(upbeat music)
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- Hello, and welcome
to Jesus for Asia Now.
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I'm Natalie Wood.
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Today, I want to
introduce you to a family
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that is praying
and following the Lord,
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toward moving to Thailand
to work as the Lord leads.
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First, I want to
introduce you to Robbie Norton.
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Welcome to the show, Robbie.
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- Thank you.
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- Good to have you here.
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- It's good to be here.
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- It's exciting to talk
about what the Lord is doing.
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It's kind of been, quite a
journey for you, hasn't it?
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- It has, it has.
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We first started this journey
when my wife and I decided to,
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after your visit to our church,
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we felt a strong
impression to move towards
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helping you guys
out with Jesus for Asia
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and moving towards
Thailand, as missionaries.
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As you know, my family has
a background in mission work.
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My grandfather,
and then my father,
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and then when Casey and I
got married a few years ago,
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I had told her that I wanted
to work in the mission field,
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eventually, but we
didn't know how that was going
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to work out and I
think that, that is,
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- What that would look like,
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or anything. - Yeah, exactly.
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So, she and I have been married
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for eight years now. (laughs)
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- Okay.
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- And we have eight kids,
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and so a move towards mission
work is a huge deal for us.
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- Right.
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- But we've been
praying and everything,
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and then when you
guys came to our church,
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we felt a strong
impression to answer the call.
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- Specifically, for Sukhothai?
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- Specifically, at the
time, it was just Thailand
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- [Natalie] Oh, okay.
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- and then, it wasn't until
after we heard you guys talk
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about Sukhothai and
after visiting Thailand,
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back in November,
with your husband Jon
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and a friend of mine, a
friend of ours, Bruce Galbraith,
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that we went there to see
Sukhothai and just look around
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it, and I felt
like that was a good
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place for our family to go to.
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(mysterious music)
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- [Narrator] There are
many areas in the world,
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there are many
cities in the world,
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in which there are
no Adventists, at all.
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This is like a foret
deep into unentered area.
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- This entire valley
has no Adventist church,
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no Adventist member, no
Adventist presence, at all,
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and that couldn't
be because I believe
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God has his
children, right here.
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- And so, since
then, we've been working
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hard to get everything,
expenses and stuff, paid off,
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so that we could go, debt free.
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- How nice.
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- And now, all we
have is pretty much,
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just our house to sell and once
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that sells then
we're free to go.
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- Wow, so it's been
quite a journey for you.
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- It has been.
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- And I'm sure that
it's been, you know,
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a piece of cake,
no problem, right?
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- (laughs) No, it's been
quite, quite the journey.
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The devil has worked
very hard in trying not to,
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or trying to
discourage us from going.
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Ask Casey, when
she comes on here,
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We'll tell you more about it.
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Our oldest twin has, or
was diagnosed with asthma
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and so we were quite
worried about medical
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treatment for him, while
over there and everything.
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- Right.
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- But since we decided to go,
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since the end of last November,
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in 2018, he's not
had an episode of asthma
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or anything like
that, and it's been amazing
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how God has worked that way.
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- Wow, praise the Lord.
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So you've had medical challenges
and physical challenges
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and I'm sure, money
challenges, as well.
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- [Robbie] Yes.
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- Wow.
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- So as you
know, a family of 10,
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we have eight kids
and then my wife and I,
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money is a challenge, so
we live pretty tight. (laughs)
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- So, I'm sure there's been a
lot of prayer on this journey.
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You wanna share a
little of the spiritual
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part of the journey with us, or?
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- Just a lot of
praying between my wife and I,
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in direction, as what we
need to do and how we need to do
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to be able to get to Thailand
and then once in Thailand,
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what on earth are we
supposed to be doing?
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- Yeah, 'cause
you don't know yet.
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- Don't know, my background,
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grew up working maintenance
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and within conference like,
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working
maintenance for camp ministries
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in the Adventist
system and as well as,
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the school because
when I was in high school,
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that's what I did,
and then when I lost
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my job in 2008,
due to the economy,
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I was also a
volunteer firefighter and EMT.
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So I decided to
pursue that career,
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and I was hired and
I've been doing that since,
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so that's pretty much
my working background.
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It's just
maintenance and firefighting
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and so there's not a
lot of need for firefighters
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in third world
countries, so my experience, so.
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- So it's kind of a,
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Lord, what's your
plan, kind of situation.
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- Exactly,
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but as my wife has
always pointed out,
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she has great
advice, most of the time,
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and that's true, for me,
and she's a big encouragement.
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She said, you gotta
look at all your firefighting
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experience,
from what you've done
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from the time you
started it, till now,
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as God was working out
something for you to do.
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So you may not
know what that is,
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but something in that line
of work has something to do
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with what you're gonna
be doing in Thailand, so.
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- And all of your maintenance
experience, you know.
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- [Robbie] Yes, exactly.
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- God's gonna use the
skills he's given you.
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- Exactly.
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- Yeah, she is so right,
that's right, that's awesome.
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Well, let's get
started on your journey,
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when you went to Sukhothai.
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You went to Thailand.
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- We went to Thailand and
then we visited various places
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but we specifically went to,
made a point to go to Sukhothai
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because that's where you
guys told us there was a need
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and so I wanted to go look at
it and see if it was something
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that would be
right for my family.
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So as it's shown
on this picture here,
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this is just downtown Sukhothai,
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it's just the middle of the
square, and this is the market,
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one of a couple
markets that are there.
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There's
restaurants all over the place
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and along the
streets, and vegetable markets,
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and fruit markets and so
on, so they get pretty packed.
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- Yeah.
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- So, on this next
slide, like I was saying,
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in the evening hours,
'cause it's so hot there,
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it's early
morning, then the afternoon.
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They tend to shut down,
and then the evening hours,
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all the markets start
to appear and everything.
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People will start
coming out of the buildings
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and stuff like that, and
then they sell their wares,
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and so if you wanna buy
your fruits and vegetables
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and all that kind of
stuff, you wanna go out,
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maybe around 3:30, - (mumbles)
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4:00 in the evening, on,
and they're all out there,
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- Wow.
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- selling their
stuff, all along the streets.
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- All sorts of things.
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- [Robbie] All sorts of things.
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- [Natalie] Yeah.
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- [Robbie] And these are just
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some of the people
that are just selling
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fruit on the side of
the street and stuff, so.
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- [Natalie] Okay, you
try some of the fruit?
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- [Robbie] Oh
yes, oh yes. (laughs)
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- [Natalie] Are
you looking forward
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to going back to that fruit?
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- I am, and all the
fresh fruit and everything,
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it was just
absolutely wonderful, so.
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- All the juices
too, mango juice and...
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- Yes, so this slide right here,
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we were walking
along, my friend,
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Bruce Galbraith
and I, we were walking,
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and you know I like spicy foods,
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and so we were
walking along the street
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and he all of a sudden, just
looked and he goes, hey Robbie,
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there's roasted chilis
right there, you should try one.
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So I'm looking at it
and I was like, Bruce,
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I don't think
that's roasted chilis.
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He's like, what is it then?
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I was like
that's a squid. (laughs)
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So I had to take a picture
and show my wife and kids
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what Bruce was trying
to get me to eat. (laughs)
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- Once he knew it was
squid though, he wasn't trying
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to get you to eat it
anymore. - Yeah, no, no.
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- Yeah, it's funny
'cause there is so much there
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that they eat that we
would never think of eating
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- Yes.
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and anyway,
(laughs) just keep moving.
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- So, these are some of
the chilis that they sell,
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all in the markets, and I
mean this is one of the main
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chilis that they eat
that's in all their foods.
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So, hot and spicy. - And spicy.
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- Yes.
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- Even just the edge of
it, if you get a little piece
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of the skin, it's
really super spicy
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and then if you
have the seeds, also,
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I can't survive that. -
Yeah, it's too, (laughs)
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- I know you like spicy
though, so we were with you
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when you were like,
put more on, put more on.
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- Yes, but there was
that one that really got me.
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- Yeah, that's true.
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- That was quite hot.
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So, we went to one of
the temples around Sukhothai.
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The Sukhothai,
there's a lot of ancient ruins
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around there and
where Bruce and I
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didn't go into some
of the ancient ruins.
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We did visit one
of the parks and this
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is the entrance
to one of the parks.
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- Okay yeah, with an
ancient capital of Thailand.
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- Yes.
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- Yeah, it's
interesting 'cause it's,
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- It's full of history.
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- Yeah, yeah.
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- It's really full of history.
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- And history that
we've never heard over here.
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- [Robbie] Yes.
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- So then you go
there and you're like, wow,
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all this history happened
and we don't know what it is.
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- 'Cause this is not in
the history books. (laughs)
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- Yeah, it's in their
history books but not ours.
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- [Robbie] Yes, exactly,
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and this is the shrine
that is within that park.
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- [Natalie] Okay.
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- [Robbie] That
holds Buddha's foot.
00:11:04.23\00:11:06.03
- [Natalie] Okay.
00:11:06.03\00:11:07.13
- So, while we
were there, Bruce and I
00:11:07.13\00:11:09.36
were looking for houses,
just to see what kinda houses
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we could find
because going over there,
00:11:13.17\00:11:15.40
we wanna see
what we wanna live in.
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- Yeah, what kind of, good idea
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and especially with the family.
00:11:20.64\00:11:22.01
- Exactly, so this is a
house that was being built
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and we got to see it and look
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through it and stuff like that.
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- Wow, bright red. (laughs)
00:11:28.38\00:11:29.52
- Yes, they like their color.
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They like colors that pop
out and well, like I said,
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this was one of the houses
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that we got to
go looking through.
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We actually looked through
another house too and so,
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interesting how they
build their stuff there.
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- Different, yeah, different.
00:11:48.60\00:11:50.14
- It is different, a lot
different than it is here.
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- [Natalie]
Construction's very different.
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- This is the main
bridge going into new town
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of Sukhothai,
so Sukhothai split.
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It's got new
town and an old town.
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Old town is where all the
ruins and ancient artifacts are,
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and the temples and stuff
and then the new town is where,
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- Most of the
businesses are and stuff.
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- Most of the
businesses and stuff are,
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and so this was the
bridge crossing over the river,
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or moat that they have,
into new town Sukhothai.
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This picture here, the
hotel that we were staying at,
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there was a canal
running through, in front of it,
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and I saw this
fisherman setting up his net
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to catch his fish
for tomorrow's market
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and so I just
thought it interesting
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so I just took a
picture of him fishing,
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and it's not water
that I would particularly,
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jump into but the way
they live is the way they live,
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so it's just
something that we're gonna
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have to get over
and join them in.
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- Yeah, well that doesn't
mean you have to get into
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that water, but to understand
that that's their livelihood.
00:13:01.01\00:13:04.91
- Exactly, because you
know, Jesus reached down
00:13:04.91\00:13:08.02
to the lowliest
people, even the ones
00:13:08.02\00:13:10.22
that didn't have perfect hygiene
00:13:10.22\00:13:12.55
so that is where
we need to be too.
00:13:12.55\00:13:17.13
- Right.
00:13:17.13\00:13:18.03
- So, motorcycles are their
main means of transportation
00:13:19.43\00:13:22.96
and my wife does
not like motorcycles
00:13:22.96\00:13:26.10
so I was taking pictures here
and there, telling her that,
00:13:26.10\00:13:29.67
like this
motorcycle, I could drive it
00:13:29.67\00:13:31.71
and all the kids
could be in the back and so,
00:13:31.71\00:13:34.54
awaring her, as
well, what I was doing.
00:13:35.71\00:13:37.08
(laughing)
00:13:37.08\00:13:39.41
but just found it
interesting that they use stuff
00:13:39.41\00:13:43.42
that they have too,
because this could be somebody's
00:13:43.42\00:13:48.19
main mean of
transportation of getting,
00:13:48.19\00:13:50.66
- And most likely, it is, yeah.
00:13:50.66\00:13:51.83
- And most likely, it is
00:13:51.83\00:13:53.09
'cause not very many
people have cars, so.
00:13:53.09\00:13:56.26
- Right, so yeah,
I mean he would pile
00:13:56.26\00:13:58.00
his whole, whatever he's taking
00:13:58.00\00:13:59.30
to the market, on
his, yeah. - His family
00:13:59.30\00:14:00.47
or his goods or
wares and stuff like that,
00:14:00.47\00:14:03.34
or whatever he was
buying to bring back home.
00:14:03.34\00:14:05.77
That's what he would pile into
00:14:05.77\00:14:06.88
that cart,
behind his motorcycle.
00:14:06.88\00:14:09.88
- Yeah, we have missionaries
that built themselves
00:14:09.88\00:14:12.41
carts to haul
behind their motorbikes
00:14:12.41\00:14:14.65
so they were
just like the natives.
00:14:14.65\00:14:16.58
- Yep.
00:14:16.58\00:14:17.72
- So yeah, it's a
lot, it's used a lot there.
00:14:17.72\00:14:19.92
- It is used a lot, so.
00:14:19.92\00:14:22.92
Going to Bangkok,
we went to the Atwells,
00:14:22.92\00:14:26.23
visited Atwells and
everything in Bangkok,
00:14:26.23\00:14:28.80
and this lady on
this picture is just one
00:14:28.80\00:14:32.40
of the street vendors that
I saw just pushing her cart
00:14:32.40\00:14:36.34
down the road so I just
quickly snapped a picture.
00:14:36.34\00:14:39.41
- Yeah.
00:14:39.41\00:14:41.01
- [Robbie] But this is just a
picture to try to show my wife
00:14:41.01\00:14:45.98
how crowded it is and
this was not even crowded.
00:14:45.98\00:14:48.62
This was just a light day.
00:14:48.62\00:14:50.65
- Yeah, this is going
to get onto the sky train.
00:14:50.65\00:14:54.09
- [Robbie] Yeah, the sky train.
00:14:54.09\00:14:55.16
- [Natalie] Yeah, it feels,
00:14:55.16\00:14:56.06
- I am trying. (laughs)
00:14:56.06\00:14:56.89
- [Natalie] Yeah.
00:14:56.89\00:14:58.63
- Some of the people
in Thailand, pretty poor,
00:14:58.63\00:15:03.50
and so I took a few photos
of houses that they live in.
00:15:03.50\00:15:08.57
This is a house
that somebody lives in,
00:15:09.67\00:15:12.21
and not in the city of course,
00:15:12.21\00:15:15.28
but out in the
country of Thailand,
00:15:15.28\00:15:17.58
so I don't remember
which town we were in,
00:15:17.58\00:15:19.38
in that picture but Bangkok
is a big city, it's huge.
00:15:19.38\00:15:24.22
Originally, there
was talk about us doing
00:15:26.09\00:15:28.66
a language study in
Bangkok and after flying in
00:15:28.66\00:15:32.16
and spending a
couple of days there,
00:15:32.16\00:15:34.66
I just didn't feel like
it was right for my family
00:15:36.97\00:15:41.10
to stay in Bangkok
and do language studies
00:15:41.10\00:15:43.14
because it's a huge,
huge city, very crowded,
00:15:43.14\00:15:48.21
and unless you really
knew what you were doing,
00:15:49.54\00:15:50.65
as far as getting
from point A to point B,
00:15:50.65\00:15:53.31
you could get lost pretty
easy and I just felt like,
00:15:53.31\00:15:57.05
with our children, of the
eight kids that are going,
00:15:58.45\00:16:03.46
six of them are
going, and so I felt like
00:16:05.13\00:16:08.73
the three older ones
would be okay but the three
00:16:08.73\00:16:12.93
little ones, it would
stress my wife, pretty hard,
00:16:12.93\00:16:18.01
trying to navigate
around Bangkok and the stores
00:16:19.34\00:16:22.01
and everything and keep up
with the three little ones,
00:16:22.01\00:16:24.78
so we opted to go
towards Chiang Mai
00:16:25.91\00:16:30.65
to do language
studies and culture studies.
00:16:31.75\00:16:34.86
- That makes
sense, much smaller,
00:16:34.86\00:16:37.09
- [Robbie] Much smaller.
00:16:37.09\00:16:37.89
still a city but much smaller.
00:16:37.89\00:16:38.69
- It is the city but it is much
00:16:38.69\00:16:40.20
smaller than Bangkok. (laughs)
00:16:40.20\00:16:41.53
- Yeah.
00:16:41.53\00:16:43.10
- So, this is the Atwells place.
00:16:43.10\00:16:46.50
They're fourth floor, fourth
and fifth floor, I believe,
00:16:46.50\00:16:49.14
is a rock
climbing wall for exercise,
00:16:49.14\00:16:54.21
so we got to play
around a little bit.
00:16:55.74\00:16:58.78
- You tried it out.
00:16:58.78\00:16:59.88
- We did, yeah,
I did try it out.
00:16:59.88\00:17:02.42
- I don't remember climbing
very high but I tried it too
00:17:02.42\00:17:05.85
but yeah, kinda outta
shape for that, it takes a...
00:17:05.85\00:17:09.19
- It takes a lot of
grip on your fingers and no,
00:17:09.19\00:17:13.23
I went to how to
actually, boulder around too,
00:17:13.23\00:17:17.07
because each one of
those colors is a different
00:17:17.07\00:17:20.00
path that you can take and some
00:17:20.00\00:17:22.20
of those paths were
pretty difficult. (laughs)
00:17:22.20\00:17:24.37
- Yeah, yeah, when we went back,
00:17:24.37\00:17:26.54
they were showing us a
new one that they had made,
00:17:26.54\00:17:28.31
where you had to
like, jump to get to the one
00:17:28.31\00:17:31.58
and then most of
it was upside down
00:17:31.58\00:17:33.21
and you had to go
up and over, around,
00:17:33.21\00:17:35.02
and it's like,
whoa, how in the world,
00:17:35.02\00:17:37.19
but they're like,
he's like a spider.
00:17:37.19\00:17:38.92
He's showing us
and he's doing it,
00:17:38.92\00:17:40.32
it's just like, it's amazing.
00:17:40.32\00:17:42.06
- It is amazing.
00:17:42.06\00:17:44.03
This was, we were on
a river taxi in Bangkok.
00:17:44.03\00:17:49.00
Everywhere you go in Bangkok,
there's canals and rivers
00:17:49.00\00:17:52.83
and so you can take river
taxis, and so we were just going
00:17:52.83\00:17:56.91
by one of the poor
houses, right on the river,
00:17:56.91\00:18:01.91
and I just took a
picture of that, just to show,
00:18:01.91\00:18:04.91
just how poor people really are.
00:18:04.91\00:18:07.82
- Yeah, and you know, you
look at the water and you know,
00:18:07.82\00:18:12.25
we've seen they use it
for laundry, they use it for
00:18:12.25\00:18:15.29
cooking, they use it for
bathing, and it's kind of, it's
00:18:15.29\00:18:19.29
not clean. - It's
not clean water at all.
00:18:19.29\00:18:20.96
It actually
smells, not clean. (laughs)
00:18:20.96\00:18:23.00
- Yeah, very much so.
00:18:23.00\00:18:24.93
- So we went to the
Sharon's, up in the mountains,
00:18:24.93\00:18:28.47
Northwest
Thailand, and I grew up,
00:18:28.47\00:18:33.24
what I said before, my
family were missionaries,
00:18:34.58\00:18:36.75
well, they were
missionaries in Mexico
00:18:36.75\00:18:39.01
and so where my
mother is actually from,
00:18:39.01\00:18:41.42
because my mother's
Hispanic, from Chiapas,
00:18:41.42\00:18:46.49
the mountains up
there just look very much,
00:18:47.59\00:18:49.42
like where my mother grew up.
00:18:49.42\00:18:51.16
- [Natalie] Wow.
00:18:51.16\00:18:52.23
- [Robbie] So I
had to take pictures
00:18:52.23\00:18:53.29
of that area, as
well, so that I could--
00:18:53.29\00:18:56.26
- Remind you of
your mother's home.
00:18:56.26\00:18:58.90
- Yes.
00:18:58.90\00:18:59.73
- [Natalie] Wow.
00:18:59.73\00:19:01.30
It's beautiful up there.
00:19:01.30\00:19:02.77
- It is beautiful.
00:19:02.77\00:19:03.87
- [Natalie] I'm
drawn into the mountains.
00:19:03.87\00:19:05.27
- It is beautiful and the
climate is just wonderful.
00:19:05.27\00:19:07.31
It's not too hot,
it's not too cold.
00:19:07.31\00:19:09.41
So this is Jason
and his little daughter.
00:19:11.45\00:19:15.35
- [Natalie] Ivana, yeah.
00:19:15.35\00:19:16.45
- Ivana, playing the
guitar on Sabbath, so.
00:19:16.45\00:19:19.49
- Yeah, we had Sabbath
school and church in there.
00:19:19.49\00:19:21.16
- We did have Sabbath school
00:19:21.16\00:19:22.19
and church there. -
In their living room,
00:19:22.19\00:19:23.32
yeah, that was neat.
00:19:23.32\00:19:25.19
- These were our
two regulars for church.
00:19:26.33\00:19:31.10
I believe they have a
few more but since strangers
00:19:32.47\00:19:34.07
were present, they didn't
wanna come meet us. (laughs)
00:19:34.07\00:19:37.57
- Yeah, yeah,
they're a timid people.
00:19:37.57\00:19:39.71
- Yes, they are timid.
00:19:39.71\00:19:40.84
They're very
nice, very soft spoken,
00:19:40.84\00:19:43.58
smile all the time,
but they are very shy.
00:19:43.58\00:19:46.25
This is the Sharon's house,
looking from their living room,
00:19:48.35\00:19:51.85
kitchen, into
their hydrotherapy area,
00:19:51.85\00:19:56.49
where Mrs. Sharon and a
couple student missionaries,
00:19:56.49\00:20:01.30
actually do hydrotherapy
on villagers and stuff,
00:20:01.30\00:20:05.67
to try to ease, if they
have cancer or something,
00:20:05.67\00:20:09.90
try to ease the pain and stuff,
00:20:09.90\00:20:11.97
or just to help
with every illness
00:20:11.97\00:20:16.38
that they may have,
or sickness and stuff.
00:20:16.38\00:20:19.58
So it was very interesting
to see how Mr. Sharon
00:20:19.58\00:20:24.65
had built this, and his
family built this place,
00:20:26.72\00:20:29.89
and amazing to
see all the stonework,
00:20:29.89\00:20:32.86
and they built this
house by hand, just themselves,
00:20:32.86\00:20:37.90
and it was just
very impressive to see
00:20:39.10\00:20:41.37
what they could've
done with so little money
00:20:41.37\00:20:44.34
because most all
these rocks and everything,
00:20:44.34\00:20:46.37
came from the river, way
down the hill from the house.
00:20:46.37\00:20:49.01
- Right, and they hauled them.
00:20:49.01\00:20:50.51
- [Robbie] They hauled them.
00:20:50.51\00:20:51.81
- They picked them up
and they brought them.
00:20:51.81\00:20:52.91
- They brought 'em up.
00:20:52.91\00:20:54.18
And so, this is our
kitchen, living room,
00:20:54.18\00:20:56.85
and all the doors you see
on the right side is bedrooms.
00:20:56.85\00:21:01.09
So you had the girl's bedroom
and then the guy's bedroom
00:21:01.09\00:21:04.73
and then the one on the
far left, behind the kitchen,
00:21:04.73\00:21:07.46
is their pantry area, so
very neat designed house.
00:21:07.46\00:21:12.50
- Yeah.
00:21:13.37\00:21:14.74
- So, very open and very
welcoming so that people,
00:21:14.74\00:21:18.01
when they walk up, they
know whether they're home or not
00:21:18.01\00:21:22.31
because it's open,
there's no hiding. (laughs)
00:21:22.31\00:21:24.95
- Right, right.
00:21:24.95\00:21:27.22
- Just a different
angle of their house to show
00:21:28.32\00:21:31.42
what he, and his
kids, and his wife,
00:21:31.42\00:21:33.69
had done by hand,
to build their house.
00:21:33.69\00:21:37.56
So this is a
village up in the mountains,
00:21:37.56\00:21:39.43
that we came to have
a church service for,
00:21:39.43\00:21:43.87
and we walked around to see how
00:21:43.87\00:21:47.14
the houses were
built and everything
00:21:47.14\00:21:48.84
and just amazing how the
people up in the villages,
00:21:48.84\00:21:53.81
in the mountains
live, so simple but open.
00:21:55.01\00:21:58.58
This is just a
common area between two
00:22:00.28\00:22:02.12
houses that was
shared by a family.
00:22:02.12\00:22:05.42
- [Natalie] Okay.
00:22:05.42\00:22:06.52
So we went to
visit Chitty and Joshua.
00:22:06.52\00:22:09.99
Joshua was here in the states
00:22:11.06\00:22:13.09
during the time
that we were there.
00:22:13.09\00:22:15.03
So, this is a place beside them,
00:22:15.03\00:22:18.60
from their house, a poor family.
00:22:18.60\00:22:22.40
This is a chicken
coop, and a pig pen,
00:22:22.40\00:22:24.71
and everything
that they had there,
00:22:24.71\00:22:27.48
and then this was a student
missionary or a Bible worker,
00:22:28.84\00:22:32.91
I don't remember,
but was one of your,
00:22:32.91\00:22:35.12
- Yeah, one of our Love
for Asia team, up there.
00:22:35.12\00:22:36.79
- Yes, okay,
one of their houses.
00:22:36.79\00:22:38.42
- Yeah, it's the next
door neighbor house, yeah.
00:22:38.42\00:22:40.26
- Yes, and then this is Chitty's
house and Joshua's house,
00:22:40.26\00:22:45.33
very simple and
very loving home, so.
00:22:46.39\00:22:49.56
And this is a rice field
that's next to their house.
00:22:49.56\00:22:52.87
- [Natalie] Yeah, beautiful.
00:22:52.87\00:22:53.87
- It is a beautiful rice field.
00:22:53.87\00:22:55.60
There's rice fields
everywhere, there. (laughs)
00:22:55.60\00:22:59.01
So inside their house,
just like the Sharon's,
00:22:59.01\00:23:01.54
all the kids played
an instrument, but mostly
00:23:01.54\00:23:05.11
mandolins, but they were taught
to sing, they were taught to
00:23:05.11\00:23:09.25
play, and so they had
worship service for us
00:23:09.25\00:23:12.89
and it was a very
welcoming family too.
00:23:12.89\00:23:17.39
- Yeah, they have a
large family, as well.
00:23:17.39\00:23:19.09
- [Robbie] They do.
00:23:19.09\00:23:20.16
- [Natalie] They can
relate to you. (laughs)
00:23:20.16\00:23:22.13
- Yeah, they all live
in this two bedroom house
00:23:23.33\00:23:26.90
so they're trying
to build on a room.
00:23:26.90\00:23:29.10
So that's gonna
help a little bit
00:23:29.10\00:23:30.81
with space but it's,
yeah, it's very crowded.
00:23:30.81\00:23:33.84
(laughing)
00:23:33.84\00:23:35.28
So when you went and you
visited these different projects
00:23:35.28\00:23:38.21
and you saw some
of the ways that some
00:23:38.21\00:23:40.02
of the different
missionaries were working,
00:23:40.02\00:23:42.32
did it speak anything into
your experience or possibly,
00:23:42.32\00:23:45.89
what the Lord was leading
for you guys, or did you?
00:23:45.89\00:23:48.92
- Well, each of the
missionaries that are there,
00:23:48.92\00:23:52.06
are in different
parts of Thailand.
00:23:52.06\00:23:54.40
So like the Atwells, they're
right in the middle of Bangkok,
00:23:54.40\00:23:58.47
and so what they're
doing, as far as mission work,
00:23:58.47\00:24:02.80
reaches a different variety,
00:24:02.80\00:24:06.17
a different group of people,
00:24:08.01\00:24:09.94
and that what they're doing
seems to be working very well,
00:24:09.94\00:24:13.52
for that group of people
that they're trying to reach.
00:24:13.52\00:24:16.85
And with Chitty and Joshua,
they started out in Bangkok,
00:24:16.85\00:24:21.92
as you well know, and
then they moved to Chiang Mai
00:24:23.29\00:24:27.00
to be with a certain
one of their family members
00:24:28.40\00:24:33.47
and what they're doing as
far as mission work there,
00:24:34.87\00:24:38.67
loving the kids and showing
a family home for those kids
00:24:40.08\00:24:42.98
that they have in
their care is amazing,
00:24:42.98\00:24:46.92
and they work really
hard to accomplish being able
00:24:46.92\00:24:51.99
to show God's love to
those kids and I'm sure
00:24:53.09\00:24:55.66
it's not going to be the
last of the kids that they have.
00:24:55.66\00:24:58.79
And then you go up to
where the Sharon's live,
00:24:58.79\00:25:03.83
what they're doing is
a whole different type
00:25:04.97\00:25:08.00
of mission work too,
because like we were saying
00:25:08.00\00:25:12.47
with that was, it's a
whole different group of people,
00:25:12.47\00:25:16.28
- Yeah, that's for sure.
00:25:16.28\00:25:17.38
- and so they
have to do different
00:25:17.38\00:25:18.81
things to reach
those people too.
00:25:18.81\00:25:21.32
But it's all for one
purpose and so when my wife
00:25:22.58\00:25:26.72
and I go, and our family,
00:25:26.72\00:25:28.52
we're gonna start out
with pretty much the same idea,
00:25:30.76\00:25:34.36
with friendship evangelism,
but as for what, particularly,
00:25:34.36\00:25:39.07
we're gonna be doing,
we don't have a clue yet.
00:25:39.07\00:25:42.30
We honestly don't have a clue.
00:25:42.30\00:25:44.31
We're gonna get to Sukhothai
and then we're just gonna do
00:25:45.71\00:25:48.64
friendship evangelism
and then see what the need is
00:25:48.64\00:25:52.01
and then go from
there, and keep praying
00:25:52.01\00:25:55.25
because God will open up, he's
opened up the doors this far,
00:25:55.25\00:26:00.22
so he's not gonna
leave us stranded.
00:26:00.22\00:26:02.22
- Right.
00:26:02.22\00:26:03.32
- And so when we get
there, he will show us
00:26:03.32\00:26:05.46
what it is that we need to do.
00:26:05.46\00:26:07.30
- Right, I think that's
so important to keep in mind,
00:26:07.30\00:26:10.70
that God's need
for you to be there
00:26:10.70\00:26:14.67
will be directed
to the next step.
00:26:14.67\00:26:17.14
So you go there and then
he can show you the next step,
00:26:17.14\00:26:19.77
- [Robbie] Exactly.
00:26:19.77\00:26:21.14
- and the next step and your
ministry will look completely
00:26:21.14\00:26:23.41
different from all
of these other people.
00:26:23.41\00:26:25.31
- [Robbie] Exactly.
00:26:25.31\00:26:26.61
- You know, most likely,
there may be common elements,
00:26:26.61\00:26:28.52
occasionally, but he
knows what those people need.
00:26:28.52\00:26:31.85
- He never
promised us a sure project.
00:26:31.85\00:26:36.66
He just asked us
to go and be a part
00:26:36.66\00:26:39.36
of his spreading
of the gospel, so.
00:26:39.36\00:26:43.47
- Well, I wanna thank you
so much for being here, Robbie,
00:26:43.47\00:26:45.40
and sharing your
family's journey with us,
00:26:45.40\00:26:48.64
of how you're going,
knowing that God's leading
00:26:48.64\00:26:51.74
but not knowing the end
result or the, even the,
00:26:51.74\00:26:55.74
really the next
few steps, actually,
00:26:55.74\00:26:58.31
but it's a faith journey,
00:26:58.31\00:27:00.25
- Yes.
00:27:00.25\00:27:01.05
- a spiritual walk for sure.
00:27:01.05\00:27:02.52
- Yes.
00:27:02.52\00:27:03.52
- And I just
appreciate, so much,
00:27:03.52\00:27:05.72
the joy and the
lessons that you're being able
00:27:05.72\00:27:09.72
to share as you go
through this journey.
00:27:09.72\00:27:12.76
- Yes, we'll have
more, later in life.
00:27:12.76\00:27:15.56
- Yeah, more to share later too.
00:27:15.56\00:27:17.10
- More to share later, and
God has always come through
00:27:17.10\00:27:20.77
for our family so he will
continue to do that for us.
00:27:20.77\00:27:23.71
- Yes, he will, wow.
00:27:23.71\00:27:26.21
Well, if you
would like to be a part
00:27:26.21\00:27:28.41
of this journey
for the Norton family,
00:27:28.41\00:27:30.45
I would just plead
with you to pray for them,
00:27:30.45\00:27:33.15
that they will
know God's plan for them
00:27:33.15\00:27:35.18
and they will be
able to follow it,
00:27:35.18\00:27:37.15
that the Lord would
provide everything they need,
00:27:37.15\00:27:41.02
whether it's an
answer to a question,
00:27:41.02\00:27:43.02
or whether it's
financial, and if you would like
00:27:43.02\00:27:45.53
to be a part of sending
the Norton family to Thailand,
00:27:45.53\00:27:48.13
you can contact
us at Jesus for Asia,
00:27:48.13\00:27:51.00
PO Box 1221,
Collegedale, TN, 37315.
00:27:51.00\00:27:55.50
Call us at (423)
413-7321 or visit
00:27:56.60\00:28:01.44
our website at Jesus4asia.org.
00:28:01.44\00:28:04.78
May God richly bless
you, until we see you
00:28:04.78\00:28:07.02
next time on,
Jesus for Asia Now.
00:28:07.02\00:28:09.15
(upbeat music)
00:28:09.15\00:28:11.82