Lessons from the Bat Cave

We were told to pack-up and be ready to go by 9 AM. Upon checkout Matt and Dave's room key slot had an Xfile in it. Once we gathered the group we discovered ten letters and a map. After much searching it was discovered that we were heading to Ratchaburi. On our drive I sat in the front seat while Duane xtracted all he could from last nights xperiences. All six X's were used at one point in time or another during the xposure. About midway through our journey we stopped at a floating market. It was fun to ride in the long boat, going through the canals. I thought for sure that I would flip the boat on the way out, but I didn't. We left there and continued on our path toward The Golden City Hotel. Upon arrival we all went to our rooms to change and go for a swim. Around 4 PM we received another Xfile of rum and a famous super hero....................Any guesses? Took us a while, but we figured out that we were going to go watch bats. Not just any bats, but the Khao Chong Phran's Bats. This natural wonder in the limestone hillside houses millions of bats. Every night around sunset they release themselves to feed on insects. It made for a long day and most of the group just wanted to go get dinner. Thankfully, the willingness to see a mass gathering of God's creatures won out. All those bats are able to live in in small place without worry of survival. God provided them a home, food source, and the ability to work together. As they swarmed out of the cave, the column of bats parried to and fro like a river. As we left to find dinner ourselves I wondered what it would take for all of us to rely on God for all our needs.
This whole day has made me feel a little out of place with the group. Sitting in the front seat with a driver who only speaks Thai gave me too much time to think. In fact I am writing this now in the van while the group talks behind me. I have tried to chime in with answers to different questions that I hear or asked questions of my own, but to no avail. It was nice to see people could find their own answers without my input. This is just what I need to let others not need me. I hope that I can use this lesson when I get back to my new old life.
When we stopped for dinner four of us opted to walk down to the river and eat on a large raft. Talk about Xtreme. An all Thai staff, menu, and customer base. After a little confusion on all our parts they found an old Thai-English menu with some pictures. We ate like upper class that meal. First we started with crab "real crab" cakes no filler. Then came the prawns and chicken fried rice. Finally we were served what we called Thai bologna balls. Simply because we could not figure out what was in them. Definitely chicken and crab, but only the cook and the rest of Thailand knows for sure. Dinner was great and so was the company. I am so glad this trip gives us all a chance to step out our comfort zone and shine or take a step back and let others.