I have a bug leg stuck in my teeth!

Monday was our Sabbath day and we filled it to the brim with exploring God's beautiful creation in Ubon. And, we experienced MANY new "firsts" today.  Our team is awesome!  I can't say that enough.  We are all doing great and connecting really well.  We are definitely bonding, and we spend a lot of time laughing together.  We are all constantly amazed at how God put this all together.

Each morning, we have breakfast at our hotel.  Here are a few photos of the dining area.

 

Then we spend time together as team sharing in devotions and prayer and planning for they day.  This typically happens outside by the fish pond.  It's one of my favorite spots at the hotel.

 

Also, again, so grateful to experience this trip with these two lovlies.

We are fortunate to have a laundry facility close to the hotel.  Several of us have taken advantage of this service.  It's so easy--you drop your bag of laundry off and it is ready for you later that day.

 

This is a little stand along the street.

Kris picked us up after breakfast to start our Sabbath adventure.  We piled into the truck and we were off.  The entire road trip would be about 1.5 hours.  After maybe 45 minutes, we stopped at a service station for a bathroom break and then 10 minutes from there, Kris stopped at "Grandma's" to pick up a treat for us -- hot buns.  Some chose sweet, some chose savory.  Definitely a tasty treat!  

 

Next stop was a place for souvenirs and some interesting snacks.  Before we started walking, Kris popped out with another snack for us to try.  Some sort of curry pastry pocket.  We walked by the water, scoping out the stands and those selling their wares.  We tasted some of the pumpkin and banana chips.  Kris took us to the best place to buy the banana chips where Grandma was making them.  They are the freshest chips.

 

 

 

 

After wandering a bit further, we came upon the bug cart!  This is my third visit to Thailand and I had not experienced the bug cart yet.  So, several brave members tried out some crabs and crickets.  Both were actually surprisingly good!

  

 

 

Soon after that, we reached our first destination of Pha Taem National Park.  We explored the mushroom rocks, the split rock, and the overlook to Laos.  Several team members are more risk takers, as you can see.  Nobody was injured in any of the activities.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

  

After spending time at the mushroom rocks, we went further into the park and did a bit of hiking.  There was a path to view several spots of ancient cave paintings.  

 

 

 

 

 

We stopped for lunch and had a few more firsts.  You can see some of the interesting foods we had there as well.  At the end of the meal, the ladies tried "grass jelly."  Some liked it more than others.

 

 

 

 

 

As we were finishing lunch, we were given toothpicks.  One of our team members said, "I had a bug leg stuck in my teeth!"  LOL!

After lunch, we took a boat ride on the Mekong River.  

 

When we finished the ride, we all piled back into the truck for the long ride back to the hotel.  Sometimes things get a little silly on the back of the truck.

 

 

When we got back to the hotel, we did a bit of planning for Tuesday and who would do which parts for the Christmas programs.  Then, those who wanted to, went to dinner at a restaurant next to the hotel.  After we placed our order, the waitress came back to our table with a wheel to spin.  Apparently since we spent more than 150 baht, we could spin the wheel for a prize.  Our prize...we weren't so impressed.

 

(our not so fun prize)

We all went back to our rooms and collapsed on our beds.  Tired bodies, full bellies, and happy hearts.

Until tomorrow...