Prayer-walking team update

Sawadee Ca! I know i said i would be updating for the prayer-walking team but things have been pretty busy. As promised though, i am here now to deliver the report. The boys and I (amy, zac, andrew and thomas) have gone to about 12-15 wats around the city now. Each of them different and interesting in their own ways. Some of them are very large and some are small but overall they are all so so so so so beautiful. As a team we have been praying both for the individual people that we see there as well as for the wats themselves and the area that surrounds them. We have seen many interesting things and talked to some very interesting people while walking. On tuesday i met a girl named nicole from switzerland. She came into the wat (temple) while we were there all alone and kneeled in front of the "shrine." She did not bow or "Y" as they call it to Buddha which led me to believe that she was not buddhist. I asked God to tell me if I should approach and talk to this woman. I didnt want to interupt her but after a few minutes my heart started to pound so hard i thought it was going to come out of my back and i thought "OK GOD! I get it! I'll go!" So i slowly approached her and sat beside here on the mats. I introduced myself and started to ask her some questions. I found out that she is visiting chiang mai and the surrounding countries as a getaway vacation all by herself. She has been in chiang mai for 4 weeks but was leaving the next day. She liked to come to the wats not because she is buddhist but because she says it is peaceful. When i asked what she did for a living she said she used to work for a catholic church in switzerland but quit that job right before she left and she doesnt know what she will do now. That led me to ask, "Are you catholic?" She said no, she is christian. I was so excited to hear this. I told her i was too and that opened up a whole new conversation. I asked what she thought of buddhism and much to my surprise she said she thinks it is good...that is it necessary for the poor country of thailand. She says that in order to be christian all you have to do is follow the new law: "LOVE." I was shocked. We talked a lot more but through our conversation i began to realize that she really thought taht love was the only thing you have to do. Love one another. Therefore, she believed that all buddhist have salvation throught Christ (the thai people are very loving people but they certainly do NOT believe in Christ) Hmmmm.....i was so confused. I didnt know what to say. I didnt argue with her. I just said okm and thanked her for her input. Nicole made me realize that it is not just the Thai people that need saving. There is so much ignorance in the world. Even in christians. Even in myself! After that conversation i was led to pray not just for teh thai people but for all people. Especially christians who think they've got it all figured out. NO ONE DOES! and thats ok! We are all searching. We are all learning. I think this experience made me a lot more tolerant of the people here and just tolerant in general i suppose. Anyway, we have had other experiences with people worth noting at some point but for the sake for a shorter blog i will save that for "when-we-get-home-stories." Or maybe zac will blog about the Monk he talked to. Our team has also been going to Chiang Mai University every day for lunch with the college students. This gives us time to connect with students like ourselfs in a learning atmosphere. We want to build relationships with the students. I have a very good new friend named chompoo. She is beautiful and amazing. SHe and i have spent a lot of time together and we get along great. She is already begging me to come back next year! Thank you again for all of your prayers. You can pray specifically for our team that our relationships would continue to blossom. We know taht without a relationship you cannot expect much. We love you all!!!