Our team was privileged to have the opportunity for a team retreat at a beach resort this past weekend, in a town near the island of Phuket, a great follow up to our big Pray & Plan meeting a few weeks ago. Four Thai staff and all 5 families came with all 13 kids in tow. We were thankful and grateful to our interns, Tori, Irene and Catherine Rogers (teacher at ICS) for watching the kids and doing a kids program while we had all of our meeting times throughout each day and evening. They did a great job and the kids performed some songs for us towards the end.
Andrew and I met a waitress at the resort who witnessed the tsunami at our resort almost 2 years ago. She said that when the water receded way far back, that there were tons of fish flopping on the bare ocean floor, so people were all running out into the dry ocean to pick up all the fish! About 15 minutes later the first wave came. Five people died at that one resort. It was strange to hear a firsthand account from someone who experience the tsunami.
Thanks to our supporters who made this trip possible. It is a key time for all five families, interns, and Thai staff to come together and learn from Dave, each other, and have important workshops for planning & praying about the next year, 2 years, 5 years and 10 years of this ministry here in Thailand.
On our way home from the new HUUUUUUUGE Bangkok airport, Suvarnabhumi (pronounced Soo-von-uh-boom) we got a little turned around in the parking lot. PJ got a free ride while we searched for the Henry’s car. 
This airport just opened recently, after building it for a couple of years…the old airport just completely shut down one day after 90 years! All the airplanes flew themselves 13 minutes across the city from the old airport to the new on the day of the Suvarnabhumi opening. Andrew & I flew into the old airport one last time before the new one opened a week later. The great thing is that our area is developing very quickly because of it’s proximity to the new airport, and also suburban sprawl.
