Peljorling Hotel Samdrup Jongkhar

I love the Dominican republic we just got back
and it was fantastic. We stayed at this beautiful luxury villa in Cap Cana
called Villa de Cap Cana. It was amazing! We had a private pool and wonderful
ocean views. If that weren’t enough we were on the 14th hole of the Punta
Espada golf course. We can’t wait to go back. Check out the pictures at http://www.capcanavilla.net/

Before heading back to Kalimpong, we stopped at the border of Bhutan. Bhutan is actually a closed country and costs about US $200 per day to get a visa to enter the country. The guard at the gate actually allowed each of us to step foot in Bhutan and take a picture. Then, we went around the corner and prayed at the gate for the country.

... moving so powerfully. We have been so humbled that God would use us to reveal His power and love to the people in this village. It is such a joy and a delight that God chooses to use us to reveal Himself to people throughout the world. Our God truly is the Healer, and He is still miraculously healing today.

I also want to share a few detailed stories as well. We met an elderly woman who accepted Jesus one month ago ...

Today, we took another jeep for about 5 hours with 11 people to RBB Village near the border of Bhutan. We will be leading a mini Discipleship Training School here for the next 3 days along with a few locals. We will be doing two and a half days of teachings with activity nights, and then outreach the final afternoon and night. We are all stoked about this opportunity.

... of Ward Lake, teeming with fat black and orange fish form a backdrop to the cottages. Ward Lake is set in the middle of the town, bordered by flowering shrubs, with swans floating by on the water. Visitors can hire paddleboats and roam around the lake. There is a greenhouse with plenty of exotic plants. A narrow wooden bridge stretches across the Lake. A great favorite with kids and adults alike is the Lady Hydari Park and Zoo ...

On the way to Guwahati airport, we stopped by to visit the Balaji temple. It had typical South Indian architecture and was made from white colour stone. It's sprawling complex and the towering gopurams captivated our minds. We also went to the Khadi Showroom and ...

... weaving techniques, etc. were displayed and Assamese villages were replicated with huts, beds, etc. There was also a painting and photo gallery which took us back in time.

... around with the dancers and audience throughout. We watched the performances for about 3 hours before heading off for lunch and some more sightseeing in the afternoon. We visited Kurjey Lhakhang where there is a body print of Guru Rimpoche in a cave, and a couple of other temples. If truth be said we were getting a bit "dzongked" by this stage, so 2 weeks proved to be the right length for our Bhutan trip.

... Maggi fell in the mud a few times and we all (even Jerry once) had to be carried over the swollen rivers! The campsites though had really beautiful settings and we were provided superb food in the evenings. We did visit a couple of small intimate temples enroute so it wasn't completely bad, but we felt particularly for Hazel who ...

... beautifully. The temples are different to those we saw in Tibet, which are much darker and full of pilgrims making offerings. In Bhutan there are fewer people but they are in much better condition and the paintings and statues are really colourful. We often discussed the similarities and differences with Tibet with Phub who educated us really well on Buddhism, though it remains really complex to us as there are so many images of the same deities. At least some of it makes sense now ...