The Grand Palace

We were told by our missionary friends, the Owens, that the Grand Palace (located in Bangkok) is the central representation of everything spiritual for the Thai people. It's the home of the Emerald Buddha which was carved out of a single piece of jade. There religious beliefs are deeply ingrained in the culture. It was a fascinating journey to explore the temple and literally see hundreds of people being sprinkled with "holy water" and bowing down to Buddha. It helped give me an understanding of the culture that Team 2000 works in as it continues to share the love of Christ with the Thai people. Later on in the evening we celebrated the 4th with some other Americans that were staying at the guest house. The Owens had picked up some sparklers for us to use. About 15 minutes into the "fireworks show" God provided some fireworks of his own and it started to lightning and pour down rain. Our kids were extremely excited about rain that was warm (a bit of a foreign concept to them since the only time it rains in Visalia is winter). They ran around and played in the rain until the tropical downpour passed. We spent some more time with the Owens and their kids today. As we experienced Bangkok's culture, we had the opportunity to hear more about their heart for the Thai people and how God is working in this beautiful country. Pray for us as we will be traveling to Chonburi tomorrow (their home base and where TLC is located) to help with their Sunday service.