Wat Phra Kaeo

Here are the pictures I promised you from the Buddhist Temple. This temple is called Wat Phra Kaeo. 

Here they discovered an emerald statue of Buddha when lightning struck this dome. They carried it through the streets as a special icon and eventually it was taken to Bangkok to be put in a museum there. 

They do many things to earn merit- to get them to a better level of heaven (or if you are a woman, to be reincarnated as a man)

Here is Greg beside a huge gong you can ring to make merit.

Or you can ring bells- it sounds pretty if you leave out the meaning behind it!

People also earn merit by feeding animals or letting them go from cages. There was a whole pond of turtles people could feed. 

Here is the inside of the smaller portion of the temple. I couldn't get a picture of the sanctuary because there were men worshiping there and I didn't want to disrupt or annoy them. There are pictures all around the sides telling about how the emerald Buddha was found. 

The small egg-like things represent the king and the queen.

This is another little side building that you can burn incense at.

This is the base of a Bo Tree (can't remember what it was called in English). Buddha was enlightened while sitting under one and so they are all revered. 

As we were leaving I got a far away shot of some monks walking around. They have a school there on the other side of the temple. It is a common site to see monks around town. Some of them are so young. Please pray for these men/boys who are so blinded by such a complicated religion. Pray that they will be discontent until they know the light of Christ.