Croc's vs Escalator

Well, it all started as we were on our team field trip. We were in the middle of having a nice supper in Chiang Mai, when the kids decided they need to make a visit to the toilet. I reluctantly decided to take them as the closest bathroom was in the Central department store, a little bit of a walk.

On the way to the toilet there was an escalator which Aimee was not too impressed about and which Sam and I attempted to assure her that they are totally safe and harmless to navigate.

So we jumped on. Up, up, up we went and as we exited the top on the 2nd floor Aimee's shoes slide over the safety guard hurray! No problems! "See Aimee, escalators are safe to use!" At that moment Daddy decided to lift her up as he took his final step off the escalator. But to my shock, as my black Croc's slide over the safety strip, the soft rubber got caught and the escalator monster ate half my shoe. I tried to pull it out first with my foot still in it and then with my hands!!!!! But to no avail -the beast had my shoe. Before I knew it security, who wasn't actually asleep had stopped the escalator and a few people quickly flurried around.

Looking at my half eaten Croc's which I had purchased across the border, I wondered what to do with it and the escalator that had just eaten my shoe. They asked us to wait a minute, I over heard in Thai that the escalator tech was coming in 30 min. Standing there with one shoe and the kids busting to get to the toilet I decided to move on, one shoe down, through the shopping centre with the kids and people wondering what I was doing with only one shoe on! Sam said he was embarrassed! I thought to my self that that wasn't supposed to start until Sam was a few years older! But Aimee was busting and wanted the potty!!!! And I was still thinking about how that all just happened!

Returning to the escalator, my half eaten Croc still remained hanging out. As people gathered talking and taking pictures with their cell phones. Then I was ushered away by the Central department store staff, who told me that, they were very, very, very sorry. They took me to the shoe department and said I should chose a new pair of shoes. Any pair I wanted. Surprised, within 5 minutes, I walked out with I brand new pair of "real" Croc's from Central mall instead of my cheap boarder pair. I returned to our group to tell of my bizarre adventure and finish off our meal! Liz wished she had taken the kids to the toilet after that!

New Home

Greetings from Thailand! Exactly one month ago we moved to a new house. This was a huge answer to prayer, and thank you to all who prayed with us for this. We needed to find not only a house for us, but the other team members who joined us in soon, as well as a location that would have a classroom. God answered our prayers beautifully by leading us to a building which was completed the very week that we needed to move in. It is a townhouse style/Asian shop front with 3 units side by side. We are open for visitors! Sam and Aimee love having the big open area downstairs to play, and we are enjoying the view out our front window of a mountain full of green trees, and the hills in the background. We wake up to the roosters crowing and hear the pigs being slaughtered at the neighboring butcher's house in the wee hours every morning. So far, Samuel has been able to continue attending the same school, even though it is an hour commute each way. He catches a ride with 2 other families and leaves the house at 6:50 am and gets home around 4 p.m., tired but happy.

In moving, we also felt sad to leave our friends and neighbors, and we realized that in one short year, we were able to make some genuine reciprocating friendships, which we have been able to maintain, even after our move, for which we are very grateful.

We'd like to share with you a short story about our move. We moved in the middle of the rainy season and in the middle of a big, big rain storm. Some of our neighbors counseled us not to move on that day, but it was the only day we could move, so we prayed that God would give us a dry day. The evening before our move it poured all night. On the actual morning of our move, the grey clouds threatened to pour, our town was partially flooded and the road out was knee deep in water due to a reservoir that had burst its wall in the mountains. But thankfully, there was not a drop of rain until about 30 min after we had unloaded the truck into our new place! Thank you Jesus! It rained after that for a solid week….

Another very real way in which we have seen God's hand in our move is the location he provided our buildings for us. When we first found this place, we had no idea that this was a Shan neighborhood, this is really significant. We are very much aware of God's invisible hand with us, helping us and making a way for us to walk.

New Team Members

We are so thrilled to welcome Steve, Maggie, Sarah and Jacki to Thailand, and Jake as well. They have been here for about a month (except for Jacki who has been here for about 2 weeks), and are over the initial stages of setting up house and transport in a new country. They have all delved into language learning and are already able to order their own Thai food!!! Our former language teacher has been willing to commute so that we can continue learning Thai with her, for which we are very grateful.

Bits & Pieces

In August, we had the joy of spending 2 weeks with "Grandma" (Liz's Mom) who was able to travel all the way to Thailand, from Turkey! It was a great time with lots of good memories of baking cookies, reading stories, playing dolls, and exploring local eateries. We also got to spend a few days with the Turner Valley SBS and DTS outreaches, and were able to show them a bit of this part of the world.


In September, in addition to moving, we celebrated two very special birthdays in our house: Samuel turned 6 and Aimee turned 3.










In October, we had a house warming party for about 40 of our friends and neighbours. Our good friend, Pii Sukam helped to organize and cook all the yummy food! Our very generous landlord made a awesome green curry too for the event. Thank you to all who came and helped out!

Our faithful language teacher, Pii Dtum has been willing to travel up here every week for 3 days in order to help us continue learning Thai language. Even Sam and Aimee get to have an hour of stories with her every Saturday morning, which they love. Thank you Pii Dtum!

Blunder!

When we came back to Thailand after a month away in Canada, we were really encouraged with our ability to communicate in Thai. That is, until we had the following incident with our neighbour....
We were making arrangements on when to pick her up the next day for an outing to her village. Rob said, "I'll drive the car there."
She looked mortified and confused. Then we realized what he had said. Usually Rob rides the motorbike and the word for riding a motorbike is "kii". With a different tone, that word then means "crap" or actually the ruder version beginning with "sh....". The word for "riding" a motorbike is different than "driving" a car (which is "kap"). So, basically Rob told our neighbour that "he was going to crap the car!".

Good memories and lots of laughs!

Another funny thing! We were just given tickets from a friend to a concert, which is real statement of friendship but the funny thing is that is the tickets are called "The Liver Love Songs" sounds romantic!!!!!!! (I think they are intended to say "The River Love Songs") - but since Rob is Lob here, it's all good!

Next steps

Samuel has just started his second year of school now (Thai school year begins in May). He is happy to be with his friends - and he is learning to write English and Thai script! Aimee is wanting to go to school too - but is learning to go to the potty first! Rob and Liz are back into Thai language classes as well as preparing for a move around August/September to a new city. We are also preparing a week long Seminar in June for the part time students who begin classes this June. Over the next 2 ½ years, they will be studying all the books of the Bible. They are all in full time ministry already and are so eager to understand the Word of God better for themselves and their congregations.

Canada Trip

In April we had to return to Canada to apply for new visas. We had an excellent trip. While we were ‘home’ we organized a fundraiser. It was a really fun night, with great desserts, and lots of friends. Amazingly, by the end of the weekend, we had raised half our projected budget in gifts and pledges! We were really encouraged by the generosity of our friends towards Bible students they had never met. We also got new 12 month visas, so no more bi-weekly trips over the border!!!

While we were back in Canada, it was so refreshing to see lots of dear friends and family. Liz’s sister, Jenn was able to come out to Alberta for 6 days and the kids loved having Auntie Jennie read stories and play in the snow! Rob was able to go on a couple of hikes and Liz managed to get some shopping done! Samuel had lots of memories flood back from when we lived in Turner Valley and Aimee enjoyed having cupboards and closets to play in.

One Year in Thailand

Sawadii! Greetings from Thailand! It has been one year now since we arrived in this beautiful country. When we look back over the past 12 months, we are very encouraged to see how we have progressed in learning the Thai language, to see how this has become our home, how our children have adjusted to being here, and to see how we have been able to make friends and find community here. God has been good to us. In addition to studying language and setting up life here from scratch, we have been able to begin a new ministry! Our first project will officially begin in January 2011.

Sacrifices

Feeling deeply moved tonight by the stories of two other families in our area. One family, who is from another Asian country felt called to move to Thailand and share about the love of God with people here. The catch? She is a single mom with 2 young boys. Her husband died a year and a half ago. She did not let this stop her from living out what she felt God was calling her to do.

The other family (from the same Asian nation) also felt the call of God to come to Thailand. They came. They did not have enough money when they came to even furnish their house... or send their 3 kids to school... or purchase a motorbike.... or pay for language classes. But they came. And they are trusting in God to meet their needs.

Wow. What can I say in light of these precious lives? What they have done seems so huge, so impossible. Too much, really. But then again, do I really believe that Jesus is worth all that? Is he really worth it all? Even in our pain? Yes, of course he is! He is worthy of everything, our very lives. Sometimes that leaves me in awe. Thank you to my friends who make me want to love Jesus with all my life; with everything in me.

Long time between updates

It has been way too long since our last update. Please forgive us! Moving to a new country, learning a new language and setting up a new ministry has been overwhelming! The last few months feel like they have been a whirlwind of activity and a roller coaster of emotions. At times we have said, “God, we can’t do this!”. But he has responded with two very clear verses for us. One is from I Thess 5:24 “The one who calls you faithful and he will do it” and the other is when Jeremiah was lamenting to the Lord and God’s reply was, “How are you going to run with horses if you can’t even run with men?”.

Learning Thai

Yes! We are actually learning to say more than just ‘hello’ and ‘thank you’! And incredibly, we are even learning to read and write in Thai script. It is a wonderful feeling to be able to speak with a vendor in the market and have them compliment your language! Of course, our hats go off to our wonderful Thai teacher (Pii Dtum), who has patiently taught us and reviewed with us every day, and repeated answered the question, “What does that word mean again?”. We still have a loooooong way to go though!

Fun, Fun, Fun

Sam love riding with dad on the bike to school in the mornings. One of the joy's of Thailand!