House hunt

After a few trips to Khlong Luang (the area of Thailand where we will be living) we think we’ve found a place to live.  Lord willing, on the 10th of November we will move in to a nice little townhouse in a neighborhood which is only a few kilometers from the church.  We chose it mostly because of the neighborhood in which it is located.  In the Bangkok area, it is relatively easy to find neighborhoods similar to what we have back home.  If you’re there during the day, you won’t hardly see anyone.  People leave the house in the morning, commute to work, come back after work and then go in the house.  Contact with neighbors can be a bit more difficult in this situation when compared to the type of neighborhoods that we have chosen. 

 

Where we will be living, it is almost like a self contained little city.  When construction starts, it looks like any other neighborhood.  Duplexes and townhouses throughout and a couple scattered parks with some grass and tress.  But as a year or so passes by and people move in, things get interesting.  A townhouse sells, and then bam, you see another phase of construction kicks in by the owner.  The house is extended out to the front gate and that area becomes some type of shop.  The homeowner opens a coffee shop, restaurant, dry goods store, soup stand, motorcycle-fix-it-shop, or whatever.  This means we can walk out the house with the girls, and 30 seconds later sit down at a restaurant.  It will help when we don’t want to suffer the Bangkok traffic too.  Our camera is hanging on by a thread right now and doesn’t work when we most want it to.  But I’ll get some pictures up when we move in.  We’re thankful that we were able to find something relatively quick.

Back from Chiang Mai

This past week we went to Chiang Mai for the annual SIM conference and we spent another several days at a guest home designed for missionaries on vacation.  It was great.  Hannah got to swim and we got to read some and relax.  Now we’re off to house hunting.  Here’s some pics from the week.

 

Spirit Houses

Spirit Houses are common in Thailand.  Almost everyone has something like this on their property, outside, that will hopefully gain favor with the spirit of that place.  Sprits, in common Thai belief, are people that have died but are not yet reincarnated.  They may be ancestors or just people in general.  Often times we will see incense burning in front of the little houses and sometimes food given. 

The following picture is taken from our house and shows the spirit houses of our next door neighbor.

Want to go fishing??

I have great memories of fishing as a kid with my Dad.  As a kid, the anticipation just before you pull that fish out of the water makes it so much fun.  You can’t wait to see what is on the end of that line .  What if you got your hook on a fish bigger than a person??  It’s possible here!  Thailand is home of the Mekong Catfish. 

“The world’s largest scaleless freshwater fish lives a tenuous existence in the murky brown waters of Southeast Asia’s Mekong River. Capable of reaching an almost mythical 10 feet (3 meters) in length and 650 pounds (295 kilograms), Mekong giant catfish live mainly in the lower half of the Mekong River system, in Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam. 

The largest freshwater fish ever recorded was a Mekong giant catfish caught in northern Thailand in 2005. It was nearly nine feet long (2.7 meters) and weighed 646 pounds (293 kilograms).”  – National Geographic

 

Unfortunately, these fish are endangered.  So we won’t be going to the Mekong River on vacation to fish.  Bummer…

Wat Phra Dhammakaya

The other week we had the opportunity to visit some key places of interest in Bangkok.  We stopped by the Bangkok Bible Seminary, which is probably the best seminary in Thailand.  Also we went to Kanok Banasaan which is the major Christian publisher here. 

Perhaps the most interesting place we visited was Wat Phra Dammakaya.  The world’s largest Buddhist temple.  It is located on the north end of Bangkok and currently houses approximately 10,000 monks.  There is a construction project right now on a stadium that will be able to accommodate 1 million Buddhists from around the world.  The power of their meditation will “cleanse the world of evil”.  This stadium was huge.  Next time I’m in the area I’ll take some pictures of it from the outside.  I currently don’t have any. 

Here is the small temple part in the front of the complex.

Here are a couple pictures from their website:

 

How not to parent

It’s been a little while since we’ve posted here.  I’m sorry we’re not able to keep in touch better.  Recently, we’ve been thinking about raising kids in a way that leads them towards Christ.  And now that Hannah is in what they call “the terrible twos”, we’re getting a lot of practical, hands on experience.  We’re learning a lot.  Some of what we’re learning is how NOT to raise kids.  I came across both of these statements just recently:

“I try to let my 2-year-old control things and exert his independence as much as possible. I think it reduces the intensity and frequency of his meltdowns. Even if what he wants makes no sense to me, I figure I’m not 2, so I try to just go with the flow.”

     -Lori

I look at them and I tell them, you are the center of your universe right now….We are orbiting around you to help you.  If you think it’s all about you, it is all about you.”

     -Principal of a Middle School

Hannah’s 2nd Birthday August 31st

  

Flooded house

Here is a video I took capturing some of our flooded house in Lopburi.  We measured between 7 and 8 inches of flood water in the house.  Notice the color of the water on the outside of the house especially.  Yeah, we have a septic tank out back and i’m not confident that it’s sealed that well.  That, plus the fact that there is garbage floating up and down the street makes it a bit funny to see the neighborhood kids splashing around like they are at Six Flags waterpark.

But don’t worry, I got it all cleaned up.  Our home is now the cleanest it’s ever been.  We can check that off our list of Thai culture yet to experience. 

What it takes (Part 4)

This is not specific to being a missionary to Thailand but…..

We do well here to be reminded of what our real comfort is in life.  When stresses pile up, language is difficult, things don’t seem to be going the way we thought….where should we look for our comfort?  The Heidelberg Catechism is so eloquent in the first 2 questions and provides a great summarized answer:

Q. What is your only comfort in life and death?

A. That I am not my own,[1] but belong with body and soul, both in life and in death,[2] to my faithful Saviour Jesus Christ.[3] He has fully paid for all my sins with His precious blood,[4] and has set me free from all the power of the devil.[5] He also preserves me in such a way[6] that without the will of my heavenly Father not a hair can fall from my head;[7] indeed, all things must work together for my salvation.[8] Therefore, by His Holy Spirit He also assures me of eternal life[9] and makes me heartily willing and ready from now on to live for Him.[10]

[1] 1Co_6:19-20

[2] Rom_14:7-9.

[3] 1Co_3:23; Tit_2:14.

[4] 1Pe_1:18-19; 1Jo_1:7; 1Jo_2:2.

[5] Joh_8:34-36; Heb_2:14-15; 1Jo_3:8.

[6] Joh_6:39-40; Joh_10:27-30; 2Th_3:3; 1Pe_1:5.

[7] Mat_10:29-31; Luk_21:16-18.

[8] Rom_8:28.

[9] Rom_8:15-16; 2Co_1:21-22; 2Co_5:5; Eph_1:13-14.

[10] Rom_8:14.

 

Q. What do you need to know in order to live and die in the joy of this comfort?

A. First, how great my sins and misery are;[1] second, how I am delivered from all my sins and misery;[2] third, how I am to be thankful to God for such deliverance.[3]

[1] Rom_3:9-10; 1Jo_1:10.

[2] Joh_17:3; Act_4:12; Act_10:43.

[3] Mat_5:16; Rom_6:13; Eph_5:8-10; 1Pe_2:9-10.

What it takes (Part 3)

Lets say you are waiting for the bus or motorcycle taxi and you need to have a rest.  You’ll need to get out of the sun in order to do that.  First you find the nearest tree and get under it.  But it’s not that restful to stand.  You want to sit down.  But you also don’t want to get your pants all dirty.  The solution???

The Asian Squat 

Now this is a true test of your ability to be a missionary in Thailand.  Sit like this…and you are one step closer to becoming Thai.  Here are some examples.  Please notice the distinct characteristics of the Asian squat.

Carefully observe the heal flat on the ground.  If you are up on your toes, it is NOT a proper squat position.

Perhaps the best way to tell if your squat is proper is to see how long you can be in this position.  There should be no extra pressure on your knee joint. Your knee should located over top of or slightly in front of your toes. 

Go ahead, give it a try!