8 Months!

Eight wonderful months that have been filled with tons of laughs:).

Update #2.

I've been doing some research on a website called everyculture.com and have been learning tons of information about various ethnic groups around the world. I read a couple of interesting paragraphs tonight that I thought I would share with you since it give a good summary of what Buddhism teaches. 93% of Thai people are Buddhists, so it's a good to know a little about what Thai people believe!

Buddhism is divided into two schools of thought. The "Northern School," known as Mahayana Buddhism, is found most often in China, Japan, Tibet, Korea, and Vietnam. The "Southern School," called Theravada (or Hinayana) Buddhism, predominates in Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, Burma, and Sri Lanka. Theravada Buddhists stress the importance of becoming a monk and achieving Nirvana, a state in which there is no self or rebirth, through one's own efforts. Mahayana Buddhists lay more emphasis on help from Bodhisattvas, enlightened beings who have delayed achieving Nirvana in order to help others become enlightened.

Fundamental to the Buddhist doctrine are the Four Noble Truths: (1) Existence inevitably leads to unhappiness which follows from the impermanence and disintegration of all living elements; (2) Unhappiness is caused by desire inherent in human nature; desire causes man to become attached to the impermanent; (3) Unhappiness can be avoided by the crushing of desire; and (4) Desire can be crushed by strict adherence to a prescribed moral path. In Buddhism all worldly things are considered changing and impermanent. Those who are not aware of the impermanent nature of the world become attached to worldly things, and this leads to suffering. The suffering will continue as the soul goes through a cycle of rebirths, continually drawn back to worldly desires. Meditation and a moral, disciplined life can enable a believer to overcome desires. The soul that successfully overcomes all desires may reach Nirvana.

Update #1.

Here are some quick facts about our trip to Thailand or just about Thailand as a country:).

• We were gone for three weeks (including travel time)
• Thailand is 12 hours ahead of EST
• We flew from Philadelphia ---> Chicago ---> Seoul, South Korea ---> Bangkok, Thailand = 28.5 hours from doorstep to doorstep
• Spent one night in Bangkok at a really nice hotel (Asian standards here!) and then flew 1.5 hours to Chiang Mai, Thailand the next day
• Bangkok is in the middle of Thailand while Chiang Mai is in the northwest part of Thailand
• Largest city in Thailand: Bangkok
• Second largest city: Chiang Mai
• Temperature in January/February in Thailand: during the day - high 80s at night - mid 60s (Fahrenheit)
• Currency: Thai baht (1 baht = .03 cents; $1.00 = 30.48 baht)
• My favorite currency exchange website: XE (threw that in for fun!)
• Language spoken: Thai, although many people can speak English in the big cities
• Hello in Thai: Sa-wat-dee-ka (female speaker); Sa-wat-dee-kraup (male speaker)

More to come later!

Pre-Update.

Hubby is diligently working on Bible Institute right now (3.3 classes and a thesis to go!) so it's my turn to be diligent and pay some attention to my blog!

There are so many updates swirling through my head but I suppose they don't really come out (coherently anyway!) if I just do a brain dump:). So my goal over the next few posts is to give a little update to our Thailand trip as well as where we're headed in the future!

Nat was able to give a report at our church on Wednesday night and only wished he had a lot more time to clearly communicate things.... like:

• all the stories from our trip (there are plenty!)
• the history of Burma
• explain why we want to work with people groups that live in Thailand but aren't originally from Thailand
• share the many answers to prayer (there were many!)
• express how deeply grateful we are to have so many people pray for us and let us know they're praying
• key connections that were made
• specific prayer points for the future

Our Pastor was very gracious in asking Nat to give an update, but we both could tell ya (and anyone who has ever taken a missions trip could tell ya!) that time is always just a little bit too short when reporting:).

We do have other tools that we can use though, such as one-on-one conversations, phone calls, e-mail, and BLOGS:). So I'm hoping to help fill in some gaps and maybe answer some questions that just might be mentally asked but never verbalized;).

Linkage.

I just read an excellent post by my friend Rachel ~ Post Valentines Day. If you have a minute, scoot on over and read this gem of a post... a good post to glean from regardless of whether you are single or married!

Recap.

It's a good thing my husband did such a tremendous job on communicating with the rest of the world about our Thailand trip -- go here to read all 44 entries-- because if all was resting on me, we would have a grand total of two posts.

Two.

My lack of posting is not a good indication of all that took place on this trip either. The days were packed with activities, laughter, and sitting in the presence of some great missionaries who have done things for the Lord and yet have the sweetest spirit of humility. I just never got around to telling ya'll about it:).

Being back in my beloved Thailand with my husband was so incredibly sweet! But the even sweeter thing was watching the Lord work in our hearts and open doors. I walked away (actually flew away!) from Thailand with one thought firmly etched into my mind: God's people prayed and He answered prayer!

Here's a quick recap:

• visited two border towns and received an increased understanding of these towns
• met with missionaries, printing ministries, and Bible schools who were all very knowledgeable about the region, people, and gave helpful insights into future ministry
• spent two solid weeks with a missionary and his wife who are friends, role models, heroes of the faith, and mentors to Nat and I
• had two weeks to ask non-stop questions of this missionary who very willingly answered our questions and directed our attention on things we didn't even think to focus on
• reconnected with several dear friends, including April, who are all currently working with this missionary and his wife
• read through a thesis on an unreached people group that really stirred Nat and I
• received great, quality dental care for a fraction of what we would pay in the States
• laughed, laughed, and laughed some more with our friends, including the two below:

(Me, Pookie, and April at the zoo in Chiang Mai)

• visited the Golden Triangle (the place where Thailand, Laos, and Burma all come together):

• and so much more....

We flew home on Wednesday, just in time to make it for services that night. While not at our best, we did manage to stay awake through the message:). It's been a joy to us to see how our church family has expressed interest in what the Lord is doing and will continue to do.

Of course, the question we're being asked the most is what the Lord showed us! We're excited about sharing that with everyone, but I must say our pastor is at the top of that list:). Nat's got a whole slew of things to talk with Pastor Roland about and as we individually talk with people, we'll try to share too.

For now, we're still battling jet lag and looking forward to having that done! It's 7:15 now and we're both about to collapse. The morning started for us at 5:30 which is a wee bit early, especially for a Saturday:).

Come on 9 PM!

Sights And Sounds - Revisited.

During my year-long stay in Thailand in 2009, I wrote a post about the sights and sounds of the soi. This time around, we are in a new area (think of where you live and then some place eight hours away - you get the picture!) and I'm not as familiar with this area as I was in Bangkok, although I am getting better!

The mubaan (neighborhood) we're staying in still offers the stray dogs lazying about in the middle of the road, the motorcycles zipping around, and the speed bumps that are a true sign of Thailand! This mubaan is seriously lacking in fruit/vegetable stands, hole-in-the-wall restaurants, and little mom & pop grocery stores (as in none), although there is one hole-in-the-wall Thai restaurant here in the mubaan we're going to go to for dinner tonight.

Chiang Mai is definitely growing on me, although I suppose my bias to Bangkok will always exist because that city offered me my first Thailand experience. I do love how everything is close in Chiang Mai; as in, you travel 20 minutes tops and you're at the moat (which is center city). We've been going that way often since our dentist is located just inside the moat:). I'm not as partial to the limited public transportation that exists here in CM. No walking to the end of our mubaan and waving down a taxi; no hopping on a songtaw and riding to the mall; no overpass walkways to get from one side of the highway to the other. But all in all, my complaints with Chiang Mai are few and far between:). Plus the missionary we're staying with is allowing us to take his (automatic!) car and drive to wherever we need, which has been extremely helpful!

Nat and I stopped at the market on the way home today and bought some eggs and strawberries - quite the combination:). I've always loved the open-air market where everything is so inexpensive, although I haven't been able to bring myself to buy raw meat from the market yet. We also found some eye drops for the eye problems I've had and paid $6.00 for something that cost $84.00 in the States - nice price difference:).

All in all, we have greatly enjoyed our time here in Chiang Mai, Thailand. The Lord has given us a lot of clear direction, for which we're thankful!

We're Here.... A Belated Post:).

So.... we actually made it to Thailand! And I'm telling you about it four days later:).

My husband is doing a fantastic job of keeping his blog updated (glad one of us is not slacking!), and if you're missing it there, then I'm sure you're seeing it on Facebook or Twitter:).

It's Saturday afternoon now and I have a couple of minutes, so I thought I would update you all on things from my perspective.... hey, that sounds like the name of a blog I know!

Anyway, the flight over was quite uneventful, except for the getting sick part, but that is over with thankfully! We didn't sleep very well Monday night before we left, but it has definitely helped since we've been in Thailand because our jet lag has been kept to a minimum.

It has been absolutely wonderful reconnecting with old friends! The year I spent in Thailand was so influential and these were the very dear people who made up my year here, so needless to say, I'm glad to be back:). Bonus is seeing my friend April who was with me in Thailand back in 2007 and is now here helping the missionaries for a third term. What a great time it's been catching up with her!

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Our purpose for coming (I alluded to briefly) i that this is our prayer trip to see where the Lord would direct our future steps in returning long-term to this country. I suppose one could also apply the term "survey trip" to our time here, but we are more focused on the who rather than the WOW!!!! that comes along with a survey trip. We feel very confident in that God has called us to minister in Thailand; we're now going about looking for the ways of doing so.

We are presently in Chiang Mai, the second largest city in Thailand. This is a change for both of us since we are very accustomed to Bangkok. Chiang Mai quite literally has a different culture from Bangkok, so that part is new to us, but good. Chiang Mai hosts a very good language school that we would like to attend for a year (when we return - not now:D) so we're examining Chiang Mai through the viewpoint of this being our future home.

God has been answering prayer and exceeding our expectations and we are so excited for what He is going to do in the few, short weeks we have here.

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We have also greatly enjoyed having genuine Thai food again... mmm, mmm! Chicken fried rice and garlic chicken with basil have topped my list, although I did steal a bit of my husband's cashew nut chicken today:). Yummy!

Another thing we needed to take care of while "in country" was dental work ~ lots of it. For $75 today we had two cleanings, one x-ray, and two fillings done. Monday we go back for two crowns and a wisdom tooth pulled for about $400. Sooooo much cheaper than the States!

We (translate me) anticipate getting some flip flops while here ~ a girl can't have too many!

Good trip... good times... good friends ~ the Lord's at work!!!

Announcing....

Just a couple of hours before we leave to start our Thailand trip and we still have some packing to do.

Ok, ok, if you know me at all, then you realize that statement is only partially true! We actually have all of our packing to do, but at least the laundry is clean (got that done this morning!). Anyway, just in case I don't post as much as I want to post in Thailand:), my husband has started a blog and I'm 99% certain that blog will be updated much more frequently than this blog:).

Here's the link: Williams Witness so be sure to check it out! In fact, he's already managed to post two times and we haven't even left yet:).

See ya on the other side!

Of Traveling And Trips ~ The Flying Kind.

I had every good intention of starting the new year off with more frequent blog posts, but it's a good thing I didn't make that a new year's resolution:).

Umm, where has the month gone? It's been slightly whirlwind-ish on my end with a couple of trips crammed together. My mom-in-law and two brothers-in-law came up for a visit before heading on to grandparents in NY. Meanwhile I squeezed in a short trip to Florida with the anticipation of welcoming a new little nephew:

(My sister Michelle with nephew #7)

Unfortunately, said little nephew did not cooperate.... not something I can really complain about, since the Lord's timing is always perfect. So little guy will most likely be born right when he was supposed to be born:).

Cuteness still abounded though! My little niece is 3 and is a bundle of energy and joy ~ usually I was on the receiving end of energy:). I spent four days in Florida just enjoying the visit, cuddles and hugs from my 6 year old nephew and niece, and the sunshine. Oh, yes, the sunshine was definitely a highlight! What a stark contrast it was flying home Thursday night with a storm on the way. But I am a northern girl after all and too much sunshine and warm weather just doesn't fit for January! We got a nice snow fall of 4 or so inches and all is white in my world:).

After a break from flying -- it's been at least three months! -- we've decided to cram in as much airport time as possible. What with picking up my in laws at the airport, flying to and from Florida, and going to Thailand all within 1.5 weeks, the Philadelphia Airport has become *the* destination point!

Nat and I are quite excited about our Thailand trip, except for one part: snow. We leave Philly early Tuesday morning but fly right to Chicago, a place well known for delays in the wintertime. Hopefully our flight won't be delayed too much.... :). We'll be gone to Thailand for three weeks ~ which is very short in my estimation but my point of reference for missions trips is a standard 3 months:). We're greatly anticipating the Lord doing some things on this prayer trip, so if we cross your mind at all within the next 3.5 weeks, please pray for us!

Who knows? I might even blog while in the land of smiles:).