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... 

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.