We have arrived

[from chris]
Well, after a family vacation in Durango, a brother's wedding in Seattle, a weekend in LA and 24+ hours of travel we have made it to Chaing Mai. As we stepped off the plane to our home for the next few months the first thing that came to mind was '...man it is really hot here' and shortly after that 'I wonder why the sun is up in the middle of the night'.
We are still adjusting to the heat and the 13 hour time difference but Amy and I have begun to make our new house feel like home. Our landlord put an air conditioner in our bedroom last week, and today we bought a water heater for the shower [we decided that two days of cold showers was adaquate time to have our 'mission trip experience'] and a miniature washing machine [I think we might have to wash one shirt at a time]. So, along with our new electric wok and rice cooker, we have the essensials taken care of.
Over the next few days we will be taking it easy to adjust to the time change and initial culture shock. Please continue to pray for us.
Thank you all for your prayer and financial support. We are so grateful for you and praise God everyday for this part of our journey that you have allowed us to venture out on. We would love to read your comments or emails [thestroups@hotmail.com] and will be faithfully updating this blog with prayer requests and stories from the journey.