Squid and seaweed snacks

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!

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!

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!

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!

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

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

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!