Unsuccessful shopping day

I was so excited to sleep in this morning. I love Saturday--it is one of my favorite days of the week. I usually don't have any responsibilities and can just do whatever I want. Today I slept in late, talked to my parents on skype, and then went out on a shopping adventure to find a few new shirts.
I have not figured out the right places to shop yet in this gigantic city. There are so many shopping malls here but almost all of the stores are upscale stores and they are very very expensive. I looked in a few stores today but I just couldn't make myself buy a shirt that costs that much money. I am really looking for a store here that would be similar to Target or Old Navy in the US. Clothes that are cute but affordable. I haven't had any luck finding them. The only stores here that would sound familiar to you that they have here is Espirit, Guess, North Face, Benetton--and the clothes are so expensive!
On the other hand there is a Big C store or Tesco/Lotus store that is similar to Wal-mart. You can find cheap clothes there but they are not good quality and after a few times putting them in the washing machine you realize why they were so cheap:)
I spent about 3 hours out and about today and all I bought was lunch and a drink at Starbucks. I hope to find a good affordable store soon.

You may be wondering why would I need new shirts when I have only been here about 2 months. Let me just say that it is really hot here and I change clothes on a regular basis and go through 2 outfits a day. Almost everything must be washed after 1 wearing so all of the new things I bought before coming here have been washed a lot and are already almost worn out. It is just part of living here. I always thought it sounded funny when I heard that Thai people commonly shower 3-5 times a day and that they are clean people. The 3-5 times a day is really not all because they are clean people it is because it is necessary. I shower at least 2 times a day and sometimes 3 depending on the day.
That is all for my Saturday update. I will let you know if I find a good store.

Multi purpose umbrellas

One of the great things about living here in Bangkok is that it hasn't rained one day since my arrival:) It is so nice to wake up every day to a beautiful sunny day! My umbrella just sits in my closet until the "rainy season" arrives or at least I would have thought that a few weeks ago.

Thai people do not want to have dark skin so they do everything they can to keep the sun away like wear long sleeve shirts, pants, and carry umbrellas or something to shield their heads. Isn't that funny since most Americans want to be dark and do everything they can to be out in the sun or go to the tanning bed.

At first I didn't understand why they would want to carry umbrellas around everywhere but I am thinking about getting mine out soon. It is SO HOT HERE and especially in the sun. I don't want to be in the sun at all because the heat is unbearable. I am a little afraid of how hot it is going to get here because April is the hottest month and it is still a month away. I am not willing to wear long sleeve shirts to keep the sun away but carrying an umbrella seems like a pretty smart idea.

Just to give you an idea of how hot it is here--I looked on line and the temperatures is usually around 96-98 and next to it the words "feels like and then usually digits like 102 or 104. I am so very thankful for air conditioning in my apartment. Pray for the many many Thai people that live here that don't have air conditioning during this very hot season!

Toilets of a different culture:)

I am sure after reading my title you are eager to read my entry about "toilets". I thought it was time to write about some of the cultural differences here:)

1st- there are the toilets that are just like US toilets. They flush nicely and you can use toilet paper. (These kind of toilets are normally found at the very nice upscale malls and I am guessing the nice hotels and fancy homes/apartment buildings.) side note--the toilet paper is very very thin and not soft at all here.

2nd- there are the toilets that are regular toilets by sight and you can flush them but you can't flush toilet paper down them. My guess is that the septic system backs up too easily but I truly don't know. (These kind of toilets are found at my church, apartment, and many other places in the community.)

3rd- there are the toilets that are regular toilets by sight but there is not a flusher--you just pour water in them to flush. (These kind of toilets are found at public parks, markets, etc..)

4th- there are holes in the ground that are toilets. This is actually what most Thai people have in their homes. You will also find these in public places like parks, markets, and in the countryside.

One thing I carry with me at all times is kleenox and baby wipes. A lot of the time you won't find toilet paper in public bathrooms so you better have your own. A lot of bathrooms also do not have soap to wash your hands. They only have water. Never leave your home without the 2 things I mentioned above or you could find yourself in a not so good situation:)

Hope you enjoyed the entry today. Give thanks for the many amenities you have in America that many people in other parts of the world may never experience!

Lesson on Complaining

I have been studying about Moses in my Tuesday night Bible study. This weeks lesson was in Numbers 11&12. I encourage you to read it this week just to be reminded of how the Israelites complained a lot and forgot about how God had given them freedom from slavery in Egypt and how Moses was burdened with their many complaints. I wanted to share a few of the highlights from the lesson tonight.

1. Complaining reveals that our hearts are ungrateful/dissatisfied.

2. When we fail to give thanks we fall into complaining.

3. We must find our satisfaction in the Lord not in people and in the world!

4. As believers we are responsible to apply what we learn about God in our lives. Don't complain

****5. As believers WE ARE RESPONSIBLE to encourage our leaders (pastors) not burden them with complaints!

6. Take it to the Lord first and expect Him to take action!

7. If what you want doesn't match what God wants for you be prepared for hardships and don't complain when they arrive!

8. God provides exactly what I need when I need it so don't complain ahead of time!

9. The Lord will vindicate His servants. Just keep serving and don't complain because God is the final authority.

I wanted to share this because it really reminded me that complaining to others is not honoring to the Lord and that He wants us to share our burdens with HIM. I find myself daily trying to keep my mouth from saying things that are not honoring to HIM--it is a daily process and I am thankful that I serve a forgiving Father.

Catching Up! Language/Church/Cultures(Fun Facts)

I am so thankful to have so many friends and family members that keep up with my blog-if only I could keep up with trying to write on it. Things have gotten extremely busy here! I spend 4 hours daily in language class and another 2-4 hours studying every afternoon and evening. I am really enjoying learning another language but Thai certainly is hard! There are a few basic questions in Thai that I am confident in using like "how are you", "what is your name", what is your favorite color, do you like......... I use most of them daily and the Thai people always compliment me on how good my tones sound--I don't get too overly excited because these are the phrases that I learned first when I had my tutor so I have been using them for a while now. Practice really does help in making it--let's say close to perfect.

Along with language I am busy with several other things too. The pictures above are from the Valentine's Party that we had at Canaan Baptist Church on Sunday. We had a good turn out. It always amazes me how creative other cultures are at making things. One girl cut out watermelon pieces in the shape of hearts--that must have taken a lot of time! People also made Valentine's cards and they all looked good! I just walked around and looked at their cards and talked to people. I am the most uncreative person when it comes to making an art project--well actually I have lots of great ideas--it is just that the end product never looks the way I imagined it to look.

The last thing I will write about in my entry today relates to cultural differences also referred to as "fun facts". One of the many things that is a no, no in Thai culture is that you don't point at people with your finger, and you don't pick your teeth in public. Both of these things are considered offensive. Are you ready for this---it is totally culturally acceptable to pick your nose in public. People do it all the time here and it is no problem. Isn't that interesting???? Being an elementary school teacher I was used to kids picking their nose all the time and reminding them constantly to get a kleenox and wash their hands. I don't get to tell people that here. I will make this promise right now. That is one thing that this culture will not change about me---I will never think it is proper to pick your nose in public:)

That's all the news update for today! I bet you all learned something new today.

Love in the Park-Concert

Valentine's Day is almost over here and just beginning in the U.S. In case you forgot there is a 12 hour time difference. I slept in this morning since it is Saturday and just relaxed most of the day. Around 3:30 this afternoon I set out to find a new park where some of the students that I work with were going to be involved in a concert. I couldn't believe that I found another beautiful/amazing park!! This city is full of them!!

The concert at the park was put on by the Church of Joy here in Bangkok. I have never been to the church but I have heard some great things about it. It is a Christian church that meets in a restaurant and apparently it has some very famous people that attend the church. 2 of the singers in the concert tonight are famous singers here in Thailand. One of them was a rock-n-roll star and I am not sure about the other young lady but apparently they got saved and now they sing at church for the Lord! The band is amazing and all of the singers were great. They sang some songs in English but the majority of them were in Thai but I really enjoyed it all. There were many people there tonight and the church passed out Gospel tracts and some other things to everyone who came to the concert.

It has been really neat to see how the church is using "Valentine's Day" which is known as the holiday of "love" to teach about God's love. My church (Canaan) is having a Valentine's party tomorrow. Last week we wrote on hearts about the many ways that we know of God's love and those hearts will decorate the church wall tomorrow for our many guests to see.

Fresh Start

This morning I got up around 6 a.m. to get ready for language school. I was already feeling a bit nervous after the experience yesterday. I just kept asking the Lord to take away the memories of yesterday and to give me a heart to have a fresh start today. It worked--praise the Lord!! This morning on my walk to the sky train I passed by 2 Thai young ladies that I am friends with that were on there way to work. Their smiles and greetings this morning in passing were a great start to a new day on my way to language.
I got to class this morning and when I made eye contact with the teacher I smiled and she smiled in return. The 4 hours went by fairly quickly and it was a good day. I am sure there are going to be many more difficult days in language school-- as with anything in life it won't be easy but I must persevere!

I appreciate the many prayers that have been lifted up on my behalf with language study. Keep praying because this is only the beginning of the journey.

Lessons learned

Life is full of so many lessons! Today was a day of learning many lessons for me. It started out with language school this morning. There are now 12 people in my class which is quite a bit for a class that is learning a new language. We have been working on letter sounds and tones for the last 3 days. We usually learn a sound or tone and have to go around the circle saying them. Most of the time she is pretty easy going but every once in a while she singles somebody out and makes them keep saying a sound until you get it right. Today was my day (and can I just say it isn't fun). We went around the circle saying the d sound-which by the way is almost the same sound that we make. She gets to me and I make it and she says "no". She made the sound then I made it and she kept saying "no". She would have other people in the class say it and then I would say it and she kept saying "no". It was so frustrating!!!! I felt like it sounded exactly like what she was saying and I didn't know how to fix it. When class time was over several people from the class told me that it sounded right to them and the same as the teacher and they weren't sure why she kept telling me "NO"! It was a very humbling experience. God reminded me today though that I am here to learn even if it's the hard way!

Tonight was much more refreshing! I had my American Bible study (BSF) on Moses. We have been reading Leviticus 25-27. Our teaching leader gave an awesome illustration tonight about how Jesus can turn around the life of anyone who turns back to HIM! Jesus restores what is lost and He repairs what is broken. Just a reminder that No matter how far you are away from God that repentance removes the gap!!

Some lessons in life are difficult and some are easy but they are all lessons to make us stronger and to put our Trust in the Lord who is our Provider!

Where did the week-end go????

I am sure that is the question on many minds when Sunday night has already arrived! It is actually about 11:00 p.m. as I am writing this entry. I did get to relax and rest yesterday (saturday) which was greatly needed. I slept in quite late and mainly hung out around my apartment.
Today (Sunday) I left my apartment around 10:00 a.m. for church and arrived home around 9:00 p.m. I am starting to understand a few Thai words in songs and from the messages. I am thankful that I always have people who guide me to the right verses in the Bible. I attended the morning service at 10:45 which goes until around 12:00 and then we all eat lunch together. After lunch we just hang out and talk. I have really been able to build some great friendships with some of the young ladies from the church. Around 2:00 I went for a snack run with 3 other girls to the 7-11 store. I may not have told you this before but there are so many 7-11 stores here!! I have never seen that many in my life. Apparently they are very popular here. I got my coca-cola (caffeine fix) and a small snickers bar---you know the things you always need--ha ha!
Then at 2:30 I was told that I needed to teach this group of 9 Thai people English for 30 minutes because the man teaching English had to go early. Good thing I am a teacher by trade. I told the class that the man taught them the grammar part and now we were going to converse in the last 30 minutes. By the way the man who was teaching is American but he also speaks perfect Thai so he could translate to them anytime they didn't understand something. They didn't receive that luxury with me because I don't speak Thai:) Luckily the 30 minutes passed by fairly quickly. I let the class ask me questions to practice their English and that way they would also learn some things about me too. I will be teaching this group every Sunday for 30 minutes. I never know what new job I may have each day but that is just part of the journey.
I stayed at church for the 3:45 service. I always love this service. It is the young college crowd and I really love the praise and worship at this time. I almost always know the songs and can sing in English until I learn them in Thai. One of the young Thai girls translated the message for me which is always an extra blessing.
After the service a group of us sat around for many hours and sang praise and worship songs while a few of the guys played their guitars. It was an awesome time of fellowship! I finally made it home around 9:00 tonight but really felt blessed to have found such a great church body of believers here. Worship is such an awesome experience in any language!

God is so Good!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Do you remember singing the song as a child "God is so good, God is so good, God is so good-He's so good to me"......????? I feel like singing it every day here. I am so thankul that I serve a Holy God that loves me and can use me despite my many many imperfections!! I have been praying daily for some specific things and today I saw 2 of them answered in a very special way and wanted to share them with you.

FIRST ONE---I have been praying about the people that live and work on my street that I walk by every day. My street takes about 5-8 minutes to walk to the end (main road). On my walk I pass by construction workers, vendors, neighbors, street cleaners, taxi drivers, and hotel security people. Sometimes I walk down my street several times a day but always at least once a day. I can't really communicate with them but I always smile at them and say "hello" in Thai (swaat dii kha). My prayer has been that I would be a witness by example and that they would see something different in me even if I can't talk to them yet. So this morning at 7:00 a.m. I was walking down the street to the sky train to go to language school. I walked by a guard in front of the shopping center and said "swaat dii kha" and usually they just say it back. Today the man said it back and then said in English "You have a beautiful smile". Wow that made my day! It might be the only thing he knows in English and he says it to every white woman who walks by but i have never been told that here until today. To me--it just reaffirmed to keep smiling and greeting people with the little Thai that I know and it really can be a strong witness.

SECOND ONE--I have been praying for the Lord to open doors for me here in whatever ways He wants to do it. When I finished language school today a little after noon I was riding the elevator down from the 7th floor to the 1st floor. On the ride down a "Thai" young man spoke up and asked if any of us on the elevator were Americans. 3 of us said we were and he asked if we were living in Bangkok. I said I was and would be here for 2 years. He then asked me if I would be interested in teaching English to help some "university students" prepare for this summer when they will go to America on an exchange program and work at Six Flags and places like that. He told me that the school was on the 12th floor and that I could come one day and visit. I will go up there next week and will be lifting it up in Prayer. It involves teaching English and University students but I never would have even thought about it because it is not a University Campus. Sometimes our ministry ideas are limited to a campus setting but God's ministry field is much bigger and spreads into the community in many ways.

I am just amazed at everything that is taking place around me. I can't even describe it at times and I just have tears that flow from being in awe of HIS greatness and Power!

God's Plan is Perfect

One of my favorite verses in the Bible is Jeremiah 29:11-13. I truly believe that God has the perfect plan for my life and He is revealing it to me in so many ways. I will share a few of them with you.

Today was the 1st day of official language school and I understood everything and did pretty well. It is all thanks to my wonderful tutor that has worked with me for the past 3 weeks to prepare me. There are 10 people in my class including myself. There are 3 Americans, 1 Italian, 2 Canadians, 1 from Japan, 1 from Malaysia, 1 from Philippines, and 1 from another place in SE Asia but I don't remember where. I felt really bad for several of the students today who tried to follow what the teacher was saying and tried to get the vowel sounds right and a few tones. I explained to 1 of the young ladies at break time that the only reason I was picking up on it so quickly is because I already knew it--I had been tutored. I tried to encourage her and know in about a week I am going to be in the same vote as her wondering what in the world the teacher is saying:) You may wonder why I told you this story----If you remember in America I didn't get my VISA on time and many of you were praying along with me. It was really a blessing that I didn't get it in time. If I had I would have gone straight to language school and wouldn't have gotten any tutoring. The tutoring was a great help and I felt a little confident today which is a good way to start! I expect to be lost soon but feel so blessed that the Lord knew I needed to arrive just 1 day late so I couldn't go to school that session but have a tutor for 3 weeks before going to school. I am glad He knows everything!!! You can be in prayer for the 7 others with us in class. I don't believe that any of them are Christians.

Another example is the other American couple who were in training and my small group with me in VA who are also in my language school with me. Let's call them G & D for security purposes. G & D were originally supposed to go to N. Thailand for their language where they would be living and at the last minute in early Dec. they were told they would be sent to Bangkok for 6 months of language and then sent to N. Thailand. It has been such a blessing for me to have them here. It is so great to have them in class with me. We can laugh, cry, and encourage each other daily! The journey is always a little easier with some friends:) I am thankful that they are living here for 6 months and studying language with me! WHAT A BLESSING! (Just a side note but also if I had gotten my VISA on time I would have been 1 class ahead of them so we wouldn't have been together).

God is so good and He does have a perfect plan! I am glad that He is in control and not me!!!

Visit to the Grand Palace

I debated about what I would do on my "free day". I finally decided that I would go out and explore going up the river to the Grand Palace. I was so close to it a few weeks ago when out and about with friends but we didn't make it there.

I took the sky train to the end of the line and hopped on the river taxi. I sat on the left side of the water taxi this time because when I rode the last time I only saw the right side. I rode up to the 9th stop and the Grand Palace was right there in front of me. There were still a lot of people there but it is much better than going on a Saturday.

I walked around and took quite a few pictures. They don't let you take pictures inside any of the buildings so I only have outside shots. Overall, the place is beautiful but it is filled with darkness. I only stayed a few hours because I know that every time someone comes to visit I will be taking them there so I will see it many times while I'm here. I came home and took a little nap:) The heat really gets to you after a while.

Tuesday in Thailand

Sometimes I can't think of "catchy" titles for my post as you can see. I survived my 17 days of Thai with my tutor. Today was the last time. Today I had to converse with a Thai lady and ask questions and answer the questions that she asked me. I think I did o.k. My tutor said that I did a good job. The Thai lady actually used a few words in a question today that my tutor never taught me but I knew them from the very brief study of Thai I had done in the US with the computer program (Rosetta Stone). I understood her question and answered and my tutor couldn't believe it. He wondered how I knew those words--those many lessons of Rosetta Stone that I went through and didn't think I was getting anything from paid off today!! I take joy in the small things:) Tomorrow I have the day off and then Thursday official language school begins------

Tonight I was able to attend my first BSF (Bible study fellowship) women's Bible study. It is all done in English. It was great! There were probably only a few "American women". The rest of the ladies were from the Philippines, China, etc. but they all speak good English and attend this study. We will be studying the life of Moses. Tonight our lesson was on Leviticus 16. I feel very blessed and am thankful for all the little things that the Lord has put in place to help make me stronger and more effective for the work I will do here.

I plan to venture out tomorrow on my free day but am not sure where yet so you will have to stay tuned to find out!!! Is that a good tease???? I learned it from my wonderful "news producer" Dana!

Visit to the Hospital

Today I had to go to the hospital--don't worry I am not sick! I had to go because you must have a check up with the Dr. to get a certificate so I can receive a work VISA. The reason why I had to go to the hospital is because they don't have offices here like in the US. You go to the hospital for everything.

Several of the hospitals here are International hospitals. They are so beautiful and clean! The one I went to today is on SOI 1 (street 1) and I live on SOI 2. I walked there today with my paper that I needed to have a check up so I could receive a Work Visa. I was a little scared as I walked there wondering if they would speak English and if I would be waiting for many many hours to see the Dr. Before hand I had my tutor write what I needed in Thai in case they couldn't understand my Thai:)

I arrived at the hospital around 10:45 this morning and the first lady I saw greeted me in English and directed me to the 10th floor. I got to the 10th floor and more greeted me in English and one lady had me fill out a sheet of information, took my picture, and then sent me to the 15th floor. I arrived on the 15th floor and in about 15 minutes I was taken back to see the Dr. He spoke perfect English and asked me a few questions. The check up took about 5 minutes total and I was finished. I left the hospital by 11:15! I was absolutely amazed at how efficient they were at the hospital. Now I will know just what to do when I really am sick and need to go there.

My tutor let me know today that for my final tutoring session tomorrow (myself and 2 other Americans) will go out on the street and talk to people! We have learned all of these phrases and now he wants to see us put them to good use! I am a little nervous but it should be fun. I know how to ask about 10-20 questions now in Thai. However my tones are not always right so it is hard to say whether people tomorrow are going to understand me or not. I could be using the wrong word because I have the wrong tone!

I will let you know how it goes. The countdown is on for "official language school to begin". 3 days!

Where did the time go?

It is hard to believe that today is the first day of February. I have almost been here a month! I feel like January was all a whirlwind of events. Every week seems to fly by and of course the week-ends fly by even quicker:( This week will be my 4th full week here and I have established a fairly active calendar. In case you didn't remember language school starts this week!!! That will take up a majority of my time (4 hours in the morning at school and several hours of homework). I am very thankful for receiving 3 weeks of 1-1 tutoring to prepare me for school. The Thai language is very difficult but I am surprised at how much I have already learned. That should be encouraging to anyone reading this because I am not a fast learner. I am still eager to learn and excited to know more.