Aunt Karen in Thailand

Aunt Karen in front of our overgrown flowerbed...the work commencing!

Aunt Karen planting the plants we bought redoing the flowerbed.

Crystal and Aunt Karen on our "tour day" with the team that is here. We went to Wat Pho and to an indoor market.

Calvin and Aunt Karen...Aunt Karen has found two good buddies in PJ and Calvin...they will surely miss her when she goes.


For those of you who don't know, my Aunt Karen came along with the short term team that is here from Pittsburgh (which is why there have been no posts for a while!) We have had a blast. Aunt Karen has done some things with the team and we've enjoyed spending time together. One major project that I asked her assistance on was to plant new plants in our flower bed out front. She was REALLY excited when I asked her about this project. So, yesteday we headed to the nursery, bought a bunch of plants and came back home to start on our project. It was done by 1 PM (we started around 10:30am.) When we went to the nursery we didn't buy enough soil and thought, "Oh no, what are we going to do now?" (Paul had taken the truck to go get more paint b/c the team is painting the office building this week). Well, at this time, one of our neighbors came out and was chatting with us and she said, "Here comes the truck now that has dirt you can buy." So, that is what we did. =) But, not only that....the two men who sold us the dirt took down two papaya trees (that didn't bear fruit) and took out another root that we couldn't budge! It was such a wonderful provision of the LOrd, and we didn't even think to pray about it...isn't God good?! So, now, the front of the house looks SO nice. In the afternoon Aunt Karen cleaned up around outside with Calvin while PJ and I took a nap! It looks so nice now. Thanks Aunt Karen! I told her yesterday was her ONLY work day here! She also ironed for hours last night...which again was a huge blessing. In Thailand, we wash our clothes daily but don't have a dryer to get all the wrinkles out, so the ironing pile is always there.
We've had a lot of fun and the boys have really enjoyed having Aunt Karen here. PJ commented yesterday that he didnt' want to go to school anymore because Aunt Karen is here! I think they are really going to miss her when she leaves on Saturday morning...=(.


Aunt Karen's THOUGHTS on Thailand...
Hello all! The Thai people are very friendly. The culture is much different than the US. The women work very, very hard here. They push food carts and stand out in the sun making food are just a few things. Road conditions are horrible and there's a lot of pollution. Driving is definitely different but slower paced and they can drive this way because it's slower. We could never drive this way in the States because it's such a faster pace there.
Crystal's home is very comfortable. It has beautiful woodwork and the windows are really nice.
One thing that impresses me is that all the flooring is tile and outside there is a lot of tiling on the patios and things.
I came with Calvin PCA from Pittsburgh. They have worked very hard and diligently, and are a very dedicated and devoted group. It's good to see the young people on the team and see how responsible they are and how devoted they are. Pastor Aaron has devotions in the morning with the team and then they have a prayer time every evening before going to bed. They have been encouraging and a fun loving group.
I sleep in a room with two bunk beds with three other girls from the team and I have really gotten to know them and talk about our personal lives with each other. I really feel like I am part of their family.
I did very little mission work with the team but I feel like my role has been to come and spend time with Crystal and the family and do things with them.
We took a tour downtown on Monday. I got to ride the skytrain and a river taxi to get to Wat Pho (a Buddhist temple that houses the largest reclining Buddha). It was interesting to see how Western downtown Bangkok is. We toured the temple grounds. I can't say I was impressed with it but it was interesting to see all the structures made out of tile and mosaics. I also learned to "wai" and say "sawatdii kha" which is how you greet Thai people. And you always take your shoes off outside homes and even some businesses, like New Community, the MTW ministry center.
I feel so much better since I came here about Paul and Crystal being in Thailand with their family. It's opened my eyes to see that there aren't constant fears to their lives...no more than in America, really. The people here are so friendly and so willing to help you out. The days we've gone shopping PJ and Calvin have been huge magnets to the Thai people..they love their blue eyes and blong hair.
The money exchange was interesting to learn...still learning but I'm getting better!
On Sunday, we went to church at 9-10:30 AM. Pastor Aaron preached on Mark 4 when Jesus calmed the sea. After the sermon we brok into groups and prayed. We then went to the market for lunch until 1:30 when we started Thai worship from 1:30-3PM. Then we had Sunday School. Paul E from the Calvin PCA team led the Sunday School while Dave Veldhorst, MTW Thailand team leader, translated.
Another reason why I feel different about Paul and Crystal being here is because the team they are serving with here. They are like family to each other. They are very considerate of each others needs, very compassionate and caring and very supportive and I just feel so much better that they have family here like this. They have an outstanding team. I feel our church needs to pray that Satan doesn't intervene and cause any division because unity is so important here for the team.
We've done some shopping...I helped the economy a little bit =). They have Dairy Queen here which is a real delight...I've eaten there twice. Tim and Rhianna (teammates of Paul and Crystal's) took us out for pizza Sunday night after church. It was delicious.
We're going to take dinner to the Cunninghams today (they are teammates of Paul and Crystal's who had a baby two weeks ago). She is the one who was on bedrest for many months while carrying this baby.
Thai food is good! They have a variety of food you can eat and several dishes that aren't spicy. But, it's been good to be at Crystal's and eat some American food like grilled cheese and grits!
I would encourage anybody that has the opportunity to come here to take at LEAST two weeks to come and visit. It's unbelievable and remarkable experience and I hope to come back again bringing my sister with me. =) Sawatdii kha.