Monkey Business

Howdy! These last few weeks have been especially fun and busy as we are trying to squeeze in as much time as possible w/ our Thai friends before the summer ends. This past week I had English lessons w/ Hom and her twin brother WaraChai, which was a lot of fun b/c Hom was much more willing to talk in English w/ her brother there to "help". I think she had a better grip on it then he did and didn't mind helping him along at all. On Friday we used a Bible picture story book to practice English. Hom really seemed to enjoy it and be genuinely interested in the stories. I told her she could come to the Zone anytime to read it (other students use it) but I may keep my eyes out for another one somewhere. She read the stories aloud and listed all the words she recognized. It was a pretty good amount and then I asked her some questions about the stories. It was a good lesson, but we were both pretty exhausted after it! I don't want to scare Hom away from Christianity or trick her into studying the Bible, so I tried to make it clear that they were Bible stories but she had a choice of whether she wanted to read them or do a different lesson. We have learned from our Equipping lessons that Thais do not want a religion forced upon them- who would? But Hom seemed a lot more interested then she usually is, and liked flipping through the book so I think it was a good lesson. Today's lesson went a little slower, we read some easier children's books w/ simpler words and she brought her music player so we could listen to some of her favorite Chinese and Thai music. This morning I went to her stand to say Hi and she was reading the 5th Harry Potter book (in Thai). :) It's fun that we both share that interest.

Yesterday was my last session w/ Top and his Mother. He has his interview for a scholarship to a Singapore School today and they are going to email me when they know if he has been accepted or not. I really hope he is, he worked really hard for it and he has a lot of talent. I worked w/ him this past week and a half interviewing him and helping him practice his English and making eye contact and writing out responses to likely questions. It was a bit difficult- I didn't have a real clear idea of what the interviewees would be asking so I had to get outside my head a bit. I really admire him, I do not enjoy interviews and always end up saying something completely random and off topic when I am nervous. He did seem measurably more confident yesterday, so I hope it goes well for him. Before he and his Mother left yesterday Katy and I asked to pray over them. They are Buddhist, but we were advised that even Buddhist appreciate prayers, especially for blessings. I will be honest, it was kind of funny and awkward. I didn't think this all the way through before, but they were happy to let us pray so Katy and I closed our eyes and prayed for Top in turn. We opened our eyes and Top was staring at us, eyes-wide open. His Mother was very grateful for everything, and even left a gift of sweet bread for us. I hope to see them again. I know I was put in that position for a reason, and I wasn't really sure how to bring God into the conversation except for my actions so I tried my best to help Top prepare. I guess thats all I could think of to do, except being honest about why I was in Thailand for the summer and what I believed. I appreciate everyone's prayers for Top and Hom (and Oi and Ann, though they never showed for lessons). I pray too.

Ahhh, the pictures above! Well, besides lessons, this past week us ACU interns cooked curry and Mac n Cheese for cell group, and I MCed for games before cell group. Friday a group of us went to night safari, but it ended up being 500 Baht for foreigners so we walked around the night zoo which was doubly cool. We saw some animals I've never heard of before and played w/ the ponies. It was kinda spooky though- all dark and animals growling in the darkness. Plus, the big cats were in cages that did not look secure or strong enough to hold them (I walked fairly fast past them). And I am not entirely sure the bears had a complete cage. There was also a light show on the lake, which we enjoyed from the opposite bank of the night zoo. We finished the night by playing on the monkey bars and then heading home.

Saturday morning we went to the Elephant show and met the elephants afterwards. P'O gave us a running commentary on how special the elephants were to Thailand because they used to protect Thailand and help build houses. We fed them sugarcane and bananas afterwards, and I got some trunk hugs from a few :) After the elephants, we went back to McKean's Leprosy Village to sing and pray with some of the residents and went to find Gaio again. It took him a while to recognize us- we weren't in a big group of Aggies. He was still as welcoming and friendly as last time, and we joined him for conversation and prayer on his front porch for a while.

This week we are saying good bye to a few friends who are studying internationally this next year. We had cell group at the Cheung Doi church last night to see Gahn, who is coming to Houston! Afterwards all the college crowd went to see BATMAN. Today we visited a place called the Seven Fountains for three hours. It was wonderful, it is a Catholic Sanctuary (I think) but people who go in are expected to be completely silent and its meant to be a place for prayer and solitude. They had lots of garden and a chapel. After the busy week and week-end it was Wonderful to have so much quiet time.

Well, it is almost dinner time and we are celebrating P'Wah's Birthday with Thai food and singing! Chiao everyone :)

Where have you been?

Hey everyone! Sorry it has been over a week since my last update, I'll try to remember all the things that have happened...

The weekend before the visit to the orphanage we hosted an English camp at Doi Suthep Pui coffee plantation for all of our students and friends who come to the Zone, and anyone else who wanted to come. It was a fun time for worship, games, and Thai food. It was also a good opportunity to get to know some of our friends and out friend's friends better. I will have to share some pictures later. The highlight for me was after a teeth-brushing game when I swallowed too much toothpaste and coughed floating bubbles. I wish I could do that on command :)

Sunday night we went to Walking Street with some of our Thai friends, which has become a Sunday tradition. It's fun to walk around and enjoy the market atmosphere, plus it has been a really great time to just talk with people and get to know them better. Last Sunday I had a really great time just looking around and eating w/ P'Pun. I really enjoyed talking with her, and her sharing her faith with me was a blessing.

I was worried last Wednesday when Hom didn't show up for English lesson, so I got P'Woot to come with me to her Mother's restaurant to make sure she was feeling okay. I think she said she was going to the market the Friday before, but there was probably a miscommunication. I dropped off some lamsiis (a Thai fruit, I know I can't spell!) that a friend at the Post office gave me. I always enjoy going to mail something because the man enjoys speaking Thai and hearing me try to respond. He always laughs when I reply (almost everytime) w/ "May saap...." He's really cheerful and laughs a lot. He gave me some lamsii, but they kind of make me sick to my stomach so I thought Hom might like them since most of the Thais here are crazy about them. In our last lesson I found out a very exciting fact about Hom: she likes Harry Potter! :) She also taught me some Thai words, and she's been very patient w/ me trying to practice my Thai w/ her. She said I have been getting better (haha) which is a vast overstatement!

Today I have two new students, Oi and Ann, and one student who came first yesterday. His name is Top, he is 15 and came to prepare for a scholarship interview so he can go to Singapore and study math. His interview is in English, so he needs someone to ask him questions that might be asked for an interview. His Mother cares a lot about his education and really wants him to do well. I am trying to help him the best I can and remember what interviewing was like in Academic Decathlon. Mostly I admire him for being willing to sit in front of three foreigners and interview in English, that takes guts. I dread interviews, but hopefully after some practice he will feel really confident in his English and prepared in his English responses.

OH yeah. The picture above is from our lock-in this past weekend (we've been really busy, week-days and week-ends!). Our teams dressed us up in TP outfits for the fashion show. From left to right we have a mummy, Miss Thailand, and the bride. Guess who won tehehehe...

I had planned on writing and mailing out the last round of post cards today, since it takes about two weeks for them to get to the U.S. but there is a holiday in Thailand until Monday for the monks to bless the rice fields, so I am unsure if the post office on campus will be open. Please forgive me if you have not received a post card and expected to, or if your post card arrives late. I'd be happy to send anyone a post if you will email me your address.

I realize I am writing this right before my classes are to start, but if you are reading this will you please be in prayer for the Thai Christians here and for my students, Hom, Oi, Ann, and Top who are going to and have been coming to the Zone, that they would make connections here and that God would work in their hearts to be curious and see God here and want to be apart of that. Also, pray for Top's Mother and the new relationship I have working closely with her for Top. I believe God can use the lessons with Top to be an open door into the kingdom, so also pray for me to have an increased willingness to be used and to be a vessel of God's light and love so that they may see God through me.

Thank you all! I really appreciate all the supportive prayers I know are being lifted back home. It means a lot to me that friends and family have become such a part of this short summer in Thailand. Thank you!!

Jesus loves the little children

This afternoon we visited Paan Dek Kan Pra Orphanage. The kids were SOO precious, we were so sad to leave! The little girl in the first and last picture is Sunni, and she loved playing with my camera and taking pictures. She was a bit shy until I sat down and held out my hands for her to high-five. She sat in my lap and kept taking my hands and putting them over her eyes. It took me a few minutes to find out what she was doing- we were playing peek-a-boo! At least I think we were. The kids were so cute, they'd grab my hands and wrap them around themselves. It kinda broke my heart a little bit.

Thai kids love to sing and play games. We sang some Children's Worship (haha Ryan) songs in Thai, I didn't know all of the Thai words, but I could do the hand motions to "My God is so Big" and "This little light of mine". One little boy was so funny, he really got into it. We brought butcher paper and the kids traced each other and drew pictures and wrote words of what God meant to them on it. We enjoyed coloring with the kids and helping control the marker fights. We played a lot of games, one of them was kind of like duck duck goose, except we all held hands and a team would tag a pair, and they'd run in the opposite direction to make it back. I felt so bad for the little girl with me- I'm such a slow runner! I think we ran around at least 2 or 3 rounds before we beat anyone back to a spot. In the picture above we are playing a pass the ball game against 3 teams. It kinda got hard when it was over the head....because I'm about two feet taller than the kids around me....hahahaa. Before we left we passed out goodie bags with toothbrushes, soap, and a package of cookies, and gave lots of hugs and "God bless you"'s (the Thai children understood). It was really hard to leave, the Thai kids were so sweet and hungry for affection.

I could go on, but our group is about to leave for the evening.

Pra-caw song dii