Although the nights have been a bit chilly, our days are rather warm and pleasant. Soft breezes
blow through the banana trees…it doesn’t feel a speck like December does in America. But, in
spite of the distinct lack of the normal holiday coolness and the sparkling snow, we still feel the
spirit of unselfish giving in the air.
Just as our motorbike was on it’s last legs, and ready to retire, a very generous donation came
in for a new one! So, last week, Sarah, Travis, Destiny and I headed to Mae Sot on a grand
shopping excursion. Destiny and I rode in the trailer while Sarah and Travis rode our ailing
motorbike. When we came to the first steep hill, Travis gave it all he had, but pretty soon we
were swerving all over the road, trying to keep going forward, and finally he turned the
motorbike sideways in the road as it came to a pathetic halt. It didn’t take much prompting for us
to all tumble out, and begin our hike up the hill. Nobody wanted to ride back down that mountain
on an out of control motorbike and trailer going backwards! Travis was then able to coax the
motorbike to the top of the hill, pushing with his feet to encourage it. Unfortunately, this became
standard procedure on each steep hill we came to. We were rather relieved when we were able
to leave the steep mountains behind.
As we pulled into the guest house in Mae Sot, we could not help but notice that there were
some foreigners gazing out their window at us. That was not all that unusual, so we jumped off
the motorbike, primped a little, then I headed over to the office to get a room. On my way over, I
noticed another foreigner staring intently at me. That is strange I thought…I wonder if the trip
was harder on me than I imagined? I knew that I was speckled with mud, and dust covered my
clothes and hair, but what is so unusual about that?
I paid for our room, and then turned to go back to where everyone was waiting for me, only to
discover Sarah hugging the foreigner I had seen in the window! Wow…Sarah is usually pretty
shy!!! As it turned out, that foreigner was a good friend of Sarah’s from AFCOE, and the others
that I had seen were part of a group that was in Thailand doing evangelism. They told us that
when they saw us pull in, they just knew we were Adventists. We spent a delightful week of
great Christian fellowship with them. They drew us in just like family.
When we received the donation for the motorbike, I was not sure what to do because they had
sent too much money. But, when we went to buy our bike, we found out that we did not have too
much money, we had been sent the exact amount needed for the bigger bike. Goes to show
that even if I don’t know the current prices of motorbikes, God does!
The next miracle in my story was that when we got to the dealership, we asked them if we could
buy the motorbike using our passports. They told us that we would need a Thai person to help
us. So, Travis picked up the phone to call Phimpa and Rodney. Now, they live clear on the other
side of the country, and they do not get over to our area very often, but just at that moment, they
were rapidly approaching Mae Sot in their truck. So, they came to the dealership, and 20
minutes later, we were the proud owners of a brand new motorbike! Isn’t God amazing? Not just
a plain motorbike either. Because it is Christmas time, they put a basket on the front of the bike,
special handle grips, a rack and a helmet, coat, and a fan for our house…all “Christmas
presents from Honda”. Wow…now we have a super nice motorbike!

 

 

I am always so humbled by how God deals with us, his children. I think that he must have just
as much fun preparing these surprises for us as we have in getting them. God knows our needs, and he delights to give us more than we could ever ask or think. Praise God from whom all
blessings flow!