When I arrived in South Thailand, I wasn't sure where I would be serving. It was a litttle weird when people asked me where I would be, but I explained that I and my team-mates would need to seek God, explore some possibilities, and make a decision together. For me, it was no big deal to spend whatever time needed to explore and discern, but my team-mates are a family of five with a home-school helper coming as well, and the pressure was on to come to a decision in a timely fashion.
Beforehand, we had thought of two potential districts in which we had some connections. But when we arrived, we were presented with a new possibility which we hadn't really considered, a district I had never been to or even heard of...
Phrom Khiri (pronounced Prome Keeree). It’s a beautiful district in the southern Thai province of Nakhon Si Thammarat. It’s made up of five sub-districts and has a population of over 35,000 people. It’s a place full of fruit orchards, including mangosteen and durian. It’s surrounded by beautiful mountains and waterfalls. It’s known for having fresh air and cool weather. And it has become our new home.
My oldest son, Nathan, and I were in Nepal recent for a trek in the Himalayas. Our last day in the country was a Sunday, so we decided to find and attend an international church in Kathmandu. Looking on the web, we found a church near our hotel and saw that the church started at 10 am. Perfect. As we arrived though, we were puzzled by the lack of people around. "Is there a church here we asked?" "Yes," was the reply, "but we meet on Saturdays - but you can go up and pray if you like." Of course! The weekly day off in Nepal is Saturday, not Sunday, so this church meets on Saturdays.
There has been a serious lack of good brownies available in South Thailand..... So, when, Somjai, one of our Thai church leaders needed a job, we started a brownie baking business using my favourite old recipe that I have baked for years. I taught Somjai and young lady called Goy, to bake the brownies. We used some funds from Aussie friends to buy a big oven and other equipment. The building that we rent to use as a church building in Pak Phanang isn't used much during the day so it has become our bakery during the week.