In Grammie's Arms

As many of you know, Grammie Henry flew out to Bangkok to be with us during this time. It has been wonderful having her here and of course Calvin enjoys his cuddle time with Grammie (and so does Grammie!). 

Brotherly Love

Here is PJ giving his new baby brother a kiss on the forehead. He seems to love his new baby brother even though he is having some trouble sharing mommy sometimes! So far, he has been very gentle and careful with Calvin. 

My Labor Team!

This picture was taken just after Calvin's birth. Kim, our teammate, was there with Paul and me. It was great to have such wonderful coaches. 

For My Mom

This was me on January 30th around 11AM or so. I went into labor that afternoon around 4 or 5 PM. This picture is for you, Mom! 

Introducing the Newest Member of the Family

Well, I am sure most of you have been checking this blog daily to see when or if this baby has arrived. I first must apologize because I fully wanted to get this out to you all sooner but our internet has been down in Bangkok and we just returned to Lopburi on Saturday. Without further ado...Calvin Lewis Henry was born the morning of January 31st...at exactly midnight! He weighed in at a whopping 4.2 kilos (we have found out that this is 9.24 lbs. for all of you North Americans!). My labor was VERY quick...about 7-8 hours from start to finish (compared to PJ's labor of 25 hours!...thank you for praying!). Both Calvin and myself are doing well and even PJ is adjusting quite well to his new baby brother. Please continue to pray for all of us as we adjust to sleepless nights and the new addition! I will post some pictures very soon!
Thanks again for all your prayers. I was able to have another natural birth and God once again provided me with the strength and encouragement I needed to do so. Paul and our teammate Kim were both there and I wouldn't have been able to do it without them! Ok, gotta run...

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!

Our friendly neighborhood elephant

Ok, so we usually don't see elephants in our neighborhood but last night as we were walking home from the church we saw an elephant on the main street off of our soi. I asked the man if I could take a picture of his elephant and he said yes. There have been so many times in the past six months that we have seen elephants but never have our camera! So, here you go, again, only in Thailand!

Having a blast

It doesn't seem to matter where PJ is, he finds a way to have a good time. What a joy to have a child as pleasant as he is. We thank God continually for the blessing in PJ. He spent most of his time on the houseboat playing with small matchbox trucks and boats.

Swinging in the Hammock

Here's PJ with his church friends enjoying a hammock ride.

Our "hong non" (bedroom)

So, this is where we slept. As you can see the walls were pretty airy!

Christmas Day

As mentioned in a previous post, we decided to go on an outing with our church overnight to a houseboat. We did not know what to expect but we did expect it to be quite different than any houseboat we had ever seen or been on before. We left at 9AM Christmas Eve and arrived about 4 PM. It was a long ride. We were about six hours from Lopburi, west...and we think we might have been VERY close to the Burma border. So, as you can see these housboats are VERY different than what you or I might have imagined. They are made mostly of bamboo and are pretty rickety. They are all tied together...so we actually didn't float away...we just stayed in one place floating. We were on a lake. When we arrived they said we could have the only room with a bed off the floor due to me being pregnant...I was so thankful for that bed even though it was hard. There were all sorts of critters crawling around on the floors and I knew if we had been asleep on the floor I would not have slept well at all. The amazing thing about the sleeping was I thought for sure that since the walls were made completely of bamboo that we would be eaten alive by mosquitoes...but we weren't. I didn't get one bite, nor did Paul or PJ!
It was quite an experience going with all Thais to this place. We were able to chat with the one pastor and his wife about their backgrounds and their families...neither family are Christian but they have been Christians for 20 plus years now. It was encouraging seeing all the youth that were on this trip too. We spent a lot of time with one girl in particular. When we left the houseboat we went to a hot spring...PJ really enjoyed swimming in the hot water there. Paul nor I brought swimming suits or towels so we didn't get in but just put our feet in the water...it was amazing that there is water that hot in Thailand...naturally! Apparently the Japanese discovered this hot spring during WWII.

Pie Time!

So, here are Jan, Jose and myself with the cherry pie I made...I even made a lattice crust top!

Christmas Dinner

So, here are the two cooked chickens we ate for Christmas dinner (lunch). Paul being the great husband that he is got me a crockpot for Christmas! I was so excited and had it plugged in ready to cook up these two fine chickens. I was on the phone with my mom when I was unwrapping the chicken on the left from its plastic wrapping (we bought these at the grocery store and not the market). I was rinsing it off under some water and as I flipped it around I had quite a surprise...the HEAD was still on the chicken!!! I threw the chicken into the sink and said, "Oh, mom, the head is still on the chicken!" She, of course, couldn't believe it. I quickly ran and asked Paul to cut the chickens head off for me...and he said, "Just cook it with the head on." Being a civil American I said, "I am NOT cooking our Christmas dinner with the head still on." So, he cut the chickens head off. As you can see in the picture the chicken to the left did keep his feet and toenails on while being cooked. We didn't even try to cut off his legs. It made for quite a sight but at least we didn't have to look at it's head! The other chicken came just as you would buy it in the States.
So, the story continues. Just as I was finishing up putting the chickens in the crockpot to cook, the power went out! So, I had to roast them in the oven. They still turned out good and our neighbors really enjoyed them but I was really looking forward to trying out the new crockpot! O well, life in Thailand...never a dull moment!
I had some firsts this Christmas. I am not usually a good cook, or rather a natural cook. I follow recipes to the letter and even when I do that they usually don't turn out. But, I am getting a little better, I think. Anyway, I ventured this Christmas to making homemade gravy from the chicken drippings...and it turned out! I also made a homemade pie crust for the cherry pie Paul requested I make for the meal. Pie crusts (until the other day) have been a vice of mine but this one turned out! It was fun to accompolish these small (yes, small) tasks but it made Christmas feel special and not so weird.

Thiaw to Bangkok

Last Thursday we traveled to Bangkok to eat a Christmas breakfast and exchange gifts. We left Lopburi around 7:45 and arrived at our teammates house around 10 AM. The breakfast food was DELICIOUS! We even had GRITS! (For those of you from other parts of the USA, grits are a very common Southern dish and since our teammates are from Georgia we had some! And even though I usually am not a grit eater, they were the best I have ever had!) Our Thai staff, intern and short term workers were all there. A fun time was had by all!

Enjoying the fruit of his labor

Here's my PJ enjoying a heart shaped cookie with some red icing. As you can see he had been crying for some reason just before I snapped this picture of him. Again, notice all the flour on his body!

"huh?"

This is a new classic saying and expression of PJ's....the look while he says, "huh?" It's really funny and often times we repeat ourselves four times before we realize he is just saying it just because he has nothing else to say! Anyway, last week I baked cookies all day one day (it took that long because I only have one rack in my oven, but I am NOT complaining!). After baking all morning and after PJ woke up from his nap he helped me cut out sugar cookies. It's hard to tell from the pictures but he was covered in flour from head to toe. He really was very careful picking the cut-outs up and placing them on the pan to be baked. I think he is taking after Paul in his baking abilities!

33 Weeks and Counting!

So, here is a picture of me (a very large me!) with my birthday gift from Paul...a ROCKING CHAIR!!! I was sad that I had to leave my rocking chair in the States but Paul came thru and found this beautiful wicker style rocker for me. I LOVE IT, to say the least. I sit in it all the time and have enjoyed many reading sessions with PJ already. So, this picture is also for all of you who want to see how BIG I really am. All continues to go well with the pregnancy. The baby is head down, so now we just have to wait until the end of January, Lord willing!

PJ's Christmas Wonder

Paul and PJ decorating our tree.
Notice PJ's hair cut. Paul gave it to him and did a great job too!

Christmas Reflections

Last week we decorated our house with some of our Christmas stuff. I had gone to Bangkok on Monday for another doctor’s appointment and stopped at our team’s office for a few items. I picked up the essentials…our stockings and Christmas ornaments and I intended on bringing my nativity scene but lost my brain and left it there! SO, on Tuesday, Paul went to Big C (the local grocery store somewhat like Wal-Mart but of course not the same!) and bought a 3 foot artificial Christmas tree. To be honest, I was surprised they were even selling them here in Lopburi.
Oh, I also brought back a couple Christmas cds. So, Tuesday we put on the music and began decorating the tree and hanging the stockings. Of course it didn’t take a long time to do all this! But, it was so fun to watch PJ and the wonder he had (and still has) when we turned the tree lights on and turned out the lights.
We finished up our last week of language school for the 2005 year. We will begin again on January 4th. Our plans to celebrate are quite different from years past. Usually, like most of you reading this, we are home with one of our families celebrating this joyous time but this year, God has called us to celebrate here far away from the commercialism of an American Christmas. Sure, I miss family and friends but I don’t miss the huge commercial push that you have in America. Although, the reality is that so few people know the real meaning of Christmas here that they don’t celebrate AT ALL, which of course is the whole reason we are HERE! So, anyway, our plans include baking cookies (yummy!) this week and going to Bangkok on Thursday to spend the day with our teammates and Thai staff. We will be enjoying a Christmas breakfast together and a time of gift giving. Then on Friday we will be celebrating a meal here in Lopburi with our Dutch neighbors (this is also the day we will open our gifts from each other). Then on Christmas Eve at 8AM we will be meeting our church for the thiaw I mentioned in an earlier post. We will be with them until Christmas Day and we can only assume we will get back rather later in the day. We are really looking forward to the week ahead and though I am sure there will be some hard times in the week, we are learning on a deeper level what Immanuel (God with us) means. Just last night I was rocking in my rocking chair (Paul gave me a rocker for my birthday on December 2nd) and I was listening to some beautiful Christmas music and had the Christmas lights on and I began crying. Of course, we miss our families and friends during this time…I don’t think we would be human if we didn’t, but God is giving us the grace to persevere and trust and serve Him above ourselves and what we would selfishly desire. I couldn’t help but reflect last night on the great sacrifice Christ made to come to earth as a helpless little babe and to leave the splendor and perfection of Heaven to come to earth…and let’s face it even 2000 years ago earth was no where near the perfection of Heaven. I also read the Christmas account found in Luke 1-2. How thankful I am for the Word of God to sustain us through these times and how thankful I am that even though we are on the other side of the world, we can still celebrate Christmas and perhaps we will come out of Christmas ’05 with a much deeper understanding of what it meant for Christ to leave His heavenly Father and home to come to a people who would not understand Him out of obedience to His Father and love for those people (US!!!!). Reflecting on that great sacrifice brings great comfort and peace as we enter this season. Please continue to pray for us during the next two weeks that we would truly reflect on Christ and His coming and His second coming and that we would be thankful for His bringing us here to be used of Him in whatever way He sees fit.

Our Week in Review

Well, this past week has been an interesting one. Our landlord's father passed away and he was Buddhist...so we attended his Buddhist funeral. It was very interesting to say the least. We went to his cremation yesterday at the temple and Thursday evening we went to another part of the funeral service. Most of the service was in Pali (an ancient language that the monks use when chanting) so even if we wanted to understand, we couldn't. Mainly, we were there for our landlord and his wife (Phii Lina is a Christian). Everyone here dresses in black and/or white when attending a funeral and it's custom to give the family money as well. That is where the similarities stop between a Buddhist, Thai funeral and a Christian, American one! Please keep this family in your prayers. Phii Lina is the only Christian in the family but we are praying more will come to faith in Christ. Our landlord has had to enter the monkhood for three days to gain merit on behalf of his father. I have been praying that he will see some stark differences while he is living at the temple.
Other news is that we will be going on a "thiaw*" with our church here in Lopburi from Christmas Eve until Christmas day. I am really looking forward to this time for God to knit our hearts together and to build some stronger relationships within the church. We continue to enjoy attending this church though it is hard most Sundays when we understand so little of what is being said for two hours! Anyway, we will be going on a houseboat in Kanchanaburi province (I think that is about three hours from Lopburi). It's near (if I understand correctly) where the famous Bridge over the River Khwai is (this is the WWII landmark known mostly from the movie, The Bridge Over the River Khwai but more importantly thousands of troops died building this piece of track from Thailand to the Burma border for the Japanese. It is really part of a sad WWII story. If you would like to read more about it there is an excellent book out entitled "To End All Wars" by Ernest Gordon. It's a true account from Ernest Gordon about his specific experience in WWII building part of the train track). Now, before you get all excited about the prospects of our outing on a houseboat, let me just make a disclaimer that we have no idea what that means. It may be totally different than what you and I may think of as a houseboat. I am sure we will have pictures to post when we return! At any rate, we are looking forward to this time and would appreciate your prayers for us as well. Most likely, we will celebrate Christmas as a family when we return home from our thiaw on Christmas day.
*"thiaw" is the thai word for a fun outing that is usually only one to two days long. Since most Thai people cannot afford to go on a full vacation they take these short "vacations." A thiaw could be just a day out admiring the nearby sunflower fields or it could be a trip to the Gulf of Thailand to enjoy some fun in the sun. No matter where they go, the Thais always manage to have fun and to eat often!
Another interesting tidbit of our week in review is that I began reading and writing in Thai! And what a challenge. I totally feel like I am in kindergarden all over again. It is hard work and there is so much to think about all at once but it's also exciting to know that eventually (maybe in 50 years!) I will be able to read roadsigns, books, the Bible (!) in Thai! Being illiterate here in Thailand is not very fun and I am sure once I learn ALL the rules (and I am hearing from other studentst that there are a ton of them) a whole new world of learning will open up to me. For now, I continue to take one day at a time and review, review, review!
So, that is about all the news on this end of the world. I am traveling once again to Bangkok tomorrow to see my doctor, have lunch with our teammate and pick up some of our Christmas stuff and so I would appreciate your prayers for safety as I travel. Oh, speaking of, there is a student here for just a few months who goes to Bangkok every weekend and I will be riding back with her tomorrow! I feel like that is a huge answer to prayer, thank you GOD!
This coming week will be our last week of study for 2005. We will have two weeks off from school before starting back up on January 3rd. Please pray for us during this holiday time!

This one is for Grampy

Well, as you can imagine, PJ was thrilled when we came across some tractors at the winter festival last night. His obsession with heavy equipment, tractors and trucks seems to grow with each day! Here he is driving a new Kubota. I never thought we would see such a sight in Thailand, but right there before our eyes we saw Kubotas and John Deere tractors. Of course, for Grampy's sake we had to take a pic of the Kubota!

Gotta love having FUN!

This lady pictured with PJ is a good friend and fellow student here, Jose. She and her husband are from Holland. They are our neighbors as well. PJ loves them and especially loves playing with Jose...as you can see here he was having a blast (and I think Jose was too!). I am thankful for the way in which God has answered our prayer for good friends here in language school. I truly love and respect this woman and am thankful to know her. She is so encouraging and full of godly wisdom. I know I can go to her at anytime, with any problem and have a listening ear.

Decorating Cookies with PJ

I am really excited about Christmas this year with my little two year old, PJ. He is such a blessing and has been since he's entered our lives. It's a great time of learning for him. I remember even last year when we did our Advent Calendar how excited he would get to open a door on the calendar. This year we have an Advent book of doors. We have begun opening one door a night...again PJ looks forward to seeing and hearing what is behind the door. Anyway, one of our friends here made homemade gingerbread cookies from a German recipe she has. They were delicious. The best I have ever had, I think. Anyway, she also brought icing, sprinkles, chocolate candies with which to decorate the cookies. We, of course, encouraged PJ to decorate some cookies. He really wasn't sure about it but he did enjoy eating the chocolates from the bowl! Here we are with some green icing decorating a star.

Christmas in Thailand

This past Wednesday evening we had a combined fellowship (we usually meet every Wednesday with our fellowship group for prayer, praise and Bible study. This fellowship group is made up of mostly LLC students and mostly westerners but there are some Asian nations represented as well.)
Anyway, everyone brought a dessert dish that is common at their Christmas feast from their respected country. I made snickerdoodles. Though my mom didn't make snickerdoodles EVERY year she did make them occassionally. I really made them for Paul because it is his favorite cookie and yes, Mom Henry makes them EVERY year, (I think). So, it was fun to bless my husband but also share this yummy cookie with our friends here as well. So, some of the desserts that showed up were pumpkin bread (VERY good!), sugar cookies, gingerbread cookies, brownies, pumpkin soup, a dish from Holland (that I don't know how to spell or say!), wassail, and a tea/coffee drink common in Hong Kong. It was a lot of fun. We sang Christmas carols and drank wassail and then had a white elephant gift exchange. Now, you probably wouldn't DARE to have a white elephant gift exchange with Thai folks because the white elephants here are SO respected but we attempted to do it even with the internatinal mix of folks studying at LLC. (We have folks from the USA, Canada, Mongolia, China, Malaysia, Holland, the UK, New Zealand and I think I got them all, so even though we are all Christians our customs can still be very different.) It was a lot of fun and there were some pretty nice gifts received. However, we learned a very important lesson that night about Asian verses Western culture. One of the couples from an Asian country didn't fully undestand the concept of a white elephant gift exchange. And so they bought nice gifts and were shocked when (it happened to be Paul and I) were trying to encourage others to take the gift we got. Mind you, we liked the gift, we were just having some fun...you know how it goes! We didn't realize we were offending them and they didn't understand the idea of the white elephant gift exchange. Needless to say, we found out that this couple was upset...and then we felt TERRIBLE. What to do? Well, I went to the couple and told them that we were sorry, that we really liked the gift (and also by this time some other missionaries had explained the idea of a white elephant in a bit more detail so they understood the cultural differences a little better too). I still feel badly about it. It's so easy to forget that other cultures do things different...especially when almost everyone around you is from a very similar culture. We also learned from this couple that even taking the time to unwrap the gift is very important to them and to several other Asian cultures it turns out...and here we were (all the Westerners) ripping into the gifts and throwing the paper on the ground, etc. How offensive we must have seemed and yet none of us thought twice about it. Well, I don't want to labor on about this but thought it was an interesting culture point to share with you all and also to let you know that we once again were humbled the other night. Please keep praying for us!