Life Goes On

I just want to say thank you to all of you who have been praying for us. God has encouraged me greatly thru His Word, His Presence and thru your encouragement as well. I am glad, however, that He lets me have down times because without them I wouldn't know God's mighty power and as Mary Bell reminded me, how I am still in need of His grace as much now as the day I was saved. I hope that when I am old and gray, I can look back and know deep down inside that I have been sanctified, no matter how small it might be. Thank you for praying along with me.
Onto some other news. Last night Paul invited his friend Champ over for supper (I knew ahead of time that he was coming). I prepared a fairly common American meal...that being spaghetti with a salad and some fresh bread from a bakery. Since many Thais don't like American food, I wanted to be somewhat sensitive to Champ's tastes. Well, he said it was good and he liked it but I never trust when a Thai person says that but he did eat two helpings...without us forcing him. Anyway, just to tell you a little about Champ. His dad was a professional Thai boxer (or muay thai which is vey similar to Thai boxing but not the same thing). His mother and father have a very succesful business selling amulets and they are not the cheap kind either. He is studying law but doesn't want to be a lawyer. Paul met him on the campus and hangs out with him a lot during the week. Paul also teaches him English four hours a week. Paul is still quite busy maintaining all the contacts he made this summer but also the contacts the interns made as well. Please be praying for him with all he has to keep up with (and starting soon he will be heading back to studying Thai again!)
PJ and Champ had fun building a train track last night while Champ was here too.












And this is a picture of Carl and PJ. Carl boarded his plane this morning but last night Carl and Catherine came over and ate and visited a bit before Paul took everyone back to their homes. (For those of you who don't know Carl is Catherine's father and the worship leader at our church). PJ really grew attached to "Mr. Carl" and is looking forward to seeing him again in October when, Lord willing, Pinewood (our home church in Florida) comes back on a mission trip. There is plenty more I could write about but I lack the time and the pictures! Stay tuned for more pictures. Also, if you wake up and read this Friday, August 4th, your time, please be praying for Paul as he has been in charge of a Friday night ministry at the office. Basically, Paul plans games for the Thais that come to play and hang out together. There are others (Christians) that are also going to help but the main responsibility of everyone having a fun time is on Paul's shoulders. This ministry has been going on for a month or so now, so if you want to add it to your prayer list, that would be great! Thanks again for all of you who pray! God bless... 

Can You Say "Melt down?"

Yep, that would be me today! I have been asking for prayer from you all and my teammates for patience (especially with PJ) and yesterday and today have been my test ...and I might add I have failed miserably both days. Today started off fine except that I was absolutely exhausted when I woke up at 6:30 (I was able to sleep in an extra half hour...whoo-hoo!). So, I went with the boys to study Thai in the morning, returned home, fed PJ and put him down for his afternoon nap at 1PM. We were supposed to have this termite exterminator guy show up at 2 so I had to clean the rooms up a little before he arrived (which by the way, he never showed.). So, then I sat down on the couch just to take a 10 minute nap (at around 2:3o) before getting up to do the ironing (that I mentioned in the last post) and guess who appears at the bottom of the steps...yep, PJ! He never went to sleep. He was busy taking apart the lego trucks we made for his birthday. I didn't hear a peep out of his room and thought for sure he had to have been asleep. So, I decided to go ahead and start ironing the pile of laundry. About fifteen minutes into that, Calvin woke up. So, yeah, I lost it at that point. I cried and was comforted by my three year old who was saying, "It's ok mommy, don't cry." I was missing home, my mom, a drying machine (!), and just the normalness of home. I thought for sure I was over this whole missing home from time to time thing but no, it still happens. So, I regrouped with the Lord. I asked Him to help, I asked His Spirit to grant me patience and love and strength to get thru the day. I am happy to report that after Calvin woke up and I fed him we went outside for a bike ride/walk and ended up being outside for nearly three hours, talking to neighbors and playing with the neighborhood kids. I didn't want to go out today but I knew I had to burn off some of PJ's energy. When we returned, I was much happier and even encouraged at the many opportunities I had to meet new people and share part of me with them. I must admit that when I am tired I really get grumpy and no, that isn't an excuse for being impatient but just a prayer request...that the Lord would grant me some self-control when I am tired.

There is one other thing I would like to mention that I forgot to mention in my last post. Last night Catherine and her dad were here for supper. Her father is a grandfather of four lovely children (whom I have never met but have seen pics of on Catherine's blog). Anyway, Carl just stepped right in with our boys and treated them like his own. It was wonderful and PJ took right to him. He even read PJ a story from his Thomas book (and remember they had just gotten off the plane the night before!). It blessed me so much to see Christ's body, the Church at work in this way. I don't say that to make mom and dad Henry and mom and dad Carrier sad but I say it to encourage you all. God is meeting our needs and the children's needs. There are so many visitors who love on them when they are here...they have so many "aunties and uncles." It reminds me that we have to be constantly reminded that our Family is huge and we are all born of the same Blood, and that we are meant to support and love one another, the world over! Thanks be to God!

I also want to share that in the above (about my impatience, exhaustion, etc) I don't mean to be complaining so if you read it and think, "she sure does complain a lot" please be gracious with me. I just want to share my weaknesses and this is a huge one for me right now and I don't want to come across as complaining but rather sharing my weakness in this area. I hope, you can laugh at some parts of what I wrote because tonight, I can laugh at some of the parts but I hope more than anything you will pray for my will to be conformed to the will of God the Father and that I would emulate the patience He exemplifies. I know it will be uncomfortable and maybe even hurtful at times, but what pruning isn't? Thanks in advance for forgiving me and thanks for praying.

Growing Up

Here's PJ playing in a mud puddle on the street in front of our house...after a rainstorm last week. He had a good time rolling his match box cars thru the puddle.










Calvin is now rolling over from tummy to back (he's been doing this since early July) but has yet to go the opposite direction. He is creeping all over the place and reaching for anything and everything to put in his mouth. We will be starting him on solids coming up this week! He still can't sit up yet so I am hoping that happens soon since he'll be eating food soon.
I will be making all of his baby food, home made. Thankfully Rhianna gave me a book on making baby food entitled "Mommy Made." So, I am excited to be steaming veggies and fruits and mashing them up for Calvin to eat and it will be healthier for him too. There are so many fruits here and even good veggies, so I am excited to be doing it myself but it does add "just one more thing" to do on my long list of things to do. Please be praying for me as I have had very little time to prepare for my Thai language lessons. I started rising an hour earlier than the boys a week into lessons (6AM) and then the boys starting rising that early! And the other good time to study (after they are in bed for the night) is no good for me because I am exhausted! So, please pray that I will have energy and find a time during the day that will be good for me. The module I am currently studying is Intro to Thailand and there are lots of hard words to try to read and say...so much preparation is needed.

On to other news, Catherine and her father, Carl, arrived safely. PJ, Calvin and I met them at a mall yesterday and shopped with them and then we brought them back to our house for supper. We are so thrilled to have them both here and looking forward to our home church in Florida coming here in October on a short term trip. Which reminds me, if you are from Pinewood and you read this blog, please pray about coming! We would love to host you and show you the ministries we are involved with as well as including you in those ministries.
Well, I better get the ironing done for the week...yikes (!). 

No News is Good News, right?!

Well, I've been pretty silent for the past week and just wanted to check in with you all and let you know we are fine and all is going well on this side of the world. There is only one week left with our five guy interns (they leave Tuesday), but even though they are leaving the work has mutliplied by five as well! They have made so many contacts and have been used of God greatly to further our relationships with Thai people here. Please be praying for us (our team) as we figure out how to manage all the new contacts that have been made as a result of this summer.
Since PJ's birthday we've been pretty much keeping the same schedule. The boys and I go out for our late afternoon walk, talk to our neighbors, meet a few new people here and there and then return home around 6:30 or so to eat supper all the while Paul is at the campus playing basketball, soccer (football), or eating at the market furthering relationships there. I continue to learn Thai (and I started a new module that has some really hard words to say and read, so please be praying for my tongue to be loosened!).
The boys are doing well and I am sorry to report that they did not go for casting try-outs for that commercial I told you about a few posts ago. Maybe next time. The commercial is actually airing in Vietnam, not Thailand.
This week we welcome a friend of ours back to Bangkok but this time she's staying for two years and not just six weeks. Her name is Catherine (I mentioned her new blog a few posts ago as well and you can check it out by clicking on her link under "my links"). Anyway, she and her Dad, will be arriving tomorrow night around midnight. She will be teaching music at the Christian International school here in BKK. We are thrilled to be welcoming her and look forward to getting to know her more. She is a member of our sending/home church in Florida, so it will be nice to have another familiar face around. She also plans on helping our team here in her free time. So, we will be having them for supper Thursday evening (the worse day to get over jetlag is the very next day...).
There are some other "newsy" events that have taken place or are about to. As you know, God has allowed us to use another missionary family's car while they went back to Europe on furlough. They will be returning within the next month. Since about December, we have been praying for God to provide us with a car of our very own but just like in America, it's expensive to buy a car here in Thailand and it's really a bad idea to buy used. We really didn't want to take out a loan from the States to buy a car so, we've been saving our money and praying, trusting God to provide for us. About a month after moving to Bangkok Paul was sharing our desire with our Thai staff at New Community (the MTW Thailand ministry center). Well, as he's sharing one of our staff says, "We want to sell our truck, we'll give you a good price." [She lives about a 40 minute drive from the office and they never use their truck due to gas prices so they want to downsize, hence the reason for offering it to us.] So, we've been praying about this opportunity ever since. As of right now, it looks like we will be purchasing this truck. It's only two years old and has only 20,000 miles on it! It is a truck but it seats five people comfortably (it has an extended cab). Also, there is no suspicion as to whether this truck has been taken care of because we know the owners who are also Christians. It's amazing how God works things like this out. Because of all of this we had some money transferred but it didn't show up in our bank account (even today it hasn't shown up) but Paul did some calling and asking around yesterday and found out that it can take from 7 to 21 days for the transfer to come thru. We sure were relieved to hear that even though it might mean we have to wait a while!
We are also planning a vacation down to Prachuap. Prachuap is on the Gulf of Thailand. OMF has a guesthouse there that is fairly secluded and we can stay there really cheap (like $15/night!). There are plenty of things provided for us there so we are going to take advantage of it and get away for a few days the end of August. Looking forward to a break at the beach!
So, those are the news-worthy items from this past week! We continue to thank God for your faithful prayers, He is truly working here.

The Blessing of Our Three Year Old

Well, you can see from the pictures below, PJ is three! Can it really be? I am continually amazed at the huge responsibility we have been given to not only raise one child but now two! I thank God for PJ. There are plenty of times when I lose sight of what a blessing he is but by God's grace I am realizing it more and more.
For PJ's birthday, we decided we would celebrate with just the four of us. Paul has been gone a lot the past five weeks so we thought the best thing to do was just to have a family day. Before church, I prepared BBQ chicken in the crockpot and made mashed potatoes when we got home from church.
I was on my way into the house from the car after church and my cell phone began ringing. It was Khun Aree. So, I answered it. She asked if she could come over to visit today. (At this point, in my head, I am thinking "no...our day as a family will be ruined" but Paul and I agreed to invite her over and welcome her and her daughter, Eye.) When they arrived PJ was sleeping and Calvin was about to be laid down. They were here until 5:30ish and which time they wanted to return home... so we took them home. They played, talked, and ate supper with us. It wasn't easy to sacrifice this afternoon to the Lord, but you know what? I am thankful we obeyed and were hospitable and didn't allow this "intrusion" into our "family day" to ruin our day at all, if anything it just made it that much more special. I am so filled with wonder that the Lord allowed us to minister to this family. Khun Aree's husband just left for three months to Vietnam (for his job) and she is really lonely right now. I am glad that she feels comfortable enough to call us up and desire to hang out. Please pray for this family and pray for us as we minister and love them. [Anyone remember my post about the "open door policy"? Well, I got my first lesson today!]
So, we did some more celebrating once we returned home. That is when we gave PJ his gifts. He was thrilled with all of them and really enjoyed playing with everything. Of course tomorrow there will be much more bike riding going on since it was about to rain and dark outside when he finally got his new bicycle.
PJ's birthday became an all day long celebration in which at least for me, I thought of the blessing he is and I feel so thankful to God for PJ and the gift he is to us. I wonder if when he's 20, I will still remember his actual birth day like I do now? Now that I am older and have children, I think birthdays are more for the parents than they are for the children! It helps us remember what a treasure we have been given and reminds of the pain we had to go thru to get that treasure! Thank you Lord for our children, may we be faithful to raise them to love and obey You and Your Word.

More Birthday Pictures

PJ was so very excited about this "lego" dumptruck (another gift from Grammie and Grampy via Daddy's shopping expertise!) The reason I put quotes around the word "lego" is because they aren't the real deal legos, they are a cheaper, Thai version.











Lego Maniacs...Paul and PJ working on putting the dumptruck together. By the way, the little instruction sheet one gets when buying legos PJ calls a "map." I think that is pretty cute!
Of course, we had to sqeeze on Calvin during the day too! He's almost 6 months old already...where has the time gone? 

Three Years Old!

Khun Aree, Calvin, Eye, and PJ












PJ taking a spin on his new bicycle.














PJ opening a gift from Nanny and Pappy Carrier. He loves racing this car around and has gone to sleep with it (along with the dumptruck) for the night!













PJ's new book from Grammie and Grampy...a collection of Thomas the Tank Engine Short Stories!

Neighbor girl, Faa

I have been meaning to post this picture since last Friday and kept forgetting. Pictured here is Mae (on the left) and Faa doing the dishes after our Thai meal together last Friday! Sweet, sweet girls. 

Kang Phet Fak Thong

If you try this dish in the States it would be called "Red curry with pumpkin"; in Thai it translates as curry, hot, pumpkin. I made it the other night for supper. My neighbor (the one that helped me last Friday) came and helped me again this time. It turned out pretty good...better than the last time I made a curry in Lopburi (October archives).
So, I know you can buy the red curry paste and the coconut milk and even the jasmine rice (smells SO good when you cook it!) in the States but if you want to add a little twinge of something different, add pumpkin! It's really good with pumpkin and it's cheaper than green or red peppers (at least here that is). In fact, it sorta cracks me up because here in Thailand it's very rare to get a dish with green peppers in it but in the States green peppers come in almost all Thai food. I guess they have to improvise...peppers are over $2 for one here! Pictured below is the curry over rice. Normally you would have it in a small soup bowl to the side of your plate with rice. I also wanted to point out the place setting. Notice the spoon on the right and the fork on the left of the plate. Thai people don't eat with knives UNLESS they are eating a steak (which is very rare). So, you hold the spoon in your right hand and use your fork to shove food onto your spoon. Thais do not eat off of their forks either. Very different than eating at an American table! PJ has almost mastered this skill and gets so upset when his food winds up on his fork instead of his spoon.

Whirlwind Weekend

Thanks to all of you who commented on the blog about the last post. It has encouraged me to share with you the rest of my weekend. You know with a Friday night like the one I had it was only going to get better! Speaking of getting better, Paul is feeling back to normal and was by Saturday night, so thank YOU for praying for his quick recovery. He was able to help build and even managed to get whacked in the face with a bamboo pole! He returned late last night and we are all happy to have him back.

Well, as I mentioned in my “What a Night” post, Rhianna, Kim and I were heading out for an evening without the kids thanks to Tim (Rhianna’s husband). We got a late start because when I called the taxi the first time, they never came and so an hour later I show up at Kim’s house (where Tim was watching the kids). At any rate, we still went and had a great time. The time went by SO fast but we still made the most of it. We took the taxi to the skytrain and then we took the sky train to Siam Paragon. One thing you must know about downtown Bangkok is that there are some VERY glamorous parts/areas to the city. Siam Paragon is one of those places. It’s a huge mall (we only walked around on the first floor where all the food joints are!) and apparently very high end merchandise (and the real deal too, not knock-offs) is sold there (like Versache, Louis Vuitton, etc). I am not sure WHO shops there but there were a ton of people there, mostly eating and having fun. We ate at a quaint little place (I have forgotten the name) but it was good. We then headed home…yeah, it was a quick trip but we did wait about 30 minutes or so for a table to open up so we did look around some more at that point.
We hailed a taxi, got in and told him where to go and lo and behold he REMEMBERED taking each one of us at one time or another somewhere before! Talk about a good memory. The taxi driver even told Kim what her house number and soi number where! At this point, I was thinking, “this is strange, there are probably thousands of taxis in this city and millions of people who use them and this guy remembers us and exactly where we live.” So, we get to Kim’s house and I ask the taxi driver if he will take me to my house with my boys. He said he would. When we left the neighborhood he pulled off the side of the road (it’s like 10 PM at this point too) and says something to me but I didn’t quite catch it. So, I assume he’s either going to the bathroom (happens quite frequently) OR he’s getting a drink. Unfortunately for us, he was getting a drink, and not just water or a coke but straight up alcohol! So, I really started praying for God’s protection over us as we traveled home. We made it safely home but not without this guy trying to get past the security guard faster by lying. I was so thankful the security guys made this taxi driver give them his information. I really wasn’t trusting him at all by this point. So, that was Saturday.
Sunday we woke up and got ready to go to church with Paa At. I called a taxi to come and get us but just before we are about to go out the door, one of our neighbors comes by with breakfast! I was so blessed by this gift even though I couldn’t eat it right away. (I think I have some really, very nice neighbors.) So, the taxi comes a few minutes later. I was to meet Paa At in front of a huge mall (called “The Mall”). We get about five minutes up the road and I realize I forgot her number at the house so I ask the taxi driver to turn around. I get the number and we start off again. I called her but no one answered, I called and called a few more times and still no answer on either her home phone or her cell phone. So, I just figured well, we'll get to “The Mall” and I will see if I can find her and if not, then I will just get a taxi home. I was also praying for God to work our meeting out and HE did! As we pulled up to “The Mall”, Paa At jumped in the taxi and told the guy how to get to her church (and by the way, she forgot her phone!). Isn’t God gracious?
The church is comprised of about 60-70 Thai believers from all over Thailand (but who know live in Bangkok). It was quite different from our Lopburi church in that the children were expected to be quiet and respectful during worship and if not they had a room at the back of the sanctuary with glass and a speaker to hear the sermon that you could go into with your child. The people were super friendly and so welcoming of us. Of course just about everyone fell in love with the boys and so I pretty much had my hands free of Calvin the whole time because all the women wanted to hold him. PJ, all in all, was a pleasant little guy until right before we left and at that point he was just worn out and VERY tired. The building they meet in is beautiful. They built it themselves. I meant to take my camera but realized when I got there it was in my other bag…at home. Anyway, Paa At and her husband (who is the pastor of the church) live on above the sanctuary. The sanctuary is on the second floor and on the first floor is a big open room for eating meals together or other large group activities. I don’t know if I have ever mentioned this but in my experience so far in Thailand, after church most Thai churches eat a meal together. So, we stayed with them and ate as well. Then some church members who live near to where we live gave us a ride home. (Again, God is so good.)
Then Monday aside from going to Rhianna’s to study Thai, the boys and I wandered out to meet a new friend we met at the English retreat, Aree. She lives about 20 minutes away from us. We met her at a shopping center. I realized earlier in the day that I was about to run out of diapers and so when I found her I asked if I could run into the shopping center and buy some diapers. Well, as we’re walking around in the store I realized that I had committed a huge cultural error. I realized that she would try to pay for the pampers (and they are expensive) and I knew she would do everything in her power to buy them and that if she didn’t she would be very embarrassed and would have lost face. So, when we went to check out (by the way, she threw some fruit and doughnuts in the cart for her guests (us)), I told her I would get the pampers. She insisted on getting them, and I just kept on insisting myself, that they are expensive and really I wanted to buy them. She finally relented (to her relief!) and she said in Thai “ok, but let me buy the other food.” I said, “ok, deal.” So, she saved face and I felt a little better about the whole situation. I still cannot believe I did that, but I am sure there will be many more situations like that even though I hope not!
So, she ordered some KFC for us to eat and then we went to her home. I met her father-in-law who is visiting from the south of Thailand for a few weeks. He was so nice and loved the boys but especially Calvin. Calvin fell asleep on their couch and the father was reading the newspaper but he had one hand holding Calvin’s hand! It was SO sweet. I wanted to take a picture but I thought if I did he would change position. Anyway, we talked and they showed me pictures and we also went for a walk around their neighborhood. All the neighbors were out and all the neighbors wanted to talk to the boys (or see Calvin and hold him.) It is a hard thing sometimes to let him go and to let him be loved by people that I don’t know at all. But, I am thankful for the grace God gives during those times.
So, then we were going to go to the big park (you remember the one in honor of the King). On our way, the skies opened up and the rain came pouring down…so that idea was nixxed but they did take us on home. All in all, it was a wonderful night with this sweet, sweet family. The Thais are so hospitable and it is a wonderful part of their culture. They love to make you feel at home and welcomed and I have truly felt that this weekend. I am very tired but every minute was worth it.

There are some pictures below of our weekend. The last picture is my new Thai cookbook that I bought today. The title is Cooking Thai Food in American Kitchens. I guess this a new hobby of mine. I am enjoying it and looking forward to trying some curry dishes this week.

So, that was our whirlwind weekend. I thank God for Paul’s return and I thank Him for giving me the strength to get thru it all without any huge moments of feeling like I couldn’t do it. As you know, I am weak but this weekend God proved to me that He is strong in those weaknesses. Thank you for praying…and thank you for reading!

Whirlwind Weekend Pictures

Here we are (Rhianna and I) outside of Siam Paragon mall downtown Bangkok. If you look up to the right hand side of the picture you will see the sky train line.








Calvin with Khun Aree's father-in-law.













Khun Aree, her husband, Khun Wat and their daughter, Aye.














My new Thai cookbook (and new hobby!) 

What a Night!

Paul left yesterday for Khao Lak to aid in tsunami relief (yes, believe it or not, they are still rebuilding from the tsunami). I spoke with him this morning to tell him about my night but before I did he informed me that he was very sick on the bus down south (about a 12 hour ride, I think)...and I mean, he was sick in a bad way. So, please pray for him to recover quickly.

I just have to share what a great night I had last night. The little neighbor girl, Faa, came over around 4:30 or so and then another little neighbor girl who is English/Thai also stopped in. Then our other friends were walking by outside and PJ ran outside and wanted to play with their children. So, we were outside for about an hour talking and walking and enjoying each other. I was planning on making a Thai meal for supper (thanks to my teacher, Pa At, who gave me some pumpkin and some tofu type stuff). So, I was planning on making a ground pork/pumpkin stir fry and kaeng juud (which is a bland Thai soup but really yummy and really good for you too). So, I had a house full of kids (another little girl came), and a desire to get some supper made (it was about 6 by this time). Thankfully, one of the other moms and her son also came over and she helped me make the stuff. It was great. She was a great teacher and really made sure I participated in making the stuff. She also has a garden and so she had one of the girls run and get a certain type of veggie that I don't think there is an American equivalent for but it's really good for you too. And then she left, the English/Thai girl left and it was just me, PJ, Calvin, the little neighbor girl (who lives right across the street) and her friend...so we ate together. I was so impressed with these girls. They are 10 and 11 and they washed my dishes and even before supper they helped pick up the mess (and I DO mean mess) that was strewn about our entire downstairs!. So, after supper, I asked if they had to get home right away and they said no and so I asked if they'd like to make a cake...and you can bet they wanted to do that, so we made a cake from one of the mixes Bald Eagle church sent us. They waited here while it cooked and we talked and then almost as soon as it came out of the oven they wanted to decorate it. And as you probably know, you really should let a cake cool but they wouldn't hear of it, so they proceeded to decorate the cake. It was so much fun. Exhausting? Yes, but very much worth it. Oh, another neat thing about the night was when PJ went to bed (did I mention they were here until 9:30 or so?) I gave him his nightly shower and then they followed us upstairs. And I figured, I am going to do what I normally do at bedtime and that is to read a story from his Bible and pray. So, they observed that though it was all in English, they saw what our normal every day routine is. I read the story of Jonah and they were somewhat familiar with it but they said something about oil on the skin of Jonah (I don't recall that in the Bible, but I should probably read it from my Bible and make sure.)
Another thing that was very different for them to see was that PJ sleeps by himself in his own bed. Usually, in Thailand, children sleep in bed with the parents until they're 6, 7 or 8 years old so they were really impressed that he sleeps on his own! It was pretty funny.
So, it was a great night, thanks for praying for us!
Tonight, our teammate, Tim, has offered to watch our kids, the Cunningham kids and his own child while we (the wives) go out for a meal and have some time together without having to talk over little ones. I am really looking forward to it. We haven't done anything like this yet. So, it's a very special treat.
Tomorrow, PJ, Calvin and I are heading to my teacher's church to worship with them. She said there are about 60-70 people attending! I am excited to be visiting a Thai church again. Please pray for me as I trek out to unknown territory with my two boys! Pray that I will be patient and that PJ will have a good disposition!
Oh, that reminds me of one other little tidbit. (This post just keeps getting longer and longer). Last night after Faa and her friend left they came back because her friend forgot her bag. So, I walked them out to the gate. My neighbor across the street came over and said in Thai, "make sure you lock your gate and house doors and turn your outside lights on. Oh, and let me give you my phone number in case you need me." (Isn't that nice?! They are really looking out for me and it made me feel very welcomed here.) So, as I am about to go inside she starts telling me about something her daughter's friend is doing. At this point I really have no idea what she is talking about but I know she's telling me because it has something to do with my boys. So, I tell her I don't understand. Her daughter's friend gets out of the car that is sitting in front of my neighbor's house and he shows me this packet of papers with really cute kids and English writing on the left hand side that says stuff like, "fade into close up on eyes..." and stuff like that. So, I quickly figure out he's looking for children for a commercial! And they want our kids to try out! I haven't even told Paul about this yet but I thought, "how crazy is this?!" I will keep you posted if PJ or Calvin is the next child star here in Thailand! Kinda funny how things happen. Ok, I gotta get some ironing done but thanks for stopping in.

"bombs bursting in air"

Just want to say "thank you" to my father-in-law who sent us some great pictures from their 4th of July celebrations in St. Augustine. I especially liked this one of the fireworks. 

It started off overcast

So, as I mentioned it rained but as you can see from this picture of Kim and Rhianna, the weather was nice and overcast when we arrived at the school. The kids had a huge football field to run around and play and the sun was behind the clouds but that all changed!









Here's Paul, always prepared for anything, using our umbrella to push water off the tent we were standing under. As you can see, he even had enough sense to bring his poncho to the celebration with us! What would I do without him?!!?

Interns and the 4th

I forgot to mention that we celebrated last Saturday, July 1st.
Pictured to the left are two of our guy interns here. These guys have been primarily Paul's responsibility this summer. He has thoroughly enjoyed hanging out with them while ministering to the Thai students at the local university. The guys to the left are Justin and Michael. These guys all come from the great state of Georgia and it's been fun to hear their southern accents.
Below, pictured with PJ, is Chris.

















And pictured to the left (from l-r) is Patrick, Halley (short term worker, she's been here since October and is leaving in August), Justin, Bradford and Sarah (Sarah is another intern from NJ and here for six weeks). This pictures were all taken at the 4th of July party, as you can see most of them are pretty wet! 

4th of July

This year most of the MTW Thailand team (along with interns) went to a local internation school where the US Chamber of Commerce or someone sponsors a celebration. It was complete with apple pie, hamburgers, hotdogs (made of real beef!), cotton candy, clowns and fireworks! We had a great time even though it did POUR down the rain around 7PM, just before they were going to show the fireworks. We waited around hoping for a show and sure enough, we got one! It was a pretty decent show and we had front row seats. PJ was a little frightened at first but Paul covered his ears and he was fine. Calvin loved all the lights dancing across the night sky and wasn't phased at all by the noise. 

New Friends and the One Year Mark

Well, as of yesterday, we have been in Thailand one full year! It's amazing and I am sure I have changed a lot in this year. I just want to share with you what I wrote in my journal a year ago on June 25, 2005

"As I begin to write in this new journal I think back on my college
journal. I was excited about the LORD and excited to see what He was
going
to do in my life at Toccoa Falls College. Tonight, I am again in
a new
phase of life getting ready to realize and begin some of what God
called me to
at TFC. It's VERY exciting but I think more so it's VERY
humbling. I
am very aware of my sin and pride and I am also keenly
aware of my lack of
dependence on the Shepherd of my soul."

So, maybe I haven't changed all that much. I am still very aware of my sin and daily humbled because of it. I can thank God because I know I am His, He has bought me with a price and He is NOT letting me go. Praise the Lord, for my name is written on the palm of His hand!

On another note, I think it might be finally happening, I think I have some Thai friends!
How exciting! As PJ, Calvin, and I have made a habit of going
outside in the early evening to walk around and try to meet neighbors it seems
God has directed us to two women specifically who are always so friendly and
nice to us. These two women each have a son. One woman is married to
a Bulgarian man and the other woman is married to a Thai. Their little
boys are both younger than PJ and older than Calvin (one is almost 2, and the
other is 2 ½). PJ loves playing with them, but mostly loves the one little
boys’ toys! Just about every night they expect us to come out and play and
talk and walk. It is so nice to feel welcomed like this and to feel that I
have some friends. Granted, there is still a long way to go before sharing
the Gospel but I am thrilled that God is answering our (when I say “our” I mean
both yours there in the States (or wherever you might be) and ours) prayers for
the relationships He is building in our new neighborhood. I also have
received two phone calls from one of the women I got to know on the English
retreat. Please pray for my relationship with this woman as
well.

I can’t believe how much busier life is here. It is
just crazy. So, I know I have posted a lot in the past few days but there
is SO much more to write about. It is really hard to tell you everything.
At any rate, I will do my best to keep you updated and aware of how to
pray.

On that note, there is one area specifically that if
you feel the Spirit lead, please pray for us. PJ as you might remember is
turning three on July 16. Most of the time, he has been a pleasant
child to be around. A few months before leaving Lopburi he started to act
quite rudely to people, but especially Thai people. Here in Thailand it is very
important for little children to “wai” their elders. To “wai” is to simply
put your hands together and bow your head. PJ basically has been refusing
to do it but it has really gotten bad since moving to Bangkok. I think
that it is a combination of a lot of different things (sin, transition in
moving, and his age.) I have been really concerned and often times
embarrassed at his behavior when greeting Thai people. He has started
getting spanked for it once we return home and we have seen some improvement but
still the problem is there. He also (and I think this is mostly
age-related) has shown that he is afraid. When he hears a loud truck roar
by or any load noise he is quite frightful. So, I started praying for PJ
and then the other night in my Psalms reading I read Psalm 4. It was so
encouraging for me to read and so I have now begun to pray it over not just PJ
but over Paul and Calvin as well. Below, I have written out a few of the
verses, the ones that really spoke to me.
v.3-8 “But know the LORD has set
apart the godly man for Himself; The LORD hears when I call to Him.
Tremble
and do not sin; Meditate in your heart upon your bed, and be still.
Selah.
Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, and trust in the LORD.
Many
are saying, “Who will show us any good?” Lift up the light of Your countenance
upon us, O LORD!
You have put gladness in my heart, more than when their
grain and new wine abound.
In peace I will both lie down and sleep, For You
alone, O LORD, make me to dwell in safety.”

My favorite verse is
verse 6 “Lift up the light of Your countenance upon us, O LORD!” This has
become my prayer for our family but especially PJ. How I long to see him
reflecting Christ in his behavior and I have great hope that he will.

So, these have been just a few musings of mine of late.
Thanks for stopping in this little location on the blog-o-sphere. God
bless

Learning How to Cook Thai

Pictured to the left is my new teacher, Khruu At. She is doing a great job teaching Rhianna (our teammate who just arrived the end of May) and me Thai. I am studying a module to do with kitchen stuff but mostly with how to make Thai dishes and the names of the ingredients in those dishes. So, last week I asked Paa At (she has asked us to call her Paa becuase it means "auntie") if one day she could teach me how to make some Thai dishes. Today was the day we decided on and instead of PJ, Calvin and I going to Rhianna's, Rhianna and her daughter Emmy came here.
I went out yesterday morning and bought the vegetables and spices I needed from the truck that comes thru our neighborhood at 7AM. I misunderstood our neighbors (by the way). The truck doesn't sell the actual soups but you can buy the stuff to make the dishes from the truck. They even sell meat! It's great. But, I have digressed yet again.
So, we decided to make Tom Khaa Kai, Fried Rice and Cashew Chicken. Tom Khaa Kai is a very yummy soup made with chicken, lemongrass, coconut milk and several other ingredients that I don't have an English word for! It was delicious! The meal was so filling and even though I was full I could've continued eating! In the picture to the left you see to the far left the fried rice, then on the plate in the front is cashew chicken. In the small bowl is the Tom Khaa Kai and in the large pot is jasmine rice. (We had a whole soup pot full of the Tom Khaa Kai). There was a lot of food leftover, so you know what we will be eating for supper! I also sent some home with Rhianna.
Pictured to the left is our teacher with Rhianna. Rhianna is due to have her second child the end of August.
I am hoping to get some of these recipes perfected before long. They are so good and simple to make (and much cheaper than eating farang food) BUT the difficulty comes in knowing how much of x and y to throw in the pot. The Thais just know and so I hope that someday (not too far from now) I will just "know" too! 

From the Archives

This is a snake story from our Lopburi days. Just before we moved in May Phii Lina was doing laundry and I was rocking Calvin. She said, "Crystal, you might want to go get Paul, there's a snake out here." So, I went and got Paul and this is the snake she saw. Paul saw it and identified it as a poisonous snake and so he killed it. I will mention that he felt very badly about killing the snake. He said that it wasn't that poisonous and that if bit you would only have to go to the hospital...sometimes I wonder about him! It made me feel better that it was dead though (in my opinion they only good snake is a dead snake!) 

"ngu" or snake

We had our first snake sighting today at our house here in Bangkok. It was pretty crazy. I was talking to Paul and I noticed outside the back window a green thing climbing up the pole and said to Paul, "there's a snake!" Of course, those of you who know Paul know that he was really excited to see a snake. He immediately said, "oh, it's not poisonous." I am always amazed at his talent in correctly identifying animals but especially snakes. He refused to kill this snake so instead he took a rake and tossed it back over the wall from which it came. It started to climb up the awning and Paul knew that wouldn't be good! Anyway, here are a few pictures of the snake. Sorry they aren't better but the sun was in the wrong spot for getting good pictures!
You can be sure I will be checking and double checking while I am doing laundry on the back porch!
In this picture the snake is really hard to see but it's there. On the left side you might be able to see a squiggly thing, well that is the snake. 

Another New Blog to Check Out!

Well, our friend, Catherine, has started a blog. She is a very talented young woman who spent six weeks with our team last summer here in Bangkok. She decided she liked it so much she is returning in about a month to take a position at the international Christian school teaching music. We are very excited to have her joining us here and looking forward to helping her in any way we can. Her blog is www.catherinegracerogers.blogspot.com, check it out and keep her in your prayers if you have room to sqeeze her in!

More Pictures of our Weekend

Here I am teaching one of my two classes. It was on "compliments" and so was VERY hard to explain what a compliment is. In American culture it is VERY common to compliment someone once greeting them but in Thailand that is very strange. If you do this, they think you want the shirt you complimented them on, etc. So, I had to explain that. It is also very common in Thailand to give an insult when greeting instead of a compliment for fear of spirits. This happens very often with little children. Instead of saying, "you're baby is beautiful" a Thai will often say "you're baby is ugly." They don't mean to be rude but it comes from the beleif that if the spirit overhear you giving a compliment such as that to a baby some bad thing will happen to the baby. During the class I had them write out compliments about a friend and the hotel we were staying at. They did a great job!
Here I am pictured with my class and fellow teacher, Sarah.
Another beach games picture is below. We had a sand castle competition.
























And another picture of "dizzy bat."
The only BAD thing about this weekend is that many of us are sick with some sort of stomach thing. Please pray for quick recovery and that it is nothing viral. Thankfully, our children aren't sick and Paul has had a bit of queasiness but all in all I am bearing the brunt of it. Please pray for recovery.
Also pray for the relationships that were started this weekend. Pray for God to continue to build them and draw families to Himself. I didn't mention that we used clips from the Narnia movie, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe to be a segway to talk about spiritual things. Please pray because many Thais had a lot of good questions and are seeking deeper Truth. Thanks again.