Huai Hin Dam

We'll let this blog entry teach you a little Thai....ok so Huai means village Hin means Stone and Dam means black, put that all together and you'll have the place I was priveliged to travel to on January 11th, Blackstone Village. It is a Karen village, which, other than Agape, the Karen villages are my favorite places to be, and I got to spend about 6 days there. There's just something about the Karen people. They are full of so much joy. Their smiles can light up the world. I have fallen in love with the Karen people and every day I can't help but love them more. I just love to be with them! Their joy and their spirits are contagious! Anyways, I really enjoyed the drive to Blackstone Village because it was just me, Pastor, and his wife. On the way there we stopped at a monkey zoo (i'm just calling it that because I don't know the name).

It was a large mountain that was full of monkeys. When we drove in there were monkeys everywhere. They were surrounding our car. We drove up to this one little stand, where the lady stood holding a stuffed crocodile. I noticed, as she waved the crocodile around, that the monkeys were deathly afraid of it. We finally stopped the car and Pastor told me I was allowed to get out. I got out, purchased some goodies for the monkeys from the lady, and really watched my step as tons of monkeys ran up to me and surrounded me. There were huge, male, dominant monkeys that would practically bark at the little ones who would try to run up and get food too. I ended up scaring the big, nasty ones away with the crocodile so I could feed the little ones. I bought some bananas too and the monkeys would come right up to me and use their little hands and grab the banana right from my hand. It was so funny. As I was holding one bag of goodies in my arm, one of the male monkeys ran up to me and stole the whole bag of goodies from me. I couldn't believe what a stinker he was.....that bag cost me 20 baht (just so you know that's less than a dollar ;)) and he just stole it all. I don't think that he was a Christian monkey :) It was seriously crazy seeing all the monkeys there. I had never seen so many in my life. It was a blast! As I continued to use the big ol' stuffed crocodile to mess with the monkeys, Pastor told me it was time to go. When we arrived at Blackstone Village I was greeted by the beautiful, smiling face of Manimay. Pastor had told me a lot about Manimay before we went to the village. Manimay was a wonderful woman who is one of the few Christians in Blackstone Village. She leads the worship times and her heart really wants to see her people in her village be saved. I was so excited to meet her, hearing so many good things about her, and when I finally did meet her she was even more than I expected. Her heart was so big and she always, always made sure I was taken care of. The first night she prepared an amazing meal. Manimay is a vegetarian, so I was loving the food. I ate so many vegetables. I was so happy! A lot of pork is served here and I am not a big fan of pork, especially after seeing the pigs who live in Thailand. I eat it if it's what's served to me, but I would much rather never eat it. So the fact that all I was served was tons of amazing vegetables was like Heaven.

In Blackstone village I had the opportunity to teach the children English, love on them and learn with the women in the village. My first day there the women already had me slaving away ;) I got to help grind and poun the rice and help cook the food. I also got to participate in a village meeting. It was a blast! I also got to celebrate Kids day with all the kids from Blackstone. In Tailand they have "Wan Deg"- Kids Day- and this is a day where all the kids give each other gifts and we all celebrate the kids. I loved the celebration because there were games, free food and free ice cream. What could be better?

The kids I met were wonderful. They were all so helpful. I had 3 girls that were my favorite...Jig (she always took care of me and she loved to just walk around with me and learn English), Noy, and Lek. They were awesome girls! I had the best time with Jig. She was like my little sister and she will always have a special place in my heart. Me and her sat down and did Bible studies and she learned English songs and I learned Thai songs....it was wonderful! My last night in Blackstone Village she slept with me on my mat in my room. She was so cute!! I'm really going to miss her!
(Jig)

(Manimay (on the far left) and all the other girls and me)

After my time was up in Blackstone village it was time to go to Krungthep (that's what the Thai people call Bangkok). My friend Becca was coming to visit me, so I got to go to the airport in Bangkok to pick her up and bring her back to Agape. I got to Bangkok a day before she arrived and just traveled around Bangkok. I actually went and watched a movie in the movie theater. That was my first time in almost 7 months. They have really nice movie theaters here too. When you buy your ticket you pick your seat and the seats were huge, leather, reclining seats. It was the most comfortable I've ever been watching a movie. I got my bag of popcorn (I actually bought popcorn at this theater because it was so cheap. I wouldn't ever buy it in the theaters in America, I'm too cheap :)) and walked into my theater and enjoyed my little movie on my little vacation. It was really sad though because as I walked around I was just disgusted with what I saw. There was a lot of sex trafficking. You saw young Thai girls hanging all over older white men. As I looked at them I felt sorry for the men and for the women and just prayed for them. It even happens with older men and young boys. I saw an older man with a boy who was probably about 16 or 17. Bangkok definitely needs the Lord and lots of prayer. Anyways, I really enjoyed touring around Bangkok alone for a couple days but I've learned it's definitely more fun traveling with a friend. So I was excited when it was time to grab my taxi and travel to the airport. As I sat in the taxi I started up a conversation with the taxi driver. It was fun traveling in Bangkok because I really got to use my Thai. It's fun just using the words I know to have conversations with people. I'm getting so good....ya'all would be proud of me. It's tough though because many time I say things that I shouldn't because there are words that are said the same, you just go up or down in tone, but one word means what you're trying to say and the other word is something so far away from what you're wanting to say, so you can end up saying you like something that you shouldn't really like. It's pretty funny, but I hope everyone just understands that I'm still learning and hopefully they guess I'm trying to say the right word.
As we drove to the airport, I gave Agape a call. You would not believe how much I missed all the kids. I had only been gone 10 days and I was still in the same country and I missed them like crazy. I called them and Terra gave her phone to the kids and I got to tell them all goodnight. It was the first time in 7 days I was able to talk with them because I didn't have phone service in Blackstone village. I just loved being able to talk with them and tell them all goodnight. I got to the airport, held up my sign that I made for Becca (it said "Welcome to Thailand Becca"), and waited for her to come off the plane. Once she arrived we were excited to see eachother and then it was off to our hotel. It was fun just spending a couple more days in Bangkok. We got wonderful massages (a very needed and nice treat for me), went to Pattaya (the beach) and went and saw the Grand Palace. As we were walking to the Grand Palace it was really cool because it got so quiet. All the cars on the road stopped and everybody stood still and didn't say a word. Then we watched as many police cars drove and then we saw a limo mercedes. We found out later that that limo was driving the King home. How cool that we got to see the King....well not really see the King, just see the car he drove in. Either way it was pretty cool. Anyways, when we were getting on our bus to come back to Mae Sot, I was so excited! I really missed home and the kids. I just love my home here. Bangkok just doesn't quite do it for me. I was so excited to be back!! All the kids rushed up to me and told me how much they missed me and I told them the same! It was so fun seeing them all again! How am I ever going to go back to America, when I miss them ridiculously when I just leave for 10 days. You can pray for strength for me on that day ;)

4:00 am

I had yet another morning of waking up at 4:00 in the morning so I could go to the salon to get my hair done and put my face on. Krudam asked me to be part of another parade. We were doing the parade for sports day. I just love Krudam so I told her for sure I would be part of the parade. This time I was leading the parade. I was holding the sign that said Huai Bong School on it. This time we walked through Mae Sot which is the biggest town near me. It was really fun. I asked them to not put that white stuff all over my skin this time because I didn’t want to look like a corpse.

When we arrive at our starting point for the parade I gave PiYui (Krudam’s husband) my camera to take pictures. He kept calling me over to him because he was just finding random people who were either in the parade or teachers or principals and having me take pictures with them. It was so funny because I had never even met these people but I was taking pictures with them. As I walked I had to stop so many times because people wanted to take my picture. I’m so famous, I just can’t help it. People just love me ;) We had 4 girls who were in the parade as well. They were boxers. They looked so cute!!

After the parade I had some things I had to do in Mae Sot and Krudam wanted to drive me around to do it so we got to spend the day together. We had a wonderful lunch and she said she really enjoyed our day because she only has 2 sons and no daughters so she always tells me I’m her daughter. When the parade was finished I had some crazy hair and make up all over my face so Krudam took me to a salon to clean it all up. The lady cleaned my face and gave me a facial and then I got my hair shampooed and a head massage. I felt so spoiled. It was so nice! Another rough day in the land of Thailand ;)

Sawadee Pi Mai (Happy New Year)

I can’t believe it’s already time to say Sawadee Pi Mai. Time seems to be going by too fast! I’m already half-way done with my time here and it seems like just yesterday I came and today I’m saying Happy New Year! It’s crazy! We had a really fun New Year. Terra’s 3 friends were here to celebrate with us. They ran a little 3 day New Year’s camp which included games, crafts and singing. One night was so funny because we had the children make puppets out of brown paper bags and then we had the kids get into groups and do a puppet show. They were so funny. Half the time they were talking and their puppets mouths weren’t even moving or they weren’t talking but their puppet was. I was laughing so hard. I loved it! We also played a game of tug-o-war. Each time had to compete against each other and the team that won had to compete against the staff. It was so funny because the kids were a lot stronger than we were expecting and they were actually winning. They pulled so hard I actually got pulled up onto Boon Choi. I was so embarrassed because I got pulled up onto Boon Choi’s hip and it looked like he was carrying me like a baby. I jumped off as quckly as I could but it was still hilarious! It was recorded on video so you all will be able to have a good laugh when I come back to America. New Years Eve was really fun. We had a BBQ out in the field and we all sat out on our mats and hung out in the field and roasted our chicken and beef pieces. They were really yummy. Terra’s friends also found marshmallows with chocolate already in them and little crackers and we made smores with the kids. It was their first time ever making smores. They loved it! Terra’s friends bought fireworks, sparklers, and little bottle rockets for the kids. At midnight we lit the fireworks and all had fun with the sparklers and bottle rockets. All you could hear was the loud boom from the fireworks because they were being lit about 5 feet from us (seriously the sparks were falling right on me) and everyone saying a mix of Happy New Year and Sawadee Pi Mai. So I would like to say to you Happy New Year and Sawadee Pi Mai. It’s hard to believe it’s already 2008, but it’s here. I have had an incredible 2007 with so many experiences. I have grown a lot and learned a lot and I have loved just handing over my life to God. 2007 was one of the best years of my life and I know 2008 is going to be even better and I’m excited to see what kind of adventure 2008 is going to be. I love not knowing what tomorrow looks like but just diving right in! I pray your 2008 is bright and wonderful and finds you on an adventure of your own!

How many times was Jesus born?

Well, He was only born once, but who says we can’t celebrate the whole month of December? The whole month of December was spent celebrating Christmas! It was a blast! I had the opportunity to go to so many Karen villages, which are my favorite places to be, and experience Christmas in a whole new way. After we had our wonderful Christmas here at Agape, we went on a 4 day trip to Teesano Village. A couple of our children live in this village so it was really fun seeing their homes and meeting their familes. Me and Terra stayed in Soritoo’s house. He is such a sweetheart. He really took care of us making sure we always were nice and full. To get to this village was an adventure in and of itself. We went on a trek through the mountain in our truck and our truck is not a 4-wheel drive truck. We got stuck so many times and we had to get out of the truck. The boys loved it though because they all stood on the back of the truck and jumped up and down to help give the truck traction to get up the hill. Then there’s me who is also loving it all cracking up and taking pictures of it all. It was hilarious! I loved it! The trucks finally could not go any farther so we ended up leaving the trucks at a village on the way and hiking the rest of the way. I love hiking, so it was exhilarating. We were hiking through the Thai jungle to get to a village that couldn’t even be seen. It was tucked away down in the mountain about 10 km. away. It was a beautiful hike. Being in the village was even more fun. I felt like a disciple back in Jesus’ time. I would just walk around from house to house and they would invite me in. They would feed me and then I would ask them if I could pray for them. It was such a blessing. I felt like I was a disciple who Jesus told to go into the villages and not bring anything with me because they would take care of me. They really did take care of me. The Karen people feel very blessed if we eat in their homes, so let’s just say it’s a good thing I did a lot of hiking because I also did a lot of eating. One day we were eating lunch at Soritoo’s house. The food was delicious and I made sure I ate enough of it (as I always do). Then Pastor came in and informed us to not eat too much (it’s funny he was informing us of this after we had already finished eating and finished eating too much) because we were going to have to go eat lunch at other homes as well. I ended up going to four more houses after I was already stuffed and eating and fellowshipping and praying with them. Somehow God gave me more room in my stomach, which was good because my stomach was definitely not used to eating five lunches in one day. It was really fun celebrating Christmas. We were able to give all the villagers gifts and we had a wonderful celebration full of singing, dancing, and even mine and Terra’s lovely duet. The journey out of the village was even more fun. I hiked out with some of the little kids and one guy who speak English pretty well. He was hiking with his guitar and we just sang worship songs the whole way. I had Nunu’s and Emu’s hands in mine and every once in a while they would run a little bit ahead of me pick flowers and give them to me. By the time we got to the top I had a huge bouquet of flowers. It was the best bouquet of flowers I’ve ever been given.
After Teesano Village we went to Mae La Village to celebrate Christmas with them. I love Mae La Village, it’s one of my favorites. There is one family that I have just fallen in love with there. The little girl, who is about 3 years old, follows me everywhere. If I sit down she’s right there on my lap. If I stand up and walk around she’s right next to me, hand in hand. Wherever I go she’s right there, and when it’s time for me to leave she holds onto my leg. I love her so much. Every time I go there she remembers me and she runs up to me and doesn’t leave my side until I go back home. This last time her mom gave me a beautiful Karen purse she had made for me. It’s my favorite purse of all the purses I’ve been given. At this Christmas celebration I was supposed to do a dance with Prapah and Nawmyo. They called us up onto the stage because it was our time to dance. The DVD ended up not working, so we didn’t have our music. So I decided I would just sing a song instead. The girls were so embarrassed to walk off the stage. It was so funny. They covered their faces and bashfully walked off the stage. I didn’t understand why they were embarrassed, they got to leave the stage. I had to stay up there and sing in my dancing clothes. It was fun though because there were all these guys in the back who were cheering for everyone really loudly, so of course, when the Callowah (white person) gets up there they were going crazy! In Mae La Village we all slept huddled together on the floor in Sakchai’s house. I just love Sakchai’s family so I loved staying there. It was pretty cold that night, but I had all the kids around me keeping me warm.
We also went to Ma Ka Mu Noie to celebrate. All the celebrations were the same from village to village. A lot of singing, dancing, dramas, and a sermon. They were so much fun. Karen people are so talented. Another village we went to to celebrate was Mong Ta village. This is the village where we have another Agape. We have 28 children who live here and Pastor Winai’s sister-in-law takes care of the kids. It was really funny at this village because Pastor had told me I was going to sing a song but I didn’t know when. I was just walking around and I saw these two ridiculously cute girls. I started taking pictures of them and every time I would show them their pictures they would fall to the ground laughing. It was adorable. Well, as I’m taking pictures of them I hear my name being called from the stage. It was my turn to go up and sing. I thought that Boon Choi or somebody would play guitar for me so I could sing a song I knew, but they already had the designated “piano man” up there so I just had to tell him a song I wanted to sing. So anyways, he knew the song Hark the Herald, so I ended up singing that one. After I was finished I said Tabloo (thank you in Karen) and I was ready to walk off the stage, but oh no, they wanted me to sing another song. So I sang Silent Night, when I finished I said Tabloo again but then they told me they wanted me to sing it again. Then I finished and they told me to sing another song. I was just laughing. So I sang Jingle Bells and when I finished, yep, you guessed it, they told me to sing it again. It was so funny. While I sang it two people came up on stage and they put these candy lei’s around my neck and gave me bags of chips. It was so sweet.
I have had the most amazing time celebrating Christmas in Thailand with my favorite people, the Karen people. It has been the best Christmas I have ever had! I think it’s one of the best ideas to give a whole month to Jesus and celebrate every day!