Beaches and Elephants

back in the states!

webbnat — Fri, 3 Aug 2007 07:04:00 GMT

yay! no more sleeping in airports! jason and i made it to oregon a couple of days ago. we have been hanging out with his family and are going to do some temporary work here in madras. kathy has some big tests next week, so please keep praying for her and the family.

Okay, really stuck...

webbnat — Sun, 29 Jul 2007 22:24:00 GMT

so jason and i have been on a boat, a bus, or a plane (or waiting for one of those) for the past 3 days... blah... we made it to hong kong last night and spent the night on cot things in the airport. haven't been able to get on either of the flights this afternoon but are hopeful for the flight tonight. we finally found free internet though! and i killed him at texas hold 'em. if we have to stay here another night, we are breaking out the beach paddle ball game that we got in koh tao.

anyway, kathy found out that her tumor is cancerous, so please pray for her. she's having more tests done soon, and jason and i would really like to get to oregon so we can help however we can. also, we would like to take a shower and sleep in a bed! lol... seriously, we are pretty stinky... and we left kind of spur of the moment, so we dont have any clean clothes! but we did rinse out some clothes last night in the airport bathroom sink. we are saving them in case we get on this flight so we can put on clean underwear for celebration! lol... anyway, we're fine, just waiting. thanks for your prayers!

Stuck...

webbnat — Tue, 24 Jul 2007 18:05:00 GMT

So basically, we are stuck in thailand... don't get me wrong, it's not a bad place to be stuck! we've spent the last couple days riding around a gorgeous island on a motorbike looking for waterfalls and beaches. it is gorgeous here, and i am havng so much fun with jason. but our travel agent is pretty hopeless about us getting confirmed for a flight before the 7th of august...

please keep praying for kathy, jason's mom. her biopsy is today and she should get resulst in the next few days. also please pray that i can get jason home to her soon. if it comes down to it, we'll just go sit in the bkk airport until we get a flight (which will be okay bc we just bought the new Harry Potter book! yes, we found it in english on a little island in thailand!!!)

okay that's about it for today, i'll keep you updated.

oh we finally did find our waterfall today and it was great! we climbed up it and there were butterflies everywhere flying all around us! i'll definitely get the pics up as soon asap! it may be from bangkok before i find a computer that will let me...

hope everyone is having fun wherever you are!

thanks so much for your prayers! they are much needed.

SHARK!

webbnat — Sat, 21 Jul 2007 19:32:00 GMT

so today, i swam with a SHARK at chumphon pinnacle!!!! it was about a 6 foot gray reef shark. very cool... also swam through a couple of schools of baracuda, over lots of sea anemones (sp?), and saw some beautiful angelfish and a not so beautiful scorpion-fish. anyway, good fun! jason and i were a buddy team so we had a lot of fun and took good care of each other.

just got the news that my brother, Nate, got most valuable player in his division at basketball camp! way to go cool!

Finally Updating!

webbnat — Fri, 20 Jul 2007 17:17:00 GMT

Sorry it has been so long! Internet cafes here are slow and expensive... i'm trying to upload photos, but it isn't working... grrrr.. sorry!

so alot has been going on here, and some plans have changed. I didn't want to update until i had a better idea of a plan. I spent a few days on the islands of Phuket, Phi Phi, and Krabi. (which were beautiful) I layed on beaches, saw tsunami damage, got offered a joint by
"Captain Max Sparrow," lol... and speed-kayaked with monkeys! Pictures coming soon!

Anyway, the main thing i want to post about today is asking you all to pray for Jason's mom, Kathy. She found out about a week ago that she has a tumor on her liver. Please pray for her and her family, especially Jason. He hates not being able to do anything to help and is on the other side of the world from his mom right now. He was travelling in Cambodia as I mentioned before, but I asked him to come to Thailand with me while w work out what to do and how and when to get back home. His mom's biopsy is scheduled for the 24th and Jason and I are trying to get a flight back around that time.

So anyway, I know God is taking care of Kathy and her family, but it is still a scary time.

Jason and I are on Koh Tao right now, and I just finished my SSI Open Water Diving course! I'm a licenced SCUBA diver! I hated it the first day... i mean seriously hated it... but thank goodness for my pride that wouldn't let me quit, because i have liked it more with each dive, and jason and i are going on a 'fun dive' tomorrow where we will hopefully see some sharks! yikes!

we will be going to koh phangan in a couple of days and waiting there until we can get a flight home.

i am sooo ready to get home! i have had an amazing trip. really really more than i could have imagined. i have done what i set out to do, have gotten to experience 2 foreign cultures (Thai culture, and backpacker culture!) and have tons of opportunity to talk to other travellers about my faith in Jesus.

i think everyone should backpack thailand! we see families all over the place!

Nate - i wish mom and dad would have let you come! you'd love it here!

Thanks again, everyone, for all of your prayers. God is sooo good.

Please keep praying for Natalie H. She is leaving soon and has some big decisions to make.

Please keep praying for me and Jason while we try to get some changes made.

And most of all, PLEASE pray for Kathy. Pray that the tumor will disappear, or be benign. And for strenght and comfort right now.

Gallery: Ayuthaya, Chiang Mai, and Trekking!

webbnat — Mon, 9 Jul 2007 12:57:00 GMT

northern thailand

Trekking!

webbnat — Mon, 9 Jul 2007 12:51:00 GMT

So the trek was amazing! On the first day, we hiked about 4 hours through the jungle with our guide, Robert (a member of one of the hilltribes), singing ïn the jungle, the mighty jungle" and "welcome to the jungle"...he is so funny. we crossed a river on foot and ate lunch at a hut along the way. We made it to the village that afternoon and got to play with the children and buy some of the handicrafts that the women make.

okay, i have to write the rest in a few days bc i'm running out of time. i uploaded some photos and started doing descriptions, but haven't finished! sorry!

thanks so much for your prayers and comments!

love yáll!

oh, p.s. we leave on a night train today at 2:30 to bangkok where we will arrive at 5:30 am! we stay there for the day then hop on an overnight bus at 7pm that will take us to phuket and we will begin our island hopping! yeah!

i'm so excited bc jason will be in bangkok on his way to cambodia tomorrow, so i will get to hang out with him for the day! YAY! natalie h. is so excited to meet him...lol... :) then he's off to siem reap i think and nat and i will continue to phuket.

Chiang Mai

webbnat — Wed, 4 Jul 2007 14:28:00 GMT

So i made it through the overnight train...what an experience... very hot and bug-filled... but now i'm in chiang mai and will take off on a 3 day trek in the morning. Went shopping and walked around the old city a little this morning.
Right now, i'm sitting in The Travel Hub on the east side of the old city. If you're ever in the area, you can get all your technological needs met here. (www.travelhubchiangmai.com) And if you write about it in your blog, you get 3 hours of free internet access! lol...
So anyway, Nat H. and I have gone separate ways today, but are meeting up at one of the wats (buddhist temples) to go to "Monk Chat." We get to sitt around and ask about buddhism and monastic life, etc... Should be fun.
I am sooo thankful for Natalie H. I really do believe that God brought us together. She is 23, canadian, and just graduated with a degree in philosophy. We are having a great time laughing at things that would be terrifying alone!
Natalie is not a believer. She is very spiritual and says she comes from a 'buddhist orientation.' Not sure what that means, but she is definitely searching for God. Please pray that God will use me to show Jesus to her. She is asking me alot of questions about Christianity, and we have talked alot about God and meditation and spiritual things. She is very curious and open, so pray that God will give me the right words at the right times, but mostly that Christ will live through me and spill out onto her!
Thanks for the sweet comments! Love yáll! (i get made fun of for the ýa'll thing here... but nat h. is always saying éh?'...lol..)
oh i posted some pictures, but i'm not sure when they will show up. it may be tomorrow so check them out!

First Few days!

webbnat — Wed, 4 Jul 2007 11:56:00 GMT

okay, sorry sorry sorry, i haven't been able to post. i'm having a GREAT time, but i miss all of you! thank you for all of the prayers! i have an amazing travel buddy, Natalie Hemraj, from Canada who is soooo fun! we are like clones of each other and will be travelling for the next month together. such a blessing!!! God is soooo good! so far, we have been to the bridge over the river kwai, ridden elephants, climbed on waterfalls and swam in a 12 tiered fall! we have ridden a bamboo raft down the river and stayed at a guesthouse that is on a raft on the kwai river. we have petted TIGERS and seen monkeys and waterbuffalo and everything! this comp isn't letting me download pics, but i'll try tomorrow.

we take the overnight train tonight to chiang mai and will have a day to bum around before starting our 3 day/2 night trek to the hilltribes of the jungle. i won't have phone or internet then either, but i'm fine, and having adventures already!

today we are in ayutthaya riding bikes around old ruins and trying to find a phone!!!

thanks so much, again, for the prayers, love you all!!!

Gallery: Yay for Thailand!

webbnat — Wed, 4 Jul 2007 11:30:00 GMT

AMAZING

I <3 pineapple!

webbnat — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 07:55:00 GMT

8am Saturday June 30th

After a billion hours in the air, i am finally in thailand! I shared a taxi with a girl from japan named Milky and a thai guy who didn't speak much english. Bangkok roads are pretty much just like dallas, except they drive on the wrong side and signs are in thai and english.

anyway, after some confusion with my guesthouse, i ended up in the khaosan palace and was in bed by about 2am. ....oh and khaosan road is crazy... there were tons of people out in the middle of the night and little thai kids on bicycles and their moms trying to sell stuff. the best part has been waking up early, taking a cold shower (is there another kind?) and sitting here at the "Nat Guest House" drinking a bottled water and eating the best pineapple in the world (which a lady on the street chopped up in the palm of her hand...yikes!)

so, not sure what to do today, but i'll decide after my breakfast. :)

sabai sabai sanuk!

testing...testing

webbnat — Fri, 22 Jun 2007 09:41:00 GMT

just making sure i know how to do this travel blog thing. i leave for thailand in LESS than one week!!! i'm soooo excited... i'll be updating on here pretty regularly, so check back for pictures and stories!