Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving has come and gone again. It was very special for me this year. Because school was cancelled, I had time to prepare a semi-authentic Thanksgiving dinner for my Thai cell group the day before Thanksgiving. We invited our English students and 7 of them came. They really enjoyed trying food they haven't tasted before. I also got to explain the history behind Thanksgiving. To conclude, I shared that Christians (our students aren't Christians yet) believe that God created the world and everything we have comes from Him--even down to the families we are a part of and the friends we have. Everyone had the opportunity to share what they're thankful for. It was a great time to strengthen our relationships with our students and share the love of God.

On a slightly more comical note...
I told the Thanksgiving story in Thai and I said that 90% of Americans eat turkey on Thanksgiving. After the 3rd or 4th time I said the word turkey, my friend told me that I was saying it in the wrong tone. I was saying "sleepy chicken" instead of "turkey."

After 5 years of waiting, I finally got to have turkey on Thanksgiving. My friend and I went to a "real American Thanksgiving dinner" with some Thai teachers from our school. One of their former students went to cooking school in the US and he wanted to cook for all of his friends. It was one of the best Thanksgiving meals I've ever had. For dessert, we had traditional pies, plus homemade sorbet, graham crackers and marshmallows. Who knew you could make your own marshmallows?

Every time I stop to think about what I'm thankful for, I think of my family and friends at home and here in Thailand. It's difficult to be away from home during the holidays, but having great friends here makes it a lot easier. I'm also really thankful for my apartment. So many Thai people are living at flood relief centers right now and many still live in their flooded homes.

I've had 2 opportunities to take food, water and other supplies to families living in the flood zone. My church rented a huge flatbed truck to drive through some lower flood waters to get to one flooded area. We had to load everything onto boats and then take it into an area that doesn't get much outside help. Most donations are taken to relief centers. A church near this flooded area coordinated our deliveries. It was humbling to see people using large slabs of thick styrofoam or large wash tubs for rafts and boats. Some people had real boats, but all were in great need. Please join me in prayer for the flood victims and the Thai government.

I joined my school's flood relief effort on Thanksgiving day. We went to a relief center and played games with the children. We gave away lots of snacks and toys, which helped brighten the children's day. We also gave useful supplies to the adults.

I thank God for using me to bring hope to those in need. I believe He is bringing good out of a desperate situation and drawing Thai people to Himself.

Going native?!?

I think lots of my American friends would already say that I've gone native, but I think I have something new to top my existing list. I moved to a studio apartment near my school a few months ago. It's great--cheap rent, high security (you have to scan your keycard before you can push any elevator buttons), a restaurant that delivers to my room, and laundry facilities. I didn't think about how Asian it actually is until I was describing my bathroom to an American friend. There isn't a designated shower area--the whole bathroom is the shower. I stand in front of the sink when I shower and if I put up a shower curtain, there'd be no room for me to fit in the small space between the shower head and the sink (as you can see from the picture). I don't mind it actually, but I do have to squeegee the floor after every shower because I don't like getting my feet wet every time I enter the bathroom.

The school year started in May and I've really enjoyed my students this year. I'm not supposed to speak Thai in the classroom, so some of my students don't know that I can speak Thai. I think those that know seem to forget when they're upset and call me "jai lai," which means "mean" in Thai. This happened one day and I reprimanded my student for it. I asked if he could say that to his Thai teachers and he looked at me with a horrified expression and said no. I have some very sweet students in the same class who immediately said "teacher jai dee tee soot nai loke" to make me feel better. It means "you are the kindest teacher in the world." They were exaggerating but it was very nice of them to say.

A first or second grade student who I don't actually know came up to me one day and said "hair...is...fantastic." I think he was commenting about my curly hair, but he could have just been expressing his appreciation for hair itself:). It was cute.

The missionary team at my church has started teaching English classes during the week so that we can get to know more people in the community. I teach one group of 4th to 6th graders and one group of 7th to 9th graders. We had a special event for the students and their mothers last Wednesday to celebrate Mother's Day (Thailand's Mother's Day is August 12). We had over 50 people! The elementary students learned to sing English songs about mothers and presented them at the event. We gave small gifts to the mothers and a Thai female pastor spoke briefly. Most Thai people will receive a blessing, no matter what religion it comes from. We closed the presentation by praying for all the mothers and their children. After it as all over, we served food and had time to get to know some of the families. Thank God for the seeds that were planted. There is a mission team coming this week and we're having some more community events. I'm believing God to move in people's hearts as we continue to build relationships and share the hope we have in Christ.

Cambodia: Lakes and Snakes!

The last few months have been very eventful as the school year came to a close and I got ready to go home to the US.

Before the school year ended, I took 7 other teachers to visit House of Hope, the orphanage I often visit near the border with Myanmar. We held an English camp at the Christian school nearby for two days and rode bamboo rafts down the Mekong River. It was a lazy and relaxing ride until our picnic break got rained out. The local guides worked harder to stay out of the rain than all of us foreigners. It was quite funny.

The most memorable part of the trip was spent at House of Hope though. We took the kids swimming in the river in their village twice. They climbed and swam all over us. Some brought their shampoo and soap and took their baths right there! On the second evening, we treated them to dinner and made Chocolate Mud, a dessert made of chocolate pudding with Oreos and gummy worms. They loved it. They sang beautiful worship songs for us in English and took turns telling us thank you for playing with them, taking them to the river, and for providing their dinner. I thank God that the non-Christian teachers who went with me had the opportunity to see how God's love can change children's lives. It meant a lot to me to be able to share my passion and burden with other people who also want to make a difference. The other teachers helped raise money and gather donations before we went.

Along with gifts of school supplies, we gave the kids crocheted finger puppets. They told stories and played games with them for 2 hours. They don't have video or computer games, yet they find ways to entertain themselves. It's quite a lesson to learn.

Ok, so onto the snakes. Church of God Southeast Asia had a Relational Leadership Summit in Siem Reap, Cambodia at the end of March. The purpose of the summit was to build relationships and networks to further advance God's kingdom in Southeast Asia. At the summit, I got to spend time with friends from college, which was lots of fun. I still haven't talked about the snakes have I? There's a lake near Siem Reap called the Tonle Sap. It's the largest freshwater lake in Southeast Asia and home to over one million Vietnamese refugees. Unfortunately, the lake dwellers struggle financially and use any means possible to make money. Some sell sodas and fruit to tourists, but a more creative way to earn money is to display their pets, which are HUGE SNAKES! They drive their boat right up next to yours hoping that seeing a massive snake up close will move you to give them some money. I had some Cambodian Riel and thought they needed it more than I did, so I gave it to them. After that, they stayed right next to us, while all the other American tourists squirmed uncomfortably, hoping that the boat with the snake would go away. Oops! I'm afraid I caused them to hope and stay close by for a while.