Rescued

(Dear Lucy and I...this picture has nothing to do with this story
except that we were there together)

Most times I think that I can live on my own, take care of myself, and that I'm fine. However, that was proved untrue today. I was driving my old roommate Lucy to get a smoothie on this super hot summer day when I suddenly saw a huge spider crawling up the by the steering wheel, right next to my leg. Anyone who knows much about me knows that I really truly dislike spiders. I'm quite afraid of them even. If they are small and I have a shoe I'm okay. However, when they are the size of a tennis ball and they are crawling ever nearer to your leg and you are in the middle of driving a hunk of metal I am not okay. All I could think was, "Get out, get out of the car before it touches you!" So I carrended towards the curb even hitting it with the front tire before I put the car in neutral and sprang out. My sweet friend was sitting there all the while going, "What, what!" Thinking that maybe the steering had gone out and I couldn't control the vehicle or that there was a fire in the engine. She was a little annoyed I think when I finally could utter the words, "Spider big spider." However, when she came around and saw the monster she understood why I freaked out. I am so thankful that we weren't driving on a major road or I probably would have crashed much worse than that.

We stood outside the car for probably about 15 minutes trying to find the wretched creature. People slowly drove by staring at the two strange girls who were staring at their parked car with all the doors wide open. Yet, typical for this neighborhood, no one stopped to see if we were okay. Lucy was brave and tried to find the thing. I, however, mostly paced around and made groaning noises. I flatly refused to get back in the car to drive the short distance remaining before we arrived at the restaurant. I told Lucy either we're both walking and leaving this car right here or you are driving and I'm walking. Now, this is especially funny since Lucy is 17 and doesn't have a driver's license. I don't mean that she doesn't have a Thai license, she doesn't have a license at all and hasn't practiced driving in 9 months. She finally agreed that she would drive as long as I was in the car with her. So I curled up in the passenger seat and focused on coaching her through driving our beast. She did an excellent job.

Once at the restaurant I relived the horror of the spider and we decided to get dinner so I would have time to calm down. I tried to determine if I knew every male that walked, rode, or drove by the window and if I could ask them to help me conquer this spider. As we walked back to the car I had to convince myself to be brave and get over the fear since we really didn't know if the spider was still in the car or not. I kept telling Lucy stare at my feet and look for the spider make sure that it isn't crawling over here. She was looking and I was trying to concentrate on driving, but I couldn't I kept looking for the spider too. After we had driven just a little ways from the restarant I saw it climbing up my door! I pulled over quickly (not hitting the curb this time) and told Lucy "I see it!" I hoped out again and Lucy came around to see. Sure enough the thing was sitting there behind the driver's seat. Then I did something quite shameful. I went back to the restaurant to ask for help from a high school freshman boy who had helped me take care of kids in the nursery at church. He walked to the car with me and took a swing at the spider with his shoe. However, the spider did his disappearing act and didn't resurface. We said thanks to the boy and let him get back to his drink at the restaurant. Then we looked at each other. We couldn't get in the car since he was still in there. We couldn't go anywhere. We couldn't get him out. We were feeling quite defeated.

Enter...our heroes. We had stopped across the street from a dorm or a children's home of some sort. There was a woman sitting on the porch watching us. She came out and asked in Thai what was happening. I told her there was a very big spider. She said, "Oh you're scared? Foreigners are always scared of spiders." I told her yes I was definitely a foreigner who was very scared of spiders. I told her where I had last seen the monster and she called to her house full of children to come and help this lady who was freaking out about a spider. So out they came, in all I think about ten kids (there were more in the house) and this one older lady. They started searching in the car, pulling out rugs, moving the seats, and then they got a broom. I think they realized that this strange foreign woman was going to stand there all night unless the issue was resolved.

The woman told me that it wouldn't bite me. I wasn't so sure. She said that foreigners are scared of spiders because spiders bite in their country, but she hasn't ever heard of a spider biting someone in Thailand. I was reminded of how all Thai people are very afraid of caterpillars. Where I come from, kids play with them all the time, but here if they touch you it is extremely painful.

So after at least ten minutes of these boys searching my car one of them spotted it! He tried to catch it with his hands but the lady didn't want him to. After a bit of a struggle between boy and spider the boy eventually flung the spider out of the car. The sweet Thai lady stomped on the creature. Even they were quite surprised at how big the spider was. After we thanked them profusely they all trotted back to their house. I was so thankful to have the problem taken care of so we could go home in peace.

Moral of the story, I cannot take care of myself when it comes to spiders. I need a handful of boys to take care of that for me. I will always be so thankful that they noticed our distress and came and helped. This morning I was reading about loving your neighbor as yourself. They definitely were a pretty good example of that.

Forever Changed

I'll always remember, actually I probably won't vividly remember for too long in my mind. Yet my heart will remember. My heart will remember the way it falls in love with beautiful broken children who speak a heart language so different from my own. It will always remember why I agree with the statement that "Asia gets in your blood." That walking these dirt roads has forever changed my heart. That seeing two of my students walk by the gates of our school barefoot, with shaved heads, and draped in orange cloth breaks my heart a little more. As the procession of somber monks walk by clutching their neighbor's offerings and one of the little ones exuberantly calls out to me. As I watch three of my students pick a multitude of leaves from a nearby bush so that they can show me the way they can cut the leaf in two by cutting it with their hand. The way the one who really can't do it at all squeals "Teacher" when he finally makes a small cut in the leaf. The way the little boys look at me before and after every time they shoot the basketball just to make sure I'm watching. The way they don't really seem to care that I'm not the same color as them or that I don't always understand what they are saying.

I've seen their faces, I've listened to their stories, I've dried their tears, I've prayed for them, and I will never be the same. Because of the orphans and at-risk children who I've been blessed to teach or work with "I've exchanged the carefree for the pain of God. His heart is heavy with the pain of suffering for the people He created. The people for whom He died. Then sometimes, He gives us a glimpse into His pain. He peels back the corner of His heart to reveal to us His pain. For His people." (I'm sorry I don't know whose quote this is.)

I know that His heart hurts for the boys who become monks to "earn" merit. I know that He hates it when little girls are used. I know that He suffers when children are hurt by those who should be protecting them. I think that what my heart feels is just a twinge of what our Father God feels for these children, He just lets me have a glimpse of how He feels for them. That glimpse is enough to know my life can never, should never, be the same.

Lessons From Life Lately...

- When you are used to 18 hour flights you will wonder if the plane is crashing when it starts descending after what feels like 15 minutes

- It is best not to get the giggles while smooshed in a public mini-bus with fifteen random Thai men for three hours

- You will find it funny that your current concern is whether or not you can reach the airplane sandwiches stashed in your bag which at this point is not really accessible

- Also, in said vehicle you will be the only ones eating (trying to quietly eat an apple is kinda a vain endeavor)

- Apple juice that squirts on the window does not wipe off discreetly

- The man falling asleep on your roommate will wake up when you and your roommate are laughing and accidentally elbow him

- Although you understand some Thai you will have absolutely have no idea what the driver is saying from all the way up front and you just hope someone knows where in the world you are trying to go

- When nearing Monkey Island on a kayak be prepared to hold tightly to all of your possessions and rapidly row in the opposite direction

- Bring sunblock that did NOT expire 5 years ago

- In the midst of an earthquake the jury is out on how best to respond

- When running a summer school in Thailand be prepared for students to come in days after school has started (a week and a half past the registration deadline) and ask to enroll. They will then, after you tell them it is full, proceed to the two other people on the campus and ask them if they can enroll.

- When faced with a classroom of students whose names are some variation of Bim, Bem, Bam, or Ban calling any of those names doesn't necessarily elicit a response

- Be prepared to respond graciously when you are trying to figure out a student's name and you try to spell it in English and he shows you he does indeed write his name F4

- You will feel silly when you replay in your mind the string of names you've just called, "Ahm, First, Nack, Bim, Bem, Bami, Bim, Film, Ging nung, Oh Chawng, Tham, Jem, Tey..."

- While you are so thankful your car has returned from the shop after over one month of repairs since the car accident, you are not so thrilled that everything that used to work in the car no longer does: including the all important gas gauge (see next lesson)

- When you've run out of gas in the middle of a busy road all you can do is sit and grade papers

- When you are in the midst of being rescued and both the driver seat and the passenger seat break in the space of thirty seconds it is okay to laugh hysterically on the side of the road

- When your roommate insists on climbing the mango tree in your "lawn" (a brick patio) it is your job to stand under the tree and catch the falling mangoes

- When you are still standing at the end of the day it is just one more reason to praise the Lord

Things I Never Thought I'd Say/Hear

(Picture from the market next to our muu baan (neighborhood)...if you look closely you can see the whole chickens lying on the table.)

I've found that living in a foreign country your conversations change. They involve new topics and vocabulary that while at first are so unfamiliar but soon are spoken and understood without a second thought. Here are just a couple examples.

Do you eat blood?

A question I asked in all seriousness to our new English speaking students. The answer to that question determines if they get a typical Thai soup with congealed chicken blood or mixed vegetables for lunch (made for those of us who don't eat blood.)

Where is the Hafif?

Hafif happens to be a particular brand of lice shampoo that has had several uses in our house. Now the question of "Where's the Hafif?" is not an unusual question.

What's that familiar smell?


My roommate asked...a split second later our visitor from South Africa answered...burning trash. And my roommate instantly recognized he was right. However, I can't imagine sitting around in my parent's living room in the States smelling our neighbor's burning trash. And the fact that it is a very common smell is a little bit odd.



Here, have some seaweed and caramel goldfish.

I tell you this country does some strange things to a person's taste buds. Because these are actually a pretty good snack.



Let's go to the noodle shop and buy ice cream.

The fact that there is a typical Thai noodle shop on our school grounds (run by our landlady) is quite convienient. And that they now sell ice cream is pretty awesome for those outrageously hot afternoons after long days of teaching.

Do you want ice cream?

The only reason why this question is funny is because we know to ask it when the dogs in our neighborhood all start howling, howling at the same time. It never fails that about two minutes after their howling begins the ice cream motorcycle drives down our street. It varies as to the time of day that he comes and we can't hear the tune he plays until he drives by our house. However, the dogs must be able to hear him and they feel it their duty to announce his coming.

What does the moon not have?

Well the question wasn't as unusual as the answer...During Science class I asked Jabez what the moon did not have thinking that he would answer with something along the lines of water, light, air (you know the things I had just taught). Instead he looks at me and says, "Turkey?" I couldn't help laughing at his correct but oh so incorrect answer.

Why Do You Get Up in the Morning?

At about 2:00am last night in the ER I heard a question that has been rolling around in my mind ever since. It was an unlikely setting and an unexpected question. I was eavesdropping, yes eavesdropping, because when you hear something in English you can't help but listen. Besides that we were sitting in close quarters and doing anything to keep ourselves awake. I heard him ask her, a previous acquaintance of his, "What do you get up for in the morning?" In essence, what do you live for? What in your life is worth pressing on for? She didn't answer immediately and he asked, "Is it just selling your art?" And she answered with just a twinge of defensiveness, "Well, I have my teaching, I teach painting." After that the subject was dropped, but my mind dwelt on that.



What do I get up for in the morning? How would I have answered that question? Would I have said that I live to teach my students? Would I have said that I get up because I have a huge to-do list that needs conquering? Would I have said that I don't really know why I get up...it's just something I have to do? Would I have been brave enough to try to explain the true motivation behind my life...would I have been honest enough to admit that sometimes I lose sight of that truth?



Could I explain how my life was given meaning two thousand years ago when a perfect man who was the Son of God died a sinner's death upon rough wood...and that when He did that He saw me? Could I explain that although I was just as lost as everyone born into this dark world a gracious Savior redeemed my pitiful life. He clothed me in His righteousness...a gift that I could never earn or deserve. Would I have the words to say that I live to know Him...that everyday is an opportunity to walk with Him? That the life He leads me on is an adventure...one that is not always certain but is always secure. That I follow His voice and I turn when He tells me to, that my life is not my own. That I am so thankful I have a higher purpose than myself or my dreams. Would he understand that I'm a bond servant by choice to the King of the universe? That my days, hours, minutes, and seconds are for His glory.



I myself am only beginning to understand these truths and beginning to grasp the blessed fact that nothing in this life is because of my adequacy or power...all of it is by His surpassing power, by His mercy, by His strength. Which is truly good news for me.

Mouse...Really?

Being in Thailand I have done many things I never thought I would do or could do, and tonight was another random one.

***

I grew up in the mountains and there were always mice...not a big deal. Sometimes frightening sometimes pitiful they were just a fact of life. Last year about this time we had a creepy Christmas mouse that visited our house for the holidays and terrorized us by jumping on us from the cabinet, eating our food, and taunting us by running around our house while we tried to capture it. Needless to say in the end we were victorious even though a few geckos did die in the process.

***

Fast forward to this year...

Our washing machine has flooded our back room twice, sure the room needed mopping, but sweeping out the water is not my favorite way to spend an evening. After the first time we noticed the hose that drains the washing machine was chewed up and laying on the ground. Our suspicion was that the descendant of last year's Christmas mouse had returned to haunt us. However, we called the landlady and she sent some repair men to fix the problem. Our conversation with them went something like this:

Nice repairmen: "Badikadk akd akdj kadlk."
Me: {I don't recognize those words but I'm sure it has to be another way to ask what's wrong with the washing machine...maybe it's Northern Thai.} "Naam auk." (Translation: water comes out.)
Nice repairmen: "Aldkajdfk akdlfakd lakdjie." (Translation: Yeah, the hose came out of the wall...that makes water come on the floor.)
Me: "Chi, dia khit waa... sat kin." (Yes, I see that but I think the hose is eaten by an animal.)
Nice repairmen: "Nuu." (Translation: mouse)
Me: "Chi." (Yes.)
Nice repairmen: "Khray auck kadl?" (Translation: Which one of you pulled the hose out of the wall?)
Me: "May mii khray." (We didn't do it. )
Nice repairmen: "Pen luuk." (Translation: It must have been your child.)
Me: {Should I explain that we don't have children?... No...} Pause...
Nice repairmen: "Ban haa pen array?" (Translation: What is actually wrong with the machine?)
Me: "Naam auck." (Haven't we established the fact that the water comes out, flooding this room?)
Nice repairmen: "Akdjfad daklkdj idaokjf?" (Translation: So there isn't anything wrong with the machine?"
Me: (Other than the fact that the. water. comes. out. no.)
Nice repairmen: Look at us strangely, stick the hose back into the wall and say goodbye. As they are walking out the door we heard them commenting about us. "Dalok lee dii jai." (Translation: They were funny and nice.)
Us: Did we really just have that conversation, and how stupid do we feel right now?

***

The liquid sloshing around our feet after the next time we did laundry confirmed that yes, merely sticking the hose back in the wall was not super helpful.

***

Then tonight...we get home from Bible Study and my roommate asks, "Did one of you put an apple behind the washing machine?" Answer: "Of course, we love to store apples behind the washing machine." We all go look behind the machine and yes there is an almost half eaten apple sitting behind the washer next the troublesome hose. The thoughts start rolling from there. "How in the world did an apple get behind there?" "Did we have one on the table in the other room and did a mouse really dribble the it all the way in here to its favorite entrance point?" "How big is this thing anyway?" After a little while of being completely disgusted by the thought of what must have happened...we came up with a plan.

***

Plan A:
Put peanut butter and mouse poison on the little edge inside a plastic water bottle.
Jam the water bottle into the hole the washing machine hose keeps getting knocked out of.
Place paint bucket behind the water bottle to help keep it in place.
Hope that what...? The mouse eats the poison and dies in our wall? The water bottle stays in place? I don't know. I'm not sure what to do about the hose which is now almost entirely eaten by whatever this hungry creature is. Maybe we'll just call the super helpful repairmen again...it was such fun the first time around...

Doi Inthanon

November 26th. The day after we made thankful turkeys with our kids. The day after we gathered together with an unlikely assortment of people to enjoy Thanksgiving dinner. The day we spent on a special trip with Nida, the 4th grade Thai teacher and her family. She invited us to travel to Doi Inthanon, the mountain on which she and her husband grew up and still call home. We had a wonderful day visiting waterfalls, pagodas, villages, and the highest spot in Thailand. We thoroughly enjoyed a picnic at the base of a waterfall, seeing the little shop in her cousin's village where they weave beautiful creations, and buying fresh vegetables from a local stand. We are so thankful to have been able to spend the day with these friends and feel privileged to be given a glimpse into the land they call home.

These are just a few memories from the day. Click on the picture to enlarge the pictures.

School of Promise Video

This is the fantastic new School of Promise promotion video. I hope it gives you a glimpse of the mission and vision of Hope International Schools and the School of Promise. I hope you enjoy seeing the beautiful faces of the students and hearing from some of the teachers.

Royal Flora

Saturday some of our team took a trip to the Royal Flora Gardens. The Royal Flora is in the foothills of mountains that border Chiang Mai. A tram takes visitors to various stops around the garden where people can walk around, enjoy the scenery, and take pictures. They have gardens decorated to represent various countries around the world, a huge temple up on a hill, different greenhouses, and various other attractions. As always I'm amazed by the beauty of the land in Thailand, it points me to our artistic creator God who has blessed us with such beauty.

Some photos of the day...

More Than a Statistic

There are two students at our school, a brother and sister, who I have known are on a pretty big scholarship. Big deal. Most of the students at our school are on a scholarship of one kind or another. Today I found out why these two are able to come to school paying only a fraction of the actual cost. Their only mode of transportation is also their business. Their dad is a song taw driver. He makes between 300 and 400 baht per day. Which is about $12. However, gas costs about 200 baht per day, meaning that the total income is about $6. A family of four survives off of roughly $180 per month.

(Song taw)

Now transition with me...

It is estimated that the number of prostitutes in Thailand ranges from 800,000 to 2 million.

Rhode Island's population: 1,053,209. There are more prostitutes in Thailand than there are people in the state of Rhode Island.

Approximately 20% of these prostitutes are 18 years old or younger

Thailand is currently called the Disneyland of Pedophiles.

There are up to 600,000 cases of AIDS.

There are 1,300,000 Orphans in Thailand

Sex work has been become "normalized" in Thailand

Thai women believe that prostitution reduces cases of rape.

Back now to my student: my bright, beautiful, friendly little first grade girl. What does her future entail? When do her parents get tired of barely making ends meet and decide they need her to help make a little extra money? At what point does that become a decision a parent, a Buddhist parent with no hope, would make?

And then I think about the over one hundred children I have met face to face, who I've laughed with and talked with who have been rescued from this life of hopelessness and cruelty. Each child with an unimaginable past. One, a girl who at 5 years old was nursing her mom as she died of AIDS. Who after her mom passed away, was passed around her village, with no one taking her in, caring for, or loving her. Another a girl whose father was killed in an opium deal gone wrong, and whose mom now works in Bangkok as a prostitute. A third, a boy with scars on his face from his battered childhood and hidden scars from sexual abuse by foreign men. I then I think of the millions more who will never be rescued, and it breaks my heart.

Odds are stacked against them. Odds are stacked us as we try to fight for their freedom. However, the Lord has put on our hearts the desire to join these precious children in this battle. Our weapon of choice...education. "Education is a better safeguard of liberty than a standing army." Edward Everett. However, the ultimate battle is for their souls and is won only by the power of the love of Christ which we seek to impart as we teach each day.

Please pray that The School of Promise will be a safeguard of liberty, educating children so as to break the cycles of poverty and oppression that hold so many. Pray that The School of Promise would bring hope into the lives of our students as well as their parents through the truths of the gospel. Pray that the girls who attend our school will see their value before God. Pray that the boys at our school would grow into men of God who treat women with respect and lead their families in paths of righteousness. Pray that each child will come to know Christ and walk in a manner worthy of the gospel.

Visakha Bucha Day

Friday here was a school holiday and because we follow the Thai government schedule most of the holidays our school has are Buddhist related. Generally, we have no idea exactly what they mean or why we have a day off. This holiday however, was a little bit different. The holiday is Visakha Bucha Day which is a memorial to Buddha's birth, enlightenment, and death. It is one of the most important holidays to the Buddhist people. During this holiday people are supposed to make merit (to try to cancel their bad deeds), give donations, mediate, give food to monks, and abstain from alcohol and immoral behavior.

A long held tradition in Chiang Mai during this holiday is a seven mile hike up to the temple perched on the mountain Doi Suthep. People walk up the mountain to make merit at the temple. Khruu Ooy offered to take us to the base of Doi Suthep so that we could walk up a little ways and observe this cultural experience. She said that they all hold candles as they climb in the night and that it is very pretty. As we got close to the base of the mountain it was packed with cars inching forward, people were covering the sidewalks. We joined the crowd of thousands walking the road. At times people were a bit spread out and other times we were squished into tight spots where we would all cram together to let a motorcycle fit through where there really was no space. Please keep in mind that it is hot season here, which makes being smashed against hundreds of other people a really unpleasant experience. During one of these times a "gutui" or a man who is now a woman commented to us in English "its hot" as he/she began fanning Amy.

Due to the recent political unrest there were many policemen and soldiers at several places along the way. At one point I was unnerved by a large group of young men in black shirts with white bandannas around their heads who were yelling loudly (people in Thailand are not generally loud). Khruu Ooy told us that they were from a nearby university. Apparently it is tradition for all the freshmen men from the several universities around Chiang Mai to dress alike and run and chant up the mountain.

At one point on the trek, at a particular curve in the road, many people were stopping and going up to a spirit house where a monk was chanting. This is the same spot that song taw drivers and any other Buddhist will wai as they drive up the mountain on any normal day. At about that same time there was a Buddha statue that was being transported up the mountain. Everyone who walked by waied the statue and bowed under it.

Really it was a sad thing for us to observe. One of my roommates commented on the fact that it is one thing to know that the huge majority of the people in this city are Buddhists, it is completely different to see those people all together in empty worship of a god who can not save. Please pray for the true "enlightenment" of Thailand. That they would see the light of Jesus and turn to Him.

I've included a video of a little bit of what we saw that night. I'm sorry it is not entirely clear. At the point we took this we had stopped on the side of the road and things were not as crowded as they had been. Here is just a little glimpse of the annual trek up Doi Suthep.

Sunday Morning

Life in Thailand is unpredictable. Case in point:

Sundays are usually great for several reasons. First, the worship and fellowship with other believers is uplifting. Second, we get ready in a pretty cool (temperature wise) environment, get into our air conditioned car, and sit in an air conditioned building for church. Third, we generally go to lunch after church at some of our favorite restaurants or try new places. This morning I was attempting to back our favorite hunk of metal out of our driveway which is not the easiest thing because it has no power steering and we have to avoid hitting our neighbor's vehicle which is generally parked behind us. Vente (our car) often doesn't start right away or stalls quickly after starting. Meaning that when we do get it started we have to quickly hit the gas for it to remain running producing revving noises and causing us to peel out of the driveway. I just really struggled this morning to get it moving, it just would hop backwards and then die. This happened repeatedly until I finally managed to get it onto the street. At this point I knew something was not right but I wasn't sure what it was. As I lurched down the street I began to notice that it felt like the clutch was already in before I attempted to step on the pedal. I thought something really was not right but I wasn't sure if it was just me so I asked my roommate to drive it for a minute and to see what she thought. She was driving and agreed that we needed to get it looked at but didn't think it felt too weird. As we were driving down the street she started having trouble getting it into gear and we decided to call our boss and see if we could just park Vente at his house and borrow his car or ride with him to church. We stop at a very busy intersection where the stoplight is not working while I call our boss. When Brittany attempts to put the car in gear and drive through the intersection she can't get it into ANY gear. So... we sit at this intersection blocking the flow of traffic. Amy rolls down her window and proceeds to wave everyone around us. Now, we stick out in Thailand. We get stared at, pointed at, and laughed at on a regular basis. Picture us sitting in the middle of the intersection stopped and waving everyone around us. Yep, that was awkward. We sat there waiting for our boss when this car drives by and a farang (foreigner) man rolls down his window and asks if we need help. We say, yes! and he pulls right in front of us and stops. Amy and I jump out (keep in mind we are wearing church clothes) and help this wonderful man push our car backwards into the oncoming traffic. Oh, how we wished we had a camera! We didn't quite make it clear to Brittany (who was steering) what the plan was, and Vente doesn't have power steering so we accidentally got the car stuck too close to the median. Around that time a Thai couple on a motorbike stopped to help. So we all pushed the car forward and then turned into a pretty vacant factory area. We thanked them all profusely and told them our director was coming and to go ahead with their days. When our boss arrived we piled into their vehicle. We then headed off to pick up a new friend that we were planning on taking to church with us. Then with six adults and two kids (with large car seats) in a car with five available seats we headed off to church. Three of us were in the way back on fold out seats and the floor where absolutely no air reaches. Which meant that car sick and super hot we arrived late to church. Things really never go quite as planned. However, lunch time definitely improved the day. We ate at Sizzler (which we've never been to) with air con, a baked potato, and salad! Just wanted to share our eventful morning with you! Life certainly isn't very exciting if something isn't going wrong. :) So thankful that the Lord provided people to help us, a ride to church, good fellowship, and good food! Anyway hope your mornings work out more smoothly than ours!

Songkran Festival

Thai New Year has arrived, which means...water! Yes, for a whole week the entire city has license to throw water on anyone else. Not only that, down at the moat, the whole city shows up for water fight of gigantic proportions. The moat is just that, an actual moat. The old city used to be surrounded by a high wall with four gates and a moat. Now all that is left of the wall are the gates and corners, but the moat survives. April 13 means that it is time to climb into your truck with about ten of your closest friends and relatives, grab your water guns and any large bucket and drive down to the moat. Some choose to also cover their car in baby powder mixed with liquid dye and don a Halloween type mask/costume. Once at the moat cars move at about 2 miles per hour as the occupants toss water onto other trucks, cars, pedestrians, virtually anything is fair game. Water is pulled out of the moat and huge blocks of ice are sold by the water. We stood on the sidewalk pulling water out of the moat to dump on whoever thought it would be fun to dump water on us. Amy and I had to work as a team as we had to ward off attacks from both the front (all the vehicles) and the back (other pedestrians). I have to say that is must be one of the best ideas ever created. The days have been so hot and just sitting in the heat is pretty miserable. After you are completely soaked from head to toe the temperature is much more bearable.

The fight is not contained to the moat although that is where most of the people go. On any street, even out of the city, you will see people standing on the side of the road with their buckets and hoses throwing water on anyone who passes by. This afternoon we walked down the road aways to our local outdoor tri-weekly market. As we exited our neighborhood we were doused by some cute children. A little farther down the road a passing truck doused us. At the start of the market we were yet again doused by some teenagers hanging out by the road. Oddly enough the prevailing sensation was happiness that one finally does not feel so hot!

Some memories from the day:

Homecoming

Returning to Thailand I have felt as if I never left but it has also felt a bit strange. For instance, not all of our previous housemates are coming back so we know things will never be quite the same as they were. Also, our house smells different, weird I know, but one of those things I noticed. I am easing back into Thai culture remembering to take off my shoes, wai people in greeting, and speak Thai again. I am adjusting to the heat (over 100 every day), the extreme levels of pollution, and being the farang (foreigner). I am thoroughly enjoying the mangoes (right now we have 25 in our house, minus the four we've already eaten this week), the cashew nut chicken, of course Khruu Ooy and my other friends. I'm grateful for my housemates in this land where we have to remind each other "Quit making me laugh I'm starting to sweat" as we sit stationary at our table with three fans pointed at us.

One of the things that rudely welcomed me back "home" is ants. For the last several days I have been irritated by ants and have thought, "I hate ants" every time I've seen one. Yesterday, I decided to force myself into positive thinking by saying something I was thankful for every time I saw an ant. That went pretty well. This morning as I went down the stairs in a bit of a daze to get my cereal before heading back up to my room (the coolest place in the house because it still held some of the air conditioning from the night). I encountered a winding trail of ants, more sporadic than usual, which makes the source difficult to determine. Now for anyone who has seen double wide trails of ants that stretch out several feet long, you'll understand why this is so frustrating. While crawling across our kitchen and bathroom floors (yes, it stretched across two rooms) with ant spray and a paper towel I thought, "These are way too many things to be thankful for so early in the morning." Needless to say ant spray and paper towels topped the list of what I was thankful for.

So, as I readjust to life on this side of the world with its good and bad I thank you for your prayers and support. My new theme verse for this year in Thailand is Psalms 37:3.
"Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness." This verse reminds me to trust the Lord even when things don't make sense, to do good whenever and wherever I can, dwell in this land so far from home, and to hunger for and be satisfied with the Lord's faithfulness to me every step of the way.

Recent Happenings

In searching my brain for stories of things that have happened in recent weeks, most of what I remember are the times we spent painting our building, scrubbing the floors, and cleaning the bathrooms. I now have a greater appreciation of Cinderella after scrubbing our entire building on our hands and knees; a product of the statement "Who needs drop cloths?"

(You can't really see how much dirt is caked on our legs from crawling on the muddy floor.)

I was so thankful to learn how to tile after two days straight of scrubbing floors. I was taught by our great friend Rob who selflessly comes to our school building most days and slaves away doing hundreds of jobs that we have no idea how to do. After a bit of a safety lesson he even let me use his special hand saw tool. (Daddy aren't you proud. ;) )

In preparation for our upcoming visits to the States(yay!), we made a trip down to the Walking Street/Sunday Night Market. Before we were even half-way there our approximately thirty-three year old car began to overheat. While this is not unusual it is still a bit of an annoyance. We pulled over into a gas station where Vente (our car) has overheated before. We put water in our radiator at least once a week (maybe we should try actual radiator fluid) so we carry a big bottle of water for the sole purpose of cooling Vente. Disclaimer: while the things I'm about to mention are probably not bright ideas we were told to do them by people who know more about cars than we do. Anyway we pour water on our boiling hot radiator but that soon gets old so one of my roommates touches the radiator cap. We all say "No! Don't take the lid off the car is too hot and it might explode!" However, our roommate says, "The lid isn't hot at all" and proceeds to twist it off. About a second later a geyser of dirty brown liquid erupted from our radiator. All of us who had previously stepped away from the car jumped even further back almost falling into a weird canal thing. Thankfully no one was hurt and we cooled Vente down with more water and were able to make it to the market after all. Lesson learned: really...don't take the lid off of the radiator when the car is still hot.

Yesterday, we had a special English as a Second Language training session with a woman from Australia. We are so thankful for all of her hard work and the time she has taken to help us. It will be invaluable. The training began yesterday morning and a headache that I had gotten a couple days before just continued to get worse. Thinking I might find some medicine I ran to the little shop next door. The one that when we sing our praise songs every morning we are able to watch the man and woman in their kitchen as they prepare food that they sell during the day. We share a wall and our buildings are extremely close. When I walked in I was so excited that he understand my question (I was speaking Thai) but he didn't have anything I could read the label for which made me a little uncomfortable. That was sad, but it necessitated a trip to the 7/11 which is exciting because that means...motorcycle! The trip is fairly short but is a pain to make in the car and takes twice as long. So, because Khruu Ooy wasn't there to stop me I borrowed Gordon's motorbike and headed off to 7/11. After a bit of a wobbly start I did pretty well, I even drove past the cars at the stop sign and pulled up next to the other bikes at the very front. I was nervous about having to cross traffic several times but the Lord protected me and it was great fun!

Today at the Thai school that Amy and I teach at our classes went pretty well. Although they were interrupted by the principal coming and taking pictures of us, which when you are either talking or making exaggerated faces to keep the students' attention are not very flattering. Then, he asked if we could Skype with a couple from Australia who often visit Thailand and volunteer at this school. We had actually heard about them before from the teachers at this school and some mutual friends (Rob the guy who helps at our school being one of them.) We had a nice visit with these people and look forward to meeting them in May. We also had a long talk with our principal today over lunch, he is trying to learn English and is doing really well! There is still some confusion about whether certain words are in English or Thai because the Thai speakers think he is speaking in English and the English speakers think he is speaking in Thai. However, after him saying "What?" when I'm speaking and me saying "Aray na?" when he is speaking we are able to understand each other pretty well. Which reminds me of something very exciting. This last week I read my very first sentence written in Thai letters. It was..."The crow has large eyes." well in English anyway. :)

After teaching we headed back to our school to continue our "manual labor" which the teachers at our Thai school think is hilarious. We began painting the front fence which at two o'clock in the afternoon receives direct sunlight. Amy and I began working with a bucket that had a hole in the bottom and had to be held in just the right way and with one pair of flip-flops between the two of us. Things such as shoes can be forgotten when one takes three bags, a change of clothes, and random things such as water bottles and coffee mugs to work in the morning. So we stood on one foot because the pavement was burning hot. After a little bit Brittany joined us and we continued the painting. We must have looked pitiful with our bucket and lack of shoes because our neighbor lady brought out three straw hats for us to wear. We thought it was so sweet of her to notice our dilemma and act on our behalf.

Last story for this extremely long blog. On Tuesday mornings Amy and I sit in a meadow for a little while and have our quiet times. (We drop our roommates off at another Thai school and then have some extra time in which it would be pointless to drive back to our school just in time to turn around and drive the Thai school where we teach.) Anyway last time we were in the meadow we saw this crazy dog run and stick his head through two rails in a fence. He started howling and Amy and I felt so bad for him. We were deciding how we could rescue him as he squirmed and struggled. Just then he was able to pull his head out of the fence. We were relieved that we didn't have to help him and went on with our time. About half an hour later later the same dog came and rammed his head through the same exact spot on the fence. This time we didn't feel so bad for him because...well... he should have learned his lesson. We joked about how sometimes we feel like we are that dog, trying to accomplish something that just cannot be done. However, today as we sat in that meadow that same dog came and jumped into the fence again! As we were laughing at his stupidity he was able to squeeze through the fence. We were quite surprised. I'm not sure how he was able to manage that feat, but we took it as a sign from God. ;) Sometimes those impossible things really are possible, we might just have to try what seems stupid a few times before we get it right.