Welcome to Bamboo Island

After months of preparations, emails, phone calls, this last week our team greeted the first 2 of 4 short-term teams to Thailand. Having never organized or made arrangements to host teams before, I was a little anxious to see how this week would turn out, but as is the case, God was with us and we had an absolutely wonderful week.

Since I have not perfected the art of being in 2 places at once, I went with the team from Prince of Peace in Palatine, IL to Bamboo Island while Sarah and others took the PLI team from Texas around Bangkok and Chiang Mai. Let me just say it was just incredible.

I met 4 team members that arrived early on Friday night. Fortunately I decided to meet them at the airport instead of their hotel as it turned out that their shuttle never picked them up. The 5 of us and their luggage fit all in one taxi as we made our way to the TK Palace. I knew right away as I got to know Andrea, Carolyn, Lisa and Kyle that this was going to be a special week. They were so excited and full of energy. Even though it was dark out I got to see Bangkok again through the eyes of a first time visitor and it was great. That night I left them at their hotel with directions to set them off exploring the next day and a promise to see them for dinner the next evening.

Saturday afternoon, Dang picked me up at my apartment and we headed back to the airport again to pick up two new members on the Bamboo Island team, Randy and Barbara. I met them during my visit to Chicago in May and had a chance to get to know Randy via email in preparation for their arrival. They seemed pretty refreshed having adjusted to jet lag during their stay in Japan. We took them to the TK and met the others for dinner.

My evening wasn't over after that as I waited up late with Robin McCoy to hop on the TK Palace shuttle back to the airport to wait for the PLI team's arrival. That day had been so busy. Reality hit me when I went to the airport that all these months of emailing back and forth wasn't just some fiction book I was writing, but that there were in fact, actual people arriving here to serve in many different ways. I headed home tired and still needing to pack and arrive at the hotel by 8 the next morning. To top things off I got a phone call from the last 2 members of the Bamboo Island team saying that their flight was canceled and they wouldn't make it there until noon the next day. Dang and I decided to solve that problem after talking to the team the next morning.

Sunday we decided to start our 11 hour journey to the south and just have the other 2 people fly to Phuket. Dan made arrangements for her friend to pick them up at the airport and take them to the Phang Nga Bay resort hotel. They ended up getting there before we did even though they didn't get to Thailand until the afternoon. Our trip was scenic and fun. Everyone was quite enjoyable and it turned out to be good that the other two people were delayed or else we wouldn't have had room for them in the van.

Our Monday was supposed to be laid back and relaxing after all the travelling, but that didn't mean that we were short on things to do. The first stop was at Tham Pung Chang which translated means Elephant Belly Cave. The first part of the tour was taking a kayak through the "belly of the elephant". Halfway through we switched to bamboo rafts and then the last leg was on foot wading through the water. That was awesome! All of us had to wear headlights and while most of our team looked at the limestone rock formations our guide pointed out, Dang spent the time shining her light in the water thinking that some creature would crawl on her! We found a "baptismal font" in there that Buddhist regard as having lucky water, but instead we used it as an opportunity to remember our Baptism! Moving on from there we headed to the coast. We planned to stop at a resort sight for a little beach time and lunch but found out it was closed during the off season! Sad day! So instead we drove 45 minutes away for lunch at a Burmese kitchen! While we were in the area we visited the Baan Nam Kem Tsunami Memorial. This way the team could see how the tsunami devastated the area and effected the ecosystem. We changed plans to go to Phuket since there was a big ASEAN summit there and security was tightened. Instead we stopped at a market on the way back to Phang Nga Bay and made the team purchase stuff without using English! It was like a mini-orientation! That night we were ready to sleep! Though Dang and I stayed up to watch some Thai TV-drama!

Tuesday was workday #1. We had to wait for the tide, so we didn't leave until 8:30am. When the boat full of farang (foreigners) showed up at Bamboo Island, I think the village men were a bit bewildered, but some of them said hi to us! When we got to the school there were already a bunch of kids painting the first building a very bright shade of green. Thinking back, it is funny how shy the kids were at first. Dang told them that they couldn't group together and that at least 2 kids had to be with each farang so that way they could practice their English. The farang also practiced their Thai with their handy flip cards! Once the kids discovered that I could speak Thai, they warmed up pretty quickly. Our team was so good at just jumping in and interacting with them. Andrea Krause, our team nurse brought a hacky-sack with her, so she got a group of kids together to play that.

At first painting was pretty rough because they were thinning the paint with some pretty strong smelling thinners. I ended the day with a big headache, but we pushed through and still had fun. That afternoon the team had a chance to introduce themselves to the students and sing songs with them! After introductions, half of the team went to paint some more and then Kyle and Tom did an afternoon art camp. They were the two graphic artists from the team. The kids really enjoyed this a lot. I think the first day was a great introduction for the kids. By the end of the day they wanted to make sure that they would see us again the next day! We had to leave the school early because the solar eclipse was causing the tides to be really low. This picture shows how far down the water is. It's supposed to cover those roots as they are part of a mangrove forest!

Day 2 and we were ready for another day of work. While we waited for the boat, Tom chased his wife Julie around with a dead eel. He got the nickname Dtoon-Dten which means excitement :D

This morning there was hardly anyone around, so Dang had to scrounge around for our paint brushes and paint. We discovered early that the new paint they brought was not the same shade as the paint we used the day before, but we used it anyway. The kids were much more interactive this day. Randy, the team leader brought some music with him so we were listening to some tunes. This day the area around the school flooded, which was cause for much excitement. All the kids decided to go swimming in the polluted water and catch mud-skippers for us to see. Mr. Excitement taught the kids how to dance the robot and Julie got quite a following as well. In the mean time Dang and Ba Nok (Carolyn) entertained the kids while dancing to the music. This day was sooooo fun! The kids just had a blast, and I'm pretty sure the adults did too! Our driver Amnot came to help that day too! Our lunch was the first time our team experienced Thai cooking a whole chicken and putting all of it in the curry. So watching them pick around the chicken feet was fun. That afternoon Lisa and Andrea talked about hygiene and Portillo's hot dogs! Well, Lisa talked about hot dogs and Chicago as part of a cultural exchange! In the afternoon the weather changed, so we hightailed it out of there to try to beat the storm. I say tried to because we got stuck in a downpour! Our team was so great though, because they looked at it as a unique experience and even a blessing because it made the temperature cooler! That day when I left the kids actually wouldn't let go of me and even tried to drag me back to the library! I knew then that I was at risk of being sad when I had to say goodbye at the end of the week. We went home and changed clothes and then headed to the Lutheran church at Takuapa. Kyle had the opportunity to share a short message with the church members there after we ate dinner with the members. This church was one of the first Lutheran churches in Thailand and founded by the father of one of the Lutheran leaders. He still lives there with his Thai wife, and in fact played the piano for us during our fellowship time.

Day 3 we continued painting and interacting with the kids. The afternoon session, Andrea had a unique opportunity to share the Gospel very clearly with the kids there, so that was scary and exciting. By this day I had a little following of girls who hung around me pretty regularly. I really enjoyed the time I had with them. The field flooded even more today, which the kids of course enjoyed. That evening we took a trip to Phuket where we got pizza and some people shopped or got foot-massages. Me? I went to Starbucks. That is my oasis in this world and it's on every continent!

Day 4. Before heading to the island we took a side trip to "James Bond Island", so named because it's where the Man with the Golden Gun was filmed. I bought some pearls there which Dang informed me I was over priced for. I also collected some shells for my Grandma. After that we went to Koh Panyi where we met with the principal of the school there who showed us a presentation on how advanced the school is in using resources and educating their kids who live there. When we got to the school we had a sort of "closing" with the kids. Randy and his wife Barb did a presentation showing the students all the places they have been to visit on mission trips and then showed them where they are from in the US. Then we sang songs with the kids and presented them with their hygiene packs and art supplies.To thank the team, the kids did a special performance which they choreographed themselves. They were all dressed really fancy and like attention starved kids that they were wanted to make sure that they looked beautiful. It was so fun, but also sad. My group of girls clung to me. It's funny because they were so distant at first and then one on impulse gave me a hug but wasn't sure how I would respond to it. There was a pause in the group, but when I hugged her back, then the whole group of them dove on me. It was the strangest thing, almost like they had never been hugged before or maybe it wasn't permitted. I don't know. Anyway, the kids took us to visit their homes before we left. It was nice to get to meet their parents and see where they live. I ended up getting a ton of little gifts, including a silver heart necklace that one of the girls gave me. Her name is Yaa and she made me promise to never forget her. I can not wait to go back.

Our team members from Palatine were Randy and Barb Gray, Tom and Julie Zehner, Carolyn Latas, Andrea Krause, and Lisa and Kyle Johanson. My they are such wonderful people. As Carolyn said, they are my "forever" friends. We may never know what seeds were planted, but I pray that they would grow and grow!

Christie Nelson

Things are quickly starting to roll now for the team here in Thailand. This week our area facilitator Ted E. from Vietnam comes for a visit and another special guest Christie Nelson arrived. Christie is a former Deaconess who served in Thailand for 15 years. She knows so many people here and did so much to help the people of Thailand including many girls in the House of Living Water project. She is coming to visit her girls, her friends and co-workers as well as help us with our upcoming short-term teams (who come next week!). It is going to be wonderful having her here and getting a chance to know her more!

A WOW week in Northern Thailand!

Oh man! It always seems like when ever I do something expecting it to be ordinary and low-key, it manages to turn out extraordinary and uplifting. This past week I spent 6 days travelling all over the northern region of Thailand with Dang, La, Waen and our new van driver Amnon. The schedule was quite full each day to the point where we found our self at the Northern-most point of Thailand the last day, and didn't make it back until Sunday. I hope you enjoy reading about these experiences and seeing the pictures of my visits to Hmong, Karen, and Akha hill tribe villages.

Monday we drove to Tak province which we recently visited over Easter for the dedication of a new church in Pakhamai. Our purpose here was to follow up work being done to install a shower and bathroom, as well as make final arrangement for our short term team visiting them in August. We also wanted to make sure we spent time in the Word together and encourage them while we were there. We ate dinner at Ning's house when it started to rain. Our original plan was to have the fellowship in the church, so the kids cleaned up the construction mess, but it got too late so we just invited people to come to Ning's house. It started out with only about 6 adults and 10 children but as we continued on the crowd grew until we could barely all fit into the room! Wow, we were so pumped after that! It was so interesting too because we had all been a little tired and worn out when we first got there, but afterwards it was like our energy was renewed. We stayed in a hotel in Phopra near the Burma border that night as it was the closest too us.

Tuesday we drove to Mae Rim and met with the Pastor of the Hmong student center there. We had some business to take care of concerning our short-term teams, and some construction projects that took place over the last two months. Suphan came also, so we could tell him more about his role in helping with the Hmong projects this summer. Since April, they installed a new roof over the girls pole-barn dormitory. The last one was made of wood and eaten by termites. Now the girls have a nice aluminum roof to keep them dry, and it has a special green netting to help keep the heat down! All the students were at school when we got there, so we checked into he YMCA and met with another local Pastor and his wife for dinner. Afterwards they came back with us to the student center where we got to attend and share at their evening devotion. It was such a blast. The kids are all just wonderful. The girls even hung around afterwards to ask the "American" girl questions and talk P Dang into taking them on a trip somewhere.

Again we came back that night excited about the work going on. Now our driver had come to both occasions and was starting to ask questions about this Christianity. The next morning we began a long drive to the Karen village near Pai. We picked up Wii, a young lady that Dang and La know. She asked us to visit her village and see if there was anything service we could offer to the community. Along the way we learned a bit about her village. She lives in Chiang Mai for school, but got off to go home and help her parents with the rice planting. It was nearly 3 hours to Pai, a outpost tourist town which draws lots of backpackers. To get there it is almost nonstop winding roads. I'm glad we stopped there for lunch, otherwise, I may not have made it to the village! After buying food at the fresh market we headed to a more remote outpost 50km away, and switched to 4-wheel drive truck. From this outpost to the village was 15km in the back of the truck, and it was an incredible off-roading experience. There is no way any vehicle besides a motorcycle or 4-wheel drive can get up there.

Inside the village, it was just incredible. I think what is different about this village is that it's up in the rain forest, so all the houses are tucked away on the sides of the hills and mountains, and there are little dirt footpaths leading every which way, that only the locals know where to. The houses are all on stilts because of the yearlong rain. There are chickens and pigs and dogs all living under the houses, and life is so simple and quiet. When we got to Wii's parents house we sat out on their porch, just looking out over the mountains. Wii and her family later on made dinner for us in their kitchen which uses an open fire. The floor was made out of bamboo that was unrolled and bowed beneath our feet. The weather was cool, unlike most other parts of Thailand, and neighbors and family members slowly made their way in for dinner, showering in the outhouse before coming upstairs. There was just something so neat in their simple way of life. For dinner the rice was sifted using a wide flat basket, all the dishes were washed off the side of the balcony. Wii's brother an Waen shared their music back and forth. As the guests we were served dinner first, that was prepared by Wii and her dad. It started getting dark so we had to leave them and head to the local medical clinic where we slept for the night, on the floor. The next morning we had work to do, and we got an early start with the wake up call from the local roosters. We planned to survey all the facilities that the village had to aid in human care and education. This included the clinic, a local student center, and the school. We saw the student center on the way to Wii's house for breakfast and had a chance to talk to the leader and local pastor who help supervise the children that live there. Afterwards we had breakfast at Wii's house before she took us to the rice fields so I could learn how to plant rice! I told Dang that one of my dreams for coming to Thailand was to learn how to plant rice, so they asked Wii's parents the night before, and they said we could come down as this day would be the first day of planting! They even gave me a pair of knee-high boots to wear! When we got there, I was thankful for having been a kid who always practiced walking on the road curbs, because we had to basically do that or fall into the rice paddy. Here is Dang, La, Wii and I standing on it.We went to where the ladies were and they showed us how they uproot the rice seedlings and bundle them together before they get planted.

After that the bundles get taken to the flooded and tilled fields where they are basically just pushed into the mud. Wii's Dad was so fast I could barely see his hands. All the ladies thought I was quite a sight and even told me that my skin was too white to be getting dirty in the mud. After that I was in high heaven (dirty hands and all)! We went to the school last before we left and met the principal, teachers, and students. The have the most beautiful uniforms that they wear. While we were there, Waen, La and Dang led some music, and I got to teach the kids a few English phrases.

Our hope is to bring a short-term team here in the future to spend time in the village, encouraging the Christians there, and helping the school out with an English camp. Oh did, I forget to mention? The whole village is Christian due to the influence of missionaries 40 years ago! Just think what will happen in all the villages we go to another 40 years from now!

Well, that was the end of our trip to the Karen village. On our return that day, we only made it as far as Chiang Mai. The next day was spent travelling to Mae Sai and the Golden triangle where we are going to start working with a pastor in an Akha village. A Lutheran church in the US is providing funds for their support and has asked us to oversee the projects. In the future they plan to bring this church into the Lutheran system, including having the pastor go through Lutheran colloquy at LISA. This gave us a chance to see firsthand the progress of the church they have built, to encourage the pastor, and do needs assessment for further work with them and their community. We would eventually like to bring a short term team in to work with them too! Our trip to Akha was relatively short compared with the other villages, but it was still worth meeting the pastor and letting him know how we can assist him.

That evening we stayed in a Chinese village called Doi Maesalong, which was inhabited by Chinese many years ago when communist tried to come in an turn Thailand communist. It's an absolutely beautiful trip up to this mountain village. We stopped in a Chinese tea shop where we got to try all these different flavors of tea, and then I bought a tea set, and gift for my God-daughter and nephew.

God is truly blessing us through the ministry here in Thailand. So many faithful Christians are scattered all over the place. It was good to be able to share in fellowship with them and encourage them letting them know that Christians all over the world are praying for them. I hope this blog is helpful in letting you get a brief glimpse into that world, and I ask that you would pray for these people from wherever you are!

Baptizma!

Today I was pleasantly surprised when La and I arrived at church this morning to see a large crowd of people sitting outside waiting for Sunday School to start. The house church members from Khorat, which I visited last September, all came to join us at Concordia Lutheran in Phong Phet. Apparently everyone else knew about it, but anyway it was great. Another thing I didn't know is that the reason they came was for the baptism of 4 people in their community! Wow! Currently they don't have a pastor, so our Pastor Taweep visits them periodically to bring communion and in this case they came so he could administer baptism! What a blessing it was, not only to be in worship again with them, but also to witness the baptism's of these 4 special people and to welcome them into the Christian family. Everyone who came you could tell were wearing their best of the best clothing. For some, they have 1 outfit only, that they wear to all special occasions. This helped me to recognize some of the people I met when I went to Khorat with our team. I sat in the back so Goi could translate for Seth and I (the only 2 English people). As I looked around at all the people there, I couldn't help thanking God that he has instilled such a strong faith in these people. It radiated off their very being. They are hard laborers, some of the older people you could tell that time had taken a toll on their bodies from years of working in the rice fields, til they got to the point where they were permanently hunched over. Yet they still came rejoicing. (Just so you know, Thai's don't smile for pictures usually, so even though they look unhappy, they really aren't :)

When the 2 adults that were baptized went to sit down, there were such big smiles on their faces. It was almost like, even the Thai's unique ability of maintaining composure couldn't withhold their joy. Then the 2 children were baptized, and I couldn't help but think of the power of God, that the faith God gives us doesn't depend on our understanding it. The power rests solely in Him.

Every once in awhile, I get discouraged in life thinking, how long do I have to wait to be rejoicing in heaven, because often life can feel like it's dragging me down. The epistle for today was from 2 Corinthians 5: 1-10 and it talks about how we long to be with the Lord because the burdens of this world often seem hard to bear. It made me understand that I am normal, that we are all normal who feel this way, but that we find our hope in the Lord. And it's days like today that encourage me; then I understand what God has called us as Christians to do in this world. We are to be witnesses to the hope that is within us, given to us in our baptism.

When it rains it______

So, today I got caught in one of my first (of many I'm sure) rainy season downpours. There was just nothing to do to avoid it. Instead of me doing a chronology of details, I've decided to share my thoughts of this experience.

"That does not look good.

Dear God, is there anyway you could slow this down just a little bit before I have to get out of the van?

Let's see...how can I pay the driver, open the door, grab my corn and bag, and open my umbrella without getting drenched?

Oh, we're stopping!

Oh, hello! Who are you and did you just ask me if you could share my umbrella?

This umbrella really was only meant for one person, but it's OK, I'm already soaking wet. Especially my pants.

I'm glad I tied my drawstring pants tight, otherwise I'd have to hold them up.

Why am I standing under this awning? I'm already soaking wet and my clothes are going to have to be peeled off?

Might as well make a run for it. TAXI!

Watch it stop as soon as I get in.

Is the water on the sidewalk seriously running over my feet?!

AHHH! It's freezing in here! Can you make the air conditioner in this car any colder?

Oh wow! I could swim in that puddle!

Puddle? This street is a river! Look there's even waves crashing against the curb!

That guy looks really ridiculous! Seriously dude, you're riding a motorcycle in the rain in 7 inches of water. That poncho is doing nothing for you.

It's so fun to see how people react to the rain. Those school boys made a game of dodging all the downspouts. That guy isn't even trying to stay dry. He's just strolling along. That group of people moved to high ground because they would disappear in the gutter.

Unlikely people are brought together for one goal-staying dry. That's why there are 40 people huddled under the bus stop.

Does running help you get less wet?

Now would not be the time to be idly standing on the side of the road. That is unless, of course, you want to get showered in curb-dirt water by all the passing cars.

My parents Dodge and Chrysler van would never make it in this flooding. The power steering belt would have been long gone.

I hope the taxi driver knows where he is going.

Oh gosh, there are puddles on the floor! Was I that soaked?

Why are there so many people out? Hello! It's pouring people!

I have never seen so many barefoot Thai outside of a building. Look, even those two business ladies. Speaking of which, I'm glad I wore these flip-flops.

They have those plastic hair covers here too?

Please tell me we are not going to stop here forever. I can't imagine that one of the royal family decided to come to Nonthaburi during rush hour to create a traffic jam.

Do you see that?!?! Those cars have water up to their headlights over there. Man that sucks!

Ah, home sweet home! And we're wading.

I should write a blog about this.