Det Udom

I will be leaving soon to travel to Det Udom, which is located in the Northeast province of Issan. I am extremely excited and grateful for this opportunity to visit this part of Thailand. I will be connecting with some EMM workers in the area, and be able to experience and be apart of the growing church that is present there. I will be living in a village with a family, which I am sure will provide many opportunities to use my Thai and become more fluent! yay! There are amazing things happening there, and I am excited to see how God is moving among the Issan people. Many members of our team has already visited there, and have spoke what a encouraging and refreshing time it is.

I will leaving Monday evening June 16, on the overnight train, and arrive Tuesday morning. I will be returning the evening of July 1st, and arrive in Bangkok on the 2nd. Please pray for safety and protection as I travel, and for a good good trip overall.
Thank you so much for your prayers and support! I will take many pictures, and definitely share them with you when I return.

A Head of Curls

One day as I was walking to the bus stop in the morning, I was boldly approached(which is quite uncommon in the Thai culture) by a Thai Lady Boy. He simply asked me if I was Thai. I began talking with him, and we continued to walk down the street together. He was quite flamboyant and vibrant as he asked me many questions, and told me all about his life of 47 years, while throwing in comments about beauty. We were walking briskly, and had long past the bus stop. I was in no hurry and had the time to walk. The sun was blazing, and he thoughtfully gives me a book to cover my head from the sun.

He is on his way to his sister's beauty salon close by. He insists that I come along, and makes several comments to me about my hair. We turn left down a Soi and end up in a maze of apartment buildings, he leads the way, and we enter into the salon. Pii Daaw introduces me to his sister, who warmly greets me. I am ushered into the simple colorful salon, where I take a seat on the gray couch. I am served coffee, and the three of us chat in the brightly lit room. Almost immediately he is suggesting we do something with my hair. When they found out the I cut it myself, they praised my skill, which isn't that good! Along with the praise, Pii Daaw pointed out the white hairs that I have sprouting from my head, and charmingly made known with a smile that he is has none.

They sat me in the chair, and his sister began to curl my hair. Curls all over, when I first heard the word curls, I thought it would be worse than it turned out to be. I love meeting new people, and it seemed that our encounter was meant to be. I have a heart for the LadyBoys, there are so many living here in the city, each one with a story. The ones that I have met have such tender genuine hearts, contrary to the hard put-together glam that is seen on the outside.

Upon my leaving he insisted on giving me his earrings and took them out of his ears, along with some pictures, a sample of laundry detergent, coffee, and his "fluffy" phone bag. I felt so blessed meeting him and his sister, and hope to meet with them again. I had the best unexpected morning ever.

Finished

My colorful stack of language books and notebooks.

Today I completed the 6 modules of language school! I was blessed to study in such a great school. I had the opportunity to meet so many people from all over the world, my time learning Thai was enriched by the teachers and friends that was able to meet, and share life with. From my entry into Thailand until now has been a good season.
.....it feel so good to be done.

PARTY!!!

Practicing

The Following is a simple short "story", or conversation between a Taxi driver and a passenger...This will give you a little taste of what the Thai script looks like.

ช่วยบอกด้วย

"รถคันนี้หยุดที่ลำพูนไหมค่ะ" สตรีชราผู้หนึ่งถามคนขับ
"ไม่หยุดครับ คุณนาย" คนขับรถตอบ
"อ้อ ช่วยบอกฉันหน่อยเมื่อเราถึงที่นั่น" เธอขอร้อง
"ได้ครับ" คนขับรถรับปาก

ต่อมา คนขับไม่ทันระวังจึงขับเลยลำพูนไป นึกขึ้นมาได้เขากล่าวขอโทษผู้โดยสารคนอื่น ๆ กลับรถแล้วขับกลับ เมื่อถึงลำพูนจึงพูดกับหญิงชราว่า "นี่เป็นเมื่องที่คุณนายต้องการลง"

"ใครต้องการลง" เธอถาม
คนขับรถพูดว่า "ก็คุณนายยังไงล่ะครับ"
"ไม่ใช่จะลง" เธอพูด "ลูกสาวบอกว่าเมื่อผ่านเมืองนี้ฉันควรจะกินยาของฉันได้"

DEVOTION

KING BHUMIBOL ADULYADEJ (King Rama IX of the Chakri Dynasty)





Here is something I found that explains nicely the reign of the current King here in Thailand....

The current Thai monarch, the much-beloved King Bhumibol Adulyadej (King Rama IX of the Chakri Dynasty) has reigned in Thailand for over 60 years, the longest of any Thai ruler. In fact, he is now the longest reigning monarch in the world. King Bhumibol was born in 1927 in Cambridge Massachusetts, where his father studied medicine at Harvard University. The Thai people have a deep and abiding reverence for their royal family. This immense popularity is a reflection of His Majesty's keen interest in his people's welfare. The King and his Queen, Queen Sirikit, have devoted a great deal of time and effort implementing public work projects, with particular focus on the under priviliged. As a constitutional monarch, the king holds powers similar to those of the Queen of England. Though he maintains neutrality in times of crisis, the king of Thailand has proved time and again to be a reliable stabilising force for the Thai people.

...All over Thailand life displays the devotion and love the Thais have for thier King.

Life

I thought I would try something different now that I can post pictures on here, I will be updating with pictures portraying more of my everyday life here in Thailand. I will continue to post pictures on Flickr...I always have fun being artistic... but I want to engage you all in some of the real aspects of my life here.
I hope you enjoy...!

I will be finished with language school on June 9th, continue to pray for strength and passion to finish strong in this season of learning. There is SO much more to learn, it could continue for a lifetime. I am anticipating completing language school, and moving forward to learn more in a different setting.
Thank you for your prayers and encouragement!




Our team in Chiang Mai during our retreat
Tasting some Durian in Rayong
At the beach in Chonburi
Some of team went to watch a Thai Soccer game last night...they lost 3-2!
Thailand Pride!