My first field trip out of Bangkok!

I finally had a chance to do a few "touristy" things outside of Bangkok today. I went with some American friends and we did it with a travel company. Of course it meant that I had to get up at 5 a.m. in order to be at the hotel and ready to go by 6:30 a.m. but it was a really fun day!

The all day tour included going to the floating market, wood carving place, elephant park, and rose garden. We went in a van and had our very own tour guide. It was quite funny though because our tour guide did not speak good English so I really didn't understand him at all.

I am going to include some pictures from the day. I bought a very Asian looking hat--try not to laugh. I did wear it today to keep the sun out because it was an extremly hot day!! However, the hat will now be used as a cool wall ornament hanging in my apartment. Enjoy the pictures--it was fun to be a "tourist" for the day and to journey out to see some of the countryside!

Life is just sometimes hard!

I am sure many of you would say "amen" to my title. Lately things just seem hard. I moved into a new apartment a little over a week ago and my new friends here are ants. It could definitely be worse but I have to admit I am tired of seeing ants everywhere!! I bought spray but it only kills them for the moment and others always come back. It is a minor inconvenience but sometimes it just gets overwhelming and i'm ready to give up fighting the battle!

Another lesson I am learning is a cultural thing that I am having a hard time adjusting to lately. One thing in Thai culture is that they never want to offend anyone so they never say "no". The problem is that they tell you "yes" but then they don't show up. Later they will apologize for not coming but they knew all along they weren't coming. It is really hard for me because when I make plans with someone I keep them. If something changes I call them and let them know but that is not the way things work here. I keep reminding myself I am in their culture so I have to adapt but some things just aren't easy.

I am thankful though that I serve a Lord who never changes!! He is the same and is always there right on time:)!! He is there when ants are climbing across my computer screen and when friends don't show up reminding me to put all my trust in Him!

Praying for Peace

Many of you already know of the current situation here in Bangkok. About a week ago some protestors arrived here but within the past few days it has turned into a more serious situation. Military tanks moved in here Sunday afternoon to try to regain control.

Tomorrow I was supposed to go with some friends to the beach for the Thai New Year but we had to cancel our plans because it is not safe. All of the Songkran (Thai New Year) festivities have been cancelled.

I am safe and sound in my apartment reading all of the latest updates on-line. One of the best sources is the Bangkok Post. It is in English and keeps things updated almost every hour.

Please pray for peace quickly here.

Easter Sunday in Bangkok

Today didn't quite feel like Easter here in Bangkok for many reasons. One reason is because there were very few people at church this morning because most of them have left to be with their family for the Thai New Year (Songkran). We celebrated it as a church last Sunday.

The second reason is because around 3:00 this afternoon I was told that Bangkok was now in a state of emergency and that military tanks were situated in several places and were ready to act on the protestors if necessary. I had to take the subway home in order to avoid all of the action. This is not a time to want to be in on or see the action. I live only a few miles from where most of it is taking place so I will be staying home tomorrow.

When I arrived home this evening I took some time to read in the Gospels the story of Jesus death and resurrection. I was reminded of the sacrifice that He made for each of us and that He wants us to tell others about His great love!

I hope that everyone had a very wonderful Easter!

Easter Celebration at Canaan

We celebrated Easter a little early here in Thailand. There is a big Thai holiday coming up called "Songkran" and many people go home to be with their families so we had our Easter service a week early. We had special music using the chimes and some special singing. We also had some visitors!! One of the college students that I met at BSC on Friday nights came to the Easter service. Canaan (my church) was pretty full for the special service! After the service we had a special lunch and then just spent time hanging out. Around 3:00 a terrible storm came through which seems to be the norm these days. We had to wait for it to stop pouring down rain before we could go to the Easter concert at Lumphini park.

The Easter Concert was put on by the Church of Joy--the same church that did the Valentine's Day concert. There were lots of people at the park for the concert! The concert went from 5-9 and many of the singers are famous Thai singers who became believers. One of the guys that sang is from my church. It was a lot of fun! I love listening to praise and worship music in any language!

Now I have a 2 week holiday from language school and am going to spend most of it resting, studying Thai, and hanging out with friends. I am sure it will all go by quickly!

An "American" lunch

I have been planning for weeks who to invite and what to make for what I titled an "american" lunch. I wanted to invite people that I know from all different places--church, language school, Friday night life, and Sripatum Universtiy. The list got fairly lengthy and I think I probably invited around 20 people or so. Several of them were busy for a variety of different reasons so it ended up being 10 that came today.

My second dilemma was what should I make. My mom, sister, and Dana all sent some recipes for different things. Yesterday I headed to the grocery store at the end of my street and decided that I would make chicken 2 different ways, homemade macaroni-n-cheese- and potato salad. I marinated and baked some of the chicken and I made fried chicken using my grandmother's recipe. I made chocolate chip cheesecake brownies for dessert. That recipe came from a lady that I taught with in Virginia. I had never made potato salad before so I was a little nervous about it but all of it turned out great. My Thai friends loved it all! I did have some spicy sauce for them to add to things because they like things spicy here. I even bought tabasco sauce and yes they put a little of that on everything too:) I think their favorite thing was the potato salad so I guess my first time was a hit:)

Here are some pictures from the event. It was a great time with friends here. I feel very blessed.

HAPPY, HAPPY, HAPPY!!!

I am so happy for many reasons! I am happy because it's Friday--I love the week-ends:) I am happy because Module 2 is finished and I have a 2 week holiday from language school. I am happy because I finished and passed Module 2 so I will go on to Module 3. I will include a few pictures from language school. We went on a field trip yesterday to do our oral exam at the market. Today was the written exam. Our class gave our teacher roses to thank her for the wonderful job she did teaching Module 2.