A Day of Physical Exertion!

Hello again! Our day is coming to an end so again it is time to report. Our day was supposed to be a day of mostly relaxation but it did not turn out that way. We started our day by going to Doi Suthep. This is a temple on the top of Suthep mountain. This is a very famous temple in the area and let me tell you, it is a big deal. We climbed 306 stairs to the top, which began the not-so-relaxing-day. I had to take a breather when i got to the top! Then we took off our shoes (as you do before you enter any wat) and we were on our way. There were several differnt "wats" where the people would go to pray and in the middle there was large golden chedi (jetty) with bells around it on a fence like structure. People would walk around the chedi 3 times ringing the bells and holding flowers as offerings to buddha. It was an interesting sight. As we have said before, it all seems so meaningless....in fact...it is incredibly meaningless. When I asked some Thai people why they do some of these things they specifically said, "i dont know." I DONT KNOW? Again i was perplexed. Beginning to see a pattern? I am. Moving on. After we went to the the wat we went down the mountain a way and split up for a quick lunch. Then we went home only to get ready to leave again. Ekk ( a young man who is helping the missionaries here in thailand/ also our new friend) invited us all to play ultimate frisbee. So we did! It was a great time. We met some new friends, got a little dirty, and got some much needed exercise. OH! I fogot to mention my other new friends. Some college girls came to spend some time with us today to. Their names are Champu, Baam, and Yao. They all go to Chiag Mai University where my team will be having lunch every day. They are wonderful girls and they have taught me a LOT of thai. I feel i am learning pretty quickly. We all are considering the difficulty of the language. The girls are staying with we girls on the team tonight. It should be a great time. They dont speak much English but we had a great time today even without speaking much to them. They are very fun girls. We i must go. I am leading a Bible study for the house church in the morning and i need some time to prepare. We hope all is well in the states. Goodbye for now...