Blessings on a break
I feel as if I never really escape from work, but boy was God in a blessings mood during this short break.
This week for the kids was a short week, because after the trip on Monday and the meeting on Tuesday, John, Sally and I went away to Chiang Rai. We planned the visit to coincide with the hot air balloon fiesta and did some other sightseeing too. The White Temple, the Black House and Golden Triangle were good, but for me the balloons won out big style. Balloons have been an interest of mine for a few years now and so seeing them here in Thailand was a wish fulfilled, but I was not prepared for what would happen.
I got chatting with a lovely lass, whose husband was piloting a balloon. They were UK nationals who live in, guess where,… Nonthaburi, Thailand, just down the road from where I live. Claire was interested in 1Step2Step and we connected up on Facebook. Then the balloons were racing across the lake to try and drop things on targets.
I’d got chatting to the safety guys, asking where would be best to stay to take photos and found some of them were from Nonthaburi. I was enjoying watching the competition and snapping away when one of those guys brought over his boat and asked if I wanted a better view… from the boat. I got taken round the lake and right up to take images of the balloons in action. It was so amazing to have the special one-off opportunity. To quote my mum, Sally… ‘In all the thousands of people there, you got the very special experience and I could not be more pleased.’
After this, we got some amazing food and listened to some music till it was dark and then watched the Glow Celebration, where all the balloons are filled and turn on their burners to the music and light up the lake and sky with beautiful glowing balloons.
On Day Two, we did some other sightseeing and got to the balloons a bit late. Again, we got some great food and waited. A kind guy we were sharing a table with gave me a bottle of water, even though I said I was going to buy one. We watched the ‘All burn’ (when they all fire up the burners at the same time) again and got chatting to the UK team, who were a couple from Nottingham. They had a Thai-speaking crew, but didn’t speak Thai. They said they were the best crew they had had for these events, because of their happiness, but language was a challenge. A few times they asked for help explaining things to the crew and we helped them get the balloon down. It really was so much fun.
I am truly grateful for this time away to enjoy the break and capture photos and memories. Please join with me in prayer, that the children of 1Step2Step have coped while I have been away and that on Monday they are happy, full of beans and keen to learn and play.
Nicola Anderson
