Neighborhood Fun

About a year ago my parents sent PJ this Ford truck. Of course, when little kids see it, they go nuts. Their eyes light up and their little minds start turning and thinking of all the fun they could have with this truck! It has been so fun to share this toy with our neighbors here in Ram 2. These children are rather poor and don't have a lot but sure enjoy playing with PJ's toys...from the little red wagon (which I have never seen one like here in Thailand) to the battery operated truck (which they do have here but are rather expensive, from what I've been told). It's been a great teaching point for PJ. He's learning how to share, how to serve and most importantly how to show Christ. My continual prayer for our family is that we would truly serve the Thai people and show God's love... even when it's uncomfortable or hard for us. Sharing this truck is a huge step for PJ. He would love to ride it the whole time but he's really done great with sharing it with his friends. There are moments of sadness and moments when I have to remind him WHY we share but I think all in all, he's getting it.
I make the kids take turns driving and here was PJ's turn at the wheel. In true Thai fashion they pile on as many people as possible and then rig up the wagon to pull even more. They have had SO much fun. It's so nice to see them all laughing together. PJ looks forward to the afternoons when his friends come home from school and they are all outside playing together.
This little guy, Niw, is the "leader" of the group. The rest follow his direction. Pray for Niw. Pray for him to com to know Christ and be a strong leader in God's church here in Thailand. Pray for us as we seek to minister to him and the others on our soi (street). It isn't always easy working with children...especially when they aren't yours and they are of another culture. Please pray that I would be gracious, gentle and humble, yet firm and strong and keep a sense of order. 

A BBQ!

Yep, we had our first university BBQ last night here at our home. We had 11 non-Christians here (all Thais and all the guys (6 of them) play basketball with Paul every night at the campus. Several of them brought their girlfriends...which was a lot of fun for me to get to know them. We had made (well, Paul and his friend Brandon who works with YWAM) a ton of shishcabobs (spelling?). They were really good and our Thai friend, Yu, made a very spicy sauce that everyone really liked. I made salsa and Paul bought fruit. It was simple but it was good!
This the group of guys that play basketball with Paul (I should say Paul plays basketball with them!) They are really a nice group of men. Please continue praying for them. The tall guy in the back is a Thai guy and also works with YWAM.









And here are a couple of the girlfriends. They enjoyed loving on PJ and Calvin and of course the boys welcomed the attention. PJ is really starting to come out of his shell. He has been quite shy but lately he's been very talkative and also speaking Thai more. Please pray that he would continue to practice and not get embarrassed easily.






This is Me with PJ. Paul went up north with this guy. PJ was saying, "Cheers" with Me. He was very excited to be drinking orange fanta (a special treat for him). The Thais love having fun and they especially love seeing children having fun and laughing. They are a very playful people and so PJ never has need for "fun" when we are with Thais!

We are hoping to have more BBQ's and things of that nature here at our home. I will say it was a bit harder for me last night because everyone who came were pretty much friends and I was the odd ball because I only knew Me and I hardly know him. But, I tried to engage some of the girls in conversation and get to know them a little. Please pray that they would be open to me and want to get to know me as well. Pray for God to show me ways that we are similar and that they would see that too and want to spend time with me. God is working...it's exciting. Not sure how long it will take until we see belief but God is working. Please pray that we would be patient with God's timetable. 

Safe

Safe. Before leaving for Thailand I knew that no place on this planet is "safe" except for being in God's hand but that knowledge has been challenged several times since living here, but perhaps most extensively (so far) on New Year's Eve when eight (?) bombs(?) went off in Bangkok...and one at a local mall that we go to often. Thankfully God wantched over our team and Thai staff and thankfully there wasn't more bloodshed. Three are dead and around 30 are injured according to reports on the BBC and the Bangkok Post. Please continue to pray for this nation...that God would work and His will would be done. That many would repent and turn to Him and understand true peace and the One Who's government is perfect and will NEVER fail and is also all powerful.

I want to thank you for your prayers that Paul returned home safely this morning (5:30 AM our time). He had a wonderful trip and I am going to TRY to get him to write a blog on his adventure. The trip was right up his alley complete with camping and cold weather...for Paul it can't get much better than that! God kept them safe on the highways and thru some other adventures that hopefully he'll share later!
The boys and I stayed busy. We hosted a New Year's Eve party here at our house and our entire team minus one couple and Kim (who is on bedrest) came. Including some visitors from the States (Tim and Rhianna Mill's family members). It was great. We played games, ate good food (and I am not talking about the food I made either!) and had a great time of fellowship. Then New Year's Day evening we had a sleepover with two other women on the team. It was a lot of fun too. We watched Fiddler on the Roof and ate peanut butter pie and popcorn. It was a lot of fun too. Haven't been to a sleep over in ages!
So, that is the news on our end of the world. Catch you later.

Prayers Answered

Just wanted you all to know how God has worked the past few days regarding the trip up north with Paul's friend, Me and his girlfriend Bow. We decided that the boys and I should not go on the trip due to a "feeling" Paul got from Me about our going. When Paul told Me that we weren't going he said, "Maybe when the boys get a little older." So, that was our confirmation that the Lord guided us to make the right decision.
So, Paul left Friday morning at 3AM for Chiang Mai, Thailand (a 14-15 hour drive north of BKK!). He has arrived and he is actually 140KM north of Chiang Mai. He said the mountains are beautiful and really big (please remember we aren't living in Colorado so the term "big" might not mean the same thing to many of you reading this!) I can't wait to see his pictures. He also camped out in a tent last night and tonight they are climbing some mountain to camp on the top of it tonight. For those of you who know anything about Paul...he's LOVING IT! I am so glad that he is able to spend some time outdoors in nature. He is also enjoying Me and the others too. Please pray for good conversation and for God to work in hearts thru Paul's witness. What a unique opportunity and what a blessing and priviledge to serve.
As in America, this weekend of travel is very dangerous. Please pray for Paul's safety as he returns to us the 1st. He may be making the trip alone, so pray for him to keep alert and awake as he will be having late night and early mornings camping.

As for the boys and I, we have kept busy. Yesterday we went to the Cunninghams. The boys played with Gracyn and Aidan and I did a little cleaning and visiting with Kim while Jack went grocery shopping. Dana, our short term intern watched the kids, which was great.
Today we are having a low-key day and then tomorrow the boys and I are hosting a New Year's party here at our house for our team. I will be making saurkraut and pork with hotdogs and mashed potatoes. (Yum, yum!) Please continue to pray for us as we hold down the fort without Paul.

Thanks again for all your prayers. It's always neat to see how God will answer. Please keep persisting in prayer on behalf of Me and Bow..pray for God to work in their hearts.

Just for Fun

Thought I would share these...mainly for the grandparents. Here is Calvin, going strong.











He loves to scrunch up his nose and smile. PJ does this too. Not sure where it comes from but it's really funny and cute. He's "wai-ing" here, instead of shaking hands Thais bring their hand together and bow their head when meeting someone. Calvin is slowly getting onto it. 

The End of Christmas Day

To finish up the day, we headed over to Tim and Rhianna Mills's home to join the rest of our team. We ate pizza, sang carols to Kim (who is still on bedrest) and played Bunko while the younger kids watched 'Kipper.' We did a small gift exchange among the younger kids and here they are pictured, most of them laughing at their uncle Tim.





Calvin, of course, was into everything. He choked on one of those Christmas tree confetti things and Paul had to do the CPR mouth sweep in which it came up. Calvin HAS to put everything in his mouth, unlike his older brother.










Paul is pictured here with our teammate Andrew. (His wife is Becky, the one who gets Calvin cute bibs!)
*One cute little saying from PJ. He calls Becky "miss aunt Becky." We all think it is so cute.








And here is our hostess, Miss Rhianna. I think she was trying to decide if the cups in her hand were clean or dirty...hmmm?

All in all, we had a great Christmas. I forgot to mention our Christmas Eve service as a team. It was a really neat time of sharing, praying and singing carols and we also took Communion. Tim, Andrew, Paul and Dave each took one of the names of Christ in Isaiah 9 (wondeful counselor, mighty God, eternal Father and Prince of Peace). They each spoke for about 5 minutes or so and then we would have a season of prayer and singing. It was really refreshing and a neat time. Thank you for praying for us. We feel very thankful to God to be a part of a team that relies on each other and is striving to grow in grace and becoming more like Christ. That is a lot to be thankful for! Mant teams are not that way. Please continue to pray for God to guard our team against any division.
So, that, in a nutshell, was our Christmas. We hope yours was filled with reflection of what our Christ did for us, coming to earth to die and rise again. What a MIGHTY GOD, WONDERFUL COUNSELOR, ETERNAL FATHER and PRINCE OF PEACE we have. 

The Meal...

Well, here's Calvin in his favorite position...EATING!!! The boy loves food and Christmas was no exception. Our teammate gave Calvin the cute reindeer bib he has on...thanks Becky!









Like last year we celebrated with our Dutch friends again this year...Jan and Jose came over and spent the day with us. We enjoyed them so much...as we always do. Jose brought a delicious spring onion soup with ham (from Holland) and she also made a dessert (pictured below) that was also delicious. It tasted like toasted marshmellows only better because there was whipped cream and strawberries with it!
I made a pumpkin pie for dessert. We also had pork roast, scalloped potatoes, pineapple/cheddar casserole and veggie casserole along with rolls.
Jose gave me this beautiful shawl for Christmas and so we posed for a picture and unbeknownst to me, she was giving me bunny ears! I wore the shawl all day while I sat on the couch talking with Jose and keeping ice on my foot! I forgot to mention that earlier in the day I somehow missed a step going up the stairs and did something to my foot. It was fine until after I got up from eating lunch and then it was just thumping AND I was limping! I could hardly put any of my weight on it. So, I took some ibuprofen and put ice on it (thanks again Jose!). After a couple hours it was feeling fine again and today I have had no problems with it. 

Opening Gifts on Christmas Morn

We opened gifts with my parents looking on from Pennsylvania! We finally downloaded skype and arranged to webcam so that my folks could see us open our gifts. They really enjoyed it even if it wasn't exactly like having them sitting here...it was the next best thing!
Calvin really enjoyed his first Christmas. What a difference from PJ's first Christmas. Calvin was into EVERYTHING. Curios about EVERYTHING and wanting to check it ALL out. PJ was pretty relaxed about sharing his new toys with his baby brother too...I think it helped that baby brother had some neat toys too!

PJ is now three and a half and he is in that fake smile age. I remember my sister-in-law talking about this with her oldest son. Now the time has come for us. So, here's PJ attempt at smiling naturally!
 

New Years, Christmas and our Tree

Yes, you read correctly, we celebrated New Years already! We were invited by Nay and her family to a New Years Party they had Saturday night. We had a lot of fun, as always. Here we are pictured with Nay's immediate family. The night was full of a gift exchange, LOTS of food and lots of laughter.





Here is Chang pictured with Calvin. Chang has two sons, one who is living in NY right now as an exchage student. He is a really nice guy and loves our boys. They always get them gifts when we see them, which is always so sweet. 

JOY KIDS Christmas

We've been taking PJ to a weekly kids program our office staff has called Joy Kids. PJ is the only foreigner in the mix and it's been neat to watch him interact with the other Thai kids and Thai staff and interns. PJ is pretty shy about speaking Thai and he is not fluent by any means but Paul and I are constantly encouraging him to speak and we speak to him fairly often in Thai as well. The first week I took PJ, he wouldn't let me out of his sight but the second and third weeks were different stories. He is making friends and becoming more comfortable. Please pray for him and me as we minister in this unique way among the children that come to Joy Kids. Please pray for PJ's langauge ability as well.
Pictured here is Dang. She is one of the four BBCS (Bangkok Bible College and Seminary) students that work with our team every weekend. This rotation of Joy Kids they are teaching on Jesus' birth. Here she is explaining when the wise men came to see Jesus.








At Joy Kids, we also sing lots of fun songs. Some are English and some are Thai. Here are three of the girls singing "Every move I make, I make in You." Some of you out there may be familiar with this song. The kids love it...and they really get into the "na-na-na,na,na..." It's so wonderful to hear them worshipping Jesus. Please pray for Him to work in their hearts. 

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Isaiah 9:6-7
"For to us a Child is born; to us a Son is given; and the government shall be upon His shoulder, and His name shall be called
Wonderful Couselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this."

Prayer Requests

Hey all, just want to ask for some prayers for events that are coming up in the next few days. First of all, Calvin is sick. He woke up this morning with a fever and has been fussy and not able to hold much of anything down. Please pray for a quick recovery for him. We are thankful to God that this is the first time he's been this sick...how good God is to keep him from sickness.

Another prayer request is for Saturday night our time we have been invited by Nay's family to go to a New Year's party. Please pray for us to find the house without any problems (we've never been there before). Please also pray for us to have oppurtunity to talk about Christmas and WHO it is we celebrate not just at Christmas but all year long.

As for other Christmas goings on, we will be having a team Christmas Eve service Sunday evening. WE will be reflecting on the Isaiah 9 passage of Christ being our wonderful couselor, mighty God, everlasting Father and Prince of Peace. We will also be having seasons of singing and prayer. Pray that it would be a good time of reflection and fellowship for our team. On Monday, we will be having Jan and Jose (our Dutch friends) over for lunch. We are really looking forward to spending that time with them. And then later in the day we will probably be heading over to the Mills' home to play games and eat pizza with the rest of the team.

Paul has been invited to go to Chiang Mai (the north of Thailand) on the 28th thru Jan 2 or 3 with one of the university students he is getting to know. He is from up north and will be spending the New Year with his family there. The boys and I have also been invited but we are not sure if we were just invited because they wanted to be polite OR if they really want us to come along too. Please pray for wisdom for us to know what to do. We would all really like to go but I don't want to go if my going is actually going to offend. We need God's wisdom.

Thanks so much for your faithful prayers for our family and team. Have a great Christmas but make sure you take the time to really enjoy Christ this Christmas.

Christmas Outreach at the office

Sunday was a busy day for our team. Aside from all the normal ministries that happen on Sundays we also planned a special outreach out of the New Community office. It started at 4PM and went until 6 or so. There were so many kids there...and some of their parents and other adults came as well. Here is a picture of the decorations on the outside of our building! It was fabulous. People walking by on the soi (street) would just wander in. By the end of the night the office (inside and out) was packed with people. God was faithful...we, as a team, thank you for your prayers. Now, please pray with us for God to continue to deepen these relationships so that we can continue to share the Gospel.







As a foreigner on the team, I didn't have a huge role to play. Our four Thai interns from Bangkok Bible College and Seminary did most of the work. They are great students and our team has reaped huge benefits from having them available every weekend for the past four or five months. They put together a skit that was performed for those who came. This picture to the left is just a fraction of those who were there. Many more came over the course of the night.


Pictured here is one of our interns, Mot, with one of the little girls that comes to Joy Kids. Mot (I think) was acting the part of the inn keeper and the little girl was his daughter.








Other major players in this skit were Andrew and Becky Bronson (Joseph and Mary), Dave, Paul and Rin (another Thai intern) were the wise men. Paul is in the purple in the middle. The interns did another skit later and it was very powerful. It showed people being healed by Jesus and then Jesus going to the cross and rising again.

We also gave out gifts and sang "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" both in English and in Thai as well as some other carols and there was a feast of Thai food as well! Thanks again for your prayers. By the way, thanks to Dana for the pictures. Dana is a new arrival to MTW Thailand. She will be teaching English with us for about 11 months. She comes from Indiana. Thanks DANA! 

Baby Yoshua

Here is the long promised picture of baby Yoshua (Thai for Joshua). His parents are Pawn and Chai and they work with our team trying to reach the Thais of Ram 2. Pictured with Yoshua is his grandma. Yoshua's family comes from the north of Thailand and as you can see from the picture his grandma is carrying him in the traditional northern way. Pawn actually made the sling thing Yoshua is being carried in. Another day I will get a picture of the beautiful crossstitch on the front of it. 

Calvin and the Christmas Tree

I must say that Calvin who is now 10+ months old is all over the place. He is an explorer and really loves electrical outlets, light bulbs, TV, remote controls, the whole gamet and he really LOVES the Christmas tree. It's been a challenge keeping him from the tree and basically all the oranments start about two brances up from the bottom! Calvin puts just about everything he encounters in his mouth (PJ wasn't like that so much) so we've had some interesting experiences and the most recent is best left unsaid!
Another funny thing about Calvin is that he is working on his third tooth but it's his top eye tooth! He is going to look so goofy! O well, it will also be so cute! I also think he's getting fatter. He just seems to be packing on the weight. He loves his fruits and veggies AND rice...that is good living in Thailand!








Do you see those baby blues?! 

O Come, O Come, Emmanuel

I finally made a Henry family advent wreath. Unfortunately for me, I decided to finally do it in Thailand where things like Advent wreaths are very hard to come by...but none-the-less, I was able to find some things to make it work. Last year, before coming to Thailand I went to a homeschooling conference in Florida with five of the sweetest women I know (You know who you are...minus one, my dear friend Carrie). At any rate, I found this book entitled "The Advent Book." I bought it and it has now become a family tradition. Last year was our first Christmas in Thailand and our first Christmas to uncover the wonder of "The Advent Book" and the beautifully illustrated pages telling the Christmas story.
I also bought a small booklet entitled "The Jesse Tree" thanks to my sister-in-law who told me about it. This year we added "The Jesse Tree" book to our nightly reading/activity as well. It has been so neat to retrace the steps of redemptive history of God's wonderful promise of a Messiah...Jesus Christ, incarnate! To the left is a picture of PJ with the first day of "The Jesse Tree." It's a tree stump with shoots coming off of it taken from Isaiah 11:1-2. It reads, "There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. Adnt eh Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord." Of course, this shoot is Jesus Christ. Jesse was the father of King David and from whom Jesus' earthly lineage is traced. What a wonderful history we have, for those of us who believe and what a wonderful future we have knowing that this babe who came so long ago not only LIVES today but will REIGN in power and in glory in the future! The thought has been recurring to me this Christmas (and I think it's because PJ is older and able to understand a bit more this year) that we can't just stop at baby Jesus in the manger...we MUST remember the life, death and RESURRECTION of Christ...for in the resurrection is the POWER of Christ and His conquering death.
So, this Christmas we bought a larger tree than the one we had last year and I have made our small little three foot tree into the Jesse tree in which every night we hang our Jesse Tree paper ornaments. I have put some red bows and white lights on it just to make it a little more pretty. On this table we also have PJ's Play Mobile Nativity set (thanks again to Aunt Becky and Uncle Matt). PJ loves playing with it and just today we had Emmy Mills over for a few hours and they spent most of the time playing with this set.


To the left is the Play Mobile Nativity set along with Lighting McQueen (from the movie Cars). An ironic picture, I know, but that's PJ for you. =)