Kickstarter update: we are at 126% and officially the exception to all the stats on Kickstarter! thank you all for helping us not only reach our goal but surpass it, we still have 12 days left and cannot wait to see all that happens!
I received an email the other day from a blog reader named Taly. She told me she had found our website while searching about taking a vacation to Laos with children. She read about our time in Laos and ended up going to Pai, Thailand after reading about our fun time here. Taly emailed that she and her family were in town and would love to meet up. We did not hesitate! We were so excited to make new friends. We learn so much from the local people we meet along our journey, but also so much from the fellow tourists who are from distant and exotic places. Taly and her family are from Israel and take a month holiday every year to travel to off-beaten countries. We got some good tips from them of other places we can add to our travel list.
I was very excited for the boys to get to play with children who spoke English. I am very aware that as we travel these may become some of their favorite friends.
Carmel (7), so beautiful and charming. She wowed us with her gymnast skills and sweet demeanor
Nevo (11) impressed the boys with is magician powers, they talked about him for days
Taly and Eli are from Israel and were so accommodating inviting us to their hotel, making us Turkish coffee, and the boys chocolate sandwiches.
We were blown away by their thoughtfulness, especially towards their children and ours. Taly assured me that everyone in Israel is like this, but I think she might be a little modest.
chocolate spread all the way from Israel
Nevo and Carmel gave the boys a sling shot, he was showing them how to use it
Jarrett thought the sling shot was for him
and got great joy from beating an 11 year old
Conner trying his out
Jarrett’s college degree is in Biblical Hebrew and Greek, it was very interesting for him to talk to Eli about Israel and their history and beliefs from a Jewish point of view
Nevo’s angry bird hat from one of the shops in Pai
they make beautiful children in Israel
my new and dear friend Taly, I am so thankful we met you and your beautiful family
What a wonderful and pleasing blog! I’m so glad you were able to meet them….they sound marvelous and I’m sure it did your heart good to spend time with them and make new friends. Their children are handsome and beautiful and seemed to take well to the boys. How sweet of them for all they shared with your family. Tell Jarrett to play nice
Go TEAM KICKSTARTER! Still amazed, but not surprised at all by the progress of the goal! Love y’all!
Thanks Aunt Jalene, it was so fun for all of us, it was a nice change to get to spend all day with another family. Thanks about Kickstarter, we are having so much fun! xoxo
I love this! I know on this road, you’ll meet other families who have lost sweet kids, but meeting new friends who don’t have that in common is also such a breath of fresh air, if that even makes sense?! I love the doors God opens and the hearts He blesses us to encounter as we open our lives up to “wherever”…xoxox
Yes Adrienne it makes sense, it was truly enjoyable and a great day. xoxo
This made me tear up a bit this morning. How lovely Taly and her family are! To have strangers seek you out and become friends is heart warming
. Wonderful post!
It really was Maria-I felt so loved they wanted to meet and spend a day of their vacation with us, it was wonderful
What a beautiful and sweet family! So amazing that you were able to meet them face-to-face after finding each other through your blog! What a fun day for all of you and so fun for your boys to meet new friends. So special.
Love you!
ps..the chocolate sandwiches looked amazing!!!
It was really special, we had such a nice time. And yes about the chocolate sandwiches, can you guess who loved them the most-Conner-hehe-he was in heaven.
Wonderful! Some of the nicest people I met traveling were from Israel. What a blessing to meet new friends!!!
I know Anne, they are the 3rd Israeli family we have met and they have all been so kind.
OMG! What B E A U T I F U L children…yours AND theirs!!
thank you so much:)
how nice and fun! It sounds like a great visit! I would have loved to have been a bird perched on a nearby branch to overhear Jarrett and Eli’s conversation!
Also, I just now saw the kickstarter video today and I am SO HAPPY for you guys!! CONGRATS on meeting your goal! I knew you would! much love <3
I know Lacy-it was so amazing and interesting! it opened my eyes so much! I did not get to hear all of it, I was swimming with the kids but it was yet another reminder on how I am so glad we are giving our boys a broad view of the world, there is so much out there! Thanks about the Kickstarter-we are so happy:) xoxo
I hate being the person that is asking for an exception, but is there any way we could support your book without using a credit card? Our Thai card doesn’t work on the amazon site. I’d really like to be part- is there a place I could send cash (Thai or US currency) or transfer funds to a bank (here or in the US?) I realize it’s probably all separate accounts, but if there’s a way, you could count on one more supporter.
Hi Robin, no worries someone else asked the same thing. Do you have paypal? you can send it through that and just let me know what reward you want and I will put you on the list! if you don’t have paypal then I will think of another way:) thanks so much for all your love and support! xoxo ,Chelsea
here is my paypal address if you want to do that-jarrettandchelsea@gmail.com
I stayed in Israel for one month helping with ESL camps in the northern region, and the people I met there literally changed my view about hospitality. They redefined it! They are so warm, kind, and welcoming. I’ve tried to take what I learned from them and make others feel that kind of welcome. Happy for your breath of fresh air from some new friends!
As the wife of an Israeli, I agree with you about how special and kind they are
. Taly’s family looks lovely and I’m glad your kids got to experience chocolate spread. It’s one of the things about Israel that I just don’t comprehend – chocolate spread on white bread is considered a legitimate lunch! To me that’s dessert! Lol
I’d also love to have heard the convo between eli and jarrett. Does jarrett actually speak Hebrew? Maybe you can make Israel a stop on your travels. We’re planning a trip there in February. You could come to our son’s bar mitzvah!
haha, I know, she was like-”are you hungry for lunch-we have chocolate sandwiches?”-”Sure!”. Jarrett can read ancient Hebrew, not speak the current form. We definately want to go to Israel one day! I hope you have so much fun for your son’s bar mitzvah-that will be so special. xoxo
Thanks Chelsea, we were all excited and thankful for the way you described us.
For the readers of this blog – since we first read Chelsea’s blog while planning our travel in Asia, we felt a great urge to meet this special family face to face. We followed Chelseas traveling experiences and arrived to the picturesque village they were staying in. We met a unqiue couple who chose to deal with lack of uncertainty and control over life by making life changing decisions and promising themselves to live life fully. We were amazed on the way you succeed doing so, enjoying the little things in life. We are grateful for the opportunity to get to know you, to see how attentive you are to the boys while creating them a lot of space to explore life. I think this unites all four of you- you are a great team of explorers, and that is highly reflected in the way you treat nature, events, and other people.
I’m sure you will have a wonderful journey and that Trek’s story will change perspectives of many others, as it has done for us.
Hope to see you soon in Israel.
Love,
Taly, Eli, Nevo and Carmel
Oh Taly-you are so sweet! I only told the truth, you are an amazing family and we are so thankful that we met you. xoxo