Ric and Sharon Bruce On a journey with you to Thailand 
Every village has a Buddhist temple
The first months of any new job you feel clueless. Sometimes you wander in circles until some really nice person who’s worked at the company for years puts their arm around you and tells you how it’s done. Those guys are few and far between in the job we do.
Fortunately we work in an organization with people all over Thailand doing the job day in and day out. This weekend we had the privilege to go watch one of our teams in action and it blew us away. They didn’t put their arm around us and tell us how things are done. They showed us by doing it well. Here’s the story in pictures.
The trip started out a bit rough. We ended up delayed for four hours in Chiang Mai because of an "electrical problem" with our plane. It seems they fixed it. 
We made it safely.
Rob is the veteran missionary on this particular team. He took us out to the village rice fields and showed us how the people farm. Rob didn't learn this because someone in the village told him how farming is done. He spends two days of his week in the fields with the people.
Amanda is an old friend from our Bible School days. She just joined the team and is in language study full time. It was good to see how her transition from Chiang Mai to the village is going. She's staying in this big wooden house.
Rob and Amanda took us on a tour of the village stopping to introduce us to their friends, explaining unique local customs and showing us how the villagers live.
Rob explained that the man on the horse is the primary ancestor spirit of the villagers. Anyone going on a long journey, taking a difficult test, making a difficult decision or getting married comes to make offerings here. They ask for the spirit's favor, wisdom or direction. Alternatively, they may thank the spirit for some good fortune, blessing or gift he has given. If you fail to return to thank the spirit he may become angry and cause harm in some unpredictable way. The two women below him are his concubines.
The older men of the village made a model of the homes they grew up in. Today village homes are made in more typical Northern Thai fashion. The sign is written in a script the people group used to use to write its language. A lot has changed in the village but the core beliefs of the villagers have remained the same for centuries.
We loved getting to know Rob's family too... these are some of his children.
We played a game called "Bang" with the team last night. Sharon and I won.
We went home tired, encouraged and grateful to have met new friends, connected with old ones and learned a lot about our future work in the process.
See the rest of our village pictures in our Photo Albums.
Tags: culture, customs, flight, global, job, local, missionary work, nan, northern thailand, plane, temple, village
Hi, Ric & Sharon
Thanks for telling your story in photos! This has been tremendously helpful for me in many ways.
Dennis
Hello dear friends! Thank you for the update. I loved seeing the pictures and the news of all that is going on. I thought it was especially great that someone from Bible school is there…I’m sure that a familiar face is so encouraging.
You are in my thoughts and prayers. Thank you for your faithfulness. I pray tonight that you will be strong in the Word this week and that you will sense God’s presence and love in a very real way.
Love you!
Sallie
Thanks so much Carl. Thanks for the kind comment and for your constant prayers and support.
Dear Ric and Sharon:
It is always great to read your stories and view your pictures. I am constantly amazed at the quality of your photos. Thanks for keeping us in your loop.
Carl and Barb