First Post from Thailand!

We have now been living in Thailand for a full month.  This time has flown by.  I am still getting used to the idea that I live here now; we’ll see how long it takes for that to hit.  Of course I miss my family and familiar things each day, but I have a peace and know this is where I should be.  I have so many interesting and exciting things to share.

Our first two weeks, we spent adjusting to the new time zone, and helping some of the Jones’ visitors with some construction projects.  One thing about living in a foreign country that most people don’t realize is that something that should take maybe one day to do, can take days and days.  Many different factors help determine this.  Here’s an example.  Jared and Danny were working on replacing a door frame because there was termite damage.  It took Jared several hours to pull down the old wood and yank the nails out of the wall.  Had he had some different tools not found in Thailand, this may have been easier.  But, he had to pull them down by hand and then work on getting the nails out of the concrete.  See, when they build houses in Thailand, they set the door frames first, and then concrete in the blocks around it.  Therefore, Jared had to chisel out the concrete (by hand) to remove the nails.  When it came time to put up the new boards, they discovered they had warped while being out in the lovely tropical humidity.  So a trip to the store was made to buy new ones.  And a trip to the store here is not just a trip to the store.  Normally it is a trip to several stores in order to find exactly what you wanted, and possibly involves a conversation with a policeman at a road block.  When they finally got home, then they had to hand cut grooves in the wood so it would properly fit in the premade hole in the floor to help stabilize it. So, this job that maybe should’ve taken a few hours, turned into a huge 2 day ordeal.  Welcome to Thailand!

We have been staying with the Jones so far, and will be living in their house during the time they return to the States.  I cannot say enough kind words about Danny and Rachel; they have made this move so easy on us.  Rachel has spent a lot of time cooking and cleaning for us, and helping me get used to shopping and cooking here.  There is still a lot for me to learn about cooking from scratch, and what is safe to buy where. That will come with time.  Danny has been helping us learn Thai and showing Jared how different items work around the house. (The water pumps, air conditioners, and actual way to build houses, are all different than back home, so Jared needs to learn how to fix things the “Thai way”.)  God has certainly blessed us with them and we cannot thank them enough. 

We have also been working with their church here, and preparing to watch over it while they are gone.  The people have been very welcoming to us and helpful in trying to help us learn how things go.  We are excited to be able to help this church while we get accustomed to being here.

As I said we have been studying Thai a lot.  I have sticky notes stuck around our room labeling items with the Thai word.  I know this will be a very long process, but we are starting to see that we are catching on a tiny bit.  It is so exciting to be in the market and understand when someone tells you how much money you owe.  Or even just pick out one or two words from a sentence, and use context to figure out what the conversation is about.  The hardest thing about Thai is that you can have one word mean 5 different things, depending on what tone you use.  (Middle tone, high tone, rising tone, low tone, falling tone.)  I am so thankful my parents made me take music in school.  The knowledge of music makes hearing these tones so much easier! 

Please continue to pray for us as we continue to adjust to our new lives here.  Every day we see and learn something new.  I have sat in some of the quiet hours of night and thought that I could not have ever possibly imagined my life would bring me here.  As a little girl, I never dreamed of even going on vacation outside of the U.S., but God has made this possible.  I have always liked these verses, and their message, but lately they have become more and more special to me. 

Ephesians 3:19-21

¹⁹ And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.

²⁰ Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,

²¹ Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.

Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think.  He has certainly gone beyond what I ever asked or thought.  I love that thought.  It reminds me that He loves me enough to do more for me than I could ever think of!  I am so thankful for this opportunity, and am excited to share all my experiences with you.

Before I go, here are some interesting things that are becoming our norms:

- Stray dogs are everywhere.  I am a dog lover, but I am learning not to touch them as they carry many diseases and are sometimes mean.  Not touching them yet and the fact that I haven’t brought one home yet is true self-control!

- Lizards and ants in your house are totally normal, and should not cause you to panic.  This I have to work on!

-Driving on the wrong side of the road isn’t so bad, until you go to turn right, and realize last minute that you have to go across a full lane of traffic.  Turning left on red is legal.

- Just because people are smiling and pointing at you doesn’t mean they’re making fun of you.  Actually, they are probably very interested in your light skin and want to talk to you (and probably touch you). 

- Taking off your shoes in church can be fun!  Jared loves preaching in his socks, and it certainly keeps the church floors much cleaner.

- It’s getting normal to not see white people, other than ourselves, when we go out.   

- It is becoming normal to get your bill at a restaurant and not panic when the number is high and says something like 200.  I’d panic if it said $200, but 200 baht (Thai money) is only about $6.75.

- 100+ degree weather is normal this time of year.