Happy Birthday Hijack!!!

Happy Birthday Brittany!

Update: Thanks all for participating. Even though we are back to our regular programming, feel free to wish Brittany a happy birthday :) Thanks all for making her birthday special! -cb

Brittany, your blog has been hijacked because all your friends wanted to wish you a happy birthday! And we wanted to celebrate you the best we knew how! We hope that your birthday is a wonderful one and that you feel blessed. We all wish we could celebrate with you this special day, this is the easiest way we can!

To all who read this blog, please post a birthday wish for Brittany. You do NOT need to register or signup. Simply enter info in the comment area and select the Name/URL under the identity and put your name in there.

-CB

May Saap, May Khaw Jai

The title of this blog is the Thai phrase for "I don't know, I don't understand." This is a phrase I use often when my children come running up to me and blurt out sentences of Thai that they expect me to understand and often I give up and just say "may sap" or "may khaw jai." They just laugh and then blurt a million more Thai words at me. Sometimes I tell them that I know what they are saying so they don't say anything about me but I really don't think I have them fooled though. haha.

The title of the blog is significant because these have been phrases that have been going through my head this past week or so when new developments started with the school. There are truly so many details involved that I don't know all of them (I don't need to know them nor am I sure I want to try to comprehend it all).

The short story is that there was/is persecution and disagreement going on in the area where we have our school about us conducting our school in this government building (that was abandoned for 7 years before the goverment told us we could fix it up and use it for this year until we can find a different place). We've been told that it's possible that we'll have to leave the school building we are currently in and teach at the place where our kids are registered at. This change was to be made ASAP as in TOMORROW. This place is a small building and doesn't have room for us and so we would need to conduct our 1st-6th grade classes on a concrete pavillion all day every day. At first I counted this as the "bad" news but then I figured - who am I to decide what's "bad." Maybe it's just God's will and something bigger and better will come along. I don't know. May saap. This past week, we have been praying diligently about the situation and just asking God to do what would be best for these children that we teach. They are just now getting into the swing of things and getting used to the consistency and schedule of our day. It breaks our hearts to have to uproot them again but, "may saap" . . . I don't know what's best for them but God does. I have gone through my times of being angry with the community and their lack of compassion for the abandoned children and the orphans . . . I don't understand "may khaw jai."

Basically, the long and the short of it is that it would be a miracle from God if we were able to work it out so we could stay in the current building we are in for the rest of the year. We have sought God so much on this and truly I am at peace with wherever He leads, knowing that He is in control. However, I don't want to be apathetic about the situation and have still kept my passion for the children and for glorifying Him through it all.

PRAISE GOD. Today, we found out that we may be getting a miracle after all. As of now, it looks like God is going to keep us in our current building. It's hard to explain all the details, but basically, someone came out of the woodwork in the past few days and is helping us and those originally trying to kick us out of the building are stepping back it seems. Seriously, so amazing! I still feel like "may saap, may khaw jai" because there are so many details and so many things that are not logical about the way things work here in Thailand. However, I know that God is in charge and is working through this school. I know that God is my rock and my foundation. I don't always understand the way He works, but that's not for me to understand.

A verse that I have clung to since I heard it at church yesterday is 1 Corinthians 3:9-13:
For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, God's building. By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man's work.

One of the songs that me and my roommates blast every time we are driving to and from any where, is "My Savior My God" by Aaron Shust. The lyrics have stuck out to us even more the past week as we knew that we were facing a serious situation regarding our school and our students and our lives here in Thailand. Again, "may saap, may khaw jai" . . . but "khop khun pra chow" . . . Thank you, Lord!

Lyrics to My Savior My God :

I am not skilled to understand
What God has willed, what God has planned
I only know at His right hand
Stands one who is my Savior
I take Him at His word and deed
Christ died to save me; this I read
And in my heart I find a need
Of Him to be my savior

That He would leave His place on high
And come for sinful man to die
You count it strange, so once did I
Before I knew my Savior

My Savior loves,
My Savior lives
My Savior's always there for me
My God: He was, my God; He is
My God is always gonna be

Yes, living, dying, let me bring
My strength, my solace from this spring;
That He who lives to be my King
Once died to be my Savior

That He would leave
His place on high
And come for sinful man to die
You count it strange, so once did I
Before I knew my Savior

My Savior loves,
My Savior lives
My Savior loves,
My Savior lives

Thoughts

- This is my 3rd blog post today but with limited interent access, I have to take advantage when I can :-)

- I walked into my room yesterday and caught a lizard sleeping in my bed . . . I tried to explain it’s welcome to stay on the walls but isn’t allowed to be in my sheets but it ran away before I could make sure it understood my wishes.

- I didn’t expect this country to be so hot. Can someone check the thermostat fo reelz?

- I hate mosquitoes.

- I didn’t expect to have a student who has pig tails and the sweetest smile and the best arm I’ve seen on a Thai girl as she chucked a pencil sharpner at the head of a boy in front of her. I didn’t expect my reactions to be 1. laughter (on the inside of course!) 2. wondering if Thailand has an Olympic softball team and 3. oh, that’s not acceptable behavior. I guess my reactions will be altered appropriately as I become a more mature teacher. Hehe

- I didn’t expect to enjoy taking daily showers without a hot water heater . . . I guess this coincides with the not expecting this country to be so hot comment.

- I hate red ants.

- I wasn’t expecting my student to pull out a packet of spices that you put in Thai Roman Noodle soup when I asked what he was hiding. Turns out it’s his idea of a treat . . . pours a bit in his hand and licks it up. Hmmm, I decided not to discipline him . . . if he wants to burn his tongue with spices, that’s his choice. LOL.

- When we drive down the road, I’m not surprised anymore to see an elephant being led alongside a main road

- I love praying and singing with the Thai teachers every morning before school.

- I hate mosquitoes and red ants.

- I love these children whom God has surrounded me with. This doesn’t mean they don’t test my patience daily . . . it just means I am developing a deep love that comes with forgiveness, discipline and adoration for these kids.

More random thoughts to come!

The Faces of Love

a little girl that we ride to school and back with each day.
My new student

The child that hugs everyone all the time. He calls himself a monkey which he is because he climbs all over me.

Playing the "Don't Blink" game

playing badmitten. She is also a monkey. She's a climber.

such a sweet child.

My student who has only one volume (and I'll give you a hint, it's not quiet)

so sweet. Also in my class.

the child who had the spices in his pocket as a snack (see above posting).

Daniel, Gordon and Emily (all my co-teachers). Gordon refuses to smile in photos but I let it slide because he loves his students with all his heart.

Leonie and Kari - helpers for the summer - - - HUGE blessings!

one of my students who LOVES football.

The twins. The problem is that they are impossible to tell apart. Today, they are actally not wearing the EXACT same shirt. If I ever have twins, for the teachers' sanity, I promise not to dress my children identically. Luckily, Emily is the one who has to tell them apart, lol. The principal suggested we ask the kid who isn't in trouble what his name is to get an honest answer, lol.

I encourage students to stick out their tongues at me, is that wrong?

1st and 2nd grade girls. Adorable.

Good bye Kalena and Tessa. I will miss you!

Seriously, this time, I really am going to miss you!

Simplicity

We have been going to a church in Chiang Mai for the last month and love it. The church is called Abundant Grace and it is a bilingual church. Every song is sang 2x, first in English and second in Thai. The announcements are done in Thai and translated in English. The sermon is given in English by the pastor (I am told he’s from Singapore) and is translated into Thai by the pastor’s wife (who is Thai). A majority of the church body is made up of Thai people, maybe 20% of the church is foreigners. The pastor is very whitty and makes a lot of jokes which I enjoy, but most of all, this is a church with a passion for sharing Christ. Another thing that I love about the church is that the children’s home that ½ of our children from the school live, attend Abundant Grace also and seeing them before and after church is such a joy. Love those kids. Honestly, they each own a piece of my heart (which is okay since I know that God wants me to feel that way).

Yesterday's sermon really stuck with me and I decided to share a bit of it.

The title was “The Power of Simplicity.”

The pastor shared that his son came to him and asked 4 questions this week:

Question 1: “Dad, how do you get a giraffe into a refrigerator?” His dad's amuzed and confused response: “ummmm, cut it into 1,000 pieces?” His son’s response: “NO dad, you open the refrigerator, put the giraffe in and close the refrigerator.”

Question 2: “Try this one, Dad, how do you get an elephant into a refrigerator?” The pastor is getting smarter and says “open the refrigerator, put in the elephant and close the refrigerator.” The son’s response: “NO dad, first you have to open the refrigerator, take out the giraffe and then put the elepahant in and close the refrigerator.”

Question 3: “Dad, there is an animal conference in the jungle and EVERY animal comes from all over. Which animal doesn’t make it?” The pastor’s response is an exhausted “how am I supposed to know that?” The son responds “dad, I told you that you put the elephant in the refrigerator, so it’s obviously the elephant!”

Question 4: “You come to a river and it’s a river known to be full of crocodiles. How do you make it across without being eaten by the crocodiles?” The pastor is tired of saying I don’t know but mutters an“I don’t know.” The son responds: “all the animals are at the conference, so you just swim across!”

I imagine in his own way the son gave his dad a "DUH" sort of response and went back to playing. :-)

The moral of the story? Kids think simply. As we get older, we tend to complicate things. A lot of times, we complicate things unnecessarily.

The more simple we become, the more effective we become. Extra baggage always costs you something extra (just like going to the airport and having too much baggage like I did on my way to Thailand, hehe). It’s better to walk in the power of simplicity.

Simplicity allows us to:
focus better
be more creative
produce greater and lasting results
eliminate unnecessary stress.

Moving here has “simplified” my life in some ways where I have learned to live more simply. However, my schedule is not simple at times. I am reminded to try not to over complicate things and keep them in their most simple, purest form. Being surrounded by kids forces me to do this as I have to keep things simple when I try to teach. However, I find freedom in the simplicity of things. I feel more creative and more driven when I step back, de-clutter my thoughts and focus on what God has me doing right now and what my purpose is: to show Christ to these children.

I know that simplicity can be a simple thought but it’s a thought that is often forgotten and covered in cobwebs and seems to become complicated.

I hope that this inspires you to take a moment to simplify your life :-).