What's In A Name?

I don't think I could make this up if I tried. I received an e-mail the other day from a man who was temporarily working in our office. He is from a neighboring country and was sending me some details on a project. I couldn't help myself when I saw his name:

Yuqchyitlanu Hpakawn

I think I would have spent all of kindergarten just trying to learn to spell my name:).

Oh, and wonder of wonders, spell check did not recognize the names... big surprise there!

The Bride Wore White. Twice!

We went to a Thai Christian wedding on Sunday morning for the pastor's son Bay and his new wife Soi :). This is my second Thai wedding, but the last time I was upstairs, so it was nice to actually see the bride, groom, and the ceremony! One thing I could appreciate was Bay and Soi sat down during the challenge. Having been in a few weddings, I can relate to achy feet and standing in heels for the ceremony;).

Here Bay and Soi are greeting their grandmothers.

(Myself, Krinny, Soi, Bay, Bro. Tom, and Pastor Jeseda - the groom's dad)

Every family group gets their picture taken with the bride and groom. Carolyn didn't hear her name called so she didn't realize she was supposed to come up with us:). She got in with the Langes though.

Berm and his girlfriend with the couple. Berm works with us in the office and is currently translating into Thai a complete Bible Institute course from a church in Oak Harbor, Washington.

In a word, the reception was beautiful! Yes, we felt slightly under-dressed! I don't think I've ever been to that fancy of a wedding reception before:).

Soi and Bay changed into new outfits for the evening reception. That was something different for us ~ the wedding was at 10 AM and the reception wasn't until 6 PM. Both of Soi's dresses were very pretty, but I felt so sorry for her as she walked around the whole time in 3 inch heels.

My Thai roommate Pookie and a missionary's daughter ~ Sarah. Sarah actually just moved here from Australia although her parents and brother have been here for some time.

They got to have their own runway... what a cute idea:).

The cake looks huge but the actual cake was only the bottom two layers. It was very impressive though.

We were so thankful to witness this marriage. Thailand is just as affected as any other place by divorce, broken homes, and single-parent houses. What a blessing to see two young people follow the Lord!

Putting Sneakers To Good Use.

A few weeks ago, I was reading Rachel's blog and almost jumped up and down at this statement:

"This is a world where cockroaches in the kitchen do not necessarily mean a dirty house."

She is talking about her African experience, but that sentence crosses the ocean and applies to Thailand too. I cannot tell you how many cockroaches I have (a) seen in my house (b) killed in my living room alone. In fact, just a few minutes ago I saw some movement out of the corner of my eye. I grabbed the nearest shoe and thought I squelched it, but when I turned on the light, I apparently only got a wing. Ugh. A few minutes later, a limping cockroach (I've never seen one like that before!) came crawling out from under an end table and, well, that's the end of him!

I could also tell you about the impossibly huge brown spider Carolyn and I found in our kitchen a month ago. Pookie had just gotten done telling me how this new spider was found in Rangsit (our little town - by the way, I just killed my second cockroach of the morning!) and how this spider bit a boy and the boy died from it, so the comfort level wasn't very high in our kitchen as we came face to face with the furry thing. Carolyn eventually grabbed a broom and swatted it to death.

There was also the time I was walking up our (dark) stairs to go to bed, blissfully ignorant of the fact some sort of insect was already bedded down for the evening on the seventh step. When I stepped on it, I felt movement under my foot and quick darted up the stairs. Now every evening I shine my cell phone light onto the stairs to scare away any creepy crawly things. You may ask why I don't turn a light on. Well, that's because the light switch is only at the top of the stairs:).

Rats, rats, rats and monitors only add to the excitement here in Thailand. But in reality, we're not ever surprised when faced with these creatures because this used to be a jungle. We went to a refugee camp in January and as we passed the old camp, the only thing that told us thousands of people ever lived there were some steps hacked into the side of the road. The jungle had completely taken over what used to be a thriving place less than two years ago.

In the meanwhile, we keep on killing the bugs and insects that make their way into our house. Just don't tell me what's running around in the ceiling. I can just imagine. If the scratching is any indication, a family reunion is taking place!

Oh, I just killed my THIRD cockroach and it's only 7:15 in the morning.

Yuck.

WFMW - E-Cards.

Just a short Works For Me Wednesday idea this week:).

I've found that free e-cards are a quick, fun way to communicate with family and friends that are far away. Although I still do the good old post office route for birthday cards and the like, I like to use e-cards to just pop into a person's day! It doesn't take much and I must admit that I get a kick out of them... especially hoops and yoyo!

Go check out Shannon's blog for some more great ideas... and incidentally, this is her last week hosting WFMW. She's been a great host and next week another blogger is taking over and will do a great job I'm sure:)

Mirrors And Teeth.

Thai people have a huge fascination with mirrors. It is an endless source of amusement for me as I see shopkeepers gazing into the ever-ready mirror, even though I'm browsing their store. I saw one lady in the grocery store fixing her hair in a mirror that was conveniently place in the meat department. All Thai people do it, including a certain roommate of mine:).

One thing that is a big no-no here in Thailand is picking your teeth in public. That adds to the hilarity of it all when I see Thai people walking around picking their teeth. Mirrors and teeth are quite the combination, I assure you!

So imagine my surprise the other day when I glanced up and saw this Thai lady looking in the mirror on Bro. Tom's motorcycle and picking her teeth!


This picture doesn't capture her intently leaning over the motorcycle, because by the time Carolyn got her camera out, the lady apparently was done with her business. It sure was funny to look up, see someone we don't know using Bro. Tom's motorcycle to do a faux pas:).

Life in Thailand.... there is never a dull moment!

Keeping and Preserving.

With missions on my mind (hey, I might not be in PA, but I am on a mission field:D), I began my Bible reading in 2 Corinthians 11 last evening and stumbled upon a list. It was written by a great missionary ~ the apostle Paul. In a way, this list sums up Paul's life and all that happened to him for the cause of Christ.

• In labours more abundant
• In stripes above measure
• In prisons more frequent
• In deaths often
• "Forty stripes save one" five times
• Beaten with rods three times
• Stoned once
• Shipwrecked three times
• In the deep a night and a day
• In perils of waters often
• In perils of robbers often
• In perils by his own countrymen often
• In perils by the heathen often
• In perils in the city, wilderness, and sea often
• In perils among false brethren often
• In weariness and painfulness often
• In watchings often
• In hunger and thirst often
• In fastings often
• In cold and nakedness
• And then, in addition to all that, the care of all the churches daily

Doesn't exactly make a person want to say "sign me up for missionary work!" does it? But then I flipped over to Proverbs 2 and read verse 8:

"He keepeth the paths of judgment, and preserveth the way of his saints."

How fitting. After reading that list, it's enough to make a person want to run and hide from the world. But the promise of God's Word is still there. The "-eth" speaks of continual action on the Lord's part. He promises to continually keep the paths of judgment and preserve the way of His saints! That excited me beyond measure. In my own strength, I would have to call it quits right now. There's no way you're going to talk me into staying on the mission field if I'm going to face even a tenth of what Paul went through.

But.

God promises to preserve my way. That's all I need to know. If God allowed shipwreck, stoning, beating, and a whole host of other things to happen to Paul and He preserved Paul's way, then I can count on the same promise of God to see me through.

Just don't tell me if these things are ahead of me, Lord!

Mercy.

Late Sunday night I listened in to my church's morning service. Since February is missions month at LVBC, the assistant pastor was preaching on the origin of missions. The message was terrific, but one verse caught my attention that was only briefly mentioned by the pastor.

"Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy."

~ Micah 7:18~

I've been thinking of that last part of the verse all day - God delights in mercy.


I think I'll leave ya'll with that today...

"... he delighteth in mercy."

Change?

WFMW: The Store In The Closet.

Ok, so this is a cop-out since I've already written this article for Grace and Honor, but I figured it will also work for me as a WFMW post . :)

~~~~~

Have you ever been faced with an unexpected event and wished you had a gift to go with you? Perhaps it was a birthday party, a ladies’ gathering, or a family having you over for dinner. Rather than rushing around at the last minute and stopping at a store on the way to your destination, I offer you an alternative: the store in the closet.

The store in the closet has supplied me with countless gifts over the years and I was able to purchase them at a fraction of the cost! Let me explain how it works.

In my closet I have a rubber tote filled with gift bags, tissue paper, gift wrapping, and a variety of other items. The “variety of other items” is your actual store in the closet. As you go through department stores, grocery stores, consignment shops, antique stores, tea rooms, farmers markets, convenience stores, gift shops, yard sales, craft/fabric stores, community fundraisers, tourist shops, malls, specialty stores, flower shops, restaurants, estate sales, auctions, and flea markets, keep a lookout for items that can fill your store in the closet.

You probably have a very good idea of the things your friends and family collect and wear, so why not purchase an item that makes you think of so and so? Purchasing these items well before the event takes place means you’re not in a frenzied rush trying to buy an over-priced item for Aunt Sarah’s 80th birthday party.

Once you have your store in the closet set up, all you have to do is go shopping in your store for the appropriate item when the event comes up. Also, it’s always a good idea to keep pretty stationery, pens, ribbons, gift bags, wrapping paper, scissors, and tape on hand. Keeping it all in one place is the most efficient way to finish out your gift.

Remember Proverbs 31:27 ~ “She looketh well to the ways of her household.” Frugal gift-giving can be done… and you’ll probably save more than two cents along the way!

~~~~~~

Go check out Shannon's blog for more ideas!

Monday Ministry Highlights.

Deb from Songs From My Journey has asked me to write an article for Monday Ministry Highlights on the KJV Blog Directory blog, so that's where I've written today.

If you've ever wanted to know more about me than you already know:), then I suggest you go take a peek over at the KJV blog.

Please, no mass chaos... we must keep this orderly:).

Now have yourselves a fine Monday, you hear?

The Excitement Level Is At An All-Time High!

Ya'll?

We have found clothing made for Americans.

We found there here.

In *hushed whisper* Thailand.

And do you want to know the ironic part (because ya'll know how much I love irony)?

It's at a mall we frequent every. single. week. No joke!

You see, every Sunday after church we stop and eat at a place called Food Land (it doubles as a grocery store... weren't they smart!) Normally we'll eat lunch, grocery shop, and go home. Boring, I know.

But today that routine changed a little bit, oh yes it did! Our driver -aka Bro. Tom - is out of the country so we winged it by taking a taxi to church and then taking a taxi to Food Land. Well, after we were done eating lunch (yummy cashew nut chicken!), we decided to stroll through the four-story mall and see what wonders we were missing out on.

Oh yeah, we were missing out alright!

On the second floor, Krinny stopped to look at a long-sleeved shirt for her granddaughter. For 49 baht ($1.50) she decided that was super-cheap enough to buy for the little girl. Before you knew it, we were raking through the bins and bins of name-brand, quality stuff that would be super-expensive in the States.

How do I know? Because the price tag had two different prices: one in baht and one in dollar. For instance, a shirt that I picked up today from Old Navy? $24.50. The price in baht? 149 - $4.28. We rummaged through the bins for two hours, but that was a small price to pay considering (a) we found something that actually fit us (b) the price was beyond right. I was really excited that one of my finds was a shirt for $1.00! We feel that was just an extra blessing from the Lord today and I got out all of my "gotta go second-hand/bargain shopping now!" urges:).

The only sad news is that Carolyn missed it. But no permanent damage done! After all, we go to this mall every single week:).

More Useless Information About Me.

Because I have nothing better to do with my time on this sunny Saturday afternoon, I decided to post this list I found on Facebook. Oh, and is it just me, or are there tons of lists popping up everywhere on Facebook? Just wonderin'!

Anyway, feel free to copy and post this on your own blog. The instructions are really easy: place an X by all the things you've done and remove the X from the ones you have not. See? Very simple:).

Things you have done during your lifetime:
( ) Gone on a blind date
(X) Skipped school
( ) Watched someone die
(X) Been to Canada
( ) Been to Mexico
(X) Been to Florida
( )Been to Hawaii
(X) Been on a plane
(X) Been on a helicopter
(X) Been lost - umm, countless times! Visitation memories, anyone???
(X) Gone to Washington, DC
(X) Swam in the ocean
( ) Swam with Stingrays
(X) Cried yourself to sleep
(x) Played cops and robbers
(x) Recently colored with crayons
( ) Sang Karaoke
(X) Paid for a meal with coins only
(X) Been to the top of the St. Louis Arch
(X) Done something you told yourself you wouldn't
(X) Made prank phone calls
( ) Been down Bourbon Street in New Orleans
(X) Laughed until some kind of beverage came out of your nose - more times than I remember!
(X) Caught a snowflake on your tongue
( ) Danced in the rain-naked
(X) Written a letter to Santa Claus
( ) Been kissed under the mistletoe
(X) Watched the sunrise with someone - every morning with Theresa:). It's dark when we start walking, but is sunny by the time we come home!
(X) Blown bubbles
(X) Gone ice-skating
(X) Gone to the movies
( ) Been deep sea fishing
( ) Driven across the United States - almost! I've gotten as far as Wyoming:)
( ) Been in a hot air balloon
( ) Been sky diving - no, nada, not happening!
(X) Gone snowmobiling
(X) Lived in more than one country
(X) Lay down outside at night and admired the stars while listening to the crickets
( ) Seen a falling star and made a wish
( ) Enjoyed the beauty of Old Faithful Geyser
( ) Seen the Grand Canyon - not yet! That's a dream vacation of mine:)
(X) Seen the Statue of Liberty
( ) Gone to the top of Seattle Space Needle
( ) Been on a cruise
(X) Traveled by train
(X) Traveled by motorcycle
(X) Been horse back riding
( ) Ridden on a San Francisco cable car
( ) Been to Disneyland OR Disney World - decided not to after seeing the parking lots. Seriously! My sister lives nearby so every time I go to Florida that's one of those unavoidable things.
(X) Been in a rain forest - oh wait, they probably mean a *real* one:D. I suppose aquarium ones don't quite count, huh?
( ) Seen whales in the ocean
( ) Been to Niagara Falls - sadly, no. Please hold all shock and appearances of being appalled. I plan on rectifying it when I return home!
( ) Ridden on an elephant - you would *think* I would have done that already since I live in Asia, but the opportunity hasn't presented itself yet.
( ) Swam with dolphins
( ) Been to the Olympics
( ) Walked on the Great Wall of China
( ) Saw and heard a glacier calf
( ) Been spinnaker flying - huh? What's that?
( ) Been water-skiing/tubing
(X) Been snow-skiing
( ) Been to Westminster Abbey
( ) Been to the Louvre
( ) Swam in the Mediterranean
( ) Been to a Major League Baseball game
( ) Been to a National Football League game
() Swam with sharks

Adorable Sydney.

Do ya'll remember my cousin's little baby that was born early and the complications his wife experienced?

I just got this sweet picture today:

Praise the Lord baby Sydney and Laura are doing very well! God answered prayers in a mighty way for this family. What a precious little girl:).