Friday, June 27, trip begins with a dash! We were prepared to leave for the airport at 10:30 p.m., 2 ½ hrs early, for international security procedures. But when Jody called China Airlines at 5:40 p.m. to double-check the flight, he was told passengers should arrive FOUR hrs. ahead, which meant we had to leave within the hour to get in line!
The catch was, Dick B., our gracious driver, was on a dinner date with his wife, with his cell phone “off.” In addition, he had a new number, which no one had! So, after eight calls to friends and family, his daughter Sheryl finally offered to scoot us to the airport and we left on time—or rather—early and made it. Since it was already 9:30 p.m. and we’d each been doing final packing and errands all day, Jody used the time to catch a snooze in the baggage line, while we all yawned and looked on, enviously. 
About midnight, Rob decided to have a final American burger…to keep his taste buds happy for a month. We took off at 1 a.m. as planned, were fed “dinner” at 2 a.m. our time, because it’s evening in China, and had breakfast at “WHO KNOWS” what time, because it’s morning SOMEWHERE!
For “excitement,” I (Penny) had my first ever fainting spell and blacked out in the aisle near the galley, because of heat, lack of sleep and high altitude. The hostesses let me lay there, with a pillow and blankets, for about 30 minutes, until I felt totally conscious again. (I was the ONLY one on the plane who got to lie flat out! ) Later, we saw a gorgeous sunrise over Japan,
and landed in Taipei about 5 a.m. their time—about 7 p.m. Sat. night back home.
We have a 4.5 hour layover in Taiwan, as I write this note with photos, Jody plays computer games, and Gary explores the airport with Rob. I’ve taken numerous pix of the great signs with Chinese characters—full words—Jody and Rob tell me.
I’m fascinated with this passenger transfer sign to cities and countries I’ve seen in the news all my life. 
We shared a nice mocha a few minutes ago. (Just what I need…less sleep!) In about 2.5 more hours we board for a 7 hr. flight to Bangkok. We’ll spend the afternoon, evening, overnight, and morning there, then fly to Chiang Mai tomorrow afternoon at 3:30 p.m. At home it is 4 p.m. Saturday, but it’s already Sunday here—14 hours ahead!
Send encouragement to GPLent@gmail.com.
Airport DASH!
Anniversary and Roses
June 24, 2008 -- Yesterday was our 36th Anniversary and we celebrated at a nearby Thai restaurant, with rice noodles, chicken and shrimp smothered in delicious peanut sauce! The sauce was very reminiscent of Cameroon, but is apparently common in Thailand, also. On our morning walk, Gary took a moment to smell a neighbor’s roses.
In a day or two, our sons Jody and Rob will leave their house remodel job in Los Gatos, CA and drive home. For two months they've worked hard and learned new skills.
We’ll spend the rest of the week together, then go to the airport, late Friday night. Email questions and encouragement to GPLent@gmail.com. I’m ready. And as you can see, Gary is finishing packing.
We are excited about this new short-term mission, among a team of 19 people from all across America. The new culture will be interesting, and our whole family loves the food! So it will be profitable to support a mission need, encourage those who are there, meet and engage Thai people and try NOT to say something incorrectly. We’ll smile and bow frequently.
“Sa Wat Dee” is similar to “Aloha,” in that it means Hello, Hi, Good Morning, Good Afternoon, Good Evening, and Goodbye. How can we go wrong!?
May
"What next?" This was a question in the mind of Penny and I, Gary, but the answer is now in process. For the month of July, we are moving this blog to Chiang Mai, Thailand!
Grace International School serves 500 children and during summer break must replace and repair 150 computers. That area of the world is home to a large number of ministries, missionaries and their children, and thus the volunteer nature of the project through Wycliffe Associates.
We have been with WA now since last fall, and while our first assignment was in Cameroon for ten weeks, we find ourselves now getting ready for four weeks in Southeast Asia. And by 'we' I mean the whole family.
Our two sons, 19 and 21, are both good with computers, so as part of a WA team we will help the school to meet the initial computer replacement objectives. But also, they hope to take many of the older PCs and reload them with a Linux OS and OpenOffice, and place them in mission ministries around town.
While the Thai language is complex with some five tonal pitches, we are told that we should be able to get around in English. And, did someone mention food? Ah yes, we are told that the cuisine is amazing, so we are preparing by going to Thai restaurants, making every effort to see how spicy we can tolerate the food without losing our tongues.
