Mae Raem

It was a slower start to the day, as it often is on a Saturday.

Devotion, breakfast then a a short break before our major activity of the morning.

When we visited the Long Neck village for Sunday school last Monday, Tim pointed out to me how rickety their classroom tables and bench seats were. The room we used for the Sunday School activity is all they have as a school room and general community ‘hall’ and it had been decided to build them some replacement tables and benches. This was our community outreach program for today.

Timber and hardware had been purchased, hand saws had to be used instead of power saws with the only power tool being a cordless drill.
The students all got into it and under the supervision of Tim and Sam who both have skills and expertise in such matters, the tables and bench seats started to take shape in relatively short order.
Some students cut and drilled, some inscribed the bench tops as a gift from the TLC. Clear coat was applied and everyone was justifiably pleased with their efforts. A little more work was required to complete them later in the afternoon so that they will be ready to take to the village - probably on Monday.

Lunch was ‘takeaway’ again and was absolutely delicious. Pork and rice and a few veges doesn’t sound very exotic but the flavour was sensational.
The afternoon was essentially free, but this being the main start of the Songkran festival everyone was keen to participate.
Plastic water pistols and buckets were purchased as well as a 3m inflatable swimming pool just for the occasion. It was decided to take the scooters out for a few laps up and down the main street to experience the water festival up close and personal.
I was a little apprehensive about the reliability of my nemesis - the Honda 125, but figured that Sam and Abi would be out on their scooters and would be able to rescue me if it broke down.
The scooter enticingly started first kick.
We all took turns at doubling passengers (teachers, kids and students) up and down the road for about a kilometre each way and sometimes when you would approach a group they would look at us and excitedly call to each other ‘Farang’ (which previously I thought meant ‘foreigner’ but now I realise simply means ‘fresh meat’) as they rearmed themselves with copious amounts of water with which to douse us.

This was all great fun and my ride was made even more exciting by not knowing when the Honda’s engine would quit without notice. This it did - and completely without warning - several times during our rides but I was able to cajole it back to life with a combination of gentle, reassuring words whispered into its ignition switch while stomping on the kick starter in a manner that obviously let it know who was boss.

Another afternoon storm rolled through just before dinner. This has been a regular occurrence over the last few days and I suspect it is a prelude to the impending wet season.

This evening was a games evening using Kahoot. It was clear that none of the students had ever played this before but once they got started, they really got into it.
The questions were a mix of general knowledge and Bible knowledge which was an excellent reinforcement to the lessons they have been doing.

The only thing they just couldn’t grasp was the concept of using ‘The Lifeline’.Read more