Christmas and beyond!

This year I really had to remind myself why we celebrate Christmas. I think I was homesick at first and every time I would see Christmas decorations in early December, I would think "It doesn't feel like Christmas, it's 90 degrees outside, what are they thinking?" I was a bit of a Scrooge. Finally, I started focusing on Jesus' birth and how thankful I am that God sent His Son to earth. It's amazing that the Son of God lived a human life and understands how I feel. And to top it off, He died a horrible death on the cross just to save me. That's amazing love! When I thought of all that, I started to get into the Christmas spirit. It's a good thing too, because Christmas was coming whether I was ready or not!

We did Christmas activities with our students at school during Christmas week and my students enjoyed playing Nativity bingo and making snowflakes. The teacher's Christmas party was memorable because many foreign teachers dressed up as Christmas hula dancers and performed. We acknowledged the fact that there can't be a white Christmas in Bangkok and sang "Christmas Island" and danced the hula. Some also dressed up as reindeer for "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer." We finished the performance with "Silent Night" to follow the school's Christmas theme "Blessed Night."

I had a Honduran-Thai-Argentinian-American Christmas. Many friends from church went to a Latin American friend's house on Christmas Eve and had a feast. I brought pumpkin pie, which was my favorite thing because it reminds me of home. We played games, read Scripture and sang Christmas songs until midnight, which is the Latin American tradition. My dad sent me flowers and I got to talk with him, brother and sister-in-law. I ended Christmas day by eating hamburgers with my Filipino friends at a mall in Bangkok and enjoyed looking at the Christmas rabbits (I have no idea how the 15 ft. tall rabbits in the mall relate to Christmas, but that's the theme the largest mall in Bangkok chose this year:).

The highlight of my Christmas vacation was going to visit an orphanage in Sangklaburi (near the border with Myanmar). The kids are so amazing! They are all from Myanmar (formerly Burma). Most still have families in Thailand or Myanmar, but their parents cannot afford to send them to school and they have been able to get Thai IDs, which allow them to study in a Thai school. I went to teach English (it worked out that the teachers in their village school wanted time off and declared the 27th to 3rd holidays. Only a village school could do that--classes in Bangkok went on as usual). I also got to lead their evening devotions. We went to the river to swim on my last day. Tourists come to that river to ride bamboo rafts and ride elephants. We played on the rafts that were not being used and one elephant owner brought his elephant to the river for a bath. I even jumped off a 20 ft. cliff into the river. Now I can say I've cliff-jumped, but I don't think I'll do it again. I'm definitely not a thrill-seeker.

The kids have experienced the love and blessings that come from God. They pray fervently and worship God from their hearts. They can speak Thai and Burmese. They understand English very well and some also speak tribal languages like Karen. I was touched by the story of one 8 or 9 year old boy. His parents left him in bed when he was 1 year old because their village was being attacked by soldiers. His grandfather came back for him but he lost all contact with his parents. He went to live at the orphanage a few years later. The head of the orphanage found the boy's father in Bangkok and took him to spend two weeks with him last summer. At the end of the two weeks, the father and son weeped when they had to part, but the father knew that his son has a better life at the orphanage because he can go to school. The father wouldn't be able to send him to school in Bangkok. This little boy is joyful and loves to have his picture taken. I thank God for helping him overcome, despite his difficult circumstances.

As I listen to people singing karaoke and celebrating New Year's outside my apartment (in the middle of the day), I think of the many blessings God gave me in 2010 and look forward to new opportunities to serve and grow in 2011!

Time Flies!

I can't believe it's almost Christmas! Time has flown by so quickly! So much has happened...I feel like I'm really Thai now...I've seen one of the Thai princesses and I've gone to 2 Thai military bases. Our school dedicated a new building on October 29th and the King's oldest daughter came. She did the ever-important "ribbon-cutting," but in our case she pushed a button that opened some curtains to reveal the sign on the new building. This was a major event for my school. I don't have any pictures because we weren't allowed to take any during the ceremony, but it was truly an august occasion!


I went to a camp in Sakeow (northeastern Thailand near the Cambodian border)in October and we stayed on a military base. Many of our 9th grade students went through basic military training, learned about wilderness survival, learned how to grow rice and mushrooms, and shot M-16s. Six native-English speaking teachers (including me) got to go along and hold an English camp for kids on the military base. We had a great time teaching the kids there. One of the highlights of the trip was going to the shooting range and learning to shoot M-16s. I got two bulls-eyes! We also got our faces painted with camouflage face paint and ate all of the wilderness survival food. Most of it was very good, but I drew the line at grilled frogs and eels!

I went to another military base last weekend at the end of a "Little Cowboy Camp." It was fun to see 5th and 6th grade students dressed up in western clothes watching a cowboy show and roasting marshmallows, hot dogs, and Thai pork balls over the fire. It was an English camp and I went along to help with some of the activities. On the last day, the students got to ride horses and ride on the tanks on a military base.


The equivalent of "Christmas break" in the US takes place in October in Thailand. We took advantage of the time off to hold a three day vacation Bible school for kids in my church's neighborhood. We called it "Kids of the Kingdom" and taught about Saul, David and Solomon. I was in charge of the crafts. My favorite craft was making Solomon's temple out of homemade play dough. Most of the kids crafted their play dough into shapes similar to the picture I showed them, but one made a medieval castle. All in all, I am glad that some new children came and we strengthened our relationships with our regular attenders.

I had the opportunity to reflect on all the blessings the Lord has given me in November. Asian Christians know that we celebrate Thanksgiving in the US and many like to take the same opportunity to thank God for all He has done in their lives. My school has a student church every Thursday and I got to share about Thanksgiving traditions as well as a short sermon on gratitude on Thanksgiving day.

Additionally, I'm very grateful for good friends here. Some of my co-workers and I had a Thanksgiving celebration on the Sunday after Thanksgiving. It wasn't traditional, but it was sooo delicious. One of my South African friends made lamb stew and duck l'orange in addition to the mashed potatoes and stuffing that some of us brought. We had apple pie and pumpkin mousse to top off the meal!

God has given me so much to be thankful for--eternal life, purpose, a loving community, a great job, and so much more!

My birthday and recent ministry

Since birthdays only come around once a year, it pays to make them special and make the celebration last as long as possible, right? I think that's what I did this year. I got to celebrate 3 or 4 times with various groups of people. Lots of lunches and dinners out with friends from work and church comprising many nationalities--American, Thai, Filipino and Chinese. Every year I am reminded of God's goodness in my life. I live far away from my biological family, but I always feel like I have a family here. I am thankful for the many people God has put in my life.

I share my birth month with my school, but I'm much younger. My school turned 158 this year and the celebration was big. Instead of learning and performing a Thai dance, my department put together a showcase of American music through the decades, starting from the 1950s to the present. I got to be a '50s doo-wop back up singer, a cowgirl, a member of the Village People, sing a Frank Sinatra/Celine Dion duet, and a member of Sister Slege, singing We Are Family. Needless to say, it was lots of fun to practice and perform.

I haven't written much about the ministries at my church, but they're a big part of my life. Along with Thai leaders, I get to serve with a couple from Latin America. They are a major blessing to the people in our church and the surrounding community. We have children's church every Sunday with about 20 children from unchurched families. A Thai seminary student teaches the Bible lesson and I teach a related craft every other Sunday. We had vacation Bible school in April and we're planning another one for October, which is the midyear break for schools here. We try to provide different activities for the kids because they will spend time with us at the church any time the doors are open. Sometimes the boys play soccer after the service on Sundays with the missionary from Honduras. We bought a ping pong table last week and so far it's been a big hit with the kids. Our goal is to show them the love of Christ in as many ways as possible.

We have a cell group every Wednesday. It's still very small, but we have one young woman who has not received the Lord as her Savior yet, but she is very open to the Lord and asks many questions. I believe the Lord is drawing her to Himself. We also have an English class for a small group of middle school students that meets twice a week. We have a team of teachers taking turns teaching them.

I have included pictures of some of the people I performed with for the school anniversary, the children at my church and the English class we teach at my church.

The last three months

I think my blog has become more of a newsletter. I used to post often because everything in Thailand seemed so new. Lots of the foreign-ness of Thailand has worn off for me, but there are days when it's abundantly clear that I'm still a foreigner. For example, I got caught in a heavy rain storm on my way home one night. The street my friend and I were walking on was flooded up to our ankles and there were no taxis or song taos (pick up trucks with 2 rows of seats in the back and a roof covering the seats) available. We decided to keep walking, but we got a little lost in the process. We asked a man how to get to the main road and he said to follow him. We arrived at his motorcycle and he offered to give us a ride. Under normal circumstances it wouldn't be a problem for two of us to straddle the back of his motorcycle and go with him. However, we were both wearing pencil skirts and didn't think we could both fit sitting sideways. He said it was still a long way to the main road and we should go with him, so we did. I believe it was God who kept us glued to the seat because we were both afraid we would slip off any minute. I arrived at the sky train station bedraggled because we couldn't use our umbrella on the motorcycle. Everyone else in the train looked neat and well put together, as Thai people always do. When I told my Filipino roommate about what happened, she just said "oh." My Thai friend at work said the same thing. Apparently monsoon rain storms and flooded streets are an everyday occurence in Asia and no cause for alarm. So what's the point of the story: I'm still a foreigner, no matter how good my Thai is or how adjusted I feel to Thai life.

My dad came to visit at the beginning of the month, which was great. We went to House of Hope orphanage for the dedication of their new house. The house is very humble by American standards, but they are so grateful to have it. There are two rooms for the girls and one or two for the boys and now they have separate boys and girls bathrooms. I guess they took turns before. The kids sang many songs and performed some human videos. I've said it many times, but I love worshipping with them because they're so sincere as they sing and lift their hands and hearts to the Lord.

My dad got to enjoy the finer things in life here, like inexpensive massages and good food. My friend took us sightseeing in Bangkok, which was fun. I had never been to the Vivanmek Mansion, the largest golden teakwood building in the world (I think). I've seen my dad twice this year, which is a record since I've moved to Thailand. I'm grateful that I could spend quality time with him.


To give you an update on Bangkok since my last blog...

Life in Bangkok is back to normal. We started school on May 24th. I like my students. I teach one class of 2nd grade this year and they are so cute (they are the smartest kids in all of 2nd grade at our school, so they're fun to teach). Bangkok is getting cleaned up quickly as there are lots of people volunteering to repaint and clean up the affected areas.

I just came back from northeastern Thailand because we had a 4 day weekend. Thank God for an opportunity to get out of Bangkok and to visit friends. That's all for now.

The end of the red shirt protests

It appears that the height of the drama and violence surrounding the red shirt protests has passed. The protesters were bused home yesterday with 200 baht in their pockets (from the government I might add) to buy food on the trip home.

It will be nice to get back to life as usual. My school was scheduled to start the new school year on May 11, which was pushed back to the 17th and then the 24th. I've been told that it may be pushed back to June now. This last week was declared a holiday by the government and I went to the beach with a couple of friends to get away from the craziness in Bangkok. We had a good time, but chose a bad day to come back. We came back last Wednesday, which was the day that red shirt leaders surrendered to the government and the protesters evacuated the protest sights. That sounds ok, right? The problem is that some of the protesters disagreed with their leaders and started burning buildings in Bangkok, 36 to be exact, and violence continued. 52 people have died in the last 6 days and 407 have been injured.

At this point, the government and the red shirts have not come to an agreement. The prime minister has proposed a 5 point plan for reconciliation that he intends to push through. A special task force has been assigned to rebuild the city and offer assistance to businesses that were adversely affected. Two major malls were destroyed by fire and many other businesses in the commercial district have been closed for weeks now.

All I can say is praise the Lord for bringing an end to the protest. I am grateful for the Lord's protection throughout the entire ordeal. I am praying now for unity and reconciliation for the people of Thailand. They are very divided politically. I am also praying that Christians in Thailand step up and share God's love during the rebuilding and restructuring process. I pray that Thai people will be more receptive to the light and truth of Jesus Christ.

The area surrounding my church became a late protest sight and was ravaged by fire and violence. I haven't been there in the last week, but from the pictures I've seen, I think it will be quite shocking. I've included one picture of a burned mall and two from the area near my church.

Going (and leaving) home

I guess I have 2 homes now. I have spent the last month at home in Colorado with my dad and have been reconnecting with people. I am so blessed to have so many people to call my friends and family. I am forever connected to this place and these people, but I can't shake the feeling that I'm putting down roots in Thailand too. As I leave one home, I know that I'm going home at the same time. Thailand is a part of me now. Many times my Thai friends ask me if I can eat a certain kind of Thai food or if I have a certain habit that many Thai people have. When I say yes, they usually say "bpen khon Thai laaow." That means I'm Thai already. I know I will never look Thai on the outside, but I believe that in some ways I am Thai on the inside.

However, I will not trade the time I get to spend in the US. I love driving and going anywhere I want, usually without crazy amounts of traffic. I love eating cereal and milk--milk that tastes normal. I love eating as much cheese as I want to without feeling guilty about how much money I'm spending. I also love that I can easily buy clothes and shoes that fit me. And while I am fascinated by listening to and learning Thai, it's nice to go to church and understand every word of the sermon and every word of every song. The best thing is reconnecting with friends and family members. We may not talk for a long time, but when we do, it's natural and we can always pick up where we left off. They know my "history," so lengthy explanations are not necessary.

I am so grateful for people's hospitality. It means a lot when people take me into their homes or take time to stop whatever's going on in their lives to spend some quality time with me. Time is the best gift anyone could give me.

Time with my cousins, going to the ladies' retreat, visiting friends in Colorado and Cleveland and Nashville, Tennesee, and staying with my dad are priceless experiences I won't quickly forget. I thank God for all He has given me and pray that I will never take them for granted.

I added some pictures of the beautiful scenery in Tennessee and Colorado. I love the waterfalls (big and small) in the US amd I love nature in Thailand and almost everywhere I've been. God is so creative!

First post of 2010!

About a week after my last post, I slipped and fell at home and fractured my ankle (November 2009). Needless to say, I missed my first week of teaching in the second semester and went back to school the next week. After 6 weeks of wearing a cast (one was green and one was pink:), too many taxi rides to count, lunches brought to my classroom, 3 weeks of using crutches without a cast, and one month of walking with one crutch, I'm finally free! I thank God for all the friends who helped me along the way. It was quite an ordeal, but I believe the Lord used it to literally slow me down and remind me that fellowship with Him is the most important thing in my life. Everything I do has to be an overflow of God's grace and presence in my life--otherwise there's very little meaning or purpose for what I do.

Christmas was full of celebrations with friends and sharing the real meaning of Christmas with Thai people. I had the opportunity to help my missionary friend with her Christmas program in the public school where she teaches English. We had a small Christmas program with a Nativity drama and Christmas songs and then divided the kids into groups to make Christmas cards, sing Christmas songs, and listen to the story of Jesus' birth.

My new Thai language teachers are the students in my Sunday school class at church. They help me when I don't know the correct word to use and they correct my pronunciation. Our kids' church team prepared a small Christmas presentation for them to perform. They dressed up in makeshift costumes, performed the nativity story and sang 2 Christmas songs. I thank God for the relationships He is allowing us to build with some of the children in our community.

On December 26th, I went to northeastern Thailand with some teachers from my school for a short missions trip. There was lots of delicious food because we went to our friend's parents home. We ate sticky rice for every meal, drank homegrown passion fruit juice and homemade soy milk, and ate homegrown tamarind. However, we didn't go for the food. We held a Christmas party for the children in the community and over 85 children came. We had a large dinner and then lots of games and songs. After those activities, I got to tell the story of Jesus' birth (through a translator and with pictures projected on a screen) and then we gave gifts to all the children. Some of the kids came from the small church there, but most did not. It was a great opportunity to share the love and truth of Jesus with them. The next day we went to two small provincial schools and had a similar Christmas program for them. The children enjoyed all the activities, but I pray that the seed of Jesus' love fell on good soil.

I had the opportunity to sing in 2 weddings in January. One was a Thai wedding and one was for my Filipino pastor. In February, we started preparing our students for their final exams and gave their exams. I finished all of my grades and written reports last week. Thank God that's over! I will work for 3 more weeks at school and then come home to the US for "summer" vacation. I'm looking forward to seeing snow in Colorado and of course, spending time with my family and friends there.

I heard an interesting language story this week. In our most recent round of final exams, the first grade students were asked to memorize their telephone numbers for their English speaking exam. One boy was very confident and said "My telephone number is circle, circle, circle, eight, two...
He may not have used the right words, but he certainly spoke English!