I can do something

I am so happy, I was actually able to accomplish something today besides pushing my stroller with two kids hanging on the side all around Bangkok. Today, I was invited to teach English at the slums to some children. It was great to be able to work in my gifting and not even have to worry about language barriers. The children all had a really good time, and I really enjoyed being with them.

One of the biggest dilemmas I am going through right now is what to do about my coffee lady. She and I have gotten quite close, I am not really sure how since I don't speak Thai and she does not speak English. This is the deal, I am allergic to caffeine. It gives me horrible migraines. I tried to pretend like I wasn't get headaches from it, but I am. So, I went with one of my Thai friends who speaks English so, that I could see if she offered anything without caffeine -- no such luck -- chocolate, tea, lattes, and coffee. I feel like this is my opportunity to love her-- do I put up with a caffeine induced stupor so that I can hang out with her? I think that I am going to try the chocolate route and see if just every other day with chocolate I will be OK.

I am not going to write my normal novel because the mosquitoes are eating my alive.

Below I am going to post pictures from our trip to the Thailand border to Laos.

kids

Although, I often think that this journey would be so much easier without three children under 5 , they are the greatest blessing of the trip. All three children are getting really used to the university students that we live with and all have picked up a little Thai. My daughter obviously has been hanging out with me (I am a pro shopper) because she grabbed some stuff that she liked at the mall and asked that lady how much it was in Thai. The baby can say fish in Thai, but not in English. He has also learned"Hello" and "Thank You." My son is also doing great and trying to speak to everyone in Thai.
So, I have had to struggle with getting the children to sleep on trains and motels. I have had to chase the baby down sidewalks, remove him off of tables. I've picked up juice and food off of every inch of our tiny room and washed clothes at 11 pm so that my daughter could have just the right leggings. Despite that fact that these things often slow me down, my children bring so many opportunities to meet Thai people and to bless others. My boys love hanging out with other people and will talk to all of the Thai people. I always hope that the Thai people will see Jesus in the way that I love my kids and allow others to play with my children without being over protective. Despite the fact that my daughter is more introverted, she has made friends with a few of the university girls that live at our house. I know that it is a blessing to them to have her come and hang out with them. They say that quality time is one of the best ways to show love to Thai people, so I am glad that my kids are accomplishing that.
Tomorrow night, when I travel 12 hours on a train at night, I will remember how thankful I am for the friends that my kids are making. I will be grateful that I have made contacts because of them. I will think about the people who work at stores and stands and speak to my children by name whenever we walk by. Although, I have to plan my days differently because of having children, they share love with others in a way that I can't.

Now, I always like to share something humorous that happens because of living in another culture or learning another language. I can't say a lot of things that I want (I can't really say anything that I want to), but I really want to reach out to the girls at our house. So, I decided that I would pray for the girls, especially for the ones that didn't have a relationship with Christ. So, last week I decided to spend some time praying for a girl that I was sure needed Jesus. Whenever I thought about it, I would ask God to bless her and to touch her and I would pray that the other girls would reach out to her. Well, on Thursday, I found out that she actually is a Bible school student, I hope all of my praying blessed her anyway. I used to think that I had the gift of discernment, I am not so sure anymore.

Just a quick post

Clay with Thai children













My Thai teacher and one of the college ministry leaders.


Hi everyone. This is just a quick update to let you know how things are going. I have mastered the bus system pretty well and have been on 2 excursions with the children by myself -- if my dad is reading this -- it is totally safe and it was all done during the daytime. Getting on and off of the bus is a challenge since the first step is about a foot off of the ground and neither one of my older kids will let anyone touch them. I feel so sorry for these nice Thai people who are trying to help my daughter step on to the bus and she is giving them dirty looks and pulling away from them. Then I just smile and say, "thank you" in my nicest Thai.
I have been working on my Thai quite a bit. I really cannot do very much yet, but I am starting to learn the 5 tones -- that is crazy. One of them sounds just like my daughter's tone when she is smart-mouthing me and another one sounds like my son when he is whining, so I am starting to get those two down because I am used to hearing them on a regular basis.
I am going to end the blog now because my family is waiting to go to dinner.
I will put some pictures here on the bottom

pedicures

Everyone has told me over and over how great the pedicures and manicures are in Thailand, so I decided to get one – I want to experience all of the parts of Thai culture. I was on my way with Taylor to find a shop near our house when one of the college students who lives at our house saw us. She said that she would go with me and help me find a place. She took me to a place called “Jazzy Hair-Do.” From the outside, this looks like the nicest hair salon in our neighborhood. She said that it would be less than 3 dollars and that was a good price, so I agreed. The “woman” who greeted us at the door was a 5’ 10 man with long black hair, a white mini-skirt, make-up, and braces. I had heard there were a lot of transvestites in Thailand, so I decided not to worry too much, but I was a little uncomfortable. Then as I sat down in the shop, I realized that everyone working there was a man in disguise. Now, any of you that know me, understand that my love language is not touch, so the thought of having a man in makeup do my toes was not quite the experience that I was going for. Every part of me wanted to think of some reason to leave, but I couldn’t be rude. So, my first pedicure in Thailand was done by a man in a blue jean miniskirt and heels. After leaving the shop, I asked my friend if she knew beforehand that everyone in there was a transvestite, she said yes. I think that is going to be the last time that I get her advice on where to go.
Yesterday (Wednesday), I finally was able to see a little bit of the Buddhist religion. Grant and the rest of our team went on a temple tour. I couldn’t go because of the kids, so we decided to do some fun things together. I had promised the kids that I would take them to breakfast, so we went out for waffles. The restaurant was just opening up when we got there, so I was I able to witness their rituals first-hand. They had around three or four small idols around the restaurant. The mother went to each of them and silently prayed. Then she got a tray with three small oranges and three small drinks. I thought she was going to bring them to my kids, but she put them on one of the idols. I am not really sure of the religious significance of all of that, but it was interesting to see.
Then last night I went to the girl’s small group here at the house. It was all in Thai of course. This has been an incredible humbling experience for me. I cannot understand a word anyone says, but in Mexico of course I am practically bilingual. I am thankful for this experience though because I believe this is going to teach me to be so much more empathetic and patient with people as they try to learn Spanish.

First few days in Thailand

Today is Monday, and I have been in Thailand since Thursday. Many on you are probably wondering how we did on the flight. Fortunately, everything went quite well. My daughter was obsessed with the movies –everyone had their own personal t.v. and could change it to the movie of their choice. The baby slept really well on the flight, and my 3-year old was awesome as well.
Tai airlines is a wonderful airline. The attendants are incredibly friendly and helpful. They gave us drinks the entire flight, snacks, and wonderful meals. They also were very helpful with the children. Not to mention, the attendants wore beautiful traditional outfits. If I ever get the chance, I hope to use their airline again.
As I mentioned the flight went really well, however, the last thirty minutes were a little scandalous. We were getting ready to land, so were not allowed to get up. Right at this time, my 3-year old woke up in a horrible mood and then his ears started hurting. Then he decided that he had to go to the bathroom. I am not sure how my two older children could have planned every bathroom break around take off and landing, but somehow everytime we are on the plane, they are sure that is the best time to “go potty.” At this time when my son started howling at the top of his lungs. Then he peed all over me –through a pull up – I might have to make a complaint with Huggies. Then, the other two also began crying as well. This went on for the last thirty minutes of the flight and the entire time we were getting our bags. But, considering it was 4:00 am for them, I would have to say that they did better than I expected.
Things are going really well here. We are staying at a college ministry house. There are quite a few college age Thai students living here. Most of them are Christian. Some of them received Christ through this ministry to college students, and others have come from Christian families. I am very impressed by the work they are doing here in Bangkok.
It is a little bit tough though here for the kids. The five of us are in a room that is about 12 x 10, and we are sharing a communal bathroom. Needless to say, the kids have had quite a few “accidents” with going to the bathroom. They are still getting over jetlag and are getting up before 6 am and wanting to go to bed for the night at 3:00 in the afternoon. It is a little difficult because I get embarrassed by their behavior, especially when they are tired. Everything is new and different for them, so of course it is hard for them to be really good. They are used to being able to run around everywhere, and they just don’t have that option here. The young people here are not parents, so I am not sure if they can understand that my kids really aren’t bad, they just are adjusting and doing the best they can despite different circumstances. – I also am used to being able to work in another room while my kids play together – I am not going to lie, this is trying on my patience, and I am not exactly winning the battle.
Saturday though, some of the girls who are working with us this summer played with my kids for about an hour – it was so nice to be able to breathe for a few minutes. OK so enough of the complaining. This should be a great time with my family. They are learning to get by with just a couple of toys, not watch so much TV and play together. Just pray that everyone calms down a little bit and that I can be patient and not get so embarrassed – it really does not help anything. I know that God is really going to use this in my life this summer; I just hope that I will bend my neck and learn from it. I am thankful for the opportunity to learn through embarrassment, tight quarters, and complete unfamiliarity.

The Thai language is also extremely difficult to learn. The people are friendly and merciful as I butcher their language on an hourly basis. Today I hope to get someone to give me a little bit of help with the language. It should go better. We have seen 3 elephants walking down the road so far. The food is amazing. They have coffee stands all over that would put Starbucks to shame –especially since they only cost 80 cents. So, this is a huge blog today. But, hopefully it will be shorter next time and with some good pictures since I am now getting settled in. Thanks for everything

I'm crazy for Jesus

I'm crazy for Jesus is the title of my blog today --I must be because I am going on a plane for 20 hours nonstop with a 18 month- old, a 3 year-old and a 4 year-old. Let me reiterate 20 hours with three kids under 5.
I am excited though. I know that God has definitely directed me to Thailand for the summer. It will be a great experience to get involved with the culture, to learn some Thai, and see how we can best love and get to know the people of Thailand.
Honestly, I think I would be crazier not to go to Thailand. I know that God has told me to go this summer. Wouldn't it be much more insane to defy the Lord just because something seems intimidating and out of our control? How often do we convince ourselves that we didn't really hear God leading us because the task at hand seems too difficult and daunting?
Fortunately for me, the Lord made it very clear that I was supposed to go this summer. He also tied up all of my loose ends in Mexico and made it so much easier for me to temporarily leave the place that I have called home for the past eleven years.
So, this is just the beginning of my blog. I will be updating as often as possible and letting you know how things are going on over there. Please bear with me getting the page and layout set up on the page -- I am new at all of this.
Remember to be praying on Wednesday. We leave at 6:00 am eastern time, and we will be flying for 20 hours. Pray for the kids, especially for the baby --he does not like to be seated and at 18-months, the only thing entertaining is climbing and running. Please also pray for us not to be too affected by jet lag. Pray that I will have peace that passes all understanding and that I will be such an amazing mom that everyone will see Jesus in me.