A Bunch of Burts

Thought you might like a quick peek at our home for the last month.

This is our kitchen. I have had to adjust my cooking and meal planning to use only the cooktop. There is also an ant cabinet, (to keep them out of the food!) and a small fridge.

Doesn’t Ema have a cheerful smile as she scrubs the shower! Thanks Ema! Notice the bucket with orange dipper. That is how the toilet flushes.

A view of some of the student houses from the takraw court.

Another view of a students house. The upper area is the sleeping living area and the lower area is the kitchen. Bathrooms are separate.

These little pots are the cookstoves for the students, and like what many people still use in the villages. They are out back of the kitchens and use wood for heat. I am very thankful for my cooktop!

Of course there is a soccer field! Go Zach!

Oh yes, the classroom! Greg spends most of each day in there along with the 18 other students.

Thanks for taking the tour!

Wow, a lot happens in BlogWorld when you are offline for nearly 3 weeks!

We rapidly coming to an end of our time at the Bible School in the Northwest of Thailand, and have been stretched and encouraged and frustrated and blessed, all at the same time.

The kids enjoyed washing clothes by hand, pretending to be pioneers and explorers, for about a day.

My first week here, I attended my first funeral AND wedding. (different people of course. Thank you Captain Obvious.)
Both of the ceremonies were Christian families. The funeral was a the mother of one of the ladies in my small group from our church in Chiang Mai, and so I knew someone there.
The wedding was a relation of our pastor and of one of the teachers here at the Bible school. Apparently, nearly everyone is related out here in Maesariang.

This is a lady dressed in the Lawa style. She was a guest at the wedding.

The wedding was a huge affair and although there were loads of people there, one family in attendance stood out like a sore thumb, can you guess who it was? Actually, the only awkawrd moment, (and it was probably only awkward for us), was when the bride and groom made their way through the guests and got us. Although their suprise registered on their faces, they were very gracious and just smiled and had their picture taken just like we were invited guests.

As for our language ability, I am pleased to say we can both see marked improvement. Greg even took a test last week with the rest of the students, and got an 84%! Most of the points off were fill-in-the-blank memory verses. Memorizing Scripture in Thai is very hard. For us.

There are days when it seems our brains just will not switch on, and the teaching sounds like a jumble, but then other days we can almost hear the click and for two hours, we can listen to the teaching and follow almost all of it!

We have both had the chance to lead a worship session and share a bit from the Word.

One Sunday we attended a Karen church about 30 minutes from the campus. Funny thing is that nearly none of the students understand Karen. The sermon was preached by one of the teachers here and then translated into Karen. That evening at our Sunday night meeting back at school, one of the students shared how difficult that was, to be at the church and not understand the preacher, the people around them, or be able to communicate.
Hmmm, I think we can relate to that.

Here are the kids at the Karen church. The building in the back is the kitchen.

I will try to get some more pictures of the campus up and posted in the next day or so. It is really a beautiful place, and seeing the housing for the students will make you very thankful for the home God has given you!

Greg has now been at CDM (Church Development and Mission School) for two weeks.
He is definitely getting a good workout in Thai every day. He is in class each morning at 7:30 and the day ends at 9:30. Of course there are some breaks for lunch, dinner, work detail and free time, but it is a very full day.

Classes are challenging to keep up with, but from his reports, he is doing OK. His reading assignments are a bit behind, but I am so proud of him for sticking it out every day. It is not easy to be the only one who does not get the jokes and falls behind in the discussions and reading. But God is faithful and gives him His Grace each day, and supplies His strength. Of course some day are more frustrating than others, but praise God, His Merices truly are new every morning.

Some of the extra-curricular lessons Greg has been learning are also interesting.

lizard trapping
shellfish gathering
banana plant maintenance (did you know they are filled with water?)
intense soccer
wild plant gathering
making animal traps from logs and string

Wish we had two camera to have sent with him, but then I guess he would not have any way to get the pictures to me anyway. We will just have to wait until the kids and I get out there.

We both sure do appreciate all who are praying for us. Not only for Greg as he is immersed in Thai and various other languages, but for the both of us while we are separated and miss being together as a family. Sure has made me appreciate the blessing Greg is to us and causes me stop and thank God often for him.

I am a bit concerned for our arrival out there though. It seems rainy season has begun early and that always bring a great deal of bugs. He has commented nearly every night on the vast array of insects and their size. Some unnamed members of our family do not, shall we say, deal well with bugs.
For those of you who are familiar with the Great Spider Incident know just what I am talking about.

Another matter for prayer I am sure.

What to do when the pool is closed and it is super hot out?
Make do, right?

Actually, we are out particpating in the biggest holiday of the year in Thailand.
Thai New Year, or otherwise known as Songkran.

We do not have our truck available this year to go out driving around, so we camped at our mission office with another family and armed ourselves with buckets, garbage cans (don’t worry, they were clean and never used for trash), water guns and anything else we could fling water with.

Songkran is a huge event here in Chiang Mai, with people coming from all over the country to celebrate in this city.
The water part of the holiday began as a way of honoring the elders and recieving a blessing from them.

Of course it has changed into one big water free for all.

There are many spiritual elements to this holiday as well, being a Buddhist celebration in a Buddhist country. There are elaborate and special merit making ceremonies at every wat.

As we had fun joining in the water fight, we had many reminders of why we are here.

Truckloads of people passing us by, on their way to play and make merit, looking for peace and joy, but lacking the One who can actually give it.

We do enjoy the play and fun associated with Songkran, but know our real joy is Christ, because of Him we are secure in all circumstances and can rest in His care of each day and the next, no matter what comes.

Not exactly sure how Greg got the water to come of that side of bucket. He must have Songkran skills :0

Songkran ‘happens’ to fall right at the height of hot season, when everyone is looking for a way to cool off. We were using water right from the hose, so it was like bath water. But many of the passing trucks had stopped at one of the ice vendors and their water was very chilly! But welcome as we baked out there in the heat.

As we encounter and particpate in these Thai holdiays for the second time around, there is much we appreciate and enjoy about the Thai people and their traditions. We are eager to see them celebrate their culture while at the same time glorify the Lord and know Him. Not apart from their culture, not rejecting what them Thai, but as the center of it, bringing meaning and fullness that was not there before.

Ema and I have been taking a Thai dance workshop every Tuesday afterschool for a month now.
It was a class offered to the students, but I showed up on the first day and asked if parents could come too.

Have you ever seen any Thai dance? Ever seen the King and I? It may look slow and simple, but it is much harder than it looks! And my hands and wrists are sore after each week.

We have been learning at a fairly quick pace. I find I must put away my former dance teacher mind and just try to keep up with the new moves, terminology and music. The music is difficult for me, as I cannot find a meter like I can with ‘western’ music, counting off my beats in sets of 8 or 4. There does not seem to be a steady underlying rythm, but it is probably just my untrained ear to Thai music.

Ema and I missed a week. Oops.

When we came back, I was told that in my absence, the teachers decided that I would be doing a solo of the Mahnora dance for the teacher inservice in May.

Ummm, I had not planned on participating with the girls for any recital. This is a student class after all.

The plan was for the kids to do the dances for the teacher development session in May, which deals with cultural awareness for the staff and teachers at Grace. Inservices of this kind are required by the Department of Education. I am all for them, but not sure I am all for yours truly doing a solo.

Apparently, there is only one costume for the Mahnora dance.
A bird costume.

I looked for a picture on the web, but could not find one. I will decide after the fact if I will post one after my performance. (we will see not only what it looks like, but what I look like in it! )

My previous Thai teacher has done some performances at language school, and her outfits have always been gorgeous. However, they have also been for small little bodies. I am not, cough cough, Thai-sized.

No, I will not be holding a lit candle while I am dancing. Let’s not get crazy. Besides, I would probably set my wings on fire.

Looks like a good time to get back on “The Eating Plan”. Nothing like being on display for motivation, right?

I am eager to see Ema all dressed and pressed for her Thai dance though. And I admit, I have really enjoyed Thai dance class. And even though I am nervous and not very confident about my upcoming debut, I don’t truly mind. The experience already has helped me build some relationships with the Thai teachers at Grace and practice my Thai too! Perhaps I can encourage others to do the same and step out beyond those comfort zones.

My old teacher, Khwaan is in the white. Aren’t those dresses beautiful?