Thailand adventures

Thanksgiving

2011-11-25T06:10:00.000-08:00

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?!?

2011-08-15T03:45:00.000-07:00

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!

2011-04-18T19:49:00.000-07:00

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.

Christmas and beyond!

2010-12-30T21:41:00.000-08:00

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!

2010-12-12T05:54:00.001-08:00

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

2010-09-20T05:30:00.000-07:00

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

2010-07-26T23:19:00.001-07:00

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

2010-05-20T23:52:00.000-07:00

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

2010-04-27T11:38:00.000-07:00

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!

2010-02-27T07:18:00.000-08:00

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!

Holiday (British for Vacation) adventures

2009-10-28T06:54:00.000-07:00

School is starting again on Monday, but I had a great holiday (in British English, "holiday" refers to vacation or time off from work or school. I hear "holiday" more often than "vacation" or "break." I also say "lift" more than "elevator" because I constantly remind my students to "be quiet in the lift." My English is becoming Britishized...it also has some heavy Thai and Filipino influences. I guess that's life in a foreign country :).

I went to Hong Kong to visit a family friend on my school break. We had a great time! We rode the tram up Victoria's Peak and we could see all of Hong Kong. It was an amazing view (as you can see from the picture). We went to Lantau Island the next day and took a cable car up the mountain. We had a beautiful view of the bay and the islands. The island is covered in trees, so you can't see much of it until you get to the top. We went back to the city that night and watched the light show from the Avenue of Stars. We even happened across Jackie Chan's hand prints, so I took a picture of course. We went to Ocean Park the next day and saw some different ocean wildlife and rode a few rides. It's a very nice theme park, but make sure you take the escalator to the top of the hill. If not, you'll have a very long walk...I know from experience. We did some shopping at the Ladies' Market that night and I got some great deals on a purse and a watch! I think my favorite part of the day was eating at California Pizza Kitchen though. It was soooo good! Hong Kong is a great city. You can go almost anywhere by train and you can use the same pass to ride the trains and the buses. It's also very clean. I really enjoyed the trip!

I got to go on a church retreat with my Filipino church the following weekend and it was also a great time. We went to a boy scout camp (all Thai students are required to be in girl scouts or boy scouts). There were lots of totem poles and statues of Native Americans. They had covered wagons and animal skulls. It was interesting how hard they tried to make it look American.

We went "trekking" one morning and I felt like I was in the jungle! We were surrounded by tropical trees and the path was muddy. I'm used to hiking in the dry mountains of Colorado. It was fun to experience something new. The only downside was prickly branches that were often protruding onto our path. I tried to move one with my arm and ended up with lots of the small "prickles" in my arm! They were acually quite harmless. They stung a little at first, but once I pulled them all out, I was fine.

I've spent the last few days preparing my new classroom (in a brand new building--Praise the Lord!) and classroom materials for the second semester. We start on Monday!

Fun cultural experiences

2009-09-07T06:00:00.000-07:00

It's been way too long since I've posted a blog. I decided that it's time for an update. I've been having fun teaching my 3rd grade boys. They call me Teacher Emily, which is the appropriate way to address teachers here. I had to teach them about punctuation and how to use periods. One way is to put a period at the end of Mr. or Mrs. To help them understand, I used my name as an example. They'd never heard of anyone with the last name Green, so they thought that was very funny. One boy especially liked calling me Miss Green and now his whole class uses it when they greet me at the beginning of class. Who knew that my name would attract so much attention?

Lots has happened in the last few months, so I'll just try to mention the highlights. My birthday was August 27th and I couldn't believe how many people remembered and greeted me at school and church, but also on Facebook (those little reminders are great). The day ended with a dinner at my house with friends from church. My Nepali friend made burritos, which made the night! They were fabulous! I also did another Thai dance in August for our school's 157th anniversary. It was lots of fun.

I started attending a Thai church on Sunday mornings in January. I don't fully understand the services, but I'm getting a lot of practice reading and listening to Thai. We've started a children's church and we have some kids from the neighborhood attending. They're very open to the Gospel. Praise the Lord! I think they are hearing it for the first time!

There is a Lisu church that meets after the Thai church and before the international church that I'm a part of (they all use the same building). Lisu is a tribal group of people living in northern Thailand and Myanmar (formerly Burma). They asked me to speak in their service at the end of August. I had a translator, of course, and I didn't understand any part of their service except the two English songs they sang. Still, it was a very rich experience. Thank God for the opportunity to share His Word my Lisu brothers and sisters. Their written language is composed of English letters, but many of them are backwards or upside down. It's very interesting to look at.

Last weekend, the international church (mostly Filipino) I attend took a mission trip to Koh Si Chang, an island east of Bangkok. We led the activities in an English camp for middle school and early high school students on Saturday and attended a local church on Sunday. I had the privilege of bringing three Christian American friends with me who are student teaching at my school in Bangkok. It was good for them to see what life is like outside Bangkok. They were really sports as we truly "roughed it" by American standards. On Sunday morning, the four of us got to sing a song in the service. I was really stretched that day because my Filipino pastor asked me to translate his sermon from English to Thai. I would not have volunteered for that position, but I guess my Thai is better than most people who went on our trip. I didn't come close to translating it perfectly, but the Thai people understood me and said "Amen" to what the pastor was saying. Thank God for using me and allowing me find out that I can do more than I thought I could.

The end of the semester is quickly approaching. This is our exam week. We have one more week of teaching after this. I'm looking forward to my two week vacation in October.

The rest of my "summer" vacation

2009-05-11T03:29:00.000-07:00

After staying for 3 weeks in the US, which was amazing, I spent one day in Thailand before going to the Philippines. It wasn't an ordinary day, however, because it was the end of the biggest holiday in Thailand. Songkran Festival, which is the Thai New Year and water throwing festival, is April 13-15. I went to a pottery village with some friends that day, but I got soaked coming and going when I was in the bus. As you can see from the picture, you're not really safe anywhere you go. People stand on the sides of the streets with buckets of water and Super Soakers poised to spray everyone who passes by. They also throw water in open bus windows and sometimes put a tan-colored powdery mud-like substance on people's faces. It's a really fun holiday and throwing water is very appropriate because April is the hottest month of the year, with temperatures in the 100s.

After my one day of celebration, I went to the Philippines for my friend's wedding. Her father and brother are officers in the military and they stay on a military base in Manila. I stayed on the base with their family. The wedding was beautiful. After the wedding, we went to their house in another province and then went to a beautiful mountainous area called Baguio City. I decided to take a souvenir photo in a traditional costume because the proceeds benefited a senior citizens' group in the area. Not wanting to take the picture by myself, I asked the older women (who were also dressed up) to join me in the picture. I had to pay for that too, but the total price was less than a dollar and it went to a good cause, so I decided it was a good idea. I've never seen a souvenir photo for that cheap in the US (I did use my own camera for the picture, which I think contributed to the low price:).

I spent a few more days in Manila with a different friend from my church in Thailand after that. We had a great time and visited another beautiful mountainous area outside Manila. I managed to escape eating the Filipino delicacy "balot" yet again, which I consider a big accomplishment. Balot is a fertilized egg in which the chick is about ready to hatch. They enjoy eating the baby chick. I think I'll pass. I did eat ube jam, which is made from purple sweet potatoes. Although I wouldn't usually put potatoes in jam, it was very good.

I'm back in Bangkok now and preparing for my first day of a new school year tomorrow. Back to the classroom!

A Night in Thailand (in Colorado)

2009-04-08T14:17:00.000-07:00

Coloradans experienced a taste of Thailand on March 28th. We enjoyed pad thai, green papaya salad, and mango and sticky rice with coconut milk. Hopefully, people left smarter after taking part in the Thailand trivia competition. Some very smart attendees left with wooden elephant key chains in hand (some of them may not have been smart, but they know how to use their i-Phones and Blackberries:).

I am so glad I got to share about one of my passions in life, the House of Hope Orphanage. The children are beautiful, but more than that, they love Jesus. They know that He is the reason they have overcome lives of poverty in Burma and they know that He has good plans for their lives. We were able to raise funds to build them dormitories. Praise the Lord!

Last post before I come home!

2009-03-07T23:22:00.000-08:00

Just like November and December, January and February flew by! Lizards like the one in the picture are very common in my house. I accidently stepped on one and its tail came off and started twitching violently (the tail, not the lizard). It was pretty gross. The lizard tried to get away. I thought that it might be ok because I remember learning that lizards and reptiles can regenerate their tails and lost limbs. I continued to see this tailless lizard for a day and then I came home to find its carcass being devoured by ants! Sorry for the disgusting story, but I just thought I would add a little excitement to the other things happening in my life. We also had a rat last month. I bought the sticky trap ( I think because of Thai beliefs in reincarnation they prefer to trap the rat without killing it). My roommates took the caught rat outside. I'm grateful I didn't have to do this. I'm not very brave when it comes to creatures that run and hide inside my house.

I seem to have become the token foreigner who will dress up and do Thai dance at my school. I have done this three times this school year! I actually enjoy it, but I'm surprised that they continue to ask me. There was a som tum making competition with some other Christian organizations in Bangkok. Som tum is a salad made from unripe papaya, fish sauce, peanuts, garlic, chilis, tomatoes, fresh green beans, and dried shrimp. There's another variety from Laos that people here like that substitutes fermented fish sauce and preserved crab for the regular fish sauce and dried shrimp. I really enjoy eating the first variety, but the smell of the second one usually discourages me from eating it. Nevertheless, the competition requires one som tum maker and one dancer. I was the dancer. As soon as I started dancing, all the people from my school cheered. It was really fun.

I visited House of Hope Orphanage again and my friend took lots of pictures that will be useful for fundraising. As always, the children's love for Jesus is amazing. They are very sweet kids and I want to do all I can to help them.

THe last two months have been filled with giving final exams, writing student evaluations, and English camps. I got to go out of town for a week for English camp, which was fun and was a nice break from my somewhat busy schedule.

I'm getting ready to come home for about three weeks! I'm making all of the final preparations now. I can't wait to enjoy some American food, drive a car, and just feel "normal" for a few weeks.

2009-01-03T18:38:00.000-08:00

November and December flew by! I can't believe it's already January 4th(in Thailand--my post says the 3rd because it's on American time)! I started studying Thai twice a week in Novemeber because I want to take it more seriously and be able to go beyond basic conversation. My housemate and I are studying together and I really like our teacher.

We had Thanksgiving services in both of the churches I attend, which surprised me since Thanksgiving is an American holiday (the US had a major impact on the Philippines and the leaders in both churches are from the Philippines). I got to sing a special song in one church and had the privilege of leading worship as well. I was inspired and made Stove Top stuffing and a modified Thanksgiving meal for my church. Everyone loved it and asked how I made it ( I told them to buy the box of stuffing mix:) I was very happy to have a Thanksgiving meal with some American friends too--we even had pumpkin pie. It's the little things that make a difference.

For the last three years, Thai churches have made a big effort to help Thai people understand that Christmas is more than Christmas trees and Santa Claus. All the malls here are decorated and play Christmas music (which I love because it reminds me of home). However, many people don't know about Jesus' birth. There is a concentrated effort to sing Christmas carols and share the story of Jesus' birth, death, and resurrection in public places, such as malls and parks. My church worked with the other Church of God churches here to prepare a Christmas presentation as well. We practiced for two months and got to sing in a mall and a large presentation in a park on Christmas day. They showed part of the Jesus film and some pastors shared the gospel between different music and dance presentations.

For Christmas, I got to teach my students about Jesus's birth. They know the story in Thai, so I was mostly teaching them the English names of Mary, Joseph, Jesus, and all of the other people in the Christmas story. Additionally, we had a large faculty Christmas party on the 23rd of December. All of the English departments are asked to perform, along with some of the other departments. My department head asked me and two other teachers to dress up and lip sync a song by a popular Thai band. It was fun, and many people recognized the band we were impersonating just from our costumes.

After the party, I got to join about 100 high school students and several Christian teachers in Christmas caroling and giving gifts to homeless people(we went in small groups to approach people). We had to wake some of them up, but they were usually very happy when we gave them gifts.

I flew to the Philippines on December 26th to spend New Year's with one of my good friends from church. I attended two weddings of church friends and spent a few days in the province of Bulacan (an hour and a half outside Manila). The people there don't see foreigners very often, so people were usually surprised to see me... and it showed. Everyone in the province was very kind and the children were sweet. We played games with them and taught them several action songs. I also got to experience new forms of transportation...a jeepney (picture #3) and a tricycle (a motorcycle with a sidecar -picture #2). We ate lots of Filipino food, but the most interesting food was ube or purple yam (picture #1). It was boiled, mashed, and mixed with coconut and sugar. It was delicious.
I am glad I've finally experienced many of the things I've heard about for so long from my Filipino friends.

I'm looking forward to the new year. I believe God has new things in store for me. I thank Him for His provision, protection and guidance last year. God is so compassionate and merciful. I praise Him for who He is and for all He has done.

Holiday adventures

2008-10-22T07:19:00.000-07:00

I have just been on vacation (holiday as my British friends call it). Before I was officially on break, I got to teach 290 2nd and 3rd grade boys (in groups of 10) to make banoffee pie (a pie that has bananas and toffee). Our school had 2 English camps that ran for a total of 6 days. I was "Chef Emily" (complete with a chef outfit). The students went to different places in "English Town," such as the cafe, post office, TV station, hospital, school, etc. and learned English through various activities. We also took them to Safari World, which is a mix of Sea World, a safari park, and a zoo. It's a great place for kids.

Once school was out, I went to visit friends in Vietnam and Cambodia. I highly recommend going to visit locals in a foreign country because they know where all the best food is. My Vietnamese friends were so hospitable and wanted me to try so many different kinds of food. I thought that liver pate was only for the hi-so (high society), but everyone in Vietnam eats it. We had it on sandwiches and I was pleasantly surprised that it tasted pretty good. I also tried century eggs (you can look that one up). They eat several kinds of noodles and fresh "wrap your own" spring rolls (not fried). They use lots of fresh vegetables and green herbs, especially sweet basil, which is my favorite.

In Vietnam, I rode all over Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon) on the backs of my friends' motorbikes (most people don't have cars). However, the laws requiring helmets and a maximum of 2 people on a motorbike are strictly enforced. I got to go swimming near a waterfall and tour the Mekong Delta region as well. We rode in small boats up and down the canals and learned about how local food, such as rice paper and coconut candy, is made. My favorite things about being in Vietnam were reconnecting with my friends there and speaking in their church young adults group.

In Cambodia, I got to visit my friend Sarah from Lee. She is teaching in a village one hour from Siem Reap (home to Angkor Wat). We visited Tonle Sap, which is a lake that is home to many Vietnamese refugees who cannot live in Cambodia or Vietnam. I really enjoyed staying with her host family in the village and visiting her school.
My favorite food was banchaiyo, a Vietnamese style pancake with pork and lots of vegetables. The only resemblance it has to a pancake is that it is made of some type of flour. It may not sound good to a Westerner, but it is very delicious.

Next week will be the beginning of our second semester. I'll teach until the end of February and be free to travel home for a few weeks at the end of March. The first half of the school year has gone very fast.

A Celebrity?

2008-09-06T06:55:00.000-07:00

I felt like a celebrity. I must have had 30 people lined up to get my autograph. Ok, this did happen, but let me put this statement into context. As a requirement for Thai social studies classes, students must learn how to "wai" properly. A wai is putting one's palms together and bowing one's head out of respect to an elder or authority (you've probably seen it in Asian movies). Students have to "wai" twenty teachers/school staff persons and get their signatures to prove that the students really did what they were supposed to do. More than 30 2nd and 3rd graders were lined up to get my friend's signature. I thought I would help her out and start signing the students' books, but it turned out that they all lined up for both of us and the lines continued to grow. I think I signed my name for 10-15 minutes. Oh, the joy and humor of living in another country:)

This month was filled with cultural experiences because I got to do another Thai dance this year for our school's 156th anniversary (as you can see from the pictures at the top of this post). The first picture is from last year. I liked this costume much better than my costume this year. However, the dance we learned this year was more complicated than last year's dance and I feel proud of our group for working so hard to learn it. The men in the pictures are co-teachers from my department.

I also celebrated my birthday this month. My students sang "Happy Birthday" to me two times and many people at work wished me a happy birthday. I got to go to Sizzler with my friends (Sizzler here is really good--especially the unlimited salad bar) on my birthday and I got to celebrate at home with my church friends the next day. I cooked Mexican food for the party at my house and I ended up showing everyone all the different ways you can melt cheese. We had nachos, quesadillas, and tacos. It was great. The top picture is of my roommates and other friends on my birthday. (Aren't you proud of me for finally putting pictures on my blog? Just kidding)

Finally, I am so grateful to God for opening new doors for me to serve in the churches that I attend. I have gotten to facilite or "MC" twice in the church that I attend in the afternoon and I got to speak in the Thai/English service that I attend in the morning. I've also gotten to share some American dishes with my Filipino friends because we eat dinner together every Sunday after church. I've made Texas chili and beef stew. Both went over very well, praise the Lord!

Summer (sort of)

2008-08-01T01:30:00.000-07:00

While everyone in the US has been enjoying the summer, I've been teaching because I already had my summer. However, it's still felt like summer because I've gotten to go to two camps and travel a little bit.

For two months each year, a flower called "dtaa grajiow" blooms in Thailand. I went to see it with a group of Thai teachers one weekend. We also saw the "Stonehenge" of Thailand (yes, they stole the name from the original) and went to a Thai silk outlet (I have a dress being made right now:). The trip was fun until our van broke down and we were late getting home. It turned out ok though, because we arrived in Bangkok at 11:45 p.m., right before the Sky Train closed and I was still able to go home that night.

On the 4th of July, I went to an English camp at the beach in Pattaya with 40 American high school and university students and over 100 Thai university students. We had McDonald's cheeseburgers, apple strudel, and watermelon for dinner. We had sparklers, but they said it was too late at night to organize everyone and use them. Nonetheless, it was fun to be with other Americans for the weekend. I made a lot of new American and Thai friends (Facebook is great for friends you can't see often). We had "cultural" nights in the evenings, including a drama and small group discussion with the Thai students. We talked about true satisfaction and what we often do to attain it. The highlight of the weekend was 8 Thai students choosing to accept Jesus as their Savior. It was especially good because they had been considering it for some time as they talked with Thai Christians. I pray that they get plugged into the church and grow in their faith.

The other camp I attended was with my church. It was very small, but I had many opportunities to get to know people in my church better. Within the last few months, I have really felt like I'm 'in' at my church more than I was before. It's been a little bit difficult because I'm a.)not from the Philippines and b.) not able to speak Tagalog. Several of my friends have told me that they did not talk to me much at first because they were afraid I would be critical of their English or they just didn't feel comfortable speaking only English because they were afraid they couldn't think of all the words they want to say. People seem to be a lot more comfortable with me now, which is good.

I'm off to my Thai lesson (I have a new teacher), so I have to stop here.

2008-06-17T06:53:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago, my former professor from Lee University came to visit some students who are doing an internship in Cambodia. We all met for dinner, and my professor asked me which aspects of Thai culture I have bought into and which ones I haven't. I had a hard time answering him right there because I don't always think quickly on my feet. I've thought more about that and realized that I probably have a pretty substantial answer.

1.Food
Sometimes, I eat rice 3 times a day! The other day, I was eating Hong Kong noodles for breakfast in my office with chopsticks and my co-worker asked me "If someone would have told you five years ago that you'd be eating noodles with chopsticks for breakfast, would you have believed them?" I said "absolutely not." Even last year, I didn't eat Thai food for breakfast. At this point, I realize that I don't have time to cook a substantial American-style breakfast, so it's better to buy Thai food and eat breakfast in my office.
However, I have not bought into everything. I ordered food the other night to take home and I thought I was getting pork (sometimes that's the only option if you want meat--I'll explain in a second). I got home, and realized that along with my pork (and vegetables, mint leaves, chili, etc.), I got pig intestines. After picking out all of the intestines and taking the large amounts of fat off the meat, I probably ate ten baht worth of the thirty baht I paid for my "nam tok moo."

2. Market Shopping
Every time I ride the bus past Khlong Toei Market, I think, "I really don't want to go there because it smells horrible." It's a "wet market," which means that they have fresh meat and seafood, along with produce and lots of other things. The prices are really good though. I was cooking for my church, and I was on a budget, so I decided to brave the market. After buying everything I needed and finding that people were generally helpful, I decided that I need to go to the wet market more often. I had a really good experience.
Average Thai people buy their clothes in flea market type settings. Some markets are huge with hundreds of stalls to choose from, and some are relatively small as they are set up along busy streets. While it's a little bit hard to find clothes big enough to fit well, I've become like the Thais and I would rather shop in a market than in a department store because I can save a lot of money. I think I might have to give in and buy shoes in department stores, however, because it's rare to find shoes that fit me well in the markets.

3. Transportation
I take buses, song taos (pick-up trucks with seats in the back), the Sky Train, the subway, taxis and motorcycle taxis everywhere I go. (I don't have a car and I'm not very excited about Bangkok traffic or driving on the left side of the road. I guess I haven't bought into that one) I'm trying not to take motorcycle taxis very often because I generally feel like I could die at any moment (but they're so convenient that sometimes I forget the danger when I'm in a hurry). After riding on the sidewalk on a motorcycle two times recently, I've realized that I have to use a different method of transportation on that route.

4. Language
When I'm with Thai people I don't know, I try really hard to speak Thai and listen to what they're saying. I don't catch everything, but I usually understand enough to continue the conversation. When I'm with people that speak English well, I'm kind of lazy. I don't usually practice Thai with them because I know that we will save time if we speak English. My Thai lessons are on hold for the moment because my teacher had to go back to her province. Hopefully we'll start again soon.

I think that's more than enough for now. I'm really enjoying teaching 3rd grade. I think this year is going better than last year because I actually know what I'm doing and because my students are more respectful and interested in learning than my 5th grade students were last year.

This week is Spiritual Revival Week for the students and teachers in our school. I'm leading praise and worship with the elementary native English-speaking teachers. Pray for me to show the love of God and be confident, no matter what the attitudes of my co-workers are.

I'm back!

2008-05-02T03:57:00.000-07:00

After a wonderful visit to the States, it was a little bit difficult to readjust to life in Thailand again. I had forgotten how different it is here. Thank God for grace! I had to say goodbye to some of my best friends here on the day I got back. Brittany and Witt are already back in the US and will get married in June and then go to seminary. I also said goodbye to Saichol, as I had realized that we are going in different directions. Thank God for revealing the truth to me.

Chiang Rai, Thailand is a beautiful city. It is surrounded by mountains and lush greenery. It is near the northern border with Laos and Myanmar. I got to visit two different missionary families there this week. The first missionary family is an American woman married to a hilltribe man; they have two boys. They minister to the tribe that the man is from. Most of the people in this tribe live every day only thinking about how they will survive. He is very different, however, because he is very well-educated and has an earned Ph.D. His Ph.D. program was in English and he speaks five languages. His mother lives with their family and she is a sweet older lady who has Alzheimer's disease.

I had to laugh when I heard this story about her. She lived most of her life in a village, washing clothes by hand and cooking over an open fire. As you can imagine, moving into a house with lots of electric appliances was quite a shock to her. She truly believed that the people on TV could see and hear her. One day, she saw a man speaking her dialect on TV. She kept asking him where he was from. She didn't understand why he didn't answer her. She started to learn the truth when her family showed her a video of herself from her son's wedding. They asked her how she could be in the TV and outside it at the same time. She was partly convinced when her "TV self" could not answer questions, but she never fully believed that people don't sneak into the TV through a secret door in the back of the TV set.

She had just been to the village when I arrived, and she brought several tasty treats back with her. Some examples were miniature plums (arroy mach... I mean very delicious) and plump brown beetles (cooked of course). The name for the beetles in the tribal language means "What is it?" I think everyone was asking that question because I didn't see anyone eat any of the beetles while I was there.

I also visited a missionary family that recently moved to Chiang Rai from the Philippines. I met them while they were staying in Cleveland, Tennessee. Dr. Quinley taught one of my classes and it was incredible. I really enjoyed visiting with the Quinleys.

Tuesday is the big day! I'm starting work again and I'm very excited about what the Lord has in store for my students and for me this year. I'll keep you posted!

Squid and seaweed snacks

2008-03-16T23:03:00.000-07:00

It's hard to believe that the school year has already come and gone. My students' last day before exams was February 22nd and we celebrated by having a party in each class. The students brought food to share, and the most popular items were as follows:
1. Potato chips (especially seaweed, shrimp, and barbecue flavors)
2. Squid snacks (I don't know the cooking process, but it ends up in rubbery strips. It's a common snack food that you can buy in convenience stores)
3. Seaweed snacks (It's formed into paper-thin sheets and is also available in convenience stores. The best thing is when they combine squid and seaweed snacks together--you get the best of both worlds!)
We had the occasional cookie and candy bar, but the first three were by far the most popular snacks. In one of my classes, a students gave me a handful of squid snacks and said "Teacher, low fat!" I knew it was a big deal for me to share their food, so I had my fill of potato chips, squid, and seaweed that day.

Last weekend, I was able to visit three youth groups with a youth committee that my boyfriend advises. We went to his hometown and also visited the seaside city of Pattaya. I sang a Thai song with the committee and the children at one church crowded around me to see if I was really reading Thai. I was using my own English version of Thai, but I think people at all of the churches were surprised that I was singing in Thai (I didn't know what every word meant however). I also got to eat coconut fresh from the tree at Saichol's house. It's so delicious!

I'm coming home in one week! I am very excited to see everyone and to eat American food at normal prices!

Big news!

2008-02-16T06:24:00.000-08:00

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.

Back in the Swing!

2008-01-16T05:10:00.000-08:00

After 10 days off for Christmas and New Year's, I'm back in the swing of things at school and our church activities are back to the regular schedule. It's amazing to think that I only will only teach for a month and a half and then the students are off for the summer! They finish at the end of February and I finish working at the end of March.

Right before the Christmas holidays, I was able to start leading a small Bible study/cell group for 11th grade students who can speak English well. Two of the students come from Christian families and the other four do not. Sometimes it is difficult for Thais to go against the grain and choose to become Christians. Buddhism is a part of everyday life. To leave it separates you from many important family activities, not to mention the fact that most Buddhist parents in our school discourage their sons from becoming Christians. I am very proud of the students in my Bible study and I am grateful to be able to teach them more about faith in God.

I am also learning more Thai. Several people have recently told me that my Thai has improved. Khap khun Phra-Jow! Chan fook pood paasaa Thai dai gap khon maak. (Thank God! I can practice speaking Thai with many people.) I like to practice Thai with people I don't know well, but I feel more self-conscious speaking Thai with people I know. I also feel like it takes too long to speak Thai when the person I am talking to understands English. Nonetheless, I want to practice more.

On a cultural note, I have been wearing black and white to work for the last 15 days. The king's sister died and the nation is in mourning. Mourning will officially go on for 100 days, but non-government employees can stop wearing black and white. It's so interesting to see how much the people of Thailand love the king and his family. The king brings a great deal of unity to this nation.

Today I was taking a taxi home and the taxi driver took several backroads to avoid traffic. He drove through a residential area and I was amazed at how tranquil it seemed. There were a lot of trees and greenery. For a few minutes, I felt like I was in a sanctuary away from the noise and rush of the city. There were no buses or cars whizzing by, and there were no street vendors. It was a very nice retreat from the norm.

Christmas!

2007-12-26T22:51:00.000-08:00

Wow! Once again, my life has felt like a whirlwind for the last month or so.
One of my favorite things is that I got to go back to the orphanage in Sangklaburi from December 8-10 (thank God for Thai holidays!). We had a Christmas day camp for the orphans and community children. God's faithfulness is so evident at House of Hope. The House of Hope kids are more confident and much cleaner than the community children. You can see the love of Jesus in their lives. I love how they are so easily entertained by playing games together. They do have toys, but they don't know "what they're missing" in terms of technology. They are content with what they have and they work together as a family. As I mentioned before, they love to praise the Lord by singing songs and they put us to shame with how many Bible verses they have memorized. It was so humbling to be with them again. In the evening, we got to give many Christmas gifts to the children. It was a blessing to see their faces light up when they opened their gifts.

Even though Thailand does not recognize Christmas as a national holiday, I did not miss out on Christmas festivities. From huge Christmas trees in the malls, to the "Pass the Cheer" logos at Starbucks, to the Christmas decorations at school, I have been surrounded by reminders of Christmas. I am very blessed, however, because my school has a Christmas break. Most Thai schools do not have time off. I was able to take two Thai friends to two different Christmas parties. At each party, time was given for sharing about Jesus being the true meaning of Christmas. I thank God for opportunities to expose them to the meaning behind all of the Christmas hype (outside of the church, most Thai people think that Christmas is only about Santa Claus and Christmas trees). One of these friends is very open to the Lord and I pray that God continues to draw her to Himself.

The other highlight of this season was my dad's visit from the U.S. Thank you Jesus for the blessing and thank you Dad for taking the time and spending the money. My first Christmas away from the U.S. was great. I know it could have felt very sad, so I am so glad my dad came. We had a great time together! We went to Chiang Mai in northern Thailand and my dad got to experience lots of Thai food (and the occasional Western meal--especially on Christmas--it was fabulous!). We went to a cultural show and saw lots of Thai and hill tribes dances. I think my dad's favorite part of the trip in Chiang Mai was the elephant camp. They have taught the elephants to paint pictures and the pictures are very good considering they were painted by elephants. We saw some colorful orchids at an orchid farm and went shopping at the night bazaar. We bargained with the vendors and mostly got good prices for the things we bought.

As the new year approaches,I believe the Lord is giving me some specific goals to work towards. I am believing Him for souls to be saved and asking Him to shape me in the way I look at other people and interact with the body of Christ. Thank God for the way He molds us and makes us more like Him.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2007-11-20T04:52:00.000-08:00

Since my last blog, I've started studying Thai. I'm going to have my 4th lesson tomorrow. I'm learning correct grammar and pronunciation, which is great since I was just picking up bits and pieces before now. I'm not living in a complete immersion situation because I teach English all day and my co-workers are native English speakers, but I still manage to find people to practice Thai with. For example, I went to my favorite restaurant last night and a man at the next table asked if I spoke Thai. I said that I speak a little bit and he proceeded to practice his English and give me ample opportunities to practice my Thai as well.

Talking to that man turned out to be an answer to prayer because I've been praying to get to know the restaurant owners (It's a mom and pop place that has delicious food. I also like the fact that I can get stir fry and rice for less than a dollar--but it's very common to eat for a dollar or two here.) for a while. I got to meet the owner's sister and I hope to talk to the owner more also. I am really praying for the area that I live in and for the vendors/store owners that I go to the most frequently. I pray that God allows me to show His love to them more and share the hope I've found in Him.

I'm a little sad to be missing Thanksgiving in the US with my family, but I am getting to celebrate it here. I am truly grateful for the many people who've opened their arms and hearts to me here. Even though I'm far from home, I feel very loved and accepted.

Ok, now back to Thanksgiving celebrations. My first celebration was last weekend with my cell group. We had five nations represented and food from all of those nations as well. We had Japanese tempura, Filipino macaroni soup, American Stove Top Stuffing (Thanks, Dad for sending it to me!), Thai barbecued chicken, and Korean style pancakes/pizza (complete with kim chi and seafood mixed in). We had such a good time together. I made a new Japanese friend and practiced my Thai. Our aim for the party was to reach out to our non-Christian friends, and I think that we accomplished our goal. Praise the Lord!

My next Thanksgiving will be this Saturday with my American co-workers. We're shooting for a traditional Thanksgiving meal--turkey with all of the trimmings. I'm excited!

Xtreme Camp

2007-10-30T06:42:00.000-07:00

So many great things have happened since I wrote my last blog. I went to Xtreme Camp with 1200 youth and young adults from all over Thailand . I loved jumping and dancing with them as we worshipped the Lord. The emphasis of the camp was to pray for revival in Thailand and to act on our prayers by reaching out to the youth around us. Speakers from around the world taught workshops and morning and evening sessions to equip us to be more effective in ministering to people.

At the camp, I made some new Thai friends and spent most of my time with a group that came from Vietnam. Most of them speak very little English (and I don't speak Vietnamese), but we were still able to communicate and we became very close.

After I returned from the camp, my church went to a park to evangelize. I was amazed at how effective this was. We had simple conversations with people, and as the Lord opened the door, we shared the Gospel with them. I think around 6-8 people accepted Christ that day. I was paired with a Thai girl who did most of the talking (because my language skills are limited). The 3 college students we talked with were very inquisitive about God. They prayed prayers of salvation (they said they want to try out Christianity--it's a start) and we exchanged phone numbers. God is so awesome! I am praying that the Lord reveals Himself to them and shows them that He is the only True Way.

I have heard from different people that there seems to be less resistence to the Gospel here than there was before. I think many people are curious to hear it because they have not really heard the Gospel before. I have had the opportunity to share different Bible stories with a Thai friend and she is so surpised and impressed by the miracles God has done.

The last great experience was a recent event called the "Bangkok Call." Many churches came together to pray for the nation of Thailand. Five different praise and worship bands played and we prayed for many things. It was like a continuation of Xtreme Camp! The event was held outside, so many passers by stopped to see what was happening.

And a not so spiritual experience, but one worth sharing...
I finally tried ice cream in a sub sandwich roll (many street vendors sell it). The vendor put sweetened sticky rice in the roll first, he scooped in multiple flavors of ice cream, and he finished it with chocolate syrup. It was actually really good! Who would've thought?

Cotton candy crepes and holiday adventures

2007-10-15T00:20:00.000-07:00

After 8 straight days of English camps, I was ready for a vacation. We had two English camps at school before the holidays and I helped with an English camp for the Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA)once school was out. I enjoyed being with the kids and getting to teach them songs and games, but it was very tiring keeping up with 1st and 2nd graders.

I was blessed to be able to travel to Phi Phi Island (in the south of Thailand) with some friends for 3 days. We took the bus (overnight for 11 hours if you get a direct bus) and stayed in a bungalow on the beach. We payed about nine US dollars per night for the bungalow, which is great considering we had mattresses with mosquito nets, a fan, and we shared bathrooms with all of the other bungalow dwellers. It may sound primitive, but my friends and I really enjoyed it. We relaxed on the beach, went hiking 2 times, and kayaked in the Andaman Sea. The water is very clear and you can see tropical fish and coral from the surface. God's creation is so incredible! While the scenery was beautiful and it was fun to be with my friends, I have to say that the other highlight of the trip was the food. They cater to foreigners there, so we got to eat American breakfast and real sub sandwiches (these are luxuries, I promise).

Taking the bus was really good for me because I was able to see the countryside of southern Thailand and see the people who live there. There is a greater concentration of Muslims in the South than in Bangkok, and most of the southern Muslims wear distinctive dress to set them apart. I live near a mosque in Bangkok and I hear the calls to prayer more than the required 5 times per day, but sometimes I forget about their presence. Recently I have been more aware of the cultural and religious diversity of my area, however. There are many Indians (who are probably Hindus) who live in my area, and most of the Thai people around me are Buddhists. The Lord is putting a greater burden in my heart for the people around me, especially those I buy food from on a regular basis. I pray that the Lord uses me to share thte hope of Jesus with them very soon.

Oh, I almost forgot about the cotton candy crepes. I went to a Western style palace built by King Rama V in the late 1800s and then to the ancient temple ruins of Ayutthaya (one of the historical periods/royal dynasties in Thailand)on Saturday. That area is famous for a particular dessert that comprises crepe-like bread with cotton candy-like sugar strings. Arroy mach (very delicious). Some of my Thai co-workers took me on this trip. It was fun and I know that God is allowing me to share His love and truth with one of them. Praise the Lord!

2007-09-29T06:28:00.000-07:00

After practically living at school for two weeks, this week was great. Remember the student reports I mentioned? Let's just say they took a long time to write. And if you ever have to grade 3 exams per student for 86 students, don't wait until the weekend before the grades are due to grade them. Not a good idea--never do it!

I was able to teach an after school class this semester and one of the students really caught on when I prayed at the start of class. He would try to anticipate what I was going to say, so I asked if he wanted to pray. He prayed most of the same things I usually pray and I thought he was only mimicking me. One day, however, it was another student's birthday. The first boy prayed that day and he asked God to help the other student have a good birthday and he prayed some other things that are not the same as what I usually pray. I was surprised. I pray that the prayers he prays will mean something to him someday, even if they do not mean anything to him now.

Today I was able to go to a park with my cell group. It was great to be surrounded by green instead of the pollution of the city. We relaxed together and then took some time to talk to people in the park about the Lord. We gave them Gospel tracts as well to help them understand what we were talking about. I pray that we are able to follow through with our plan to go every month. We had one non-believer with us and we were able to share the Lord with her as well. Khap Khun Pra-jow! (Thank you Lord!)

I am excited to have a 3 week break from school starting in one week. Please pray for me as I will be leading songs and games at an English camp with Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA)October 6-8. I am excited to be able to help and to share God's love with children ages 8-12.

Chicken feet 2

2007-09-04T05:32:00.000-07:00

Does life ever get away from anyone else? Sometimes I feel like everything flies by and my feet aren't really on the ground. I used to feel unbelievably stressed when this happened, but I'm doing ok this time. I know things will come back into balance.

My birthday was August 27th and lots of people made sure that my first birthday in Bangkok was very special. People at school said a special prayer for me in our Thai morning devotional. Many of my church friends and a few of my school friends came to my birthday party that night. Not only that, but I've realized that Thai people believe strongly in giving gifts. I got gifts every day the week of my birthday from people who could not come to my party. I was so surprised. All in all, it was a birthday I'll never forget.

The semester is winding down at school, but it's the busiest time of the year. We are giving our final examinations for the next two weeks and then writing student reports for a week after that. These are not short reports either. I get to write several sentences about each student, as well as comment on 8 specific areas of their language abilities. Good times:)

If you ever get the chance to eat bananas in a place where they are actually grown, you need to do it. It will change your view of bananas forever. I had eaten several varieties of grilled and fried bananas, but I finally ate a plain banana a few weeks ago. I'm addicted. Bananas here are sweet and almost juicy. The flavor is amazing.

And chicken feet 2...
One of my Thai friends had chicken feet this morning for breakfast and offered some to me. Being the person I am, I tried them. I was pleasantly surprised. The consistency is really strange, but the spices his mother used to cook them made them taste delicious. Chan chop teen gai nit noy (I like chicken feet a little bit).

Chan chob Krungtep mach mach. (I like Bangkok very much).

Mind the Gap

2007-08-21T06:51:00.000-07:00

For anyone who's ever been to London, the statement "Mind the Gap" is very familiar. It means to pay attention to the space between the platform and the London Underground. I heard this message once at the Sky train station here and thought, "How could anyone fall through the small space between the platform and train?" My question was answered last week when I stepped into the gap and fell down to my hip. I know the Lord was protecting me because a Thai man pulled me out and I got onto the train without any problems. Let's just say that it was a miracle that I was at a station where the doors stay open longer than other stations and nothing really bad happened. Praise God for his protection!

I was blessed to go to a camp with my church here a week ago and the Lord refreshed me spiritually and challenged me with the theme of a greater harvest.

I have to go soon because I think that the internet cafe I'm in is closing. I just want to praise the Lord for allowing me to get a refrigerator, air conditioning in the living room, and a stove this week! I wish I could say more, but it will have to wait for next time.

Mission trip and Thai dancing

2007-08-07T06:29:00.001-07:00

It's been a busy few weeks! The highlight was a trip to Songklaburi, a village near the border with Myanmar (formerly called Burma). I went with my Filipino churchmates. I was shocked that we fit 18 people and three massive bags in and around the large song tao (a roofed pick-up truck with two padded benches in the back and a luggage rack on the roof) that we took from the bus station to the orphanage. There are 26 children at the orphanage and most are refugees from Burma. The kids are so smart. Most speak Karen (or a different tribal language), Burmese and Thai. They know lots of English songs and English Bible verses, as well as other bits and pieces of English and Tagolog (the language of the the Filipino woman who runs the orphanage). The really striking thing is that they love Jesus Christ. They enter into worship quickly and they are very sincere.
While at the orphanage, I was almost never alone. There was usually a child at my side or sitting in my lap. They were so hungry for affection. We gave different material gifts to the kids, but I think the best gift we gave them was the time we spent with them.

Last weekend was the 155th anniversary of my school and it is a very big deal. They had vendors of all kinds all over the campus and several stages were set up as well. Different bands and groups performed all day long (Saturday). My part was to learn a Thai dance with other foreign teachers. The school rented traditional Thai costumes for us to wear and we performed in the chapel in front of a very large audience. It was a great experience and unlike anything I've done before.

Five girls from Lee University just arrived to student-teach at BCC for 2 1/2 months. It will be fun to have them here.

Pood pasathai dai nit noy ka. That means I can speak a little Thai. I am learning more all of the time from my friends. It's good to be here.

2007-08-07T06:29:00.000-07:00

The not-so-Thai side of life

2007-07-23T03:28:00.000-07:00

Ok, so about half of my foreign co-workers are British or Australian and Thailand largely uses British English. This being the case, I learn new vocabulary quite frequently. Did you know that it is correct to say "do maths" rather than "do math"? They say "maths" because it is short for "mathematics." I no longer ride the elevator. Instead, I take the "lift." Oh, and for my students to understand me, I have to tell them to put their "rubbish" in the "bin" (not trash in the trash can).

My latest crazy food experience was Cambodian escargot, as a Thai teacher called it. It was so spicy that I could not taste anything and I tried not to think about the texture or the fact that I was actually eating snails:) Not too bad for a one-time experience, but it's not something I plan to repeat soon.

The highlight of the week was seeing friends from Lee University. Three girls from my major, Intercultural Studies, were on their way back from their internship in Siem Reap, Cambodia. They had a couple of days in Thailand and my friend Eric and I got to spend an evening with them. It was nice to talk about Lee and the ups and downs of living in another country.

For my dad's sake (for those of you who don't know, he's in the cattle business), I'll mention that I got to eat steak last weekend. One of the Christian teachers invited me to her home for a gathering of friends from her church. All of them have students at BCC and several of the guests spoke English. We had a mix of Thai and American food and I got to make the kanompang gratiem (garlic bread). Lots of fun!

The Yellow People

2007-07-10T05:02:00.000-07:00

I have officially joined the yellow people. Every Monday, the majority of people in Bangkok wear yellow polo shirts with the royal insignia on them. Ever since the 60th anniversary of King Bhumibol's coronation in 2006, Thai people have worn yellow shirts every Monday because he was born on a Monday. If the yellow shirts don't convince you of the Thai people's love for their king, then the life-size pictures along the highway and the pre-movie king video at every movie theater should do the trick. I wore my yellow shirt for the first time on Monday of this week. My school was giving us yellow shirts for free, so I did not want to spend money to buy one. The other perk to wearing a yellow shirt is that female teachers are allowed to wear pants if they wear a yellow shirt. Woohoo!

I recently found out that it is indeed against the law for motorcycles to drive on the sidewalks in Bangkok. I used to think it was legal because it happened so frequently. When walking on the sidewalk, you have to keep your eyes and ears open. You have to be very vigilant because you may only have a moment's notice to dart out of the path of an oncoming motorcycle (slight dramatization added for effect). The worst are those that approach from behind. I finally asked a Thai friend about the motorcycles and he said it is illegal to drive on the sidewalk. Who knew?

The highlight of this week was a day of prayer called "Hunger for Purity." Approximately 200 people from many Thai churches came together to pray for Thailand. About half of those who attended were youth and young adults. It was amazing to see them passionately worshipping and crying out to God. They are not afraid to express themselves through dance (both spontaneous and choreographed) to the Lord. The powerpoint had the song lyrics in Thai and English and my friend translated the prayer topics and messages for me. It was very refreshing to spend the day with other believers in prayer for cleansing and revival in Thailand.

Song Taos and Thai daily life

2007-07-03T04:33:00.001-07:00

My Thai word for the week is "song tao," which literally means "two rows," but is actually a noun. It is a small pick up truck with two rows of seats along the sides for people to sit on. I like to ride song taos to and from the sky train station every day because they move very quickly and take alternate routes to avoid heavy traffic. Any type of transportation on the streets of Bangkok provides opportunities for your life to flash before your eyes, so every day is an adventure. I try not to take motorbikes as they are the most risky, but there is no foolproof way to get around. Oh well, such is life!

I've realized that I only remember the Thai words people tell me when they are words I was wanting to learn. Sometimes people tell me many words at one time, and I usually forget them all. I've learned the days of the week and some other basic vocabulary words, which is encouraging.

I'm doing the culture shock thing a little bit (not because I want to). I miss being able to jump into my car and go somewhere close by to buy food, clothes, toiletries, or whatever I need. Here, I have to find out where I can find the thing I need and then how to get there, i.e. which bus, train, etc. to take. It is a long process that can be very exhausting. Still, I am way too afraid to drive here, so I will not be learning to drive British-style any time soon.

I got to share my testimony with the foreign elementary school teachers at my school two weeks ago. It was really amazing how God used it to challenge another Christian teacher to share a testimony of what the Lord has done in his life as well. He was previously not very vocal about his faith with the other teachers, but now he is opening up more, which is very good because he has been at BCC longer than I have. He wanted to start a prayer group with other foreign Christian teachers, which we have had for two weeks now. I got to speak today in our meeting.

I will close with something I heard recently from a Thai minister. He was addressing the foreign teachers at BCC. He mentioned many reasons that people could come to Thailand. Some were things like experiencing a new culture, helping a developing nation, or running away from something (namely God) in one's own country. He told us that he was sure that the reason we came to Thailand is because of the free sauna we experience every time we step outside. He is not kidding. It happens every day.

Barbecued fish, wyteboard markers, and ministry

2007-06-19T07:03:00.000-07:00

Today has been a good day. I ate barbecued fish for dinner (yes, I said barbecued fish...it tastes really good) and had a companion on my commute home from work ( a Thai co-worker who is a Christian and speaks English). Besides that, I was blessed to lead some praise and worship songs for the Native English Speaking Teachers' session in Revival Week at Bangkok Christian College. All the students go to chapel each day and watch a presentation by a music, drama, and dance ministry group from northern Thailand. The presentations use Thai history and Bible stories to share the love of Jesus Christ. In addition, all the faculty and staff attend evangelistic meetings during part of their lunch break. It was clear that most of my co-teachers did not want to be at the meeting, but I believe the Lord is using the songs and truths spoken to make them think about Him and eternity.

I have enjoyed taking part in various ministry opportunities, such as singing back-up for the praise team at my church last Sunday. I also know that the Lord is allowing me to speak about Him to my students and co-workers at various times. I know that many seeds are being planted.

On a less serious note, I would like to inform everyone who uses disposable whiteboard markers that you are missing out on the fun of refilling and reusing whiteboard markers ( the brand here is called Wyteboard Markers, hence the blog title). Recycling is very important here and we do not throw away our markers when they run out of ink. Oh, no. We use medicine dropper-like objects to rewet the fibers inside the markers. The first time I did it, I forgot about the medicine dropper and tried to pour the ink directly into the marker. Let's just say the my ringfinger and fingernails were no longer white:)

My friends and I found a Mexican restaurant that serves food Chipotle style! It doesn't taste the same, but it is still Mexican food! I've been twice.

There's not much else to say, so I will leave you with a few thoughts in Thai:

Mai pen rai (it's ok, never mind)
and
Phrajow way pon (God bless you)

Never buy polyester bedsheets!

2007-06-12T06:31:00.001-07:00

I know most Americans would never think of buying polyester bedsheets, but I could not read the label. It was all in Thai and somehow I did not see through the plastic that the sheets were not cotton. The first night in our new house, I did not have pillows (the store forgot to deliver them with my bed) and I had polyester sheets. It was very hot and difficult to sleep. The next day, I went to a better store and found not only a fitted sheet, but a flat cotton sheet as well (flat sheets are difficult to find here). I know it sounds crazy, but I have never been more thankful for cotton in my life.

I am making more Thai friends all the time. Praise the Lord! Wanee ben wan an gan. (Today is Tuesday) I'm learning more Thai from different people, which is really good. Whenever I'm with Thais and they sing a praise song that I know in English, I sing it in English while they sing Thai. A Thai teacher at BCC has asked me to write the words to some of the songs for her in English. She wants the student church at BCC to sing songs in English sometimes--partly for me and partly so that the students can learn them in English too. Many of them are English speakers.

Ok, so I have to write about the new student church at BCC. A church is being planted by students and faculty at BCC. It is on Thursdays from 4:15 to 5:30. I have heard that it is difficult for some students to go to church on Sundays, but they are able to go on Thursdays. Students lead the praise and worship and play a major role in the planning and facilitation of the services. A teacher preached the sermon, but they would like students to preach eventually. The church was birthed out of a high school cell group that has been in existence for many years. It is very exciting to see the students' love for the Lord. There were about 40 people at the first service, including teachers and university students and high school students outside BCC.

Today, I was talking with my director at school and she said that she had a headache. I asked if I could pray for her and she said that was ok (she is not a Christian, although she has been very exposed through working at BCC). After I prayed, she immediately said that she felt a little bit better. I was surprised (I should not have been, but I was). This is the second time she has challenged me to trust and believe God more. I believe the Lord is going to do a work in her and in many of my co-workers.

I got a taste of home when I ate Mexican food with my friend Eric, his roommate, and some other Thai friends. We had a great time eating and talking, especially about Pentecostalism and the gifts of the Holy Spirit. The Thais are Christian and are interested in seeing their church go to a deeper level of passion for the Lord. It was a great night.

I know the Lord is ordering my steps and using me in many ways that I am unaware of. God is so good!

You know you've been in Thailand too long when...

2007-06-04T05:41:00.000-07:00

You know you've been in Thailand too long when...
You see an insect crawl out of your salad and you continue eating it (the salad.
You consider the lizard in your apartment to be your roommate.
You enjoy squid eggs more than regular squid.
You consider crazy bus and truck drivers that endanger your life to be part of the experience.
You get excited when you see street vendors selling bugs so you can take pictures.
You like to drink out of a bag.

Just kidding! I have had all of these experiences, but I know I have not been in Thailand too long.

Things have been very busy here. I am starting my 5th week of teaching and I know most of my students' names. Praise the Lord! My 5th grade classes usually understand me when I teach them, but my 4th graders are still catching on. I'm still learning about classroom management and other things, but I realize that it's all a part of the process. Please pray for me as I will be starting to teach an after school class tomorrow.

I've had some really positive experiences with my students, which really helps me keep going. One day, I was talking to my friend Sarah in the US and I asked her to pray for breakthrough with my 4th graders. That day, the class went very smoothly, the students enjoyed themselves, and they seemed to understand everything. It was so encouraging. It gives me hope that there can be more days like that.
On a lighter note, I was shocked when my 5th graders started singing Disney love songs and knew all of the words. I was checking their homework books and laughed out loud as they sang Beauty and the Beast, Pocahantas, and Aladdin songs. It was great! It seems like they are only interested in superheroes, but I guess not!

Praise Report!
My roomates and I found a house! The rent is very cheap. We have to buy a good amount of furniture, but it is worth it because of the inexpensive rent. It is very large by Thai standards and we will have plenty of space to invite people over. We have been painting and cleaning it for the last three weekends and we will hopefully move in this week. The whole situation shows that God has given us favor. The owner of the house is friends with a Thai woman in our church and she gave us a good price because she knows our friend. Also, my school sent a van to help us move our belongings. We did not have to pay to rent a truck. I am amazed by the Lord's goodness to us.

I'm still adjusting to being here and still trying to figure out my schedule. Sometimes these things stress me out, but God is with me and is helping me speak life and trust Him to lead me.

I almost forgot to say that I have been able to go to a devotional/prayer meeting with the Thai Christian teachers before school. I expected to go and not understand anything, but one of the teachers translated for me the first time and continues to translate for me. I cannot tell you how much it encourages me to fellowship and pray with other believers at my school. I realize that God is in control and will use all of us to make an impact on the next generation of Thai leaders.
My friend Eric from Lee University (and a fellow Coloradan) arrived a couple of weeks ago and is teaching in the same department that I am. I also met a girl from Tennessee who is Christian and is teaching at BCC also. The Lord answered my prayer for American Christians! I feel a little bit selfish praying that way, but I am so glad they are here with me.

It is really good for me to sit down and think about all of the ways God has blessed me. It helps me keep the right perspective.

First week of teaching!

2007-05-14T04:24:00.000-07:00

This week has been full of emotional ups and downs. I started teaching last Wednesday and found that many of my students did not understand me. It was frustrating and I felt unprepared. However, many people encouraged me by reminding me that my students had been on vacation and had not heard English for 2 months. In addition, I am brand new to them and they probably have to get accustomed to my accent. Now that I have taught them for three days and have started getting to know them, I am more comfortable with the situation. I speak much more slowly and I try to take everything in stride.

As I began working on lesson plans, I felt very unsure of myself because I have limited training and experience as a teacher. I started asking my fellow teachers lots more questions than I had been. I also decided that I have to keep moving forward instead of letting my fears keep from doing anything. As I have been stepping out, the Lord has been meeting me. He has been giving me ideas and providing resources from other teachers to help me with my lessons. God is so good! I love the verse that says that even we are faithless, God is faithful because He cannot deny Himself!

The really crazy part of teaching is learning my students' names. Their names are things like Teerapat and Warinthorn. They have shorter nicknames too, but I was told by one teacher that it is better to call them by their full names. Since then, other teachers have said it is better to use their nicknames. I think it is more a matter of preference, so I am using their full names just to keep continuity with how I started.

On my second day, I told my students that we were going to pray and I folded my hands together to help them understand. They really did not understand and it took me a long time to get them to close their eyes. I prayed a very simple prayer.
After I said "Amen," they still had their eyes closed. I had to explain that "Amen" means it is the end of the prayer. I am now asking them to say Amen after me so that we will have less confusion. Overall, I realize that the Lord is allowing me to teach them about Him from the ground up. What an opportunity! Please pray for me to have wisdom and insight about how to do this. Please pray that I will choose to believe the best and not get discouraged as I live out and share my faith with my students and fellow teachers.

On a lighter note, I thought some people might find it humorous that Starbucks sells sausage and mayonnaise buns here, along with brownies, cheesecake, and other pastries.

I am continuing to seek the Lord about where and how to be involved in ministry outside of my job. I am blessed to have many Christian friends at two churches.

The Beach and Starting My Job

2007-05-07T01:55:00.000-07:00

This week has been more structured in that I started working, but work has felt very unstructured. We had several meetings during the first few days and we were supposed to start planning our lessons and decorating our classrooms. As a brand new teacher, I am not very clear about what to do about lessons and decorating, but I know that God is in control and He will help me ease into it. Several of the teachers in my department are new this year and we are all learning together.

One of my co-teachers is a Christian and another Christian teacher from Lee University is coming soon. I know that there are other Christians in other departments, but there are very few in my department. I am also one of 5 women in my department. I am really praying for my fellow teachers and asking the Lord to guide me in building relationships with them. I believe God has me in this school for a reason.

Friday was a special service with 4 other Christian schools. One of the best things about the service was a children's group playing a Thai instrument called an ankalung. It was like a human xylophone! Each child held two ankalungs. The ankalung has two wooden pipes with a 6 inch space between them. Part of the side of each pipe is carved out and the children shook their instruments to produce a sound. For any music lovers out there, the program was similar to a handbell choir. They played hymns that I recognized. It was great! The meal and entertainment after the service were very different...my co-teachers and I were not sure what was going on.

I got to go to the beach on Saturday with my churchmates (as my Filipino friends would say)! We played in the ocean at Rayong Beach and saw an elephant. I payed about 75 cents to feed it.

Interesting food:
Adidas (pronounced just like the sports brand name): chicken feet boiled with garlic, sugar, oyster sauce, etc. Not too bad--once I got over the fact that it was chicken feet:)
Banana hearts: The flower of banana trees that will eventually become bananas. They are cut off when they are young cooked with spices and eaten as a vegetable --it was spicy but tasted very good!
(both cooked by my Filipino friends)

After eating lunch at Rayong Beach, we went to a fruit farm. We had lots tropical fruit. Arroy mach ma (very delicious in Thai). Some of the types of fruit were: durian, dragonfruit, jackfruit, mango, rambutan, mangosteen (my favorite), pomelo, pinapple, guava, papaya, and grapes (not tropical, I know). Spending the day with my churchmates was wonderful. I am really glad that I am here.

One week down, lots more to go!

2007-05-01T01:20:00.000-07:00

The first few days in Thailand were difficult. I realized that I am really living here for an entire year. It's also very different to be here without any other Americans. Because of the 2 year gap since my last trip, I felt like I had to get reaquainted with my roommates. I am very comfortable opening up to them now, but it was hard at first.

I've already seen some strange things and experienced some different things as well. I'll try to keep it brief by putting them in categories.

Strange sights:Blue, red, and yellow rice! (pictures to follow)Salad with mayonnaise for salad dressing(in the US, some mayo jars have "salad dressing" as a subtitle to Mayonnaise. They take it literally here)"Mexican" steak--chicken, pork, fish or beef steak with a green chile looking substance--but it's not green chile!

Different experience:Riding in a bus that is the back of a pickup truck--it has a roof over the passengers in case it rains.

I was able to visit Bangkok Christian College and sign my contract. There's no turning back now:)I will be teaching 4 sections of 5th grade and 1 section of 4th grade. Meetings and orientation start tomorrow. I'm glad to start having a regular schedule.

On Saturday, I went with my roommates to a cell group that meets across town. There is one new believer and 2 nonbelievers in the group, as well as several Christians. I am learning a lot about ministering to nonbelievers from my roommates.

Sunday was a busy day. I attended two different churches--one in the morning and one in the afternoon. I got to see lots of old friends at the church in the afternoon. I will probably not be able to attend both every week. Please pray for direction about which church I should get involved with. I got to go to Starbucks with my Filipino friends after church!

Praise Report: I have American friends here! I met a female American missionary on Sunday night. Also, a guy from Colorado that I went to college with will be teaching at my school. He is coming in 2 1/2 weeks.

Prayer Requests:Affordable housing for my roommates and meDirection about ministry and other involvements outside of work
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No plane ticket!?

2007-04-25T01:33:00.000-07:00

My flight from Seoul, Korea to Bangkok, Thailand had to be switched because the original layover was not long enough for my bags to make the flight to Bangkok. The agent at the check-in counter in the US booked me on a flight that was on Monday night, but I would not get to Korea until Tuesday night because of the 13 hour time change. I did not know this until I arrived in Seoul and after being redirected to 3 different airlines and walking across the airport several times, I finally bought a new plane ticket.
The good news is that I arrived safely and am now staying at the Church of God SE Asia office in an apartment on the 5th floor. Praise the Lord! So far I'm feeling good as far as jet lag is concerned.