I was listening to this song by Tenth Avenue North. The lyrics really resonated with me. It is a good example of a conversation between us and God. No matter who we are (whatever religion, age, status, etc.), we all are seeking for something and have questions. We long for love, an unconditional love that will never fail us. The "You" in this song is God. God who sent his son to die for us. Most people don't realize who this "You" is that they are searching for, they just know there's something more out there.
In this song, this is our (as humans) part of the conversation:
I know I need You
I need to love You
I love to see You, but it's been so long
I long to feel You
I feel this need for You
And I need to hear You, is that so wrong?
Now You pull me near You
When we're close, I fear You
Still I'm afraid to tell You, all that I've done
Are You done forgiving?
Oh can You look past my pretending?
Lord, I'm so tired of defending, what I've become
What have I become?
This is my favorite part. This is what God's response to us is:
"My love is over. It's underneath.
It's inside. It's in between.
The times you doubt Me, when you can't feel.
The times that you question, 'Is this for real? '
The times you're broken.
The times that you mend.
The times that you hate Me, and the times that you bend.
Well, My love is over, it's underneath.
It's inside, it's in between.
These times you're healing, and when your heart breaks.
The times that you feel like you're falling from grace.
The times you're hurting.
The times that you heal.
The times you go hungry, and are tempted to steal.
The times of confusion, in chaos and pain.
I'm there in your sorrow, under the weight of your shame.
I'm there through your heartache.
I'm there in the storm.
My love I will keep you, by My power alone.
I don't care where you fall, where you have been.
I'll never forsake you, My love never ends.
It never ends."
These lyrics remind me of God's unconditional love for us. No matter where we are at. No matter where we have been. Anything, everything, there are no conditions. His love is pure and true. This song just really spoke to my heart.
I pray that I am reminded of His love for me daily so that I can in turn show it to others and point them to the source of this unconditional love.
5.29.2010
วันวิสาขบูชา
We had Friday off for a Buddhist holiday called Visakabucha Day which celebrates the birth, the enlightenment and death of Buddah . Thursday night, our Thai friend asked us if we wanted to go see a yearly tradition of thousands and thousands of people walking the streets straight up a windy mountain to a large temple called Doi Suthep. Though we are not Buddhist, we thought it would be interesting to observe - to see first hand a cultural as well as Buddhist tradition. So, we joined thousands of people. We stuck out like sore thumbs because we were some of the only foreigners. I am so thankful to have a very culturally wise Thai friend who always looks out for us and is like our body guard :0). (note - she is the itty bitty one between Emily and me but if it came down to it, I would put money on her over anyone in a fight ;).
We decided not to walk the 10K road all the way to the temple, but go up a ways and just sit on the guard rail to observe. Watch person after person walk up in the dark. Watch groups and groups of college students wearing matching shirts chant their way up the hill. Watch monks walk by in their traditional orange robes. Watch trucks carrying ornamented Buddha Idols like floats. Just watch and listen. Hearing the cheers of the students. Hear the chants of the monks over the loud speakers.
During this time, I became thankful for this opportunity. I was so out of my element and when I was feeling uncomfortable, I realized, that's where God wanted me to be. He wants me to not be comfortable. When I'm too comfortable, I have a narrow focus and am not able to really open my eyes to the things around me. He wants me to see new things. He wants me to watch and listen and allow myself to be reminded of why He called me here. It was a good time to be reminded of the fact that I want God to break my heart for what breaks His. Though I don't always feel comfortable in this culture, I feel greatful to be here. I am thankful to be learning something new everyday and for this specific opportunity to grow and to serve.
5.26.2010
And the Winner is . . .
Patti! :0)
Answer:
Amy - Elephant
Me- Hello Kitty
Emily - Smiling Heart
If i wasn't there when Amy ordered Elephant, I wouldn't have been able to guess . . . close up or far away - it didn't really look like an Elephant.
Thanks for having fun with me, everyone!
Answer:
Amy - Elephant
Me- Hello Kitty
Emily - Smiling Heart
If i wasn't there when Amy ordered Elephant, I wouldn't have been able to guess . . . close up or far away - it didn't really look like an Elephant.
Thanks for having fun with me, everyone!
5.24.2010
"Tell 'Em What We Have for Her, Johnny"
Okay, this blog post is interactive. A couple weeks ago, my roommates and I went to the market (the same day that our clutch went out on Venti - our 33-year-old car) and decided we were hungry for . . . yes, you guessed it, a pancake on a stick. It's like 100 degrees out, 50% humidity and we walk by the stand and want fresh off the griddle - pancakes. Not only are these pancakes less than $0.35, they come with whatever design you choose. I know, cool, right? Haha, I tease about this but it's just one of the funny cultural things I get used to while forgetting - this is different. S0, we walk around the market, waiting before we chomp into our pancakes, finish getting our fruits and veggies we need for the week - go and chase the pet elephant that someone is walking around the market and then go back to the "parking lot" and take a picture together with our pancake on a stick.
So, here is the interactive part. I want YOU to guess what design each of us has.
I'll be the first to say - they look a little different than I expected when we chose what design we wanted.
I will give you 6 options - you tell me who you think has which pancake and you WIN. (thus the, tell 'em what we have for her, Johnny.) Okay, there is no one named Johnny helping me out and there's no guarantee that the winner will be a woman . . . but I invision Johnny being the guy on all the game shows that explains how awesome the prize is (which will be revealed later). And, I'm pretty sure only women read my blog for the most part.
So, anyone who actually reads this - tell me what you think - - - and Johnny (aka, me) will tell you who is right and I will send you a little something from Thailand. K?
I know it's hard to see but that just makes it more challening. Make a comment on this post (it's okay that other's see your guess, because I won't tell you the answer right away until people have had a chance to cast their votes). Okay. Here we go - first 2 people to get it right win . . .
Left to right: Amy, Brittany, Emily
Options for pancake designs:
C. Smiling Heart
D. Elephant
E. Dog
F. Baby's Face
So, here is the interactive part. I want YOU to guess what design each of us has.
I'll be the first to say - they look a little different than I expected when we chose what design we wanted.
I will give you 6 options - you tell me who you think has which pancake and you WIN. (thus the, tell 'em what we have for her, Johnny.) Okay, there is no one named Johnny helping me out and there's no guarantee that the winner will be a woman . . . but I invision Johnny being the guy on all the game shows that explains how awesome the prize is (which will be revealed later). And, I'm pretty sure only women read my blog for the most part.
So, anyone who actually reads this - tell me what you think - - - and Johnny (aka, me) will tell you who is right and I will send you a little something from Thailand. K?
I know it's hard to see but that just makes it more challening. Make a comment on this post (it's okay that other's see your guess, because I won't tell you the answer right away until people have had a chance to cast their votes). Okay. Here we go - first 2 people to get it right win . . .
Left to right: Amy, Brittany, Emily
Options for pancake designs:
A. Hello Kitty
B. BunnyC. Smiling Heart
D. Elephant
E. Dog
F. Baby's Face
5.23.2010
What color does Jesus like best?
The first week of school doesn't go without stories.
On Tuesday this past week. I was doing an activity with my kiddos (my 2 students :0) and we were decorating a block letter of our first name to tell about us. I was showing them my example. I explained that I drew a cross on my letter because I love Jesus. I also drew a picture of my dog and cat and labeled the dog Keegan and the cat Izzy and the Colorado mountains and my family, etc. My student who doesn't speak very much English drew some of the same pictures that I had and then she also drew a dog and named it Keegan as well. Haha. It's just a hunch but I have a feeling that she doesn't have a dog named Keegan also. Maybe I should explain the assignment with more Thai words next time. My student who speaks English was doing the assignment and kindly looked up and said "teacher, what color does Jesus like best?" That moment, my heart melted. He too was drawing a cross and wanted to color it with Jesus' favorite color. I was quick on my feet and told him that God created all of the colors and so Jesus likes them all. He smiled and went on with his work. Apparently he decided Jesus likes red because that's what he chose to color his cross.
Later in the week, I was teaching them math symbols. when I brought up the division symbol, he smiles at me and says with excited eyes "teacher, can you teach me to divide?" This makes my heart happy.
My other student is so sweet. We can't talk a lot verbally right now, but we do a lot of smiling and I give her a lot of high-5's. One of my favorite things this week was reading "The Diary of a Worm." This is such a darling book. For Science, we're talking about dirt, plants, roots, etc. I decided to read them this book to talk about what lives in the dirt. My favorite line in this book is where the little worm boy says "my sister always looks in the mirror at herself. I tell her it doesn't matter how long she looks at herself, her face will always look like her rear-end." haha. I read this to my kiddos. Then, we went about with our lesson and then had like 5 minutes left in our lesson so I let them look through the book together. I was thinking they would just flip through to look at the pictures. Instead, my sweet student who speaks English took it upon himself to read the book out loud in English and then would look at my student who can't speak English and he would point at the picture and explain in Thai what was happening. It was the sweetest site.
Side note: I secretly think that they would make the cutest couple and would love to see them be best friends all through school and then get married when they are in their 20's and invite me to their wedding . . . but I'm getting a bit ahead of myself, maybe I should just focus on teaching and not match making. ;)
Here's a picture of them after we did an activity about the story of Noah's Ark.
I know that teaching means more than the students being able to recite the alphabet flawlessly or to be able to repeat their times tables in record time. I'm not concerned as much with them looking back at their 4th grade year and remember every lesson we ever did. My prayer is that they look back on their 4th grade year and remember they were loved, encouraged and accepted for who they are and for who Christ sees them as - his precious children.
Love them.
On Tuesday this past week. I was doing an activity with my kiddos (my 2 students :0) and we were decorating a block letter of our first name to tell about us. I was showing them my example. I explained that I drew a cross on my letter because I love Jesus. I also drew a picture of my dog and cat and labeled the dog Keegan and the cat Izzy and the Colorado mountains and my family, etc. My student who doesn't speak very much English drew some of the same pictures that I had and then she also drew a dog and named it Keegan as well. Haha. It's just a hunch but I have a feeling that she doesn't have a dog named Keegan also. Maybe I should explain the assignment with more Thai words next time. My student who speaks English was doing the assignment and kindly looked up and said "teacher, what color does Jesus like best?" That moment, my heart melted. He too was drawing a cross and wanted to color it with Jesus' favorite color. I was quick on my feet and told him that God created all of the colors and so Jesus likes them all. He smiled and went on with his work. Apparently he decided Jesus likes red because that's what he chose to color his cross.
Later in the week, I was teaching them math symbols. when I brought up the division symbol, he smiles at me and says with excited eyes "teacher, can you teach me to divide?" This makes my heart happy.
My other student is so sweet. We can't talk a lot verbally right now, but we do a lot of smiling and I give her a lot of high-5's. One of my favorite things this week was reading "The Diary of a Worm." This is such a darling book. For Science, we're talking about dirt, plants, roots, etc. I decided to read them this book to talk about what lives in the dirt. My favorite line in this book is where the little worm boy says "my sister always looks in the mirror at herself. I tell her it doesn't matter how long she looks at herself, her face will always look like her rear-end." haha. I read this to my kiddos. Then, we went about with our lesson and then had like 5 minutes left in our lesson so I let them look through the book together. I was thinking they would just flip through to look at the pictures. Instead, my sweet student who speaks English took it upon himself to read the book out loud in English and then would look at my student who can't speak English and he would point at the picture and explain in Thai what was happening. It was the sweetest site.
Side note: I secretly think that they would make the cutest couple and would love to see them be best friends all through school and then get married when they are in their 20's and invite me to their wedding . . . but I'm getting a bit ahead of myself, maybe I should just focus on teaching and not match making. ;)
Here's a picture of them after we did an activity about the story of Noah's Ark.
I know that teaching means more than the students being able to recite the alphabet flawlessly or to be able to repeat their times tables in record time. I'm not concerned as much with them looking back at their 4th grade year and remember every lesson we ever did. My prayer is that they look back on their 4th grade year and remember they were loved, encouraged and accepted for who they are and for who Christ sees them as - his precious children.
Love them.
5.22.2010
License = Miracle
Rewind back to December . . . reeewwrrrrrrrrrrrr (that’s the sound of the rewinder). I wrote in my journal that it would truly take a miracle to get the school licensed - there were just so many obstacles that we had to overcome (i.e. financial needs, bureaucratics in Thailand, hiring Christian staff when the country is 98% Buddhist, etc.).
We kept on going, and kept striving toward the goal. There were times when we went to God, asking if we were on the right track and if not - that he would show us clearly one way or the other. When we did that, it's like he put his foot on the gas and things kept going.
Now fast forward to February reeewrrrrrrrrrrrrrr (yes, same sound as rewinding). We had our meeting with the ministry of education and they were very encouraging. There were a few things that they asked us to do before they could give us our license (things such as installing a sink in the science room, build a garden in the back so we can teach kids about agriculture, put up some extra fencing and gates, etc.). Within a week, we had fulfilled every request they had.
Now - fast forward a bit more to March - reeeewrrrrrrrrrrr. It took some time to finally receive our license in hand (I happened to already be back in the States for my 6 weeks home). However, on March 16th we received our license (aka our miracle)!!! This is HUGE! There have been many years of planning and preparation for this before I even became involved. God has been so faithful and has kept us persevering. This is a huge milestone in bringing hope to the children of Thailand!
We kept on going, and kept striving toward the goal. There were times when we went to God, asking if we were on the right track and if not - that he would show us clearly one way or the other. When we did that, it's like he put his foot on the gas and things kept going.
Now fast forward to February reeewrrrrrrrrrrrrrr (yes, same sound as rewinding). We had our meeting with the ministry of education and they were very encouraging. There were a few things that they asked us to do before they could give us our license (things such as installing a sink in the science room, build a garden in the back so we can teach kids about agriculture, put up some extra fencing and gates, etc.). Within a week, we had fulfilled every request they had.
Now - fast forward a bit more to March - reeeewrrrrrrrrrrr. It took some time to finally receive our license in hand (I happened to already be back in the States for my 6 weeks home). However, on March 16th we received our license (aka our miracle)!!! This is HUGE! There have been many years of planning and preparation for this before I even became involved. God has been so faithful and has kept us persevering. This is a huge milestone in bringing hope to the children of Thailand!
Now fast forward one more time reeeewrrrrrrrrrrrr (yes, the last time you have to put up with that "noise" ;) to the week of May 17th. This past week was our first official week of school at “The School of Promise” in Hang Dong, Chiang Mai, Thailand!!!
We have 12 students enrolled total in grades 1,2,4 and 5. I know it doesn’t sound like many – but we’re starting something that no one else has in our area – a Christian school for Thai children. There are so many international schools but not many for the local community of Thailand where children can hear about Jesus. So, because it’s such a new concept, 12 students is a great way to start by building our credibility in the community. We are SO excited to have students!!! Here's a few pics from the first week.
This picture that I am is a picture of my 2 students :0).
Disclaimer:
I don't know exactly what constintutes a miracle. However, in my mind, us getting the license is a miracle. The reason I saw this is because I know that there is no possible way we could have gotten this far without God being our guide, giving us patience and perseverence when it just seemed easier to give up, and got us over every single obstacle that was staring us in the face threatening to shut the whole project down. So, "License = Miracle."
I don't know exactly what constintutes a miracle. However, in my mind, us getting the license is a miracle. The reason I saw this is because I know that there is no possible way we could have gotten this far without God being our guide, giving us patience and perseverence when it just seemed easier to give up, and got us over every single obstacle that was staring us in the face threatening to shut the whole project down. So, "License = Miracle."
5.19.2010
Political Situation in Thailand
I know I have been awful at keeping my blog updated. I wanted my latest blog to be about the fact that our school is up and running and licensed and that we have STUDENTS!!!
However, I think my update right now needs to be an update about what this country is currently enduring. Granted, I have limited knowledge, but will tell you what I know.
The last couple of months in Thailand have been filled with political unrest, protests and excallating conflict including fights, riots, fires and deaths. Most of this has been occurring in the heart of Bangkok - which is currently a war zone. Today, two of the main Red Shirt leaders surrendered to police and are currently in jail. A faction of the red shirts – the more militant part (the Black Shirts) – disagreed with this move and are now inciting violence around the country.
Currently, red shirts are demonstrating in several parts of Chiang Mai – especially in front of the governer’s mansion. Today, a curfew has been set on 29 of the provinces in Thailand where we are not allowed to leave our houses between 8pm and 6am. Most banks in Chiang Mai will be closed for the next 2 days and a lot of schools are closing. The main mall is also closed down.
All of this to say - please be in prayer for Thailand, my home right now. I am not in any immediate danger and I am thankful to have such great contact here in which I trust in order to stay apprised of the happenings. No one is sure if/how long this will continue or if it will continue to escalate. This situation is a delicate one with no clear answer.
Someone in a ministry in Bangkok who is right on the edge of the war zone wrote this today and said it better than I ever could.
"Please pray for minimal casualties. Pray for the children and elderly in the camps (gov and NGO's pleaded for them to be moved but many stayed) to be sent out before the soldiers get there. Pray for the rioters to be stopped from spreading fire in the city. Pray for the many children who have witnessed shootings and warfare. Pray for restraint among the young and many inexperienced soldiers that they will use their weapons only as absolutely necessary and not too quickly in fear. Pray for Taksin who funds much of this to be convicted and call off his part in keeping it going. Pray for the Prime Minister who must be under unbelievable stress and pressure both national and international to address this conflict. Pray for the families of those whose lives have been lost already. Pray that out of this people will not grow bitter but will begin to understand the importance of the law, of democracy, of human rights, and most of all that there is hope for their future in God. Pray that the church will rise to the occasion and be prepared to bring healing and hope to a very wounded nation and people."
Thank you in advance for your prayers!
However, I think my update right now needs to be an update about what this country is currently enduring. Granted, I have limited knowledge, but will tell you what I know.
The last couple of months in Thailand have been filled with political unrest, protests and excallating conflict including fights, riots, fires and deaths. Most of this has been occurring in the heart of Bangkok - which is currently a war zone. Today, two of the main Red Shirt leaders surrendered to police and are currently in jail. A faction of the red shirts – the more militant part (the Black Shirts) – disagreed with this move and are now inciting violence around the country.
Currently, red shirts are demonstrating in several parts of Chiang Mai – especially in front of the governer’s mansion. Today, a curfew has been set on 29 of the provinces in Thailand where we are not allowed to leave our houses between 8pm and 6am. Most banks in Chiang Mai will be closed for the next 2 days and a lot of schools are closing. The main mall is also closed down.
All of this to say - please be in prayer for Thailand, my home right now. I am not in any immediate danger and I am thankful to have such great contact here in which I trust in order to stay apprised of the happenings. No one is sure if/how long this will continue or if it will continue to escalate. This situation is a delicate one with no clear answer.
Someone in a ministry in Bangkok who is right on the edge of the war zone wrote this today and said it better than I ever could.
"Please pray for minimal casualties. Pray for the children and elderly in the camps (gov and NGO's pleaded for them to be moved but many stayed) to be sent out before the soldiers get there. Pray for the rioters to be stopped from spreading fire in the city. Pray for the many children who have witnessed shootings and warfare. Pray for restraint among the young and many inexperienced soldiers that they will use their weapons only as absolutely necessary and not too quickly in fear. Pray for Taksin who funds much of this to be convicted and call off his part in keeping it going. Pray for the Prime Minister who must be under unbelievable stress and pressure both national and international to address this conflict. Pray for the families of those whose lives have been lost already. Pray that out of this people will not grow bitter but will begin to understand the importance of the law, of democracy, of human rights, and most of all that there is hope for their future in God. Pray that the church will rise to the occasion and be prepared to bring healing and hope to a very wounded nation and people."
Thank you in advance for your prayers!
4.19.2010
Year 1 in Thailand
I know this is long overdue . . . so here is a video that I made for church to give a snapshot of what my last year looked like.
You may need to press play and then pause it so the light red line can catch up (buffer) before pressing play again. If you want to see it in full screen, click on the 4 arrows pointing to the corners that's on the bottom of the youtube bar.
I leave in less than a week (I'm in Colorado Springs now) to go back to Thailand for year 2. It's bitter sweet to go back because I'll miss everyone here but I'm excited to see what God has in store this year.
You may need to press play and then pause it so the light red line can catch up (buffer) before pressing play again. If you want to see it in full screen, click on the 4 arrows pointing to the corners that's on the bottom of the youtube bar.
I leave in less than a week (I'm in Colorado Springs now) to go back to Thailand for year 2. It's bitter sweet to go back because I'll miss everyone here but I'm excited to see what God has in store this year.
2.18.2010
Figure Everything Out
There is something in my that’s trying to understand everything. However, there is a lot about my life here in Thailand that I’ll never fully understand. I can’t figure it all out and honestly, the task is daunting.
On my mental checklist, I have “figure everything out.” Really, it just kind of makes me laugh. That’s like me expecting “world peace.” Not gonna happen, Britt. Nice idea, but unrealistic.
We have the rest of this week off since we had our inspection on Tuesday (will talk more about that in a later post). Today, I had gone to the government school and taught my 2 4th grade classes, picked up “fast food” on the way home (which entails going to the market, getting out of the car and walking to a little food stand that sells pork on a stick and sticky rice), and took a 2 and ½ hour nap. I knew I had processing (mental and spiritual) to do . . . but in the spirit of procrastination, I picked up a book instead. I decided to read the rest of “The Shack” by William P. Young . I couldn’t put it down for a while but then at some point, I just got stuck. But today was the perfect day to finish it. However, little did I know, this book would help me process.
Granted, there is nothing that specifically parallels my life to the life story of Mackenzie (the main character in the book), but still . . . I felt encouraged personally. There were some quotes that really resonated with me.
“For love. He chose the way of the cross where mercy triumphs over justice because of love.”
“Grace doesn’t depend on suffering to exist, but where there is suffering you will find grace in many facets and colors.”
“Emotions are the colors of the soul; they are spectacular and incredible. When you don’t feel, the world becomes dull and colorless.”
“The idea behind expectations requires that someone does not know the future or outcome and is trying to control behavior to get the desired result. Humans try to control behavior largely through expectations.”
“This is not about shaming you. I don’t do humiliation, or guilt, or condemnation. They don’t produce one speck of wholeness or righteousness, and that is why there were nailed into Jesus on the Cross.”
“Don’t ever discount the wonder of your tears. They can be healing waters and a stream of joy. Sometimes they are the best words the heart can speak.”
Today, I feel loved. I just needed a dose of remembering how much God sacrificed for me. That His love is unconditional. And the task of “figuring everything out” . . . isn’t for me to do. Resting in Him on what He has already done is what should be on my checklist of what to do, and that’s it.
On my mental checklist, I have “figure everything out.” Really, it just kind of makes me laugh. That’s like me expecting “world peace.” Not gonna happen, Britt. Nice idea, but unrealistic.
We have the rest of this week off since we had our inspection on Tuesday (will talk more about that in a later post). Today, I had gone to the government school and taught my 2 4th grade classes, picked up “fast food” on the way home (which entails going to the market, getting out of the car and walking to a little food stand that sells pork on a stick and sticky rice), and took a 2 and ½ hour nap. I knew I had processing (mental and spiritual) to do . . . but in the spirit of procrastination, I picked up a book instead. I decided to read the rest of “The Shack” by William P. Young . I couldn’t put it down for a while but then at some point, I just got stuck. But today was the perfect day to finish it. However, little did I know, this book would help me process.
Granted, there is nothing that specifically parallels my life to the life story of Mackenzie (the main character in the book), but still . . . I felt encouraged personally. There were some quotes that really resonated with me.
“For love. He chose the way of the cross where mercy triumphs over justice because of love.”
“Grace doesn’t depend on suffering to exist, but where there is suffering you will find grace in many facets and colors.”
“Emotions are the colors of the soul; they are spectacular and incredible. When you don’t feel, the world becomes dull and colorless.”
“The idea behind expectations requires that someone does not know the future or outcome and is trying to control behavior to get the desired result. Humans try to control behavior largely through expectations.”
“This is not about shaming you. I don’t do humiliation, or guilt, or condemnation. They don’t produce one speck of wholeness or righteousness, and that is why there were nailed into Jesus on the Cross.”
“Don’t ever discount the wonder of your tears. They can be healing waters and a stream of joy. Sometimes they are the best words the heart can speak.”
Today, I feel loved. I just needed a dose of remembering how much God sacrificed for me. That His love is unconditional. And the task of “figuring everything out” . . . isn’t for me to do. Resting in Him on what He has already done is what should be on my checklist of what to do, and that’s it.
1.31.2010
I am THAT Teacher
I am that teacher. You know, the teacher that does something unknowingly to earn stares and snickers in the classroom. We've all had them - the teacher that says a word incorrectly over and over (I remember making tally marks on my page everyday in my college Leadership in Business class every time the teacher made a weird clicking noise with his mouth in between thoughts - there were a group of us who paid more attention to the number of clicks made than what it meant to be a leader), has lipstick on their teeth or always has coffee breath.
Okay, never mind, I understand I'm not THAT exciting, but what specifically are these girls laughing about? Well, the mystery is still a mystery and I finish class and take a quick potty break. I come out of the bathroom and look up in the mirror.
Oh. Mystery solved. Yeah, that's pretty much why the girls were laughing. Right on top of my cover up over my lip is a big blue spot from the dry erase board marker eraser flakes. Let me tell you that trying to hide a pimple is best done when it's not highlighted by bright blue marker. There were a couple streaks on my chin as well. Ugh, I have become THAT teacher!
Well, I know this isn't really too embarrassing . . . but as a new teacher, I'm just now getting exposed to the occupational hazards that come along with it.
Later that week, I became another kind of teacher. I stayed clear of touching my marker covered hand to my face. I teach another riveting lesson to my 4th graders this time on the subject of food and drink. After class, the students bring up their notebooks for me to grade. One sweet and eager little student comes up to me and hands me a sheet of paper. I took a picture of it below.
I am teacher Miss Bittaney. :0). And by the looks of this picture - I'm cute! I have fun style with pink and red and with a splash of teal! I love that I am this teacher. I love that I am the only Western person who sets foot on the grounds of the school and the kids follow me around waving and screaming "hello," "good morning," "i love you." Granted, this is a fun little boost to the ego . . . but truly, it's much more than that. It's the joy that I receive from being a part of these kids lives - as little as that part may be. I have the opportunity to live out the characteristics of Christ - not perfectly, but I still have the opportunity nonetheless. I am thankful that I can be THAT teacher . . . even if it includes big bright blue marker spots on my face from time to time. :0)
I'm afraid, I've fallen into that category. Awwww. You san say "awwww" right now . . . because it's sad.
So, we don't have our own students right now as we're still setting up our school but we are volunteering 2 1/2 days a week in government schools. I currently teach 2 4th grade classes and 3 5th grade classes for a grand total of 200 students. I absolutely love going on Tuesdays and Thursdays and teaching.A couple weeks ago, I was teaching my 5th graders. I am dressed in one of my favorite teacher outfits and I feel very professional if I do say myself. As a side note: I didn't have acne as a teenager but for some reason, the pimple fairy decided that my mid twenties is when I need to have the incredibly embarrassing pepperoni face. That morning, I put a little cover up on each facial discrepancy - especially the most unattractive large one above my upper lip.
Okay, so I am teaching (a rather riveting lesson on days of the week and months of the year). I teach the kids fun songs and we just finished playing a review game that had them all competing and laughing excitedly. I look back at the last row of the classroom and there are two of my students looking at me with a side glance while whispering to one another, giggling and then looking back at me. They do this a couple times. It has me wondering what's so funny. I mean seriously girls, aren't you just amazed by my lesson? Doesn't it have you so excited about learning that you want me to ask for extra homework?Okay, never mind, I understand I'm not THAT exciting, but what specifically are these girls laughing about? Well, the mystery is still a mystery and I finish class and take a quick potty break. I come out of the bathroom and look up in the mirror.
Oh. Mystery solved. Yeah, that's pretty much why the girls were laughing. Right on top of my cover up over my lip is a big blue spot from the dry erase board marker eraser flakes. Let me tell you that trying to hide a pimple is best done when it's not highlighted by bright blue marker. There were a couple streaks on my chin as well. Ugh, I have become THAT teacher!
Well, I know this isn't really too embarrassing . . . but as a new teacher, I'm just now getting exposed to the occupational hazards that come along with it.
Later that week, I became another kind of teacher. I stayed clear of touching my marker covered hand to my face. I teach another riveting lesson to my 4th graders this time on the subject of food and drink. After class, the students bring up their notebooks for me to grade. One sweet and eager little student comes up to me and hands me a sheet of paper. I took a picture of it below.
I am teacher Miss Bittaney. :0). And by the looks of this picture - I'm cute! I have fun style with pink and red and with a splash of teal! I love that I am this teacher. I love that I am the only Western person who sets foot on the grounds of the school and the kids follow me around waving and screaming "hello," "good morning," "i love you." Granted, this is a fun little boost to the ego . . . but truly, it's much more than that. It's the joy that I receive from being a part of these kids lives - as little as that part may be. I have the opportunity to live out the characteristics of Christ - not perfectly, but I still have the opportunity nonetheless. I am thankful that I can be THAT teacher . . . even if it includes big bright blue marker spots on my face from time to time. :0)
1.23.2010
Whistle While You Work
God has been doing some awesome things. We raised money in December that helped move us forward. Granted, we still have to continue to raise support but God has blessed us. The Ministry of Education has been working with us a lot and our application for our license was submitted and they have been great to let us know what we need to get up and running. The past few months, we have been working on curriculum and a lot of paperwork things that needed to be done for the application. We held off on some of the physical labor because we needed the resources (paint, supplies, volunteers) in order to do those things and really we needed to wait to see if the Ministry of Education wanted to move forward with an inspection. We've gotten far enough that now the next step is an inspection of our school building which will be conducted this week. For the past couple weeks, we've kicked it into high gear, getting the school ready to paint and spent a week and a half painting inside and out. This week, we have to finish cleaning and repairing things and getting it up in shape as if it's the first day of school when the Ministry of Education comes to inspect. (UPDATE: Today 1.25.10 the Ministry of Education said it'll be a couple more weeks before they can do the inspection). Here's a little taste of what my past 2-3 weeks have looked like.
As my roommates commented . . . they made sure I got more paint on the walls than I got on myself. :0)H.I.S. January Update (some of it mentioned above in my summary)
Prayer Points:
Praise for a great financial end to 2009 with increased giving in December.
Praise for favor with the Ministry of Education.
Thai Christian Principal Needed.
Thai School License Holder Needed.
English and Thai Teachers Needed.
Speedy finish to facility preparations.
School of Promise
We turned in our school license application the first week of January. Officials at the Ministry of Education have treated us very favorably by reviewing our application immediately and asking to schedule the final facility inspection as soon as possible. Officials have told us that they are willing to approve our application and give us a school license within a month!
The only issues standing in the way of our approval are internal at this point. First, we still need a Thai principal. Ministry of Education officials have indicated they could approve our license without a principal in place. However, we must have a Thai principal by the start of school. Of course, Joel would be grateful for help with leadership. We would like to find a qualified Christian right away.
The second hold up to our approval is that we need a school license holder. This is a Thai person who agrees to have the school registered under his or her name. Essentially, this could be any Thai person whom we trust. We had a plan for the school license holder, but it fell through. Now, we are praying for a new license holder.
Lastly, our facility needs some minor repairs, cleaning, and painting. Our team has been working on painting for over a week now. We were very pleased to have thirty volunteers from our friends at First Priority Development (Erik Klar’s Team) and Family Connection Foundation (Tim Dunham’s Team). Other friends have been helping with painting and repairs. Soon, the team will tackle the large job of cleaning. We really need to be prepared for final inspection by January 29th because we have a week-long ESL training scheduled for our team the first week of February. Also, we do not want to keep Ministry of Education waiting on us when they are eager to inspect and approve our application.
Praise for a great financial end to 2009 with increased giving in December.
Praise for favor with the Ministry of Education.
Thai Christian Principal Needed.
Thai School License Holder Needed.
English and Thai Teachers Needed.
Speedy finish to facility preparations.
School of Promise
We turned in our school license application the first week of January. Officials at the Ministry of Education have treated us very favorably by reviewing our application immediately and asking to schedule the final facility inspection as soon as possible. Officials have told us that they are willing to approve our application and give us a school license within a month!
The only issues standing in the way of our approval are internal at this point. First, we still need a Thai principal. Ministry of Education officials have indicated they could approve our license without a principal in place. However, we must have a Thai principal by the start of school. Of course, Joel would be grateful for help with leadership. We would like to find a qualified Christian right away.
The second hold up to our approval is that we need a school license holder. This is a Thai person who agrees to have the school registered under his or her name. Essentially, this could be any Thai person whom we trust. We had a plan for the school license holder, but it fell through. Now, we are praying for a new license holder.
Lastly, our facility needs some minor repairs, cleaning, and painting. Our team has been working on painting for over a week now. We were very pleased to have thirty volunteers from our friends at First Priority Development (Erik Klar’s Team) and Family Connection Foundation (Tim Dunham’s Team). Other friends have been helping with painting and repairs. Soon, the team will tackle the large job of cleaning. We really need to be prepared for final inspection by January 29th because we have a week-long ESL training scheduled for our team the first week of February. Also, we do not want to keep Ministry of Education waiting on us when they are eager to inspect and approve our application.
1.19.2010
Creepy Mouse Catastrophe of 2010 and Jenny's Blog
Okay, random title I know, but it'll make sense - just let me explain. I am a big fan of Addison Road's music and I love reading Jenny Simmon's blog (the lead singer for Addison Road). She always writes things that often make me laugh. I appreciate her humor, her heart, and her honesty. She wrote about a mouse escapade she had (click here to read her mouse story). I decided to email her and share my story because my roommates and I recently have had mouse issue lately too (my mouse story is below). She wrote on her blog recently and mentioned my email to her and had an awesome post about how our only true commodity is ourselves. I encourage you to read it (click here to read post where she mentions my email :-)).
Creepy Mouse Catastrophe of 2010
Here is my mouse story (I know it's a bit lengthy but I have to give the details - otherwise it would just be facts and not funny, hehe).
So we've lived in Thailand long enough to pretty much get used to the geckos sharing our living space that poop on our CLEAN dish rack (ewww, i know) and pop out and scare us half to death when we least expect it, etc. We've even become more tolerable of the ants who invade every crevice of our house and contaminate our hard earned money (well, it's our food, but food that we pay for!). However, we didn't sign up for mice. I mean, my friend Caitlin lived in a village in Zambia, Africa for 2 years and had to kill spitting cobras and a black mamba with a machete and a garden hoe. So, in comparison, I can't complain because her situation was life threatening and mine wasn't. But let's not compare right now - let's just relive the Creepy Mouse Catastrophe of 2010.
There are 5 of us girls that live in a 3 bedroom/ 2 bathroom house. One of my roommates was back home for the holidays so there were just 4 of us (or so we thought). One night, we're hanging out in our living room and there are little black spots on our floor mats. I take them outside and knock off the yuckies and pretend like it's just gecko droppings (you know, since I've pretty much conquered my fear of those) or something . . . However, one of the roommates drops the bomb "guys - I think we have a mouse." A mouse? Seriously, that's creepy. A disease infested rodent is hanging out and doing his business on the mat that I spend 50% of my time at home on? Ewww. No, it's not a mouse, the droppings are too small . . . I look again - - - ugh, dropping size = mouse. Well, maybe it hangs out during the day, watches the place while were gone to keep other rodents out, brings his own food and entertainment to keep him busy and leaves when we get home (and just has an accident on the rug every now and then). I ask my roommates what makes them think that we have mice other than the poo (evidence A). "Well, a couple weeks ago, we noticed our bananas were being nibbled (Evidence B)." A COUPLE WEEKS AGO? WHAT? "And last week, the bag of rolls (that we ate completely) had a hole in it and those were nibbled on too (Evidence C). " Seriously? Okay, I know I'm a missionary and I'm willing to sacrifice. I know I have to deal with things that I'm not comfortable with, but mice aren't welcome to live with me.
So we still haven't seen evidence M (the mouse). I think it's a day or two after the "I think we have a mouse" bomb was dropped when I hear squealing, and screaming downstairs. I run down to see what the commotion is and I see two of my roommates on chairs and one in the kitchen with the broom in hand. Why are they screaming? "Sarah opened the cabinet to pull out the rice bag and the mouse JUMPED onto Sarah's leg." That instant, I joined the other roomies on the chair and added my squeals to the mix. Ewww. Sarah is the one with the broom in hand. She's the only roommate that probably could handle a mouse jumping on her (the rest of us would die of a heart attack). Where is it now? Where is it now? We think it squeezed between the wall and the cabinet (cabinet isn't fixed on the wall, it's a floor one - just to clarify so you don't think the mouse has super powers or something). We need to find a way to get it to go out the door, right? Okay, let's think about this rationally. We blocked it's way of getting into our living room, Sarah was standing with a broom ready to keep it from going back into the rest of our food prep area and Emily had the back door open. I was going to shut the bathroom door so it didn't have any other option but to go where we were forcing it to go. Where is a guy when you need him? Well, we're independent 20-something girls, we can handle it, can't we? Ugh, wrong. The mouse got spooked before I got to the bathroom door, the plan was ruined and the mouse runs into our bathroom, and we shut the door. It's locked in now, what we do? We wait. We leave it. We keep on watching fun Christmas movies that family sent from back in the states and we keep pretending it feels like Christmas (even though it doesn't). Just keep drinking your peppermint hot chocolate while the fan is pointed on you since it's still 80 degrees at 8pm at night and act like the mouse isn't there.
The bravest roommate - Sarah checked the bathroom that night and the mouse was gone. Gone? Where could it have gone? There's a small possibility it got out of the closed door if it shrunk itself. The biggest possibility is that it went down the shower drain (there's no cover on it and the bathroom has a toilet, sink and shower head and drain within the same small square- no ledge to separate on the floor). What if it decided to regurgitate from the drain (is that even possible and is regurgitate the right word in this situation)? The mouse is the reason I didn't brush my teeth that night. If I get a cavity the next time I go to the dentist, I'm suing. Okay, anyway, back to Creepy Mouse. That's when it was named. That night - our enemy became Creepy Mouse.
For a few days, we were jumpy to say the least. I refused to move the bag of rice. It took me days to use the toilet without holding me feet up and looking circles on the floor around me while I went. However, Creepy Mouse was still showing his evidence of living with us. We need to get a mouse trap. We need to get a mouse trap. Hmmm, why didn't we go get one? Episode #2 - I'm upstairs AGAIN and hear squealing and shrieking just like last time. What happened? "Sarah crouched down to move the rice and the mouse jumped on her chest then jumped on her leg and ran off." Seriously, why does this mouse have a personal vendetta against Sarah? Again, I hold to the fact that God knows Sarah's the only one who can handle it. Okay, positioned on chairs again. Ugh, Creepy Mouse. Go away! We even sung the song "O' Creepy Mouse, O' Creepy Mouse please get out of our hou-ou-ouse" to the tune of "O' Christmas Tree." What do we do? What do we do? SHUT THE BATHROOM DOOR. Done, perfect, now what? Make the same road blocks as last time. Opened the back door. Used the broom to spook the mouse . . . he ran in the direction of the back door, but none of us were sure that he left completely or if he detoured to going behind our fridge or behind the stove's gas tank on the floor.
The next day, we bought a mouse trap. The problem in Thailand is that they don't sell the wooden mouse traps with the metal spring snap where you put the little triangle of cheese on and then POW, bye bye mousey. They just sell poison or glue mats. Yes, glue mats. You can either plant poison around the house, have it eat it, run into a hiding place, die and then we find it weeks after it's been rotting. NO THANK YOU. Or you can do the "humane" thing and place some food on a plastic square that has glue on it and when the mouse goes for the food, they get stuck. The humane thing is that it just gets stuck and stays alive and then you can just pull it off the glue. Seriously? You think that even though I am unwilling to run after and capture the mouse when I see it, I'm willing to grasp it fully and unglue it? NO THANK YOU. So there we sit in the middle of the grocery store with the Thai people staring at us (as usual) as we contemplate being humane or inhumane. I'm not willing to do either separately, but I AM willing to do them both. Think about it, you put poison in the food that's on the glue pad and the mouse gets poisoned, stuck and it's dead. Sounds good, SOLD.
At 4 days of having the traps down, I'm doing the math. 4 days, 3 nights, 2 mouse "traps" and not 1 creepy mouse. I'm starting to think peanut butter and poison pie isn't his meal of choice. Ugh. I'm a little relieved we haven't caught him yet because Sarah (the brave one) isn't home this week since she's staying with her family who are visiting. So, if we do catch it, I have defaulted to be the one that takes care of dead Creepy Mouse.
6 days, 5 nights, 2 traps and we catch a . . . gecko. Awww, sorry poor gecko, we didn't want to hurt anyone else. I never thought peanut butter and poison would be tempting for the gecko. Grieved, okay over it . . . where's the freaking Creepy Mouse? I'm starting to think he's taken up residence somewhere else. This is okay, but every time I get comfortable with opening cabinet doors and bathroom doors, then he reappears. When will it end? (which is probably what you're saying about this story right now :-).
7th day . . . wake up to get coffee and my roommate Amy is doing her quiet time and she looks up at me like she's seen a ghost. "Um, we caught Creepy Mouse. I couldn't even bear to make coffee because I'd have to walk by him again." What do we do? And more importantly, how do we survive the day without our cup of Joe? So, I walk into the kitchen and peek my head around the corner and see him. Creepy Mouse doesn't look so big when he's glued to something and can't run around. He's laying down and his entire right side is glued down with his back to the peanut butter and poison pie awaiting him. I think he's dead though, he's not moving. I won't get close enough to check for sure. However, I remember my promise to Emily and Amy that I would suck it up and dispose of the mouse when/if we caught him when Sarah was gone. Quickly, I regret muttering those words. I can barely stand to peek around the counter for more than 5 seconds at a time. It's like I'm watching a scary movie where I don't want to look but I can't help it and then I see something freaky and I squeal. So, that's what I do. I run back to Amy, we grab each other’s shoulders, jump up and down and squeal. Emily comes down and it's like she had already eaten her Wheaties or something. She goes and stares it in the face and comes up with an immediate rational plan. Take the broom and push the plastic piece that holds the glued down Creepy Mouse out the door. Hmmm, why didn't I think of that? Well, I'll watch her do it and give her moral support. Amy can't watch and she starts to shriek. Oh, well, now we know Creepy Mouse isn't dead. Her shrieks reach decibels that the mouse apparently can hear and now he is using the unglued side of his body to react. His entire left side is pumping through the air with no where to go and he can't get unstuck. That's when I start to feel sorry for it. That's when Amy reminds me that Creepy Mouse is still creepy and we can't start having sympathy for something that we've been singing about killing for weeks. Right. Okay, Emily pushes him all the way to the garbage bags outside, is brave enough to pick up the plastic and throw him into all the other unwanted things that we put in that bag. Emily is our Hero and Creepy Mouse is meeting his sad fate.
So, Creepy Mouse is gone. I still have moments of sadness when I think of his helpless Mouskawitz face (totally reminded me of Fievel too) of being glued down. But then I remind myself that we don't need the diseases that he carries and we can't afford to feed him. So, I justify his death over and over again in my mind.
Okay, so the end. =)
Creepy Mouse Catastrophe of 2010
Here is my mouse story (I know it's a bit lengthy but I have to give the details - otherwise it would just be facts and not funny, hehe).
So we've lived in Thailand long enough to pretty much get used to the geckos sharing our living space that poop on our CLEAN dish rack (ewww, i know) and pop out and scare us half to death when we least expect it, etc. We've even become more tolerable of the ants who invade every crevice of our house and contaminate our hard earned money (well, it's our food, but food that we pay for!). However, we didn't sign up for mice. I mean, my friend Caitlin lived in a village in Zambia, Africa for 2 years and had to kill spitting cobras and a black mamba with a machete and a garden hoe. So, in comparison, I can't complain because her situation was life threatening and mine wasn't. But let's not compare right now - let's just relive the Creepy Mouse Catastrophe of 2010.
There are 5 of us girls that live in a 3 bedroom/ 2 bathroom house. One of my roommates was back home for the holidays so there were just 4 of us (or so we thought). One night, we're hanging out in our living room and there are little black spots on our floor mats. I take them outside and knock off the yuckies and pretend like it's just gecko droppings (you know, since I've pretty much conquered my fear of those) or something . . . However, one of the roommates drops the bomb "guys - I think we have a mouse." A mouse? Seriously, that's creepy. A disease infested rodent is hanging out and doing his business on the mat that I spend 50% of my time at home on? Ewww. No, it's not a mouse, the droppings are too small . . . I look again - - - ugh, dropping size = mouse. Well, maybe it hangs out during the day, watches the place while were gone to keep other rodents out, brings his own food and entertainment to keep him busy and leaves when we get home (and just has an accident on the rug every now and then). I ask my roommates what makes them think that we have mice other than the poo (evidence A). "Well, a couple weeks ago, we noticed our bananas were being nibbled (Evidence B)." A COUPLE WEEKS AGO? WHAT? "And last week, the bag of rolls (that we ate completely) had a hole in it and those were nibbled on too (Evidence C). " Seriously? Okay, I know I'm a missionary and I'm willing to sacrifice. I know I have to deal with things that I'm not comfortable with, but mice aren't welcome to live with me.
So we still haven't seen evidence M (the mouse). I think it's a day or two after the "I think we have a mouse" bomb was dropped when I hear squealing, and screaming downstairs. I run down to see what the commotion is and I see two of my roommates on chairs and one in the kitchen with the broom in hand. Why are they screaming? "Sarah opened the cabinet to pull out the rice bag and the mouse JUMPED onto Sarah's leg." That instant, I joined the other roomies on the chair and added my squeals to the mix. Ewww. Sarah is the one with the broom in hand. She's the only roommate that probably could handle a mouse jumping on her (the rest of us would die of a heart attack). Where is it now? Where is it now? We think it squeezed between the wall and the cabinet (cabinet isn't fixed on the wall, it's a floor one - just to clarify so you don't think the mouse has super powers or something). We need to find a way to get it to go out the door, right? Okay, let's think about this rationally. We blocked it's way of getting into our living room, Sarah was standing with a broom ready to keep it from going back into the rest of our food prep area and Emily had the back door open. I was going to shut the bathroom door so it didn't have any other option but to go where we were forcing it to go. Where is a guy when you need him? Well, we're independent 20-something girls, we can handle it, can't we? Ugh, wrong. The mouse got spooked before I got to the bathroom door, the plan was ruined and the mouse runs into our bathroom, and we shut the door. It's locked in now, what we do? We wait. We leave it. We keep on watching fun Christmas movies that family sent from back in the states and we keep pretending it feels like Christmas (even though it doesn't). Just keep drinking your peppermint hot chocolate while the fan is pointed on you since it's still 80 degrees at 8pm at night and act like the mouse isn't there.
The bravest roommate - Sarah checked the bathroom that night and the mouse was gone. Gone? Where could it have gone? There's a small possibility it got out of the closed door if it shrunk itself. The biggest possibility is that it went down the shower drain (there's no cover on it and the bathroom has a toilet, sink and shower head and drain within the same small square- no ledge to separate on the floor). What if it decided to regurgitate from the drain (is that even possible and is regurgitate the right word in this situation)? The mouse is the reason I didn't brush my teeth that night. If I get a cavity the next time I go to the dentist, I'm suing. Okay, anyway, back to Creepy Mouse. That's when it was named. That night - our enemy became Creepy Mouse.
For a few days, we were jumpy to say the least. I refused to move the bag of rice. It took me days to use the toilet without holding me feet up and looking circles on the floor around me while I went. However, Creepy Mouse was still showing his evidence of living with us. We need to get a mouse trap. We need to get a mouse trap. Hmmm, why didn't we go get one? Episode #2 - I'm upstairs AGAIN and hear squealing and shrieking just like last time. What happened? "Sarah crouched down to move the rice and the mouse jumped on her chest then jumped on her leg and ran off." Seriously, why does this mouse have a personal vendetta against Sarah? Again, I hold to the fact that God knows Sarah's the only one who can handle it. Okay, positioned on chairs again. Ugh, Creepy Mouse. Go away! We even sung the song "O' Creepy Mouse, O' Creepy Mouse please get out of our hou-ou-ouse" to the tune of "O' Christmas Tree." What do we do? What do we do? SHUT THE BATHROOM DOOR. Done, perfect, now what? Make the same road blocks as last time. Opened the back door. Used the broom to spook the mouse . . . he ran in the direction of the back door, but none of us were sure that he left completely or if he detoured to going behind our fridge or behind the stove's gas tank on the floor.
The next day, we bought a mouse trap. The problem in Thailand is that they don't sell the wooden mouse traps with the metal spring snap where you put the little triangle of cheese on and then POW, bye bye mousey. They just sell poison or glue mats. Yes, glue mats. You can either plant poison around the house, have it eat it, run into a hiding place, die and then we find it weeks after it's been rotting. NO THANK YOU. Or you can do the "humane" thing and place some food on a plastic square that has glue on it and when the mouse goes for the food, they get stuck. The humane thing is that it just gets stuck and stays alive and then you can just pull it off the glue. Seriously? You think that even though I am unwilling to run after and capture the mouse when I see it, I'm willing to grasp it fully and unglue it? NO THANK YOU. So there we sit in the middle of the grocery store with the Thai people staring at us (as usual) as we contemplate being humane or inhumane. I'm not willing to do either separately, but I AM willing to do them both. Think about it, you put poison in the food that's on the glue pad and the mouse gets poisoned, stuck and it's dead. Sounds good, SOLD.
At 4 days of having the traps down, I'm doing the math. 4 days, 3 nights, 2 mouse "traps" and not 1 creepy mouse. I'm starting to think peanut butter and poison pie isn't his meal of choice. Ugh. I'm a little relieved we haven't caught him yet because Sarah (the brave one) isn't home this week since she's staying with her family who are visiting. So, if we do catch it, I have defaulted to be the one that takes care of dead Creepy Mouse.
6 days, 5 nights, 2 traps and we catch a . . . gecko. Awww, sorry poor gecko, we didn't want to hurt anyone else. I never thought peanut butter and poison would be tempting for the gecko. Grieved, okay over it . . . where's the freaking Creepy Mouse? I'm starting to think he's taken up residence somewhere else. This is okay, but every time I get comfortable with opening cabinet doors and bathroom doors, then he reappears. When will it end? (which is probably what you're saying about this story right now :-).
7th day . . . wake up to get coffee and my roommate Amy is doing her quiet time and she looks up at me like she's seen a ghost. "Um, we caught Creepy Mouse. I couldn't even bear to make coffee because I'd have to walk by him again." What do we do? And more importantly, how do we survive the day without our cup of Joe? So, I walk into the kitchen and peek my head around the corner and see him. Creepy Mouse doesn't look so big when he's glued to something and can't run around. He's laying down and his entire right side is glued down with his back to the peanut butter and poison pie awaiting him. I think he's dead though, he's not moving. I won't get close enough to check for sure. However, I remember my promise to Emily and Amy that I would suck it up and dispose of the mouse when/if we caught him when Sarah was gone. Quickly, I regret muttering those words. I can barely stand to peek around the counter for more than 5 seconds at a time. It's like I'm watching a scary movie where I don't want to look but I can't help it and then I see something freaky and I squeal. So, that's what I do. I run back to Amy, we grab each other’s shoulders, jump up and down and squeal. Emily comes down and it's like she had already eaten her Wheaties or something. She goes and stares it in the face and comes up with an immediate rational plan. Take the broom and push the plastic piece that holds the glued down Creepy Mouse out the door. Hmmm, why didn't I think of that? Well, I'll watch her do it and give her moral support. Amy can't watch and she starts to shriek. Oh, well, now we know Creepy Mouse isn't dead. Her shrieks reach decibels that the mouse apparently can hear and now he is using the unglued side of his body to react. His entire left side is pumping through the air with no where to go and he can't get unstuck. That's when I start to feel sorry for it. That's when Amy reminds me that Creepy Mouse is still creepy and we can't start having sympathy for something that we've been singing about killing for weeks. Right. Okay, Emily pushes him all the way to the garbage bags outside, is brave enough to pick up the plastic and throw him into all the other unwanted things that we put in that bag. Emily is our Hero and Creepy Mouse is meeting his sad fate.
So, Creepy Mouse is gone. I still have moments of sadness when I think of his helpless Mouskawitz face (totally reminded me of Fievel too) of being glued down. But then I remind myself that we don't need the diseases that he carries and we can't afford to feed him. So, I justify his death over and over again in my mind.
Okay, so the end. =)
1.06.2010
Small Post, Big Laugh
We are working on the website for the school. My housemate, friend and co-worker Amy was writing the small biographies for each Thai teacher. They were telling Amy about their backgrounds, their interests, etc.
One teacher says "I like swimming" . . . and then her friend blurts out "yes, but she not have the boyfriend." She said it as though it was connected to her friend having an interest in swimming, like you can't swim well unless you have "the boyfriend." I understand she was just trying to advertise that her friend is single but the whole conversation made me laugh and then repeat it a million times much to my roommates' demise. Since they met me pretty much, they lovingly call me "Repeat."
Another funny saying was in conjunction with the biography conversation. One of the Thai staff was trying to tell us what she majored in . . . she says "I got a Bachelor in Many Men." Um, what? Many Men? Can you get a degree like that? If so, what does that entail? After she said it a couple times . . . we figured out that you can not in fact (as far as I know) get an actual degree in "Many Men" but you CAN get a degree in "Management." Good to know, good to know.
Please note that these stories are in no way to poke fun at the amazing Thai gals - I adore them and enjoy working together and laughing together. I know that I have said plenty of incorrect things in Thai. Remember that I am the girl that asked for an eraser instead of a straw and I asked my student if she had a duck instead of asking her if her food was spicy. I am sure that there are many other things that I have said wrong and didn't even catch. I am the one that my Thai language tutor teases about only knowing how to say "there is a boy under the table" when I arrived in Thailand. I hope that my Thai friends enjoy laughing at me.
I stick to the fact that laughter is the best medicine (and is often a key ingredient to my sanity). =)
Laugh today, okay? A lot. Like a hard belly laugh. It's the best.
One teacher says "I like swimming" . . . and then her friend blurts out "yes, but she not have the boyfriend." She said it as though it was connected to her friend having an interest in swimming, like you can't swim well unless you have "the boyfriend." I understand she was just trying to advertise that her friend is single but the whole conversation made me laugh and then repeat it a million times much to my roommates' demise. Since they met me pretty much, they lovingly call me "Repeat."
Another funny saying was in conjunction with the biography conversation. One of the Thai staff was trying to tell us what she majored in . . . she says "I got a Bachelor in Many Men." Um, what? Many Men? Can you get a degree like that? If so, what does that entail? After she said it a couple times . . . we figured out that you can not in fact (as far as I know) get an actual degree in "Many Men" but you CAN get a degree in "Management." Good to know, good to know.
Please note that these stories are in no way to poke fun at the amazing Thai gals - I adore them and enjoy working together and laughing together. I know that I have said plenty of incorrect things in Thai. Remember that I am the girl that asked for an eraser instead of a straw and I asked my student if she had a duck instead of asking her if her food was spicy. I am sure that there are many other things that I have said wrong and didn't even catch. I am the one that my Thai language tutor teases about only knowing how to say "there is a boy under the table" when I arrived in Thailand. I hope that my Thai friends enjoy laughing at me.
I stick to the fact that laughter is the best medicine (and is often a key ingredient to my sanity). =)
Laugh today, okay? A lot. Like a hard belly laugh. It's the best.
12.29.2009
Christmas in Thailand
I knew it would be different. Really different. I wasn’t going to be home with my friends and family in the US. I wasn’t going to be putting out all the decorations with my family and decorating the tree - - - which actually isn’t my favorite thing to do, but disliking it has even become a tradition. I wasn’t home to go shopping for all my cousins and wrap the presents – which IS my favorite thing to do. I wasn’t able to watch the Hallmark channel with my mom for the entire month of December to see all the corny Christmas movies that steal my heart and make me want to live a life with an extra side of corny. I wasn’t spending time with my friends decorating cookies. I wasn’t exchanging gifts with people back home. I wasn’t helping my mom make Christmas dinner. I wasn’t home to play in the snow and then complain about the icy roads. I wasn’t waking up on Christmas morning with my family in the house I’ve lived in for most of my life.
I thought about this a lot. I tried not to think about it. I didn’t want to be depressed. But I still knew what I was missing. However, my and my roommates mission was to live it up. We knew it wouldn’t be the same, but it didn’t mean it had to be bad or sad. I was realizing that even though everything about the Christmas season seemed different . . . the main reason for the season wasn’t/isn’t/won’t ever be any different. This is comforting. Jesus came to earth to save us whether I am in Colorado Springs or Chiang Mai on the 25th of December. The reason for the season is the same.
So, we made a “bucket list” of things that we wanted to do for the Christmas Season.
We put up a loaned Christmas tree in our house and when we realized that it only had 2 of the 3 legs necessary to hold it up, we fashioned plastic ice cream containers, a ceramic clown, and a lot of packing tape to make do. Instead of ornaments, we put bows and gift tags and a hand made paper angel.
Since the weather is still mostly in the 80’s here, we spent an evening with the air conditioner on, watching a Christmas movie, cuddled up in blankets and sipping on peppermint hot chocolate. We also spent time making cookies. 
I didn’t go to CCR (my home church in CO) on the Sunday before Christmas to see the children’s play, but I went to Abundant Grace and watched a lot of my previous students in the Christmas program. Even though most of the program was in Thai, the kid playing Jesus that took the cross and kept accidentally swinging it around and beating his followers over the head makes anyone laugh – no matter the language they speak. Most of my 4th grade students were part of a hip hop Christmas dance and one of my sweet boys got up and did some break dancing (a lot like he used to do in the middle of class).
Instead of spending the Sunday before Christmas with my friends and family in the US, I spent the evening at the children’s home here that is near and dear to my heart. We played with some of the kids while other kids helped make dinner. We went Thai style on straw mats outside with no utensils eating buffalo and sheep on a stick, rice and fruit. We got eaten alive by mosquitoes, watched the bats fly over head with a little bit of fear, and were worried we would catch lice that some of the kids were being treated for. However, it was one of my all time favorite days in Thailand.
We went shopping for eachother at the Sunday night market and had bags of tooth brushes, soap, food, etc. to hand out to the beggars that came up to us.
We had a work Christmas party with Spaghetti and Thai cuisine.
We spent Christmas Eve with our awesome friends, Daniel and Noelle and their foster (hope to be adopted) son Makham. We spent the day playing games, playing with Makham, eating, watching “Alvin and the Chipmunks,” making Christmas Hats, taking a walk, sipping on hot chocolate and watching “My Sister’s Keeper” (which I balled all the way through). It was such a fun and relaxing day. 
Christmas Day, I woke up to the smell of Blueberry Muffins (thanks to mom and dad who brought them and thanks to Sarah for making them) =) and opened the “stockings” (actually the Christmas hats we made turned upside down) with my roommates.
Then I actually got to skype with my family and see them all. This was the first time I had seen Jessica since I left in June. LOVED, LOVED, LOVED seeing all of them and that made my Christmas special (since my family is so special – you can translate “special” however you’d like, hehe).
We prepared a Christmas lunch for our Thai teacher friend Khru Ooy and our fellow English (well, Scottish) teacher friend Gordon (or Gordito as we lovingly like to call him). Gordon brought us all scarves for Christmas, so we took a pic with them (below). The 6 of us sat around our small table and used our ironing board to place all the prepared food on (have to be resourceful ;). We at chicken and vegetables and sweet potatoes and cranberry sauce and laughed and translated (Scottish isn’t really a language of it’s own, but trust me – sometimes there is need for translation between the Scottish accent, English and Thai). We read the Christmas story and sang Christmas carols around the table and ate Apple Crumble for dessert.
I spent the afternoon and evening with my C&MA family eating a full Christmas dinner, playing games, having a Christmas program and doing a gift exchange. It was a blessing to be around so many families.
At 10:00 Christmas night, things finally calmed down for us roommates to finish unwrapping gifts. My mom sent a package from the states and it arrived promptly on Christmas day (which was fantastic because then I wasn’t tempted to open it early). She sent some awesome gifts along with Christmas movies from home.
The day after Christmas, we slept in and then while eating chocolate chip pumpkin oatmeal muffins (compliments of Amy’s fam for sending the ingredients) and sipping on coffee, we thought it would be funny to look like Who’s (from the Grinch). Please keep in mind while looking at this picture, this is a fresh out bed picture. We received some fun Christmas movies and dedicated the day after Christmas to a Christmas Movie Marathon.
So, Christmas this year was different. Very different. I still missed out on my normal traditions at home . . . but this is one that I will never forget. I am blessed. I hope you had a Christmas filled with friends, family, laughter, and the reminder of God’s love for you.
I thought about this a lot. I tried not to think about it. I didn’t want to be depressed. But I still knew what I was missing. However, my and my roommates mission was to live it up. We knew it wouldn’t be the same, but it didn’t mean it had to be bad or sad. I was realizing that even though everything about the Christmas season seemed different . . . the main reason for the season wasn’t/isn’t/won’t ever be any different. This is comforting. Jesus came to earth to save us whether I am in Colorado Springs or Chiang Mai on the 25th of December. The reason for the season is the same.
So, we made a “bucket list” of things that we wanted to do for the Christmas Season.
We put up a loaned Christmas tree in our house and when we realized that it only had 2 of the 3 legs necessary to hold it up, we fashioned plastic ice cream containers, a ceramic clown, and a lot of packing tape to make do. Instead of ornaments, we put bows and gift tags and a hand made paper angel.
Since the weather is still mostly in the 80’s here, we spent an evening with the air conditioner on, watching a Christmas movie, cuddled up in blankets and sipping on peppermint hot chocolate. We also spent time making cookies. I didn’t go to CCR (my home church in CO) on the Sunday before Christmas to see the children’s play, but I went to Abundant Grace and watched a lot of my previous students in the Christmas program. Even though most of the program was in Thai, the kid playing Jesus that took the cross and kept accidentally swinging it around and beating his followers over the head makes anyone laugh – no matter the language they speak. Most of my 4th grade students were part of a hip hop Christmas dance and one of my sweet boys got up and did some break dancing (a lot like he used to do in the middle of class).Instead of spending the Sunday before Christmas with my friends and family in the US, I spent the evening at the children’s home here that is near and dear to my heart. We played with some of the kids while other kids helped make dinner. We went Thai style on straw mats outside with no utensils eating buffalo and sheep on a stick, rice and fruit. We got eaten alive by mosquitoes, watched the bats fly over head with a little bit of fear, and were worried we would catch lice that some of the kids were being treated for. However, it was one of my all time favorite days in Thailand.
We went shopping for eachother at the Sunday night market and had bags of tooth brushes, soap, food, etc. to hand out to the beggars that came up to us.We had a work Christmas party with Spaghetti and Thai cuisine.
We spent Christmas Eve with our awesome friends, Daniel and Noelle and their foster (hope to be adopted) son Makham. We spent the day playing games, playing with Makham, eating, watching “Alvin and the Chipmunks,” making Christmas Hats, taking a walk, sipping on hot chocolate and watching “My Sister’s Keeper” (which I balled all the way through). It was such a fun and relaxing day. Christmas Day, I woke up to the smell of Blueberry Muffins (thanks to mom and dad who brought them and thanks to Sarah for making them) =) and opened the “stockings” (actually the Christmas hats we made turned upside down) with my roommates. Then I actually got to skype with my family and see them all. This was the first time I had seen Jessica since I left in June. LOVED, LOVED, LOVED seeing all of them and that made my Christmas special (since my family is so special – you can translate “special” however you’d like, hehe).We prepared a Christmas lunch for our Thai teacher friend Khru Ooy and our fellow English (well, Scottish) teacher friend Gordon (or Gordito as we lovingly like to call him). Gordon brought us all scarves for Christmas, so we took a pic with them (below). The 6 of us sat around our small table and used our ironing board to place all the prepared food on (have to be resourceful ;). We at chicken and vegetables and sweet potatoes and cranberry sauce and laughed and translated (Scottish isn’t really a language of it’s own, but trust me – sometimes there is need for translation between the Scottish accent, English and Thai). We read the Christmas story and sang Christmas carols around the table and ate Apple Crumble for dessert.
I spent the afternoon and evening with my C&MA family eating a full Christmas dinner, playing games, having a Christmas program and doing a gift exchange. It was a blessing to be around so many families.At 10:00 Christmas night, things finally calmed down for us roommates to finish unwrapping gifts. My mom sent a package from the states and it arrived promptly on Christmas day (which was fantastic because then I wasn’t tempted to open it early). She sent some awesome gifts along with Christmas movies from home.
The day after Christmas, we slept in and then while eating chocolate chip pumpkin oatmeal muffins (compliments of Amy’s fam for sending the ingredients) and sipping on coffee, we thought it would be funny to look like Who’s (from the Grinch). Please keep in mind while looking at this picture, this is a fresh out bed picture. We received some fun Christmas movies and dedicated the day after Christmas to a Christmas Movie Marathon.
So, Christmas this year was different. Very different. I still missed out on my normal traditions at home . . . but this is one that I will never forget. I am blessed. I hope you had a Christmas filled with friends, family, laughter, and the reminder of God’s love for you.
12.18.2009
Sweet Wishes
So I know this month is about celebrating Christ's birth - and not mine. My birthday was months ago . . . BUT I was cleaning out some cluttered piles today and came acrosss a birthday card made out of construction paper from one of my 4th graders. It made me smile and melted my heart, so I'm sharing it.
He drew a sky, a field and a house with no roof. He wrote:
"HaPPy BirthdaY Miss Britt May God Bless you I'm sorry some time I do not Good I Thank you for you Teaching me I Love you Thank you somuch."
This was from a student who had a hard time in class but had such a loving spirit and we built a foundation of trust and learning. Every time I see this student, he gives me the biggest smile, bows his head and wai's (traditional Thai greeting) and then follows it up with a hug. Love it.
Sweet memories.
He drew a sky, a field and a house with no roof. He wrote:
"HaPPy BirthdaY Miss Britt May God Bless you I'm sorry some time I do not Good I Thank you for you Teaching me I Love you Thank you somuch."
This was from a student who had a hard time in class but had such a loving spirit and we built a foundation of trust and learning. Every time I see this student, he gives me the biggest smile, bows his head and wai's (traditional Thai greeting) and then follows it up with a hug. Love it.
Sweet memories.
12.17.2009
Pure. Raw. Truth
I keep going back to a journal entry that I wrote about a month ago. I was a bit discouraged and it had been too long since I’d last journaled. I skipped dinner with my roommates and went upstairs and sat on my bed for hours just hungry to hear from God – feeling like I had been doing all the talking and not any of the listening of what He was saying to me and all of a sudden I had to hear Him, I couldn’t wait until we’d eaten dinner. I needed to reflect.
I was listening to a Seventh Day Slumber song called “Back in Time.” The song plays in the youtube window below. It’s just been on my heart lately – to continue to strive to be someone of Pure. Raw. Truth. I took the words from the song line by line and wrote what I was feeling (lyrics in bold, thoughts not bolded).
(Note that the journal entry is my thoughts written to God.)
“Those lyrics ring so true. Truth. Raw truth. I’m not perfect and You know that and You don’t want me to act like I am. You call me to seek You. You. Not me. You. Truth of who I am is found in who You are. At times, I feel broken and helpless. I don’t need any more of me. I need less and less of me and more and more of You. Perfect You. You – the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit who loves me more than I can fathom and hope for.
‘Carry me away. Back in time to when I met you.’ I had such a passion for You when I first realized what it meant to have a relationship with you. I had a raw, real hope.
‘Take all this guilt and shame that buried me.’ I get caught up in my own mind thinking that I have to have it all together and then I look at my imperfections now and in the past and I let myself get buried in the guilt of not being the idea of the perfect person that I have in my mind that I’m supposed to be.
‘And bury me in you.’ Being buried in Christ – protected, cradled, safe, and valued. Why do I let myself get buried in lies instead of pure truth?
‘I want to be dead but still alive.’ Christ calls us to die to ourselves. I want to get over myself and fix my eyes on the only One who truly can make me feel alive.
‘I want to breathe hope instead of choking.’ The complications in life are often caused by us – me getting in the way of Christ working in me. I want what comes out of my mouth to be glorifying and not self-gratifying mumbo jumbo (yes, I used the phrase mumbo jumbo). I want to speak and breathe truth and hope from the Word.
‘I want to feel the fire deep inside.’ What’s my true motivation? I feel like my most recent lack in motivation (at times) indicates a lack of passion and fire that can only be ignited by You. Help me get that fire back.
‘Burn through me, carry me away.’ I can’t be filled with You and carry myself nor can I be filled with me and be carried by You. Well, I can try. But that’s not what’s most glorifying to You. What’s most glorifying is to be filled with You and trust You to carry me.
‘How fake could I be? You see through me. You see right through me.’ You know me better than I know myself. There is no point in acting like I have it all together – You see through that. I need to focus on Truth. Pure. Raw. Truth. I long for that in my relationship with You.
‘Would you sing to me? And take me back to when I met you.’ I need to hear You. Not what I want for you to say. Just You. Just pure, raw, truth.
‘I hear You calling me.’ I feel like I’ve been suffocating because I haven’t been breathing You in nearly as much as I should. I know you are calling me back to Yourself.
‘I feel so far from home.’ Following my own map gets me so lost. Even though Your path doesn’t seem clear to me right now, it doesn’t matter because if I’m with You, You’re in the driver’s seat. Not me. You.
‘You can see through my past. You’ve never let me go.’ You know every thing I’ve done . . . even if it was 20 years ago or one minute ago. Past is past. Nothing can change what’s back there. It doesn’t matter how hard we as humans try or how bad we wish it could be rewritten. It can’t. But the good news is that we have the opportunity to change the future. I often forget that I can’t just want to change things and leave it at that. I always come back to the truth that good intentions not acted on are worthless. That’s one (of many) of my biggest down falls – not always following through with my intentions. People can’t read my mind. Even if I verbalize my intentions but don’t act on them, I lose credibility. As I have heard before ‘people don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.’
I want to be back to having child-like faith. Back to being so excited to serve in any capacity. Back to seeing things with fresh, new lenses. I can’t go back because that’s the past. The good news is that my God is a God of hope and forgiveness and renewal and fresh starts. He just needs me to say the word and get out of His way so He can work through me. God, this is me saying the word. Change me. Keep me accountable to what that means. There is nothing like You. There is nothing better than You. Please continue to remind me of that.”
I was listening to a Seventh Day Slumber song called “Back in Time.” The song plays in the youtube window below. It’s just been on my heart lately – to continue to strive to be someone of Pure. Raw. Truth. I took the words from the song line by line and wrote what I was feeling (lyrics in bold, thoughts not bolded).
(Note that the journal entry is my thoughts written to God.)
“Those lyrics ring so true. Truth. Raw truth. I’m not perfect and You know that and You don’t want me to act like I am. You call me to seek You. You. Not me. You. Truth of who I am is found in who You are. At times, I feel broken and helpless. I don’t need any more of me. I need less and less of me and more and more of You. Perfect You. You – the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit who loves me more than I can fathom and hope for.
‘Carry me away. Back in time to when I met you.’ I had such a passion for You when I first realized what it meant to have a relationship with you. I had a raw, real hope.
‘Take all this guilt and shame that buried me.’ I get caught up in my own mind thinking that I have to have it all together and then I look at my imperfections now and in the past and I let myself get buried in the guilt of not being the idea of the perfect person that I have in my mind that I’m supposed to be.
‘And bury me in you.’ Being buried in Christ – protected, cradled, safe, and valued. Why do I let myself get buried in lies instead of pure truth?
‘I want to be dead but still alive.’ Christ calls us to die to ourselves. I want to get over myself and fix my eyes on the only One who truly can make me feel alive.
‘I want to breathe hope instead of choking.’ The complications in life are often caused by us – me getting in the way of Christ working in me. I want what comes out of my mouth to be glorifying and not self-gratifying mumbo jumbo (yes, I used the phrase mumbo jumbo). I want to speak and breathe truth and hope from the Word.
‘I want to feel the fire deep inside.’ What’s my true motivation? I feel like my most recent lack in motivation (at times) indicates a lack of passion and fire that can only be ignited by You. Help me get that fire back.
‘Burn through me, carry me away.’ I can’t be filled with You and carry myself nor can I be filled with me and be carried by You. Well, I can try. But that’s not what’s most glorifying to You. What’s most glorifying is to be filled with You and trust You to carry me.
‘How fake could I be? You see through me. You see right through me.’ You know me better than I know myself. There is no point in acting like I have it all together – You see through that. I need to focus on Truth. Pure. Raw. Truth. I long for that in my relationship with You.
‘Would you sing to me? And take me back to when I met you.’ I need to hear You. Not what I want for you to say. Just You. Just pure, raw, truth.
‘I hear You calling me.’ I feel like I’ve been suffocating because I haven’t been breathing You in nearly as much as I should. I know you are calling me back to Yourself.
‘I feel so far from home.’ Following my own map gets me so lost. Even though Your path doesn’t seem clear to me right now, it doesn’t matter because if I’m with You, You’re in the driver’s seat. Not me. You.
‘You can see through my past. You’ve never let me go.’ You know every thing I’ve done . . . even if it was 20 years ago or one minute ago. Past is past. Nothing can change what’s back there. It doesn’t matter how hard we as humans try or how bad we wish it could be rewritten. It can’t. But the good news is that we have the opportunity to change the future. I often forget that I can’t just want to change things and leave it at that. I always come back to the truth that good intentions not acted on are worthless. That’s one (of many) of my biggest down falls – not always following through with my intentions. People can’t read my mind. Even if I verbalize my intentions but don’t act on them, I lose credibility. As I have heard before ‘people don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.’
I want to be back to having child-like faith. Back to being so excited to serve in any capacity. Back to seeing things with fresh, new lenses. I can’t go back because that’s the past. The good news is that my God is a God of hope and forgiveness and renewal and fresh starts. He just needs me to say the word and get out of His way so He can work through me. God, this is me saying the word. Change me. Keep me accountable to what that means. There is nothing like You. There is nothing better than You. Please continue to remind me of that.”
12.05.2009
2 Corinthians 12:9-10
May my attitude be the same as Paul's:
"But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong."
"But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong."
12.02.2009
Prayer Request
We are facing another huge obstacle in our ministry. Not impossible, but huge in our human eyes. The obstacle is finances and it’s threatening the immediate future of the school project.
“Jesus looked at them and said, ‘With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.’" Mark 10:27
We’re in a tricky situation. We have to have a building rented, a full staff and money on reserve to even apply for a school license. However, without a license, we can’t have students and don’t receive the tuition fees. At the beginning of the school year (May-August), we were receiving some tuition reimbursement and weren’t renting a building at that time and the Thai staff was being paid by our partnering ministry. Now, the partnering ministry is no longer supporting the Thai staff, we are paying for the building rent and we aren’t receiving any tuition reimbursements. Our expenses have greatly increased at a very pivotal time in our ministry.
We have been unable to pay the bills that have come due this week. We are stuck. If we are unable to pay the bills and unable to continue toward obtaining our license, our project will have to shut down. This breaks my heart because there are so many children and their families in this community that the school could reach for the Lord’s purpose.
I come to you as a person not fond of asking for donations. However, I don’t want to sit back and know that I didn’t do everything in my power to get the word out about the reality of the situation.
Please join us in praying for the future of Hope International Schools. Please pray for God’s guidance and clear direction.
If you are interested in giving to the ministry of H.I.S. please visit http://www.hopeinternationalschools.org/.
Thank you for partnering with us!
Trusting Him,
“Jesus looked at them and said, ‘With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.’" Mark 10:27
We’re in a tricky situation. We have to have a building rented, a full staff and money on reserve to even apply for a school license. However, without a license, we can’t have students and don’t receive the tuition fees. At the beginning of the school year (May-August), we were receiving some tuition reimbursement and weren’t renting a building at that time and the Thai staff was being paid by our partnering ministry. Now, the partnering ministry is no longer supporting the Thai staff, we are paying for the building rent and we aren’t receiving any tuition reimbursements. Our expenses have greatly increased at a very pivotal time in our ministry.
We have been unable to pay the bills that have come due this week. We are stuck. If we are unable to pay the bills and unable to continue toward obtaining our license, our project will have to shut down. This breaks my heart because there are so many children and their families in this community that the school could reach for the Lord’s purpose.
I come to you as a person not fond of asking for donations. However, I don’t want to sit back and know that I didn’t do everything in my power to get the word out about the reality of the situation.
Please join us in praying for the future of Hope International Schools. Please pray for God’s guidance and clear direction.
If you are interested in giving to the ministry of H.I.S. please visit http://www.hopeinternationalschools.org/.
Thank you for partnering with us!
Trusting Him,
Brittany
11.29.2009
Thanksgiving
I had 2 Thanksgivings! We went to Joel and Marvel's (the founders of Hope International Schools) and they hosted a Thanksgiving dinner for all the English and Thai teachers. I also celebrated with my C&MA family here. Here are some fun pics of the celebrations along with us making caramel apples . . . yum! My favorite parts were making green bean cassarole and watching the Thai teachers eat all the traditional Thanksgiving food that they've never tried before. They ate everything but one of my favorite comments from my co-teacher was "I miss chiles" haha. Guess they aren't used to non-spicy food.
11.22.2009
Today
Today was an interesting day and a reminder of why I love Thailand so much – you truly don’t know what will be coming at you each day.
Weather
Today is/was Sunday. We woke up and it wasn’t hot. Crazy! It was about 70-75 degrees all day and overcast and it reminded me of a fall day in Colorado. I wore longsleeves! I enjoyed drinking warm coffee and didn’t have to sit in front of a fan while doing so. Honestly, the “cold” was comforting and made me smile and thankful to feel a little more at home today.
Church
We went to church like we do every Sunday. However, I will never ever get sick of seeing one of my orphaned students that I had last term. Usually we look for each other in the service and give each other many waves throughout the morning once we’ve spotted each other. Then, as soon as the service is over, we find each other and give each other the biggest, rib breaking hug we can muster. We talk a little bit but she doesn’t speak much English and I speak survival Thai, so we let our hugging and smiling do most of the talking. She says “God love you,” I smile while my heart melts and I say it back and we go our separate ways. This is a routine that I never want to take for granted. Here's a picture of the two of us that was taken back in the summer time at school.
Buddhist Wake
One of our best Thai teacher friends had to help her family with a 3 day wake and Buddhist funeral for her uncle this weekend. Today was the 3rd day of the wake and she was working hard to prepare for the funeral tomorrow. We offered to help her and drove to her family’s house in the Thai country side where there are chicken farms and rice plantations of plenty. We weren’t too inconspicuous considering we are all fair skinned and have “Foreigner” practically tattooed on our foreheads. However, we were excited to have the opportunity to help out our friend who has been such a huge blessing to us and would “give us the shirt off her back.” We did a few things like put stickers on pens that were to be given away as mementoes, put fresh sticky rice into individual bags for the feast, and help (or at least attempt to) a teenage monk fold banana leaves for traditional flower boats. I soaked up the experience. It was very different. However, it was an awesome time to get a front row seat to traditional Thai life.
Spicy Papaya Salad & Mangoes with Sticky Rice
Two of my all time favorite things to eat in Thailand and we had them both with our Thai friend after we left the wake. We ate Thai style where we had a bunch of plates in the middle and just picked at what we want (which is great since I “dissect” and pick at my food anyway).
Christmas Kringle
My 4 roommates and I decided to make a “Christmas Bucket List” of things we want to do this Holiday Season. We want to make the most of our time here. Along with our own personal traditions, we added some service projects to the list as well as Christmas Kringle. Basically it’s Secret Santa with a twist. The twist is each day, there’s a specific guildline on each gift (not to mention the fact that we could only spend $1 usd each day). Our roommate Misty is going home to the Philippines for the whole month of December so we decided to get it in before she leaves so this coming week is Christmas Kringle week! We went to the Sunday market tonight and all split up and went around finding our gifts for our secret person. Here is what the week looks like for exchanging:
Monday – Something Scented
Tuesday – Something Colorful
Wednesday – Something Soft
Thursday – Something Useful
Friday – Something Edible
Saturday – Something Thai
Grand Finale – no restriction on type, just restriction on cost and we won’t exchange until we’re all back together in January.
Today, God was continually reminding me of how blessed I am to be living here. Thank you to all who make it possible!!!
Weather
Today is/was Sunday. We woke up and it wasn’t hot. Crazy! It was about 70-75 degrees all day and overcast and it reminded me of a fall day in Colorado. I wore longsleeves! I enjoyed drinking warm coffee and didn’t have to sit in front of a fan while doing so. Honestly, the “cold” was comforting and made me smile and thankful to feel a little more at home today.
Church
We went to church like we do every Sunday. However, I will never ever get sick of seeing one of my orphaned students that I had last term. Usually we look for each other in the service and give each other many waves throughout the morning once we’ve spotted each other. Then, as soon as the service is over, we find each other and give each other the biggest, rib breaking hug we can muster. We talk a little bit but she doesn’t speak much English and I speak survival Thai, so we let our hugging and smiling do most of the talking. She says “God love you,” I smile while my heart melts and I say it back and we go our separate ways. This is a routine that I never want to take for granted. Here's a picture of the two of us that was taken back in the summer time at school.
Buddhist WakeOne of our best Thai teacher friends had to help her family with a 3 day wake and Buddhist funeral for her uncle this weekend. Today was the 3rd day of the wake and she was working hard to prepare for the funeral tomorrow. We offered to help her and drove to her family’s house in the Thai country side where there are chicken farms and rice plantations of plenty. We weren’t too inconspicuous considering we are all fair skinned and have “Foreigner” practically tattooed on our foreheads. However, we were excited to have the opportunity to help out our friend who has been such a huge blessing to us and would “give us the shirt off her back.” We did a few things like put stickers on pens that were to be given away as mementoes, put fresh sticky rice into individual bags for the feast, and help (or at least attempt to) a teenage monk fold banana leaves for traditional flower boats. I soaked up the experience. It was very different. However, it was an awesome time to get a front row seat to traditional Thai life.
Spicy Papaya Salad & Mangoes with Sticky Rice
Two of my all time favorite things to eat in Thailand and we had them both with our Thai friend after we left the wake. We ate Thai style where we had a bunch of plates in the middle and just picked at what we want (which is great since I “dissect” and pick at my food anyway).
Christmas Kringle
My 4 roommates and I decided to make a “Christmas Bucket List” of things we want to do this Holiday Season. We want to make the most of our time here. Along with our own personal traditions, we added some service projects to the list as well as Christmas Kringle. Basically it’s Secret Santa with a twist. The twist is each day, there’s a specific guildline on each gift (not to mention the fact that we could only spend $1 usd each day). Our roommate Misty is going home to the Philippines for the whole month of December so we decided to get it in before she leaves so this coming week is Christmas Kringle week! We went to the Sunday market tonight and all split up and went around finding our gifts for our secret person. Here is what the week looks like for exchanging:
Monday – Something Scented
Tuesday – Something Colorful
Wednesday – Something Soft
Thursday – Something Useful
Friday – Something Edible
Saturday – Something Thai
Grand Finale – no restriction on type, just restriction on cost and we won’t exchange until we’re all back together in January.
Today, God was continually reminding me of how blessed I am to be living here. Thank you to all who make it possible!!!
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