Sunday, August 31, 2008

Somebody Touched Me... I Now Am Free!

This morning at church 6 or 7 of the Thai guys sang a special in English. Normally the choir sings in Thai (obviously!), and while I don't ever understand the words, the music is always very good. But since I do happen to speak and understand English:o), I was doubly blessed but the special that was done today!



1. Many years he walked in darkness as he groped along the streets.
His hands stretched out for pennies or for just a bit to eat.
It's the story of the blind man who met Jesus on His way
And with the Master's touch, the man looked up as the scoffers heard his say:

CHORUS:

Somebody touched me, somebody touched me.
I was blind, but, praise His name, I now can see.
I was in darkness when Jesus found me
But since He touched me, I now am free.

2. One day He touched that crippled man and made him walk again.
And the Master saw with pleasure He had labored not in vain.
Like the story of that crippled man, I once was bound by sin,
But since my Master came, oh, praise His name, today I now can say:

CHORUS:

Somebody touched me, somebody touched me.
I was blind, but, praise His name, I now can see.
I was in darkness when Jesus found me
But since He touched me, I now am free.

Friday, August 29, 2008

Pictures!

Alright Katie Kamera! I am *finally* posting pictures!!! These pictures are actually in the wrong order, but it would be too much to sort them out the right way (I think I told you the computer I'm presently on is a Mac....no further comment!) So if you want to see how my week progressed, go to the bottom fist:o).

The market at Thammasat University... we went here on Thursday night to teach an English class. We took our student to the market so she could practice her English, but then she had to leave early for a meeting. So Pookie, Steve, and I walked around the market!

This is an English service with all the team members except Bro. Gaudet who didn't make it in time since he was returning from a trip. Bro. Lange taught the lesson and it was kinda funny to note that both of his kids were sleeping by the end of the service:o). The man in the center and the lady to his left is Bro. Jeff Lange and his wife Theresa.

The Thai guy on the left is Nakorn (Berm). He is a translator and is in the midst of translating good, doctrinal material into Thai. The American on the right is Zak. He was here for a 6-week visit and just left on Thursday night.

The office!!! Miss Krinny is in the purple shirt, my desk is where the pink hoodie is (I get a little cold with the air con running... I'm sure some of you are shocked to hear that:o). The girl next to my desk is Art and she speaks very little English, and then on the very end looking at the camera is my Thai roommate Pookie.

This little bugger and his pals like to roam around on the soi, dropping in and out of the gutters. By the time I had the camera on, he pulled his body back so all that was left was his head.

Wednesday night some of us got together to play some games since it was Zak's last night.From left to right is: Steve, Berm, Zak, and Pookie. We were playing Skip-bo here, but on Thursday night I taught them how to play Dutch Blitz and they loved it!!! Pookie and I thought Steve was going to break the table because he was slamming down his cards so fast... but thankfully it's still standing:o).

Wednesday we had what my Pastor calls a "gully washer" of a storm. I left work at 4:30 and about two minutes later the rains came down and the floods came up! Seriously, this is right outside our door... the street was filled with water! It got worse before it got better, and the shop owner across the street even got some water into the front of her house. But what really amazed me was after the storm. All the Thai people got out their brooms and pushed all the water down the drains. Within an hour the street was clear.

That's about it for now... I'll post more later!

Monday, August 25, 2008

Sobering Thought.

Yesterday morning in church, the Thai pastor mentioned a young man from a church in California. Tyler was probably like any other 16-year-old Christian teen. He probably had plans for his future. It's obvious that he loved the Lord. I'm sure as he packed for camp that week, excited about being a counselor, he didn't realize he would be meeting his Saviour before the week was out. Please take a moment to go to the website and watch the video. (The link is at the bottom of the page)

My housemate, Pookie, shared with me today that she can't stop thinking about Tyler and about just how short life can be. She then said she wants to sing as a special in church the song, "I Know Who Holds Tomorrow."


"Many things about tomorrow
I don't seem to understand;

But I know Who holds tomorrow,
And I know Who holds my hand."


I'm not guaranteed another breath, let alone a tomorrow. I want to use my moments for His Glory, before I meet Him face to face.

Thursday, August 21, 2008

The Prayer Of My Heart.

As I sit here this fine sunny morning, I am listening to the gentle whirl of the fan and the thump of the washing machine. Prayer time has already been completed for the morning; the rush of the day has yet to begin. While I wait for the machine to finish, my mind drifts back to the Bible Study of last evening. The passage was 1 Samuel 15; the character was Saul. The offense was being disobedient by not killing all the Amalekites; the consequence was being rejected by God since Saul first rejected Him. The application is so simple that the little 5-year-old missionary son figured it out: Saul disobeyed and was done being used by God. As I turn and examine my own life, I think about that word: done. It holds such finality; such doom. I don't want to hear the words "I have rejected thee" like Saul did. The prayer of my heart today is that I am obedient in all things... and that I do not ever hear those fateful words.

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Rats and Painted Rooms.

In all seriousness, I thought I would have more time for blogging, Facebook, e-mail, etc. once I got here to Thailand. Would you believe that the opposite has proven true? Of course you do because it's been a while since I've had the opportunity to blog:o). No seriously, it's true! I've either been celebrating someone's birthday or cleaning our house.

Yes. The house.

If you read my e-mail this morning, you know we had a rat problem. As in filthy, dirty, yucky, disgusting rodent. One trap later and that rat is gone. But take a look at this e-mail I got from a missionary in South Africa:

Anne,

I thought I would send a word of comfort regarding the rat(s). My mom always told
me if you've seen one, then there are at least ten in the house. Glad you caught the one. Hopefully you will catch the nine others.... BTW, we got your prayer card in the post yesterday, and all of our rats left the country and jumped in the Indian Ocean. Maybe they will wash up on shore over near you somewhere sometime.

Bro. W.

Isn't that a comforting thought?!? I told that to my Thai roommate Pookie who then said she caught two rats before I came, so now we have seven left to catch (according to Bro. W!)

Our house has been in disarray since almost day one, but that's not my fault... entirely:o). The walls needed to be painted so that's been going on for the past three days. Everything has finally been put back together, although we still need to have a little more of the downstairs painted. I won't tell you the color though... I want to see who can guess which color Pookie and I chose? It doesn't count if you're here in Thailand and seen it:o).

Besides rats and painted rooms, life in Thailand has been fairly normal. In a way, I picked right back up with where I left off last August. I did forget about all the things Thailand doesn't have, so I've been saying often, "When the guys come over in October, they can bring _____ with them." Those poor guys. If they only knew what they were bringing over with them:o).

Well it's off to bed with me. Ya'll enjoy your day!

Saturday, August 16, 2008

Here I Am!

Well, I arrived in Thailand:o). Walking out of the airport in Bangkok and getting hit with that "Bangkok heat" was a great welcome! While on the plane I chatted with a lady from Malaysia who was asking me how long my flights were. I told and then said, "by the time it's all over, I'll be ready to go home." I thought about that and then realized that yes, this is home to me. It felt very natural to walk back into the house I vacated one year ago (isn't that odd??? I arrived in Thailand exactly to the day that I left in 2007!)

One other noteworthy piece of news is that YouTube is NOT blocked here in Thailand! That was so frustrating last year as so many people would send me YouTube clips and I wasn't able to view them until I got home.... so there was some hand-clapping gleeful laughs when I found that out!

As to the jet lag, I was up at 5:20 Thailand time... so at least I'm consistent with last year! Please pray for me to get over the jet lag quickly and that I adapt well to my surroundings again! I'll post more later!

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Some More Pics.

Today I got together with some good friends of mine for a game of miniature golf. My sister and brother-in-law joined us too, so that provided a lot of laughs watching my nephew "golf":o).

Both of my brothers and my sister and all their families came over tonight to say good-bye. I had to laugh when I saw this cake: apparently it was too expensive to add the "e" in farewell". Instead I was told "farwell"!

I'm sure gonna miss this little guy... how quickly they grow up!

My big brothers... you'll have to forgive their outfits; they both came from work. Tom sweetly stayed until 10 PM playing games with Mom and I... see ya next year guys!


Monday, August 11, 2008

Pics From The Par-tay.

I don't have too much time to write out a long post since I leave in a couple of days and I have yet to start packing:o). So here are a few pics!


Emily and I ... nice friend that she is, she offered her house for the par-tay!


Em's brother Jonathan showing his mom Amburgers & Wootbeer ... I thought it was rather appropriate because the only place I've ever had A&W is in Thailand!

Thanks for coming Spang Gang!

Tiff eyeing the food... to be honest, I didn't think there was going to be enough, but everything was sufficient with some meatballs left over!

My friend Jean and I... her family moved to PA from Connecticut 3 years ago to be closer to her grandma. Jean's been on my nursery team and a great friend!

Melissa and Jen ~ two very sweet friends of mine. Jen is going off to West Coast Baptist College in CA the day after I leave... I love ya girls!

I would love to stay and chat, but I have a busy couple of days seeing people and saying good-bye... lots to do!

Wednesday, August 6, 2008

Consider Yourselves Invited!

So I leave for that 22-hour flight a week from tomorrow... be still my beating heart! I simply can't wait to be scrunched and squished into that lovely plane seat:o). Before I leave though, there's going to be a little par-tay on Saturday... ya know, volleyball and such! If you can come, great! It's starts at 3 and the volleyball starts at 3:01:o).

If you can't come, I completely understand... I won't be the same without ya though! And I fully expect all you non-Pennsylvanians to be there;o).

Tuesday, August 5, 2008

*Chortle, Chortle*

In case you haven't noticed, Emily and I are really good friends. Really good. So much so that at times we sometimes separately hear ("you're good friends with Anne/Emily?") as the person looks at us with disbelief. That's the power of the cross, my friends. That God would take two girls so very opposite of each other and have us be friends is absolutely amazing and wonderful! (And we really aren't that different from each other... we both just carried some pre-conceived notions around about the other, that's all).

So anyway.

Em's been gone to Tennessee for a week, so it had been a while since I worked with her. As we were talking (and working!!! We do that too... sometimes!) today about spiritual things, I thought about a phone call I received yesterday and began to tell her about it.

Me: "Oh! You've got to hear about this phone call I got yesterday. Woohoo, this guy was hot!"

Emily: "What?!?!"

Both of us: laughter, chortle, chuckle, guffaw, etc:o) while I turn a deep shade of red.

Me: "No, no!!! I mean under the collar!"

Emily: "Anne! I'm shocked at you!"

I meant that the guy was really angry, but it sounded like ... well, something else!

~~~~~

The whole day was such an encouragement to me as we shared devotions, situations, problems, temptations, laughs, and listened to a few sermons. I missed having Emily around last week, but it sure is a blessing to have her as a friend... even when I say really stupid things!!