I won't do it... aaaahhh... I can't do it.... FINE
A Robbins tale :)...
Smooth - yes, in a word, the trip was very smooth, like Pad Thai down a hungry man's throat. :)
Flying Qatar Air was really nice. They are the best airline in the world for 2015, which I didn't know when I booked them. It was longer than usual getting there and back, but I'd say it was worth doing once. Now I've been to an airport in the Middle East! Yay!
Our pre-conference adventures were so much fun. We enjoyed 3 nights at a hotel right on the night market, before we headed up to Suan Bua Resort. During that time we suffered for the Lord while doing a River Cruise, The Flight of the Gibbon (Zip-lining through ancient jungles), the 3-D museum, and a Foodie Tour (probably the highlight for me, delicious food and a history lesson on Chiang Mai and Buddhism as well).
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| Hanging out with friends before leaving. The living room is empty because we had our floors redone while we were gone. |
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| We finally made it to Bangkok after many hours on planes. Only 1 plane and 1 hour left! |
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| The airport was so hot. Those are AC pods. |
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| River Cruise with delicious food! Good company too :). |
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| The waterfall we climbed to after zip-lining |
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| The 3 Kings on the foodie tour |
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| Our last stop on the tour, we are stuffed! |
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| 3D Museum... a delicious cup-o-wife |
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| Thought my kids might like this one |
It was really fun getting to do all that stuff with Diane and the other members of my team. I really enjoyed our anniversary, which was the same day that we got to go zip-lining and climb a waterfall and BE IN THAILAND!
The conference this year was really... well... smooth. We had a great kid-to-leader ratio. Setting up our room and getting all the details sorted hardly took any time at all. We had everything on our wish list granted with little to no effort on my part. It was great being there with a healthy back and lots of energy.
Diane worked with the babies, which she can tell you more about later. But, overall I think that was a positive experience for her! I enjoyed having her there and we worked together in leading a college small group in our spare moments. That was a highlight for both of us.
I enjoyed teaching on Relationship again like I did in Cameroon, only it was very different with a different audience. Thanks for your prayers for the lessons and the hearts, I think God used the time to bless and encourage the kids!
It was a great time to re-unite with old friends and to strengthen new friendships. I really enjoyed getting to introduce the experience to Nadia and Diane (although Diane had been there before, a lot has changed since 2007).
Too much to share in a blog post really, unless you have a couple hours of reading you'd like to do :)... pictures are worth a lot of words, so let's go with a lot of those and call it even :).
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| Morning prayer with out team! |
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| Setting up Diane and Jo's room |
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| A brilliant coffee shop with a view just a short walk up a hill close by! |
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| Joanna is very good with animals |
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| 4 on a couch - game night for a special birthday boy! |
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| Our excursion with the Austin team to see elephants and such. I'm a master ox car driver :) |
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| Diane didn't get to keep the hat |
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| A beautiful view from a famous temple |
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| I had to ring the bell! |
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| That looks good enough to drink :) |
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| A very unique and delicious Thai specialty! |
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| Diane loves getting picked up :) |
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| What a gorgeous wife I have! |
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| Such cool kids! |
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| Getting wisdom from those who have gone before |
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| Riding on the back of a songtao with friends is always a good time! |
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| I love the beards ladies :) |
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| The lounge in Doha |
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| Teddy Bear! |
At last, home sweet home with my amazing family, all on the bed in our playroom and enjoying some nice jet lag.
Thanks so much for being a part of this trip with me! I couldn't have done it without your prayers and financial support. You truly helped Diane and I to get there and back again and you are a very special part of our Robbins tale!
Blessings to you all!
Caleb
"Adventures are wonderful things, they reveal so much about who you really are and they leave you feeling so blessed for the fellowship that carries you along the way"
If you want to support what I do a little or a lot, on a one time basis or on a recurring basis, click on the tab "Supporting the Work" at the top of the page. Diane is my beautiful wife and the mother of my precious children Creed 8, Asher 6, Liam 3, Echo already in heaven and Bella 1!
