The Madison-Thailand Connection
Recently we had the privilege of getting to welcome one of our Thai friends and her parents to our home for dinner. Later, Kristen, our daughters, and my mom took them to Olbrich Botanical Gardens in Madison to see an authentic Thai pavilion. This park is one of only four locations in the world, outside of Thailand, which boasts a Thai ‘sala’ or pavilion.
“The pavilion was a gift to the University of Wisconsin-Madison from the Thai Government and the Thai Chapter of the Wisconsin Alumni Association. UW-Madison has one of the largest Thai student populations of any U.S. college or university. … The pavilion was built in Thailand, then disassembled and packed in shipping crates. The pavilion traveled seven weeks by sea, then by rail to Chicago, and to Madison by truck. Nine Thai artisans traveled to Madison to reassemble the pavilion after building it in Thailand. It took three weeks to reconstruct.” (http://www.olbrich.org/gardens/thai.cfm accessed 7/2/2021).
Please pray with us to be allowed to continue to use our Thai language and cultural experience from our six years in Thailand to reach out to this beloved people group, which has many representatives right here in Madison!
