Well, I've been back for about a week now. It's been crazy, to say the least. I keep wanting to speak Thai to everyone in public and I'm searching for any Thai faces (too many white people "farangs mak mai" everywhere).
This summer was amazing and I learned and grew so much. I am so very thankful for the opportunity to travel to Thailand and meet and connect with the beautiful people who live there. Maybe one day I will be able to return, but there is a whole world to explore; I don't want to limit the possibilities God has for me.
Up next? Who knows? Hopefully I will find a job and a place to live- I plan on traveling more and searching for God's will in my future.
Thank you for your prayers and love and support.
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Sunday, August 3, 2008
Baptize my heart... with Your fire
I got baptized this afternoon.
When I was 8, I was baptized, and I guess I thought that was my salvation. When I was 13, I realized that I wasn't a follower of Jesus. I accepted Christ into my life. But I was too scared to get baptized at that point- I had already done it, so doing it again would just be silly right? The Lord changed my life at 13. I had a bad attitude and a terrible temper toward and around my parents- I was a really bad kid... but after I recieved Jesus, my life changed. My attitude improved and things at home were more peaceful and subdued. I never really thought baptism was necessary- it doesn't save someone, so I didn't do anything about it. About 2 years ago, the Lord really started putting baptism on my heart. Jesus was baptized, and we are told to follow His example. But I didn't even know where to start or who should baptize me- so I just kept putting it off and putting it off. I even had the opportunity about a year ago and turned it down because I was scared.
Eventually, over the past year of talking to friends, spiritual guides and my youth minister, I knew that baptism was something I needed to do. But where should I do it?
Thailand. My last Sunday here. August 3, 2008. Nine years and one month after I became a follower of Jesus. Along with a girl who became a believer three weeks ago. We went to a lake in the village and Scott and my friend T, a Thai believer baptized me. It was really cool. I was able to share with all the students there why I was getting baptized and what it meant. I was made new through Jesus... and even though it took me nine years to be baptized, it has been an awesome nine years with Jesus. Today symbolized not only that He has made me a new person, but also that I want to continue walking with Him for the rest of my life.
This is my last post from Thailand... I can't believe it. Tomorrow we will spend the day at the university- probably crying with the students- and then pack until we drop. Tuesday morning at 5a.m we will leave Maha Sarakham and our beautfiful friends. We will drive to Khon Kaen and then fly to Bangkok where we will spend our final day together. Wednesday at 4 a.m. we will go to the aiport and fly home. I will land in Jacksonville at 10 p.m. on August 6.
Thank you for all your prayers and support. I will see you all very soon.
When I was 8, I was baptized, and I guess I thought that was my salvation. When I was 13, I realized that I wasn't a follower of Jesus. I accepted Christ into my life. But I was too scared to get baptized at that point- I had already done it, so doing it again would just be silly right? The Lord changed my life at 13. I had a bad attitude and a terrible temper toward and around my parents- I was a really bad kid... but after I recieved Jesus, my life changed. My attitude improved and things at home were more peaceful and subdued. I never really thought baptism was necessary- it doesn't save someone, so I didn't do anything about it. About 2 years ago, the Lord really started putting baptism on my heart. Jesus was baptized, and we are told to follow His example. But I didn't even know where to start or who should baptize me- so I just kept putting it off and putting it off. I even had the opportunity about a year ago and turned it down because I was scared.
Eventually, over the past year of talking to friends, spiritual guides and my youth minister, I knew that baptism was something I needed to do. But where should I do it?
Thailand. My last Sunday here. August 3, 2008. Nine years and one month after I became a follower of Jesus. Along with a girl who became a believer three weeks ago. We went to a lake in the village and Scott and my friend T, a Thai believer baptized me. It was really cool. I was able to share with all the students there why I was getting baptized and what it meant. I was made new through Jesus... and even though it took me nine years to be baptized, it has been an awesome nine years with Jesus. Today symbolized not only that He has made me a new person, but also that I want to continue walking with Him for the rest of my life.
This is my last post from Thailand... I can't believe it. Tomorrow we will spend the day at the university- probably crying with the students- and then pack until we drop. Tuesday morning at 5a.m we will leave Maha Sarakham and our beautfiful friends. We will drive to Khon Kaen and then fly to Bangkok where we will spend our final day together. Wednesday at 4 a.m. we will go to the aiport and fly home. I will land in Jacksonville at 10 p.m. on August 6.
Thank you for all your prayers and support. I will see you all very soon.
Monday, July 28, 2008
7 days...
My fans have been begging me for an update... basically, my mom said it's time to write again! Anyway.
Things have been really busy here. English camp went really well- it's sad it was only two days. I was asked to share a story, so I shared a real-life adventure tale (only some of the facts were changed- it made the story more exciting.) And I was speaking through a translator, so that was really cool to hear. I had two volunteers from the Oklahoma team work with me in a small group, and it was good to have them share stories and talk with the students as well. On Thursday night, Scott and Valerie went with me to talk with Pi and it was really good. He seems excited about learning more about God and reading the Bible. Friday morning a girl named Nancy made the decision to follow Jesus! I don't know her that well, but she said that sometime last year she heard "Seek me and you will find me" and she said that since then she had been reading the Bible and studying about God. After a long process, she gave her life to the Lord. yay!
Saturday and Sunday working with the children was exhasuting and hot, but they are adorable and I'm glad we went out there. We played games with them and just used really basic English. It was really fun to see them out of their uniforms and in just regular kid's clothes.
Midterms for students started last week, so classes have been a little thin last week and this. Their midterms last for two weeks, and they are as intense as our finals (I'd hate to see how their finals are!) So we've just been having conversations and playing games (Uno is a favorite here... We have played it so much, I think I will never touch another Uno card as long as I live... :)
Saturday I got to see the Dark Knight in Thai. It was intense- I followed it for the most part- the action played a huge role in that- but I've been picking up alot of Thai phrases. I know more than I think, which is cool. I've been learning to write Thai and order basic foods at a restaurant (because here, you are supposed to write down your order and turn it in- for the "farangs" they have to come to our table. Now we can impress all of the people are our favorite restaurants by writing in Thai. Of course, maybe our food orders will be wrong. We'll see :)I've also been learning a few Isaan phrases- Isaan is the area of Thailand we are living in- NE. Isaan is like it's own culture within a culture. They have their own language, which is close to Lao. So I jokingly say that I can speak four languages- English, Thai, Isaan and Lao (like the majority of the students here can!)
On Sunday, our friend, T, a Thai believer took some of us to the Wat across from our house. The Wat is a Buddhist temple- and they are on every corner. There are idols and shrines everywhere- it made me so sad- these things are false, they're dead, but everyday people are bowing down to them! We learned that the monks are fed by people in the community, so it's the responsibility of the people to provide and bring food to the Wat every morning. There's a big open room with mats on the floor, tables in the corner and ornate gold statues. The monks sit in these huge wicker chairs and the people lay the food at their feet. We see monks regularly- they are clad in orange fabric and walk around town- I don't really know what they do. We weren't allowed to go inside the actual temple, but it was ornate. I took pictures. I will upload them after I get home.
Sunday night we had two students from China who are studying at MSU spend the night. They are so cute- and one of them is very interested in Jesus. While she was in China, she actually got some Christian material (I'm not sure if that is illegal in China, but I think it may be.) Now she comes to church and Bible study and is asking questions about Jesus. It's so cool. I'm amazed at how God sent someone from China, a closed country, to our small town in Thailand just to learn more about Him. Nothing is coincidence! Pray for her- and for China and for all the people she may be able to reach in that country. Wow.
Last night, our friend P'bor cooked an amazing dinner for us at our house. I love Isaan food and I think that Thai food in America just won't be the same, sadly.
I think that's about it for an update- I know I threw alot of information your way. Here are a few prayer requests:
Kristal is leaving tomorrow- pray for her safety in traveling.
Rachel has been feeling a little sick, my throat has been sore, and Beth had a little run-in with some peppers burning her hands last night. Please just pray that we will be well and enjoy our last few days here.
Pray for the children at the village school- I want them to grow up knowing Jesus, and most of them won't. It really makes me sad.
Next Tuesday morning we will be leaving super early to go to Khon Kaen and fly into Bangkok. We will spend the day in Bangkok and then Wednesday morning we will fly from Bangkok to Tokyo and then into San Fransisco and Atlanta and then Danette and I will fly to Jacksonville. All in one day- it will be a long day. Pray for safety. And sanity. Being on planes for almost 24 hours will be exhausting.
Thank you for keeping up with my blog! I will see you soon.
Things have been really busy here. English camp went really well- it's sad it was only two days. I was asked to share a story, so I shared a real-life adventure tale (only some of the facts were changed- it made the story more exciting.) And I was speaking through a translator, so that was really cool to hear. I had two volunteers from the Oklahoma team work with me in a small group, and it was good to have them share stories and talk with the students as well. On Thursday night, Scott and Valerie went with me to talk with Pi and it was really good. He seems excited about learning more about God and reading the Bible. Friday morning a girl named Nancy made the decision to follow Jesus! I don't know her that well, but she said that sometime last year she heard "Seek me and you will find me" and she said that since then she had been reading the Bible and studying about God. After a long process, she gave her life to the Lord. yay!
Saturday and Sunday working with the children was exhasuting and hot, but they are adorable and I'm glad we went out there. We played games with them and just used really basic English. It was really fun to see them out of their uniforms and in just regular kid's clothes.
Midterms for students started last week, so classes have been a little thin last week and this. Their midterms last for two weeks, and they are as intense as our finals (I'd hate to see how their finals are!) So we've just been having conversations and playing games (Uno is a favorite here... We have played it so much, I think I will never touch another Uno card as long as I live... :)
Saturday I got to see the Dark Knight in Thai. It was intense- I followed it for the most part- the action played a huge role in that- but I've been picking up alot of Thai phrases. I know more than I think, which is cool. I've been learning to write Thai and order basic foods at a restaurant (because here, you are supposed to write down your order and turn it in- for the "farangs" they have to come to our table. Now we can impress all of the people are our favorite restaurants by writing in Thai. Of course, maybe our food orders will be wrong. We'll see :)I've also been learning a few Isaan phrases- Isaan is the area of Thailand we are living in- NE. Isaan is like it's own culture within a culture. They have their own language, which is close to Lao. So I jokingly say that I can speak four languages- English, Thai, Isaan and Lao (like the majority of the students here can!)
On Sunday, our friend, T, a Thai believer took some of us to the Wat across from our house. The Wat is a Buddhist temple- and they are on every corner. There are idols and shrines everywhere- it made me so sad- these things are false, they're dead, but everyday people are bowing down to them! We learned that the monks are fed by people in the community, so it's the responsibility of the people to provide and bring food to the Wat every morning. There's a big open room with mats on the floor, tables in the corner and ornate gold statues. The monks sit in these huge wicker chairs and the people lay the food at their feet. We see monks regularly- they are clad in orange fabric and walk around town- I don't really know what they do. We weren't allowed to go inside the actual temple, but it was ornate. I took pictures. I will upload them after I get home.
Sunday night we had two students from China who are studying at MSU spend the night. They are so cute- and one of them is very interested in Jesus. While she was in China, she actually got some Christian material (I'm not sure if that is illegal in China, but I think it may be.) Now she comes to church and Bible study and is asking questions about Jesus. It's so cool. I'm amazed at how God sent someone from China, a closed country, to our small town in Thailand just to learn more about Him. Nothing is coincidence! Pray for her- and for China and for all the people she may be able to reach in that country. Wow.
Last night, our friend P'bor cooked an amazing dinner for us at our house. I love Isaan food and I think that Thai food in America just won't be the same, sadly.
I think that's about it for an update- I know I threw alot of information your way. Here are a few prayer requests:
Kristal is leaving tomorrow- pray for her safety in traveling.
Rachel has been feeling a little sick, my throat has been sore, and Beth had a little run-in with some peppers burning her hands last night. Please just pray that we will be well and enjoy our last few days here.
Pray for the children at the village school- I want them to grow up knowing Jesus, and most of them won't. It really makes me sad.
Next Tuesday morning we will be leaving super early to go to Khon Kaen and fly into Bangkok. We will spend the day in Bangkok and then Wednesday morning we will fly from Bangkok to Tokyo and then into San Fransisco and Atlanta and then Danette and I will fly to Jacksonville. All in one day- it will be a long day. Pray for safety. And sanity. Being on planes for almost 24 hours will be exhausting.
Thank you for keeping up with my blog! I will see you soon.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
As Promised
Time is just speeding up and flying by. It’s hard to believe that we have already spent 50 days in Thailand. It feels like we are really beginning to make a difference in the lives of students here, and it breaks my heart to think about our departure in a mere three weeks. The rest of this week is going to be consumed by camp. Thursday and Friday are vacation days for MSU, so we are having English camp for them (I’m sharing a story during a big-group session- I’m still not sure what I’m going to say exactly; please pray that they will not be my words, but from the Lord.) Then on Saturday and Sunday morning we are having camp for children at the elementary school. A church group from Oklahoma is coming today and staying for the week to help us with camps and teaching.
Okay, so let me share some things that have happened this past week. Last Thursday a couple of us went to a costume party for the Humanities department. Some of our students asked us to go (we didn’t know we were supposed to wear costumes, so we were a little out of place. We just said we were dressed up as “farangs” or foreigners ) It was really cool to see our students out of uniform and watch them perform little skits and dance with the live band. I had a really good time and danced right along with them. Friday we had our regular get-together with students at our apartment. Aa was playing the guitar (singing Avril Lavigne- he said listening to American music helped him improve his English… anyway) and Pi and I were singing along. Then Beth started playing “Your Love is Deep” and we sang along. I asked them if they knew what the song was about. Aa said “yes, God’s love for us.” Then he and Beth started playing guitar and singing more songs. Pi and I ended up talking for over two hours! (Of course, I was using T, a Christian friend, to help with some translation, so that made it take a little longer.) Pi and I talked about Jesus, the devil, demons, ghosts, reincarnation, other religions, how Jesus is ALIVE!! He asked how to become a Christian and if Christians have to follow any rules like Buddhists. I told him that in Mark 12:28, Jesus tells us to love Him first and then love other people like we love ourselves. I said that because we love Jesus we don’t want to do anything to hurt him and because we love other people we don’t want to do anything to hurt them (Even though we mess up sometimes- there is forgiveness). Then T shared his story with Pi (you can read about T in a previous post). I told him that the two things I love most about God is His love and the hope He has to offer- I know that sometimes this world is hard and sad, but I know that Jesus makes life worth living and that we don’t have re-live in this world over and over again for eternity. Freedom. He asked if we would pray for him, and T wrote down some simple verses for him to read in the Bible that Valerie had given him. I told Pi that God likes it when people ask questions and search for Him- because when we seek we will find.
Then on Sunday I talked to a girl about why she wouldn’t become a Christian even though she’s been studying the Bible for years and believes it. It’s because of her family. Thais rarely step outside of what their families believe because they don’t want to hurt the closeness and stability of the family. I told her that the decision to follow Jesus couldn’t be based on her family- and I couldn’t even imagine the pain of being rejected by my family. But I assured her that Jesus loves her even more than her family.
Pray for Pi and PM; and Green, Aa, AR and a few others who are really looking for truth and hope. For the team, please pray that our energy will stay up this week as we embark on 4 days of camp- and the team from Oklahoma for safe traveling and that they will not suffer from too much jet lag.
Here’s a run-down of the rest of our time here:
Camps: July 17-20
Teaching: July 21-31 (only two more weeks!!! Crazy.)
Day camp: Hopefully Aug. 2
Bangkok: Aug. 5
Fly home: Aug. 6
Okay, well thinking about only having 21 days left is making me sad, so I’ll wrap this up. I will write after I have recovered from camp.
Corinne
<><
Okay, so let me share some things that have happened this past week. Last Thursday a couple of us went to a costume party for the Humanities department. Some of our students asked us to go (we didn’t know we were supposed to wear costumes, so we were a little out of place. We just said we were dressed up as “farangs” or foreigners ) It was really cool to see our students out of uniform and watch them perform little skits and dance with the live band. I had a really good time and danced right along with them. Friday we had our regular get-together with students at our apartment. Aa was playing the guitar (singing Avril Lavigne- he said listening to American music helped him improve his English… anyway) and Pi and I were singing along. Then Beth started playing “Your Love is Deep” and we sang along. I asked them if they knew what the song was about. Aa said “yes, God’s love for us.” Then he and Beth started playing guitar and singing more songs. Pi and I ended up talking for over two hours! (Of course, I was using T, a Christian friend, to help with some translation, so that made it take a little longer.) Pi and I talked about Jesus, the devil, demons, ghosts, reincarnation, other religions, how Jesus is ALIVE!! He asked how to become a Christian and if Christians have to follow any rules like Buddhists. I told him that in Mark 12:28, Jesus tells us to love Him first and then love other people like we love ourselves. I said that because we love Jesus we don’t want to do anything to hurt him and because we love other people we don’t want to do anything to hurt them (Even though we mess up sometimes- there is forgiveness). Then T shared his story with Pi (you can read about T in a previous post). I told him that the two things I love most about God is His love and the hope He has to offer- I know that sometimes this world is hard and sad, but I know that Jesus makes life worth living and that we don’t have re-live in this world over and over again for eternity. Freedom. He asked if we would pray for him, and T wrote down some simple verses for him to read in the Bible that Valerie had given him. I told Pi that God likes it when people ask questions and search for Him- because when we seek we will find.
Then on Sunday I talked to a girl about why she wouldn’t become a Christian even though she’s been studying the Bible for years and believes it. It’s because of her family. Thais rarely step outside of what their families believe because they don’t want to hurt the closeness and stability of the family. I told her that the decision to follow Jesus couldn’t be based on her family- and I couldn’t even imagine the pain of being rejected by my family. But I assured her that Jesus loves her even more than her family.
Pray for Pi and PM; and Green, Aa, AR and a few others who are really looking for truth and hope. For the team, please pray that our energy will stay up this week as we embark on 4 days of camp- and the team from Oklahoma for safe traveling and that they will not suffer from too much jet lag.
Here’s a run-down of the rest of our time here:
Camps: July 17-20
Teaching: July 21-31 (only two more weeks!!! Crazy.)
Day camp: Hopefully Aug. 2
Bangkok: Aug. 5
Fly home: Aug. 6
Okay, well thinking about only having 21 days left is making me sad, so I’ll wrap this up. I will write after I have recovered from camp.
Corinne
<><
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Speechless
Wow. The past week and a half has just been incredible. I have so much to share, but I never have enough time to pour it all out. Be patient. I will write more soon. Keep praying, because God is doing amazing things in this city. Remember the God of the City song I posted back in June? Re-read those lyrics. Pray for Bible study that I am leading this week (yikes) and English camp coming up this weekend and for Piyak and AK (a couple of students who are really searching for Jesus.) Hopefully I will be able to write more extensively on Tuesday.
love.love
love.love
Monday, July 7, 2008
The Ratpack
It was a dark and stormy night. The rain had fallen long and hard. The rat lurked in the rain, waiting for the right moment. The girls had left their apartment. He knew there would be food inside. And he could maybe nap in a pile of clothes. He did just that...
Yeah. We had a rat in our apartment the other night. Yikes! Three of the brave girls cornered it, and killed it. I videoed the whole experience. It shook us up. But we're good now. hmmm.
Classes are still going well. It's been raining alot this week, so yay!! It's been very cool and wonderful.
I can't believe in a month I'll be home. It seems surreal. I feel as though a lifetime has passed since I boarded that plane in Atlanta.
We have two more weeks of teaching, and next week we are having English camp, which I'm pretty excited about. Then on the 5th we fly to Bangkok and get to spend an afternoon in the city before we fly out on the 6th headed to Tokyo then onto San Francisco and into Atlanta.
Please keep praying that we will have an enjoyable 4 weeks and thank you for all the support you've shown me this far!
Yeah. We had a rat in our apartment the other night. Yikes! Three of the brave girls cornered it, and killed it. I videoed the whole experience. It shook us up. But we're good now. hmmm.
Classes are still going well. It's been raining alot this week, so yay!! It's been very cool and wonderful.
I can't believe in a month I'll be home. It seems surreal. I feel as though a lifetime has passed since I boarded that plane in Atlanta.
We have two more weeks of teaching, and next week we are having English camp, which I'm pretty excited about. Then on the 5th we fly to Bangkok and get to spend an afternoon in the city before we fly out on the 6th headed to Tokyo then onto San Francisco and into Atlanta.
Please keep praying that we will have an enjoyable 4 weeks and thank you for all the support you've shown me this far!
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Whew
I seem to have a knack for catching diseases in foreign countries. I have been sick three times in five years- twice have been when I was out of the country! haha. In Mexico I somehow contracted bronchitis and here in Thailand I have a bacterial infection in my small intenstine. I don't even know what that's all about... Oh well- the Thai hospital was actually kind of an adventure and I kept my little medical admission card to show everyone when I get back. I am feeling better- still not back to eating the Thai squid and congealed cow's blood (kidding) but just keep me and the rest of the team in your prayers for our next month here- we don't want anymore health issues. (I think I was whiny enough for a whole team's worth of sickness :)
Monday, June 23, 2008
John 13:34-35
Yesterday was the most awesome day I've had in Thailand so far. We have Bible study and Thai church in our apartment, and yesterday people just kept coming and coming. Our front room was overflowing with people. The lesson we taught was on Abraham and his faithfulness to follow God and the promise God made him about being the father of many nations. Words just kept flowing from our mouths and we shared the story of Jesus with the students who were present. We even had a translator, Thum, a Thai believer who speaks really good English. As we closed our 2 1/2 hour study (now you know I don't have a long attention span- 20 min and I'm gone. But I think I could have sat there another two hours and not worried about it!) with a song that we sang in Thai and in English, what wandered up to our front windows? An elephant! I know that may not seem like a big deal, but we have been wanting to see and ride elephants since we got here. I've never actually been that close to one before. It was so incredible.
After worship, a Korean missionary (whom we had never met before) invited us to eat an authentic "Thai style" dinner at a Christian dorm ten minutes down the road. There were 10 girls and 8 guys living in this house- and it was so encouraging to hear all of their stories. In the 3 1/2 weeks we've been in Thailand we have only met two Thai Christians- needless to say, it gets discouraging when we hear that only 1/10th of 1% of Thais are believers. I want to share two people's stories.
T, the guy who translated for us: He is a fourth year English major. When he was 10, he was walking down the street and found a tract (not commonly found in Thailand)so he asked his parents who Jesus was. They said they didn't know and told him to throw the tract away (he said he later found out they did know, but didn't want their son knowing anything about Christianity.) At 15, he started learning English with some American volunteers.They shared with him about Jesus, and he said that through months of reading the Bible and praying He discovered that Jesus was the way. Now he faced the issue of his parents. He didn't feel like he could tell them. He took an English Bible home with him and read a language he couldn't even speak very well just so they wouldn't find out what he was really reading.
Now this is the crazy part- last year, his mom had a dream in which she saw her son walking away from her- she called out his name but he wouldn't turn around. She woke up and said to her husband- I think T's become a Christian. And he nodded saying- I think I've known that for a while. He said that now, his parents have hidden his Bible, tried to burn it, and forbid him from attending Christian services (but that doesn't stop him.) Pray for him and the challenges that he faces everyday in just serving the Lord.
K: A fourth year student at MSU. As a young teenager he questioned why his family was Buddhist- he asked his grandparents who said: you are because your parents are, because we are, because our parents were, etc. But K kept questioning and searching for answers. When he was a freshman, he met some missionaries who told him about Jesus. But what stood out the most to him, was the love he saw radiating from these believers. He knew, at that moment, that he wanted to follow Jesus because of His love. In the four years that have passed, he has been able to lead his mother to Jesus also. WOW! I love this story because K said it was all about the love that he could see; it challenges me to really take John 13:35 to heart where Jesus says: "by this, all men shall know that you are My disciples- if you have love for one another."
Pray for K and T and C and the other Thai Christians who are battling darkness, Buddhism and unbelief.
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Quick Update
We are in the middle of our second week of teaching, and the last two days have been so much cooler (and by cooler, I mean 90. But it's wonderful!) On Tuesdays and Thursdays we teach a conversational class to the professors, and it's always so good to talk to them- their English is exceptional. Well, yesterday before the class at 4 I was just thinking about how good it would be have a discussion on religion and beliefs. It's amazing how the Lord works. Not even five minutes in, the topic of Buddhism was brought up by one of the professors. He talked about how he was a monk for a short period of time (in Thailand, it's considered honorable for a mother if her son becomes a monk for a period of time- it can be as short as two weeks- most males are expected to do this for their mothers.) and how he ventured into the woods for deep meditation. They talked to us about the premise of Buddhism and how it's all about being "good" and finally getting to Heaven (not really sure what their idea of Heaven is...). Those who are not terribly bad (the bad ones go to Hell) but not perfect just get reincarnated and get to try it all over again.
I asked them if they thought they could be good enough to get to Heaven- and they all laughed and said no. They seem fairly content to just be reincarnated and try again. Then one of the professors asked us what we believed. We talked about Jesus and how for us, we know we can't be good enough- but we don't have to earn God's love or salvation to go to Heaven. It was interesting and really good to get to learn more about Buddhism- and even share a little bit with them.
Keep praying for us. The top floors of our house have been without running water for a few days (there is one bathroom downstairs that all six of us have been relying on. It's very chaotic in the mornings, and frustrating to walk down four flights of stairs in the middle of the night!)
Thank you for staying updated with my life- and for your prayers!
I asked them if they thought they could be good enough to get to Heaven- and they all laughed and said no. They seem fairly content to just be reincarnated and try again. Then one of the professors asked us what we believed. We talked about Jesus and how for us, we know we can't be good enough- but we don't have to earn God's love or salvation to go to Heaven. It was interesting and really good to get to learn more about Buddhism- and even share a little bit with them.
Keep praying for us. The top floors of our house have been without running water for a few days (there is one bathroom downstairs that all six of us have been relying on. It's very chaotic in the mornings, and frustrating to walk down four flights of stairs in the middle of the night!)
Thank you for staying updated with my life- and for your prayers!
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Pictures!
Monday began our first day of teaching. It's intense, and the days are long, but it's so much fun. We are adjusting well to the heat and learning our way around the town and campus fairly well. I have tried to add some pictures- let's see if this works. :)
The team on our first day at the mission house before we left Bangkok.
Check out Rachel's blog: rachelgoestothailand.blogspot.com
The team on our first day at the mission house before we left Bangkok.
Check out Rachel's blog: rachelgoestothailand.blogspot.com
Thursday, June 5, 2008
God of This City!
sabaay dee mai kha? (how are you?)
WOW! So, I had my 22nd birthday in Thailand. That was fun. We waited until midnight and then it started to rain, so we ran out on our balcony and danced under the stars. Then, celebratory birthday hot dogs... which weren't so much fun. During the day we went to see our landlady and when my supervisor told her it was my birthday, she gave me a silk scarf as a present. It touched me so much. All of the people here are so generous and go completely out of their way to make us all feel at home. Later, Scott and Valerie took us to a nice restaurant and surprised me with a birthday cake that Valerie and Charlotte had made. It was a wonderful way to celebrate away from home. Let's backtrack one night:
On the 2nd, some our Thai students, Aoy, Art, and Ninja (yes, Ninja) invited us to see Narnia in Thai. It was amazing- I'd seen it in English twice and felt so cool that I could keep up with the plot (although I only understood about three words.) After, they helped us get home and went with us to eat. We had some brief but good conversations about Buddhism and their beliefs.
Yesterday, we were sent out alone. It was slightly scary, but we made it. We walked down about a block and found a bakery, then caught the songtow (PT) to the somthi (mall) to buy groceries. Which came to 1,124 dollars. Okay, baht. Which is cheap :)
Today we went back to the university to sign students up for English classes that we will start teaching next week. (So far we have almost 100 interested students. yay!) It's exciting- they are friendly and so adorable. I love saying sawatdeekha and bowing. The students yesterday bought us food and snacks just to try, and random strangers will give us fruit. The lady who does our laundry is so nice and well, it seems everyone in this town knows who we are and where we live (which is a little creepy, but we don't feel threatened.) The people look at us like we are celebrities, which can be unnerving, but I think that not many of them have seen white people in person before.
God is amazing and I love, love, LOVE the girls on my team. They are so cool and laid back and up for anything. Rachel ate congealed blood (yes, I have it on video! ew) Danette and Beth allowed a lady at our favorite restaurant (we call it starbaht for its excellent iced coffee) to fix her favorite thing on the menu. Thai food has mostly agreed with me, although I am getting a little tired of rice.
Please continue to pray for us. Tomorrow we have the day free to explore the city a little and in the evening we will be having some students over to eat and play games or whatever they want to do. On Sunday we will be leading an English Bible study followed by Thai church. Monday, our classes at the new campus start. I still feel slightly overwhelmed and in over my head, but the Lord is so faithful and I am not alone.
Here are some of the students we have met so far (I'm giving you their nicknames because their names are so hard to say- and spell :)
Pat (G), Art (B), Art(II) (B) Aoy (G), Nick (B), Ninja (B), Mimi (G), Dream (G), Puy (G), Tiw (B), and Nuup (B).
Pray that these students will see Jesus so brightly in us that they will want to know about Him.
One last note:
We have been singing and praying a song over the city. It was written in Bangkok spur of the moment. Chris Tomlin covers it. It's called God of This City. Here are the lyrics. Pray is over where you are and where we are. Love y'all.
You're the God of this city
You're the King of these people
You're the Lord of this nation
For there is no one like our God
There is no one like our God
Greater things have yet to come
Greater things are still to be done
In this city
You're the Lord of Creation
The Creator of all things
You're the King above all Kings
You're the strength in our weakness
You're the love to the broken
You're the joy in the sadness
Greater things have yet to come
Greater things are still to be done
In MAHASARAKHAM!
Where glory shines from hearts alive
With praise for you and love for you
In this city
Greater things have yet to come
Greater things are still to be done
In this city
Greater things are still to come
And greater things are still to be done here
WOW! So, I had my 22nd birthday in Thailand. That was fun. We waited until midnight and then it started to rain, so we ran out on our balcony and danced under the stars. Then, celebratory birthday hot dogs... which weren't so much fun. During the day we went to see our landlady and when my supervisor told her it was my birthday, she gave me a silk scarf as a present. It touched me so much. All of the people here are so generous and go completely out of their way to make us all feel at home. Later, Scott and Valerie took us to a nice restaurant and surprised me with a birthday cake that Valerie and Charlotte had made. It was a wonderful way to celebrate away from home. Let's backtrack one night:
On the 2nd, some our Thai students, Aoy, Art, and Ninja (yes, Ninja) invited us to see Narnia in Thai. It was amazing- I'd seen it in English twice and felt so cool that I could keep up with the plot (although I only understood about three words.) After, they helped us get home and went with us to eat. We had some brief but good conversations about Buddhism and their beliefs.
Yesterday, we were sent out alone. It was slightly scary, but we made it. We walked down about a block and found a bakery, then caught the songtow (PT) to the somthi (mall) to buy groceries. Which came to 1,124 dollars. Okay, baht. Which is cheap :)
Today we went back to the university to sign students up for English classes that we will start teaching next week. (So far we have almost 100 interested students. yay!) It's exciting- they are friendly and so adorable. I love saying sawatdeekha and bowing. The students yesterday bought us food and snacks just to try, and random strangers will give us fruit. The lady who does our laundry is so nice and well, it seems everyone in this town knows who we are and where we live (which is a little creepy, but we don't feel threatened.) The people look at us like we are celebrities, which can be unnerving, but I think that not many of them have seen white people in person before.
God is amazing and I love, love, LOVE the girls on my team. They are so cool and laid back and up for anything. Rachel ate congealed blood (yes, I have it on video! ew) Danette and Beth allowed a lady at our favorite restaurant (we call it starbaht for its excellent iced coffee) to fix her favorite thing on the menu. Thai food has mostly agreed with me, although I am getting a little tired of rice.
Please continue to pray for us. Tomorrow we have the day free to explore the city a little and in the evening we will be having some students over to eat and play games or whatever they want to do. On Sunday we will be leading an English Bible study followed by Thai church. Monday, our classes at the new campus start. I still feel slightly overwhelmed and in over my head, but the Lord is so faithful and I am not alone.
Here are some of the students we have met so far (I'm giving you their nicknames because their names are so hard to say- and spell :)
Pat (G), Art (B), Art(II) (B) Aoy (G), Nick (B), Ninja (B), Mimi (G), Dream (G), Puy (G), Tiw (B), and Nuup (B).
Pray that these students will see Jesus so brightly in us that they will want to know about Him.
One last note:
We have been singing and praying a song over the city. It was written in Bangkok spur of the moment. Chris Tomlin covers it. It's called God of This City. Here are the lyrics. Pray is over where you are and where we are. Love y'all.
You're the God of this city
You're the King of these people
You're the Lord of this nation
For there is no one like our God
There is no one like our God
Greater things have yet to come
Greater things are still to be done
In this city
You're the Lord of Creation
The Creator of all things
You're the King above all Kings
You're the strength in our weakness
You're the love to the broken
You're the joy in the sadness
Greater things have yet to come
Greater things are still to be done
In MAHASARAKHAM!
Where glory shines from hearts alive
With praise for you and love for you
In this city
Greater things have yet to come
Greater things are still to be done
In this city
Greater things are still to come
And greater things are still to be done here
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Here I Am!
Thai me up!
God has already done amazing things in two days. There is so much to tell you, but I will keep it short. I am writing this from an internet cafe three doors down from our apartment. Our apartment is four stories high with a roof that overlooks the city. It is so cute! The downside is that there is no air conditioning, and it is hot hot hot!! The intense heat awoke myself and the two girl (Danette & Rachel) with whom I share a room at 1 a.m. This, however, provided us the opportunity to eat ritz crackers and laugh and tell stories by flashlight. We finally crashed again around 3 a.m. We are so jet-lagged!!
The toilets are interesting to figure out, and I must confess, I miss American bathroooms. I won't go into the gory details, but let's just say, the toilets don't exactly flush in our house... :)
One story I must share! On the ten hour airplane flight from San Francisco into Japan Danette and I sat next to a Japanese student who was studying English in San Diego. Before the plane even took off, the Lord gave us the opportunity to share the gospel with this student. We asked him who he thought God was, and he admitted he had no concept. After sharing about the Bible, God and Jesus, salvation, Heaven and Hell, we asked him what he thought. He was amazed- no one had ever shared this with him before. And it made sense to him. Pray for him and that he will get a Bible in Japanese and find a church so that he may learn about
Jesus and join us in Heaven.
In the two days we have been here, I have already experienced so much.
I am now fluent in Thai. Or, I wish I was. There are five tones, each which changes the meaning of one single word. I can say "thank you,"(kop khun kha) "hello & goodbye"(sa wat dee kha) "excuse me/sorry" (katouet kha) and I can order my favorite dishes, which so far are gow payt guy (chicken fried rice), qweuy tuow (noodles & meatballs) and gow payt guung (shrimp fried rice.) and the cafe yen ban (blended mocha coffees) are up there with starbucks! I have eaten with chopsticks, shopped in the market, learned basic Thai money (31 baht per $) and showered in a room (yes, the showers are not separate from the bathrooms. It's all one big room - as Scott, our supervisor said, "the idea is to get the whole room as wet as possible.)
Today the Thai students gave us all nicknames. Mine is Ying Lek, which means "little girl." It's the most literal translation they could find for my real name which is "virtuous maiden." So now I can say "chan choo ying lek kha." and also "sookong"- which means shopping. Obviously the most important word! ;-)
Well I love you guys and will update whenever I can. Keep praying for us and for our students. I give you the "wai" and say "sa wat dee kha!!"
*flush a toilet in my honor* :)
God has already done amazing things in two days. There is so much to tell you, but I will keep it short. I am writing this from an internet cafe three doors down from our apartment. Our apartment is four stories high with a roof that overlooks the city. It is so cute! The downside is that there is no air conditioning, and it is hot hot hot!! The intense heat awoke myself and the two girl (Danette & Rachel) with whom I share a room at 1 a.m. This, however, provided us the opportunity to eat ritz crackers and laugh and tell stories by flashlight. We finally crashed again around 3 a.m. We are so jet-lagged!!
The toilets are interesting to figure out, and I must confess, I miss American bathroooms. I won't go into the gory details, but let's just say, the toilets don't exactly flush in our house... :)
One story I must share! On the ten hour airplane flight from San Francisco into Japan Danette and I sat next to a Japanese student who was studying English in San Diego. Before the plane even took off, the Lord gave us the opportunity to share the gospel with this student. We asked him who he thought God was, and he admitted he had no concept. After sharing about the Bible, God and Jesus, salvation, Heaven and Hell, we asked him what he thought. He was amazed- no one had ever shared this with him before. And it made sense to him. Pray for him and that he will get a Bible in Japanese and find a church so that he may learn about
Jesus and join us in Heaven.
In the two days we have been here, I have already experienced so much.
I am now fluent in Thai. Or, I wish I was. There are five tones, each which changes the meaning of one single word. I can say "thank you,"(kop khun kha) "hello & goodbye"(sa wat dee kha) "excuse me/sorry" (katouet kha) and I can order my favorite dishes, which so far are gow payt guy (chicken fried rice), qweuy tuow (noodles & meatballs) and gow payt guung (shrimp fried rice.) and the cafe yen ban (blended mocha coffees) are up there with starbucks! I have eaten with chopsticks, shopped in the market, learned basic Thai money (31 baht per $) and showered in a room (yes, the showers are not separate from the bathrooms. It's all one big room - as Scott, our supervisor said, "the idea is to get the whole room as wet as possible.)
Today the Thai students gave us all nicknames. Mine is Ying Lek, which means "little girl." It's the most literal translation they could find for my real name which is "virtuous maiden." So now I can say "chan choo ying lek kha." and also "sookong"- which means shopping. Obviously the most important word! ;-)
Well I love you guys and will update whenever I can. Keep praying for us and for our students. I give you the "wai" and say "sa wat dee kha!!"
*flush a toilet in my honor* :)
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