vlog: rahab

I really don't know where to start with how much I love all the ladies at Rahab. Needless to say, the decision to buy some gifts from them was easy. Not only are friends back home getting wonderful jewelry, but they are simultaneously supporting a ministry which provides a livelihood for women who want to get out of the bar-scene.

[I've blurred their faces for protection & privacy purposes]

Quite a few women from the States have had their wedding and bridesmaids' jewelry made through Rahab. What a fabulous idea! Pry, one of the girls, is a fantastic designer. She works with the bride to come up with the exact design/style and then the girls make it. So all you engaged people out there... keep Rahab in mind!

[Me sporting my new necklace... with it's creator!]

Today there was a missions team from Michigan (quite a large and international group!) who came to Rahab and provided us all with a tasty pizza lunch... They also coaxed the girls into teaching them the Thai-version of the "chicken dance." It's not an interview or anything spiritual, but it does give you a glimpse into how fun they are!!

vlog: moni

This week I've been taking advantage of having time off from teaching to prepare for my visit home... (read: gift shopping!) After a week of brainstorming and bargaining I'm happy to report I'm half-way finished. Shopping is hard work. Thankfully, though, there are some special places and people who have become close to my heart who have businesses here. I love when gifts are not just gifts, but are also meaningful. For a few posts leading up to my return, I'd like to highlight a couple of the people and ministries where I purchased your gifts! (Also, if you have any specific gift requests, make sure you send 'em soon!)

This post, you're in for a special treat. My scarf/soap selling friend Moni at MBK Mall graciously allowed me to interview her so that you can put a face with a name... and a face with your gift! I have mentioned her previously in my blog here and here. I wanted for you to hear, from her, one of the struggles of being a Thai Christian, and also how you can be praying for Thai believers. As soon as you watch the video, you'll know why I love her so much!

Before we parted, Moni insisted on giving me a bag filled with scarves leftover from her scarf inventory. She told me that she wants to be able to bless some of you who have so sacrificially supported and sent me. I think a large portion of my bag is home will just be soap and scarves... I can only imagine what the customs folks will be thinking!

If you are one of the people who receives a scarf or soap, please remember to pray for Moni. Pray for her life to continue to be a light here to bring hope to her people.

thai class.

I am so blessed to be able to study another term at Union Language School (Module 3!). This term has been one of my favorites so far. I have 3 classmates, from Korea, Taiwan and Japan... my teacher is Thai and I'm American... so 5 nationalities in one classroom! It's a great opportunity to not only improve my Thai (4 hours a day/5 days a week, how could it not improve?!) but it's also been great to learn more about their cultures as well. As with all classes at ULS, the instructions and all our communication is in Thai (although sometimes I sneak in some English for clarification). My classmates are much more proficient than I am, so often I just get pieces of the conversation, but usually it's enough. I've now finished 7 days of class, and have collected a little list of humorous incidents that I'm sharing for your enjoyment & in-culture-ation. It's a little jaunt through my head, with no real significance and in no particular order... (you've been warned!)

1. Thais think that eating durian while pregnant will make your baby strong. I find this incredibly funny. Maybe you have to have experienced durian to really appreciate this, but the only thing strong about durian is the smell. Phew. 

2. I discovered I'm eye/hand cross-dominate (as in I am right-handed but see from my left eye). Again, this was all being explained in class, but it sounded a little concerning as (from what I gathered) it is unusual. So, after returning home, I promptly googled it and found out it's not a big deal, but it does affect shooting! Which may explain some consistently bad skeet shooting I've done... I also discovered, that you can train your eye to switch dominance on command. Which led to me practicing on the BTS and eventually switching... and then I was freaked out because I couldn't switch it back. None of this is really relevant, but you should try it. For any concerned parties though, after I went to bed, my eyes reset to normal. No harm done.

3. I haven't snopes.com'd this, but supposedly furbies were originally a Japanese creation/idea and they weren't popular, so they sold the patent to America. You know what happened from there... In Thai news, a Thai celebrity recently posted a photo of herself on Instagram with a furby, and now they are making a comeback in Thailand... at 3-5,000B a furby. That's around $100-150. (See the range of things we talk about in class?)

4. Today's lesson on gifting: In Thailand, you never gift any sharp objects: knives, nail clippers, hair cutting scissors, regular scissors, anything. Not for weddings, birthdays, or even because you have extra. They're afraid that if you give someone a blade/potential weapon and it's used to hurt someone... then it's on you somehow. Interesting, no?

5. And last, but not least, a little shout out all the times I "puud pit" (speak incorrectly). In general, Thai is built very sensibly. "Tdit" means "close" and "kap" means "with"-- so "tdit kap" means adjacent (close with). "Rot" means car. So "rot tdit" is traffic (cars, close). But it's the tones that'll get you. Dog and mom are really close in Thai, only one tone different... So, I may have told someone once, "He can speak Thai well because his dog had him in Thailand." And by "may" I mean I did... Whoops. Other close words are tiger/shirt, lose/give and time/father. So many mistakes. It's part of learning the language, though. And I'm thankful for gracious classmates and a teacher who is used to figuring out what we really are trying to say!! :)

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.

sandy.

I was heading out of the BSC today when P'Wii (one of the BSC drivers) stopped me. He seemed quite intent on talking to me, which surprised me as his English is not very good and my Thai is about the same. I understood a couple words and pieced together that he wanted to know something about my family. He kept repeating "doraaadoe". I asked him if it was Thai or English, and he responded English. If you've ever played Mad-Gab, it felt like that. I kept repeating "doraaadoe" hoping that at some point it would click. It did not. So he told me to wait and he rushed off. Meanwhile, I'm still muttering to myself trying to figure out what a "doraaadoe" is.

I see him approaching with a Thai newspaper. Which, as I don't read Thai, is of no help to me. Family... newspaper... "doraaadoe"... then I get it. Tornado! He arrives and points to the front page, with a picture of flooding on the front. He was asking about my family, and if they made it through Hurricane Sandy!

I was so touched. Laughing and smiling, I told him that I understood and that yes, they were fine. (Which, praise God, is a wonderful thing to be able to share, as I know it could have been much worse!) He then asked about Dr. Drew and Doug and Spotswood and if they were well, also. I told them that everyone was fine. There is a huge language barrier between us, and yet, it was so sweet to see how much he cared and the effort he was willing to go through to communicate his concern.

Sometimes, on the homefront, it must feel like you are doing a lot of caring and praying and loving for people who (in this life) you may never know. But Church, be encouraged. Even though you have not been to Thailand, there are Thai people who know and care about you. You are connected to the people here; they are blessed by your investment in our lives, as well as through your prayers. Thank you for your faithfulness.