Love Your Neighbor
On Sunday afternoons grapevine students participate in a community program that we call LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR. It's a place for children to come and learn English with big brothers and sisters who care about them. At Christmas we have a special party and tell the Story of Jesus birth, which is the most significant example of neighborly love ever shown.

(above) Our Thammasat students volunteered their free time to go love some little kids.

(below) We put on a paperbag puppet show of the Nativity.

(below) Kids really loved the face painting station.

Oh, Christmas!
Christmas only comes once a year, so we try to have as many Christmas parties as possible. December is filled with makeshift Christmas pageants, Christmas songs, decorating, and making cookies. Students really love the change to celebrate Christmas with foreigners and to learn about our Christmas traditions. And it's the most wonderful opportunity to be able to share the Story of Christ's birth with people who have never before heard it. It's really too bad that Christmas doesn't come more often.

(above) Our worship band sporting Santa hats.

(below) Grab a SPOON! Da brought a waffle loaded with ice cream for the gift exchange.

(above) Fa La laing at Christmas Program at Church.

(below) Presents are not what Christmas is all about. But this game was sure fun!

(Below) Who says we don't have Christmas trees in Thailand?

Mo' Retreat
Means Mo' Friends, Mo' Fun, Mo' Grapevine

Every year in November Grapevine takes an adventure into the mountains. We go to relax, have fun with our friends, revel in God's creation, and learn how love Him and others more.
This year we explored the idea that God is a mystery, but He has chosen to reveal himself to us in Christ, in nature, and in the fellowship we experience with others. And not only has He shown Himself to us, He also wants to live in us and help us with all the mysteries in our life.



(above) The students insisted the staff race through the obstacle course, too.
We didn't have the fastest time.

(below) One of the several amazing waterfalls that we got to swim in.

(above) The girls in our cabin stop to take picture before getting on the bus.

(below) There's always time for a group shot.

Time to Give Thanks!
Well, we should really give thanks ALL the time, but on Thanksgiving Day we get to focus on filling our hearts with gratitude. Of course, we usually fill our stomaches with food, too. And good free food usually means that Grapevine is filled with students.

(above and below) Students enjoying American food with their friends.

(below) Buck and Da didn't need to carve the turkey, our delicious smoked chicken just fell off the bone.

Halloween at Grapevine
October 2010

(above) Our exchange students turned grapevine into a fun spooky place.

(below) A Blackeyed "P" meets Alice in Wonderland.

(above) All dressed up and ready for a photo shoot.

(below) Everyone enjoyed the pumpkin painting station.