A lot has happened since my last blog! The biggest thing is that I started dating one of the Thai Christian teachers at my school. His name is Saichol (pronounced sigh-shone) and he leads the praise and worship for the prayer meeting I go to before school every day. He is still learning English and I'm still learning Thai, so we don't always understand each other, but we get by. Sometimes we have help because we hang out with our friends Brittany and Wit; they help us if we don't know how to say a word in Thai or English. Brittany is an American Christian teacher at my school and Wit is her Thai fiancee. Wit is active in their church and he is my Thai teacher. I thank God for them. Saichol and I teach the same students (He teaches Bible and I teach English) and our students like to tease me about him. I knew they knew about us when they started singing the Wedding March in my classroom.
Brittany, Wit, and I got to go to Saichol's home and church in Chonburi (a city 1 hour southeast of Bangkok) two weeks ago. Many Thai people work in Bangkok but are from other places. Saichol's parents live near Chonburi. Brittany, Wit, and I got to lead games for the children in a Saturday program and I was blessed to share my testimony with the youth in the church. Many of them come from underprivileged backgrounds and I shared about how God can change us or change our circumstances to fulfill His plan for our lives.
I had to laugh the other day when I saw a commercial for "Dancing Shrimp Pizza." People in Thailand love to eat a variety of seafood on pizza and they put ketchup on their pizza when they eat it. My Filipino friends like to eat seafood pizza, so I've had the privilege of trying it. It's quite the experience.
I will only teach my students for one more week and then they have a 2 month summer break. I will work until March 21st, and then come home on March 24th! I'm in the home stretch! I really thank God for His faithfulness to me this year. I know that He has been answering all of the prayers of my friends and family. Lord willing, I will start teaching here again in May. After one more year of teaching, I would like to go to seminary to study counseling. I pray that God allows me to learn Thai well enough to someday counsel Thai people and especially people who have been rescued from sex trafficking. I thank God for giving me a clearer vision for the future. I know He will bring His will to pass in my life.
