2015 Reflections of Gratitude
“From His fullness we all have received Grace Upon Grace” John 1:16 As I reflected on this past year, I was reminded of God’s goodness to us in so many ways. My dear friend, Cindy, shared the above verse and it mirrored our sentiments exactly. Much of His goodness has come in the shape and form of people! God has surrounded us with so many warm, loving, kind-hearted generous souls who have opened their homes and hearts to us throughout our year on the road. While I would love to list each and every one… Read More
Day 366: Time Flies…One Year Already!
Unbelievable! Today, June 16th, marks our Round the World one year anniversary! It’s difficult to believe a whole year has passed, and yet here we are in Vienna, Austria, making plans for our return. Over the last few days, I’ve been putting together a “Year in Review” with photos and commentary, but as I progressed, I realized it would take much longer than I anticipated. Perhaps I will save that for our return. In the meantime, as I was reflecting on the past year, I was reminded of God’s goodness to us in… Read More
Kathryn’s Experience with the Elephants
Elephants are amazing. They are beautiful creatures. Intimidating, yes, but beautiful all the same. And when you get to ride them…well, I’ll get to that later. The first elephant park we visited was called Elephant Nature Park. Of course. Here they brought the fortunate rescued elephants from their abusive Mahoot. (In Thai, Mahoot means the owner of an elephant.) Or they come if they have been injured while mining or in traps. Or if they have been rescued from one of the worst of the abusers. There is an awful way some… Read More
Day 292: Bangkok Photoblog
Bangkok is a city of contrasts, the old mixed in with the new, and the cheap and inexpensive found just outside the pricier venues. Temples and shrines are interspersed with tall, modern skyscrapers, and there are colors and people everywhere. I didn’t expect to love Bangkok as much as I did. We spent about a week exploring the streets, shops, temples, and markets of this beautiful city and I still feel like I barely scratched the surface! Some of the highlights? Below is just a small snapshot of the things we saw and… Read More
Day 290: House of Blessing and House of Love
The House of Love is a home for women and children who have been affected by HIV/AIDS. This includes women who have been sold into prostitution, AIDS orphans, and children taken out of their homes because of abuse. Many of the residents at House of Love do not have Thai citizenship, which also means they have few rights in Thailand. House of Love began 16 years ago as a refuge to approximately one hundred displaced women and children, most of whom have been affected by HIV/AIDS, and many of whom had been… Read More
Day 288: Zoe and Sex Trafficking
This is my second post on victims of trafficking. By now you may have guessed that these men, women, and children have a special place in our hearts. The brutality they’ve had to endure, and the deep wounds their abuse has caused remains heavy on our hearts. Our journey to Thailand was much anticipated. Yes, there are gorgeous beaches, so beautiful that Leonardo Dicaprio starred in a movie set on one of them (The Beach). And the food is outstanding, with fragrant spices, savory meats, rich soups, and a variety of noodles to accompany them. But… Read More
Day 286: Destiny: Hope for Victims of Trafficking
I got brave and had my first haircut on the road since leaving Chicago almost exactly nine months ago. It happened in Chiang Rai, a beautiful city in Northern Thailand, close to the borders of Laos and Myanmar (the Golden Triangle). Was I nervous that my hair dresser could not speak one word of English? Well…maybe a little. Did I feel any anxiety that one of the two ladies working on my hair was in training and a bit unsure of what to do. Yes! But it all turned out well in the… Read More
Riding Elephants with Ryan
Riding, cleaning and feeding the elephants in Thailand was an experience I’ll never forget. We started by listening to one of the workers there give us a quick (10 minute) talk about safety, like not standing behind an elephant when it is unaware of your presence. We also talked about facts, and how the number of elephants in Thailand is skyrocketing (or should I say ground rocketing) downwards. There were over 100,000 elephants in Thailand a couple of years ago, but now there are only 3000 left! After the quick talk we had about the elephants,… Read More
Danny and Mecan
Patara is a nice place where the people give you lessons on how to treat, and take care, and ride elephants. For the day, you get your own personal elephant to bathe, ride, and feed. My elephant was called Mecan, and the way I remember Mecan, is the word mechanical. In the first 20 minutes, you feed your elephant bananas and sugar cane. When you wanted them to open their mouths, you would say: “Bone”. And if they obey, and eat what you give them, you say: “Dee dee”. Deedee means… Read More
Danny
Deena Gainor
Kathryn
Ryan Gainor
Ryan Thomas
Mikayla
Six Hearts One Journey 
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