Let me just begin by saying, it was my intention from the
beginning of our time in Thailand to write much more often than I do. I plan to try to do better from now on!
It has now been one year since we moved to Thailand. This year has absolutely flown by. We have
both learned, and grown so much. As I
was trying to decide exactly what to write about for this post, and I read back
through my post from March of last year, when we were getting ready move. In it, I made a list of all the things I was
looking forward to; so I am going to respond to each of my thoughts and how
they turned out. (Responses are in bold.)
1. We will finally begin the journey God has called us to.
We have been sharing our ministry with churches for a year and a half
now; it’s about time we are able to do what God told us to do! This
has been so exciting! To finally be able
to do what you’ve been telling others about for so long. I will have to say, some plans didn’t work out
like we thought, and others went beyond our dreams, but that’s why I’m glad God
is in control of what we are doing!
2. No more deputation! Living out of our car is very
difficult and tiring. And our poor car
needs a rest. This was perhaps my most favorite thing about the initial move
here. It was so wonderful to be able to
finally park the car and sleep in the same bed for more than a week. I think
our deputation journey helped me to appreciate anything I could call my home,
as long as it was the same place. This
is not to say we didn’t have a wonderful deputation experience. We still appreciate and think often about the
people who hosted us.
3. I get to unpack all of my suitcases in a place I can call
“MY house”! And I get to decorate it however I want! I have
honestly really enjoyed this! I love
being able to live out of a closet and dresser rather than a suitcase. One of my most favorite things about moving
into our Thailand house is setting up and decorating the kitchen. Not that I really enjoy cooking a whole lot,
but this is my one place I can put all my girly stuff (strawberry themed, of
course). And I love it!
4. I’ll make new friends.
We’ve definitely made new
friends, most through the church we are working with, but also some foreigner
friends. It was so neat around
Thanksgiving and Christmas time to see how much expats lean on each other for
familiarity. (Expats are people who live
in a country temporarily or permanently which is foreign to their upbringing.) We have a great group of expat friends, most
from America, who we can count on to help us figure things out and to help us
get a sense of home now and then. We
also have a great group of Thai friends who are always willing to help teach us
and show us how to live here.
5. Learn a new language.
This is still a work in progress,
and will be for a long time. At this
time, I can hold a basic conversation, and I know all of my numbers and most of
my letters. Reading will be a huge
accomplishment, as Thai has 44 consonants and 32 vowels, as well as 3 consonant
classes with different rules. It has
been difficult for us to learn the language here, since many people know some
English and want to practice speaking with you.
I am so proud of Jared; he has surpassed me in language learning and is
doing really well.
6. See new places. Of course we’ve done this. We’ve been able to travel quite a bit around
our area and really get to see the sites of Northeast Thailand. This has helped a lot in learning the history
and culture of these people.
7. And I get to take my husband with me!! Not sure I
could do this without him. Going alone would be much harder. I think of
some of my military friends overseas, alone, and am thankful God is letting me
work alongside my husband. What a blessing to work with my husband
every day! If we need to go out during
the day, we usually do it together, and we have gotten used to having each
other for support in most every situation.
It has been a huge blessing. The one thing Jared usually does without me
is make church visits, and I am usually counting down the minutes until he gets
home! Being able to work together has
strengthened our relationship so much.
8. We get to do lots of shopping when we arrive. For
house stuff. Fun! This actually didn’t happen exactly like we thought, but for that we
are thankful! We had originally planned
on moving into a house of our own when we first moved here; however, the Jones
needed someone to watch over their house while they went back to America. So, we were able to move into a furnished
house and only needed to buy a few things when we got here. This was a great blessing!
9. We get to spend some time with our good friends, already
living in Thailand. While this is true, it hasn’t worked out exactly like I thought. I had envisioned us frequently getting
together with our missionary friends here.
It has been fantastic to have other missionaries we know living not too
far from us on the field, but it just so happens that we live far enough apart
and are so involved in our own ministries that our visits don’t happen as often
as you’d think. Also, missionaries leave
for furlough or change towns where they are doing ministry, so we must rely
more on our friendships close by.
10. I can stop eating so much takeout food and start cooking
again! This has been great! I have
honestly done much more cooking here than I ever did in the states. Unless we want Thai food, McDonalds, or KFC,
we have to make it at home. I have even
had to begin making my own bread and other gluten free items since we can’t
find as many of those items pre-made here.
This year, I even made the Thanksgiving turkey for the first time ever!
(I was the only person with an oven!)
It’s been a lot of learning, but it has been fun. I am so thankful I, sort of, paid attention
growing up to learn how to cook some things.
And I’m thankful for all my home recipes and the internet that help me
fill the table with food that tastes like home!
11. Perhaps I’ll lose some weight. Eating out all the
time takes a toll on your body. Within a few months of moving here, Jared
and I both lost 15 pounds apiece! (Of
course now I’m gaining it back in baby!)
I think the heat has just as much to do with our losing weight as the
change in diet. It felt so great to
start eating more natural foods and not having to eat take out all the
time.
12. Maybe I’ll learn to drive a scooter… This
has definitely not happened! I actually
have not even ridden a scooter the entire time we’ve been here, which I’m proud
of. The way they drive
scooters/motorcycles here scares me to death.
I have no interest in taking part in it!
13. After I learn to drive on the wrong side of the road. Somehow,
this came really quickly. We almost
immediately were able to fall into the Thai driving patterns. Every once in a while I will flip the
windshield wipers instead of the blinker, since they are located on the
opposite side of the steering wheel from an American car. But besides that, we’ve gotten comfortable
enough driving here that now I’m a little worried about how we’ll do if we take
a trip back to America!
14. I’ll become a frequent-Skype-user. Skype
has become one of our best friends. I
Skype with my family often. I love
getting to see their faces as we talk.
It’s so much better than talking on the phone. My niece, who is two, probably thinks I live
in the computer, but I have loved being able to watch her grow. Skype has been such a blessing.
This has been fun, to
look back and see my expectations for moving and see how they are similar or
different from how things turned out. We
have been so blessed in our year here in Thailand. God has made this like home just enough so we
don’t go crazy! We still miss our
families every day, and can’t wait until we can go home for a visit.
Usually people say
things get easier with time, and perhaps this is true. But I think God just gives you what you need
each day to get through. Not every day
here has been a breeze, but He sure has taken care of us. Please pray for us as we begin our 2nd
year here in Thailand.
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