Worlds collide

When we were home this summer there were a couple of things that really took us by surprise:

1. Obesity
2. Price of food
3. Portion sizes of food (refer back to #1 now)
4. Green grass and trees everywhere (we were finally out of the pavement jungle)
5. Fresh(er) air, particularly in the BWCA
6. Cost of gas
7. Driving on the right side of the road
8. Drinking water from the tap & not having to have a water bottle in the bathroom to use for our toothbrushes & rinse water (I can't tell you how many times I looked around for a water bottle in the bathroom)
9. Actually having to drive everywhere instead of being "chauffeured around" by a taxi
10. People's names weren't objects, places, or movie characters ie) Pop, Top, Ice, Jar-jar Binx, Sand, Land, Guitar, Candy, etc.
11. Lack of humidity, despite many Minnesotans complaining about how hot/humid it was (as I was wearing jeans and long sleeved shirt... it's all relative)
12. Name-person confusion... read the following phone conversation:

Me: Hello?
Friend: Hey, this is James
Me: James? (thinking: James, the MS computer teacher in Thailand??) Uhm... how'd you get this number??!? (we had just recently bought a temporary phone)
Friend: From Eric
Me: Uhm, ok. Wait, James who?
Friend: James K. Is Mike there? We want him to play softball on Sunday.
Me: Ooooooooooooh! Softball MN James!
Friend: Uhm... yes.
Me: Yeah, hold on, here's Mike.

13. The 80's apparently being back in... stretch pants, side ponies and all.
14. Bathtubs... not that I took a bath or anything, but it was nice not to have water go ALL OVER the bathroom floor and then have to squeegee it down the drain
15. No one thinking that I'm Thai and never getting some foreign language menu handed to me.
16. People putting the emphasis on the same syllable as me. For example, I would say "tower" with the natural emphasis on TOWer. Thais, however, would say, toWERRRR (and really draw out the "ER" part.

How to make a Thai person laugh...

1. Looking Thai but not actually being Thai
2. Looking Thai, trying to speak Thai, but thoroughly botching up the Thai
3. Looking Thai but perfecting saying "I am not Thai. I do not speak Thai" in Thai
4. Looking Thai, not being Thai, and being a Spanish teacher
5. Making faces when Tong Soo, the fruit dude, gives us pieces of fruit we've never had before... only to realize how sour they are.
6. Stomping on a cockroaches outside our apartment tower
7. Paying for 16 baht worth of water in 1 baht coins
8. Pretending to force open an elevator door from the inside as it opens, not realizing that there are people on the other side of the elevator waiting to get on

Safety first

3 things...

... that make us laugh about Grandpa John:

1. He dominated at cribbage, but tried to cheat all the time by throwing in extra points or points that don't even exist in cribbage rules. We always had to double check his hand... sneaky fellow. ;)

2. When we would say goodbye, he would kiss you smack on the lips if you didn't dart out of the way and turn your head at the last second.

3. The last time we saw him, he had [accidentally] shaved off half of his mustache without knowing it.

Grandpa John

Rest in peace, Grandpa John. We'll miss you.

Born in the USA

Well... I wasn't born in the USA, but it's been home to both of us for 25+ years. So back to the USA it was for a month long visit this summer. Here's a re-cap of what we did during our visit:

** Sorry if we neglected to take a picture of you while we were home...

Tempted small children with our hamburgers

Graciously accepted rock donations

Hung out with some wonderful SGF people


Said goodbye to the Thompson Family (they're moving out of state)


Held small babies


Booped small babies on the nose

Went to a few baseball games at Target Field, the new outdoor Twins stadium




Went fishing, canoeing and camping in the BWCA with my dad for a week





Had lunch at Cafe Latte with family & friends

Caught up with some TLO friends



Saw movies

Visited Pete & Sarah in Colorado (and sucked in as much fresh air and cooler weather as possible)




Went to a Rockies baseball game (which was the longest [time-wise, not inning-wise] in Rockies history and went to 15 innings)

Ate at Chick-fil-A (an unexpected, yet delectable surprise)

Met new family members

Visited Grandma

Had good times with awesome friends










Helped Ian with his fashion sense

Bought awesome, awesome burp rags for the plethora of babies being born at ICS. They were made by Dana, a friend from MHS

Other:
Played games
Ate at many different restaurants we had missed
Stamped/made a lot of cards
Played volleyball, basketball and softball
Went shopping and loaded up on things that we can't get or are too expensive to get in Bangkok
Enjoyed worshiping at SGF

It was a crazy month where we literally ran from one thing to the next most days, but it was good to be be back to catch up with family and friends that we hadn't seen for a year. We were blessed to be able to see so many people. Please forgive us if we didn't have the opportunity to see you... we would have loved to see you all, but we were limited on time.

I prayed for three things for myself during our time stateside: 1) That I would have good conversations and times with people 2) That I would feel refreshed (despite the busyness) and be ready to dive into school week upon return and 3) That I would not become overly attached to things or people, thus making it hard for me to want to go back to Bangkok joyfully. God was gracious to me in our time and home and all three prayer requests were answered. However, I was most blown away by how He answered prayer request #3: He confirmed and affirmed time and time again that Bangkok is where we are supposed to be. Places I missed and wanted to eat at didn't taste as good as I had remembered... people encouraged and affirmed us in our ministry... we were reminded time and time again about how technology (skype, blogs, e-mail, FB, chats, etc) makes it so easy to stay in touch...and MN didn't quite feel like home in a certain sense either.

Anyway, all this to say that we're back in Bangkok now, have moved into our new apartment (and are loving it), and are getting geared up and excited about the new school year. Thank you for supporting us in this ministry, for praying for us, for sending us encouraging packages/letters/e-mails/FB & blog messages, for spending time with us while we were stateside, and for being a part of our life. We are grateful for you.

Hiatus

I know, we're a little MIA. But we're busy gallivanting around MN (and Colorado) for 4 weeks, visiting friends and family, soaking in the cooler weather, fishing in the BWCA, stocking up on things that are difficult to come by in Thailand, and enjoying eating at as many of our favorite restaurants as possible. Needless to say, I'm going on a blogging hiatus; I'll be back in mid-July. :) Cheers.

Five

Today I am celebrating five wonderful years of marriage to my best friend, Mike. These past five years have been so precious and dear to me in more ways than I can possibly explain. God has richly blessed me with a husband that loves me deeply, but who loves the Lord even more. I am grateful for how Mike continually points me back to the beauty of the gospel and speaks truth to me each day. I am thankful for how Mike is aware of my needs, and patiently and tenderly deals with my (overly) sensitive and emotional heart. I stand in awe at how quick he is to apologize and extend forgiveness to me, how selfless and kind he is to me when I least deserve it, and for how he is truly the hands and feet of Jesus to me each day.

Happy 5th anniversary, Mikey. I love you.

SALT memories

I just returned from a 4 day trip to Khao Yai (Big Mountain) with 80 wildly spirited freshman. On Monday we went to Lop Buri Army Camp for an obstacle course and team building activities. We also briefly visited the Narai Palace. On Tuesday we hiked through Khao Yai National Park and visited Huaew Narok Waterfall. It was great to get away from the pavement of Bangkok and see so much green! :) Wednesday was our service project day, so we visited 2 Thai schools where a group of students (who were trained prior to the trip) performed a drug free drama to the kids. After the performance, the rest of the students led small groups with drug free curriculum and games. Our students were definitely stretched and challenged in new ways. As we made our way back to ICS on Thursday, we stopped by Chok Chai Farm (a dairy/meat farm) and consumed tasty hamburgers, steaks, ice cream, and malts for lunch.

It was a busy 4 days; I am glad to be back and even more happy that tomorrow is the last day of school. However, there were great memories made on the trip, as well as a lot of growth in some students.

Favorite quotes (pertaining to the service project day):
"Mrs. Karly, was it this awkward when you first started teaching?"
"Those kids were so bad and they didn't listen to me. I am never going to be a teacher."
"Girls actually like me!"
"I'm famous! People were asking for my autograph... I can't wait to go the next school!"

Funny memories:
When we hiked through Khao Yai National Park, we actually had to wear "leech socks" and do periodic leech checks. Some of these kids were absolutely terrified at the thought of leeches and the hour long hike (these kids do not spend time outdoors (it's too hot) and they do not exercise either). As we were putting on our leech socks and getting ready for the hike, one of my students came up to me with his leech socks on, a jacket with the hood securely fastened to his head, a hat on top, a blanket around his shoulders, and said, "Mrs. Karly, I'm sooooooo scaaaaaaared! I'm soooooo scared of the leeches. Don't let them get me!!"

Student: My leech sock won't stay up
Headmaster: We'll cut off the fastener off and then you can just tie it up. [cuts off fastener]
Student: Mrs. Karly, will you help me with my leech sock?
Me: Sure...[tying the sock up]... have I cut off your circulation yet? Just kidding!
Student: No, tie it tighter... then you'll cut off my circulation and there won't be any blood for the leech to get.

The first night I fell asleep before "lights out" but apparently the girls were up giggling and screaming. The next they were significantly more tired (after a long day of being outside and doing a little hiking) and we thought they'd go to sleep quickly, but I decided to be firm and lay down the law anyway since some of the girls had complained about how loud some people were the previous night...

Teacher: You girls must have been tired last night... you were so quiet!
Girls: No... we were actually just afraid of Mrs. Karly.

Other highlights of the trip:
-Sharing my testimony and later have a 2 hour long conversation with a student who felt comfortable enough to talk to me about obstacles in his life because I was real with him the first night.
- Watching some students do an incredible job working with the kids at the Thai schools
-Several of my students speaking to me in Spanish during the trip... and not because they had to.
-Seeing the kids stretched and out of their comfort zone.
-Observing brokenness on the last day as kids came to realizations about their own faith and life.

Freeeeeeedom!!!!

[SIGH]. In the words (or should I say word?) of William Wallace, “Freeeeeeedom!” I am done. Well, I’m not really done, but in my opinion, I’m done with the most exhausting/draining part of the year: I’m done teaching, I’m done giving finals, and I’m even done correcting all of my finals. I don’t even have to go into school for my regular 3 hour Saturday morning planning time! Did you hear that? Yep, me too… that was the pool beckoning me to come for a visit both tomorrow and Saturday morning since I don’t have anything planned/work to do! Pretty sure I will be obedient to the calling. :)

Anyway, even though I’m done with finals, the journey doesn't end there. On Monday morning I will depart for Kao Yai (3 hours north of Bangkok) with 90 some freshman for their 4-day SALT trip (serving and learning together). Despite being officially named a “chaperone,” I think it will be pretty laid back since most of the activities that we will be doing are led by either an organization or our students. The only thing that I have to prepare is my testimony on the topic of overcoming obstacles. I say that my testimony is the “only thing” I have to prepare, but it is definitely weighing on my heart. Please pray for me as I continue to seek what God wants me to share with them, and pray that God would continue to soften and prepare their hearts for all the things that they are going to experience and take in during their trip.

It’s hard to believe that our first year at ICS is nearing an end. As I reflect upon the year, I have to admit that it’s been quite the challenging year. As much as I have loved my students and returning to the high school arena, I am thankful that it is nearly over. This year, more than any other, has sapped all of my energy. I don’t know if it was the hot weather or all the crazy things that have gone on here: H1N1, flooding, political unrest, a car bomb exploding just a block away from where we live. Or maybe it was the cultural adjustment to both Thailand and ICS, the transition into being an AP teacher, getting older and feeling like I have less energy, losing my passion for teaching. I don’t know, but I am hoping that next year won’t feel quite as tumultuous as this year did, or else I don’t think I will last too much longer as a teacher! From the sounds of it though, I’m definitely not the only one that feels this way; veteran ICS teachers have expressed the same turbulent feelings, which in a way, is kind of comforting.

Despite how crazy of a year it has been, despite how many times during the year I briefly contemplated never teaching again, despite briefly wondering if we were where we are supposed to be, despite how much I hate having to have my “A-game” on at 7:22 in the morning, at 11:10 today when the last final of the week was over and I heard high school kids running up and down the hallways yelling, “Freedom,” I couldn’t help but wonder how many of those kids really even know what real freedom is? And I’m not just talking about freedom from school or slavery. I’m talking about freedom from enslavement to sin, freedom from condemnation, death, hell and Satan. It was in that moment that God graciously reminded me of His purpose in calling us here (despite how crazy it has been), why I’m a teacher, why I’m in Thailand, why I’m going on this SALT trip, why I was asked to share my testimony, and what my purpose here on earth is.

So yeah. Things have been crazy and the devil certainly is excellent at planting seeds of doubt and worry in my head. But God is good and as He so graciously reminded me today, He has us here not because of anything we’ve done, not because He needs us to be His hands and feet, but simply because He desires to use us as His vessels for our good and for His glory. All I have to do is be willing and obedient. So here I am Lord… because I want others to experience the freedom and joy that I have in you.

Are you free? If not, I would love to talk to you about Jesus.