Happy New Year everyone!

Well Ko Kradan has an interesting rhythm.  Even our guest house owner sleeps on the beach as we interrupt his nap to ask for a few necessities.  And so is the island life out here.  

Mike, Mikayla, Joseph and Sarah kayak...

Our new year celebration was FULL of surprises!   The food here is crazy expensive leaving no options but to eat at  one of the 10 restaurants.  We took a break from our budget New Year's Eve  and told the kids to order whatever they wanted for dinner.   To our surprise we had a free coupon underneath our table!  What a gift from God that dinner was no charge!  There are no ATM's on this island and no one takes credit card so we did not anticipate the higher costs in our food budget.  This is the context behind the free New Years meal!  The kids won t-shirts and other various prizes.  The Thai folk encouraged us Labuns to dance with them which had us all laughing of course.  

Mikayla's meal served in a pineapple bowl...

Samuel and Sarah enjoying New Year's Eve meal...

What a fun party we took part in!  Samuel and I retired earlier and the other 4 brought in the New year with paper lanterns...

New Year's Day we attempted to "walk around the island".  We were encouraged to do this at low tide.  It seemed to work better with our schedules to embark on this walk at high tide.  Samuel had and still has a painful rash.  So going against my mother's instinct we left him at the guest house with his book.  

Even though we've never watched this on TV we felt like our walk took on a survivor episode.  Suddenly we were waist high in water 2 hours away from Samuel and working hard against waves and sharp coral all while the sun was setting.  I'm kinda like Cinderella with night fall as my vision becomes a whole new ordeal to reckon with.  My back is also in recovery from an injury I incurred in Ko Lanta.  I'm also thinking of my 10 year old anxiously waiting for his family and his dinner.  Well these Labuns made it!  Mikayla lost a toe nail and we all had some scrapes and cuts but are here to laugh about it.  I have been extremely blessed by my kids' endurance they have acquired through their many summers at pioneer camp!  

The onset of the survivor ordeal...we didn't know what was coming yet!

Mike, Sarah and Joseph on the walk..

Joseph...

Samuel lounging on the hammock..

The view from our place...

The girls playing volleyball on the beach...

We have another 2 days and then we begin to journey back to Bangkok enroute to Nepal.  We are excited about what lies ahead...

I've been digging into Romans this week in Kradan.  Thinking about the various folks we've been connecting with here and the ones we will in the future. 

 "And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him?  And how can they hear about him unless someone tells  them?  And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent?  ...'how beautiful are the feet of messengers who bring good news!'" Romans 10:14-15

As we talk with folks exploring Buddism here we are reminded of the good news we have.  We pray for all of you to experience the good news of Christ in 2015.  What amazing hope we have!

 With love from all of us.