Highlights from this week

This week was a fun one. Pawn, one of our Thai staff and her husband, Chai, are expecting their first child next week (the 15th!). When I was pregnant Kim had a baby shower for me and Pawn (who didn't know she was pregnant at the time) told Kim, "When I have a baby, I want a party like this!" So, we had a baby shower for Pawn and Chai and their little guy. This is not a Thai thing to do so it was a lot of fun to "shower" them with things to prepare for their new arrival. She got a lot of nice things.

The only thing non-American thing about the baby shower was that Pawn insisted on making the food. So, she and Yu (another one of our Thai staff) made yummy spicy glass noodle salad and a pumpkin curry.
Pictured from left to right: Pawn, Phim (the cleaning lady for the office), Yu, Irene (intern here for 4 months), Kim, Chai, and Jan (Dave's wife).








We also had a huge thunderstorm on Wednesday evening. I think it rained nearly three hours...maybe longer. Usually in Thailand rainstorms don't last that long. At any rate, this was the road in front of the office three days after the rains came...still flooded!














Yesterday we ended the week by going to Maahaathai slum. Our team leader, Dave, usually goes with the four Thai interns from Bangkok Bible College. (We have four Thai interns, two guys and two girls. They come every weekend to work with our team.) The interns lead the children in singing and some games and then they teach them some English while Dave teaches about four adult women. Yesterday Dave and his family had to go to Cambodia for a visa run so we filled in for him. Paul and I taught the adult women. We worked on some pronunciation issues. For instance, we would read "fly an airplane" but they would say "fry an airplane." We also worked on the "v" sound...Thais don't have this sound in their alphabet and pronounce it as "w" instead. It was a lot of fun to see the kids laughing and playing some fun games. Pictured here they are playing some sort of shooting game. I must admit it was hard to understand what my role was in this game at first! Eventually I got onto it though. 

The Border

We also were only about 15 KM away from the Myanmar (Burma) border. So, on Saturday before we left we went to this market that is located there. Behind Paul and PJ you see the actual border crossing. On the other side is Myanmar.
Because we were at the border there were also a lot of Burmese people walking about. Most of them had gold powder or something on their faces painted in squares. The men also wore sarongs. We only saw three other foreigners there, so you can imagine the excitement of the Thai/Burmese when they saw the boys.
They had lots and lots of plants and orchids for sale as well as an aray of different things.
And here I am standing outside a small shop but notice the sign that says Myanmar 1KM and the fat Buddha. As Paul and I looked at the Burmese language we said, "that looks incredibly difficult to read!" 

Dirt roads and fishing villages

Unfortunately, I don't have a picture of the dirt roads or the fishing villages but we did travel around about two hours on Friday morning in search of the perfect beach! It was so interesting though to ride around on these dirt roads and see the Thais knocking coconuts out of trees or watch them putting out sardines on these blue tarps to dry in the sun (millions of them). Of course, all of this was right along the beach or close to it. We say many, many fishing boats getting ready to go out. We finally found a beach that suited our needs and at this beach there was even a restuaruant right there. So, we ate some good Thai food and then played.
On Saturday, before leaving for home, we did two things. First, we stopped at this place that had two engines sitting outside of it. We told PJ we would let him see them up close. So, Paul and PJ climbed all around and checked out these engines. The second thing we did was we went to the Myanmar border (above). 

The guesthouse

The guesthouse, in my opinion, has a great set up. They have a swimming pool, beach access, a tv room, chidren's playroom, playground equipment, a lounge for reading, listening to music or playing games (games are also provided!), they also have another open room where there is a ping-pong table and some more tables and chairs for relaxing. Paul and I did play some ping-pong but I think I only beat him once! There are four hammocks hanging near the beach and several other places to sit outside. I think the best thing about it is that there is a daily laundry service and all meals are provided for you (all included in the price!).
There is also a trampoline! So, we all had fun bouncing on it from time to time. Of course, PJ really loved it but I think Paul had just as much fun as PJ did on it!
About 1 KM away from where we were staying was a really nice acquarium. Pictured here is a tunnel they had. There was a girl inside the tank in scuba attire feeding the fish while we were there. It was really neat. The great thing about this is that it was free! When we were in Phuket last year we went to the acquarium and it was not nearly as good as this one and it wasn't free. 

Prajuab

Well, we arrived safely home from a week full of restful relaxation! I think it was maybe the first time I really relaxed since being in Thailand...it was great! The only down side is that it really made us (Paul and I) really miss Florida and our frequent trips to the beach there.
PJ and Calvin both loved the Gulf and swimming in it. Last year when we went to Phuket, PJ absolutely did not like going in the water but this year it was hard to keep him out! Calvin also enjoyed being carried out to deeper water and playing in more shallow stuff. Pictured to the left is PJ eating an ice cream on one of the beaches we went to nearby to where we were staying. Oh, some other good news is that we didn't see any jellyfish (yeah!) and the water was crystal clear AND it only rained one afternoon/evening! We were able to spend two of our four days away at two different beaches close to where we were staying. The guesthouse where we stayed does have a beach but it's not the best for children and, of course, we like to explore, so we did!
This picture is Paul taking a walk on the beach in front of the guesthouse we stayed at. There are many islands dotted along the Gulf of Thailand, if you look in the distance of this picture you can see one.
These two pictures were taken one right after the other. On this day we went to a local national park that included this nice beach. In the background you might be able to see a small glimpse of two islands. Paul was hoping to snorkel at these islands (it looks amazing from the pictures the park has of it) but the cost deterred him. Appartently because it's the off season the price is more expensive...we were a little surprised at this. At any rate, we still had fun playing in the water. 

The Week in Review (and a glimpse at next week)

I am back... our computer screen died so we had to have it serviced and that took about three days but I am happy to say I can now see things on our screen! Yeah!
This week has been quite different than past weeks. I started studying at my own home and in the afternoons while the boys are napping. (Well, at least PJ is always definitely napping, Calvin is a wild card!). So, Monday and Tuesday I had a free morning to wake up and get moving a little slower than the past two months. Emmy came over Tuesday while her mommy went to see the doctor. Yesterday we went swimming in the neighborhood where Emmy lives with her and her mommy. We had a great time. I am ashamed to say it was the first time we've been swimming since Lopburi! PJ really enjoyed it. Today we had a baby shower for Rhianna...she is due in two days! We are excited and hoping we won't miss it (I'll get to that later). Last night we had a farewell dinner for short-term worker, Halley. Halley has been with our team for the past 10 months or so and she will be dearly missed. She has done so much for our team and there will be a definite hole when she leaves.

So, onto the glimpse of next week. We are going on vacation! Whoo-hoo! We are heading down to a town called Prachuap which is located on the Gulf of Thailand. We are staying at the OMF guesthouse there. They have their own pool and a beachside view. We are looking forward to our time away. Please pray we will have good family times and also have some good rest.

As far as all the ministry we are invovled in, we are both a bit discouraged at this time. Each of us has a contact we've made and really became fairly good friends with and both of these people for one reason or other have not seemed that interested in us. Please pray that we would trust God, for if He is working to draw them to Himself, they won't be lost to Him. Sometimes it is hard to see God's sovereign hand in the day to day grind of life but please pray we will trust His sovereign hand and know that He is in control (praise be to HIM!).

I probably won't post again until after our vacation. Have a great week and please keep praying!

Friday night "bake night"

I think I might start calling Friday nights "bake night." As you know Paul is gone of Friday nights to the office so last night I asked Faa and Mae if they'd like to come over and bake again...like we did a month or so ago. Of course they agreed in an instant!
Last night we made chocolate-oatmeal chewies and they are really good, I might add! The girls love being involved in the mixing and adding ingredients process. As you can see from the first picture they decided to make one large cookie! I wasn't sure how it would turn out but it turned out fine and was really yummy too!

Here is the large, heart-shaped cookie they made before baking.









And below is the finished product. They love decorating, so they used peanut butter and some sprinkles and things my mom sent me a while ago.
After the cookies were done we played jenga and just laughed and had fun. It was fun to have little girls in the house. Mae was wrapping a blanket around her body and pretending to be a beauty queen while Faa would sing a song as she walked into the living room! It reminded me of my childhood days. Please pray for these two girls. Faa told me last night that her aunt is a Christian but when I inquired some more I found out that she is actually Catholic. She does have a Bible though and she said she reads it so please pray for this little girl. I have invited her to come to church with us even though it's English there are four Thai people that come. I hope that she will take up our offer. She said she had to talk to her parents. 

FYI

It seems that I am trying to catch you all up on some people and the goings on here in Bangkok. Pictured to the left is Rhianna Mills and Pawn. Both are part of our MTW church planting team and as you can tell from the picture, both are expecting babies. Rhianna is due next week and Pawn is due in September! We are so excited to be welcoming two new babies to the world!











And this is Emmy and PJ. Emmy is Tim and Rhianna's first child and she is only three or four weeks older than PJ. They enjoy playing together and they love to have books read to them.
We went over to the Mills' home four mornings a week to study Thai. Rhianna has stopped her classes for awhile to prepare for and have a baby so we won't be going there as often. PJ is really going to miss his playmate.
Tim and Rhianna come from the Atlanta area. They have recently started a blog as well...check it out if you have the time, it's www.thatgreatcity.blogspot.com. 

Calvin at 6 and 2 months

I thought it would be fun to show these two similar shots of Calvin. The first one was taken just the other day and the one below was taken when he was nearly two months old. I can't believe how fast he is growing...and he is really enjoying eating too! 

I'll miss you!

On Wednesday I went downtown to meet my good friend, Beth. She came all the way from Lopburi just to see me. Talk about making me feel special! I left the boys with Paul and headed downtown. We had such a wonderful time but it went by too quickly. She moved (last night) to a village up north. I will miss her and our other friend, Faye, greatly. We all started language together in Lopburi and those months of learning and struggling together make a bond that I think will last the rest of our lives!
So, before we left, we shot this picture of ourselves. I know, I look bald but I can assure you I have lots of hair (I haven't had a hair cut since October!!! what is wrong with me?!) Beth, as always, loooks great though and that is really all that matters! If you want to read about her experience she had at the mall we were at check out her blog at www.squeath.blogspot.com. I just want to say "thank you Beth for coming all the way to see me! I will miss you greatly but looking forward to hearing all about your life in the village and know that God will grant you the strength and grace you need to serve Him there." 

Only a Matter of Time

Today, I called Khun Aree and asked her if she wanted to meet me at a local shopping mall (Central). She agreed to meet me there. I usually don’t like going to the mall with the boys but I thought I would try again since we left around 10:30. The malls in Bangkok are huge. I have no idea why there are so many and why they each could easily fit a football field on each floor. It truly baffles me and should be added to the list of the seven wonders of the world! Anyway, Central is one of two malls located close to us. Central has a water park on the roof (this is also common of Thai malls). So, I told PJ if he was a good boy we would go swimming. We didn’t go swimming, so you know what happened! He was good for awhile and then it went down hill.
Ok, so when Khun Aree met us at the mall she told me that she invited another friend of hers to join us as well. She said to me that “he” is a man but acts like a woman. “He” had not yet arrived so I was prepared for the queen of drag to show up and I was mentally preparing myself and asking God to help me love this man. (Remember, I also had PJ and Calvin with me!) When “he” showed up, he looked absolutely like a man. He wasn’t wearing make-up or women’s clothing. It was really sorta funny. I would have never thought this guy was a he/she (as I call them). Now, I don’t know if when he goes out on the weekends he dresses in drag but Khun Aree definitely made sure I was aware of his sexuality. It was kinda funny how he’d be walking in front of us a little bit and Khun Aree would say in Thai, “look, he’s walking like a woman,” or “he’s doing that like a woman.” I say it’s kinda funny because I didn’t notice the swing in his hips and other things that she clearly saw. Like I said, I would have never guessed. So, the title of this post is, “only a matter of time.” I knew this day would come when I would meet face to face a he/she and God would ask me to love him. I am truly excited to see what God will do in this guy’s life. I am going to start praying for him that God would reveal Himself to him and that his life would be totally transformed. God is able and I believe our meeting is not coincidental. There are many, many guys who desire to be women in this country. I don’t know why this is the case (I realize it’s sin but I think it’s engrained in the culture here somehow) but it’s very common. So much so that even on Thai TV programs there is almost always at least one he/she part in a soap opera or whatever. The Thais aren’t embarrassed by it either, not even the older Thai people. My teacher told me that it’s because their he/she son, grandson, nephew, etc brings in money so no one disputes the integrity of the means of making that money.
After we had lunch together and bought a few items, they brought us to our house…which was so considerate and nice. Please pray that we would continue to build on these two relationships and that God would be working in their hearts.

Hippo

The hippos were really neat to see at the Crocodile Farm. This guy actually came up for some air and seemed to smile for us to take a picture! Paul and I think he was the bull because he was a lot bigger than the other hippos. 

Thiaw to the Crocodile Farm

Last Saturday we decided to take the boys to the Crocodile Farm here in Bangkok. It actually is not very far from where we live...which was nice. Anyway, there were hundreds of crocodiles at this place. It is supposed to be the largest crocodile farm in the world. PJ really enjoyed himself. They also had other animals there such as white tigers, monkeys, hippos, anteaters, etc. It was fun for PJ to be introduced to some other animals that the Lopburi Zoo didn't have.


At the Crocodile Farm you can buy buckets of raw chicken parts to feed to the crocks. So, we bought a small bucket for 20 baht. Here you see Paul with a glove on preparing to throw it over the side.











Here you see the aftermath of that piece of chicken being thrown in the water. It was truly amazing to see how quickly these crocks reacted to that piece of chicken. It was a little scary to witness.






Of course we wouldn't be in Thailand without a crocodile wrestling and stunt show. Here is a guy actually putting his head inside the mouth of a croc...not the job I would want! 

New set of wheels

Here are our new wheels, purchased a week and a half ago! We thank God for His provision of this car for our family. It truly is a blessing to have a car of our own. We bought it from a Thai Christian who works with us at New Community, her name is Khruu Awe. Basically we gave her half the money and will be paying her payments for the next year to pay it completely off. As you can see it has four doors and can seat five inside the cab. Eventually we would like to add a "carryboy" to the back in which we would be able to seat four or five more people in the back.
And here is PJ pictured sitting in our new car. He, of course, loves our new truck and is delighted any time we go somewhere in it! I am hoping to soon get my driver's license. It will be nice to have the freedom of going to nearby places without having to depend on a taxi. 

Calvin's stats

Calvin and I went to the doctor the other day for his six month check-up. He weighs 9.2 kilos which is about 20 lbs! He is a big boy but we are thankful for his good health and happy personality. Pictured to the left is Calvin in his car seat facing frontwards for the first time. Calvin often looks dumbfounded and makes us laugh...he is just taking everything in around him and his face is full of wonder at it all!
This is one of his new tricks. He likes to hold his legs with his hands and coo. I, of course, had to get a picture of this. The Thais always say Calvin has "arom dii" which means a good personality...I agree!

Since Calvin turned six months old, I thought it was about time to start feeding him solids. We gave him oat cereal for the first time this past Thursday morning. Pictured here is PJ participating in this milestone day for Calvin. Calvin did not want us to hold the spoon...he's all ready to feed himself! He really enjoys the cereal. I ended up making it homemade. It was very easy. I added wheat germ to some ground up oats, cooked it like oatmeal and mixed it with milk and voila! So far, I have not noticed any reactions or problems with Calvin to the oats, for which I am thankful for.
Calvin has also started sitting up but only for a second or two! Here he is sitting all on his own.
When on his belly, Calvin creeps all over the place and has started showing frustration when he can't reach a toy! 

I Asked the Lord

A few weeks ago our team leader had us listen to this old hymn before worship. I thought it would be fitting to post it on here. I hope it will bring some comfort to the trials you might be facing inwardly and I hope it helps to point us to Christ. (The hymn was written by John Newton)

I asked the Lord that I might grow in faith and love and every grace
Might more of His salvation know and seek more earnestly His face

Twas He who taught me thus to pray and He I trust has answered prayer
But it has been in such a way as almost drove me to despair.

I hoped that in some favored hour at once He’d answer my request
And by His love’s constraining power subdue my sins and give me rest.

Instead of this He made me feel the hidden evils of my heart
And let the angry powers of hell assault my soul in every part.

Yea more with His own hand He seemed intent to aggravate my woe
Crossed all the fair designs I schemed, cast out my feelings, laid me low

“Lord, why is this?” I trembling cried, “Wilt Thou pursue Thy worm to death?”
“Tis in this way” the Lord replied, “I answer prayer for grace and faith.”

“These inward trials I employ from self and pride to set thee free
And break thy schemes of earthly joy that thou mayest seek thy all in Me.”

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...