10 days plus no internet

Well, these last couple weeks have been crazy! We went into the jungle expecting to be gone for the weekend and ended up staying almost 2 weeks. Now that I am back in Chiang Mai, the internet is down for 5-10 days (the server in the town is broken) so I am in a little computer shop checking my email. I will post pictures and exciting stories later! God bless you all.

Thailand excitement!

These last couple weeks have been very busy ones! The first Sabbath that I spent in Thailand, we went visiting the people in the village around the area and gave them massages, or as in my case, just talked to the lady about natural ways to help her health, etc. My friend Baw Baw had been taught by this lady and wanted to go talk to her. It was quite exciting to be able to help her with her health in many different ways. I only hope that she will put into practice some of the things we taught her. Eugene, Baw Baw, the lady, and I at her house.

I have learned many things from the health classes. They have taught us how to make charcoal from coconut shells . . . . (Eugene and Jim from Anon training center in Malaysia)


How to apply charcoal. . . . and how to eat charcoal. (This is Pastor Say from Burma)


They also gave us cooking classes and taught us how to make Malaysian food. (It was pretty good, I'm still getting used to the sweet/sour taste, though.) This is Karen from Anon and :) from Thailand. Karen is the master cook!

They taught us how to give chair massages and back massages (the chair massages can be pretty painful when given by a child). This is Crystal, the daughter of Dr. and Mrs. Lee (unfortunately Dr. Lee was not able to make it).Our group was very big! There were between 35-40 people that attended or taught classes regularly. The ones in the front are the teachers from Anon and then the Burmese, Thai, American, Mong, Indian, and some Malaysians are all mixed in. It was like the Tower of Babel with so many languages being spoken! I haven't learned Thai yet, but as I stay here longer, I will. :DAnother picture of our group. This is practically the whole group. There had been a few people missing before!

Something else that kept me very busy was teaching a couple classes for one of my friends. A doctor was supposed to come and teach about disease management, but he was not able to, so Lin had to teach that and I took a couple of her A&P classes (endocrine & excretion), and also CPR and 1st Aid. I had a lot of fun with the CPR and 1st Aid class, but the other two were not as exciting. Never thought I'd be a teacher. ; ) This picture is of me and my dear translator, Ying!Traveling to church was exciting! We were in a big truck/type vehicle and there were quite a few of us in there. I hear that they usually fit many more people in them! The church we went to was very beautiful! It was new and it even had air-conditioning! I got a little chilly, though. :D I think I'm getting quite customized to the warm weather.
(a lady from Thailand, Burma, and I)
Baw Baw and I in Church

This is me, the five Burma girls, a Thai doctor and her sister. We are standing out front of the church. They take their shoes off when going into any church, house, or private building.

This is me, the three girls from Malaysia (plus Crystal, the little one) and Baw Baw.




Well, I have to go back to the school now, but I am headed into the jungle tomorrow! I will not be posting anything too soon, but I hope to hear from you all! God bless. Keep the Lord first.

Remember Ephesians 6:10-12--Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

The New Experiences!

(Part of this I was writing my 2nd night in Thailand on July 2, 2008.) As I sit here, with my hair still wet from my shower and my forehead sweating, I think back over the last couple days. I happen to look up to see a baby cockroach flying around above my head, and then looking down I see a little cricket on the floor. . . . When I arrived at Chiang Mai airport, I got through customs without too many problems. The only problem was that I had many books to send to a pastor in Bangkok and they thought that I was going to sell them. Praise the Lord they finally let me have them. I got out of the airport in time to see. . . . no one waiting for me. At least no one that I recognized. I decided to just sit and wait (seeing as I had no other choice:). Probably 10-15 minutes later, Jorge and pastor Phamor came walking in. Boy, was I relieved! The smells that met my nostrils as we traveled through the city were very foreign to me. We made it out of the city and on to the country about an hour out of town where the school is located. The school is located on very beautiful property.I sure have had some exciting new experiences since I have been here! (I'm sure that they are not as crazy as I will have in the future, though). The day I arrived, they showed me two scorpions that some guys had killed (each about 2 inches long) and a little snake. Just today some boys caught one that was alive. All of the little creatures are very cute. I think you all might agree. :DThe showers are quite an adventure! They have little squat pots (oh yes, no toilet paper, just water) in the bathrooms and then, if you look closely, you might be able to see the whole in the wall that lets the water out from the shower. There is a bucket that is filled with water and then a little one to pour the water over my head, and if I want to, it is quite convenient to wash the laundry at that time, too. Just fill up another little bucket with water and wash all the clothes by hand. One night before taking my shower, I was getting all the buckets ready and walked into the bathroom. There was this very beautiful 2-inch spider awaiting me. :D I decided to step quietly and respectfully into the next room to take my shower.
I have also had my first taste of many foods. One of them is called Rambutan. It is quite a unique little fruit. Pretty good, actually. The outside looks a little scary, though. :)I have also had fresh Durian for the first time. It is not as bad as people say that it is! Lol. It might take some getting used to, though. The smell is unique, but the flavor is very sweet. It is kind of like a custard/type consistency. There are some others that I can't remember the name of right now. They eat lots of cooked greens, some more interesting than others. There is a plant that they call Morning Glory that they eat raw. I told them that we have flowers called that which they thought was quite funny.

Well, this is kind of a lengthy blog so I will sign off for now. I need to prepare for a class or two that I will be teaching. I realize you all are probably sleeping as I write this, (I am 13 hours different from mountain time zone) so I hope you have a good nights' sleep and a great day (mine is almost over;). Signing off for now! (P.S. sorry this blog doesn't have pictures of people in it. When I tell other stories, I'll put pictures of people.)

This was while I was on the plane on my way to Thailand. I was a little bored, but still had fun. I met some really nice people, like a Christian Missionary couple from Chiang Mai. They were a real blessing to me. They encouraged me in the work I was doing.

Some delicious Thai food. This was the best meal that I have had since I have been here. It was like a feast! It reminded me of my Korean Ramen that I would eat at Oklahoma Academy! Such good memories!! During one of the classes that we have had. They were teaching us chair massages at this time. It was a great review!!
This is me and my friend Bubbow. We went walking one morning (during the exercise time at 7:00 am). It is an Adventist school (grades 1-12) that she went to for 6 years. It was a very beautiful place. Bub-bow bought me a little note-book and a soy-milk. It was delicious! Such sweet people!
I will post more pictures later. I will have to let you see what the bathrooms are like and the "grocery stores". I hope that you all have a great week! It is quite exciting because I just found out that we will be doing 1/2 hour at church tomorrow. Fun stuff. :D

Thailand!

Wow, I am finally here! I can hardly believe that I am half-way across the world from you all. It sure was a long trip over here, but it was worth it! The trip was pretty uneventful, I got all my luggage safely, thankfully! I have sure had quite a few first experiences here! I don't have much time to write now, but when I have more time, I will let give more details. It is very beautiful here in the mountainous terrain of Chiang Mai. It is definitely warm and humid, though. The people are so sweet! Thailand is not called "The Land of Smiles" for nothing! The people love smiling and laughing. I'll post some pictures up later as well. That's all I have time for now, but I will update soon. God bless you all!