Natural Beauty
On Sunday, our team met at Rama IX Park for a worship time. Rama IX is a beautiful park; after the service I took random pictures of the beauty found there (one picture includes 2 beautiful little girls I know:).
« June 2007 | Main | August 2007 »
July 31, 2007
Auntie Ann's and McDonald's
I find it intriguing that even Auntie Anne's is found everywhere in Bangkok. Somehow, it makes me feel connected to my Mennonite roots.:) I bet they don't have a pretzel dog in the US, though, do they? Correct me if I'm wrong.
And McDonald's has a dessert only corner. It's hard to see, but there is a picture of a corn pie in between all the sundaes. I haven't been brave enough to try one of those yet; I prefer their sundaes.:)
July 28, 2007
Tears of...???
Tonight I have no pictures. Just a precious moment to write about. After doing a visa run to Cambodia today, I arrived home at 8:30, tired, hungry and ready to relax. Then I remembered that I had talked to my elderly neighbor lady about going with her on Sunday to visit her husband, who has been in the hospital over 20 days. These dear people have been in many ways like grandparents to me. They have often invited me to stop by and have started serving me drinks from their little store free of charge.
So, back in my apartment, I looked out my window to see if the little table in front of the store was still filled with people. Yes, there were quite a few people there. So I tracked back down the 5 pairs of stairs from my fifth floor apartment and walked across the street.
I recognized some of the people but not all of them, but they warmly welcomed me in. No sooner had I sat down than my "grandma" motioned me to the back of the store, where there was a makeshift bed with her husband curled up and groaning. He had come home!
She leaned over her husband to tell him I had come to visit, and soon more family members were called back to the bed to turn "grandpa" on his back so he could see me. He grabbed my hand and clung to it, feebly attempting to talk, a smile on his face. I didn't understand a word of it, except for the word "ICU".
His feet were swollen, his stomach was bloated, his eyes were closed, and I couldn't help but wonder if they had brought him home to spend his final days there. I felt compelled to ask if I could pray to Jesus for him, and he smiled and began talking again. As he talked, I began to wonder if he was already a Christian, so I asked his grandson standing nearby. Sure enough, his grandson said yes, his grandparents are Christian, though the rest of the family are Buddhist.
Wow, what joy! What relief! I had found myself desperately wanting to share the Good News with him but not knowing exactly how to approach it because of the language barrier. But God already had that under control. Anyway, the rest of the family moved out to the front in order to (I am guessing) give me privacy in praying for this dear man. I told him I would pray in English; I am a stumbling sort of pray-er even in English, so I thought attempting to pray in Thai would be over the top.:)
And I could feel this man relaxing! He couldn't have understood much of what I said, but I believe the Holy Spirit filled in the gaps. Wow, what an experience! I don't have the words to explain it, but I was deeply moved. I came home and sobbed tears of--joy?--relief?--empathy? Or maybe simply being female is enough.:)
I am hoping to return tomorrow afternoon for a visit; I am praying that this time of interaction might be one means of sharing the light and love of Jesus with others in this sweet, gentle family.
July 21, 2007
Catch Up #8 (Final Catch Up!!)
Wednesday was a day to relax, then debrief in the afternoon. We ladies managed to find time for a Thai massage that day. The place we went to was very nice; we probably paid a bit for atmosphere, and it was still only 300 baht per hour. That's not even $10! Sometimes I think I should go for a monthly massage here as a substitute for my former monthly chiropractic visits in the US. It would only be a third as much money to do the massages.:)
After we returned from our massages, the whole team met for debriefing followed by a time of worship in singing. I love those times.
After relaxing at Tom and Candice's place till sometime after supper, it was time to head for home. But first we got a prayer team picture.
The prayer team left for the airport at 5:00 the next morning. I heard through the grapevine they got home safely. But I have not yet heard that from Twila.:) Maybe we wore her out?!:) Highly doubtful.
Now I need to get back into discerning where to plug in. Currently I am able to help Trish at World Concern. She is compiling a data base for their small library and is organizing/labelling the books. So I have started helping her with that. It is tedious work, but with two people it can be fun.
I will also start up with a language tutor next week. Kruu Yu, my teacher, is a former teacher at the language school where I went fulltime, so she is quite familiar with the curriculum there. She will adapt that curriculum to give me extra practice and hopefully move me on to module 6, which I never got to take.
I would much appreciate your prayers as you think of me regarding my future in Thailand.
Catch Up #7
To finish the day on Tuesday, we visited the site of the coffee shop that Joe will be running in connection with Hemisphere Coffee Roasters (https://www.hemispherecoffeeroasters.com/). By the way, I believe there is a type of coffee produced by this company called "Menno Blend".:)
At any rate, we prayed on site for the new business and Joe's involvement, then went further down the road to Bang Bo, where we were given boat rides on two very fast boats. It was a lot of fun. The owners of the boats looked at our group and said if we were Thai, they could probably fit us all on one boat, but as farang, our bodies were too big.:)
The geese in the picture below are there to "feed the fish". Apparently fish eat goose droppings. Then we eat fish. Some food cycle, huh?:)
Catch Up #6 (Assumption University)
On Tuesday we took the prayer team to ABAC (Assumption University), where Ben, a former team member, is a student. He and Joe are involved in campus ministry there.
Ben's picture appeared on a poster advertising the school.:)
The campus was BEAUTIFUL! It felt more like a well-kept garden than a college.
Interesting note: college students in Thailand must wear uniforms.:)
Catch Up #5 (Asia Cup)
Monday our teams visited Trish at her apartment, where she gave a presentation about human trafficking in Asia. After spending time praying, we then visited Rahab Ministries (http://www.rahabministriesthailand.org/), where Trish is a volunteer. Wow, what an eye opener, hearing about a life that is foreign to all of us.
From there we went to S & P, a nice Thai restaurant.
From there we did some souvenir shopping a MBK, a large mall with 6th floor being more of a bazaar type area where one can bargain for prices. It's nice to have a place with a market feel in air conditioned comfort.:)
Tuesday evening, 4 of us headed for the stadium at Ramkamheng University, where the Asia Cup was taking place. It happened to be a big game, too, between Australia and Thailand. I am not much of a sports fan, but it was not difficult to get caught up in the spirit of the evening.
Trish convinced me to wear my yellow shirt to represent Thailand, and I'm glad I did. Many other Thais were wearing their yellow shirts as well. The awkward thing was that the Australian team color was yellow, and the Thai team was wearing red. Go figure....
Unfortunately, Thailand lost quite badly (0-4), so we were disappointed by that. But it was a fun experience.
Catch Up #4 (Safari World)
One Saturday Trish and I took Tom and Candice's girls to Safari World while the prayer team went other places. We had a really fun day, if long, and the girls behaved very well. They are like adopted nieces. The day also gave us a new respect for parenting.:)
Catch Up #3 (Fun Sign)
This will be short--just another sign I saw on the MRT subway. I wonder if US citizens would like signs like this?
The message is good--"Please offer the seat to those in need"
Catch Up #2 (Red Cross Snake Farm)
One day Twila and I visited the Thai Red Cross center, where they have a snake farm to secure venom for use in antiserum in snake-bite victims. (It is also a facility that gives immunizations, one of the reasons I wanted to go. I also hoped they might need a volunteer, but they didn't seem to see a need.)
At any rate, the pictures I have are of the snake show they hold twice a day. I found it to be most informative, certainly worth the 70 baht ($2) entrance fee.
Milking a snakes for its venom--should not be done more than every two weeks they say
That's my friend Twila!:)
A lady in line with me asked to hold the snake together with me--sure, why not? I got the head end.:)
Catch Up #1
Oh my, I have gotten behind in my blogging! Twila and the prayer team left early Thursday morning, and now I need to fill you in on more of the things we did!:)
I want to say, though, that it has been a real blessing to have friends from home visit and experience life with us in Thailand and to spend time praying for us and our Thai friends.
Soooo....back to events after the floating market/rose garden. Actually, the first activity happened before floating market day. Our team had a July 4 picnic at Tom and Candice's house. We tried to make the food American style, including grilled chicken, sausage, and hotdogs for meat; potato salad; and apple pie and ice cream for dessert. Yummmm! And we played table games. But no fireworks. This is the first in several years that I missed Red, White and Boom in Columbus. Note the red shirts in the first picture--entirely unplanned!
One Sunday evening Trish, Twila, and I met our friends Tawan and Yaaw at Pizza Hut. We had a great evening. We discovered how to make the most of a one-trip salad bar. You pile the bowl higher than seems humanly possible, then bring it back to the table and share it amongst your friends! After we saw our Thai friends do this, we looked around and saw many other Thais doing the same thing--a common practice here, apparently.:)
One Tuesday Twila and I made a trip with a group of volunteers to an orphanage where they had a room full of 115 children with cerebral palsy and other disabilities. Since the time is meant to be one-on-one, and we had only 5 volunteers, only 5 of those 115 children had the opportunity to leave their beds for the play room with us.
We basically held and played with them, then fed them lunch and returned them to their beds. Visiting this orphanage is a ministry I have considered, but it is only one day a week and travel time to get there and back would be almost double the amount of time we spend with the children, so I am not sure....
On the way home from the orphanage, Rachel, a volunteer from England, invited us to lunch at a French cafe, where we had a lot of fun talking together.
Well, that takes me up to Safari World day, which will be my next entry.:)
July 12, 2007
Floating Market and Rose Garden
Last Saturday Trish, Michelle, Twila and I took a tour of a floating market and rose garden about an hour and a half's drive out of Bangkok. It was a really good day. Our tour guide added a few extra stops along the way, including a snake show, a wood carving factory, and a gem store.
Since I had already been to the floating market earlier, I wasn't quite as trigger happy with my camera this time around.:) But here are two pictures. Sorry, Twila, this is the only shot I had of you three:)
From the floating market we went to to the wood carving factory. Wow, AMAZING hand carved pictures in furniture! If I remember correctly, our guide told us that carvings can take up to 8 months to complete.
Oh yes, we witnessed a cobra show somewhere in there. I think it was one of the most nerve-wracking shows I have ever seen. I'm not so sure I would watch it again.
After lunch we headed to the Rose Garden where we took a few minutes to watch some Thai silk being made, beginning with unraveling the thread from coccoons.
The highlight of the day for all of us was the traditional Thai cultural show that we watched before heading home. Unfortunately, the stage was a bit dark for taking pictures, but the shot below shows one the fun dances performed.
Street Vendors
Twila and I have been making our rounds among my favorite street vendors and basically making a scene by asking to take pictures. Thais are usually very gracious about having their picture taken, but it certainly doesn't go unnoticed by other Thais in the area who laugh and love to watch.
The next two pictures are of Somchai and Sirinuch, brother and sister who sell bamee giaw, a noodle dish that I love.
Another stop we made was at the little stand of the young couple who make pad thai. I hope to learn their names in the near future; they are a bit more reserved but polite. The husband didn't seem to want to be on the picture, so his beautiful wife makes up for it with her smile. I might add that for a long time I was charged 25 baht for a meal at their stand; then one day, the man told me the price was only 20 baht. Maybe they decided that being a regular gave me the privilege of getting the regular charge???:)
The next picture is of Bpaa Dang, the lady across the street who makes somtam, the popular Thai papaya salad. I discovered she is the mother of my friend Gai, who runs a restaurant down the street and that her helper is the younger sister of the brother-sister team shown in the first two pictures. Oh my, it's a small world here in Thailand too!
One evening Twila and I visited Gai's restaurant for supper, and Twila wanted a picture of a family on a motorcyle, so Gai borrowed the neighbor's motorcyle and called her husband to take it into the parking lot across the road, where they proceeded to get on the bike with their little 15-month-old daughter to pose for Twila's picture (not quite what she had in mind, but oh well....:).
We are having a good time; now the prayer team from Twila's church is here, so there is a schedule to follow for that. More another day!
July 06, 2007
Chiang Mai Part II
On my previous entry I didn't even get through the first tour. I will try to condense the rest of our time--somewhat.:) After the bamboo raft ride we went to a monkey center where several monkeys put on a half-hour show. One monkey gave us all little kisses on the cheek. Another monkey did pushups, and yet another lifted weights.
And one monkey stoles someone's soda and drank the rest of it while riding a bicycle.:) Cute!
From the monkey show we traveled on to the orchid and butterfly farm. Beautiful!
When we were dropped off back at the hotel, we asked to have our picture taken with Bee, our guide, who works for a company called SAM, http://samassist.com/New%20System/index.asp . This company is the one who did all the hotel reservations for our Southeast Asia Anabaptist Retreat back in April. I've been quite impressed with their services. And Bee was a great tour guide, lots of fun.
The next day we took a trip to Doi Inthanon National Park, where we were to see some waterfalls and also visit the highest peak in Thailand, 2,565 meters above sea level. The day turned out to be a foggy, rainy, chilly day, but we had so much fun in spite of the weather. We had to laugh when we reached the top, normally having a spectacular (I assume) view. All we could see was fog upon more fog.
The waterfalls were very beautiful, though the pictures didn't turn out so very well due to the rain and fog.
After our first waterfall, we journeyed to a small Karen village. The Karen group is one of the various hill tribes in the area. Our guide told us that most of the hill tribes are Christian. The village had one building where we could watch women weaving cotton into scarves, tablecloths, and bedspreads. Beautiful!
In the village I also found a very friendly kitty that I wanted to take home with me. I wish you could see the tail better; it is only a 2/3 tail or so. Many cats in Thailand have this somewhat shortened tail--looks incomplete to me. Supposedly it is genetic.
We went on our way to the next waterfall.
The next place we visited was a garden type area with two pagodas, one built in honor of the king and one built in honor of the queen. The pictures below are of the queen's pagoda. Notice the fog.:)
Leaving the pagodas, we drove on to a few roadside stands where Karen people were selling mostly dried fruit and silver jewelry. Since they offered us samples of various fruits, I felt a bit obligated to buy something. I am not a lover of dried fruit, but I bought a bag of dried mango, which I ended up giving to Twila. Those of you who know her must ask her what she did with the mangos.:)
We ate lunch at a nearby restaurant and then headed for our final destination, the highest point of the mountain. By that time it was raining quite heavily, but everyone was a good sport about it. Below is a picture of the group, including our tour guide and a young couple from Holland, complete with umbrellas!
And last, but not least. Or maybe it is least! I'll let you decipher the sign we saw on our way out of the park. If you can't figure out its message, email me.:)
July 03, 2007
Elephants and more....
OH my, too much has happened to put it all in one blog, so this might have to come in installments.:) We spent 4 days in Chiang Mai. Once again, thanks to some generous folks we were able to have a really nice vacation. The country is so beautiful up north, a refreshing break from life down south in the big city.
Our first tour was to an elephant camp. We had the opportunity to ride various elephants in various ways, as you will see in the pictures below. We also saw them get baths in the river, after which they put on a show for us. Then we "boarded" the elephants and took a 1 1/2 hour trek through the countryside, first crossing the river in which the elephants had taken their baths.
After we dismounted our elephants, we were taken on a short oxcart ride.
Following the oxcart ride we were given Vietnamese hats to wear as we floated on bamboo rafts down the river. When the two guys controlling the raft discovered I could at least attempt to speak Thai, they began jabbering nonstop, asking questions and hamming it up. It was a really fun ride.
That's all for now. Be looking for installment 2!:)