Badminton

Most days after school I’ve been playing Badminton with another teacher and whatever students show up to play. In January I started teaching teachers after school on Monday and Tuesday, so today I taught the teachers and then was in a hurry to go home and pack because I have to travel to Bangkok tomorrow for a retreat this weekend. However, they called me over to play Badminton and I hadn’t gone home to change yet so I played in my skirt. I don’t know why today of all days they decided to use my camera to take my picture, but I thought it was funny to see myself playing Badminton in my teaching clothes. Enjoy J

Fence Building and Heart Breaking

building the fence, you see the red shirt choosing pieces, the
gray sweatshirt weaving them in, and the purple shirt tapping
them into place.

When I left my last class today I walked out to see that there were three of my 4^th/5^th grade boys building a bamboo fence where they did all of the work yesterday. I walked over to watch them and the one fourth grader who is fourteen started asking me questions about America and differences between here and there. He is a super smart boy and I’m always amazed at how quickly he picks things up and can memorize how to spell words super quick. He is also the boy who gave me the Hello Kitty Doll at Christmas, so he holds a special place in my heart even though this was kind of the first time we have really talked outside of the classroom.

Emanuel weaving the bamboo pieces into place

I was so impressed at how skilled they were in building the fence, finding two that were the same height, and then alternating which one went on which side and how well the boys worked together, one finding the pairs, one weaving them, and one using a machete to put them tightly up next to each other. As I was watching the conversation just flowed and we laughed and joked. It moved onto if I was a Christian or not, and so then I asked him if he was a Christian. Roughly translated, this was his response. “I used to be a Buddhist when I lived in Burma, but then my parents died and I came here and now I’m a Christian.” In that one sentence my heart broke for this boy. Here is a fourteen year old boy who is an orphan, studying in the fourth grade because he came to Thailand when he was older after his parents passed. I have been talking to students more and more lately and I can’t tell you the number of stories that are so similar to this one. As they get more comfortable with me and are willing to open up I imagine this will happen more and more. I don’t know how you prepare yourself for this type of conversation. Each time I just want to take them in my arms and make it all go away for them, to provide them a loving home, to show them God’s love, to ensure that they will have a promising future, but the reality of the situation is that I can’t do this for each of them. I can listen, I can sympathize, but I really don’t understand what they have been through and the struggles that they will have to go through for the rest of their lives. I pray daily that God will give me the words in these situations and that I can show them love that they might not be getting in the children’s homes that they are living at. My heart breaks for them and I constantly wish I could do more for them. Being here is more than just teaching English, I’m learning more and more each day that teaching English is just an excuse to be able to be here, to get to know the students and pour love and care into their lives that they might not get from anywhere else. Please pray for each of my students, and especially Emanuel who this story is about. Pray for his home as he is in the one that has a lot of problems, pray for his future, pray for his heart as he has gone through so much at such a young age, pray that he will stay in school and get an education, pray that I can continue to show him and the other students the love of God in real ways on a daily basis.

Cleaning/Developing the School

bringing sand over to be sifted

They have just announced that the last hour of the day on Thursdays will be used for cleaning/developing the school. They split the students in half and split the school in half and assigned each group a half of the school. They also have two groups that work with planting things to come and help out each of the groups of students. Today was the first day they were working on things, so I went to see what was going on, the one half was working on cleaning up leaves and sticks and moving them to an area they had set aside to I think try to make some type of compost, and then the other half was moving sand/dirt and sifting it to get the rocks out, and then by the end of the time they put the dirt into two boxes on either side of the sidewalk and the principal told me he would demonstrate how to plant a type of bean that grows completely overnight ready to eat the next day for the students there. It seemed like a lot of work, but with many hands they had it finished before it was time to go home.

digging up the sand

girls picking rocks out who had me block the sun from them for a few minutes

carrying leaves away

gathering leaves

working together to make a chain and carry the sifted sand to where they were making the boxes

putting the sand down and leveling it out

A Tour of My House

one corner of the room where I keep my bike.

I realize I’ve been promising a tour of my house for a while, so today I took the time to clean the house from top to bottom, and then took pictures of it to show you. I had been leaving up my Christmas decorations until after I gave the tour, and I was ready to take them down which is really why I made sure to get it done today J Hope you enjoy the pics of my house. It’s simple but I love it because it is mine and I can use it for ministry and also as a place for me to relax and enjoy time with others as well as time alone. I have by now set up a good routine that I enjoy and everything has been unpacked and put away. I feel like this is my home and I love that feeling of being settled and comfortable here. There are many things that I don’t have, but I have more than everything I need, and I’m thankful for that every day.

from the doorway you can see the cupboard that has blankets
from the previous person who lived here and the other cabinet
they said they were moving but I started putting things in it :)

from the door looking the other direction you can see the
handprint tree I made and the table with placemats made by
one of the children's homes

my washing machine, and the doors to the bathroom and kitchen

looking out from the kitchen you can see
the maps I have hung as decorations

the bathroom, when this was taken I had to use the
hose on the right to shower as the shower was still broke

my electric wok, rice cooker, blender and water heater
which is where I do all of my cooking and food preparation

the sink and stove that I only use for making popcorn

the food and dishes cabinet and the water stand

my fridge where I prepare food for cooking on the top as a counter

my house

me with my house :)

the decorations out front with the newly delivered jug of water

Foot Washing

 This morning at church they performed a foot washing ceremony. It was very interesting as they had all of the elders and prominent people of the church go up to be the washers. Here the head and foot concept is very important. You have to be very careful where you put your feet and where you point them when around other people. So, I was very surprised when they said that they were going to have a foot washing ceremony. Once they were set up a lady came and took people to the front to have their feet washed row by row. My row was one of the first ones, so I wasn’t sure if they were just picking people or if everyone was going. I very much wanted to say that I would just stay at my seat, but knew it would be rude to do so. So, the lady took my arm and led me to a seat to have my feet washed. The lady very carefully washed each of my feet, and then took a shawl from her shoulders to dry them off with. I waied her and thanked her before returning to my seat humbled at what she had done.

They went through the entire church bringing people to the front to have their feet washed and some of the ministers had their feet washed multiple times as the elders each wanted the opportunity to wash the ministers feet. There were some students who didn’t want to go and have their feet washed, and the person who had been talking throughout the ceremony told them if they didn’t get their feet washed they had no part in God and the church. So, several reluctantly went and several still refused. Throughout the ceremony they had the teen choir and the church choir singing songs and a guy talking about/explaining what was going on.

I have gone through the foot washing ceremony many times, but never in a culture where the concept of your feet being dirty was felt so strongly. I remember doing it as a teen and we would joke and tickle each other’s feet on purpose. We had no idea the context in which it would have been humbling for Jesus to do it for the disciples, and the seriousness that should have been used during the ceremony. They then went on to have a sermon in which he preached about the last week of Jesus’ life going through all of the events and where they were found in the bible. Let’s just say that it wasn’t a short service and we got out well after 1 pm. However, the honor of being a part of something so beautiful was worth the delay. That is something that I love here, there isn’t a rush that we have to get out before noon or people will be upset, so you can do things like this and it isn’t a big deal to get out an hour or so late.

A Thai Christian Wedding

working on the decorations, I laughed
at where she kept the scissors

the flower that I did myself

Last Saturday during Vision Trust the accountant was going around and asking teachers to help set up for his sister’s wedding the next weekend. I happened to be standing by the teacher who he was asking to help decorate and so was included in the invitation/expectation to help set up. So, yesterday after Children’s day was over I came home for about an hour to rest, and then went to the school where I spent the rest of the afternoon and evening helping to decorate. There were several LONG rolls of fabric, and we made them into rosettes, and then draped them over to the next post where we made another rosette. By the last one they had me switch from helping hold things to doing it on my own. The teacher told me that it could be my new job when I go to America, and I had to explain that we don’t readily have long rolls of fabric and that American’s wouldn’t necessarily think it beautiful. After we finished the rosettes in the meeting hall, they brought dinner to the school for us to eat. We ate, and then set to work decorating a table. You wouldn’t think it would take that long to decorate a table, but then again you’ve never decorated a table as intricately as we did this one. First we had to pin three pleats into the fabric every four inches or so. It was then my job to go around and fold each of the pleats in to make a loop. The teacher then went around and would take 2 pleats from one side and one from the other and pin it together, then alternate it two more times so that in the end there was a diamond in the middle. It was my job to get the pins ready and hand them to her throughout the 3+ hour process. We finally finished after ten at night and came home. The next morning I went and taught my Vision Trust class and then was told by the janitor that the teacher was looking for me. So, I found her back in the meeting hall where she said we had to make more rosettes on the ground and then someone would come and hang/drape them over the stage. So, we set to work and created 5 more rosettes before having the groom come and hang them for us. We then had another table to decorate in the same way we had done last night. We finished a little after 1, and then were driven to the brides house where we were fed lunch. They explained that it is Karen tradition that the bride’s family take care of the visitors and anyone who helped out with the wedding. So, it was expected that we go and eat because we had been helping. After we finished eating, we had about an hour until the wedding was to start. It was amazing, we were at the brides house an hour before the wedding and it didn’t appear that anyone was in a big hurry, and most of the family wasn’t even dressed or getting ready yet. I came home and showered and got ready then a teacher came and we walked over together.

working on the table

Last night I had learned that the wedding had to be at the school because the couple had been living together and the churches here won’t allow them to get married in the church if they have slept together, so the wedding had to be at the school. Also, the bride’s father was having the uncle give her away because he wasn’t happy that she had met the guy and quite college before graduating and they were already living together. He at one point said it would be better if he was still single and had never gotten married and had children.

this is what 3 hours of work by 3 people looks like

The wedding was fairly similar to our weddings, but they had a few extra girls to carry candles to light at the front and one who carried the bible and then read from it. There were two ring bearers and flower girls, and then only a maid of honor and best man, not a big wedding party like is often the case in America. At the beginning they had a man explain the wedding ceremony and what would happen because the groom was Buddhist as were all of his family and friends. I thought that was nice to explain to them what would be going on and why so they would at least have a little bit of understanding.

the second table that they let me work on

After the wedding ceremony they had a dinner on the court in front of the school. It was a Chinese Table (at least that’s what it translates into) which had 8 courses that they bring out one at a time. I sat with some foreign friends so that I would understand the conversation and to catch up with them, and get to know a new couple who just moved to Sangklaburi about half an hour away. For the first time in Thailand there wasn’t any alcohol on the table, just a bottle of water and two bottles of pop, they did have singers that was the grooms father’s business, but they announced that the girls would be dressed more appropriately than usual and wouldn’t dance at the request of the bride’s family. I was very impressed by that and so was able to enjoy the music for the first time in Thailand without having to divert my eyes and feel bad for the girls on the stage.

the wedding

Overall, it was a beautiful wedding. I enjoyed spending time with the teacher helping set up, and learning how to make the rosettes and table decorations, and also enjoyed seeing a Christian Thai wedding for the first time. I’m sure there will be many more weddings to attend in my future as I get to know the people and the community better J

exchanging rings

Children's Day

stirring a giant wok of pork

Children’s Day in Thailand is always the second Saturday in January, however, most schools do their Children’s Day activities the Friday before. In Chiang Rai this included the students not learning the entire week or more before as they prepared dances to perform on the stage. The day of everyone in the community would bring in packs of snack size chip bags that would be distributed to the students when they finished dancing and in several rounds throughout the morning they would hand out 4 or 5 to each student. This resulted in students dressing and dancing sexier than they should at their age, and then being rewarded for it by receiving bags of chips and other snacks. The students also had no control over themselves and the 20-30 things they received would typically be gone that day.

cutting up hundreds of meat balls that are disgusting

an eating contest being run by the 6th graders

Having experienced Children’s Day like I just described above in Chiang Rai I was wondering how my Christian school would handle it. I’m happy to say that it was much more enjoyable and the kids had just as much if not more fun, with less sugary snacks that aren’t good for them anyways. In the morning they had a worship service and then games in the meeting hall, but I missed out on watching that because I was set for kitchen duty. I helped cook HUGE woks of pork with what closer resembled a hoe than a spatula, then cut up tons of the meat balls that Thais love and I couldn’t stand, and have an even bigger aversion to them now that I’ve cut up hundreds of them and seen the insides. They were making guay dtiao, the thai noodles that are so common here for all of the students, so they needed LOTS of everything to feed over 700 people.

Muay Talay, usually done over water, but they did it over straw

working together to climb a greased pole

When the students finished in the meeting hall they came out to the field where they had games set up. The older sixth grade boys were helping set things up and were in charge of running the games for the younger ones. I think it was a way of teaching them responsibility, and also giving them something fun to do to keep them out of trouble and let the younger ones play. I’m always impressed with how they do this and how by doing this the older ones have as much if not more fun than the younger ones. There was musical chairs for the younger kids, a eating competition that the older sixth grade boys ran, a form of boxing where they sit on a bamboo pole and have to knock the other one off. Usually this is done over water, but here they just used straw. There was a six legged competition where they had 5 people tie their legs together and walk across the field, and then the grand event was a greased bamboo pole which they were allowed to try to climb in groups of 4. So, it ended up in towers of boys standing on top of each other trying to get the top one to grab the top. After the younger ones tried and were finished, the older boys were given the chance to try. At first they just messed around, but then the different groups got serious until one team came just inches from the top, and so they traded the top boy who was shorter for another boy who was taller and they were able to reach the top and get the money.

6 legged race

I was planning on not writing much and just letting you see it in pictures, but oops, guess that didn’t happen. I hope you enjoy the explanation and the pics J

more of the eating contest

musical chairs

the 6th graders Muay Talay fighting

my buddy who sat and watched with me

almost making it to the top

I'm not sure who took this pic but I love it, so precious

My new Year Surprise

waiting for the first batch the picture taking began

On Friday I had invited two boys over for apple pies after the choir sang for the police today. I had promised the one that if the choir won I would make them something American, and so I was making good on that promise. However, when it came down to it as I was trying to remind just the two of them to come a whole group of them ended up coming, so instead of two I had ten to fifteen students at my house. The more the merrier right???

the first finished sandwich

I had made apple filling last night, and so  when they got here I set to making them and several students were determined to help, so I gave them each a job and I just oversaw. The problem was that I only had one loaf of bread. So, we made that into apple pie sandwiches, brought them out and sat in a circle on the floor. They had me pray, and then they dug in. I’m pretty sure I got one half while they each had one or two. Realizing that some only got one I sent a boy on my bike to go and buy two more loaves of bread. He came back, and I went to the kitchen to start making them again, when one student called me out into the living room. They then left a few students out with me and the rest shut themselves in my kitchen to make me a “surprise.” I was a little nervous having a bunch of students in my kitchen with no supervision, not knowing what they would get into, what they would eat, what they were doing, etc… however, sometimes you just have to trust that everything will be ok and not worry about things. So, I tried not to think about what was going on and just chatted with the ones who were left to keep me company and not tell me what was going on in the kitchen. They were laughing and having a good time.

someone wasn't paying attention while I prayed and took
this picture, which I'm thankful for, such a precious moment.

sitting in a circle eating, the whole plate was gone in
less than 2 minutes

At one point they looked under my tree and asked why I hadn’t opened my presents. I explained that I had wrapped them myself so there was no excitement in opening them because I knew what they all were. So, they asked if they could open them for me. I figured they had to be opened sometime so let them open them. They were so funny, the boys who opened shirts displayed them like it was their present, and I had to remind them that they were mine. There had been a few presents left over from when I gave them to the choir on Christmas, so the students that opened those I let keep the candy and cake that was in them, and they shared with their friends. While we had been waiting for the bread to arrive, girls had gotten into my nail polish and were having quite the nail party. One of the boys asked what I would say if my nail polish was all used up. I jokingly said I would cry. He then went and told the girls as he was worried and didn’t want me to be upset. I then explained that it wasn’t a big deal and they could use it. Because, once that is used up then I can get new colors!!!!! They were much happier with that response than the crying one.

enjoying their pies

the nail party while waiting for the bread to arrive

When they were almost finished working on the surprise in the kitchen they had the ones who were watching me turn off the lights except for the Christmas tree. They then took my glasses off me and covered my eyes with their hands. I heard lots of laughing and discussion as they decided if they were celebrating my birthday or New Years. It was so cute. They then uncovered my eyes, put my little hat headband on me, and yelled HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!! They gave me a plate with a whole sandwich and four halves and said it was all for me. However, I reminded them we had to save 4 pieces for boys who had left and were going to come back, and the only ones left were five on my plate at that time. So, I went to eat one of them and save the other four for the boys when a girl snatched one from my plate. So, out of 3 loaves of bread I got two half sandwiches. Which is fine because I know how to make more. They were so cute trying to surprise me I couldn’t possibly be mad as I have the means and ability to make more and this was a special treat for them. Hopefully we can have many more days like this one as I loved having my house full of students because it is usually just me and the lizards and that gets kind of lonely.

my present to myself he opened

the shirt that was in the one he opened
it says God loves me, and on the back says
God loves you

this was a market find, it says "Wonder fully
made" then under it "know your value"

more nail party pics

these next ones are from when I was locked
out of my own kitchen

I'm not sure what all they were doing in there

waiting in the living room with the lights off

after they yelled HAPPY NEW YEAR for me

eating the second batch, it didn't last much longer than the first

some group pics

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!