The First Day of School

Today, PJ went to Thai pre-school! He was very excited and I must admit, so were Paul and I! Here are a few photos of PJ before we left this morning in his cute school uniform. His name is sewn on the shirt (in Thai, of course).

What a cutie!!!

Here's Paul and PJ walking into the school entrance gate. The scene was typical of the first day of school and thankfully it was a beautiful sunny day today! No rain! There were several children crying in PJ's class but PJ was a real trooper. He was a little shy but he never shed one tear! I stayed with him about ten minutes in class and then left. I prayed so hard the whole morning. I picked him up at noon anxious to hear how his morning went. He said it was good, he had fun, he liked the food for lunch, and he got to play with play dough. He also said, "I tried to speak really hard, but didn't." I laughed and told him that was ok...it would come. Please continue to pray for PJ and for wisdom for us. I am sure the day will come when he will be frustrated with not being able to communicate. Please pray that he will have patience and we will know how to encourage him. We tell him often how special he is to have this very unique opportunity...he seems to receive that well! It sure is a blessing for him to learn Thai and meet some new friends too.

The Whole Group

Here is the entire group that attended the English Camp, both Thai and American alike. Tim (our very gifted and creative teammate) made a vidoe that I wish I could put on this blog to show you how much fun the Camp was. I didn't get to go because Calvin came down with a fever and was extremely fussy. Needless to say, I was a bit disappointed but God sustained us. =)
We had two teams here. One team was from Christ Covenant in Matthews, NC and the other was from Pinewood in Orange Park, FL. The two teams, though they had never met previously, worked together really well. In addition to the English Camp the two teams helped us with some outreach events at the local park....the one that is often mentioned in this blog! We attracted a lot of attention and were able to meet new people as a result.
The week was great and God was good. If you were praying, we thank you! And if you help send some of these folks, we thank you! Please keep praying and please keep sending!

Short term Teams and English Camp

Pictured above is Paul, Andrew and Hal riding a boat either coming from or going to Wat Arun (Temple of the Dawn that is in the background). The two teams did a "tour day" of the downtown area of Bangkok.

This pictures is of Hal and Janet with their group of English students at the English Camp. The English Camp was loads of fun (so I heard) and relationships were strengthened and deepened. Please pray for us as we follow up with those that attended.

The English students were split up into teams (along with foreigners) and they had competitions one afternoon such as pictured above. Things such as this rope swing, paddling a bamboo raft, a zipline, and other things that I don't know how to describe! Most of the competitions took place over water as you can see above. Later that night they had a campfire, complete with toasted marshmellows!

They're Here!

Well, the two short term teams have arrived safe and sound. Here they are yesterday morning, bright eyed and bushy tailed. This was their orientation meeting at our home. Please continue to pray for these teams that God would give them stamina and energy and good rest at night. Pray for our English Camp starting tomorrow and going to Monday. Pray for the Thais that come that they would see Jesus and want to know Him more.

Kim's Baby Shower

We had a great time of felowshipping on Wednesday morning as we rejoiced and celebrated the new life that God has given Jack and Kim. She is due in three to five weeks...and we're all anxiously waiting to meet their little guy. Because this is Kim's third child, she wasn't in need of a whole lot but diapers and that sort of thing. So, instead of handing her a bag of diapers I made this diaper cake. It was incredibly easy and so much more fun to give than a boring package of diaper! I topped it with that cute little puppy dog who is SO soft (almost kept him for our baby!).












Kim, continues to be sustained by God's mighty hand, and is doing great. You can read all about it at her blog (Life in the Big Mango). For those of you who don't know, she was on complete bedrest for almost five months and even now has to take it really easy. Please pray for her as she prepares to give birth.















We celebrated all together, Thais and foreigners alike. Pictured to the left are Becky, Tang and Dana. (Tang is one of our BBCS interns).









We also played a game...to unscramble some words (both in Thai and English). I must say I didn't get ANY of the Thai words...it was incredibly hard!

Mangosteen

This is one of the most delicious fruits here in Thailand! They are "in season" now and for 20 Baht a kilo, you can eat to your heart's (or stomach's) content. The fruit is quite sweet. One can easily eat a 1/2 kilo in one sitting!

Peaceful

So, we've pretty much decided to send PJ to the other school (the one with the swimming pool, etc). I am going to go by today and pay and get him outfitted for his school uniform. Thanks so much for your prayers. We would appreciate continued prayer for his schooling and that his tongue would be loosened to speak Thai and enjoy meeting new Thai friends. He seems very excited but I'm not sure if it's because there is a really cool castle playground OR if he understands he'll be learning! We'll find out soon enough. School starts May 16th. In Thailand the school year runs from mid-May to the end of September...then they have a one month break. They start again in November and go until March. Then they have their summer break of about 2 1/2 months or so. Totally different than what most of you do, I think! =)

I also wanted to remind you all out there that there are two short term teams coming next Wednesday...wow, a week from today!!! So, there might be some down time on the blog due to being busy...but I will try to post, especially for all of you wives and mothers out there who might want to see glimpses of your loved ones that are coming! (I will do my best!)

Please also be praying for our English Camp the first weekend of May. Pray for God's Spirit to work and move. We also have another outreach event planned for the local park on Sunday night...please pray for many from the park to join us as we play games and fellowship and get to know others more.

So, that's the update for today. =)

Not Much to Report but I'll ramble anyway...

Well, the past few weeks have been fairly uneventful which is why there has been some quiet on the blog scene. Sorry! We celebrated Thai New Year last weekend (13-16th) which was a lot of fun. Paul and our teammate, Tim, went to the beach and we (children and wives) hung out together at their home (their neighborhood has a swimming pool!!) and we (the moms) got some scrapbooking done! It has been the first time I've done scrapbooking in a year and a half...so it was fun. Still working on an album from 2004! Oops, I don't think scrapbooking is meant for a disorganized, dishoveled mind like mine but I continue to torment myself with it anyway!

As for life in general, we are anticipating two summer teams coming a week from Wedesday. One is from our home church in Florida and the other is from a church in NC. We are REALLY excited about their coming. Ten of the people will be staying with us! We are looking forward to this time and looking forward to seeing how God is going to work in thier lives and the lives of the Thais. We are hosting an English camp during the time the teams are here as well. Please pray for this English camp that God's love would be clearly seen and the Holy Spirit would be on the move.

I am feeling better in regards to the pregnancy and am 15 weeks along already! Almost half way there...can't believe it, really. I go to see the doctor again this Thursday.

The boys have been sick this past week...colds, coughs and fevers. I thought they were all better but Calvin had a fever and didn't sleep well last night...so not sure what is going on there. Please pray for their complete healing.

As to pre-school for PJ...thanks for praying. I was outside the other week waiting for a friend of mine to show up and had Calvin with me. We were just walking up and down our soi when some neighbors called us in to chat for a few minutes. I shared with them how we were planning on sending PJ to Thai pre-school and I told them where and the one lady asked me why we weren't sending him to this other school (also very near to our house). Well, I told her I didn't know it was a pre-school and that I would check it out. So I went last Friday to see it. I had a much better impression of this school. I also was told the principal is a Christian (I still have to clarify this fact but wouldn't it be great?!). Also, one of the pre-school teachers is in my Saturday morning English class (shes's only come a couple times due to working on Saturdays at the school)! She came running over to me when she saw me. Even though I don't know her really well, it sets my heart at ease at least knowing ONE person at this school when I know NO ONE at the other! So, this morning I am going to go back and take PJ with. Please keep praying for Paul and I in regards to this decision. Oh, this other school also has a swimming pool, so PJ will swim once a week as part of his learning and they also study music! I am really excited for the opportunities he will have. He will also learn computers and English (I think he'll do ok in that department!). As I was there on Friday I was talking to my teacher -friend and a head teacher and I realized how great this "relationship" will be for building community between our work and this school. It's so neat to see how God, if He chooses, can connect the dots between the park we go to often, this school and the office where we minister from all, Lord willing, to bring Thais into the Kingdom.
Well, I think I've rambled enough for one day! Thanks for listening.

Easter Dinner

On the spur of the moment, our team whipped togehter an Easter feast to die for! Tim and Rhianna graciously opened their home, once again, for a get together and provided an actual ham. The team had an extra turkey left over from Thanksgiving that the Cunninghams were going to make for their neighbors but Kim was put on bedrest and the turkey has been sitting in the freezer ever since. So, Jan Veldhorst cooked it up at her house. The rest of us brought sides and desserts. It was so delicious. I know it's only food and it means nothing but it was so nice to be with our team here and celebrate as family. It was nice to have an Easter egg hunt and even have one of Emmy's Thai friends join in on the fun! We even had Chai, Pawn, their baby Joshua and Chai's parents join us. It was such a blessing to all be together. Kim was even able to come (her first outing since November other than doctor visits!). God is good and yesterday we celebrated His goodness to us as a team. May He continue to bless us with good fellowship and good relationships.


PJ hunting for eggs (notice all the eggs he walked right past in the trees!)

Calvin's Easter Basket

Calvin found his first Easter basket this year! As you can see it was hidden underneath a chair. It took him a while to figure out what he was to do but he quickly found it and took the stuff out of it! He likes playing with the plastic eggs and Paul got them each a noise-maker...go daddy!

I also dyed eggs yesterday while the boys were napping. Our eggs are brown here but I think the colors turned out quite nicely. Yellow and orange don't work so well with brown eggs but the other colors are pretty.

PJ's Easter Basket

PJ found his Easter basket underneath the staircase. I tried to get some pics of him looking for it but none of them turned out! We actually did our Easter baskets after the boys naps Sunday afternoon due to a late night with Bow and Me Saturday and we didn't even have the baskets ready! Paul ran to Lotus (the Wal-mart like store near our house) while the boys were napping and actually found some plastic eggs that were pre-stuffed with some little goodies. And he bought some candies. PJ was quite happy with his basket.

Easter Fun and Teaching English

So, I got this idea to make cupcakes for my English students that I teach on Saturdays. I was also quite excited to share with them the greatest story ever...the story of Easter! Friday afternoon, PJ and I got out the muffin tins (thanks Grandma and thanks Grammie for bringing them with you!) and baked some yummy Easter bunny muffins. I got the recipe off of the Betty Crocker website. I also want to thank Grammie for bringing marshmellows when they came because I had to use them for the bunny ears...and marshmellows are very hard to find in Thailand! You can see the creation there on the left. I used some Easter sprinkles my mom sent LAST year for the eyes and nose and whiskers. And I must say, they were quite tasty!

And, here's my class (those that came on Saturday). I usually have 6-7 students. It rained Saturday morning so I think that might have deterred a few of them as well as Friday was a holiday so some of them may have been on a thiaw (outing). I got one new student (Tum-she's pictured on the left. She's a friend of mine from the park and started bringing her son to Joy Kids last week and joined my class Saturday!).
As I mentioned, I shared the Easter story with my class using the Resurrection Eggs and a Thai children's Bible. I was amazed at how intently they all listened. It's hard to know if they were truly interested or just being polite...but at least they heard the Good News (in a very broken and weak way from me!). Please pray for my students. Pray for God to work in their hearts. At least one of my students is going on the English camp the beginning of May with her family. Pray that more will sign up (the deadline is Thursday of this week). The English camp is being hosted by us and two short term teams coming from the States. Please pray for this event. English Camps provide a great venue for us to really get to know the Thais that come. Pray that the Thais would see Christ and want to know Him! Pray for the Spirit to be on the move.

A Thai Meal

Me and Bow told Paul Friday night at the basketball court that they were going to come over on Saturday and cook us a meal. =) We were delighted to have them and excited that they initiated this event! We expected them to come around 7PM (when the guys finish playing "bas" (nickname given to basketball here). However, on Saturday afternoon Paul got a call saying they were going to come at 5. This caused me to get on the ball with getting the kitchen and downstairs cleaned up a little more! I had had a busy morning/afternoon at the office and so around 3 or so I sat down on our couch and rested my legs and body a bit before they got here. The whole family was doing the same! As I am in my light slumber, I heard voices after a while and realized someone was in our house! I woke up, turned around and sure enough Me and Bow were standing at the door wondering (probably) what they should do since I was snoozing there! I am sure it was quite comical. At any rate, I saw Bow hit Me (in a playful way) and say, "You told them we were coming at 5!" (and it was 4!!!) I told them not to worry and proceeded to get Paul and PJ.

So, onto the food. We had khaaw botkapi (rice with shrimp paste) and then you add toppings to it like fried little fish, cut up green beans (not cooked), egg, sour mango, and sweet pork. Needless to say, it was quite fishy tasting but not too bad. We then had a dish called plaaduk (I think). Basically you take a leaf of lettuce, put some white spaghetti-like noodles on it (called khanom jiin), some friend fish (see pictured on the left) and then some yummy spicy sauce. Paul and I really enjoyed the plaaduk. Bow made everything right here in our kitchen and I got to help! I fried the fish, made the egg omelettes, and taste-tasted the spicy sauce. It was all a lot of fun. They ended up staying here until 10! We were so blessed that they came and stayed. Please continue praying for them and for us. They've invited us, as a family, to go on a "thiaw" to Bow's home in the east sometime in the future. Please pray that God would continut to give us opportunities to spend time with them. *thiaw is the Thai word for a 1-2 day outing*
And pictured to the left is Paul eating his first plaaduk helping. He stuffed that whole thing in his mouth! I couldn't believe it. I just noticed you can see PJ looking on in the background!

more pics

Here's Paul and Me perched on top of the waterfall, enjoy the coolness.














Here are Me and Bow after a swim.


And below is Calvin getting some much needed rest after all of his swimming! Can you see the droll coming out of his mouth?

"waterfall, seven, sisters, little"

Ok, so the title of the post is literally how it's read in Thai but the English translation is "Seven little sisters waterfall." We took two of our Thai friends, Me and Bow, there yesterday to escape from some of this heat! Most days it's 100 degrees by 10am. I must say the water felt WONDERFUL! It was so refreshing. The boys really enjoyed it. Calvin is like a duck in the water. He didn't want to get out!










We took some fruit and water along and ate lunch once we got there at a small little shop.














Here are Paul and Me with the boys getting in for a dip.











And here's Bow walking across part of the water fall.
I love swimming with Thai in Thailand because you pretty much go into the water fully clothed! No worries about people looking at you and thinking you're fat (this is always my concern when swimming just with a swimsuit on!). Thais are very modest and wear shorts and t-shirts to swim in. If they do wear a swimsuit, it's spandex bike pants with a spandex type t-shirt. Again, very modest!