Church & Birthday

Sunday was a very relaxed day.  We started off with coffee and Pa Thong Ko, Thai version of the American donut, at the Mae Sai morning market.

After a shower at home we dressed for church at Rev. Sunit's Church.  Today is also his birthday and his wife's is tomorrow. 

It was a nice service with a type of election for the person to take care of the money matters as well as care of the church, I think.  I still only understand a small amount of the Thai language.

At the end of the service, after wishing the birthday pair much happiness, the congregation voted for one of the four nominated.  Peter, our friend in the stripped shirt won by a land slide.  I did not vote but I think that was a good choice as he runs a large, established, furniture store here in Mae Sai.

After the service we all eat together and I sang "Happy Birthday" to the birthday folks.  Everyone laughed at me, which was a good thing.

Daeng's sister-in-law, Hlong did a lot of the cooling so the noodle soap dish was very tasty. 

It was also great to to see Pastor Lota.  He is looking good and doing well.  He has been spending his time at ChildLife and the new church school in Burma.  You can read a story about visiting that church by CLICKING HERE.

In the afternoon, I took a nap and Daeng went to the Temple Sauna.

Life is good!

Sunday in Mae Sai 03-18-12

Today was a busy day for us. We started out by putting on our Sunday clothes, black socks and long pants for me. I must say, the pants I bought in Laughlin, Nevada with our friends Michael and Charlotte, during our Super Bowl trip, felt very nice in this topical climate.

We made the trip to ChildLife for a little Sunday service with the kids. It is always uplifting to be with them and Pastor Lota.

We then headed to Rev. Sunit's church for the regular Sunday Morning service and lunch after the service. It was nice to see old friends and to meet a lady from the Netherlands that will be here working the next two years to help the Christian fellowship. I liked her because she laughed at my off-beat humor.

We were also invited to a party at Rev. Sunit's new home. It is to celebrate three things, he and his wife's birthdays and the finishing of there new home. The party starts at 4:00 PM today.

Our next item for the day is a little dental work. I need one filling and Daeng has two teeth that need work. When we got to the dentist Daeng wanted me to go first. Mine was pretty simple, just a filling. By the way, the cost for one filling was 400 Thai Baht (about $13.00 USD).

When Daeng got into the dentist's chair, the dentist looked at the cavities and suggested that some major work be done, a post put into the tooth that had already had a root canal, molar repaired and then a three tooth bridge made to replace the tooth that was already missing.

She took a new x-ray of the two teeth and said she could do all the work including the porcelain, three tooth bridge for 15,000 Thai Baht (about $492 USD). We talked about it and the alternatives. Daeng was concerned about the money and I assured her that she was worth it.

The process would be done over three visits. Today would start with the repair of the front tooth and installing the fiber post in the root canal. Return in a week to repair the back molar, prep both teeth for the bridge and take the final impressions. Then return about a week later and install the new bridge work.

We agreed and she started the process. Daeng was in the chair for a little over an hour but did not have any pain except a little pressure when the drill got stuck once while drilling out the old canal filling. It was down about 14 mm. More x-rays were taken to be sure the tooth repair was okay.

It was now time to go to Rev. Sunit's home for his celebration and party. It is a very nice home on a very large lot just outside town. We stopped at the church on the way to see if anyone needed a ride to his home but everyone had already been transported.

When we arrived they were already having a little service to be thankful for everything and to with the Sunit family the very best in the future. All the clergy, at least the ones that know me, laughed when I told them we were just there for the food and the whisky.

It was a nice party to celebrate the birthdays and the new home. The food was delicious and the chocolate cake was wonderful; just ask the kids.

Tomorrow we are going to head south the visit Chom-nom. He is about 400 Km south of us. We will probable make it a 4-5 day trip also stopping for a few days in Chiang Mai.

04-05-09 Church in Mae Sai, Thailand

I just wanted to add to yesterdays blog my visit to the Rev. Sunit's temporary Church in Mae Sai, Thailand. I don't consider myself as a religious person although I do have some spiritual beliefs. If you don't think that there are powers greater than yourself, the next time you are at the beach, try to stop a wave.

One of the things that I have noticed over the last 67 years is that children that are taught in religious ways tend to be better citizens. Whenever I see kids at Church, or Temples, or what ever name you use for the gathering of people to worship, it also makes me fell good.

Yesterday, after Daeng went to work at her Som-Tom Papaya stand, I got dresses and walked about a mile over to the home that Rev. Sunit had moved into this week. He was going to try and use it as the temporary church, as well.

As I walked up the road I could hear the sound of people singing. When I got the rest of the way up the road the building was full and people siting and standing outside the church, too.

Kids from Ban Nana, "Childlife", were there, also. If you would like to learn more about "Childlife" here is a link to the video: "Fences Between Us!" .

It was nice to see Daeng's Mother there, also. She is the lady in yellow.

Both Daeng and I want to wish the Rev. Sunit, his family and the congregation the very best with their new home even if it is temporary.