Am I Jane or the Swiss Family Robinson?

For the past two days we've been living in what seem much like tree houses at The Juniper Tree "resort" here in Chiang Mai, our home for two weeks between conferences. I'm living in a teak house that seems very much like ship's quarters inside. Check out www.juniper-tree.org for a peek. At every meal besides breakfasts, we sit with different families from all over the world. Aside from the one thing we all have in common, the common denominator here is children! Em calculated tonight that we adults are seriously outnumbered! You should hear the commotion from the play platform in the dinning room after about 20 minutes into every meal- something like preschool meets family reunion meets chaos. Ev and El love it!

Today we checked out the spider webs, butterflies, and bananas behind their house, then the LARGE red ants crawling up and down a tree (and our legs!) behind us. Yikes and ouch! Our other adventure today was our tuk-tuk driver getting confused as we tried to get back here from an errand up in the north of town. Well . . . it was a nice day for a drive, especially after the non-stop rain and cold yesterday. Our rooms don't have any heat - why would you need a heater in the tropics???? - so last night was quite nippy. We figured it was the storm that blanketed much of China in snow, so we were glad it was just rain down here.

My adventure this past week was getting a jacket made by a seamstress in the day market. Tuesday will tell whether my and Em's gestures and scribbles in a pattern (sort of ) book really communicated what I wanted! Phooey - it's costing me almost as much for a rayon jacket (I couldn't find the right color in raw silk) as it would have for a ready-made silk one - though the silk one was a tight fit. I've never had anything made to my measurements, so this is a new experience on several levels.

So is meeting all the folks here at the Juniper Tree and hearing the stories of their work and challenges. Suffice it to say they regularly deal with things you and I would find "impossible" or downright terrifying. What love and commitment is in their hearts! I'll share details when I get home - in the meantime, please think about them as you talk to the Lord.

Well, the bird (?) monkey(?) is calling outside, so I'd better close for this evening. Much love!