Aw and Moo's wedding

Moo was one of my students last year! He is the one who gave me my first haircut in Thailand! He brought his girlfriend to church and she became a Christian! And a year later, they are married!!

They take pictures before the wedding and they have a welcome picture on the table.














During the ceremony they receive a blessing from the bride's parents and the groom's parents!







Aw is part of my small group Bible Study! All the girls in this picture are from my small group!











Here they are...a new couple...a new family...a new life! So much fun! We went downstairs in the church to have dinner and the food was amazing! I loved every bit of it! I ate enough for 3 people! Check out more photos in the link on the right!

Basketball!!

Basketball is one of the things that I miss the most about America!!

So, Ket and I decided that we would build a basketball court in her front yard! I had some money that was given to me as a gift from my friends who came to India with me and so I used some of that money to build this court! It is so great and so fun!

We built it for me but we also built it for the kids in the village! I want them to be able to play and have fun! Kids these days spend too much time inside and on the computer games so I wanted to bring them out and teach them some of my favorite things! Bball is one of those favorites! When it was up we had to wait 3 hours before we could play! Those were 3 very long hours!

Once we could play, we were out there playing! I LOVE BASKETBALL!!! I hope that this can be a ministry to the kids and a fun time for me when I am in Ubon! I am super excited about it!

We made the hoop so that it can move up and down. It can move from 7 - 10 feet! So the kids can play! Even the little ones wanted to play so I lifted them up so they could slam dunk! Next time I am there we will work on the rules and the form for shooting! Did I mention that I LOVE BASKETBALL???!!!

The newer traditions of Songkran

So, the blessing with water turned into full blown water fights.

People stand on the side of the road and throw water on the motorcycles that pass by or people pile into the back of a truck with a large garbage can filled with ice water, and throw it on the other people in the back of trucks. It is quite overwhelming and very dangerous. There are police on the street corner but I am not sure why they are really there? There are no rules or laws. You can drink in the middle of the street, you can wear anything you want, or nothing at all, and you can dance in the street and cause traffic jams! Basically you can do whatever you feel like for 4 or 5 days! As you can see from the pictures below! It is a crazy time! We were in a car because Ket's family does not have a truck and so we were safe, and dry most of the 4 days! :)



One day we went to the river to play in the water! Of course we play in the water with our clothes on because that is what Thai people swim in. So, We went into the river with al our clothes on with about 1,000 other people too! I think I was the only foreigner there! It was so fun!

We ate lunch on the river and had a fantastic day! I love Thai food and one of my favorites is Som Tom, it is a spicy papaya salad! It is so good to eat with sticky rice! Oh I love Thai food! :)

Songkran

Songkran is the Thai New Year and it is a great and crazy festival! For Songkran the church was closed for 2 days so I went up to Ubon with Ket's brother.

I could not believe it but there was a Starbucks on the way! We all screamed and then did a U-turn and I treated everyone to a Starbucks drink! It was so much fun! You will not believe this either! One day while we were traveling around Ubon, we faw a new building and inside this new building was STARBUCKS! Now I can officially live in Ubon full time! It is no longer the country, we have become a city, a city with Starbucks!

One of the traditions is to put powder on each others faces to celebrate and have fun! So we played a game and when you lost, someone put powder on your face. It is a wet powder that dries on your face.

The tradition is to pour water in the hands of the older people and bless them with strength and health. And then they take the water from their hands and put it on the back of the younger generation for a blessing too. So after church we ate lunch together and then we got all the older people to sit down and we blessed them! Below is a picture of the blessing water.


After we blessed the older people they wanted to bless us. This is a picture of me receiving a blessing from Noi's mom! Noi is one of my close friends here in Thailand!

Easter in Ubon

Easter in Ubon was great! We had many people come to church and it was exciting! It was so hot while we were there for Easter and so the electricity kept going out. We already do not have air in Ubon but now we don't even have fans....It was so hot!! So we got a candle and we all sat around it and finished our tasks for the morning!

They have a few traditions here that are different than the ones we have in America. They made hard boiled eggs and then the pass them out to neighbors. This is the picture of the little packages that we made!

They also do not die their eggs, they paint on them. It is fun to see what they painted and we gave 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place for the best eggs! It was fun and the kids loved it!

These are some of the girls that came for Easter! Their English is very good and so we talked and they asked me all the questions that they knew! They ask the usual ones, "What is your name?", "How old are you?", "How many brothers and sisters do you have?", "Where are you from?", "How long have you been in Thailand?", and then they ask their favorite question. The one that they have wanted to ask the whole time but had to wait. "Do you have a boyfriend?" and when I say "no", they FREAK out! It is always the same thing! Someday I will be able to say "yes" to that question! :)

Ja and Eak's Engagement

My very good friends Ja and Eak got engaged a few weeks ago! It is done a little bit different here in Thailand. When they get engaged, it is a planned thing and family and friends are invited and there is a little ceremony at the engagement. Many times a dowery is given and the parents give a blessing.

This is my friend Eak's family! He works with me at the church. His parents were great! Both of them speak English and it was good to talk with them! The party was wonderful!

Only a few friends got to come because it was on a Monday and it was not in Bangkok. It was in a province that is near the beach! Both Eak and Ja are from this province. They have been friends for a long time! Ning, Golf, Boom, and I were able to go and support our friends! A good time was had by all!

These are some of my favorite girls! Ning (who is 8 months pregnant), Boom (works with me at the church), and Ja (Eak's fiance)! I love these girls!