In Thailand

English in Ubon

2009-02-13T22:12:00.006+07:00

This is my best friend Ket. She was my roommate last year and then she became the Pastor of a church plant in Ubon. We got to spend 10 days together while I was teaching English and it was so much fun to be with her again! We are great friends!

These are the faces of some of my students! They are so cute! Ying, me, Yao, and Bee! I had a class of 5 students and these 3 were the most faithful and came to every class.

We studied many things together and one thing was pronunciation. Many of them have studied English for a long time but a Thai teacher has taught them so their grammar is great but their pronunciation needs some work! My students improved in their confidence to speak English! That was the goal!! Kim this pic is for you!

The last day of class we had a party and all my students came to Ket's house and we ate together! This is a pic of all the girls together! It was such a fun 10 days with these students! Look at their smiles! They were great students!!

This is a picture of our dinner together! Sean came and joined us for the last day of class and one free day in Ubon. We had a great time in Ubon together! It is one of my favorite places in all of Thailand! It is a beautiful place! I will miss it, I actually already do!!

Making Cookies

2009-02-13T21:59:00.010+07:00

Making cookies is one thing I am known for here in Thailand! Every Saturday I teach kids English for one hour. This week I decided to teach them how to make cookies! They LOVED it!!! being a math teacher we talked about the difference in measuring in Thailand and America. It was a fun time and the kids got to taste what they made! Everyone had a great time!!

Pat and Bew are mixing their dough! They had fun with the flour! Of course it got everywhere!

Here I am teaching them about the different ingredients and utensils used in making cookies! It was so much fun to have them so excited about making cookies!

Warm chocolate chip cookies! What better taste could be in the mouth! The kids all loved the cookies and they made some to take home too! What a wonderful day!!

New Years in the South

2009-02-13T21:47:00.005+07:00

Tai Church staff members got 5 days off this year for New Years! It was great! Sean and I joined my favorite family in Thailand, James' family, in the adventure of the year! We went 9 adults, 3 kids, 1 baby, and a dog, in a van for 12 hours both ways. It was so much fun! We had such a great time together! Above are some fun pics of that time. This family is so special to me! James has worked at the church since it opened and his family has taken care of me in so many ways! They have welcomed Sean with open arms and they are a blessing to me!

Sean and Paige's Christmas

2009-01-05T09:58:00.013+07:00

Thanks to Sean's mom, Sean and I had an amazing amount of gifts to open. We were suppose to open them on Christmas morning of course but we were stuck in Laos. So we opened them the night we got back from Laos! It was great to have gifts to open that were given with love! We got lots of snacks and lots of love!

All the gifts under the fake tree...but thanks to my best friend Kim, we had a candle that smelled like Christmas tree so we lit that and tried to make it feel real! Thanks Kim!

While my family's traditional stocking stuffings include toothbrushes, oranges, gum, peanuts, and other favorite candies, Sean's typical stocking stuffings consist of office supplies. This year Sean's brother asked to change it up a little and wanted travel supplies. So, this year we got a little bit of both! I got a real good taste of a Whiting Christmas that is for sure!

Thank you, Dianne, for making Sean and I feel at home when we are so far away! You are missed and loved from Thailand!

An unexpected Christmas in Laos

2009-01-05T09:27:00.005+07:00

Thai Visas is the reason we were in Laos. My work permit finished on December 21st and Sean's tourist visa expired on the 23rd so we had to go to Laos. We thought we would make a vacation out of it. So after the Christmas celebration at Tai Church Bangkok, Sean and I hopped on a train and headed to Nong Kai (in the NE of Thailand). The train broke down and we had to wait about 2 hours. At this point we knew that we would not get to the Thai Embassy in time because they close at noon. We were upset but we thought we would just make the most of it. So we find a hotel and then go out for Indian food! Oh man it was so good!

This is the pic of the line that we had to wait in 2 times in the morning to give our passports and 2 times to pick up our passports! I will not tell you all the details of this process, just know that it was a very stressful experience and we did the best we could with the situations we were put in!

This is the Arc d'Triomphe in Laos. It is in the center of town and we passed it each time we went to the Thai Embassy! We walked up inside of it and took in the view! It was a great time! It is a beautiful part of the city!

So, Sean was in charge of this week. He was to research restaurants and hotels and all that stuff! He spent the past 2 years in Sweden and so when he was searching for places to eat he found a Scandinavian Bakery! We ate there 2 times and had great sandwiches and bagels and coffee! It was a great place for us to "Fika", as they say in Sweden! (It is their word for coffee break)

Another thing that Sean found as he was researching was a great salon that did hair and nails! So for Christmas, Sean gave me a pedicure! Which is one of my favorite things! Pedicures and Starbucks and I am a happy girl! It was a great way to relax as we were having a crazy time with the Embassy! There were lots of moments of love in the midst of such chaos! This was one of those moments! Sean also got a pedicure! Check out the pics to the right!

Because of some MAJOR visa problems, Sean and I got stuck in Laos for an extra day and that meant spending Christmas in Laos. We thought that we would be in Bangkok celebrating but we didn't get to do that. So on Christmas Eve, Sean took me to an amazing Italian food restaurant! We got dressed up and we ate for 2 or 3 hours! It was great, just like I like it! Appetizers, the main meal, and dessert! It was great! And the owner of the restaurant was awesome! We got to talk with him and hear his amazing story of how he got to Laos! He has been there for 16 years working this Italian restaurant! People have pretty amazing stories when we take time to listen!

On Christmas morning we had breakfast in my room and watched White Christmas! Then we went to the internet cafe to call Sean's family on Christmas Eve in CA, and then we went to the Thai Embassy to get his passport and then to the bus to the train and onto Bangkok! It was a bit crazy but even now I can look back and smile and say it was a good time!

Christmas all over Thailand

2009-01-05T08:37:00.011+07:00

Merry Christmas Thailand! I love to travel and Tai Church knows that I love Lampang and Ubon! When we were talking about the Christmas committees for these churches I asked if I could go. This meant that Sean and I would be going together! So fun!

Our first Christmas was in Lampang. All the Christmas activities were planned and run by the youth of the church. It was so great to be apart and help where we could. We took a train up on Friday night and then took a train back to Bangkok on Sunday night! It was so much fun!
Sean and I had been to Lampang the month before so the kids were familiar with him and just loved him! He played basketball with the boys and had fun with them! This picture is of us caroling the night before the Christmas party! We went through the market and sang Christmas Carols in Thai! It was so much fun!

Then on Tuesday night we took a bus to Ubon for Christmas celebrations there! We had two celebrations. One was at the university in Ubon and we set up and had games and a show and then Pastor Kajohn shared about the true meaning of Christmas. It was great! 4 people accepted the Lord and many were interested in knowing more!

The next night we had Christmas at the church in Ubon, which is actually Ket's house! We had 60+ people there and it was awesome! We had games for the kids, shows for the adults and Pastor Kajohn shared again! It was a good time!
We got on a bus going home on Thursday night. It was fast but fun!

Our final and last Tai Church celebration was at Tai Church Bangkok. We had it on December 21st. It was so much fun! Great opportunity to share the gospel. Sean and I helped with the kids and we had so much fun! At one point, I was Mary and I talked with the kids about why we give gifts at Christmas. I got to share with them that Jesus is the greatest gift ever given and that we need to give gifts to Jesus too! It was fun to share and celebrate with kids because they are so excited and so happy about Christmas! This picture is of my friends after the celebration while we were eating! They are so much fun!!

Christmas was great and we had a fun time but we were very tired when we got home and the truth was that our travels had only just begun...

Father's Day in Thailand

2008-12-08T21:55:00.003+07:00

Father's Day in Thailand is December 5th. It is the King's Birthday and so we celebrate the King on this day and we celebrate the fathers! My favorite Father is James! His family is like my family! They have adopted me! I love James because he gives everything for his kids! He works hard to support them, he plays with them, he teaches them, and he is a great example to them of what a father is suppose to be like! In Thailand there are many people who do not have a good relationship with their fathers but James is a GREAT father! He understands God's love for him and therefore he is able to give that love to his children!
This is a picture of James and his family and me and Sean! They have loved Sean as much as they love me! I title this picture, "Our Thai Family". They are so special to me and I absolutely love them!!

These are the boys that I love! All 4 of them! Look at how fun they are! All of them love being boys!!

After we celebrated James with a sushi dinner from his favorite restaurant, we decorated the Christmas tree, which is one of my favorite things to do! We had a great time with the kids! Check out the photos through the link on the right! There are some great ones of the tree! It is a fake tree but I love Christmas so it is okay! I would of course much rather the real thing but...well, I live in Thailand! I was sent a candle that smells like Christmas trees so I light that and it feels like (with a bit of imagination) the tree is real!

Christmas is a great time of year to share love! The greatest gift that has ever been given is Jesus! The reason we give gifts is because God gave us the first and best gift of His only Son! This is the reason for the season! May your month of December be filled with love, joy, and peace! May your family feel the blessings of God and may you experience Christmas to the fullest! Enjoy December!!

November in Thailand

2008-12-01T22:01:00.005+07:00

November has been a super fun month! The most exciting news is that Tai Church has a new member! His name is Sean Whiting! Sean is someone that I met this summer and he decided to come visit me in Thailand for a couple weeks! Well, his plane left 10 days ago to take him home and he wasn't on it. Sean has decided to stay in Thailand with me until I come home in March! We are very excited about what our future holds!
Needless to say this month has brought many new things! But one thing doesn't change and that is the welcoming hearts of my friends! James, Meaw, Boom, Ann, and Bow have been amazing friends in welcoming Sean to Thailand! He is already part of the family here after 4 very fast weeks!! The picture was taken at a "Welcome to Thailand" party in my apartment for Sean! My friends cooked for us and we had a great time introducing Sean to some of my favorite foods that James can make! It was a fun night!! Gifts were exchanged, stories shared, and new friendships founded!

After a week of craziness and welcome to Bangkok, Sean and I got away to Chiang Mai for 4 days. We got to spend time walking the streets, having coffee in Starbucks, browsing through book stores, visiting the sights, riding elephants, floating down the river, and just has time to be together! This was an amazing four days! We travel well together and sure know how to have a lot of fun together!
While we were there, there was a festival happening! It was so much fun to be there during this time! Sean got some real Tai culture and we got to experience the excitement of the festival. It is a beautiful festival and we had fun! There are more pics if you click on the link at the right!

After Chiang Mai, Sean and I headed to Lampang, which is about an hour and a half from Chiang Mai. We spent time at the church plant there with Noi! It was great to be with her and have the kids meet Sean! They were very excited to meet him!! They have known me for 2 years and they are super excited for me! Sean played basketball with them, we eat with them, we went to a birthday party for one of the kids and we just hung out with them. It was a great 4 days there!

God is so good and His faithfulness is a blessing! November was great and I am even more excited about December and more excited about what 2009 holds!

Smart Kids

2008-10-27T19:14:00.003+07:00

Smart Kids is a program we had to teach kids from kindergarden to freshman in high school. We taught them English, Math, Art, and Thai. It was a two week program while the kids were on their break from school. A great time was had by all! The first four pictures are in the classroom! We had 40 kids in the program! I got to teach all of them and they were so much fun! There is just something about teaching kids that brings out the kid in me! We laughed a lot, sang Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes, and we learned a little too!

The next pictures are of the party we had in between the two weeks. My friends from DC were here on a missions trip and they came and shared with the kids at the party! We ate together, practiced speaking English, played Jeopardy, shared testimonies, and they gave out gifts! The kids got balloons, candy, glow in the dark necklaces, and more candy! It was so much fun to share with my friends, Nina and Joel, what I have been doing the past two years! It was really really great to have them here! I am so thankful for them and their team!

Camp in Lampang

2008-10-27T17:11:00.003+07:00

When I got back to Thailand at the end of September I got on a bus two days later and went to the camp for our church in Lampang! It was a great camp and lots of fun! There were 60 kids that went and all the leadership was kids! It was awesome! They did an amazing job organizing the camp and making sure everyone felt included! It was awesome! Here is a picture of the entire camp! This is a where's waldo...can you find me?

This picture is of the last night we were there. Each one of us at the camp had a candle and we lit the candles and placed them on the ground in the cross form! It was beautiful when each of us was finished! I loved it! And the kids did too! It was a great camp! There are more pics in the link at the right!
We also played in the waterfall near the place we stayed! In Thailand they play in the water with all their clothes on! It is quite funny at first but now for me it is normal! The things we adapt to are funny! There were natural hot springs there too! It was great to see those and to touch the water! It was literally boiling! I have never seen anything like it before! Some people were boiling eggs in the water but it smelled like sulfur to me. And I hate that smell so I couldn't stay around there too long! Overall it was an amazing camp! I am so glad that I had to opportunity to go!

Summer 2008

2008-10-27T12:46:00.015+07:00

Wow! My summer went by fast and it was full of fun events all over America! Since my last post I went to Dallas, DC, NYC, and back to Thailand! It was an amazing summer! I have uploaded many pics from each of the events but I will not blog about each of those events! My best friend Kim did an amazing blog on our NYC trip, 5 girls, 4 nights, in NYC! It was amazing! Her blog is: http://www.thezakaryans.blogspot.com/ Check it out! It was a very good summary! I love my friends! I will upload a few pics here to show you some of the things that happened in September!

For Kendra's birthday we had a swim party and so much fun! There were 6 girls and we just had a fun time together! I have been there for everyone of Kendra's birthdays! She is a special little girl in my life!

For her birthday I gave her a manicure appointment! It was her first ever! She had so much fun! Getting manicures and pedicures is one of my favorite things and so to share it with Kendra was tons of fun!

Hume Lake is one of my favorite places to be! I absolutely love going there every year with my best friend Marci! We celebrate her birthday Labor Day weekend and it is s much fun! Kayaking is one of the must dos and on the lake is one of my favorite places for conversation with Marci! We love it every year!

Another thing we do as a family is walk the lake! This is another place for GREAT conversation! I love Marci's mom and dad! They have adopted me over the years! They are pretty awesome people! I am blessed to have them in my life!

Going to Texas is one of my favorite places to go! I love these two people so much! We had so much fun together! Texas is good for shopping, hanging out on summer nights, and driving in big trucks! Well, this year, Casey and Cheryl thought it would be good to be environmentally conscious and by a Prius. I was picked up from the airport, in Texas of all places, in a Prius. I was a little bit disappointed but I understood! We had a great time together!

Nina is one of my closest friends from college! I have been to DC almost every summer since we graduated! Her friendship is so special to me and I love her so much! Her and her husband Joel support me so well here in Thailand! I love them and their family!

This is their little girl Ella! She is awesome and I loved getting to know her! She is so happy and smiles all the time! I look forward to knowing #2 very soon!

These are my best friends! Kim is the one who has the blog about NY that was awesome! This trip started in Texas and from Texas I went to DC and from DC I went to NYC to meet my girls!! It was an amazing fantastic time together! Check out her blog!

My summer was great! It was so fun to be with all my friends and family and do amazing things! The next blog is about Thailand! I am back!

Friends

2008-08-22T11:35:00.008+07:00

Kim and Marci are my best friends in CA!!! They have also provided me with housing this summer! This picture was taken at girls weekend while eating at Beachfire in San Clemente! Kim's husband was out of town and so we raided the house! We went to the pool, shopped, and we basically hung out all weekend! It was great to be with them again!

This is Brent and Kim! He is awesome and I love them together because they make each other laugh and they enjoy being together! They are very special to me!

Melissa is my friend from college! I was able to visit her one afternoon for lunch this summer! He son Caleb is growing up too!

Marci's new apartment is on the beach and so it has been a little piece of paradise for me this summer! We love to eat on her patio and watch the sunset!

Jordan Camp

2008-08-22T10:00:00.007+07:00

This is the man! This is my 8th year coaching the Jordan flight school! It is a fun time with lots of fun friends and hanging out with the best basketball player EVER is so much fun!

My friends Angel and Alexis have worked the snack shop for years and then last year I joined the team! Alexis got a real job and so she joins us on the weekends now! We have so much fun together working and during our time off! One afternoon we decided to make pizza's at Giovani's! It was so much fun! Alexis' mom decided to join us this afternoon! Girls, we need to start thinking about our hot dog talks for next year!

Tony Parker came as a guest one night at camp. It was so great to see him! He is very cute but he is shorter than I thought!

These two kids are Angel and my favorites! We made them take a picture because they are so cute! Look at their muscles!

Samuel and Aunti Paige

2008-08-22T09:30:00.006+07:00

I love Samuel and we had a blast together this trip! We ran around the house with screwdrivers and we started to "unscrew" all of our body parts, which of course hit all the tickle spots! Samuel and I had lots of fun just hanging out and of course I had to teach him about Starbucks! When asked, "Where does Aunti Paige buy coffee"? He answers, "Starbucks"! I love you, Samuel!!

Things I love about Samuel:
*He is so smart and he loves to read
*He is learning Spanish and English
*He tries so hard to obey mom and dad
*He is sleeping in a big boy bed now
*He is going to be an amazing big brother

Visiting Seattle

2008-08-22T09:07:00.006+07:00

Visiting my brother, sister-in-law, and my nephew in Seattle was another highlight of my first few weeks back! Nathan, Melissa and Samuel just moved to Seattle from Chicago this summer and I was bummed because I love Chicago! Seattle was great! We went blueberry picking (although the blueberries were few and far between), we went to the park, to church, to the pike place market, to Starbucks, and many other places. As you can see from the pic below, my nephew is the cutest thing ever!

This picture was taken while we were blueberry picking. It was a great time to be together as a family!

My friend Dana grew up in Seattle but now lives in Canada but she came to Seattle to see me while I was there! We went to the park with the kids and had such a great time together! Her son's name is Clay and he is two, same as Samuel. They did not play together but they were in the same sand box! It was so much fun to be with Dana too!!

Things I love about Nathan:
*He is a great husband, dad, and brother
*He is so smart and I love to brag about him
*He takes care of his family
*He is a good example to those around him

Things I love about Melissa:
*She is an amazing wife, sister, and mom
*While she and I are different in many ways, she loves me and we are really good friends
*She is real and she trusts in the Lord
*She is an AMAZING cook

I love you two so much and I am excited to spend time together again when we get the chance!!

Visiting Colorado

2008-08-22T08:45:00.009+07:00

Visiting my sister and brother-in-law in Colorado was amazing! We went hiking and had a picnic under the trees near the river. It was fantastic to be with them! We played the wii and I loved it! I am not very good at it but it was fun! Jules and I went shopping and of course we went to Starbucks! I love spending time with my sister!

Josh's favorite place to eat is at a steak house called Traildust. So I took them their to celebrate birthday's and anniversaries for the past year! It was fun and we all enjoyed our steaks and the huge glasses of ice tea!

My friends Beth and Jon also live in Colorado Springs so we were able to go over to their house for dinner! It was great to be with them and to meet their two daughters!

The things I love about Julia:
*She is a very positive person and people love to be around her
*She loves people and wants people to be happy
*She is a great wife and a great sister
*She cried when she made a basket in her high school basketball game and that story is one of my favorites!!!

Things I love about Josh:
*He loves my sister soooooo much
*He is very laid back and does not easily stress out
*He doesn't give up on things and always tries to make things better
*He loves the outdoors

I love you two and am excited to see you again sometime soon!

4th of July

2008-07-15T07:14:00.003+07:00

Independence Day is one of my favorite holidays! I love to celebrate holidays and this holiday is always filled with wonderful memories! The past few years I have celebrated with my dear dear friend in Texas! Cheryl I miss you!! Texas on the 4th of July is AWESOME! I wanted to bring some of the wonderful traditions that we have to Thailand!

Of course Boom and I had to wear matching American Flags! It was so much fun! We bought these shirts the night before and thought that it would be prefect for the day!
We brought all the traditions from America! We had a BBQ with hot dogs and hamburgers and chips and watermelon and all the wonderful things from America! Check out all the pics of the BBQ in the link on the right!

After the BBQ I taught then the star-spangled banner! It was so much fun to teach them all about American history! I told them about the birth of America, the flag, the songs and the customs! I told them all about putting their hand on their heart and it was great to see them all doing it!

Aw and Moo's new shop

2008-07-15T06:50:00.005+07:00

These two people are my close friends and I love them so much! I am excited for them and their new shop! This is a picture of the outside of the shop.

This is the new shop! The name of the shop is Celeb and the decorations are Hot Pink and Black. It is so great!

Pastor Kajohn, P'Gai, and I went to pray for the shop on the opening day! It was great to support them!

Ubon June08

2008-06-16T17:47:00.003+07:00

This is a picture of the new front yard! We added a little house! It has a hammock and electricity! We spend a lot of time in this little house! We eat in there and we enjoy the mornings and the evenings, until the mosquitos come out! Right now Ubon is absolutely gorgeous! Everywhere you look there are fields of green rice plants! It is so beautiful!

Here is a picture of the river near Ket's house and the Lotus are so beautiful! They are everywhere! It is so wonderful to drive around Ubon on a motorbike with the wind blowing through our hair seeing all the beauty!! I love Ubon for the fresh air, the beauty and the people below!

This is Ket's older brother Gai and his family. His wife is pregnant and is due in October! I will be back in Thailand and be back in Ubon for the birth! How exciting!!

This is me and my Thai mom! She is great! She takes care of me, listens and understands my Thai language and she is a great cook! I look forward to the day when my real mom and my Thai mom can meet again! They met once last year but it was very short!

This is Ket, mom, and me! We are three peas in a pod! Can't you tell the resemblance? They are my family here in Thailand but nothing can compare to my amazing family in America and Africa! I love all of you and miss all of you so much!

Ning and Golf's Baby

2008-06-16T17:39:00.004+07:00

This is my friend Ning's baby! Her name is Esther! I am super excited to meet her! I was in Ning's wedding May 07 and now she has a baby! It is so exciting! This is when she was only about 2 hours old. Ning had to have a C-section because she was in so much pain but not dilating. I was not able to see Ning because she was still in recovery. I think I will go this week to hold Esther and be with Ning! It is so fun to be there during your friends life stages! Ning is a great friend! I love her so much!
Welcome Baby Esther!!

A True Fan!!

2008-06-16T16:56:00.005+07:00

I think that you will never believe the story I am about to tell you. As most of you know I LOVE basketball and ever since I was about 5 I loved the Lakers. Of course because I lived in LA and my dad loved them and because they are the best team! :)
But all that is beside the point! I know live in Thailand and so watching the games in a sports bar is not going to happen, especially since the game is on in the morning here. So, I go up to Ubon because I will teach up there for a week and it happens to be the same week the Lakers are in the finals. So I thought, I will get a hotel room one night and we can watch the game in the morning before we check out. My friend said that would be okay! Well, it would be okay if anyone in Ubon had American television. We called 5 or 6 hotels to see if they had ESPN. They not only didn't have it but had never heard of it. These hotels called themselves 5-Star hotels. At the house in Ubon there is not internet, well now there is but it is dial-up and so slow that we can not really use it. So of course, my favorite place, Starbucks, saves the day! They have high speed internet, good coffee, a good atmosphere, and good snacks. So, to Starbucks we went. We sat there for 3 hours and read the play by play of game 3! By the way they won that game!! Go Lakers! Not as exciting as watching the game but when you are a fan, living in Thailand, with no other options, you gotta do what you can!

Bangkok Christian International School

2008-06-16T16:50:00.005+07:00

Well, these are 16 out of 18 students in my Geometry class at BCIS! They made teaching a joy for me! I had to have the job because I needed a work permit to stay in Thailand. The school was gracious enough to give me one class! The school has gone out of their way to help me and make my life easier! I am so grateful for them! These students are from Korea, China, the Philipians, and Thailand. I love these kids so much! We had a great time together and I think we did some learning in the process! It was great and I will always love these kids and I will think of them often!

Pastor Jay and Pastor Steve

2008-06-16T16:42:00.003+07:00

These two men came to Thailand last year for the first time. They taught Pastor Kajohn and P'Gai, my Thai pastors, while they studied in America. They come to teach on Character Development and Acts. This year they came again and the bond with them is stronger. They are two of my favorite people! The joy and encouragement of the Lord is everywhere they go! They ooze with love and encouragement! They are very special to me and I love them very much! Thanks for coming! Looking forward to spending time with you this summer and of course next year when you come! I love you guys!

Tai Church Camp

2008-06-16T16:09:00.002+07:00

Tai Church Camp was great! I was of course in charge of the children's program! I love kids! They are so much fun and I am so happy when I see then learning and having a good time! The theme was a Treasure Hunt. We had a treasure chest full of pearls with Faith, Hope, and Love as the most beautiful and most precious pearls. Then Jack Sparrow (a Thai version of Jack) came and stole the chest. And on the last day we found the chest in the sand at the beach! It was great! We had a fantastic time! Of course there were some bad moments but do we talk about those on blogs...no way!!

This kid has got to be one of the most lovable kids! At the last wedding in our church he told his mom and dad that he wants to marry me! I love him but he is a little too young and I don't really want to wait that much longer!

Here are most of the kids! This is the last day and we are all tired but we are happy! Aren't they so cute! I love them all!!

My other job was to teach English for 1 hour every day! These students are from Garrison, a small city in the Northeast of Thailand! They were fun to be with and to get to know!

These are my kids from Lampang! I have a very good relationship with these kids because I have taught them English on my many visits to Lampang in the last year! I love them all! They are very bright kids! I love challenging them!

Summer Time

2008-06-16T08:23:00.002+07:00

Summer time in Thailand is March and April. We had such a fun time teaching the kids English, Math, Thai and about Jesus! Two students believed in Jesus and it amazing!! We had a great time together! Friendships were formed that will last a long time!

Aw and Moo's wedding

2008-04-28T10:38:00.007+07:00

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!!

2008-04-28T10:21:00.002+07:00

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

2008-04-28T10:09:00.004+07:00

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

2008-04-28T09:56:00.005+07:00

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

2008-04-28T08:57:00.002+07:00

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

2008-04-10T23:24:00.003+07:00

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!

Kolkuta

2008-03-16T21:16:00.004+07:00

Kolkuta was an experience like no other. The poverty there was more apparent than any other place I have ever been. It was amazing to see what Mother Teresa did and what continues to happen even after her death.

We fit 9 people in a car made for 6! It was great to drive around in cars rather than buses! We had a system of how to get in and out of the car without anyone getting hurt!

This picture was taken inside Mother Teresa's organization. There was a small tour of her words and pictures of her life. It was amazing and challenging to me. I hope that when I am gone, people find what I did important enough to continue the work! She was an amazing woman. I have admired her from afar for a long time. But after being in India, in Kolkuta, I have a new appreciation for what she did while she was here on earth!

This is a life size statue of Mother Teresa. She was a small person who did mighty and amazing things for the people of India. And she always gave all the glory to Jesus! How amazing is that! I want to be like that!

This is where Mother Teresa is buried. It was great to see what she did while she was on earth! She is quite an amazing person!

Lepers

2008-03-16T20:39:00.002+07:00

On our last day in Ongole we got to pray for some lepers. I had no idea that this disease still existed. It was so awesome to see them worshiping God even though they have this disease! My world was rocked by these people! They live separate from their families and they are part of the "untouchables" and we got to touch them! This is my kind of business, getting to touch the untouchable and love the unloved!

Praying for them was awesome because you could see their faith! Here faith is something that can be seen! It was amazing!

This little girl's father has lepracy. She is so adorable! We took lots of pics of her friends and of her of course because she loved seeing herself on the camera! It was super cute, as is she!

We worshiped together, some of our team members shared their testimonies, we prayed for them and then we handed out rice. One bag each! These people have missing fingers and limbs and they could still carry the bag of rice that I could barely lift. It was amazing to watch them carry it! I saw Jesus here in this place and I know that I will return to India again soon!

Village Outreaches

2008-03-16T19:42:00.004+07:00

After the three nights of crusades we had 5 nights of village outreach. Each evening we would leave the hotel around 5 and we would drive anywhere from 1-3 hours to a village. We did not know what to expect the first night when we got to the church. But it was okay because we went with the Lord and He knew what we needed and He prepared us! When we got to the church we were greeted by many many children! Ann, our leader said, "Paige this is your area, GO!" Without any prep we went! We sang songs and we told stories and we handed out candy and balloons! Each night we got better and better! It was amazing! The children that greeted us come to the church everyday. In the morning they come before school and worship and eat breakfast. After school they come back to the church where there is a certified teacher to help them with their homework. They eat dinner and those children that live close go home after dinner but if they live far then they stay at the church. The food is provided for them free of charge and so is the place to stay. James and Sarah's ministry pays for these things!

This is one of the church workers! She was so cute and she spoke English a little and we were able to talk!

This is a shot of us teaching the kids! I love kids and we had a great time singing songs! They sang in English and it was so great! We taught them two songs! All the years of teaching Sunday School paid off!! My love for children was sparked again! Praise the Lord for all the children of the world!

After we taught the kids we went to an area where the adults were watching the Jesus Film. After the film one of our team members shared their testimony or shared something from the Bible. Then we prayed for the sick! This is were we saw SOOOOO many amazing miracles! Praise the Lord!! It was so awesome to be used this way! God healed blind eyes, deaf ears, lame legs, hurt knees, arms, elbows and the list goes on and on! It was awesome and other than that there are not words to describe the feelings and the experiences! Our God is an AWESOME God!

The Orphanage

2008-03-16T18:23:00.002+07:00

Sarah loves kids and she has a heart for children with special needs. She has orphanages helping these children! She gives them speech therapy, physical therapy and love! It is amazing to see them and hear how God has changed them since being adopted by Sarah! They all cal her mom! It is so great!

She gives the girls a room and the boys a room. Each child has a bed and they have sheets and whatever they need! It was awesome to have the children show us their room and how happy they were about it!

This is one of the little girls. She is two years old and has not developed. But Sarah's home will provide the attention and love to give this child an opportunity that she would otherwise not have!

This is Sarah and some of her children! She has a special love for these children and they can feel and we could all see it! Oh, it made me want to move to India and be with these kids and love on them! I want to love people who do not receive love! We all need love and I want to be a "love-giver"!!
This orphanage and the many other things that Sarah and James are doing are amazing! It is awesome to see what Gd will do with a life completely surrendered to Him! James and Sarah, you will be in my prayers forever and I look forward to seeing you again in India!

Ministry Time

2008-03-04T21:45:00.010+07:00

Praying for people was one of my favorite things to do! I know how much God encourages me when others pray for me so it was good to give that to many people in India!

Linda is an amazing person! She is patient and she is the glue that held our team together! She is passionate about the Lord and she is a great encourager! She is from Michigan and I am so glad that she was on this trip! When we prayed together for people I felt her faith and it helped me pray with more faith!

Scott was another one who I really connected with this trip! He is an amazing man of God! He is open and honest about what God has done in his life. He stepped out in faith during this trip and God used him in mighty ways! He was a blessing to each of us on the team!

Constance was an awesome addition to our team! She hears from the Lord! When she prays she prays with compassion and God uses her to encourage those around her with words of knowledge. One night she was sick and stayed home and when we were praying for the pastor and his wife I missed her. She knows how to encourage the pastor's wife, and all of the team members, through prayer!
Each member of the team brought an amazing gift to complete the team! We had great unity of Spirit! GOd used our unity to change many lives while we were in India! Praise the Lord!

Around India

2008-03-04T21:19:00.005+07:00

India is an amazing! There are two things that I noticed right away when I got off the plane! They honk their horns all the time!! The back of the trucks say "Honk Please". They want to know you are there. They do not use their mirrors at all and they just honk. We asked one of our Indian friends if there are any driving laws and he said that they drive by their feelings! And really, they do! It is a bit insane! We hit a goat (it got up) and another car hit a monkey (it did not get up) and we almost hit a million people and other cars and other things in the road! Driving was CRAZY!!! The other thing that I noticed in India was what we called, "the bobble". It is like a bobble head figure but they really do it! To master the bobble, you must do a slight figure eight with your head, starting on the right and you must do it without any expression on your face. This gesture is a response when a question is asked. Basically it is saying, "uh, huh". But it looks like they do not understand or they are saying no. So it was very confusing! We all tried to practice the bobble! Oh India, it was wonderful!

This is a picture of a typical street in Ongole. The only thing missing is a cow in the middle of the road. You can look at the other pictures to see that!

This picture reminded me of Thailand. The snack stands were almost the same! But the way they display things is different. The things hanging down are bags of chips stuck together.

This is a water well they use to do their laundry. They wash the clothes, slap them against the stones and then they lay them out to dry. Very interesting to watch!
I love India and I look forward to my next visit!

New VCC friends

2008-03-03T15:14:00.009+07:00

These people became precious friends of mine and I am so blessed to have been able to minister with them! Each one of them was needed on this trip to complete the team! We do not have one photo where we are all together, which is a bummer! In the photo section on the right you should be able to find everyone in there!

This is a picture we took when we went on a walk around town one day!

This is Darren and David! Darren is one of the funniest people I have ever met and David was a blessing because he had such compassion for the people.

This is a picture of Ross and Jock. They are father and son and it was a blessing to see them working together! The respect that they have for one another is amazing! I loved getting to know them! They were a blessing to me!

This is my new friend Mia! She was my roommate the whole trip and we were made to be together! God used her to teach me many things! We prayed together, we grew together, we found out we have MANY things in common and we are now sisters for life! She is great and I look forward to many more years of friendship with her! I hope that she comes back to BKK soon! She is an encourager, a compassionate person with so much love for people, and she is passionate about the Lord!

This is in front of our hotel in Ongole. It was the Taste Hotel and it was a treat to stay there for sure! Oh man! The water was cold every morning, except in one of our team members room, which is a bit crazy! They came every morning to clean our room and pick up laundry at 7:30 in the morning. Finally we had to tell them we did not want to be woken up for cleaning! It was great though!

Crusade in India

2008-03-03T13:49:00.002+07:00

Being apart of the crusade was amazing! The first night there were around 10,000 people, the second night around 30,000 people and the third night 50,000 people. On the last night they had 10,000 accept Jesus into their life as their Lord and Savior!

This is a picture of the second night. I hope that you are getting a taste of how many people were there! It was awsome!

Here is the stage that Pastor Mike spoke from. He spoke with authority and compassion for the people of India. He shared many stories from the Bible and people received Jesus! Hallelujah!

Each night we prayed for about 100 -200 people and it was awesome! We loved it and we felt the power and love of the Lord flow through us! It was awesome! We prayed over a fence for safety reasons but the Lord still did an amazing work!

Pastor Mike prayed for people! His life is an example to us all and it was amazing to be in India with him! Praise the Lord for the work He did at the crusades! But this was just the beginning for us! We had 5 more days of ministry waiting for us!

Pastor's Conference in India

2008-03-03T12:37:00.004+07:00

Going to India was amazing and being apart of what is happening there is even more amazing! We spent 3 days at a Pastors Conference with Pastors from all over Andhra Pradesh. There were about 600 pastors there. It was awesome to pray for them and see the love of God touch their lives!

This is a picture of the group of pastors and their wives and children, the sit separate from each other. Men prayed for men and women for women!

It was great to worship with them! I have learned to be able to worship even when it is in different languages! So it is great to worship with people who love the Lord from all over the world! These people are so beautiful and hungry to know more about God! It was awesome to watch them receive God's love!

Their faces are so beautiful and their skin is perfect! Praise the Lord for the work he is doing in India!

Valentine's Day Party

2008-02-17T21:44:00.002+07:00

I think it is not fair to have holidays that are good for some people and bad for others. Valentine's Day is one of those holidays. We have turned it into a day for only couples. Well, I decided to change that, since I don't have a boyfriend! :) So, I gathered my single friends, we are all about the same age, and we got together to celebrate Valentine's Day together!

We started the evening out watching a cheesy but cute romantic comedy, 27 Dresses. It was cute but very predictable! There were some funny parts and we all had a great time laughing throughout the movie and eating popcorn!

After the movie we came back to my house and ate pizza! We went around and said what we liked about the movie and what the funniest part was and there were some great reenactments! It was awesome!

After we were done with dinner we each went around and said something that we loved about people in the room! It was a good time of love and encouragement! We did not finish until 11 pm. It was late but it was really fun and something we will have to do again!
Check out some more photos through the link on the right!

Eng Jet Jan/Feb

2008-02-17T21:37:00.002+07:00

Eng Jet is the English program we have at Tai Church! It is a great way to have new people coming to the church all the time! Every month we try to have a new course! The next one starts March 4th! I love teaching and this time two of my friends took the class which made it a lot of fun! We only met for 3 weeks this course but next course will be 4 weeks! They are great students and they are getting a lot of practice, listening, speaking, and working on pronunciation! It is great! I love teaching!

Valentine's Day in Ubon

2008-02-13T09:02:00.000+07:00

Happy Valentine's Day!!

We love to celebrate holidays so Valentine's was not missed! We had 8 new people come to church to celebrate and it was great! I got to preach on God's love and after the pastor, Ket, she answered many questions the people had! It was a good time to share with them!

After worship we ate lunch together! One of Thai peoples favorite past times is eating! They eat when two or more are gathered! We had many good things to eat and we enjoyed talking and sharing our lives with each other!

After lunch we had a show by Ket's sister, Ann, and then we played a coupe games! Oh it was fun! Thai Church Ubon has many older people so the games we especially funny! We had a relay race with an egg on a spoon and we had another game with a balloon! I will try to upload the video because it was so great! We had a lot of fun and there were lots of smiles! That is always a good indication of a good time!

We celebrated on the 10th because it was a Sunday and it was Beam's birthday! So we had a cake for her and we sang and prayed for her! It was a fun time! She was so excited about her cake!!
Happy Valentine's Day to all of you!! May you feel loved! Because you are loved!

Cleaning in Ubon

2008-02-13T08:51:00.001+07:00

This woman lives in the room that we cleaned. We sang at her house for Christmas Caroling and when we left we said, we need to come over here and help her clean it. She had a stroke a few years ago and cannot move her left side very well. She can do things like sweep and do the dished but moving furniture and carrying things, she cannot do. So we went over to her house and helped her clean. It took 3 hours and the room is not very big!

This is the room before we cleaned it. There were piles of dirt, clothes everywhere, old food, and soot from the "bbq". The most surprising thing was the 10 mice that lived behind her closet and the gecko the size of a small alligator. It was CRAZY! And of course I screamed like crazy! Every time one of the mice came out I screamed and jumped on the bed! It was quite exciting! But crazy to think that she lived in there with them.

I am so glad that we got to help her. The house is more peaceful and more useful and cleaner for sure!! She loves it and was very thankful to us. While we cleaned she washed the dishes outside! She has a great smile and I am glad that we got to show her God's love!
In Ubon I get to live in a village among people who grow their own vegetables, who catch fish for dinner, and who can live on about $30 a month. It is amazing and I am feeling like a real missionary now! This is a place that needs the love of God!

My 30th Birthday!

2008-01-14T10:58:00.000+07:00

Happy 30th Birthday! This is the way to do it! Travel to a beautiful place, go with friends, meet new friends, and lay out on the beach!! This is the way to do it! We went to the beach in the morning for a few hours, had lunch, got massages, and then went out for dinner and fun!

We ate dinner on the street near our hotel and went to a few different restaurants! We met some friends and had a great time with them!

This was the sunset on my birthday it was beautiful! Every night it was so beautiful! My birthday was great! And I am happy to be 30, as crazy as it sounds!

Bali

2008-01-14T10:41:00.001+07:00

Last year I celebrated in Phuket with my friend Marci! This year I decided to celebrate with my other friend Marci and go to Bali! It was the best way to turn 30!!! Here are a few pictures but you have to check out the other pics! I tried to take pics to give you a feel for the island! I took over 200 pictures but I only uploaded 80 of them! I hope that you enjoy! In Bali almost everyone speaks English which makes it super easy to get around!

This was an amazing temple on the beach! It was fantastic! The sunsets change for about an hour and they get more and more radiant!! We took a taxi there and the he became our taxi driver all week! He was great! His name is Made and his English was good and he told us many stories on our trip around the island!

Welcome to Bali! This was the sunset the first night! We walked out of our hotel onto our beach and this is the welcome we got! I have never seen sunsets like this ever before! They get prettier as the sun gets lower and lower!

We took a tour of the island and we visited many beautiful places! This is one of the temples that we visited on our tour around the island! Then we went up to a volcano and saw beautiful views of Bali! Check out the other photos!

This beach was amazingly beautiful! It was the most beautiful beach I have ever seen! The colors were amazing! The pictures can hardly show the beauty! You all need to visit Bali! The beach in front of our hotel was just like a normal beach so we wanted to go and see a beautiful beach!! The name of this beach is Dreamland and it was fantastic! If you go to Bali, you have to go to this beach!

These are some friends that we met at an amazing restaurant! The restaurants name is Ku De Ta and the food and drinks are fantastic!!! We hung out with these friends and they were so much fun! Maybe we will have to meet up again in Bali!

New Years in Ubon

2008-01-03T17:39:00.000+07:00

In Ubon I am in charge of the children's ministry. They are so cute! These ones had the day off from school and so they came over to Ket's house to decorate the children's room! Ket calls these kids my fan club! One of the really asked for my signature. It was so funny!! They are so cute!

For New Years Eve we had BBQ at the house. It was a great dinner! Thai BBQ is a little different. If you want to see pics of the BBQ, check out the photo link on the side! It was so much fun but it was so cold outside! We all had to wear jackets and after dinner we laid under blankets and looked up at the stars! It is so beautiful in Ubon!

After BBQ we went to the fair in downtown! It was fun! They all ate bugs! Seriously I wanted to try some but I couldn't do it! I would never survive on Survivor! I would totally be voted off! Grasshoppers, crickets, worms, and ants are considered celebration food! AHHHH!!! Crazy!

This is Ket's family! There are 2 boys and 2 girls, a sister-in-law, a nephew (he is sleeping) and a mom! They are a great family and I am so glad to be apart of their family! We had a great time together! I am learning to eat fish and things that I do not even know what they are...but bugs are out for now!

Happy New Year!!

Christmas Afternoon and Evening

2007-12-26T15:03:00.000+07:00

We had to work this day but it was fun! A mall in downtown Bangkok asked us to come and sing Christmas carols n Christmas, so we went. We sang in English and in Thai! I can sing many of the songs in Thai because we have been singing them all month at church! I am improving!

There were about 20 of us! People who walked by loved it and it was a lot of fun!

At night we had a Christmas party for members of Tai church and we had a great time! It was filled with shows, songs, games, and lots of gifts and fun! This is a picture of me and my friend Ning. She is 3 months pregnant and is so cute!

The party started with dinner! A little different than the American Christmas dinner I had the night before but none the less it was great!! We ate from 6 - 8 and then celebrated until 11:30! It was a LONG night but it was good! Merry Christmas!

Christmas Morning

2007-12-26T14:39:00.000+07:00

Merry Christmas! Oh it feels like Christmas, jk! It is about 95 degrees outside, people are going to work, and it is just another Tuesday in Bangkok. I love this time of year and so I create my room like America, with a tree, Christmas music everyday, even presents under the tree! Love, joy, and peace are felt throughout the month! I love it!

I made French Toast for my two friends in the morning! I explained to them the typical Christmas day of my youth and they loved all the traditions! It is so much fun to talk about the past and the childhood memories I have! And then try to create them here!

There were a couple presents under the tree, with love from America! It was great to get everyones Christmas cards! Thanks for the pics and the love notes! :)

Our friend Noi gave us shawls for Christmas. Actually I got three this year from different people! It is a common gift I guess! It was a good morning!

Christmas Eve

2007-12-26T14:34:00.000+07:00

I went to April and Arthur's house again for Christmas Eve dinner! Their house was decorated so nicely and I was able to have an American Christmas meal! Thanks April for being a great cook! :) Their tree is beautiful and I love going to their house for the holidays! We have a good time together!

Ubon

2007-12-26T14:21:00.001+07:00

This past week, before Christmas, I was in Ubon. It is a province in the Northeast of Thailand. We just opened a daughter church there. I am on the start-up team. There are many things that are different about Ubon when I compare it to Bangkok. The food is totally different, you can see the stars, there are Buffalos and cows walking around everywhere, and look at the picture of the gas station! I have loved this experience. I think that most of Thailand lives like this and I decided that Bangkok is not really Thailand! :)
Ket's home is large compared to most. One of the homes we went into, in the photo above, was so small and it has no electricity. It was great to go and bless her with some love! We sang Christmas carols and we gave her a gift. We celebrated Christmas in my friend Noi's village and in Ket's village. It was fun and I was in charge of all the kids! Both nights we had about 20 kids! It was s much fun! They had never heard the Christmas story!
On Sunday the 23rd, we had our first church service in Ubon. It was at Ket's house. If you check out the photo link on the right then you will be able to see many pics of the week! I hope that you get a taste of Ubon!

Christmas Caroling

2007-12-15T19:53:00.005+07:00

We went Christmas Caroling around the church! It was a fun time! We went for about 2 hours. We sang at some local restaurants, a bank, the police station, and on the bus! Yes, I actually did sing in Thai! One of my friends wrote the words in Karaoke for me! It was great! :)

This is caroling on the bus! The bus driver wanted us to keep singing and all the people enjoyed some free entertainment!

Here are the pastors kids! They are so cute! They did a great job and people loved them! Caroling is one of my favorite things to do at Christmas! I miss being with my family during this season! Every year we g around my Grandma's house! We have hot chocolate, cookies, and sometimes dinner! It has been a family tradition for many, many years! I love this time of year!

Dinner with Ket at the Baiyoke Hotel

2007-12-15T19:49:00.001+07:00

For Christmas I took my roommate Ket to dinner at a nice restaurant. The restaurant is in a hotel that has 84 stories. The restaurant is on the 83rd story and the 84th floor rotates and you can look out all over the city. Inside the hotel they had many displays about Thailand. It was interactive and we could take pics on everything. We took a million pics! These a couple of them! We enjoyed dinner! It was a buffet and we left probably 15 pounds heavier than when we went in! But oh was it good!

Baking Cookies

2007-12-15T19:43:00.001+07:00

Baking cookies is one of my favorite things to do this time of year! I absolutely love baking! I think I love it so much because I can eat the dough and eat the cookies when they are fresh out of the oven! Cookies are my weakness for sure! This year we baked sugar cookies, oatmeal raisin, and chocolate chip of course! It was great! I went over to a friends house to bake and we baked for a few hours, shared stories of Christmas memories! It was great but it sure made me miss home! I miss cooking with Gloria Hill, my friend Deanna's mom! She makes GREAT cookies! Mine will never be as good but my friends here will never know that!

China Town

2007-12-15T19:36:00.000+07:00

I went t China Town for the first time! It was so much fun! SO many people! Everything was cheap but you had to buy 6 or 12 of everything. You could not buy only one thing. But it was so much fun to see all the people and to walk around! It was so crowded down each street. It reminded me of the old city in Morocco. The only difference is that in the old city in Fes there are only donkeys. In China town there were motorcycles! It was funny because the streets are so narrow and the motorcycles have the right-of-way! It is a bit crazy! Once you have been there for about 2 hours, you will be totally ready to go home!

Christmas Tree Decorating!!!

2007-12-04T12:35:00.000+07:00

Here is the tree decorated and happy! I love the Christmas season! I wish all of my friends and family could be here with me to celebrate! Know that I am thinking about you, missing you, and wishing you a great Christmas season! Merry Christmas!!

These kids came over to my house to have dinner and decorate the tree! Their mom and dad went on a date and Ket and I babysat them! We only watched them for 3 hours but after that we decided that we aren't sure we want to have kids! They are a handful, although, look at how cute they are!!

Jeff's Wedding

2007-12-04T11:50:00.001+07:00

This is my friends names in Thai. Their names are Jeff and Korn! They got married on Sunday, December 2, 2007. These pics are of the traditional Thai wedding. It is a Buddist ceremony.

During the ceremony the older people pour water over the couples hands and offer a blessing to them. Most of the time it is a blessing of wealth, many children, good luck, and things like that. After the older people gave the blessing then the other people in this part of the ceremony could give a blessing. I was one of two foreigners, the other being the mother of the groom, and s I was asked to give a blessing. I was a bit nervous so I just went up, poured water over their hands and said congratulations! I was nervous!

This was at the reception! It is the bride and groom giving a piece of the cake to the mother of the groom and they also do it to the mother of the bride. They were so beautiful and I was glad to be there with them! All the ceremonies and traditions are totally different than a Christian wedding but it was interesting to learn about the culture.

Eng Jet

2007-12-04T11:17:00.000+07:00

This is my Saturday Level 2 class! It was all girls! We had a great time together this course! I look forward to many o them returning for level 3! In this class we practice conversation, pronunciation and listening! It is very good and I think that each of these ladies improved! I love this class!

This is my Tuesday, Thursday, Friday class! They are in Level 1! They did such a great job this course! I believe where they improved the most was listening and not being too shy to talk! I enjoyed them a lot!

Father's Day at church

2007-12-04T10:46:00.000+07:00

The King of Thailand's birthday is December 5th! We celebrated it at church on December 2nd. We all wore pink shirts because now the king is wearing pink! It was a great day! We have 3 doctors and 2 nurses in our church and so we set up a mini clinic where people could come and get their health checked for free! It was a great opportunity to give something to the community and share with them about Jesus! We had a good time!

Thanksgiving Day

2007-11-26T09:34:00.000+07:00

I have so many things to be Thankful for! Arthur, one of the members of my church is half American and half Thai! So his mom invited me over to the house for dinner! I went over there at noon and then we cooked for 6 hours! It was soooo much fun! :) I made broccoli casserole and the mashed potatoes! April, Arthur's mom, made the rest of the fixings and the turkey! It was soooo good to eat Thanksgiving dinner! Last year I ate Pizza Hut so this is was WAY better! I had a great time and I am very Thankful! I hope you all felt blessed this week!

At the train station

2007-11-12T20:07:00.000+07:00

As you can see they all wanted to come take me to the train station! They are so cute and precious! I love them! Look at how cute they are! 4 of us went in a bus/taxi and 8 of them on motorbikes! 3 people to one motorbike! CRAZY! They don't really have laws in Thailand! You can have up to 3 people on a bike and the only person who has to wear a helmet is the driver! Crazy to Americas but it is normal here! :)
Please check out the other pics with the link! There are many more! I hope that you enjoy and can get a feel for what it was like for me in Lampang!

Good-bye party!

2007-11-12T19:44:00.000+07:00

At the end of my time in Lampang, we had a party. It was a Sunday. I gave the message that week and I shared about God's love! It was great! Then we had a party! We ate sandwiches, hot dogs, french fries, and all of this was cooked by the kids! They are so cute! I love them and I miss them! I will be going back to Lampang for another round of teaching sometime next year! I also hope to go at Christmas sometime but we will see what is happening in Bangkok! :)

Hanging out!

2007-11-12T19:38:00.000+07:00

We had a fun time together! We ate breakfast, lunch, and dinner together most days! We had some great Thai food and some great BBQ! They know how t BBQ pork here, although it is not as good as Texas BBQ! :) But until I get back to Texas it will have to do! :) One Sunday after church all the kids were hanging out and we all decided to go to a coffee shop down the street named, Miami! It was a great little coffee shop with great coffee! Noi and I, my friend who is the pastor up there, took about 12 kids with us to this coffee shop that is pretty small! We packed out the place! It was great! The kids were reading magazines, Noi and I were talking, and we were all just hanging out together!

Bowling

2007-11-12T19:32:00.000+07:00

So, when we weren't studying we did many fun things! We went shopping at the market, we watched movies, and one day we went bowling! Some of them had never been bowling before! Oh it was so much fun! We had a blast! As you can see, I taught them how to bowl correctly, through the legs! :) JK! I told them that is how my brothers bowl and they loved it so much! We had ALOT of gutter balls but they had a good time! They do not have bumper buddies here but they should! They would have been helpful for our team! :) Next time I go, they want me to teach them how to play baseball! Well, I think I will teach them wiffle ball! We will learn the rules in class and then we will practice on the field! I think it will be GREAT! :) Great American past time! But this time we bowled!

Teaching in Lampang!

2007-11-12T19:26:00.000+07:00

All my students were high school students and that was GREAT! I really enjoyed being with high school students again! Of course there were the usual problems; cell phones in class, being late, and eating while learning. These are all the typical things you expect from a class of teenagers! BUT, I am so thankful that I got to be there with them! We had a great time together! I taught 3 classes and I had 11 students in each class, depending on how many showed up on certain days! I really enjoyed teaching at this church! So many students who love Jesus! It was great! We had a good timing hanging out together!

Train to Lampang

2007-11-12T19:22:00.001+07:00

I went to Lampang for a 3 weeks to teach English! And I traveled there by train!! Oh, it was so great! The bus takes 9 hours and the train takes 12 but who cares when you get a little bed to sleep on! It was so great! I slept for about 7 hours! It was great! I recommend the train for sure!! :) I will always take the train! But bring your own food because the train food is expensive and it does not taste good at all!

Paige's World Map

2007-11-10T17:54:00.000+07:00

When I think of the world, I think it is not that big. But when I look at this map, I realize that I have a lot more of the world to see! I am excited about that! :)

Staff Retreat

2007-10-12T22:48:00.000+07:00

Oh so much fun! We had a great time and the environment could not be better! The green hills, the cool weather, the friendship, and the fun planning! Every year the staff goes on a retreat to "get away" from Bangkok to plan for the next year. So we are planned for 2008! Here we come! :) Ket, Boom, Noi, and I roomed together and it was a good time! Look at the other pics on the photo sight...there are some good ones of the scenery and friends!

New Eng Jet Classes

2007-10-01T15:49:00.000+07:00

My classes started two days after I got here! I have been back for 16 days and already a class is finishing! It is sorta crazy, but fun too! No wasting time! :) This is last week at our party to celebrate the class. This is the chance for them to meet other members of our church, play games, and hear about our church. We have a fun time! I am in charge of the games and sometimes we play Jeopardy and other times we play Wheel of Fortune! Both games they LOVE!!! I really enjoy my students a lot! They are great fun! These classes are very good! I have 4 classes of 6-7 students! Everyday is new, we never know who will show up and who won't.

More New Mac photos!!

2007-10-01T15:45:00.000+07:00

Oh this is so much fun and can be a form of entertainment for any number of hours!! Ket is on the top, she is my new roommate. Boom is in the middle and sometimes she spends the night with us too because we live closer to the church than she does. I am on the bottom, looking prettier than ever! :)

Selling my car...

2007-10-01T15:22:00.001+07:00

The sad day came when I had to sell one of my favorite things in the world, my car! I love this car so much! Her name was Cream and we enjoyed 4 years together! She was the first car I bought with my own money and she was a great car! Every time I got in her I felt like I was driving a new car! I will always remember her with fond memories! It was hard to sell her but not as hard as I imagined! I will miss her!!

Marci's 29th Birthday!!

2007-10-01T15:15:00.000+07:00

We went to the beach and had a Bonfire for Marci's 29th Birthday! It was so much fun! We ordered In-n-Out, because I did not want to BBQ, it is always such an ordeal! Then we played some Pick-Up-Sticks and Bocci Ball! We had a fire, thanks to Brent, and we cooked S'mores! It was a fun time welcoming Marci to 29! Next year 30!!! YAY!!

Welcome to 29!!! By the time Marci's birthday is here she already feels the age she will turn because she is the baby in our group! I am the oldest and so get to experience everything first and then when August comes, she finally gets to join us!

New mac

2007-09-23T19:46:00.000+07:00

Well, with my tax return and some extra money from the basketball camp, I was able to buy a new Mac computer! It has a very fun function called the Photo booth! Kendra, Jed, and I had such a fun time playing with it! As you can see, it distorts your picture! We are also having a fun time here in Thailand with this feature! Check out the pics on fliker for some more crazy pics like this! :) Oh so many laughs!!!

Family Reunion

2007-09-23T19:29:00.001+07:00

Samuel is the cutest EVER!! I love him! We had so much fun with him!

We all came together because my brother, Nathan, graduated with his PhD. in Chemistry! Now that is CRAZY!!! He is super smart and he has a wonderful family! I have to say that my nephew is the cutest nephew EVER!! We were all there to support him and congratulate him! He is so smart but he is not a nerd! :)

Nathan, Melissa, and Samuel live in Chicago! It is a wonderful city and one I will miss since they are moving so Nathan can do his Post Doc at Washington State. Well, I will just have to fall in love with Seattle for a few years! :)

This had to be one of the happiest times in my life! I got to be with my family for 4 days! We have not been together in 3 1/2 years. The last time was my sisters wedding and that was a crazy time, fun but crazy!! This was so special! We also got to celebrate my brother-in-law's, Josh, birthday! It was the first time we have ever celebrated with our family so that was great! When family lives all over the world it is extremely special to all be together!! We took this family picture! I am so proud to be in my family! Each of my family members loves the Lord Jesus Christ and is seeking His will for their lives! Praise the Lord! Thanks mom and dad for all the prayers you had for us over the years! They have been answered! :) I love all of you so much!!

Babysitting Kendra and Jed

2007-09-23T19:16:00.000+07:00

These kids are two of my favorite people in the world! I love them so much! They are very special to me! After fiesta and the Jordan Camp, their mom and dad went to Ireland and I got to watch the kids for the week! We had a great time together! We went to the zoo and we fed the giraffe and we went swimming and we did many fun things together! It was a very special time especially now that we are so far away from one another! I will always hold that time dear to my heart! I love you, Kendra and Jed!!

Fiesta

2007-09-23T19:11:00.000+07:00

At the fair with the kids! This should be the Christmas Card Pic! They are so cute!!

Nancy...one of my soul sisters!!

Fiesta is always fun with the Daytons! They are my family! I love them and I miss them whenever I am not with them! Our souls are connected! We went to the usual party at the Zoo and we had a blast! Eating, dancing and dressing up! We had a great time! Viva La Fiesta!!

Jordan Camp

2007-09-23T18:56:00.000+07:00

This year I got to do the Michael Jordan basketball camp again! It was so great! I really love doing it! This year I got to work the snack shop. It was such a great time with my friend Angel! She came to visit me last year in Thailand and our friendship has just increased over the years! She is very special to me! We were together for 10 days and I do not have one picture of the two of us...CRAZY! Especially since I am the picture queen! We had such a great time together! Our daily Hot Dog Talks were awesome! :) Thanks for the special time this year, Angel! I love you!!

Los Al Summer Basketball

2007-09-23T18:40:00.000+07:00

I got to go to San Diego with the girls or one night! It was great to see them play! I love them and I miss them so much while I am away! It was so special to see them play and do well! I love the game but being with these girls makes it even better! The new varsity player orientation was the first night and the older girls dressed them up as Harry Potter characters! We went to dinner at Islands, as usual, and then we went to see Harry Potter IMAX! It was awesome! The last scene, which is the best scene in the movie was 3-D and it was super cool! I love these girls and I wish them the best of luck this year! Wish I could be there in person to support them but I will support them from Thailand FOR SURE!!

Hume Lake

2007-09-23T18:36:00.000+07:00

I was able to go to Hume Lake with Marci twice this summer! It was GREAT! Mr. and Mrs. Drake have taken me in as a second daughter! I love being there with them! It was a beautiful summer there! We had a great time together! The first time was quiet and we got to spend a lot of time with the parents, which is always a treat! The second time we went up for Marci's birthday and her family was there! We had a great time with them! They are so great! I love her cousins! We had some good talks and it was just a special weekend! Yeah Marci!!

Grams 29th Birthday!!

2007-09-23T18:29:00.000+07:00

At the Beach House in Laguna Beach

This is Grams best friend, Marge! They are in the Red Hat Club together and they also take balance class together! They hang out a lot and have lunch! I too have grown to love Marge over the years!

So, Grams turned 29 again! She is very special to me and I love her very much! I am so glad that I was able to spend the day with her. We went to The Beach House in Laguna Beach for lunch! Then we came back to A. Mary's house and celebrated with the family! We had a GREAT time! :)

Girl's Weekend

2007-07-17T04:50:00.000+07:00

Spending time with my best friends was so much fun! I love being with them! On Friday Kim had to work and so Marci, Cheryl and I got to hang out. And hang out is what we did all day since we could not find the pool key! When Kim got home, we cooked dinner and then went night swimming, it was fun! We found a beach ball and played with it and then we came home and watched the movie "Bobby". It is a pretty intense movie but it was good!

On Saturday we went to the pool all day and had lots of good snacks! Then we went home, took showers, and got ready for a night out to dinner! We went to a new place in Ladera Ranch called, Infusion. It was a great place to eat, the food was AWESOME!! The only negative thing was that the restaurant was very small. We went home to enjoy some chocolate fondu and Kim's movie of choice, "Banditas". You will have to ask her or Marci about that one! Kim was the only one to stay up and finish the movie! From what I hear, it is not that great! :)

Of course to end any good weekend, you must eat at In-n-Out! It is something us Californians may take for granted but Cheryl was ready to eat it! And so were the rest of us! We love In-n-Out!! It was a great weekend and we look forward to many many more together!!!

Kim's 29th Birthday

2007-07-17T04:39:00.000+07:00

Kim's birthday was the start of a girls weekend! Cheryl surprised Kim and came in for the weekend, Marci had time off work because she just got back from DC, and I am home for the summer. We went to Kim's office on Thursday at lunch and surprised her with Cheryl and CPK! It was so great to see her face...she was truly surprised!

We ate lunch at Kim's office with some of her friends from work! Casey, Jackie, Marci, Cheryl, Kim, and me! It was so much fun! We love CPK and Lindamood-Bell!!

Make a wish! Kim loves Bandaras so we went there for dinner with her family!

The "younger" crowd at Kim's birthday! :) Parents were at another table. This was actually very sad but we all moved around and every once in a while Kim's Dad would just wave at us to make sure that we knew that he was still there! :) We had appetizers, dinner, and desert! It was so much fun!!

Visiting Cheryl and Casey in Texas

2007-07-12T05:22:00.001+07:00

One of my best friends, Cheryl, and her husband, Casey, live in Texas. I got to visit them there! We had so much fun together! Just being together reminds me of what close friends are! It did not seem like I was gone for 10 months and we just picked up as though I has seen them last week. It was a great feeling! For the 4th of July we stayed at the Omni hotel and we watched the fireworks from our balcony window! We stayed on the 22nd floor! It was fantastic! I loved it so much!
We also went to Shakespeare in the Park and it was fantastic to see a play outside on a summers night! We had a picnic and it was great! I enjoyed just being there with them and enjoying Texas together! Check out the many more pics I have under the photo button on the right side!

Being Home

2007-07-12T05:17:00.001+07:00

It has been fun to see people and spend time with people while being at home! he first picture is at Marissa's graduation party. I got to be with most of my basketball players there and that was a blast! The second pic is of me and one of the kids I tutored. I got to have lunch at In-n-Out Vincent! Him and his mom, Victoria, have become some close friends! The third picture is of me and my Grams! She spent the night with me in Seal Beach and it was so great! I love her so much!

Los Al Graduation

2007-07-12T05:13:00.000+07:00

I flew in on Wednesday night late and went to Los Al graduation on Thursday! It was so great to surprise my students! I love them so much! Before I went to graduation, two of my favorite friends (Marci Gitles and Deanna Bratcher) and I went to CPK for my favorite salad and then we went and got pedicures! It was awesome to have a pedicure after not having one for 10 months! I will get a few more while I am home! :)

Leaving Thailand

2007-07-12T04:33:00.001+07:00

Leaving Thailand was sad but knowing that I was coming back made it ok! A group of us went to the airport to check in. Yui left my ticket in the car and so I thought I lost it. It was a bit scary but it we went back to car and found it, so all was well! :) After check-in we went to Starbucks and we had lots of different flavors of frapuccinos! We shared them and it was a good time! I cried because I will miss my friends so much!

Phi Phi island

2007-06-04T12:05:00.000+07:00

On the last day in Phuket we went to Phi Phi island! It was so beautiful! more beautiful that Phuket! The water was so clear! Our friend Aopi went with us and we went snorkeling, laid out on the beach, ate food, went swimming, and relaxed! The boat from Phuket to Phi Phi took about 2 hours! We listened to music, talked, and rested! It was a beautiful day! Again there was no rain on the island until we got in the boat to go back to Phuket! It was perfect timing! We had such a good time and we were so sad to leave!!

Phuket

2007-06-04T11:59:00.000+07:00

My friend Angel invited me to join her on her trip to Phuket! It was so great! When Marci and I went to Phuket last time we met some friends (Aopi and Paul) who work in a hotel, so I called them up and they gave a great discount on a hotel room! We stayed at a SUPER nice hotel! We relaxed with no plans at all everyday for 3 days! It was great! And even though it rained everyday for a week before we go there it did not rain at all while we were there! Praise the Lord! One night we went to eat dinner on one side of the island and it rained on the other side and not on our side!

Pirates

2007-06-04T11:23:00.000+07:00

On thing I miss about America is going to the movies on Opening Night! It is so much fun when we anticipate a movie and no one has seen it to give you their opinion! Living in Thailand we see most movies about 2 months after America sees them. So, when I found out that Pirates was coming out on the same day I was SOOOO excited! Angel was here with me and we decided to go see it! By the way, it was sooo good! I loved it so much! Orlando Bloom and Johnny Depp are beautiful people! Go and see it! I recommend it!
(I spend forever trying to figure out how to rotate the picture but every time it came up sideways..AHHHH, sorry!!)

Wat Praw Kao and the Grand Palace

2007-06-03T22:13:00.000+07:00

I have been here for 9 months now and finally I went to see one of the most beautiful sights in Bangkok. I went to Wat Praw Kao and the Grand Palace with my friend Angel who came to visit me. We spent all day looking at the details of this place. It is beautiful. I am glad that I finally went! Check out the other pics, they are beautiful!!

Golf and Ning's Wedding

2007-05-19T19:37:00.000+07:00

May 12th was a beautiful day! The week before the wedding day, it rained everyday from about 3 pm until 6 pm. BUT, we serve a great God and there was NO rain at all on the wedding day! I was one of three "friends of the bride"! This is my 10th wedding but first wedding where we did not have to wear the same dress. Although I had to wear a dress, like all the rest, that I will most likely never wear again! :) Ning and I had to go shopping for it at a special place to find a dress because I am so tall.

In Thai weddings there is no kiss....SO SAD!! But don't worry, they did not forget the bouquet toss for "all you single ladies out there". And of course I was pulled out there but luckily I did not catch the thing! :)

It was a day filled with love and joy and in that sense it felt like all the other weddings I have been in! As I stood up there, not understanding anything the pastor was saying, I was thinking of all my friends whose weddings I have been in! I was praying that God would renew each couples love and joy! (Marci D and Marci G, don't worry, I was thinking about you guys too! And our time will come!)

Yeah for LOVE!!!

Ket's Birthday!

2007-05-06T23:28:00.000+07:00

Oh so much fun to celebrate people! I love birthday's because it is time when we can spoil people and bless them in so many ways! Ket is one of my closest friends here and she turned thirty on Cinco de Mayo. I told her about the holiday in America and she said that she wanted me to make tacos for her birthday. I found tortillas, beans, and salsa and we had a "Mexican" birthday party! It was so much fun because people here have never had tacos...oh man are they missing out! When my mom came, she introduced my friends to tacos and so they were so excited to have them again! I asked Ket if she wanted a cake or cookies and she told me she wanted my chocolate chip cookies! So tacos and chocolate chip cookies it was! We all had so much fun!

Eng Jet Camp and Tai Church Camp

2007-05-06T23:14:00.000+07:00

Tai Church has a camp every year and this year we combined Eng Jet camp with it. It was such a great time! We went to Chonburi, a province in Thailand about 1 and a half hours from Bangkok. In this province there is a zoo and so we stayed at the zoo. We took a night safari to see the animals at night and on the last day we took a tour of the zoo in the day! The camp was for two nights and three days. There was 8 hours of English over the days. I had 18 students at camp. Some Tai Church members and most my students from Eng Jet classes. We studied about daily life and about conversation. We joined Tai Church camp for games and meals. It was a great chance to build relationships with my students and share with them daily life! They got to meet my friends from Tai Church and at the end of camp 2 of my students believed in Jesus! Praise the Lord! So far, every Eng Jet class offered there has been at least one person who has believed in Jesus! It is so great!!

Songkran!!

2007-05-06T23:05:00.000+07:00

Here are some photos of the most famous holiday in Thailand. It is the Thai New Year. It is a celebration that takes place every year on April 13-15 and it is all about water!! The tradition is to "sprinkle" water on people to bless them. In the past the younger generation pours water into the hands of the older generation to bless them. Since then it has turned into a three - five day water fight! Oh my goodness is it crazy! I was wet for 2 days straight. Walking down the street everyone is carry water guns and is spraying everyone. People drive around in the back of their trucks with trash cans filled with water and buckets to pour on the people on the sidewalk. I tried to capture the excitement on camera but because of the nature of the holiday I was afraid to take my camera outside! I took a few photos and you can check them out but you should look the holiday up online to see some professional photos! It was so much fun!!

Ubon

2007-05-06T00:41:00.000+07:00

After Laos we went to Ubon, Ket's home town. We rode motorcycles and we eat and eat and eat! Ubon is in the north eastern part of Thailand. Ket and Noi are from this town! We visited both families and had an amazing time together! In the picture you see of the spoon. On it are some flying ants. Thai people LOVE to eat this. I politely said, "NO WAY am I eating that!" I watched as they all ate it and loved it! I saw many things that north eastern people eat. Oh man it was crazy!! Ubon is a place to relax and it is so beautiful! One afternoon we went to the river and eat dinner in huts on the river. It was so much fun! There are some amazing places in Thailand, Ubon is one of them for me! I hope to return again soon!

Traveling in Loas

2007-05-06T00:35:00.000+07:00

Some of my close friends and I traveled to Laos for two days. I took a bus from Lampang with my friend Noi to Nongkai and it was about 14 hours...OH so long! But it was fun! We listened to Pastor Mike on my iPod!
While in Laos, we went bowling in the heat of the afternoon and we ate dinner on the river that separates Thailand and Laos. It was a great time! We traveled around the capital of Loas. It is a border town to Thailand. Check out more pics!

Easter in Lampang

2007-05-06T00:26:00.000+07:00

I spent Easter in the northern part of Thailand. In a city called Lampang. It is about 2 hours south of Chiang Mai. I taught English at Tai Church, Lampang for 3 days. It was a great time. I had 12 students and we spent time learning about the story of Easter and every day activities. It was a great time. My friend Noi is the pastor at this church and the church is made up of mostly high school students. It was great to take a tour of Lampang on the famous horse driven carriages.
There are two funny things about Easter in Thailand. One, they do not die their but rather paint or color their easter eggs and two, they hide real hard-boiled eggs. They are very excited when they find real eggs. It is so fun to learn about how things are done in other places! Check out more pics!

View of Bangkok

2007-03-31T23:21:00.000+07:00

As a treat from VCC, my mom and I, along with Ann, Lisa, and Kathryn got to eat dinner at the top of Baiyoke Hotel. This hotel is the tallest building in Thailand. The top level is revolving and so I was able to see the whole city from way high up! It was cool! We ate at sunset and then when the sun was down, we went to the top and went around about two times! Wow, it is a beautiful city at night! The pics aren't great but I hope you can get some idea of what it looks like!

Floating Market

2007-03-31T23:08:00.000+07:00

The ever famous floating market! There are many places in Bangkok that I have yet to go because of my schedule but I am super glad that I got to go to the floating market! It was so great! My friend Ning, and her fiance Golf, took my mom, Athena, and me last monday! It was a blast! We woke up at 4:45 in the morning and we drove for about 2 hours to get there! It was fantastic! We ate coconut pancakes, drank coconuts, had lots of different fruits, all while we were riding in the boat! Check out the other pictures in the link! I think you will like them!

Taco Night

2007-03-31T22:56:00.001+07:00

My mom is famous for her tacos! So, I made her make them for my friends. This was their first introduction to Mexican food and they LOVED it! I mean, how could they not! Mexican food is the greatest! We all came over to my house and ate and then shared about our trip to Cambodia. We talked about what we learned and how we will apply it to our lives now! Oh, the Lord is doing a mighty work here! And I am glad that my mom could be apart of it!
My sister's friend, Athena, came to Bangkok to wait for her Visa to study in Taiwan for 9 months. It was fun to have her here and share the vision with her too! My Thai friends took care of my mom and Athena while I was off at work. Someone's got to work around here, right?!