now we have a fourth. We didn't know about the connection, even though we knew about the Songkran Festival, sometimes called the Water Festival. This happened just last week, and I tell you, descriptions, photos, and videos can not adequately convey the joy and happiness and FUN it is when an entire city turns into a giant water fight!!!

Liberty and Van headed out with friends whose parents have pickup trucks, and most vehicles are exactly pickups either filled with water, or carrying huge barrels, and these drive around splashing anyone who gets in range. Michelle and I, on the other hand, took off on a scooter, and I personally think this ended up being the best way to experience it. See, when you walk, it is a non-stop deluge, and since you on the sidewalks you get splashed with moat water, and any other kind of water. When we were on the scooter, going in between the trucks, we got splashed with ice-cold water from taps and clean water sources. PLUS, people are more mindful of motorbikes, not wanting to toss buckets of water at us and possibly knock us over. So, most of the time, in between the trucks, people simply kindly poured ice-cold water over us. Refreshing! And it allowed us a chance to spray them, and give wai's and speak Thai.

It lasted 4 days, and we are sooo glad we got to participate.

Over the Easter weekend the Cooke family went on a lengthy motorbike outing. It was fun, and at the same time a little sad, as it might be the last one before Liberty leaves the overseas life to head to Ottawa to go to the University of Ottawa. We went south, then west. Along the way we passed gigantic Buddhist temples and statues. We don't really know what their purpose is, as each tends to be dedicated to something or someone specific. Man-made. But other the other hand we also passed Creator-made beauty, like... ELEPHANTS! We passed road signs that said, "Warning - Elephant crossing". Can you imagine?! But the entire trip was full of scenery, and it was tough to keep riding as we often wanted to stop and take in the majestic views. It was hot. That is one downside.

This post is referenced in an email newsletter I've sent out, and in that is a request from Van. Van has realized that if he works he can earn money! I guess chores should have come with a monetary value attached! But Van has a new love, and it is motorcycling. He is aiming to save up money to buy a nice motorbike, like a Yamaha R15. It looks fast, but it actually is a 150cc motorbike, which is the same cc as the scooters we are currently riding. Now, Michelle and I have been slowly letting him break into riding – first the scooter, a lower cc one, then more recently a Yamaha Aerox. He enjoys the freedom; it also reminds him of his friend who passed away last year, and this actually sobers Van as he knows firsthand the serious reality that accompanies motorbikes.*

When he rides, he likes to head up into the mountains, to lookouts like this one:

It was a cloudy day, so you can't see the green that is all around. Remember the bee story whose nest in a tree had to be removed? Here is the tree now:

That is right outside our bedroom window. While we are away, far from home and family, God does bless us with creation like this.