Some more pictures

Adele at four and five days old.

Welcome Little One

On Sunday, October 21st, 2007 at 1:04 AM, we welcomed Adele Grace Henry into the world and into our family! She weighed 3.4 kg (7.5 lbs). She is the pride of her older brothers, PJ and Calvin and has totally captured her daddy's heart too! Thank you to all who were praying. God's strength was once again made evident during the labor and delivery and we rejoice at another healthy baby and birth He gave us. Adele was born in a birthing tub at the hospital. I wasn't planning on having a water birth...but she just came so fast...one push and she was here! Please continue to pray for us as we adjust to a new family member.

A Baby Shower!!!

Sunday evening, the ladies on our team threw me and our baby a shower! It was quite a suprise to me (I had only found out about it a few days before and only because they thought I already knew about it!). I was so overwhelmed as I was not expecting any such celebration with this being our third child and all. Pictured above are most of the women and below are the two who weren't in the above picture because they were taking the picture. Unfortunately my camera batteries died at the party so I don't have too many pics...I will get you some more once I receive them from Rhi and Becky (pictured below). The shower was so fun and such a blessing and a great time of fellowship.

And, Melanie (new girl on our team!), Catherine and Khiaw made this beautiful diaper cake for us. Thank you ladies for a great night and for celebrating this new precious life God has given us!

A New Face

I hope the title of my post didn't throw you! No new baby yet. Calvin has a new face...pictured above! He doesn't make any noises with it...and I really don't know where he picked it up from. I don't think I am in the habit of making a face like this...our Thai staff insist Calvin picked up from his Uncle Andrew Bronson (fellow missionary here). Regardless of where he got it from, it sure makes us laugh!

And a great big THANKS! to Uncle Matt and Aunt Becky and family for the package they sent us. The boys are LOVING the books. PJ has enjoyed sticking stickers in the sticker book and Calvin enjoys doing his puzzle books. Thanks so much for all the goodies for us too! We've had peeps for dessert for the past two nights...much to PJ's delight! (And I made the mistake of singing, "Here comes Peter Cotton tail, hoping down the bunny trail" the first time I pulled a peep bunny out and now I have to sing it EVERY time!)

still here

The other day the boys received these cool "Cars" wipe boards in the mail from nanny and pappy. So, we sat down after supper to draw pictures and explore the world of writing and erasing, over and over and over again. Daddy got in on the fun as he held Calvin and drew a picture of our family (all stick figures, complete with a pregnant mommy) and if you haven't guessed it, this is PJ's drawing of me at nine months pregnant (thanks to Daddy's creative genious). Thanks Paul! Of course, PJ thought the stick figure of me pregnant was HILARIOUS and the giggles that came from him were priceless. As for me? No problem...I don't mind being laughed at! =) Only a few more days...

Under the Weather

As you recall one of the later posts I shared how both boys were sick. Thankfully, they are over it! Unfortunately, Paul and I both came down with what they had but I really got it bad. It actually turned into sinuitis for me...and I didn't see the doctor about it right away which I think prolonged it. So, for about 2 1/2 weeks I was "under the weather." And then to top it all off, I did something to my left foot, so not only do I have a waddle but now I have a limp...and of course everyone thinks I am limping due to having swollen feet due to being pregnant...how do I tell them that that is NOT the case, in Thai?! But, I praise the Lord for recovery and I know He will continue to sustain us and me. He is good.

In baby news, I fixed the widget to the right...it's now calculating the correct amount of days until my due date. Although, yesterday afternoon I thought I was going into labor. The Braxton-Hicks really throw me sometimes. I didn't have any with PJ and then with Calvin I had them all the time and when I went into labor with Calvin I was really unsure if it was the real deal or not. So, was the case last night. Paul, of course, was wondering if he should go play basketball and then onto another outing with some Thais. I told him to go and that I would call him if they got stronger and persisted. Obviously...they didn't! I think playing "Castle Knights" with PJ helped! =) I see the doctor on Mondays and last Monday when I saw him he said all is good. The baby is in perfect position and he of course says, "Don't worry, you'll do fine, you're a pro." Yeah, well, we see about that! Oh, he also said, "you can go anytime now." Well, with yesterday's event I got my hospital bag packed. I was late with both boys and so I tend to think I will be late this time too...but yesterday got me to get a little more prepared! So, my bag is mostly packed, directions for whoever ends up watching our boys are written out and now all we are doing is waiting!

Another BIG event happened since I last wrote and that is PJ finished his first term of Thai pre-school! We're not sure we will be sending him again in November but we are sure proud of him! He has enjoyed being home with us in the mornings again. We've spent our mornings playing and enjoying each other. He really talks a lot anymore...which is a lot of fun. And his imagination is always running wild, usually he's fighting some bad guy or dragon (and he is always St. George of Merry England). Calvin, of course, is having fun with big brother home too. Oh, speaking of Calvin...he spoke! He says, "all done." He also is starting to say "duck" (though it sounds like duh) and I think he says "dog". I think he also said a Thai word the other day which means "I can" (dye, in Thai)...but I am not sure on that!

So, that is the latest with us. Have a blessed weekend and thanks for dropping in.

Calvin reading his favorite book, Go, dog. Go

We had this visitor on our soi yesterday! PJ and I fed him
some sugar cane. He was very happy with that!

An interesting read

Our last surface mail newsletter of Bangkok and Beyond, I mentioned an idol craze that is affecting Thailand. I ran across this article on the BBC website. For those of you who are interested check it out at
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6976705.stm
Please remember to pray for the Thai people.

Sickness in the camp and a new friend

Hey all, above is Calvin and no, I didn't make him pose like that. I took the picture and when I looked at it he had his little hand upon his knee...all on his own! Calvin still doesn't talk, really. I mean he talks all the time, but it's jibberish and quite funny. He does call for me and Paul (momma, momma and dadada) but that is about all. He has said random words (night, night, bye bye, etc) but these are not words he will say at any given moment. I think he's trying to figure out English and Thai...we'll see what happens! He's also taken a liking to spinning in circles until dizzy and falling on his bottom all the while laughing his head off. He also has managed to climb the bunk bed ladder to he and PJ's bunk beds (that as of right now only PJ sleeps in due to Calvin still sleeping in a crib). This, thankfully, was discovered while Mommy was overseeing but still...PJ was NOT like this one!

PJ has come down with something...I was just thinking the other day how wonderful it has been the past month with the boys being relatively healthy...well, PJ's been sick since Tuesday night with mostly a fever, cough and ear ache. He looks awful (as you can see in the above picture) as his eyes are also really sore, but he has been mostly pleasant with his most fussy times at night. He's gone to bed early for the past two or three nights...tonight he wanted to climb into bed at 6:30! Sorry, kid, you gotta stay up a bit longer!

And, this is our new friend. I have yet to name him. I found him last night hanging out in my kitchen sink. He's not very big (smaller than my pinky finger) and doesn't seem to be too afraid of me. Now, I know that you know that geckos are not a big deal here. We have them...they tend to be everywhere and they just become part of your life in Thailand. So, why am I blogging about a gecko? Well, earlier today I was washing dishes (with the gecko in the sink) and I was telling Paul about him. I was asking Paul why he thinks the gecko has stayed in the sink all night and all day. His very logical and good answer was that he couldn't get OUT of the sink...he's too small!) So, I helped him out with a little push up onto the counter and thought he would escape our kitchen and find life outside the kitchen sink. A couple hours later, I was making pizza dough and saw him beside the sink, near the back of the counter. I couldn't believe this guy. He must really feel at home in our kitchen! So, I snapped a picture of him after he snapped a bug flying around in our kitchen! (This is one VERY good reason to keep geckos in your house...bug control!). So, we know have a resident kitchen gecko. Sorry, Mom, I am not getting rid of him, he's too cute and too helpful to keeping the pests down!

Important Note: On the baby widget to the right it says I am further along than is actually correct according to my doctor. I don't know how to go back and change it so just add another week onto whatever is posted and that is when I am actually due. (Actual date: October 22). Only about five weeks left!!! Woo hoo!

A Revelation

The other night as I was ironing the bushels of clean clothes I was listening to a sermon cd. It's a series on Family Worship. It's been VERY good and encouraging. The pastor talked about many different aspects of Family Worship (what it is, the Biblical example, the father's role, mother's role, how to do it, etc). But, today, I want to share with you, my faithful readers, just one SMALL point he made about pressure. At the end of each session the pastor asks for questions, and though I can't hear the person asking the question I believe this one particular person made a comment about how time consuming Family Worship is. The pastor responded by saying basically, "what are your priorities?" And he went on to say that there are two kinds of people in the world (basically, this is, of course, all para-phrased!). He said there are those who live their lives by pressures (ie, basketball practice, baseball practice, church activities, etc, etc) and then there are those who live their lives by priorities. He clearly said that if you live by priorities you are NOT going to be liked. People don't like it when you say "no" to something good because of a priority you have previously set. And this got me thinking. Do I live by priorities or by pressures? I think 10 years ago, my life would have been defined by living by pressures. But,now, I think I have moved more to the priority side of life. What caused this change? Well, I don't know for sure but I think 1) God has shown me that He must direct my days and the things with which I fill them 2) CHILDREN! Need I say more? Children have a way of becoming a priority (and rightfully so!) and so many of those other pressures get thrown out but perhaps the biggest reason is 3) MY HUSBAND! HE is a priority man. He doesn't cave in at every pressure that comes along. His conviction is firm and he sticks by it, no matter what. This very issue is what has caused a lot of misunderstandings between us...I am the one who can't say "no" and he is the one who knows his priorities and therefore CAN say "no"! After realizing this the other night, I thanked God for the way He created Paul to be a priority man and I shared with Paul too. We need to have firm priorities...things to govern our lives otherwise we are just tumbleweeds blowing in the wind, being swayed to do this or that with no real purpose. So, what about you, are you driven by every pressure that comes your way or are you driven by God given priorities?

Visitors!

Pictured above is our family, Catherine (our friend who teaches at the international Christian school) and a medical missions team from the US. We went through a lot of training with one of the docs pictured above, Doreen (third one from the left in the white shirt) as we prepared to become long term missionaries with MTW.
So, last night our family and Catherine headed to downtown Bangkok to meet this group for supper. It was so great to meet new peoople and catch up with Doreen. They were in Cambodia for a week of medical missions and stopped in Bangkok on their way home. We got to meet Ted and Sharon Kuhn, who are over medical missions for MTW. We also got to meet Dr. SooHoo and Karen. They are from all over the US and the other half of their team had already departed for the US earlier that day. They were full of encouraging words for us and though we didn't get to hear how God had answered prayer for the Cambodia trip we did get to share with them how God is answering prayer here in Bangkok. (We asked about their trip and the only response was, "It was GREAT!" So, I think they were still processing!)
We also found some interesting connections...mainly with Paul and that little town of Waynesboro, PA. It seems all paths have crossed there at some point! Paul's dad used to work there and Ted told us the hospital is built on what used to be his grandfather's farm! Truly, the world is small.
Of course, we don't normally venture too far after 5PM on a Friday night...especially downtown Bangkok with two children in tow but last night was worth it and even the boys did fairly well. It helped that we got to ride the Sky Train (always a highlight for PJ!) and fruit and ice cream always helps to keep them occupied as well!

I also wanted to share that last week our market friend came back to worship and brought her 3 year old daughter with her! Please keep praying for them and pray for her husband too, that he would soon come and hear the Word of God. What an answer to prayer!!!!

Updates, updates!

Well, the blog scene has been a bit quiet again. I've been reading a lot lately (not something I generally do other than the Bible, of course.) Usually I "don't have the time" but I've been encouraged by my teammates to read some good books and so I've picked them up and actually finished one within 24 hours of receiving it (and that NEVER happens!). The other book I am reading is one my dear mother in law gave me when they were here in February. It's about Ann Judson of Burma. And might I add, WHOA! Talk about consecrated missionaries, pouring out their entire lives for the Gospel. It's been quite convicting and encouraging as I read this account and now I have even more of a burden to pray for the nation of Burma and her people. And that is another area I've been spending more of my "free time"...and that is in prayer. God has been so good to give me at least an hour or so in the evenings (usually) to just sit, read the Bible and pray for Thailand, SE Asia and other needs that are shared. I hope that this desire will stay and grow deep within me.

In other news, this past Sunday we had a VERY encouraging thing happen. A Thai women that our team is getting to know and continues to reach out to came to worship for the first time! She sells food in the market area and we eat at her fine establishment quite often. She came and her response was that she wants to come back every week because she LOVED it! How encouraging! The other amazing thing about this particular Sunday was that Phii Chai preached from Romans 6 and 7 about being slaves to sin or slaves to righteousness. He clearly laid out the Gospel with diagrams on the power point and all! It was truly amazing to see how God had orchestrated her first Sunday to be last Sunday! Anyway, please pray for her.

We also have welcomed a new "girl" to the team. Melanie arrived late Wednesday night and will be working with our team for two years. She has a blog if you're interested in learning more about her and how you can pray for her at... www.thaimelanie.blogspot.com. Friday night she was locked out of her apartment and so the boys and I went to pick her up and as I was telling PJ what we were doing he asked me if she was from Africa. I have no idea why. He just comes off with things like that sometimes. A couple months ago, we were in the super market and a Thai lady asked PJ is English..."Where are you from?" and I heard PJ answer..."Africa." I quickly corrected him and laughed really hard as did the woman! Anyway, we are so excited that the Lord has brought Melanie to serve here. Please pray for her as she adjusts to a new culture and life here in Thailand.

And yet, in other news, the baby is growing healthily. I saw the doctor yesterday and all looks great, he said. I thank God for the health He has granted me and I don't take it for granted. I am looking forward to meeting this new little blessing and it's only 8 weeks away!!!! Of course the whole birthing thing scares me a bit (it has each time) but I try to pray when I start getting scared and am reminded that God will be with me and He will give me the strength and endurance I need to deliver this baby.

So, I guess that is all that is going on here other than the usual. We will be having a team pray and plan meeting on friday when we set goals for the next year. Please pray with us during that time that the Spirit of God would lead and direct us.

A not-so-new site to check out!

Hey everyone, check out our new and updated MTW Thailand webiste at
www.mtwthailand.org

Thai Mother's Day

In Thailand, Mother's Day is on August 12th every year becuase this is the HM the Queen's birthday. This year the Lord led our team to do a speacial worship service to honor the mother's of the children with whom we are in contact. God graciously answered our prayers as many, many people came to our ministry center today for the FIRST time and heard God's Word preached and Lord willing, saw God's family, the church at work. I counted 15 moms that came and several fathers (!). It was a HUGE encouragement to us as a team. After the service we all ate kuay thiaw together from two local shops (kuay thiaw is basically ramen noodles with meat and often times other things added in there too!).
In Thailand, it is custom during Mother's Day for the children to present their mother with a fake jasmine flower and thank them for being their mom. In the first picture you see a row of women sitting and their children on their knees in front of them presenting them with a flower pin. If a child's mother didn't come, she/he just picked another mom that was there and gave it to her.
In the second picture, you see Phii Nong. She attended a few of my English classes but has stopped coming due to having to work. She is one of the movers and shakers at the Maahaadthai Community we are working with. She is a sweet, sweet woman...please pray for her.
And in the third picture you will notice these three women are "wai-ing." This is perhaps the most common gesture you will see and do in Thailand. I can't recall why these women are wai-ing. Most times one wais to greet someone, say good-bye, say thank you or if you are offering merit or praying to a Buddha or other spirits.
And the last picture is of my dear little Calvin with his most favorite Thai person in the world...Phii Charin. Charin is one of our BBCS interns and is GREAT with kids...especially Calvin! Charin, Tim Mills and Pramote (the other intern) have been taking a Thai traditional music class for the past several months (for Christian worship) and today was their debut. They played some Thai traditional music with instruments. It was beautiful and they all did a superb job! Charin is seen here getting a head start teaching Calvin the outworkings of this classical Thai instrument that is much like a guitar and yet distinctly Thai. (Tim, maybe you could let me know the name of this instrument...I have forgotten!).
I also wanted to point out to all you faithful readers that you might have noticed a lot of folks dressed in blue. This is the color for mother's day here in Thailand. Many of you might recall that yellow is the HM the King's color but blue, specifically light blue is for HM the Queen. Everyone wears these shirts...men, women, children and most of them say something like "I love mom" or LOVE MOM" in both Thai or English. I got Calvin a shirt that says, "I love mom" in Thai. It's really a neat idea...the whole country gets blanketed in these colors at specific times of the year or even specific days of the week (for example on Mondays in Thailand, virtually everyone is in yellow!).
And lastly, I wanted to thank you for your prayers for today. It was SO exciting and though I wasn't able to hear Charin's sermon on being a godly mother I heard it went really well. And the important thing is that God's Word was proclaimed to many who have never heard it before! Pray now, for those who came, that the Spirit of God would bring them back to hear more of the Gospel and that they would be hungry for more and more truth. Thanks again for faithfully praying. "To God be the Glory, great things HE has done!"

Thai Mother's Day

Joy Kids...

Jane, the girl pictured in the first shot with little Asa Mills took off with our camera this morning and captured most of the pics for this blog...and she did a pretty good job of it too! Jane has two younger sisters and if often left to look after them as her parents are out working.
Pictured second is none other than Miss Catherine with Diw.
In the third picture some of our Joy Kids girls prepared special songs for today. One was Thai (sorry, I don't know the name of it) and the other was an English song that goes..."Let us pray, let us pray, every where and every way, every moment of the day it is the right time..." What a blessing to see these children proclaiming God's love for us before their parents and grandparents. To God be the glory!
And thirdly, the Joy Kids did another special song.

Outreach

Two Sundays ago, our team hosted a neighborhood BBQ. We invited everyone on the street our ministry center is located on and we also invited friends who live in the area. In the first picture you will see my two friends from the park, Jum and Tum along with Miss Aunt Becky Bronson (as PJ affectionately calls her!). In the second picture we have three of the girls from Maahaadthai, and then we have Tang and Pawn keeping tabs on the fire in the grill...and lastly we have Mot (BBCS intern) pictured with some of the young men from Maahaadthai.

We have another exciting opportunity coming up this Sunday, August 12. Please be praying for our Sunday worship service. It is Thai Mother's Day this Sunday and we are having a special service with the Joy Kids singing special songs and we've invited lots of families to this worship service. Afterwards we will be sharing a meal together in celebration of our moms. Please pray for the Spirit of God to move thru the preaching of His Word. This will be the first time many of them will hear the Gospel. Pray for the Spirit to be at work. Thanks be to God for the work He is doing here! And pray for us to not become weary in doing good.

bound to happen

It was bound to happen that someone would get their head stuck in our homemade baby gate...and sure enough, PJ did! I laughed so hard and then said, "Hold on, I gotta take a picture." Poor kid. =)
And Calvin has been enjoying CHERRIOS!!! Yeah for Grammie and Aunt Catherine for sending/bringing them. Calvin has immensely enjoyed this treat!

St. George and the beach

We spent a few days this past week at Rayong Beach...about three hours East of Bangkok. The country in this part of Thailand is absolutely breathtaking...it helps that it's the rainy season. Everything is SO green and lucious! This part of Thailand is known for its fruit...especially Durian and Pineapple. yum, yum. Ok, the durian I could pass on but the pineapple? yum, YUM! The boys, of course, had fun playing in the sand and PJ and Paul had fun jumping waves...they were actually rather big for the Gulf. It was nice to get away for a few days before the craziness of throwing a third child into the mix. =) And, our fall schedule is so jammed packed on top of throwing in a baby! But, we thank God for the many, many opportunities He is giving us and our team to minister His Word here.

You might remember a long time ago (January '07) I had made PJ a red cross shield out of cardboard. Well, the shield bit the dust a few weeks ago due to an upturned milk bottle that leaked onto it....and I didn't catch it until 3 days later...so we had to "ting" it (throw it away). Well, I decided to make a new one for PJ to go along with the yellow balloon sword he got at the hospital that day. I decided this time, though, to equip Calvin with a sheild as well...and then Paul decided to equip Calvin with a cardboard sword! So, they've had lots of fun running around the house fighting each other...and needless to say, cardboard swords actually can inflict some pain! PJ was quick to point out that Calvin had to be "the bad guy." Of course, PJ!