Seven Months in Thailand!

Since I have had some extra time the past couple days I thought I would write a few ways God has changed me these seven months we’ve been in Thailand already. I know there is much change that still needs to take place but what God has done already will shock some and maybe even mortify others! Just kidding, I hope you will find it encouraging as God continues to adjust us to life here.

• I eat and enjoy thai noodle dishes. When we first arrived I couldn’t eat these very common dishes…just the thought made me sick. I think a lot of it had to do with being early in my pregnancy.
• I am no longer afraid to cross the street. Yes, when we first arrived I was terrified of crossing streets because traffic runs the opposite direction here. I was sure I would get hit by a car or bus or truck or motorcycle!
• I have learned how to go to the market and buy veggies, meat, and fruits and can even ask if they have certain types of cooking ingredients, like flour, powdered sugar, etc. (At first we just went to the grocery store or Big C, but now I find the market to be cheaper and easier.)
• It doesn’t bother me any more that we only have one sink in our house.
• I ride a MOTORCYCLE! Perhaps the biggest adjustment!
• I usually shower twice a day now.
• I will kill a cockroach without batting an eye (with a shoe of course)…and I will even sweep it up and throw it away. I used to make Paul do all of the above.
• I am getting pretty good at killing mosquitoes with my bare hands as well.
• I live somewhat harmoniously with little black sugar ants…as long as they don’t get into my good food. If they are in the trash…o well. We’ve tried to kill them off but nothing really seems to work.
• I eat thai hotdogs, let me just say they’re not the same as good ‘ol Oscar Meyer.
• I have been forced to rely on God on a deeper level with our families. In September my dad underwent open heart surgery. I couldn’t be there to help or comfort my folks but I had to trust God that He was there and He had His Body there as well tending to my parents needs. Through this I have seen how wonderfully God takes care of His children and I am so thankful that dad is recovering well and I see that my presence there wouldn’t have changed anything…but God’s presence makes all the difference in the world.
• Realized anew that Christmas is more than presents and family get-togethers but it’s about Christ…duh, right?! Well, in the States Christmas really revolves around family for us so this year it was hard and yet good to realize the idol we have made of Christmas being a “family” time; not that it’s bad to have family get-togethers…don’t misunderstand me! We also saw God sustain us thru Christmas and be our Immanuel here in Thailand.
• I know more language!
• I eat from roadside vendors, lovingly referred to as “hawkers.” When first arriving in Thailand the thought of eating at these fine establishments sorta grossed me out but I am used to it now. (There will be chickens, ducks and other sorts of meats hanging in the little glass case attached to the cart that the vendor totes around.)

These are just a few things I could think of off the top of my head. I am sure there are many other things that I've adjusted to that I don't even realize I have adjusted to!

Still Waiting

For all of you folks out there wondering...no baby yet! I am getting ready to leave for a doctor's appointment this morning though so we will see if he has any news!

Taking a break in the shade

Here's PJ eating some chocolate ice cream and drinking "green juice." 

 

"The Park"

One of the great benefits of staying in the serviced apartment where we are staying is this beautiful park right across the street. It is huge and it is dedicated to King Rama IV (the current King of Thailand.) Here is PJ infront of the monument dedicated to him. We walked around the monument and saw all sorts of interesting things that the King has done or has been interested in. For instance, there was an old tractor, an old toy train with railway, two sailboats that I believe the King made himself (there were also pictures of the King with these different items at different times in his life.) It was really neat to see. This park is absolutely beautiful and in the evenings (and mornings but I never get up early enough) you will see many, many people running, walking, practicing thai chi (or some eastern type exercise) or just enjoying a relaxing evening here at the park. Today PJ and I went and walked around, ate some ice cream and "green juice" (PJ's words!) and then went home and took a nap. 

Silly Boy

This picture of PJ was taken last week or so. PJ was eating ice cream and we thought he looked a lot like Hitler here! Enjoy!

Paul and Dave

This is our friend from Jacksonville, Dave with Paul. Dave was here on a two week mission trip aiding in tsunami relief down south. We were able to see him Saturday evening before he flew back to the States Sunday morning.

Confession

We prayed this prayer together yesterday during our time of worship. It is taken from Valley of Vision page 76.

O God of Grace, Thou hast imputed my sin to my Substitute, and hast imputed His righteousness to my soul, clothing me with a bridegroom's robe, decking me with jewels of holiness. But in my Christian walk I am still in rags; my best prayers are stained with sin; my penitential tears are so much impurity; my confessions of wrong are so many aggravations of sin; my receiving the Spirit is tinctured with selfishness.
I need to repent of my repentence; I need my tears to be washed; I have no robe to bring to cover my sins, no loom to weave my own righteousness; I am always standing clothed in filthy garments, and by grace am always receiving change of raiment, for Thou dost always justify the ungodly; I am always returning home as prodigal, always saying, Father, forgive me, and Thou are always bringing forth the best robe.
Every morning let me wear it, every evening return in it, go out to the day's work in it, be wound in death in it, stand before the great white throne in it, enter heaven in it shingin as the Sun.
Grant me never to lose sight of the exceeding sinfulness of sin,
the exceeding righteousness of salvations,
the exceeding glory of Christ,
the exceeding beauty of holiness,
the exceeding wonder of grace.

Welcom to the Big City

We left Lopburi around 10 AM on Saturday and arrived in Bangkok around 12:30. We are thankful to another missionary who gave us a lift here (with all of our luggage too!). It was a blessing not to have to go by mini-bus with all our stuff. We met up with a friend of Paul’s for supper. He was here with a team of about seven folks (most from Jacksonville) who worked down south with some tsunami relief. It was great to see Dave and catch up with him.
Once a month our team in Bangkok meets for what we call a “concert of prayer.” The few times we’ve been able to come it’s been such a blessing to worship God together in this way. We pray thru the ACTS format (Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication). So, yesterday we had a time of worship together in the morning. We sang, prayed and listened to a Tim Keller sermon on the Prodigal Sons (I will talk about that more in a minute). Then after a delicious lasagna lunch we had our concert of prayer. It was SO nice to worship in English yesterday even if there were only a handful of us there! (As many of you know, we’ve been attending a Thai church in Lopburi and understand VERY little each Sunday in worship.)
So, the sermon was on the Prodigal Sons. Usually when you hear this sermon the preacher will really hone in on the younger, rebellious, sinful son. I remember the first time I heard a different spin on this parable than the usual. It was at an Anderson College RUF meeting. John Boyte (RUF guy at AC) spoke on this passage in Luke. He started off by saying this passage was really about the older brother and from there he had my attention. Since that time I have never forgotten the truths that were revealed to me that night. The passage begins by saying Jesus had two groups of people around him that day, the Pharisees and the “sinners.” And so, the parable represents those two groups. The Pharisees are the older brother and the “sinners” are the younger brother. So, yesterday, I was reminded of these truths. I was reminded of my older brotherness. I definitely relate more to the older brother. You see, I grew up a “good girl”, trying to please God and man and wanting to do things the right way so not to make God angry with me. But, what I have been learning thru the years as I grow in my Christian walk and what Tim Keller said yesterday in his sermon is that I was just as lost in my goodness as a “sinner” is lost in his “sinfulness.” I think a lot of folks who grow up in Christian homes, around Christian families, etc have this complex. They see the world as us and them. The “us” category are the “good people.” We try not to do bad things, sin, we try to please our Father, etc but really many times we are just manipulating God in a different way to get what we want. Then we see the “them” category as the “sinners”, the rebellious, those who don’t care who they offend or how. And we make these distinctions in our heads about people. The truth is both Pharisees and sinners need Christ. The Pharisee needs Christ to save him from his goodness (though obviously he also has sin) and the sinner needs Christ to save him from his sinfulness. I hope I am making sense. It was a great reminder to me. I can be a very self-righteous person and to be reminded of that was good and to confess and repent of this sin in my life was also good. Of course there was SO much more in the sermon (you will have to get it from Redeemer NYC if you want to hear more of it!) and I am sure Tim Keller does a much better job of expositing Scripture than I ever could. But, it was so refreshing to be reminded that my “goodness” is filthy rags to God and nothing I can ever do or not do can win His favor. He loved me FIRST and clothed me with His robe of righteousness just as the father in the parable clothed his son with his robe. By the way, the passage is Luke 15:1-2; 11-32.

Busy, Busy, Busy

Well, with the start of a new year and starting back to class I have been quite busy. I continue to press on towards learning how to read in Thai…not an easy feat. There are SO many special rules, etc that my brain is so challenged by it. I feel badly for those who have to learn English…our language is not much easier! It’s interesting in Thai because the written language is different than the spoken language. For instance, instead of writing a “t” character at the end of a word you would write a “d” character but when speaking you would still say a “t” sound. Confused? Yeah, me too! So you may be asking, how do you know which sound to make? (I ask this question from time to time in class) and my teacher always answers…you just have to remember and memorize. Not very comforting to me who does NOT like rote memorization!
As far as other aspects of life go here…we are continually adjusting. Just when you think you’re doing great something will happen and knock you back down on your knees; a good place to be as a Christian (though not easy!). Just last Tuesday I decided to take PJ to Big C to get out of the house before going back to school on Wednesday. I was really happy to be taking him and felt comfortable…then we got there and the place was packed. I didn’t realize that everyone else and his brother also decided to go to Big C on this last day before classes and work resumed (I thought most folks had returned to work that day already). So, not only were there tons of people…but they all were staring at ME! Yes, because I am a farang and because I am a pregnant farang I made for quite a site…and to be honest I wasn’t in the mood to be a spectacle, but none the less I was. So, I realize I still have a lot of adjusting to do to life here and getting used to being different. I am sure it will come some day when I won’t feel so strange here.
So, another aspect of adjusting is getting ready for our new addition. We leave for Bangkok on January 14th to await the arrival of our second child. (Due between January 24th and 27th). That is exactly one week from today that we will be temporarily moving to Bangkok. We are excited to be with our team there for probably about three weeks and we are REALLY excited to meet our new baby…but as always, much transition and adjustment will be taking place during this time in our lives. To be perfectly honest, I am a little scared at what this addition is going to do especially with my relationship with PJ. Please pray for him as this is a huge adjustment for him. He is already being a typical two year old and spankings are a daily occurrence for him but I fear he will hate me once this baby comes home from the hospital. I am asking all you prayer warriors to pray for grace and wisdom for me as I desire to love and serve PJ but will obviously have another child to take care of. The good news is that Paul’s mom will be here for an entire month! So, hopefully, that will help him feel VERY special to have his Grammie here. There is also all the legalities that need to be done as far as passports, shots, birth certificates for the new baby that we would like to have done within the week of the baby’s birth…so that could potentially be a stressor for us. Please pray for us to trust God and to be patient when things don’t go the way we hope or expect.
So, just to give you a quick time table of what we will be doing (Lord willing) during the next month…
v January 14th- leave for Bangkok
v January 16-27th- study Thai with private tutor in Bangkok
v January 24-27th- have a baby
v January 28th- Paul’s mom arrives in Bangkok!
v February 4th- return to Lopburi
There is much to look forward…we can’t wait to meet our new little one!