Sweet, Spicy, & Soi

So excited at what my life looks like right now. There are and will definitely be challenges, but I am extremely thankful that the feeling "this is exactly where I am supposed to be, and what I am meant to do" has only gotten stronger since my arrival.

I am loving getting to know the girls, and having them get to know me. I have learned how to say - "Chan yu bret ted Thai nung bee" - which means "I will live in Thailand for one year." The girls meet many people that come for short term trips (a week or so), and they get excited when they realize they are stuck with me :). They are primarily the ones teaching me the language, which is a challenge when many of them have only spoken the language themselves for a year or two. Many of the children at our homes are from the hill tribe villages and their native tongue is their tribal language. Either way, they are so sweet and I am grateful for so many willing tutors!!! They love watching me work on the Rosetta stone program and helping me ace all my tests :).

The last week or two have been filled with getting settled into my new home, downtime at the property, starting to dig in on my studies with Nhu and work for Carl, and local tourist attractions. Many of the teams that come to the RNhu house here in Thailand are awarded with a few trips to local tourist spots in downtown Chiang Mai, and the chance to attend a traditional Thai cultural dinner. I have been given the opportunity to tag along with the team that is here right now, and have loved it! Not only is it awesome to be able to go to those things, but so nice to have fellow Christians who SPEAK ENGLISH! :).

The cultural dinner last Friday was unbelievable. The food here is excellent (as long as I can get my occasional cereal fix, which so far has been my only source of non-rice carbs). It is definitely spicy, but I am quickly getting used to all the flavors ~ curry, coconut, fruit - all so different, but so good. The dinner was so much more than just food. They filled the evening with traditional music, dancing, swordsmanship, and general entertainment. We ended the night lighting 4' lanterns that floated off into the sky. Let me tell you, seeing all those lights rising and floating above us was so beautiful - in Thai beautiful is pronounced: soi. As someone who is drawn to cultural experiences anyways, this night was  absolutely perfect.

Work is starting to go well now that I have settled in a bit more. I spent about three hours with Nhu today working on english. We are reading through the New Testament and going through some workbooks. We are getting along really well, and both of us were dying of laughter when she read outloud today from Matthew 6:24: "you cannot serve both God and monkey" (instead of money). hahahhahaha!!! Within that same realm, I was able to get a lot done for Carl today as well, and several people have mentioned how excited they are that I am here to help him. He travels so much, and has a huge workload. I am looking forward to helping take some of the pressure and stress off him, and praying I will continue to prove myself useful in that regard.

So much is happening, and so many things to share, but going to stop there for now. Thank you so much to all who have been covering me in prayer. I am truly feeling the blessings of your support and appreciate it so much. My continued prayer requests are for:

• Continued relationship building and balance with Nhu, Carl, Laurie, and the RNhu staff
• Health - many of the girls are sick/deal with lice (and we all sleep in the same room)
• Self discipline and faithfulness in my work

Initial Thoughts & Adjusting to Life without Lists

#1 - First things first ~ goal accomplished: ride an elephant :). Yesterday I went with one of the teams that is here to an elephant park in Chiang Mai. It was half trail ride, half circus. hahaha. At one point when I was riding the elephant, we started going downhill and my bag slipped and fell down. Don't worry though, because she picked it up with her trunk and handed it back to me!!! ahhhh. soo cool :)

I am completely in love with the Remember Nhu girls already. Hearing some of their stories absolutely breaks my heart and only confirms how much more I am grateful to have this opportunity.
The weather and the property are picturesque. About 10-11 acres in one of the rural suburbs outside of the city. One of the teams that is here right now has been working on setting up a chicken coop and expanding the pig pen. Yes everyone - I am living on a farm. Aunt Judi would be so proud!!! To be honest though, that is so little of what goes on. It really is mostly to sell the pigs once they are grown and to eat the chickens and eggs. Seems to make sense to me!

There are two ponds on the property and on a walk this morning I think I found a new place to escape and get some time to myself. There is a little bench between the two ponds that looks back over the big pond and you can see the house in the background. I had some much needed quality time with the LORD there early this afternoon.

My room is basically a sorority style sleeping porch. Big room with enough bunk beds to fit about 40 girls. My personal space consists of a 4-high plastic drawer container near my bunk- rubbermaid style. Other than that, there is no such thing as privacy!

I am definitely adjusting to the differences in the way people do life here. As a company/church we are dealing with challenges in differences of culture, language, personality etc...  It is interesting seeing peoples expectations of what needs to get done, what people want to do, and what really happens. The difference in language makes it hard to communicate those things and culture makes it hard to carry them out. Two of my primary tasks while I am here are to help Carl with business related projects, and to work with Nhu on her English. I am trying to learn Thai language and culture, and teach English to Nhu - who is Cambodian and speaks Khmai (language in Cambodia) - it makes for an interesting dynamic :). Love having another girly girl around though! So excited to grow the relationship with my new sister.

Everything runs slower here in general, not to mention in addition to problems with miscommunication. As of now, I have yet to really "work". No complaints from me - it has been nice to get settled and spend time with the girls in the children's homes, but it will definitely take some time to get used to life without lists! So different from the way we do life in America!! I am used to having 800 things to do, and having to keep track of everything via lists. That is not at all necessary here. No list needed when nothing is on it! Hoping to start on some business projects next week so that may change, but who knows - I have been told life in Thailand is all about patience and flexibility.

I promise to post pictures soon - I haven't transferred everything from my camera to the computer yet and my camera is back home. Right now I am writing from the house of another family who works for Remember Nhu. They offered me WiFi and cereal - YES!!!

My Thai is getting better and everyone says I am picking up fast - thank you so much for all of you who are praying for me! Keep it up because apparently it is working :). Would also love prayers for my relationships with Nhu and the other staff at Remember Nhu. Want to establish them early and well. Because communication is an issue, this is especially important!!!

<3

Almost There!

Hello from the Bangkok airport!

I feel as though I have been traveling for dayzzz (just for you Katie J) – but in all reality, I have. I left Portland around 12:30pm on Monday, and will arrive in Chiang Mai at 1:30pm this afternoon (Wednesday). Loving the heat and sunshine already – they are helping to keep me awake despite jet lag.

I stayed at a beautiful hotel last night, which was literally across the street from the airport. You would never know I was a missionary the way I made out last night. Literally praising God for his abundant blessings. The hotel was so luxurious and I had an amazing breakfast via room service this morning. For those of you who know me well, you should know I had the BEST guava juice ever!!!

I keep telling myself – ‘you live in Thailand!’ Cannot wait to get to the home this afternoon and settle in. Unpack, relax and meet the girls ~ ready to be home J. My heart is so content in this moment and I seriously am not sure how I can possibly deserve this adventure! Livin in paradise, loving the culture already, and serving the Lord – too good to be true!!! Praying about how I can be a good steward of what I have been given. Wanting to be a quick learner and servant as much as possible.

After spending about two hours on Rosetta stone the last week or so – I can tell that the language (especially if I want to learn to read/write) is going to be difficult. Will need major practice and hopefully can get some of the older girls to tutor me J.  Right now – I cannot even say hello! Minimum goal for today is to learn to say “hello,” “thank you,” and learn how to bow properly.

Pictures to be added soon. <3!!!

Transitioning

First of all, I am writing this post from my NEW COMPUTER!!! Knowing my need, one of my amazing anonymous donors provided money and told church they wanted some of the money they were giving to go towards a new laptop. My previous computer was eight years old and in its final days. There is no way I could have used that PC for Skype and business applications etc... I was planning to use some of the money from selling my car towards a new Mac, but guess what - GOD had different plans :). My church was able to use their discount to get me a new 13" MacBook Pro... I am seriously so blessed. Thank You just does not seem a strong enough phrase. <3

When I count up all the donations and gifts I have received in the past four weeks or so, it amounts to almost $12,000!!! I truly believe this is only possible with Jesus, and all glory goes to Him. Ever since we decided on Thailand, the way has been paved and forged beyond what I could possibly hope for. Needs are being met before I have even had a chance to pray about them! I absolutely feel like God has His hand on this trip, and there has been so much affirmation from Him that this is what He has planned for me right now. So grateful for His goodness and faithfulness in this journey already.

With only two days left until I leave (AHH!), I have been wrapping up all the errands and tasks that need to get done. There have been girls spending the night at my place every night (Reina is asleep on the couch as I write), and I will be sad to leave everyone. Last weekend, I spent four days with almost 70 friends in Sunriver and was SO blessed by our time together. We had devotionals together every morning and evening, spent time at Mt. Bachelor, played games (mafia, sequence, and signs were the favorites ;)), went on walks in gorgeous eastern Oregon, and star gazed. What an awesome time! I felt so revived on Monday - feeling that I had really experienced quality time with the Lord, and with my friends.

This week has been busier than I expected. I was hoping to get more time reading - it seems as though everyone is giving me books! Books about Thailand, culture, the sex trade, devotional books etc... I am excited to read all of them, but I simply have not had any time. Good thing it is a long flight :). God has been so gracious in providing quiet moments throughout the day and helping me to process the change that is about to happen in my life. Realistically, I have no idea what my life will look like in a few days - but that is the idea right! :)

At this point, I am ready to go. Tired of running errands and preparing - the short-term transitional phase I am in is coming to a close and I am so excited to really begin this next season. At the same time, I keep trying to remind myself to soak up every moment I have left here and really live in the moment. We are all continuously transitioning, but sometimes are more obvious than others.

Ultimately as my friends and I spoke about last weekend - it is not at all about me. Everything points back to the LORD. All of this is for HIS Glory. He is the only one worthy of honor and praise. I never want this year to be about me, I want to continuously be grateful and pointing it back to Him. Praying for His grace and humility upon my heart.

Leave Well, Arrive Well, Glorify God. This is my desire.