Okinawa, Japan and then home

Phyllis and I parted ways in Narita Japan.  I detoured with a trip to Okinawa, Japan to visit Katelyn and Alex who are stationed at the Kadena Air Force Base.  I had a wonderful time with them and also going to see the places that I had been to almost 30 years ago as a young navy girl-wow-time flies :)

Amazing is the perfect word to describe my time in Thailand and Japan!  I feel so privileged and blessed to have been there and to have seen God at work in so many ways including my own heart.  It feels good to be home but part of me is still there with my students in Thailand and I look forward to keeping in touch with them all via e-mail.  

Home again...

Greetings Friends,
I arrived in Minnesota on Saturday at 2:00 PM, I am slowly getting back into the groove. I am so thankful for all your prayers for our time in Thailand, flights home and as I transition back. It is amazing to think I was away for 3+ weeks; in a new land where nearly everything was foreign to me. God watched over and protected us in that time. He showed Himself to us each in a very personal way. I experienced God drawing me back to Himself. I love how He uses whatever He wants to awaken our Spirit and help us to realize our need for Him. For me it started with a book that our upstairs neighbors loaned to us. It stirred my soul and caused me to be excited about spending time with Jesus. I was encouraged in the book and living daily in this foreign land to put my trust in God, for all things. The teaching on Friday nights and the time with cell group; challenged me to do what the Word of God says. My favorite part of Bangkok, was spending time with the people who live there students, missionaries and staff of the school. I will cherish their memories in my mind, in my heart and in my ears! phyllis

The Bus

We couldn't finish this blog without some comments about our daily bus ride.  Never the same but always frantic!  A fifteen minute walk became a 2 minute bus ride.  We catch our bus next door in front of the mall with hoards of other people.  The buses come in there, let out their passengers and then you try to get on as the driver revs the engine, he's pulling away as everyone is finding their seats or a place to stand clutching a seat.  We found out its best to stand by the door since our stop is only 3 stops away and if you don't get up and hit the buzzer they fly by.  The bus never stops in front of the bus stop, its either before, after, or on our last day in the middle of 3 lanes!  When we see the green fence we hit the buzzer, its our landmark and seems to give the driver some heads up there's a stop ahead so they can slam on the brakes.  Every time we get off we are shaking our heads.  Phyllis was giving the driver the business as we jumped to the curb one time and promptly walked right into a pole.  Thankfully she was ok but we laughed all the way to school.  We try to ride the free bus, not because its free but because we don't have to hang on with one hand and try to find our money with the other as we lurch along.  The bus is very crowded and usually no seats are available but the person who collects the money is urging you to sit, one day she urged me with a pinch and a push.  I can't remember the last time I was pinched.  At the mall bus stop there are two uniformed transit employees with megaphones.  We have no clue what they are yelling about but it sounds like Charlie Brown's teacher.  Since we have been here it has rained three times, torrentially!  Rain does a number on the traffic and everyone rides the bus!!!   Traffic Jam is a term we have heard daily.  We will always remember our bus rides with great humor!

Last Day of Class

Today we gave finals!  Certainly a bittersweet day.  The students finished well and that made us feel good.  We were busy between classes correcting essays and filling in our final paperwork (ugh! says Phyllis)  We thought we might be leaving tonight but found out after our last class that we would try to leave on Saturday morning.  It was a blessing to be able to relax after such a busy week and not feel frenzied trying to pack everything up.

God has been so faithful to us in answering our prayers and being right there with us all the way.  We have been overwhelmed by His love and presence.   Thank you for praying!!  

Wednesday Night Out with the Students

There are some experiences that need repeating even if you don't think you need to :)  Phyllis' morning class met us in the afternoon for another water taxi ride to downtown Bangkok.  This time was memorable because it was late afternoon and we seemed to be on the "express boat".  The driver was in a big hurry so we were surfing the Khlong and trying not to get wet!  You can't beat the time it took, traveling the Khlong takes 35 minutes, by bus 2 hours!  So, it was a repeat experience with new friends :)  We had a great time touring another part of downtown Bangkok(check out that traffic pic) at a mall that was hosting a Thai craft festival with a movie promo of "fast and furious".  Haven't seen the movie but all the cars they brought were pretty cool.  A highlight besides spending time with the girls was seeing a baby elephant!  This was our third elephant siting.  Phyllis bought food to feed him.  She wants to ship him home along with a car :)  We tried some old and new thai food; papaya salad, noodle soup (not chicken noodle), Larp (google it), shredded pork with sticky rice, chicken with a great sauce and some fried thing that was good.  The girls brought us home via the Sky Train- a first for us.  Very fast but very crowded.  Up close and personal seems to be the way life is here.  

Goodbye Luncheon

Today we went to a luncheon to say good-bye to the departing teachers.  A delicious thai buffet with Steve, Nopaluck, Ethel, Bui, Don Don, Carol, Clair (Steve's dad) and us.  It was a good time to tell them what a wonderful time we have had teaching and how much we have enjoyed seeing how God is work at the school.  

Santisuk Expands

This morning we had coffee with Carol.  She and her husband Don Don are going to be starting a satellite of Santisuk near the airport in July.  They are very excited to have this opportunity to enlarge the impact of this great ministry.  They will be moving in April to a building that will be not only their home but the school too.  It is a bare shell!  Please pray for them as they look for God's provision in furnishing, and finishing this endeavor by July with a 4 month old!

Monday, Monday....

We began our final week of teaching, our students are really improving and we are understanding them better :)  Our time is truly short now and we want to make this week count in developing relationships and spending any free time with our students and new found friends.  Monday night we had dinner with the Harpe family.  They have been missionaries here for 6 months every year for 7 years.  We have really enjoyed getting to know them, they are great fun and true servants.  They welcomed us and continued to support and encourage us with their warm and generous ways.  Warm cookies too!  Their family serves the school in many ways and they are an inspiration to us plus they taught us how to cross an 8 lane highway in front of our hotel/apt!   No small feat in the land where there are no pedestrian rights ;)

Our Last Sunday

              

We hosted two outreaches on Sunday at our 

place.  It was wonderful to stay at home after being so busy over the weekend.  In the morning our cell group came over along with some of our students and we enjoyed playing games, talking about the Friday night message and of course eating.  Thai people always include food in any gathering.  We ate lunch next door at Mall Bangkapi.  Later that afternoon a group of students came over along with our cell group again and we had a great time playing lots of games, sharing our lives and watching a dvd together.  We heard an amazing story during our time about how God revealed Himself to a young man studying to take the bar exam. He took it twice and did not pass it.  He remembered a friend of his who talked about praying to God.  He contacted this friend and wondered if God would listen to his prayers.  His friend encouraged him what to pray for about the test.  During his prayers he made a pact with God, that if he passed he would seek Him out.  He would know that God was real.  In the process of preparing to take the exam, he felt the need to go to the courthouse, but he was not sure why.  While he was there a bulletin board containing information on inheritance laws caught his eye.  He took out a notebook and began to write down all the information available.  While he was writing, he had a thought that he knew what the question would be.  (He would only have an opportunity to answer one question to pass the exam)  He thought "How could this be, that he would know the question?"  It seemed impossible.  So he continued to ask God to help him and he heard "Don't worry".  When it was time to take the exam, he went into the room, and sat across from 3 interviewers.  The exam was pushed across the table, and the one question he had to answer was the very one he had thought earlier.  He was amazed by this, and followed through on his promise to seek God because now he knew God was real.  He has been practicing law for 2 years now and has found God to be real and faithful in his life.  It was so encouraging to hear how personal God is and how He reveals Himself to each individual.  We learned that most Thai's religion encompasses Buddhism, Hinduism and animism.  They can worship up to three gods but can never directly pray to these god's they are prayed for by the monks or by "doing merits".  If one god doesn't answer their prayers, they move on to the next one.  I love that we can all know the one true God and that He always hears our prayers!  It was a day that impacted us in a powerful way- God is amazing!

River Cruise to see the Fireflies

Saturday continued with a River Cruise to see the Fireflies.  Blue's dad and his friend Mann rented a boat with a driver to take us out on a river cruise.  They brought all kinds of food; sticky rice with teriyaki pork, fried shrimp and cooked potatoes (especially for Phyllis).  We all piled into the boat around 6:00 and we actually put on life jackets, it was the first safety precaution we've experienced in Thailand.  It was a beautiful evening on the river.  We saw all different kinds of homes, small resorts and accommodations costing from 1000 baht to 300 baht per night ($30-10).  People were bathing, swimming and waving to us as we passed by.  The boat was interesting, like a big canoe with 2 people wide seats.  There were 10 of us in the boat including the driver.  The motor was something I had never seen, loud and with a long end that steered the boat.  It kind of reminded me of a movie I'd seen about Vietnam in the late 70's.  We were traveling along jungle like areas that were very rural and primitive.  We were experiencing the culture that seemed untouched by progress and development.  Very quiet except for the roar of the boat motor and then the sputtering when we ran into lots of vegetation in the water.  I wasn't sure we were going to make it by the sounds of the motor and wondered who would we call?  It started to get dark and we (Phyllis and I) began to wonder if we were going to stop somewhere or loop around to get back before it was completely dark.  The boat didn't seem to have any lights that we could see and there weren't any lights except for a few houses here and there.  Then the bats came out and started dive bombing the boat as we went along, this was a bit unsettling!  Just as the darkness fell we pulled up to a dock and were met by the men of the family that owned what we found out to be a coconut plantation.  It was kind of surreal since we really didn't know what we were doing there.  This seems to be a recurring theme here since we don't understand thai :)  We spent some time seeing their operation and purchasing some coconut juice, sugar and spices.  This is the time of year that they tap coconut trees much like we tap maple trees for syrup.  Its dark now and we headed back to the boat wondering about the lights.  Thankfully the boat had two little headlights and we enjoyed a "bat free" right back, stopping along the way to see the amazing light who the fireflies gave off.  It was an incredible day that we are so grateful to have experienced.  Blue and her family treated us with warm and gracious hospitality.  We would have never seen this part of thai life as tourists.  I hope we can reciprocate some day :)