living lately

In case you're wondering why the lack of pictures, well, the short answer is our computer has been in the possession of Dell Computer Company. We received it back a little over a week ago, I think and I've been busy since then. They had our computer for about 4 weeks, I think...long story, but thankfully, we have it back and it's fixed! Yeah!



I'll catch you up on the happenings around here. In February we traveled to Tallahassee to visit a supoprting church. Paul's sister and family live out there, so we stayed with them for the weekend and enjoyed some time with them as well. Adele and their daughter Vinnie are about two months apart. They have a good time together. PJ and their son Ben also have a good time together pretending to be super heroes. Paul traveled out to North GA a week or so ago to visit another of our supporting churches. He had a great time connecting with those in the congregation as well as with the other missionaries there for the missions conference. I missed him here and had no one to call upon to come and stay with us (as was my usual protocol when he left on a trip in Thailand...there were always a single girl or two to come and keep us company!) PJ lost his first top tooth and now his smile is forever changed. I can't believe my baby is turning into a boy. Time sure flies. The morning the tooth came out the boys were in the living room playing as usual. They were wrestling around and having fun and then all of a sudden, I hear PJ say very calmly, "thanks, Calvin. You helped me out!" I hear Calvin say, very worriedly, "sorry, PJ. It was an accident." And again, PJ reassured him that Calvin helped him. Next thing I know they're running into the kitchen to me and PJ announces that Calvin punched him in the mouth and knocked out his top tooth! He was elated!
As seen in the pictures, we are working on indoctrinating the boys and Adele into American sports such as baseball. Both boys are doing well with hitting the ball. They like to hit them hard!

We've also been enjoying the birds that are coming into the yard to eat from the birdfeeder. We went camping last week one night and saw several osprey and even a Bald Eagle! It was incredible. As we canoed, we saw some swallowtailed kites and a red shouldered hawk. Sorry, no pictures of the camping trip. Suffice it to say that it rained, again, but it was much warmer and only rained during the night. We had beautiful weather and Paul's nephew Josh was with us, which was great fun!

have a look at this

I must admit on this blog that until I lived in Thailand did I really have any interest in politics. When we arrived in Thailand all was well with the world. Thaksin was the premiere and everyone seemed happy. A few months after our being there, however, rallys and protests began against him. And, just over a year after we arrived he was ousted in a bloodless, military coup while Thaksin was in NYC speaking to the UN. Since September 2006, we saw several governments take over and different groups rallying against another. And so, in the midst of all that, I found myself reading all the news and trying to get a good grip on what was going on. I think one very fascinating point of Thai politics is how religion plays a role, a very important role for all Thais.
As I have watched footage from the BBC I noticed how the people are covered in amulets hanging from their necks and I thought to myself this must be to ward off evil spirits and to protect themselves from harm. Then I stumbled across this article, also from the BBC, which confirmed my thoughts. I encourage you to read it. It gives a little bit of insight into religion and politics in Thailand.
If you ask me, I do not take sides. I am not Thai. I do not understand everything there is to understand about Thailand and her politics. What I do believe is that God is in control of even these protests. None of this takes Him by surprise and I firmly believe that all of this is His working out a sovereign plan that includes bringing many Thai people to Himself. The red shirt protest continues to go on, even today, though reportedly numbers have fallen to 4o,ooo. So far, it has been a peaceful protest. We can thank God for this and if you will, please continue praying for God to break down these strongholds.

Pray for the land of smiles, see below

Dear friends,
It's been a while, it's true but for tonight, would you please join us in praying for Thailand? The nation finds itself, once again, in opposition. Please read, watch and listen to the following links.
Thank you!
BBC World
Bangkok Post