my weekend.

When Aom first told me that her company was going on a weekend trip and invited me* to come along, I accepted. I had no idea what to expect, but I've found that saying "yes" in life always leads to stories to be told... Sometimes it's a story of head-shakes and groans, and sometimes it's one with fond memories, laughter and new friendships. I'm happy to say this weekend was the latter! Don't ask me where we went, I have no idea. And don't ask me if things went "acccording to plan," because I never knew the plan. I happily let the Thais forge the way, and I tagged along for the ride :)

(* Claire was also invited, but unfortunately her teaching schedule didn't allow her to come on this excursion this time.)

Photos from Wat Tum Seu:

While we were visiting Wat Tum Seu (the second and final "wat visit" of the day), we went to the top of one of the structures on the top of one of the hills and were able to look down and look out over Thailand.

It was a visual reminder to me of not only the idolatry present in this country (and every country... and my own heart!), but also the desolation that idols bring. The empty land shadowed by their idols.

"But their idols are silver and gold, made by the hands of men. They have mouths, but cannot speak, eyes, but they cannot see; they have ears, but cannot hear, noses, but they cannot smell; they have hands, but cannot feel, feet, but they cannot walk; nor can they utter a sound with their throats. Those who make them will be like them, and so will all who trust in them." Psalm 115:4-8 

 The "Sweet Bee" Resort where we stayed... Imagine a bungalow village by a river in the middle of the woods/mountains.

Sai Yok National Park

I forgot to take a picture of the waterfall (whoops), but once other people load their pictures on Facebook I may snag a couple more to put up here! Here are some from our trip there:

[photo credit: Pooka]

[photo credit: Pooka]

 Some highlights from the trip...

- Getting to watch Aom explain to her Buddhist co-workers why she wasn't entering the wats to wai to the Buddah statues (A way that Buddhists "make merit" and pay respect to Buddah. Oftentimes it is accompanied with prayers.) 

- Have opportunities to share with Thais, over lunch, about how the Church is different from the wats... and explaining how as Christians Jesus has taken away the burden and the need for us to "make merit." 

- Building new friendships with Thais and being given open doors to sharing why I am in Thailand. 

- Having some quality time to get to know Aom better, invest in our friendship and (hopefully!) encourage her spiritually. 

- And on less serious notes...  singing karaoke on stage, watching a beautiful sunset over the mountains, running into a goat at a gas station, stopping at the most random & sketchy squatty potties between BKK and our destinations, trying to teach Aom how to swim, and eating new food at every meal! 

good morning.

It's a beautiful sunny day here in Bangkok, Thailand, and my little blue kitchen has the starting smells and warmth of a batch of honey oatmeal bread. Tiffany will be arriving in a few hours for the first week of our women's Bible Study, hopefully at the same time that the bread crust starts browning! I really love days like today.

I woke up later than I'd planned, a casualty of staying up late with Claire last night, but with enough time to get things done in a manner slightly slower than helter-skelter. I accidentally over-scheduled my week, so discovering that this morning was free was a beautiful margin that I didn't realize I'd left myself. So I'm using it to pick up my apartment, bake some bread, put away some clothes and get my external life in order (with a blog post thrown in for good measure). And while the bread does its second rise, I will continue my way through Genesis.

God has given me so much joy in being here... not that there aren't still moments that elicit groans and utterances of, "This is Thailand" (usually in regards to our internet) but overall, I am content. And I hope that that has less to do with the place and the circumstance, and more to do with the fact that God is growing a spirit of contentment in my heart regardless of the circumstances.

In all the hustle and bustle of life here, it is refreshing to be able to stop and intentionally relish the moment you are in. I'll share two moments from yesterday:

Last night Claire and I spent the evening with our friend Air and her sister Ae. They took us to a little ice-cream shop called "Tung Fung" and afterwards we went to a Suki restaurant called "Elvis Suki" where they ate dinner and we tried their scallop appetizer! Air is the childhood friend of the Thai tutor we had in America, Supot. He introduced us to her, via Facebook, while he was still in the States, and we have since become friends. It really is neat how God has brought people like Air into our life here.

[They put dry ice in the middle section to keep the ice cream from melting too quickly... and for the added fog effect!]

I also ran into Song yesterday! He was one of the guys I met at conversation corner in 2011 when I first came to Thailand. In a city so big, it is neat to run into people that I know. It was also a reminder for me to continue praying for him. He is taking Chinese classes at the BSC now, so I hope that means I will get to see and talk with him more frequently!

Anyhow, I need to pick the pace up a little more on my morning and handle my "chores" before people show up... but I wanted to share a piece of my morning with you all. For those of you I know and for those of you I don't know (shout-out to my readers in Oman and Finland!), have a wonderful morning!

snapshot.

I would never want anyone to think that my life here is glamorous or exotic. Okay, it does have its moments, but most days are just normal days, with me figuring out how to best love and reach out to the people God has put in my life. Because of that, I don't want to only post about Phuket Laos the big moments... I also want to capture the normal and small moments. Both for my own recollection and because most days of my life are comprised of small moments: little interactions, conversations and victories.

So, here are two snapshots from today:

Rahab. (Sound familiar? I posted about their ministry here.) Well, it's been almost 6 months to the day, and God has opened the door for Claire and I to work with a few of these women! Today we traveled to the the heart of the Patpong red-light district, through a little door, up an elevator and arrived at the doors of Rahab. Claire and I will be going every week to teach two classes for the women. My class (which has three women) is starting with the very basics, because two of them do not know their alphabet. The women have such a great sense of humor, every few minutes the room was filled with us laughing about something! Sometimes it was us laughing at ourselves because of how ridiculous our faces looked as we concentrated on making certain sounds, other times it was because of a misunderstanding or my charades, but between all of our laughing and cutting up, I think they learned a few letters, too. I am so excited about continuing to get to know and work with these women.

Tonight one of my students (June) stayed late to talk with me. After some standard small talk, she shared with me that her sister and brother-in-law are missionaries in Thailand! She lives with her parents and her father is a pastor in Pattaya. It's a small thing, but I love meeting Thais who are missional. I also love having fellow Christians in my classes. I know it's never "me against the world"... if it was we'd all be in trouble! But it's so refreshing to know that I have a sister in class who has the same heart as her Father: for Thais to know Him. She said that she would like to come to our Friday Night Life program tomorrow- I hope she does! It means so much more when Thais share Christ with Thais in Thai. Please pray for believers like June who are here in Thailand trying to reach their own people! Many of you know the challenge and burden of being evangelistic in your own backyard... please do not neglect to pray for Thais who are also trying to do that.

growth.

Everyone told me before I came to Thailand that being here would change me, but slow growth sometimes feels hard to mark, doesn't it? When I was training for the Half-Marathon, every long run felt like the hardest run... ever. I would run 5 miles and think "That's it. That's my max. Can't go further." But then the next week I would run 6. And then 7. And I'd think the same thing, that I'd reached my limit. But the more that I pushed, the more I was able to stretch myself. I think that faith is like that.

God asks us to step out in faith, and if we choose to be obedient, it stretches us. Our obedience often feels like we're maxing our faith out. Like, "Okay, God, I did that for you. But that's it. I can't go any further than that." But then the next time, that same act of obedience becomes a little easier, and we are able to do something that requires a little more faith.

If we don't stop to look back, it would be easy to become discouraged. After all, every act of faith feels just as stretching and just as difficult as the one before. But when we look back we see that 5 miles doesn't wind us anymore. That 8 miles has become refreshing instead of making us feel like death-warmed-over. He stretches us in our faith so that we will have a greater capacity for faith.

So, this post is about me looking back. Because as much as being here is about giving/putting-out for others, it has also been a time for the Lord to teach me, both in spiritual and practical ways. I wanted to share a few of those things with you for your encouragement and also for your continued prayer for these areas of my life.

Being in Thailand…

…Is allowing me space to grow.  Maybe it has more to do with the fact that I’m alone in an unfamiliar place, but it has forced me to confront a lot of ugly places in my heart. How often do I put off heart-checks because I am distracted? Ummm… yeah.

…Is keeping me an active learner. I didn’t learn a lot of things growing up because there were always more capable people around to do them for me (shout-out to my parents, who can do pretty much everything, excellently). Of course, that’s an immature way to approach life, but it’s hard to intrinsically motivate yourself to do/learn hard things. Let’s blame it on human nature. But here, no one is doing anything for me. If something needs to be done, there is no “honey-do” list. There is only a “Liz to-do list.” This both wears me down and excites me. Some days it's fun to learn things and slop my way through new experiences, but after a while, it does get wearisome. Perhaps because we weren’t designed to live our lives alone... Regardless, I am very much looking forward to the day when I can hand over the paintbrush, caulk and pliers. :)

…Is helping me learn wisdom, boundaries and balance in relationships. This, of course, is something people learn all the time, but Thailand is so relationally oriented I feel like I'm getting a lot of practice!  I'm always confronting heart questions like: How do I respond to criticism? How swiftly do I forgive? Am I a grudge-holder? Am I disciplined in dying to self? Do I seek ways to serve others? Do I give without expectations of repayment? Living in community quickly reveals these answers. I’m thankful that God has given me relationships where I can practice extending and receiving grace from others, and opportunities to see it modeled biblically.

…Is teaching me discipline. There’s no one to tell me what to do, remind me, or follow up. There’s only me. It’s so easy to blame people, circumstances, finances, etc. for a million and one things… but being single and abroad has stripped away a lot of those excuses. This is how it feels: If I don’t cook, no one cares. If I don’t exercise, no one cares. If I don’t clean, no one cares. If I don’t do my laundry, no one cares. There is a lot of freedom in that, being able to do what I want. But the reality is, as Dodson put it in Gospel-Centered Discipleship, "God's forgiveness frees us from judgement, not from obedience." I am accountable for my freedom; I am responsible for the trajectory and management of the life that God's given me. And the pressure of that is much greater than simply trying to meet the expectations of man. The questions that have surfaced for me are twofold: What kind of person do I want to be? And what kind of person has God made me to be? And the answer to those questions force me to confront the frequent incongruities with what I say I want and my actual choices.

There’s still much I don’t know and a lot more growing to do… And honestly, it's a constant battle to be still stop striving and to let God do the working and the growing in me. But I am thankful for friends, family, a church and small group who challenge and push me to keep reflecting on Christ and the cross. 

[month seven]

My sluggishness in posting this last month is due to the crazy nature of our "winter-break" and a lot of new changes with my life here. So, here is the 7-month catch up...

After a lovely Christmas (blogged about here and vlogged here) and after our trip to Laos (recorded in a 3-part installment that now has working videos!), we arrived home in Bangkok. It was early on Sunday morning. Turbo, one of our Thai friends at LifePoint, had invited everyone to his family's holiday home in the country. So, we left from church for our next journey... to Suphanburi! While there, we enjoyed western toilets, hot showers and home-made meals! His family was the definition of hospitality, and it was so fun to get to know them while also bonding with the folks on the trip. Some of the highlights? Getting to trek through a cave, hike to a waterfall, ride a water buffalo, and make home-made Pad Thai! Here are some of the pictures, and a video (!) from our time there.

Feeding one of the buffalos... nom nom. (video credit: Brittany)

[That's right... I can "Kii Kwaii" / "Ride a buffalo!"]

[A poor 5 legged buffalo. They have to tie up his extra leg so he can walk.] 

[Claire, Brittany and Nisa at the Smiling Buffalo Village!]

[The state park we visited... can't pronounce it, but it was beautiful!] 

[Nisa, Chao, Diane, Claire] 

[Outside the cave]

[Inside the cave]

[Turbo and his sweet girlfriend, Nam]

[Some of our group... what goofs we are!]

[Wading in the water to the waterfall]

January has marked the official beginning of a lot of new things... including a new position as guest house manager at the BSC! It's a lot like being an RA: helping manage rooms, unlock doors for folks when they leave their keys in the room, facilitate building community, etc. I love it! And not just because the position comes with the perk of an apartment.

So, over break I moved one door down the hall, and now have a fully functioning kitchen, furnished living room and bedroom. The apartment was in desperate need of some TLC and a fresh coat of paint. Which, ended up being one of my big winter-break projects... along with cleaning up the community laundry room area and the downstairs community lounge (which had been slowly taken over by extra furniture, dated books and dust bunnies). The kitchen and living room transformed from a pepto-pink into a nice ice-blue (kitchen) and oatmeal-beige (living room). I'm officially all moved in now and have been making use of the larg(er) toaster oven by experimenting with some new recipes!

[The finished kitchen!]

The guesthouse has some new folks who have joined our ranks for a few months! Five members of the Logos: Hope ship are staying here to prepare and scope things out for when their boat compatriots arrive Feb 20th. Marcell is from Germany; Madeleine is from Sweden; JongMin is from South Korea, and Jimmy is from Thailand! They're all around our age, and have been a fun and welcome addition... it's neat to be living in a place that is so international. What a unique experience to get to meet and eat with people from literally all over the world as one family in Christ!

Classes for Term 1 have begun! I had my first week of night classes last week, and this week I will begin teaching a Business course (hitherto referred to as my BMA class). The BMA course is designed for business professionals and is 4 hours of classroom time (plus breaks) twice a week in the mornings. Because of this course, I only have 4 night classes this term.

I've started attending a new small group with LifePoint this term, and I am thrilled about it. Today was our first "official" meeting and it was, in one word: refreshing. I love being spiritually led. And despite balking against it from time to time, I love being challenged and held accountable. The Thais and Americans leading my new small group are bold in laying out biblical expectations over our lives. I love (and need) that. 

And lastly, many of you have asked about running... am I still running, how's it going, etc. Well, the holidays (and spending days on end in buses and vans on my bum) were not conducive to running... but I'm back home and have picked up my runs again. And yes, I have entertained thoughts of doing another race for fun, we shall see!

Thanks so much for your prayers and financial support. If there are specific things that you would like to know (or know more about) always feel free to shoot me an email or comment on my posts! 

Laos [part iii]

The School

While we were visiting dTan, she took us to the village school. It had around 35 students in grades 1-5. If a student wants to study past grade 5, they have to travel into the city. 

[The entrance to the school]

[The school yard where the kids played]

[The school and the classrooms. There were only 2 teachers for the 5 grades, so they move back and forth between classes.]

We taught the kids "The Hokey Pokey", sign language to "Jesus Loves Me", played some games and then shared the Christmas story with them (dTan translated our English into Laos). After sharing about Christmas, which none of them had heard of, we gave them gifts. We had brought gifts for the students with us (pencils, erasers, rulers, mini globe-balls, candy, and matchbox cars/hairbows) and the kids loved them. Even the teachers liked the mini-globe balls... We were able to show them where Laos was and ended up teaching them a mini-geography lesson! Laos was a closed country until recently, so they know very little of the world. One of the teachers didn't realize that South and North America were different continents, so having the globes were very helpful in explaining!

[Playing a simplified version of "Simon Says"]

[Claire handing out gifts]

The kids singing "The Hokie Pokie"

[The 1st graders with their Christmas gifts]

[dTan in the middle, and the two village teachers on her right and left]

The first grade class was a little shy in the beginning. I don't think they knew what to expect, and dTan warned us that the kids might be scared of our pale skin and think we were ghosts! By our visit to the 2nd/3rd grade classes, they all started to warm up. And by the time we got to the 4th/5th graders, all the students from the other classes were peeking through the windows and cramming in the doorways to see what was happening!

After we shared in all three of the classes, we went outside and played with the kids. The students don't have any equipment, so the balls we'd given them became their entertainment. I turned into their circus seal... the kids would lob the balls to me and I'd bounce them off my head. Then we played soccer, but really it was just "keep-the-ball-away-from-the-farang." Getting to play with the kids was really the highlight of my time in Laos. It's awesome how far a smile goes when you don't know the language! I couldn't tell them all about Christ's love, but my prayer was that through the Christmas story and interacting with us, they would begin to understand God's great love for them.

[dTan walking back with the students after their morning classes]

This ends the "Laos" blogging trilogy :)