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.

Sprouting Seeds

I think one of my students is a missionary in the making. Technically, he's Buddhist but he has a soft heart for the Lord and remembers Bible stories better than just about anyone. He reads the Bible during English class and I feel terrible telling him that he needs to put it away and listen. My roommate says I'm persecuting him, and I guess she's right.

Yesterday, halfway done with the after school student drop offs my boy says, "I love God." I said "Oh, yeah?" My roommate who just been talking with him said to ask him why. He said, "Because God made us and called us and He loves us." We then proceeded to talk about the stories of Daniel, Joseph, and Noah. Joseph is his personal favorite. I remember being shocked several weeks ago when I asked my class who Moses was and they stared at me with bewildered looks on their faces. This boy however, raised his hand and was able to tell me in Thai from Moses' birth to the parting of the Red Sea. Now, you have to understand this child rarely listens to me, focuses on anything, or remembers what we've been studying, but he can remember entire Bible stories.

After we'd been talking for awhile he saw a plane passing overhead and made a comment so I asked him if he could go anywhere on a plane where would he go. He said he wouldn't because he wouldn't want to crash. But he decided he'd like to build a big boat. He said he would, "Have people come see, and have pictures, and tell them about Jesus." I asked if I could come see it and he said sure. There might be a second ark in the future. ;)

When we had arrived to the drop off spot he said truly disappointed, "Oh, I wish we weren't here yet, I want to keep talking about Bible stories." I told him to read a new one and we'd talk about it on the next ride home.

This is the same child who three days ago was on "red" which is the lowest rung on our school's discipline ladder. He was unmotivated, not listening, and not putting forth any effort. I was frustrated because we were trying to review a lot of information for the final and he was just not being helpful. We finished and he was still nowhere near done with his work so I sent him to the office with a note asking them to have him finish because we were moving on to Science and I had no patience to keep working with him. He spent all afternoon in the office working with my boss. After school I apologized for not being patient with him and he said, "It's not your fault, I'm sorry, I was on red, I wasn't doing very good." I said, "Well, we are both sorry we'll start again new tomorrow." To which he responded enthusiastically and gave me a high five. I was impressed with a third grader taking that much responsibility for his own actions. He has such a tender heart. Please pray for his development in the faith. Please pray Luke 8:15 for him: "But the seed in the good soil, these are the ones who have heard the word in an honest and good heart, and hold it fast, and bear fruit with perseverance." Please pray that he would not be like the "...rocky soil are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no firm root; they believe for a while, and in time of temptation fall away." Please pray that his faith would not be squashed by his Buddhist family, may they come to believe in the Lord as well.

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.

Hope and a Future

The tears in her eyes remind me why.

Last week was mid-terms, I don't know why we have mid-terms in 1st Grade, but we do. She was worried. On the morning of the English mid-term as we picked up her daughter in the cold morning air she told me, "I don't know if she can do it." In my mind its a just a test in 1st grade and I knew that her daughter, while she might not get a perfect score would still do alright. In her mind it's her daughter's future, it's an indicator of whether she can rise above her circumstances. When the tests were all done and the scores all marked, I put them out of my mind.

However, last night as we entered my boss' house, who actually employs this dear mother as his wife's house helper, I saw her. I told her that her daughter did really well on the English mid-term that she scored an 80%. As I looked into her eyes I saw her tears and the words spilled out.

Words revealing that she doesn't understand English at all, that she didn't know if her daughter could do it, that she dreams for a better future for her daughter, that she tells her daughter everyday to make the most of this opportunity to listen well and work hard because she has a chance to be special, to be different.

Now I know it's more than a test, more than 1st grade to her, it's her daughter's only chance for a future. It's her dream of seeing her daughter with an education higher than her own. It's the hope that her daughter will marry a godly man who treats her well. It's the hope that her daughter won't have to work so hard just to barely make ends meet.

I tell her that her daughter listens well, asks for help, and gives it her all. She often doesn't quite know what's going on but that doesn't stop her from trying. Today as I watched her she helped some of the other kids who've been here longer and who should know more than her. But she's working hard to make her momma proud and the tears in her mother's eyes mean that she's succeeding.

The tears in her eyes remind me why. It's times like this that I remember why we're here...Hope International Schools provides hope and a future to students and families in the developing world by sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ, providing excellent education, and breaking the cycle of poverty and oppression.

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...

Funny Story

After eating lunch at school everyone does their own dishes. Teaching responsibility: yes... making less work for our cook: yes... sanitary: maybe not. However, my girls often end up playing in the water more than they wash their dishes, such was the case today. I teasingly told one of my girls to "move it" because she was playing with bubbles and we were all waiting behind her to wash our dishes. Amy (the 2nd grade teacher) started singing, "I like to move it move it." My little first grader started singing "I like to move it move it" while bobbing her head. Too funny.

Week at a Glance

This week in Thailand...

...We agreed to help out a friend, which entailed teaching for an English camp at a nearby school to about 140 students. It was nice to have a change of pace to break up a sometimes monotonous routine. The school was hospitable and the day was smooth. In fact they took such good care of us they even dug a bee stinger out of my foot when I happened to get stung. During the day we met a man who was there living and working at the school for several months. As we tried to explain to him what we did and why, he asked us, "Are you guys like modern day nuns?" The half-funny half-sad thing was he was serious. He didn't really understand how we would think there was such a thing as the Lord's call on our lives, much less obey it.

...We had our weekly Monday night dinner with a special meal and boxed birthday cake (all the way from the States) for one of my dear roommate's birthdays. My boss's wife works hard every week to make us delicious American dinners, which we greatly appreciate.

...One morning as I walked into my stuffy classroom I was greeted by a humongous creepy spider. *Just for the record I am one of those girls who would ask her dad to kill crunchy bugs that happened to interrupt her life. Thank you dad!* I tried to be brave, because sometimes I can be, but this spider was too much for me. So I did what any good teacher would do...I asked the fifth grade boy to help me kill the spider. And by "help" what I mean is that I watched him chase it around the room, stomp on it several times, and when it refused to die...catch it with his hands. Only later did I wonder if it might be poisonous or dangerous.

...One afternoon our school cook, Phii Joy, brought me a bowl after school. As I gave her a curious look she told me that she had made som tam (spicy papaya salad, one of our favorites) exactly the way we English teachers liked it. What a thoughtful lady. She also made guidteaw for lunch on Friday. Rice noodles in broth with pork, garlic, dried chili peppers, and a random assortment of sauces. Oddly enough it is becoming quite the comfort food, which was great Friday because we were all struggling a bit with various levels of sickness.

...As I visited with one of my student's mothers after school, she shared with me about her husband's and her ministry here in Thailand. It was really neat to hear about. As she was talking she shared that there were still several things up in the air and things that they didn't really know how they were going to work out. She said she had been encouraged on Friday when her child brought home our craft project from Moses and the Red Sea on which their little hands had written "God will make a way." Even though her child didn't understand the words it was an encouragement to her to remember that God does provide.

...I spent three hours in a hospital waiting room which was gloomy and too small for the number of people. I had driven my dear friend Khruu Ooy to the hospital after she had suddenly gotten quite ill at school. I have to admit that I felt quite a bit of accomplishment that I knew how to get to the faraway hospital (unfortunately I'd been there before) and then back home after I had dropped her off at her husband's house in the city. For those of you who know my sense of direction and the moat area in the city of Chiang Mai you will understand the feat that this was. For a little while I didn't feel like a foreigner or outsider (odd considering I was sitting in a room in which no one shared my skin, hair, or eye color.)

...Last night my roommate suggested we put Nutella on cereal. It is our usual practice when lesson planning at night after the time we have to ceased to be genuinely productive to think of what snack we can make to get us going. Pretty much anything with Nutella is always an option (for those of you who don't know Nutella is a chocolaty hazelnut mixture with a consistency sort of close to peanut butter.) I have to confess one time we actually ate Tim Tams (a chocolate wafer cookie thing from Australia) with Nutella on top only several minutes later followed by a piece of chocolate candy with Nutella on it. Anyway this time we decided on cereal minus the Nutella. I have to say cereal is one of my favorite things in the world. Thanks to the sweet friends who brought cereal for us all the way from the States!

...Today, the first Saturday in a long time that we haven't had anything to do, we broke out our scrub brushes, soap, and laundry buckets (which thankfully haven't seen much use since our generous landlady gave us a washing machine) to clean our house. This is an endeavor that always produces a lot of sweat, but the results are worth it. In an effort to keep our kitchen clean we are having dinner tonight delivered for about $3.13 per person.

So there it is...a glimpse of this thing I call my life. Never quite predictable, not always easy, but with, oh, so much to laugh about and be thankful for.

Repeat

Well, it's universal...kids say surprising things. Here are some of the highlights from today...

It started off this morning with one of my little girls as we lined up in the hallway to go to class. She asked me in Thai, "Teacher, for Christmas, what are you going to give your children?" (Meaning my little band of five and six years olds.) My thoughts...1) What! It's only August and 2) Most Thai people don't even celebrate Christmas...where did that come from? Although our kids did start randomly humming/singing Christmas carols at least a month ago.

During English class I asked my kids if they knew what today was. After they replied "Tuesday," which is normally a pretty good answer, I told them that it was Miss Brittany's birthday. They didn't understand in English and instead of just saying the word in Thai I decided to sing a bit of "Happy Birthday" which was actually just as effective, they caught on quickly. Brittany told me later that they went up to her during break time, sang "Happy Birthday," and gave her hugs.

My kids have been struggling to pass a math facts speed test for a couple weeks now. The first student passed last week and this week another of my students finally passed. The other students sat a little sullen as they failed, yet again, to complete the test in the allotted time. I could see the disappointment on their faces, yet out of their sadness one of the little girls looks at the two students who passed the test and says to each of them in a sweet voice speaking in English "Good job. Good job." I was so proud of her.

My kids have been struggling with how to be good friends, with including everyone and being kind to each other. I have a hard time combating this as I can only talk with them a little about it. We had a discussion as were lining up for lunch because we were having some problems in the classroom. As we were eating I heard them start talking about it again. I turned around from the table I was at to look at them so I could focus on what they were saying because I was concerned the conversation of ten minutes ago had been forgotten. So as I watched them, sure they were about to start fighting, I saw them all put their hands in the middle of the table on top of each other's after the fashion of a sports team about to yell "break." They said something in Thai and threw their hands into the air broad smiles on their faces. They showed such unity which I was quite thankful for.

After lunch as my kids were once again lining up in the hallway, one of my little girls was filling my water bottle for me, as she came back another of my students said (in English) "Thank you, dear." You can always tell what you say a lot when your kids start to repeat it. I got another taste of that a couple minutes later when we were upstairs going to computer class. Walking into the class I realized that I had left my computer vocabulary flashcards downstairs. I did say out loud, "Oh, darn." (I know, what a terrible example). One of my students was at that time walking behind me and said, "Oh, darn." It was then that I remembered, they will repeat, even when they don't understand. I don't know why the repeat button was turned on today, but it sure was.

Just thought I'd share a couple of stories from the day, moments that made me smile and laugh out loud. I never cease to be amazed at what my kids say in Thai or English. I'm thankful they are becoming confident enough in English to speak it on their own initiative and in different situations. I'm also thankful for their character development, I pray they continue to grow in love, selflessness, and encouragement for each other.

Days of Our Lives

It's been awhile since I've posted anything, I've been working on a few posts that just are not ready for public consumption yet. In the meantime, I thought I'd show you some pictures of what my students have been up to recently and share a couple stories about what has been going on in our 1st Grade Classroom.

Science...an excuse to play in mud...right? Well, we were learning but there was a little bit of playing involved. What's it worth being a kid if you can't get a little messy?

Story of the Day: Every morning when we troop in from assembly where my sweet students sing the national anthem extremely loudly and often off key we start the day with milk box in hand. We always pray the same little prayer and the students pray it with me. Today as we finished with, "...And thank you for each other." My little boy looks at me and says, while doing the motions, "head and shoulders?" As if asking if that is what we were saying. Oddly enough it did kinda sound the same as "each other."While I think it is a wonderful thing to thank God for our heads and shoulders I explained to the class that we were saying thank you for everyone in our room. I proceeded to say "Thank you God for _______" inserting every one's names. After I had finished one of my little girls blurted out, "Thank you God, Miss Emily!" It made my heart smile.

Today I had my "counselling" class, a required Thai government class which I teach more like Sunday School. We talked about how God loves us when we are good or bad, a point which was a little bit hard to get across. Today in a mix of English and Thai with some help from my class we got the point across that God loves us very much no matter what we do. The one who actually most clearly understood and said correctly in Thai was one of my little girls who comes from a Buddhist background. I never cease to be amazed with how God works.

I wanted to share this picture of my class taken just after we made our beautiful "God Loves Me!" necklaces. The looks on their faces in this picture are good snapshots of their personalities. I'd like to say that my sole male student is doing our Bible verse hand motion for Jesus Christ but I'm pretty sure he's just karate chopping something. I wouldn't have it any other way. Please continue to pray for understanding for the kids as we are really trying to intentionally and clearly share the Gospel with them.

So, as the middle of the term draws near, the numbers of mosquitoes increase, and the heat actually subsides a bit we keep on keeping on. I continue learning how to love others, teach my students, and seek after God each day.

Pressing On

I learned something about life from one of my little girls this week. It happened like this...
This student can do and will do her work, but it just takes her a little bit longer than the rest of her classmates. During this particular math class when the students were working on independent worksheets she would continually read me the problem in English in hopes that I would help her figure out the answer. Now she is perfectly capable of doing the work on her own, it is just easier and faster (she thinks) if she asks me. So, several times I responded to her by telling her in English and in Thai to think carefully and do the work herself. On maybe the sixth occasion of me saying that I was finishing up with another student and was just about to go over to see what progress she was making. As I went over, her head was down, and I could see that she was crying. My heart went out to her remembering times when I felt similarly frustrated. I sat down with her, rubbed her back, and told her she could do it (in Thai). I let her sit for just a minute or so and then said, "Are you ready?"(in English) to which she responded emphatically, "Yes!"(in English) She then proceeded to work with more focus and energy than she had all day. She finished her work in record time. I was just so surprised by her response. I don't know what I expected, maybe moping, maybe more tears, maybe a struggle. But she just overcame her emotions and frustrations and carried on in a joyful and determined manner. I think I need to be a bit more like that. "...I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." Philippians 3:12-14

Are We There Yet?

Yesterday we had our first school field trip! We travelled in two song taws (driven by my student's dad a a friend of his) to Mae Rim. Our trip was about 45 minutes away and took us to Queen Sirikit's Botanic Garden. On the trip I had the inevitable conversation with one of my students that went something like this...

Student: "Are we there yet?"
Me: "Almost, about ten more minutes."
Student: Exasperated sigh.
Me: "What's wrong?"
Student: "I just wish we were already there."

I smiled while thinking to myself, how often in life do I say, "I just wish I was already there." There being spiritually mature, professionally skilled, or personally in my ideal life situation. I told my student that I understood but that maybe we could focus on enjoying the trip. So, now I'm reminding myself, "It all goes by so fast. Don't worry about when you will get there just enjoy the many delightful moments along the way." I hope you enjoy these pictures of my six beautiful children and some of our fun moments on this wonderful journey.

(Click on the pictures to see them full size)

First Week of School!

The School of Promise had its official first day of school Monday! That is such a huge praise! All those hours of scrubbing, painting, building, and planning have finally paid off! I now find myself in a much more challenging role, that of teacher. I am again getting used to the fact that during the day I have five small people who depend on me to teach them and love them. Children who I remind to wash their hands and whose skirts I continually fix because they are about four sizes too big. I pray that I can teach them to speak and understand English, add 2 +2, and know how a plant grows. But even more than that is the responsibility to share with them about the Lord, to speak grace and love into their lives, and to trust the Lord to cause hearts to soften and change. It is times such as these that I see how inadequate I am and how desperately I rely on the Lord's strength.

This poem by Amy Carmichael has been an encouragement to me recently.

God of patience and endurance,

Steadfast as the steadfast stars

Stands Thy promise, Thine assurance

Unto Thine ambassadors:

"I, thy God, will strengthen thee...

Where I am, there thou shalt be."

Lord, we would endure; O sift us

Clear of weakness; make us strong.

Lord, we would endure; O lift us

Into joy and conquering song.

Cause us in Thy peace to dwell,

Seeing the Invisible.

Let us welcome all life's weather,

Whatsoever it may be;

And, or singly, or together,

Find our heart's delight in Thee,

Our Redeemer, our Adored,

Lover, and beloved Lord.

Anyway... more about the students. It is always amusing when you ask a question to have the question repeated instead of answered. This week we are learning about living and non-living things. I said a statement that the students were supposed to repeat and then I said, "That's a hard one isn't it." To which my class parroted, "That's a hard one isn't it" which caused me to smile.

My poor lone boy sometimes has a hard time focusing on our lessons. Apparently that is the case when my Thai co-teacher is teaching as well. Amy and I were standing outside the classroom waiting to help with dismissal time when my student looked up and saw me standing outside the door. He had been looking around and not focusing. When he saw me he did the gesture for our classroom rule #2 "Stay on Task." Which as he was not on task appeared as if he was turning himself in.

I have been experimenting with Whole Brain Teaching strategies and they suggest having a gesture for each vocabulary word you teach. Great! If only teacher could remember all the gestures. ;) In all seriousness I think that is necessary especially when teaching ESL or what we jokingly call ETL (English as a third language). Instead of thinking of my own gesture I did what the program suggested, which ended up backfiring a little bit. The word is green and the gesture is to point to the ground and say 'achoo' because the picture is of grass. A little odd I know. Well now I have the situation of anytime any of my students see anything green whether in the classroom or outside they starting pointing and sneezing. I'm sure the other teachers think all my students have a cold.

Here are some pictures to give you a taste of what the school is like and what we do everyday.

These are our 12 students Grades 1, 2, 4, and 5 with our director Joel on the first day of school.

This is FUN reading time. The next to last period of everyday we spend thirty minutes reading. I normally read two stories and then let the kids chose a book to look at. Often times they bring it to me to read which is what is happening in this picture. I can't tell you how many times I read Goodnight Moon and The Three Little Pigs this week.

These are Amy's three boys (and Amy with her head cut off.)

My five 1st graders are working on writing the letter Nn on whiteboards.

Everyday we start school with an assembly where the students raise the flag and sing the national anthem.

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!

Lao: Our Unexpected "Vacation"

The story begins about a week ago, when we discovered that although it has been done in the past, it was no longer a possibility for my boss and I to switch our visa type while still in Thailand. Great! Quickly all sorts of issues now come into play. One being that we have only a limited amount of time before our visas expire. Two being that we have to go to a country with a Royal Thai Embassy. Three being that we have to find the cheapest way to get... well wherever we are going. My vote was for Australia, however, a ticket to Australia costs about as much as a ticket to the States. After a lot of hunting and thinking we picked our destination...Lao!

Our plans were:

• Leave Chiang Mai on Monday morning/Stay in a hotel in Thailand
  
• Tuesday finish the trip to Lao and cross the border/ apply for the visa
  
• Sight see/work on Wednesday
  
• Pick up the visa on Thursday, cross the border and travel as far as we could
  
• Friday finish travelling and arrive in Chiang Mai

Highlights:

• Marvel's homemade muffins and cookies
  
• About twenty caution wild elephant signs throughout one of the four mountain passes we drove through.
  
• A giant snake in the middle of the road
  
• Eating dinner (typical Thai noodle soup) at about 7:30 in a parking lot of a gas station at a roadside stand
  
• Being nervous while crossing the border that the strange man who showed up and grabbed our bags was about to take off with most of our important earthly possessions. He ended up driving us to the Thai Embassy and then back to the border on Thursday.
  
• A strange conversation with the men at the desk in our hotel, I didn't understand most of what they said even though it was in English. The part I understood one of the guys asked if our country was hot right now. I said no, thinking that he meant the States. His next sentence was about the weather when he visited Thailand. Not sure, but I think he actually meant Thailand when he said "your country" which is pretty exciting to me.
  
• Thanks to the suggestion of a friend we found JoMo's cafe which wonder of all wonders served real cheddar cheese, actual ham, and bagels!
  
• Dinner with a Lao friend (actually none of us knew him, but he was a friend of a friend so...)
  
• Walk down by the Mekong river which runs between Thailand and Laos. Our cell phones picked up the Thai signal so we were able to make calls. :)
  
• Lao handicraft shops
  
• Amy and I ventured out on our own our last day and had a nice long breakfast at JoMo's cafe with coffee!!! We then walked around a bit and shopped in fun little stores. We also went down to the river again just to see what it looked like in the day time. It was still pretty. :)
  
• In our hotel room killing over 20 mosquitoes in a span of five minutes, and then being eaten alive by the remaining mosquitoes. I even got some bites on my face. Yuck. Praying against malaria. ;)
  
• Wandering around town seeing the capital building, a historic tower, and the stadium for the Asian games.
  
• Eating "khaw lam" which is sticky rice mixed with coconut milk baked in bamboo stalks
  
• Bartering with tuk-tuk drivers who were upset when they couldn't get us to pay prices that were WAY too high (Amy and I were uncharacteristically strong)
  
• Trying to calculate costs: 1 Thai Baht is equivalent to 256 Lao Kip. When paying for dinner I felt like I should be buying a car since the price was about 30,000 Kip. It is actually only about 117 baht or about 4 dollars.
  
• Good conversations with Joel (our boss)
  
• Our stay at the "Grand" hotel which was definitely sketchy and our room was right above a karaoke floor. Loudly sung Thai songs in the middle of the night by drunk people...not so pleasant.
  
• Numerous gas station squatty potties, which at night time actually turn out to be where all the neighbors show up in their towels to shower.
  
• Laughing hysterically listening to Carmen's On a Mission from 1998 while sitting in an extremely long line of cars trying to go to Big C (where we stopped to buy our lunch of apples and banana bread)
  
• Buying ice cream cones at a "K Mart" which is not at all like K-Marts in the States.

The trip was super hot, sweaty, and long but we laughed about everything and really had some quality time. The Lord clearly was with us and enabled things to go smoothly especially at the embassy. Thank you for your prayers!!

Photos:
Amy with her "khaw lam."

The rules at the hotel in Lao, we thought they were quite entertaining.

Joel and I in a tuk-tuk. Our only mode of transportation other than our legs.

Amy and I at what we think is the capital building or something similar.A view of Vientiane, Lao from one of the sides of the big tower. The big tower that in the plaque is called, "a monster of concrete" which was never finished due to violent times in Lao history.

Say What?

I've decided to start compiling a list of some of the somewhat strange things that make me smile, to share with you. So often I think, I should put that in a blog and then I promptly forget. Here are some short stories that while not outrageously funny, I hope will bring a smile to your face.

• Khruu Ooy talking about when we go to Khruu Kae's "weeding" (also known as a wedding). And Khruu Ooy trying to tell us a story about "love" we were so confused until she started saying "the Australian who helps at our school" we knew then she was talking about Rob not "love."



• My roommate Amy frantically trying honk the horn to warn a car coming into our lane that we were already there, but only succeeding in making several clicking noises. Later when she had discovered the one spot on the horn that would produce a noise actually audible outside of the car, she started honking out jingle bells as we drove down the street.



• At one of our major groceries stores there are no places to return your cart to which means that after every trip someone has to face the awkward "Where do we rudely leave our cart so as to affect the least number of people situation." Last trip it was my turn. I moved the cart behind a car one over from us, at the same time a Thai lady was having the same awkward situation. So, we pushed our carts near each other, gave each other sort of sheepish glances and then quickly walked off to our waiting vehicles. As we were backing out so was her family and I looked up to find her staring at us. I gave her a big smile and she smiled back. Several minutes later as we were driving down the main road their truck passed by us and the lady saw us, decided to practically hang out the window, and enthusiastically waved. So easy to make new friends...



• On one especially hot day after traipsing around town trying to find a shop who would make PE uniforms for our students and after already literally almost being hit by a car while walking across the street we decided to go to Airport Plaza for air conditioning. Khruu Ooy was driving our car and is a bit of a maniac while driving. I think about half of the city of Chiang Mai decided to go to Airport Plaza as well so the parking garage was packed. After circling several floors we ended up finding a spot that someone was just leaving. Trouble is that because parking is so difficult to find many people just park sideways behind cars that are parked in spots. Everyone knows to leave their car in neutral and to not put the parking brake on. We also saw many cars parked mostly up on the sidewalk with just a little bit on the actual lane. Anyway, as we left the building and walked to our car we discovered our car was blocked in, no surprise. We started on one end pushing half of the cars one way and half of the cars the other way. It works best to have one person pushing and one person stand at the front to "catch" the car before it crashes with the next one in line. Rearranging vehicles in a parking garage is definitely a fond memory.



• On that same trip with Khruu Ooy we went to one store that said on the door that it was closed, we weren't sure if she would run and check and if she wanted us to wait or come with her. We all started climbing out of the car when she started half-yelling, "Back, back." So like obedient ducklings we all climbed back in the car and shut the doors. A minute later Khruu Ooy looked over at us and was saying, "No, no, no." Which made us all quite confused. She came walking over and we opened the doors when she explained she was saying, "Bag, bag" and only wanted us to bring her her bag.



• We are all a little fearful of dogs around here. Reason being that in the previous eight months of our life here people in our house have gotten bite five times by dogs in our neighborhood. Needless to say we are weary of even the smallest dogs. So, for the trip back Amy's grandpa gave her some dog spray kind of similar to pepper spray. A couple of evenings ago Amy and I went for a walk in our neighborhood, and we of course took the dog spray. We walked past this humongous dog which we have always been scared of, he is usually attached to this thick harness which worries us a little bit. I was standing on the side closest to this monster and Amy told me not to worry, if he came after us she would push me behind her and attack him with the dog spray. No problems. We continue on and we see this dog bounding towards this poor person on a bicycle and we think this is the dog that is going to attack us. We turn and quickly walk/jog in the other direction. We look up and this dog is galloping towards us. So we huddle near this tree (Amy hiding behind me, but with the spray out in front of us) and watch as this dog goes flying past us while giving us kind of a strange look. Then two Thai boys ride by on their bicycle after the dog saying, (in English) "He don't bite." Amy and I looked at each other and burst out laughing embarrassed at our reaction. A couple minutes later we took off running when this tiny little dog really was after us barking ferociously. Needless to say, I'm pretty sure our neighbors are quite entertained by us farang girls running away from their dogs.

Are You a "Chris?"

As I have written before, after teaching classes at our government school Amy and I eat lunch with the teachers and principal. We usually spend at least an hour talking and eating. Which is a very important part of outreach in Thailand as Thais are very relational people who will not listen to those they do not know and trust. Well, this last week we had an answer to prayer. During one of our normal conversations with the principal and a visitor from the District Education Office, they asked if our organization (Hope International Schools) was a "chris." Well, we should have caught on but didn't until they said "Buddha" ... "Chris." It was at that point when we realized that they were asking if our organization was Christian. This question launched us into a conversation about whether we were Christians and the difference between Catholic and Protestant beliefs. When the principal held up his hands making a cross symbol and asking, "Array?" Amy and I were able to share with him about what the cross was and why Jesus died. I'm not sure how much he understood but I am so thankful we had the chance to open the topic. Both men had a lot of questions which is a pretty big answer to prayer. Please pray that we will be able to continue the relationship when we return to Thailand and that both men but especially the principal would recognize their need for Christ and truly seek for answers.

Road Trip

Every three months our little group makes the four and a half hour trip up to Mae Sai (the border into Burma). This time our good friend Khruu Ooy (who usually does most of the driving) decided to turn the ritual into a girl's road trip. So at 6:30 am on a Saturday morning we raced around our house packing snacks and grabbing all the pillows in our house. We (our group of five housemates) and four of our Thai co-workers piled into a rented van which comes complete with a driver. The van was so comfortable, and with air conditioning and comfy reclining chairs it was even more comfortable than our house. We started off the morning with barbecued pork on a stick with sticky rice, one of my favorites that I will really miss when I come back to the States. We had such a leisurely trip laughing, talking, and sleeping. We reached our more anticipated destination at about 11 am, Doi Tung. Upon arrival we made trip to the bathroom where we all paid 3 baht, took off our shoes for the trip down the stairs, and then put on the special bathroom shoes which everyone shares. I'm not sure I'll know what to do in the States where one does not have to slip off their flip-flops in exchange for a pair of questionable community shoes, roll up their pants, and carry their own toilet paper into the bathroom. Anyway back to the actual story.

Doi Tung is called the "Switzerland" of Thailand. It was the former residence of the late mother of the King. We were allowed to walk through her beautiful yet simple villa. She had spent much time in Europe and the house and gardens reflect that style. We ate a quick lunch of mixed fried vegetables with rice (another of my favorites) and even enjoyed one of the best cups of coffee I have tasted in Thailand. Then came the highlight of the day...the garden. Picture the most gorgeous garden ever set in a hilly landscape with many fun details which really add to the effect. We spent quite awhile walking around and taking over one hundred pictures.

I would like to live here. :) It is surrounded by gorgeous mountains.

A picture with all the housemates before we go our separate ways.

Us being silly girls and imitating the statue behind us.

Under the waterfall.

My lovely roommate and I "fighting."

My sweet friend Brittany.

All of us at dinner.

We encountered our semi-normal situation where random Thai people take pictures of us and ask if we will take pictures with them. One might think that as the farang (foreigners) we ought to take pictures of the people here, however, the opposite is true. (When my parents were vi sting we went to the Royal Palace. While walking around the grounds several of the gardeners whipped out their cameras and asked to take pictures with us.) Anyway after our adventure in the gardens we climbed back into the van to drive to Mae Sai.


Mae Sai is a hard place to visit and is never really a pleasant experience. I am always confronted with the dilemma of how to love the overwhelming number of people who are in need. I struggle within myself to justify my un-Christlike attitude towards these people all the while knowing I should do something but never quite knowing what that thing is. I am always convicted in that city of what God's love for every person looks like and how I should be living it out, which is something I pray the Lord grows in me because I am not very good at it.



After Mae Sai we drove to a restaurant and ate dinner right next to the water. I am going to miss the Thai way of eating dinner where everyone orders a wide range of things that sound good and as they arrive at the table one at a time everyone shares them. Several hours later the van brought nine weary travellers back to our house around 10:30 pm where we promptly dropped into bed. So ends one of our more memorable and enjoyable border trips.