Trip to Thailand

Steve and I made a trip to Thailand last week.  A church in Tennessee sponsored us and several of our colleagues to come to Phuket to attend a marriage retreat.  We had an absolutely wonderful time, and we are so very thankful for the people at Corryton who made so many sacrifices to make this possible.  We felt incredibly loved and spoiled rotten by their generosity, and we came back feeling refreshed and renewed.

The hotel was gorgeous and just a short walk from this gorgeous beach.

In addition to paying for our accommodations, food and some of our travel, they provided an "excursion" for each couple (like I said - spoiled rotten!).  We were able to choose from many options, and we decided to go for a cruise in a Chinese-style sail boat called a junk.

They actually didn't end up using the sails (only put them up for us to take some pics at one point), but it was still a beautiful, peaceful cruise through some absolutely amazing scenery.

 These hanging rock formations were so cool - no idea how they were formed.  Almost looks like the tide comes up that high, but really don't know.

 We have visited many tropical islands, but this place was so unique.  These rock islands jutted out of the ocean in the oddest shapes.  Spectacular.

 Here is one of the islands.  Made Steve want to come back with climbing gear, but thankfully he was content to sit and snuggle on the deck while the boat weaved its way through the formations.

 After a couple hours of cruising, we parked in deeper water and transferred to a smaller boat so that we could go through this passageway under one of the islands.  Breath-taking.

 This island is called James Bond Island - they said that one of the James Bond movies was filmed here.  Sorry, don't remember which one. 

 The fact that it was in a movie wasn't that impressive to me, but the island itself was beautiful.

 The best part of the trip though was just being together and celebrating all that God has so graciously blessed us with.  What a perfect way to celebrate 14 yrs of marriage!

Thank you, Corryton, for blessing us like this.  We know that God will use this time in mighty ways in works all over SE Asia as we all return refreshed and ready to face the pressures of ministry again.  It was wonderful to be with people who truly "get" it - that we are ALL called to get the Good News out to the last corners of the earth; we just have different roles to play.  We are so thankful that you were willing to make so many sacrifices to encourage all of us in this way, and we praise God for your partnership in the task He has given His church.