Finally, Farewell to Work

We bought lunch for the SIS and SMC staff at work, and a nice party was held. Of course there were nice things said about me and I expressed my sincere delight for having had the opportunity to work and serve here in India. It has truly been a great experience and a highlight of my life.

Pastor Sampath Kumar and Family

It broke our hearts to see our friend Pastor Sampath so ill. He is the man that took us to Madanapalle. We had a farewell meeting with he and his wife and four sons. he is suffering again from stomach cancer and requests your prayers.

Farewell Dinner with my Good Friend Prakash

On Tuesday night we had dinner at the home of Prakash and Roopa Binjola and had a good time with them and their boys Pratyush and Prajwal. Prajwal is the youngest one that is in competition with me for the pony tail. It is a custom here to let the hair grow until the third birthday, and then have a Pooja (religious ceremony) at the time of the hair cut.

Trees Growing in the Road

In the community that we live in we have palm trees growing right up out of the road. If you think about it it seems a little wierd, ..... until you go into the underground parking lot. The trees are planted in big concrete pots! haha

Bake Sale at Our Church

We had a bake sale at church to benifit an orphanage for children with aids. Nickie and I sold "Hot American Waffles" with butter and syrup. They went like "hot cakes".
The bake sale neted almost 10,000 Rupees, and our contribution was 600 Rs. We sold out of waffle mix. It was a great time, for a great cause, with some great people.

Church Construction in Madanapalle

You may remember that we took a trip to Madanapalle where we visited several churches and accidentally hit a cow. We invested in the construction of a couple of churches, and these pictures are the "progress reports" of that investment. The small church is yet to be finished, and we are assured that it will be soon. The larger church had a dirt floor and no windows when we were there and it is finished now. The people are very grateful, and the facilities are being fully utilized.

Again, You can tell You're Far from Home When...

You have three different kinds of money in your pocket. (Three new Wise men)

I just "HUNG AROUND IN THAILAND"

Lunch with Uncle "Dollars"

Nickies uncle Songpol takes Grandma,P.Thoung,and Nickies mom to lunch every Saturday. While we were there we decided to make a regular party out of it, and he was gracious enough to pay the whole tab. It was a good time, and the food just kept coming and coming.

At Grandma's House in Bangkok

While at Grandma's house I was surounded by women. They talked constantly, ate, and sipped wine or beer. There was a lot of laughter, but I don't have a clue what was so funny, since I understood very little of what was being said most of the time. It was nice to see them all haveing a good time though.

Ban Talay (Beach House in Pattaya)

Here are some shots of the beach house that Songpol (Nickie's Uncle) owns in Pattaya that we stayed at while we were there. Of course part of the fun was a group dinner with various friends and family. There are also nice ground surrounding the property as you can see.

Floating Market in Pattaya, Thailand

We spent two days in Pattaya, and visited the floating market that nickies nephew manages. It was pretty cool, and offered a lot of unique products and services. We had a good time riding in the boat.

2012 The Movie in Thailand

P. Ning, P. Thoung, (Nickies Aunts), Nickie and I went to the Cinema to see 2012. We had lunch, and had a good time. I highly recoment the movie. It is truely an action thriller. Going to the theater in Thailand is cool, first they have about 30 minutes of coming attractions, and then you have to stand while the King is honored with a patriotic song. The seats are assigned by number, and the chairs are like recliners if you buy the upper class tickets. There are three levels of tickets!

Party at Church

Our Church had a dinner after the services this past weekend. I will really miss these folks, they have become very dear to us.

Bad news, as you can see a couple of these pictures are no good. My camera was dropped on the big group shot, and I'm afraid it is toast. I will try to use Nickies for the next 3 weeks to capture the final sites, and I will replace my camera when I get home.

Dinner with the Pastor

Since it is getting close to our departure, we are being invited to dinner a lot. We had a chance to have dinner with Pastor Jaichand, his wife Sarita, their daughter Chetena, I forgot the baby boys name. He made really good beef ribs from baby cows. It was delicious.