Lessons Never Cease- A Weekend Adventure (Part 2)

Here is part 2 of our adventure! :-)  For some reason Blogger is acting very strangely, so please forgive the messed-upness of this blog post. The pictures aren't all spaced evenly and the writing may be a little weird too. Hopefully it will behave itself in the future. :-)

The two sisters....

We listened to Mr. Steck read for quite a while...

It's amazing how comfortable the ground can feel when you're tired and when you haven't sat on chairs regularly for some months...

This was the view to my left, looking down at the road.

This was the view to my right, looking back up the trail we had walked on to get there.

 

Here is the view in front of me, looking across the road at part of two pagodas. It was beautiful!

God created so much beauty....

We read until nearly sunset, then walked back to the car and drove to get some diesel before heading for a campground right next to this river...

It was a beautiful way to end the Sabbath- riding in the back of the car, gazing out the back window at the darkening scenery fading into the distance and listening to beautiful, uplifting music. We arrived at the campground after dark and went to bed as soon the campground tents were set up and we had moved in. I slept in a tent with Sharon, Mr. and Mrs. Steck slept in the other tent, and the other girls slept on the ground or in a hammock. That night I slept no better or worse until just before 3:00 a.m. when I awoke again and got up to use the restroom. When I got back to the tent, I discovered that I had a problem- all around my bed, in my Karen bag and on my backpack were little black creatures, scurrying here and there. Inwardly I groaned and cringed. What am I going to do now? I can't sleep with these ants all over my stuff! Why did they have to invade our tent? Why are the ants awake at this hour anyways? Don't they need their sleep too? I'm tired, but now I can't sleep, I pouted. Not long after I got up, Sharon also awoke and we discussed the problem together. We discovered that Hannah Steck and Raquel were no longer sleeping on the ground, and we guessed they too had experienced the ants. They were probably in the car, so maybe we should get the ants off our things and go see if we can put them into the car. This we did, and found Hannah trying to sleep in the car. She woke up and gave us the key to open the back. We then returned the key and walked down some stairs towards the river, only going down partway before stopping to sit and have our devotions. It was so peaceful sitting there in the darkness, listening to the river rushing by and talking to Jesus. I couldn't help but smile as I considered the way God had chosen to wake me up. I have had difficulty waking up early to have more time for devotions and had been asking God to please help me somehow. He certainly helped me that morning in a most unexpected way! Something that at first appeared to be a bother and annoyance turned out to be a big blessing. Another lesson- trials are often blessings in disguise. Lord, please help me to give thanks in all things- even the things that seem bad. After devotions, I went to the car to catch a few more winks of sleep before the sun came up. When everyone was awake and ready, we had a delicious breakfast of spaghetti made by Hannah Steck right here beside the river.                                                                                              

Here is where our tents were...

After breakfast, we finished packing up, then went for walk to this gorge and the surrounding interests.

The view from the bridge...

The view from the other side....

Here is the bridge...

On the other side of the bridge was this sign and a trail that we hiked.

These were some of the sites along the trail...

Off we went!

We hiked up on top of a very big rock. This was view we were blessed with....

We had fun taking some pictures up there...

We had worship up there, and Raquel attempted to take a short nap.

We decided to not take the "slippery route" down... ;-)

  

The walkway was kind of cool...

This was at the visitor's center.

After our hike at the gorge, we got back in the car and drove back to Mae Sariang, then down a long road full of potholes to the Salawin River. You haven't experienced a bumpy ride until you have ridden on a road like that... I literally came off my seat a couple times! It really was fun though. :-) This is a picture of the Salawin River.

 

 

 

We were able to go for a boat ride on the river which was very enjoyable.

It was so beautiful... :-)

Can you tell we had fun? ;-)

This is the village where we stopped to ride the boat...

   After we got back from the boat ride, we got in the car and drove the long, bumpy road out once again. It wasn't very long before Hannah asked if I wanted to ride on the back due to the temperature in in the back where we were sitting with no windows to open. I agreed and we asked Mr. Steck to stop so we could rearrange ourselves. It was so much fun, holding onto the basket on top of the car and trying to stay on while the car rolled over many dips and ruts.                                                                                              With Hannah and I riding on the back and Mrs. Steck, Raquel, and Hannah Powell sitting in the windows, we made quite the spectacle as we drove past or through small villages. We had many a villager staring and smiling at the funny-looking gullowahs hanging all over the car. I still haven't gotten used to all the stares...                                                                                                                                                         It was such a blessing to watch the sun sink lower and lower as we sped along, headed once again for Mae Sariang. Hannah and I talked nearly the whole time as we stood, watching the scenery fly by. I enjoyed it very much. You can learn and be blessed a lot by listening to the experience of others and how God led them. Friends are indeed a wonderful gift from God!                                                                                     We got back into the car shortly before arriving in Mae Sariang. In town, we stopped at a gas station to get gas, use the restroom, and buy some snacks for supper. Then we headed for Sunshine Orchard, but it wasn't long before Hannah and I were riding on the back again. The moon was so bright that night! The view out across the mountains was spectacular. I couldn't help but smile and feel my heart fill with thankfulness to my God who creates such beauty for His children to behold! After about 45 minutes, our feet and legs couldn't handle anymore standing so we rode inside the car for the remainder of the trip home. We pulled into the driveway somewhere around 10:30 p.m., totally exhausted, but happy.                                                          Although I really enjoyed our adventure, I'm happy to be at work once again here at Sunshine Orchard. I'm beginning to see that God can and will teach me new lessons no matter where I am. Even on "vacation" I learned a lot. I'm so thankful for a God that never gives up, but patiently teaches us and leads us! I know I wouldn't be here today if it were not for Him and His sustaining grace!