check out this website......
http://www.rickmckinley.net/2007/08/28/the-baby-is-coming/
also go to the adventconspiracy.com link from the page. It talks more about the advent conspiracy.
I think this is how Christmas should be celebrated. What if we celebrated Christmas like this and donated to the children here in Thailand, or starving children in Africa, or give clean water to children in Ecuador, or provide funds to give medical assistance to people who would die otherwise. Check it out and let me know what you think!
Sunday, September 30, 2007
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Dripping Wet
That's what I was doing as I finished up my shower ever so quickly because I saw a mouse tale hanging down the wall from a crack in the ceiling. I threw my towel on, rushed outside and asked the first boy I saw to go in my room and kill it. He didn't really understand me, so there's me, dripping wet, standing outside my door with my towel and flip flops on, moving my hands and fingers like little mouse feet, making a squeaking sound and pointing into my bathroom and at the ceiling. I think he finally got the point because he went into my bathroom, I remained outside my door leaning my head in, waiting for him to capture it. He came back out of the bathroom and shook his head yes, as if affirming that there was indeed a mouse in there. Then he walked out. I was like, um, hello I didn't want you to reassure me that there is a mouse in my bathroom, I want you to remove the mouse that is indeed in the bathroom. So I stood outside my room, probably with a dumbfounded look on my face, but then he returned with two more boys. My look changed to curiosity as I wondered what they were going to do. Two of the boys lifted Somoo up to the ceiling. He removed one of the ceiling tiles and like an acrobat climbed up into the ceiling. While he climbed around up there, one boy went and got a flashlight for him and one boy went and got a ladder. I continued to stand there with water dripping down. I couldn't help but just laugh. As Somoo searched up there for the mouse, he yelled to me "Andrea, no mother mouse, but many baby mouse". At first I thought I misunderstood him, but then Sopchai walked over to me with what Somoo handed to him from the ceiling. It was 7 baby mice. They didn't have any fur on them or anything....they looked like what a fetus looks like in the beginning stages. They kind of looked cute....but even though they were cute, I was glad that they were no longer in my ceiling. I can't believe I had a family of mice up in my ceiling. I caught one mouse in my room about a week ago and I figured that was the only mouse I had as my roommate, but little did I know I had 9. So now I caught one, Somoo caught 7, so that means there's still one to go. I'm setting out the mouse trap tonight, and then I'll be the only inhabitant of my room. I'm really looking forward to that :) Anyways, they packed up their mouse catching tools and joyfully walked out of my room. I could tell the boys were proud of their find. I had a disgusted look on my face, because I just found out that 9 mice were rooming with me, and that made all the children who were standing around watching all the commotion laugh hysterically. They all ask me "you afraid?". I tried to explain that I wasn't afraid just a little grossed out :) After they left my room, I had just enough time to change and then it was time to teach my English lesson. Definitely an eventful night that began with me dripping wet :)
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
I am weak
I will boast about my weaknesses. Jesus said "My grace is sufficent for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness".......For when I am weak, then I am strong. (2 Corinthians 12)
I'm learning more and more how life is so not about me. Every day I learn more and more how selfish I truly am and how I very much do not want to be. Sunday was a wonderful day! We had the opportunity to go to Mae Kha Mu Noie Village and we led a church service in the village church building that Pastor Winai began. It was wonderful! I had the opportunity to preach a message and sing a song. All the children also sang songs for us. It was wonderful. After church was over, we had a delicious lunch, with rice of course being our staple food. After lunch, I figured it was time to go home. I was glad that it was time to go home because I was hot and tired. As we got back into the truck we drove to our destination, which I assumed was home. However, when we arrived at our destination, it was not home but it was the church in Mae La village. We were going to have another church service in this village. You see, Pastor Winai is starting churches in these villages but the churches have not been sent Pastor's so Pastor goes to each church to share the gospel. He does all this without ever complaining and with a true selfless heart that desperately wants to see people know the truth. Here is the selfless man, who's head is hurting him, who can't see out of his left eye, who looks oh so tired, yet he keeps a smile on his face and continues to serve the Lord. Then here's selfish ol' me. I grumpily get out of the car, trying not to show how i'm feeling, but knowing I'm not doing a very good job. I go and sit on the floor of the church and wait for the people to arrive so we could have church. Inside my head I'm saying "Seriously? I just preached this morning, isn't that enough? Didn't I do my duty? I'm tired, I don't want to be here. I'm so uncomfortable. Not that many people even seem to be coming to church." As I sit there and complain to God in my head, I watch as all the children sit around me excited to worship again. Excited to share the gospel. Excited to be sitting in God's presence and bring other people into it as well. While they all thought about others, I couldn't stop thinking about myself and my own comforts. As I sat in the service, I saw a little girl with sores all over her head. She sat and quietly listened to the sermon. I saw as a mother, who was 10 months pregnant, sat and eagerly let Pastor's words fill her heart. I saw as a man grabbed on to every word that came from Pastor's mouth, as he prayed for his child who sat on his lap with a dangerously high fever. Here I was complaining about my own ucomfortableness and around me were selfless people who wanted with all of them to be at that church service. The church service that I didn't even want to have. This is what they look forward to every week. And me I was wanting to take that from them. How weak I am. My own selfish desires clouded the reason I am here. God reminded me that I am here to serve and it's not about me at all. Living beyond myself is living in God. My weaknesses are many and I will boast about that, because God's power is made perfect in my weakness. I realized my strength comes from God. I surrendered this attitude of selfishness, my weak point, to God and it was able to completely glorify Him.
After the service I had the opportunity to talk with the woman who had been carrying her baby for 10 months. As we spoke, the smile never left her sun-beaten, tired, face. I watched as the child with the sores played and laughed and was filled with joy. We went with the man to his home, and saw two of his children who were suffering from extreme fevers. The man and his wife were still full of joy because they know our God is greater than the fever that was attacking his children's bodies. We were able to take the man and his wife and two children to the hospital. My own selfishness would have taken away what God was trying to do. But it's a good thing, God is even greater than my weaknesses and that His power can be great when I am weak.
Every day I'm learning how to be the woman God wants me to be. I'm learning through Pastor, through the precious children, through the many people He brings into my life, through His Word, and through what He brings me through. I pray that God continues to humble me and continues to show me my weaknesses. I will continue to boast about my weaknesses for when I am weak then I am strong.
I'm learning more and more how life is so not about me. Every day I learn more and more how selfish I truly am and how I very much do not want to be. Sunday was a wonderful day! We had the opportunity to go to Mae Kha Mu Noie Village and we led a church service in the village church building that Pastor Winai began. It was wonderful! I had the opportunity to preach a message and sing a song. All the children also sang songs for us. It was wonderful. After church was over, we had a delicious lunch, with rice of course being our staple food. After lunch, I figured it was time to go home. I was glad that it was time to go home because I was hot and tired. As we got back into the truck we drove to our destination, which I assumed was home. However, when we arrived at our destination, it was not home but it was the church in Mae La village. We were going to have another church service in this village. You see, Pastor Winai is starting churches in these villages but the churches have not been sent Pastor's so Pastor goes to each church to share the gospel. He does all this without ever complaining and with a true selfless heart that desperately wants to see people know the truth. Here is the selfless man, who's head is hurting him, who can't see out of his left eye, who looks oh so tired, yet he keeps a smile on his face and continues to serve the Lord. Then here's selfish ol' me. I grumpily get out of the car, trying not to show how i'm feeling, but knowing I'm not doing a very good job. I go and sit on the floor of the church and wait for the people to arrive so we could have church. Inside my head I'm saying "Seriously? I just preached this morning, isn't that enough? Didn't I do my duty? I'm tired, I don't want to be here. I'm so uncomfortable. Not that many people even seem to be coming to church." As I sit there and complain to God in my head, I watch as all the children sit around me excited to worship again. Excited to share the gospel. Excited to be sitting in God's presence and bring other people into it as well. While they all thought about others, I couldn't stop thinking about myself and my own comforts. As I sat in the service, I saw a little girl with sores all over her head. She sat and quietly listened to the sermon. I saw as a mother, who was 10 months pregnant, sat and eagerly let Pastor's words fill her heart. I saw as a man grabbed on to every word that came from Pastor's mouth, as he prayed for his child who sat on his lap with a dangerously high fever. Here I was complaining about my own ucomfortableness and around me were selfless people who wanted with all of them to be at that church service. The church service that I didn't even want to have. This is what they look forward to every week. And me I was wanting to take that from them. How weak I am. My own selfish desires clouded the reason I am here. God reminded me that I am here to serve and it's not about me at all. Living beyond myself is living in God. My weaknesses are many and I will boast about that, because God's power is made perfect in my weakness. I realized my strength comes from God. I surrendered this attitude of selfishness, my weak point, to God and it was able to completely glorify Him.
After the service I had the opportunity to talk with the woman who had been carrying her baby for 10 months. As we spoke, the smile never left her sun-beaten, tired, face. I watched as the child with the sores played and laughed and was filled with joy. We went with the man to his home, and saw two of his children who were suffering from extreme fevers. The man and his wife were still full of joy because they know our God is greater than the fever that was attacking his children's bodies. We were able to take the man and his wife and two children to the hospital. My own selfishness would have taken away what God was trying to do. But it's a good thing, God is even greater than my weaknesses and that His power can be great when I am weak.
Every day I'm learning how to be the woman God wants me to be. I'm learning through Pastor, through the precious children, through the many people He brings into my life, through His Word, and through what He brings me through. I pray that God continues to humble me and continues to show me my weaknesses. I will continue to boast about my weaknesses for when I am weak then I am strong.
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Feed a child for $1.50 a day
You can feed a child for less than you would pay for your morning coffee. It costs 45 baht for a child in the Agape Children Orphanage to eat 3 full meals. That converts into about $1.50 a day. Can you spare $1.50 a day and go without your morning coffee so a child can eat 3 full meals every day? That's $45.00 a month. We pay more than that on a pair of pants. If we sacrifice only a little bit of the things that we place such an importance on a child can eat every day for a full month. To me that's more important than buying that new pair of pants or getting my morning coffee. So the next time you sit down for your coffee in the morning please think about the 130 children who live in the Agape Children Orphanage, who truly know what it means to completely trust God to supply their every need.
If you would like to donate, please contact me and I will tell you how- mustangandrea@cox.net
If you would like to donate, please contact me and I will tell you how- mustangandrea@cox.net
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
I love to eat lice for dinner
That's how Thai people say rice. It's funny. I always correct them and try to get them to say the "r" sound, which is very difficult for them to pronounce. I have them shape their mouths like me and we have a chorus chanting "rrrrrrrr". However, this time the word I'm wanting to use is lice. Many of the children have lice here. And now, that lice has decided that it wanted to make a new home in some nice, clean American hair :( I guess it just wouldn't be Thailand without contracting a little lice. I went to Pastor Winai's house and Nomyo put the medicine on my head, so I should be all clean tomorrow (I'm praying). After Nomyo put the medicine on she put a shirt on my head with string to keep it on (I put a picture of this up on kodak). As I walked back to my room, t-shirt on head, I saw some of the children and staff walking around with their flashlights in hand scanning the ground. They were looking for frogs to fry up for their breakfast tomorrow. I started to laugh......only in Thailand would I be walking around with a shirt on my head while people around me searched for their frog breakfast :)
Two nights ago me and the family (Pastor Winai, his wife Pranom, May and Noah) were treated to a delicious dinner by Nelson and Joann (the missionaries from Phuket). It was delicious and the company was wonderful! After dinner, we said our goodbyes and then we headed to Runjira. This is the place where the refugees wait before the UN transports them to America. The refugees are not allowed to leave Runjira, and it can take up to days before they are deported to America. Pastor Winai's brother and his family were here waiting to go to America, which is the reason why we came. They had already been waiting there for 4 days, without the freedom to leave. Once they go to America, they must stay and work for 5 years and then they are granted citizenship. Then they have the freedom to come and go as they please. As we visited with Pastor Winai's family, they were full of questions for me. As I am an "expert" on America :) I was more than happy to answer all their questions, and was very excited for them! Pastor Winai remained talking with his brother and I journeyed out to see the rest of Runjira and the refugees. I took out my camera and started to take pictures. Everyone loved it! I felt like I was a National Geographic photographer amongst incredible poverty! The children all ran up to me and kept pointing at themselves saying they wanted a picture. Then they would hold up their pointer finger, explaining to me they wanted me to take one more picture. Everyone kept coming up to me and they were wanting me to take pictures of them and their family before they left for America. I took pictures of dozens of families, dozens of children, and dozens of babies. The parents found the prettiest thing they had for their children, put it on them, and then rushed up to me with their precious baby in hand telling me to take a picture. It was incredible! I had little children running all around me, parents with huge smiling faces running up to me, and babies staring at me because a farang is so strange to them. As Pastor Winai and his family went to the room to continue to talk, I continued to mingle amongst the people. I didn't want to leave them. The joy that brought to me was amazing! I loved it! I finally said good-bye to the many new friends I had just photographed and went to meet Pastor Winai and his family in the room. We all had a powerful time of prayer, as we prayed for Pastor Winai's brother's family as they would travel to America. We especially prayed for the health of his two daughters. They were both running high fevers, and if they were too sick the doctor would not let them go to America. But Praise the Lord, because the daughters were healed and they all left for America today!!
Please continue to pray for all the children here and their health. Also, please keep Pastor Winai's health in your prayers. It has become to where he can barely see out of his left eye at all. Also, we just found out that one of the children's fathers has a brain tumor and one of the children's mother took poison and tried to commit suicide. Please keep the children's parents in your prayers. Also, continue to pray for my health with my voice, it has been doing really well! Thank you for all your prayers, it's the best gift we could have!
*I uploaded pics of the Runjira and the children.
Two nights ago me and the family (Pastor Winai, his wife Pranom, May and Noah) were treated to a delicious dinner by Nelson and Joann (the missionaries from Phuket). It was delicious and the company was wonderful! After dinner, we said our goodbyes and then we headed to Runjira. This is the place where the refugees wait before the UN transports them to America. The refugees are not allowed to leave Runjira, and it can take up to days before they are deported to America. Pastor Winai's brother and his family were here waiting to go to America, which is the reason why we came. They had already been waiting there for 4 days, without the freedom to leave. Once they go to America, they must stay and work for 5 years and then they are granted citizenship. Then they have the freedom to come and go as they please. As we visited with Pastor Winai's family, they were full of questions for me. As I am an "expert" on America :) I was more than happy to answer all their questions, and was very excited for them! Pastor Winai remained talking with his brother and I journeyed out to see the rest of Runjira and the refugees. I took out my camera and started to take pictures. Everyone loved it! I felt like I was a National Geographic photographer amongst incredible poverty! The children all ran up to me and kept pointing at themselves saying they wanted a picture. Then they would hold up their pointer finger, explaining to me they wanted me to take one more picture. Everyone kept coming up to me and they were wanting me to take pictures of them and their family before they left for America. I took pictures of dozens of families, dozens of children, and dozens of babies. The parents found the prettiest thing they had for their children, put it on them, and then rushed up to me with their precious baby in hand telling me to take a picture. It was incredible! I had little children running all around me, parents with huge smiling faces running up to me, and babies staring at me because a farang is so strange to them. As Pastor Winai and his family went to the room to continue to talk, I continued to mingle amongst the people. I didn't want to leave them. The joy that brought to me was amazing! I loved it! I finally said good-bye to the many new friends I had just photographed and went to meet Pastor Winai and his family in the room. We all had a powerful time of prayer, as we prayed for Pastor Winai's brother's family as they would travel to America. We especially prayed for the health of his two daughters. They were both running high fevers, and if they were too sick the doctor would not let them go to America. But Praise the Lord, because the daughters were healed and they all left for America today!!
Please continue to pray for all the children here and their health. Also, please keep Pastor Winai's health in your prayers. It has become to where he can barely see out of his left eye at all. Also, we just found out that one of the children's fathers has a brain tumor and one of the children's mother took poison and tried to commit suicide. Please keep the children's parents in your prayers. Also, continue to pray for my health with my voice, it has been doing really well! Thank you for all your prayers, it's the best gift we could have!
*I uploaded pics of the Runjira and the children.
Sunday, September 16, 2007
You mean we're not swimming in a lake????
"Yes, I mean we're not swimming in a lake! We're going swimming in a swimming pool." "They have those here?" I was shocked. I haven't seen a pool since I've been here and I have been here for almost two months (pretty crazy to think that it's almost been two months). This is the conversation that went on between Me and Krugow as she told me that she was going to take me swimming with her and her two daughters and Kruhawm and her daughter. I was so excited to actually go swimming in a pool. It has been pretty hot here lately and I was dreaming about how nice it would be to swim in a pool. After I taught on Saturday, me and all the girls jumped into the truck to begin our Saturday packed full of fun. As I passed Oreo's around to everyone in the car (I share these Oreo's because Pastor Winai's wife gives me huge packages of them, but I don't want to eat them considering I thought I would only be eating rice and veggies, so I share them as much as I can :)), we made our way to the Moei River. This is the river that seperates Burma from Thailand. It is the westernmost point in Thailand (really, that's what the sign says :)). As we walked through the market, as this is a tourist point so everyone's ready to make some money, we finally escaped from the market madness and walked along the river. The poverty of this area was so apparent as I stepped over all the trash that lined the walkway and watched as the children played in it. It broke my heart and I was so thankful I brought the Oreo's as I was able to share it with the Burmese children playing here. As I continued to walk I had Burmese after Burmese ask me if I wanted to buy cigarettes. This is what they sold to put food on the table. The sadness that was reflected to me through their eyes was heartbreaking. As I stared at them, and took their pictures, I could see their hard lives and tired, overworked souls in their faces. How difficult life is for them. Their children have nothing else to do but play amongst the trash while their parents desperately try to make money so they can eat that night.
After, we made our way back through the hustle and bustle of the market, we jumped back into the truck and went to visit Krugow's mother-in-law's house. She was such a sweet lady. She had dinner prepared for us after we returned from swimming. We visited with her for a few minutes, and then Krugow excitedly said by-by-by (this means let's go in Thai). It was time to go swimming. Swimming was a blast!! I loved playing with all the little girls! Please continue to pray that they will see Jesus in me. God is opening up so many doors for me to share love with them. I am spending days with them, going to their homes, sharing meals with them, and serving them however I can. Pray the Holy Spirit completely works in them. We ended our fun and exciting day with a trip back to Krugow's house, where I was able to pick bananas from her banana tree and a papaya from her papaya tree, and then we did a little grocery shopping at the local Tesco Lotus. It was a wonderful day!!
Also, we got 9 additions to our family. We got 4 kittens and 5 puppies. They are the cutest things ever!! I love them!! We're the orphanage for everybody :) (I put up pics of the new additions to our family :))
Today also has been a wonderful day!! Two missionaries from Phuket, Thailand have come to spend a couple days with us. Their names are Nelson and Joann, husband and wife. They are wonderful people! Nelson is from Hong Kong and Joann is from Canada and both speak English very well. They joined us for our service this morning and then me and Joann had the children make their own Twister games, they loved it!! I also really enjoyed playing with them!! The children are all amazing!! Tonight, Nelson and Joann treated me to dinner at a western restaurant in Mae Sot. They actually serve American food....the owner is American and I had the opportunity to talk with him. We finished our day with an incredible worship service! The children take a big part in leading the worship services. It's the cutest thing to see 10 year olds stand up in front of us all, shout Hallelujah, lead a song and lead us in prayer!! They're going to be amazing leaders when they get older and go back to their villages. They're all going to make many, many ripples!! Please continue to keep all these precious children in your prayers!!
p.s. I have put some more pics up so check em out!
p.p.s. I changed it so you don't have to be a member of google to leave me comments, so comment away ;)
After, we made our way back through the hustle and bustle of the market, we jumped back into the truck and went to visit Krugow's mother-in-law's house. She was such a sweet lady. She had dinner prepared for us after we returned from swimming. We visited with her for a few minutes, and then Krugow excitedly said by-by-by (this means let's go in Thai). It was time to go swimming. Swimming was a blast!! I loved playing with all the little girls! Please continue to pray that they will see Jesus in me. God is opening up so many doors for me to share love with them. I am spending days with them, going to their homes, sharing meals with them, and serving them however I can. Pray the Holy Spirit completely works in them. We ended our fun and exciting day with a trip back to Krugow's house, where I was able to pick bananas from her banana tree and a papaya from her papaya tree, and then we did a little grocery shopping at the local Tesco Lotus. It was a wonderful day!!
Also, we got 9 additions to our family. We got 4 kittens and 5 puppies. They are the cutest things ever!! I love them!! We're the orphanage for everybody :) (I put up pics of the new additions to our family :))
Today also has been a wonderful day!! Two missionaries from Phuket, Thailand have come to spend a couple days with us. Their names are Nelson and Joann, husband and wife. They are wonderful people! Nelson is from Hong Kong and Joann is from Canada and both speak English very well. They joined us for our service this morning and then me and Joann had the children make their own Twister games, they loved it!! I also really enjoyed playing with them!! The children are all amazing!! Tonight, Nelson and Joann treated me to dinner at a western restaurant in Mae Sot. They actually serve American food....the owner is American and I had the opportunity to talk with him. We finished our day with an incredible worship service! The children take a big part in leading the worship services. It's the cutest thing to see 10 year olds stand up in front of us all, shout Hallelujah, lead a song and lead us in prayer!! They're going to be amazing leaders when they get older and go back to their villages. They're all going to make many, many ripples!! Please continue to keep all these precious children in your prayers!!
p.s. I have put some more pics up so check em out!
p.p.s. I changed it so you don't have to be a member of google to leave me comments, so comment away ;)
The Beautiful Letdown
"You say, 'I am rich. I have everything I want. I don't need a thing!' And you don't realize that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked. I correct and discipline everyone I love. So be diligent and turn from your indifference. Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends." Revelation 3:17-20
Lately I have been thinking about where my life was before I came to Thailand. It's so funny the things that God draws us through to teach us the things He wants us to learn. Nine months ago, I had my whole life planned out. I knew exactly what my life was like. I was marrying the "perfect" guy, I had the "perfect" house, I was going to start the "perfect" job, and I was rich. I thought I had everything I could ever want. I had it all planned down to the name of my very first child, and I wasn't even married yet. I had the guy, I had the house, I had the life. But in all actuality, I was poor, blind and naked. This life was not the life God had for me. I was filling my life up with material things and allowing so many things to come before Him. I was searching for happiness in everything else but Him. I thought life was "perfect" and I didn't need a thing! But little did I know, I was allowing myself to forget how much I need God, and need God only. God was continuously standing at the door and knocking and I was finally able to let Him in. God stepped in and completely transformed my life. This transformation was the beautiful letdown. It was so painfully uncool, but was the most beautiful thing that has ever happened to me. I thank God every day that He let me down. God always has a way of letting me down, and I'm so glad He does.
We so many times, take life into our own hands and grab the reins from God. We go full steam ahead and try to fit God into our plans, instead of placing ourselves in His hands and His plans. I have learned that resting in God's hands is the best place to ever be. I was letdown, but it was the most beautiful letdown of my life. I have never been happier or more rich then I am right now sitting in Thailand amidst 130 children who are passionately in love with the Lord. Never could I ever be worthy enough to be here and yet God drew me through so much to get me here. He drew me through one of the hardest times of my life, to teach me His love. To teach me that the things I put an importance on are nothing to Him. The day I found out that all the riches this world had to offer me would never do, was the day I discovered God fully. When I think I'm rich and I have it all, I'm reminded that the greatest riches are found in Him and Him alone. I am happier sitting on the ground, with dirty feet, bugs flying at my face, holding the hands of the little girls who wrap me with their love, then a million dollars could ever make me. My joy does not come from what God gives to me or what He takes away but in Him. When my joy, peace, love, rest, and beauty are found in Him nothing else matters. I'm letdown over and over again. MY plans are letdown and God's plans are lifted up. "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future" Jeremiah 29:11. Those are the plans that I want. I want to be in God's will instead of shoving Him into mine. I want to walk right behind Him instead of racing in front of Him. When my life is lived like this, I find true happiness. We sing the song "I surrender all, I surrender all. All to thee, Lord, I surrender. I surrender all". When I sing these words, I mean what I sing. All I have Lord, I surrender. This is when I find true joy. Surrendering my life and resting in His hands. I AM RICH!
Lately I have been thinking about where my life was before I came to Thailand. It's so funny the things that God draws us through to teach us the things He wants us to learn. Nine months ago, I had my whole life planned out. I knew exactly what my life was like. I was marrying the "perfect" guy, I had the "perfect" house, I was going to start the "perfect" job, and I was rich. I thought I had everything I could ever want. I had it all planned down to the name of my very first child, and I wasn't even married yet. I had the guy, I had the house, I had the life. But in all actuality, I was poor, blind and naked. This life was not the life God had for me. I was filling my life up with material things and allowing so many things to come before Him. I was searching for happiness in everything else but Him. I thought life was "perfect" and I didn't need a thing! But little did I know, I was allowing myself to forget how much I need God, and need God only. God was continuously standing at the door and knocking and I was finally able to let Him in. God stepped in and completely transformed my life. This transformation was the beautiful letdown. It was so painfully uncool, but was the most beautiful thing that has ever happened to me. I thank God every day that He let me down. God always has a way of letting me down, and I'm so glad He does.
We so many times, take life into our own hands and grab the reins from God. We go full steam ahead and try to fit God into our plans, instead of placing ourselves in His hands and His plans. I have learned that resting in God's hands is the best place to ever be. I was letdown, but it was the most beautiful letdown of my life. I have never been happier or more rich then I am right now sitting in Thailand amidst 130 children who are passionately in love with the Lord. Never could I ever be worthy enough to be here and yet God drew me through so much to get me here. He drew me through one of the hardest times of my life, to teach me His love. To teach me that the things I put an importance on are nothing to Him. The day I found out that all the riches this world had to offer me would never do, was the day I discovered God fully. When I think I'm rich and I have it all, I'm reminded that the greatest riches are found in Him and Him alone. I am happier sitting on the ground, with dirty feet, bugs flying at my face, holding the hands of the little girls who wrap me with their love, then a million dollars could ever make me. My joy does not come from what God gives to me or what He takes away but in Him. When my joy, peace, love, rest, and beauty are found in Him nothing else matters. I'm letdown over and over again. MY plans are letdown and God's plans are lifted up. "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future" Jeremiah 29:11. Those are the plans that I want. I want to be in God's will instead of shoving Him into mine. I want to walk right behind Him instead of racing in front of Him. When my life is lived like this, I find true happiness. We sing the song "I surrender all, I surrender all. All to thee, Lord, I surrender. I surrender all". When I sing these words, I mean what I sing. All I have Lord, I surrender. This is when I find true joy. Surrendering my life and resting in His hands. I AM RICH!
Monday, September 10, 2007
Oh the sights to see in Bangkok!
I had such a wonderful time in Bangkok. It was definitely a nice break from teaching. It gave my voice time to relax, and my voice is actually doing much better. We definitely had a busy, packed schedule for the 2 days we were in Bangkok, but I loved it because I got to see so much!
Thursday night, one of the teachers-Gow, picked me and one of the children up from the orphanage and we met up with all our other traveling buddies at the Huai Bong School. As I sat and excitedly chatted with all the students and teachers who were going to Bangkok as well, the van that would transport us to Bangkok arrived. The van was so nice. It was all leather interior, and the seats were huge and reclined oh so nicely. I also found out, as we drove around town the next day, that there is karaoke in the van. There is a screen that pulls down from the ceiling and we were able to watch movies, all in Thai so not that exciting for me, and then they pulled the microphone out and the words scrolled across the screen. It was hilarious! Sitting in the van with all the teachers, as they do Thai karaoke. They found an English song for me to sing, but I didn't know the song, so I got out of that predicament.
Our driver drove all night, allowing us to get a "good" nights sleep and wake up the next morning in Bangkok. We started our day with getting ready in the gas station bathroom. As I changed my clothes in the bathroom stall, trying ever so hard to not let anything fall into the squatty (that's the whole in the ground toilet that they use here), I got ready for the day. We all jumped back into the van, all 10 teachers (including me) and 25 students, and drove to the Science Museum. The National Science Museum was going to be our first sight to see. It was huge. The Science Museum contained 6 floors of the coolest things ever! It put our science museum to shame. I wanted to spend so much time on each floor, but I had two of the teachers-Gow and Gnock, guiding me throughout the floors. We were on a time limit so they had to make sure we stuck to it. I felt like a kid in a candy shop. I was testing out everything and playing all the games and "oooh" and "aaaah" kept escaping from my mouth. I was fascinated. Everything was written in Thai as well as English, so that made it even more exciting! The teachers kept laughing at how overly excited I was. As I looked on the 6th floor, Gnock and Gow guided me towards the escalator to go down, because they said "We over time"-this meant we were late and had to get back to the vans.
After the science museum, we drove to the Royal Thai Air Force Museum. This, again, was fascinating. I learned so much from my personal tour guide, Captain Sakpinit Promthep. He is one of the captains of the Air Force and he spoke very good English. He had been to America before. He went to Texas to study with American Air Force leaders on how to teach people to fly. He shared so much great information with me. Like how all the planes that Thailand use are all made in America. Thailand can't even begin to match the technology and building quality of America. It's funny, all our stuff seems to be built in China :) After we finished touring the museum, we rested for a moment and grabbed some lunch. I sat right next to the Captain of the Royal Thai Air Force and enjoyed Thai noodles and Thai/English conversation. It was lovely.
After lunch, we got back into the van, which was very refreshing because the air conditioning cooled the sweat that dripped down my back and face. It was a very hot day, and the Air Force museum was mostly outside.
After we left the Air Force Museum, we made our way to Folk Podat. The Folk Podat is a huge place that was made for the queen. It houses all the old historical relics of Thailand. They have presentations of traditional dances, canoeing, clothing of the soldiers from back in the day, etc. They also have tons and tons of shopping. It kind of reminded me of the home and garden expo- where there's lots to buy and the prices are all jacked up. That's how this was. But it was really fun walking around and looking at everything. After we spent a couple hours walking around the Folk Podat, we all met back up and waited for our vans to come and pick us up. Once they arrived, they took us to the resort where we were staying. It's funny they told me we were staying in a resort, so of course I was picturing hot shower, comfy beds, nice tv, the works. But resort in Thailand does not have the same definition that it does in English. Basically resort just means you have an air conditioner in your room. The resort room was almost just like my room back at the orphanage. There was no hot water, not that I was complaining because the cold shower felt amazing, the sheets on the beds looked like sheets that would be on a 4 year olds bed. It was pretty funny. But I was grateful for everything. We all sat outside and ate dinner. We laid out newspapers and sat on them. I bundled up the sticky rice in my hand grabbed a little papaya salad with my rice and shewed away the mosquitoes with my other hand.
The next morning, we awoke to one of the teachers knocking on our door telling us it was time to get up- at least that's what I think he said, it was in Thai :) We all got ready, and ate our breakfast, which was meatball soup. I wasn't too hungry and I make sure and stay away from the meatballs, so I didn't eat. The first place we went to was the Bangsai Arts and Crafts center of H.M. Queen Sirikit of Thailand. This was a really neat center. It was huge and they had replicas of the old Thai homes. It was basically a replica of the old villages. As we walked from house to house, they had the arts and crafts of all the different places of Thailand. It was so neat! We made our way to the river at the bottom of the arts and crafts center, and all I could hear was a crazy, fast voice coming over the loudspeaker. It sounded like he was screaming. Even the Thai people couldn't understand him. He was the announcer for the Canoeing competition. Thailand was competing against Singapore and Japan. The only words I could make out that the announcer said was Singapore and Japan :) They rowed so fast! It was crazy! After we watched Japan win, we headed to Ayutthaya.
Ayutthaya is an old city in Thailand. It contains ruins of buddha statues that were there hundreds of years ago. It was really neat. We went to the Siam Jawpaya Museum. This museum simply housed different relics that used to belong to the kings of Thailand.
We made our second to last stop at the Knife/Sword Factory. Here they make all different types of knives and Samurai swords. It was really neat watching them make them and looking at all the incredible swords they produced.
We made our last stop at the Nat Kon Sot Wan shopping mall. I saw my first movie theater since I've been in Thailand here. It's funny how similar it was to America's. It even had the same aroma of popcorn. There was an arcade in the theater and I watched as two children played guitar hero. It made me laugh, because there was so much familiarity surrounding me amidst all the unfamiliarity. As we all tiredly piled back into the van, we began our journey back home. I took advantage of this long drive to improve on my Thai. I'm getting better. Parents, you would be proud :)
We arrived home Saturday night and I passed out into bed. I was so tired. Sunday, I went with May, Noah, Pastor, and a lot of the children to the Mae La Refugee camp. Pastor's brother and his family are leaving for America on Friday, so we went to have one last service with them and we brought food to the people in the refugee camp. Pastor's family is going to America through a program with the UN. The UN works with these refugees and transports many of them to America. There are over 70,000 refugees living in the camp and over 5,000 people have gone to America. It's so strange though, because we look at America as the land of opportunity, and many of these people don't want to go to America. We see their lives, and we pity them and think how sad, and yet many of them are completely content with the lives they live. Many are afraid to go to America, to them it is the unknown. They have no idea what it's like, so they fear the unknown. The refugees are not even aloud to leave the refugee camp and go into Thailand, so their comfort zone is limited to inside the refugee camp. It's amazing though the things that are happening in the refugee camps. 18 curches have been started, and more people are continuing to come to Christ, being saved from buddhism and muslim. The service was a wonderful service and Pastor asked me to sing. So Teep played guitar and I sang for everyone. We all ate lunch together, and with the food we brought we were able to feed over 60 people! Praise the Lord! So all your donations are helping the Agape Children's Orphanage, the surrounding villages, and the refugee camps. Praise the Lord for all that He's doing and for all of you!!
I've uploaded more pictures from Bangkok and the Mae La Refugee camp. Check them out if you get time!
Thursday night, one of the teachers-Gow, picked me and one of the children up from the orphanage and we met up with all our other traveling buddies at the Huai Bong School. As I sat and excitedly chatted with all the students and teachers who were going to Bangkok as well, the van that would transport us to Bangkok arrived. The van was so nice. It was all leather interior, and the seats were huge and reclined oh so nicely. I also found out, as we drove around town the next day, that there is karaoke in the van. There is a screen that pulls down from the ceiling and we were able to watch movies, all in Thai so not that exciting for me, and then they pulled the microphone out and the words scrolled across the screen. It was hilarious! Sitting in the van with all the teachers, as they do Thai karaoke. They found an English song for me to sing, but I didn't know the song, so I got out of that predicament.
Our driver drove all night, allowing us to get a "good" nights sleep and wake up the next morning in Bangkok. We started our day with getting ready in the gas station bathroom. As I changed my clothes in the bathroom stall, trying ever so hard to not let anything fall into the squatty (that's the whole in the ground toilet that they use here), I got ready for the day. We all jumped back into the van, all 10 teachers (including me) and 25 students, and drove to the Science Museum. The National Science Museum was going to be our first sight to see. It was huge. The Science Museum contained 6 floors of the coolest things ever! It put our science museum to shame. I wanted to spend so much time on each floor, but I had two of the teachers-Gow and Gnock, guiding me throughout the floors. We were on a time limit so they had to make sure we stuck to it. I felt like a kid in a candy shop. I was testing out everything and playing all the games and "oooh" and "aaaah" kept escaping from my mouth. I was fascinated. Everything was written in Thai as well as English, so that made it even more exciting! The teachers kept laughing at how overly excited I was. As I looked on the 6th floor, Gnock and Gow guided me towards the escalator to go down, because they said "We over time"-this meant we were late and had to get back to the vans.
After the science museum, we drove to the Royal Thai Air Force Museum. This, again, was fascinating. I learned so much from my personal tour guide, Captain Sakpinit Promthep. He is one of the captains of the Air Force and he spoke very good English. He had been to America before. He went to Texas to study with American Air Force leaders on how to teach people to fly. He shared so much great information with me. Like how all the planes that Thailand use are all made in America. Thailand can't even begin to match the technology and building quality of America. It's funny, all our stuff seems to be built in China :) After we finished touring the museum, we rested for a moment and grabbed some lunch. I sat right next to the Captain of the Royal Thai Air Force and enjoyed Thai noodles and Thai/English conversation. It was lovely.
After lunch, we got back into the van, which was very refreshing because the air conditioning cooled the sweat that dripped down my back and face. It was a very hot day, and the Air Force museum was mostly outside.
After we left the Air Force Museum, we made our way to Folk Podat. The Folk Podat is a huge place that was made for the queen. It houses all the old historical relics of Thailand. They have presentations of traditional dances, canoeing, clothing of the soldiers from back in the day, etc. They also have tons and tons of shopping. It kind of reminded me of the home and garden expo- where there's lots to buy and the prices are all jacked up. That's how this was. But it was really fun walking around and looking at everything. After we spent a couple hours walking around the Folk Podat, we all met back up and waited for our vans to come and pick us up. Once they arrived, they took us to the resort where we were staying. It's funny they told me we were staying in a resort, so of course I was picturing hot shower, comfy beds, nice tv, the works. But resort in Thailand does not have the same definition that it does in English. Basically resort just means you have an air conditioner in your room. The resort room was almost just like my room back at the orphanage. There was no hot water, not that I was complaining because the cold shower felt amazing, the sheets on the beds looked like sheets that would be on a 4 year olds bed. It was pretty funny. But I was grateful for everything. We all sat outside and ate dinner. We laid out newspapers and sat on them. I bundled up the sticky rice in my hand grabbed a little papaya salad with my rice and shewed away the mosquitoes with my other hand.
The next morning, we awoke to one of the teachers knocking on our door telling us it was time to get up- at least that's what I think he said, it was in Thai :) We all got ready, and ate our breakfast, which was meatball soup. I wasn't too hungry and I make sure and stay away from the meatballs, so I didn't eat. The first place we went to was the Bangsai Arts and Crafts center of H.M. Queen Sirikit of Thailand. This was a really neat center. It was huge and they had replicas of the old Thai homes. It was basically a replica of the old villages. As we walked from house to house, they had the arts and crafts of all the different places of Thailand. It was so neat! We made our way to the river at the bottom of the arts and crafts center, and all I could hear was a crazy, fast voice coming over the loudspeaker. It sounded like he was screaming. Even the Thai people couldn't understand him. He was the announcer for the Canoeing competition. Thailand was competing against Singapore and Japan. The only words I could make out that the announcer said was Singapore and Japan :) They rowed so fast! It was crazy! After we watched Japan win, we headed to Ayutthaya.
Ayutthaya is an old city in Thailand. It contains ruins of buddha statues that were there hundreds of years ago. It was really neat. We went to the Siam Jawpaya Museum. This museum simply housed different relics that used to belong to the kings of Thailand.
We made our second to last stop at the Knife/Sword Factory. Here they make all different types of knives and Samurai swords. It was really neat watching them make them and looking at all the incredible swords they produced.
We made our last stop at the Nat Kon Sot Wan shopping mall. I saw my first movie theater since I've been in Thailand here. It's funny how similar it was to America's. It even had the same aroma of popcorn. There was an arcade in the theater and I watched as two children played guitar hero. It made me laugh, because there was so much familiarity surrounding me amidst all the unfamiliarity. As we all tiredly piled back into the van, we began our journey back home. I took advantage of this long drive to improve on my Thai. I'm getting better. Parents, you would be proud :)
We arrived home Saturday night and I passed out into bed. I was so tired. Sunday, I went with May, Noah, Pastor, and a lot of the children to the Mae La Refugee camp. Pastor's brother and his family are leaving for America on Friday, so we went to have one last service with them and we brought food to the people in the refugee camp. Pastor's family is going to America through a program with the UN. The UN works with these refugees and transports many of them to America. There are over 70,000 refugees living in the camp and over 5,000 people have gone to America. It's so strange though, because we look at America as the land of opportunity, and many of these people don't want to go to America. We see their lives, and we pity them and think how sad, and yet many of them are completely content with the lives they live. Many are afraid to go to America, to them it is the unknown. They have no idea what it's like, so they fear the unknown. The refugees are not even aloud to leave the refugee camp and go into Thailand, so their comfort zone is limited to inside the refugee camp. It's amazing though the things that are happening in the refugee camps. 18 curches have been started, and more people are continuing to come to Christ, being saved from buddhism and muslim. The service was a wonderful service and Pastor asked me to sing. So Teep played guitar and I sang for everyone. We all ate lunch together, and with the food we brought we were able to feed over 60 people! Praise the Lord! So all your donations are helping the Agape Children's Orphanage, the surrounding villages, and the refugee camps. Praise the Lord for all that He's doing and for all of you!!
I've uploaded more pictures from Bangkok and the Mae La Refugee camp. Check them out if you get time!
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
God is so smart
Tonight, as we were wrapping up our worship service, Teep asked me to pray for the children. I prayed over all the children and after I finished they all began to pray. At that moment I realized God is so smart. Here I am struggling to learn Thai, and even sometimes my English isn’t perfect, but God….He can speak and understand every language in the whole world and He does it perfectly. As I pray in English, He hears, as the children pray in Thai, He hears, as Germans pray in German, He hears. He’s such an incredible God! He speaks to and hears every single one of us. Whether we can speak or we can’t, He hears us. Have you ever really thought about how smart and incredible our God is? I think people who can speak two languages are great, but God speaks every single language you could ever think of. He understands everything I ever say to Him, whether it’s gibberish, just my heart being flown at Him, or plain ol’ English. It doesn’t matter where I am, God hears me. His ears are never, ever closed to me. Anytime I need Him, He’s there with an ear to listen and a shoulder to lean on! It’s pretty incredible if you ask me! I don’t know anyone else who even compares to God! “…..his ears are open to their prayers” 1 Peter 3:12.
I taught my English lessons at the Huai Bong School a little bit different today. With 7th and 8th grade I made a large board game for the children to play. I had many different spaces that I set up in the assembly hall and then I had a large dice for each student. Each space had English sentences and commands written on them and the children had to read them and do what they said. It was really fun!! We had a lot of laughs from that game. Some children had to keep going back to start, or losing a turn, and some never rolled anything but nung (one). When it was time to teach 9th grade, KruSookit (Teacher Sookit) had bicycles all lined up for me and the students. Our English lesson today was going to be out in nature. They gave me a tour around Huai Bong School and we went to a beautiful resort that was nearby the school. Along the way I taught them what certain things were and had English conversations with them. Krusookit is so nice to me. It’s amazing how kind, peaceful, and grateful Thai people are. He always brings me a gift, usually food, when he brings his son to learn English at the orphanage. He’s so very nice! I had told them that I love riding bikes, so he gave me one of his bicycles to use for the year that I live here and he set it up so we all went bike riding today. It was wonderful!
My English class is really growing. Many of the students come from the Huai Bong School in the evenings. There are about 20 children who come from the school, on top of the 60 that I already teach. I definitely have my hands full, but I love it! All the kids are wonderful! I don’t know what I’ll do when they are not in my life every day! Not only is my English class growing with children, but many more teachers are beginning to come. Tonight I had a teacher named Lori (this is her English nickname). She is an English teacher and she brought 3 of her students. They are older, all between 18-20. She is going to be bringing them to learn English every night. She also has asked me if she could come once a week and learn my teaching methods from me. I told her of course!! So I will be teaching her as well! Please keep that in your prayers. Pray that I am not only teaching her my teaching methods, but about God. Pray she sees something different in me, and that she realizes it is Jesus!
God is definitely working! So many people are beginning to come to learn English at night, and when they come to learn English we teach them a worship song in English. They all are praising God! They also are involved in all our prayer!! Praise the Lord! He is doing some mighty things through this orphanage! As Pastor Winai sat in the back of the room as I taught English, one of the teachers went and sat with him and began speaking with him. She asked him how he was able to be so happy all the time and always be smiling when he had such a large burden with taking care of all the children in the orphanage. He was able to explain to her that the Bible tells us to give our burdens unto Jesus, so his burden is light and his joy is overflowing! Through an English lesson, we were able to share the gospel. If only that one teacher finds Jesus, every hour put into teaching these children would be worth it!
Not only am I being able to have an impact on all the teachers, students, and everyone who steps foot in my English lessons, but they are having an even greater impact on me! I’m learning more from them then they could ever learn from me. Krudam (the English teacher at Huai Bong School), told me today that I am like her daughter. She loves me as if I was her own. This touched my heart, and I had to hold back the tears. She told me that all the teachers in the school love me. I am showered with more love than I know what to do with! From the children, the teachers, Pastor Winai and his family, and everyone else! One of the girls came up to me and asked me if I think about my family and if I miss them. I explained to her that although I am so far away from family, I have family surrounding me every day, so it makes it very easy being away from my family!
Speaking of this wonderful family, I will be joining my Huai Bong family to Mae Jaroung tomorrow. They are having a music competition between the schools and I have been asked by the leaders of the competition to be a judge. I feel like Paula Abdul, except on Thailand Idol. I’m very excited to judge these children, but it’s going to be very difficult because they all are so talented. I don’t get it, there isn’t one of them who isn’t talented! After I get home from Mae Jaroung, it’s time to pack because it’s off to Bangkok. The teachers and the 8th-9th graders are traveling to Bangkok for the weekend. It is a field trip for the children, and they have asked me to come along to talk with and teach the teachers and students! I’m really excited because Bangkok is a lot of fun!! I will come home Sunday, so I’ll update everyone on Monday with a new blog and pictures!!
Please pray for the trip to Bangkok. Pray for safety and opportunities for God to use me! Also, please pray for my voice. It is starting to become really raspy again, so I think the nodules on my vocal chords are growing, but I know God is greater than any nodule that could form. I know He’s called me to teach, so please be praying for a complete healing over my voice!! I love you all and thank you for reading my blog and keeping up with me!
I taught my English lessons at the Huai Bong School a little bit different today. With 7th and 8th grade I made a large board game for the children to play. I had many different spaces that I set up in the assembly hall and then I had a large dice for each student. Each space had English sentences and commands written on them and the children had to read them and do what they said. It was really fun!! We had a lot of laughs from that game. Some children had to keep going back to start, or losing a turn, and some never rolled anything but nung (one). When it was time to teach 9th grade, KruSookit (Teacher Sookit) had bicycles all lined up for me and the students. Our English lesson today was going to be out in nature. They gave me a tour around Huai Bong School and we went to a beautiful resort that was nearby the school. Along the way I taught them what certain things were and had English conversations with them. Krusookit is so nice to me. It’s amazing how kind, peaceful, and grateful Thai people are. He always brings me a gift, usually food, when he brings his son to learn English at the orphanage. He’s so very nice! I had told them that I love riding bikes, so he gave me one of his bicycles to use for the year that I live here and he set it up so we all went bike riding today. It was wonderful!
My English class is really growing. Many of the students come from the Huai Bong School in the evenings. There are about 20 children who come from the school, on top of the 60 that I already teach. I definitely have my hands full, but I love it! All the kids are wonderful! I don’t know what I’ll do when they are not in my life every day! Not only is my English class growing with children, but many more teachers are beginning to come. Tonight I had a teacher named Lori (this is her English nickname). She is an English teacher and she brought 3 of her students. They are older, all between 18-20. She is going to be bringing them to learn English every night. She also has asked me if she could come once a week and learn my teaching methods from me. I told her of course!! So I will be teaching her as well! Please keep that in your prayers. Pray that I am not only teaching her my teaching methods, but about God. Pray she sees something different in me, and that she realizes it is Jesus!
God is definitely working! So many people are beginning to come to learn English at night, and when they come to learn English we teach them a worship song in English. They all are praising God! They also are involved in all our prayer!! Praise the Lord! He is doing some mighty things through this orphanage! As Pastor Winai sat in the back of the room as I taught English, one of the teachers went and sat with him and began speaking with him. She asked him how he was able to be so happy all the time and always be smiling when he had such a large burden with taking care of all the children in the orphanage. He was able to explain to her that the Bible tells us to give our burdens unto Jesus, so his burden is light and his joy is overflowing! Through an English lesson, we were able to share the gospel. If only that one teacher finds Jesus, every hour put into teaching these children would be worth it!
Not only am I being able to have an impact on all the teachers, students, and everyone who steps foot in my English lessons, but they are having an even greater impact on me! I’m learning more from them then they could ever learn from me. Krudam (the English teacher at Huai Bong School), told me today that I am like her daughter. She loves me as if I was her own. This touched my heart, and I had to hold back the tears. She told me that all the teachers in the school love me. I am showered with more love than I know what to do with! From the children, the teachers, Pastor Winai and his family, and everyone else! One of the girls came up to me and asked me if I think about my family and if I miss them. I explained to her that although I am so far away from family, I have family surrounding me every day, so it makes it very easy being away from my family!
Speaking of this wonderful family, I will be joining my Huai Bong family to Mae Jaroung tomorrow. They are having a music competition between the schools and I have been asked by the leaders of the competition to be a judge. I feel like Paula Abdul, except on Thailand Idol. I’m very excited to judge these children, but it’s going to be very difficult because they all are so talented. I don’t get it, there isn’t one of them who isn’t talented! After I get home from Mae Jaroung, it’s time to pack because it’s off to Bangkok. The teachers and the 8th-9th graders are traveling to Bangkok for the weekend. It is a field trip for the children, and they have asked me to come along to talk with and teach the teachers and students! I’m really excited because Bangkok is a lot of fun!! I will come home Sunday, so I’ll update everyone on Monday with a new blog and pictures!!
Please pray for the trip to Bangkok. Pray for safety and opportunities for God to use me! Also, please pray for my voice. It is starting to become really raspy again, so I think the nodules on my vocal chords are growing, but I know God is greater than any nodule that could form. I know He’s called me to teach, so please be praying for a complete healing over my voice!! I love you all and thank you for reading my blog and keeping up with me!
Saturday, September 1, 2007
Just jump in!
Today was such a fun day! I started the day with teaching the children. About 20 Thai children came from Huai Bong village. I taught them about the post office, the vocabulary that goes along with it, and what you would say if you wanted to mail a letter. It was really fun! I had them make their own envelopes with address, return address, and stamp and then they deposited their "letters" in the makeshift mailbox I made :) They loved it! After I finished teaching the children, I was told, as translated by Noah from the teachers to me, that they wanted to take me to lunch and then for a "day on the town". Me, two teachers from the school, and the children all piled into the truck and began our day. We went to eat at Gnow Pie (Bamboo shadow), which is a restaurant owned by the parents of one of the boys that I teach. They were lovely people! After lunch, which was absolutely delicious and included a fish smiling at me, we piled back into the truck and drove to Mak Usa. When we arrived at the mountains in Mak Usa, the girls began to scream, as we encountered a lovely green snake with black spots all over it. It was fascinating! I like seeing snakes here, as long as they are a far enough distance away that it's not dangerous. The snake slithered off the walkway, and we made our way up the very steep walk to the bat caves. We walked through the caves, that were inhabited by bats and munks alike. There were buddhas and drawings of buddha surrounding me. The children and the teachers bowed to the buddhas and prayed to them. My heart broke as I watched them all worship a piece of stone. Nothing more than a piece of stone. We did get into a conversation about God, but I can only say so much because they don't understand English. I prayed that the Holy Spirit would do the rest. After we were done at the caves and I tried to wipe as much of the bat droppings off my feet as possible, we made our way to the waterfall.
The waterfall was beautiful! One thing I have always wanted to do was jump straight into the water with my clothes on. Without changing into my bathing suit and being proper about it. This dream finally came true. I walked right into the waterfall, clothes on, and just jumped right in. I felt so free! I felt like I had not a care in the world. I felt like I could do anything! As I jumped in, the children followed. We all played in the waterfalls, with our clothes on, and had the time of our lives. Who knew a simple thing like jumping in the water with all my clothes on could set me free! This freedom I have to enjoy every single aspect of life, to learn who I am, to learn who God is. A freedom I have desperately been wanting, and it has been given to me through a waterfall :) As laughter escaped us all, we continued to splash each other as the waterfall fell on all our smiling faces. It was amazing!
After the waterfall, we all piled back into the back of the truck, water still dripping from our clothes, and drove to the hot springs. The breeze feeling ever so wonderful on our wet skin. Again, the freedom flowed through me. Freedom to live!!!!
We arrived at the hot springs, and the teacher handed me eggs and a basket. We brought the eggs to the hot springs and we boiled them. It was so much fun! I was boiling eggs in the natural hot springs. They boil them a little different here. They don't boil them till they're hard like we do, they boil them to where they are still liquid inside. I was very surprised when they handed me one to eat, because instead of chewing like I thought I was going to do, I was drinking the egg. It was really good, but it was difficult for me to get over the thought that I was drinking the egg. We had our little picnic snack time, and then went to put our feet in the hot springs. I can assure you that Hot springs is the correct name for this, because it was HOT!!! It felt like I was sticking my feet in scalding boiling water. The children just walked right in and were even splashing and playing in it, and I could barely keep my feet in for more than 2 seconds. I finally got used to it a little bit and I was able to keep my feet in longer. I loved just sitting there with the Thai children and teachers and just relaxing. They were teaching me Thai as I taught them English. My Thai is really improving and I'm really beginning to understand the language. May's cousin told me I have learned a lot for only being here for one month. It made me very happy :) As I sat with my feet in the scalding water, I finally decided I couldn't take it anymore, and it was perfect timing because they told me it was time to go. We all contentedly jumped back into our places in the back of the truck. As we drove back, I sat there in the cool breeze as it whipped through my hair soaking in all the wonders of God around me and the wonderful day He just blessed me with!
Some more pics are up, so check them out if you get time!
The waterfall was beautiful! One thing I have always wanted to do was jump straight into the water with my clothes on. Without changing into my bathing suit and being proper about it. This dream finally came true. I walked right into the waterfall, clothes on, and just jumped right in. I felt so free! I felt like I had not a care in the world. I felt like I could do anything! As I jumped in, the children followed. We all played in the waterfalls, with our clothes on, and had the time of our lives. Who knew a simple thing like jumping in the water with all my clothes on could set me free! This freedom I have to enjoy every single aspect of life, to learn who I am, to learn who God is. A freedom I have desperately been wanting, and it has been given to me through a waterfall :) As laughter escaped us all, we continued to splash each other as the waterfall fell on all our smiling faces. It was amazing!
After the waterfall, we all piled back into the back of the truck, water still dripping from our clothes, and drove to the hot springs. The breeze feeling ever so wonderful on our wet skin. Again, the freedom flowed through me. Freedom to live!!!!
We arrived at the hot springs, and the teacher handed me eggs and a basket. We brought the eggs to the hot springs and we boiled them. It was so much fun! I was boiling eggs in the natural hot springs. They boil them a little different here. They don't boil them till they're hard like we do, they boil them to where they are still liquid inside. I was very surprised when they handed me one to eat, because instead of chewing like I thought I was going to do, I was drinking the egg. It was really good, but it was difficult for me to get over the thought that I was drinking the egg. We had our little picnic snack time, and then went to put our feet in the hot springs. I can assure you that Hot springs is the correct name for this, because it was HOT!!! It felt like I was sticking my feet in scalding boiling water. The children just walked right in and were even splashing and playing in it, and I could barely keep my feet in for more than 2 seconds. I finally got used to it a little bit and I was able to keep my feet in longer. I loved just sitting there with the Thai children and teachers and just relaxing. They were teaching me Thai as I taught them English. My Thai is really improving and I'm really beginning to understand the language. May's cousin told me I have learned a lot for only being here for one month. It made me very happy :) As I sat with my feet in the scalding water, I finally decided I couldn't take it anymore, and it was perfect timing because they told me it was time to go. We all contentedly jumped back into our places in the back of the truck. As we drove back, I sat there in the cool breeze as it whipped through my hair soaking in all the wonders of God around me and the wonderful day He just blessed me with!
Some more pics are up, so check them out if you get time!
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