Thai Christmas

Being away from home during the holidays has been very hard. However, we've had the opportunity to learn more about how the Thai church celebrates Christmas, and how the rest of Thailand views the holiday. Here's what the last few weeks have looked like:

On December the 19th a few members from our church went caroling around town. It was a whole night event. We left the church around 7pm and it lasted until about 3am. I confess I only made it to 11. It had been a long day, and I couldn't stay awake anymore.We visited different churches in the area, pastors, and church members. We sang songs in Thai and English. I have to admit the Thais were better at singing the songs in English than we were in Thai! :-)

A few friends from church

We sang to Lily, who didn't hear us because she was watching a movie. haha

On Christmas Eve Day (got that?) students from Chantra Elementary and different church members and pastors from the area went caroling to other schools and business. We sang at different government buildings, the police station, and even in the market during the evening. It was a lot of fun! At the smaller schools we handed out a Thai comic book that told the story of Jesus!

Merry Christmas Nakhon Thai High School

Mandy and Me with some students and their comic books :-)

 

 

 

Christmas Day was spent mostly at the church. The four of us (Zeke, Mandy, Terri, and myself) sang "Joy to the World." Pastor Han, the pastor we were originally going to work with, was the guest pastor. After he preached we all ate lunch together and then we witnessed the profession of faith by the act of baptism of our dear sisters and brothers.

So precious!

Later on in the evening there was a free event at the school. Different churches provided food and there was a raffle throughout the event. Students danced to Christmas songs and Pastor Han was able to present the gospel. Over 500 people attended the event, and several people decided to follow Jesus!

Ming, Me, Lily, and Ice

My cute little students

so pretty!

On the 26th Chantra had their Christmas and New Years show for the students. Zeke, Mandy, Terri, Ming, and I were in charge of putting on the Nativity story in a play for the students. We had less than two weeks to put the show together. It was a little stressful, and it was far from perfect, but despite only having one dress rehearsal, I am really proud of the students!  After the Nativity "musical" the Kindergarteners did their shows followed by the Primary students. The Primary show was a take on America's Got Talent. Two teachers we supposed to be judges and comment after each performance. We were not exempt. We sang and acted out "The 12 Days of Christmas". Let's just say we left the judges speechless. 

These two students were lambs for the play and we gave them a stamp set as a thank you gift.

The judges for Chantra's got talent.

We also learned that most Thai people don't really know what Christmas is truly about. Thais traditionally give gifts to each other for New Years. So they have assumed that Christmas is when Westerners celebrate New Years. However there are 700 children in Nakhon Thai that now know that Christmas is about Christ, and that is something to be merry about!

Confession: I don't like Takhab

Good news- I learned a new word today. Bad news -that word is takhab. It means centipede. Worst news- I learned it because I encountered one. It looks like this:

Note: I took this picture from the internet because I was to chicken to take one myself.

 I discovered this creature in the bathroom. I saw it and called to Lily. She came and peeked her head around the corner, and screamed. Then told me to get out quick because if they bite  you they are poisonous and you will die quickly. So I got out! She was surprised that I was so calm when I called her. I had no idea what I was dealing with. We then made a barricade, to keep the centipede in that part of the house. The idea was to try and get it out of the bathroom, through the kitchen, and then back outside. Once Lily and I started to put our plan into action, we chickened out and called our neighbors. They came to our rescue and Cru Li hit it with a broom until it was unconscious and swept it into a dustpan and took it outside. We thanked them profusely and they went back to their home. We asked ourselves, why was the centipede in the bathroom? We went back to clean it up and our question was answered. It had been eating a frog.

Ohhh Thailand.  

Confessions from a broken heart

I was beginning to worry. I hadn't seen her at school in a few days. "I hope she's okay." I verbalized to Lily. She's probably fine, she's a young kid, they get sick, she'll be back soon. I thought to myself. But that didn't keep me from wondering if something else was going on. Did her parents forget to pay her tuition? Did they kick her out? My thoughts traced back to the first words Ming had ever told me about her. "Her mom doesn't care about her." My stomach turned and twisted. I could only hope and pray that I would see her today, and put my worries to rest.

All teacher's have their favorites. I should know, I was usually one of them. And now that I am a teacher it's so hard not too. Some kids just steal your heart, and there is nothing that you can do to stop them. Now don't get me wrong, I love all my students, and each one as a special place in my heart, but there's just something about Samantha*. She isn't the cutest girl at our school, nor the smartest, or most well behaved. But I can't help but love her. There was nothing about Samantha that would in and of itself draw me to her. Kinda like there is nothing about Karina that draws the Father to love her. He just does. I just do. After we had been at school for a few weeks Ming asked us if we had "adopted" any of the children as our own. Samantha was my "daughter" and she was soon referred to as such amongst Terri, Lily, Ming and myself.

One of my first memories of her was holding her during on of my first morning assemblies. Lily told me, that she didn't like it when people held her, but there she was, in my arms, giving me the most beautiful smile and my heart melted.

So, here I am on Tuesday morning, being somewhat attentive to the morning meeting and I see her bus pull up. I see other students from her neighborhood trickle out and walk pass the meeting room. And I catch a glimpse of her, my heart has momentary peace. As soon as the meeting is over I rush to where I think she might be. But I can not find her. I reluctantly head to my Tuesday morning post, the Kindergarten gate, where I greet students as they enter the schoolhouse and tickle and talk to a few. It's 8:00, time to go to the morning assembly where we sing the national anthem, and pray a prayer of blessing for the day, and do a few exercises. I approach the line where Samantha's class is. She sees me and runs into my arms, begging to be picked up. But she looks differently. There is a huge scar right under her eye. It looks like an iron was pressed against her face. Her eye is puffy, and she still has little morning crusties on her eyelash. My heart shatters into a million pieces. I ask her, with my limited Thai, "what happened"? She doesn't answer. She is content just being held. and I don't want to let her go; but. alas, there is another tug at my skirt and now another little girl wants to be picked up. I put Samantha back into her line, pick up the girl for two seconds, and then pick Samantha up again. I just want her to know that she is loved. I want to know what happened. Did she have an accident, did someone intentionally scar her? She won't reply. I kiss her face and send her off to class.

At lunch, I asked Lily if she had noticed Samantha's scar this morning. She had, (how could she not), and she said that Samantha wouldn't tell her what happened either. Maybe her mother, or whoever did that to her, told her not to tell anyone what happened, I think to myself. Maybe, Karina, you've seen to many stories, and have read to many books about abuse. If you've learned anything the past few weeks you should know not to jump to conclusions. With that thought I go to the office and pray. I pray that God would use me in whatever way to show Samantha how much she is loved. Through tears I tell Him, that no matter how hard it may be, I will do whatever He is asking me to do. I don't know what that looks like. I don't know if it looks like anything.  All I know is that this afternoon, when I saw her, I picked her up and told her in Thai that I loved her. And her response was, "Mai chai" (essentially, not true). I told her again and again that I did. But she didn't believe me. It wasn't the first time that I had spoken those words to her. The first time I told her, she replied, "I love you" and actually did the sign language for it. I can't help but wonder if because of whatever happened, she feels like she is unlovable. I pray and cry myself to sleep.
 
*Due to the sensitivity of the matter the name has been changed obviously, Samantha is not a Thai name. :)

My 28th Birthday

A picture blog from my birthday weekend:

July 10th 2014:

I share a birthday with Teacher Mint and Teacher Oi! 

The students were told it was my birthday and they wished me a happy one!

 

I saw this rainbow on my birthday, a good reminder that God is faithful to his promises!

Celebrated at my favorite restaurant in Nakhon Thai with lovely friends!

 July 11th:

After 11 hours of traveling we reached BKK and had dinner at Outback and had this amazing view throughout the night.

Outback Birthday Burger. It was still my birthday, somewhere in the world. :-)

 

July 12th:

DREAMWORLD!!!

 Dreamworld is Bangkok's only amusement park. It kinda reminded me of Alabama Adventure. We rode two roller coasters. One was named Space Mountain, and it was pretty much a cheap version of the one at Disney. The Disney one has more stars and the ride is air conditioned as opposed to having fans blow hot air around. There were two water rides that were really fun! There was also a section where you could walk around and see miniatures of the 7 wonders of the world. Another part of the park was "fairy tale land" and you could see sleeping beauty's castle, the witches house from Hansel and Gretel, as well as the house of the 7 dwarfs, etc.

e 

 

 

Before and after the Super Splash ride.

For dinner we discovered this cute little french restaurant in the mall, Audrey's Cafe. Enjoyed a Caesar salad and a yummy strawberry dessert. :-)

 

July 13th:

Breakfast at Big Apple Donuts. Hot chocolate and strawberry red velvet pancakes.

After breakfast we went shopping at the huge weekend market in Bangkok. It's not my favorite, it's hot, and crowded. After the weekend market, I got to unleash my inner Sherlock Holmes at Escape Hunt!!

After we had solved the mystery and escape the room!

Had Mexican from a food truck in the mall!! Lily's first time to eat Mexican food. Her exact words, "It's weird, but it's good."

After dinner, Terri and I saw Transformers 4 in one of Bangkok's many movie theaters. It wouldn't be my birthday if a trip to a movie theater wasn't included. :-)

July 14th:

Woke up at 3:00 in the morning and watched the rest of the World Cup final. After the game I went back to sleep for a few hours and we headed back to Nakhon Thai.

Oh! One more thing worth noting, that during our travels on the buses Terri and I watched the Lord of the Rings trilogy. She had never seen them! Good weekend indeed!

living Luke 14:26

“If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple." Luke 14:26

Upon first reading this verse my thoughts are, "Wow, Jesus, that's some pretty harsh language you're using." I've heard many times from pastors and leaders that what Jesus means in this verse is that we are to love God more than our friends, families, etc; that it looks like hate to the world. So growing up I thought that applying this verse was just loving God the most. Okay. Done. Check. I love you, God. But now, as I'm going through deep struggles in Thailand I get it. Loving God, being obedient to God, sometimes really does look like hate in the eyes of the world. Sometimes when I'm overseas I forget that life still goes in the America. Dear friends who I have known for over a decade get married, and because I'm in Thailand, I won't be able to attend this joyous day in their lives, which could be perceived as a lack of love for them. Good friends are bringing life into the world, and my heart wants to be there for them, and rejoice with them, and throw showers for them. But I can't, it may look like I "hate" them because I'm not there. I love my family so much. So when I hear of how they are battling with sickness and disease, oh how I want to be there with them. And to think that it can look like hate that I'm not there, in their darkest hours is so painful. It's during times like these when I want to get mad at the Lord. Why is this going on? Why am I missing out? Why can I not be there? And it's when I am still in his presence when I am reminded of our Lord and Savior. He left His perfect home in Paradise, took on flesh, and lived among sinful men. Men who would spit on Him, curse Him, beat Him, and murder Him in the most horrific way possible. He allowed them to do those things, so that by His death we may have life. That is true sacrifice. That is why I am His disciple. No matter the cost. And the cost is much. But it comes nowhere near the cost He paid. So I dry my eyes over my loss, and I turn to the Sovereign King and trust Him to care for my family.
I trust Him to be their joy. I trust Him. 

I want to close with a song that has been very encouraging, and that just so happened to be playing as I wrote this. 

Surprise! You're gonna be a mom!

Valentine’s Day 2014 will be a day I will not soon forget. It was the day when I realized that I was going to be a mom (for a weekend). The news was first received with confusion. I was in Big C (think mini-mall with a Target attached), when I received a phone call from Lily, our Chinese roommate who can speak Thai and English really well. She asked me if I had invited any of the children to spend the weekend with her. I told her that I hadn’t, and I asked Terri, and she said that she hadn’t as well. Lily who was in route to Bangkok at the time, told me that Bo, a girl who works in the office at the school , had called her and said that there was a student waiting for us, and that she was going to spend the night. Lily said that she told Bo that we were in Phitsanulok and that we would be home later on in the afternoon. That was the first of many phone calls I had that day wondering when we would get back so that this girl would spend the weekend with us.

I wanted to know who this student was. The last few weekends we had spent at the school teaching students a song and dance for a program on the 21^st of February. Were the students confused and thought that we were practicing this weekend as well? Then it hit me, the previous Sunday, Pastor Wachin had asked us  if it would be okay if our student could stay the weekend with us, so that she could learn English. Her grandmother thought it would be a great idea as well. However BaToei didn’t seem so sure of the idea when Pastor Wachin was talking about it, and at the time we didn’t agree to anything and thought it would be something that would happen in the future.

By the time we got back home to Nakhonthai, we were even further confused because there was no one at our house, and the last I had talked to Lily was that they were waiting there. Was this some practical joke? I informed Lily that they was no one at the house. A few minutes later she called saying that they would return in a few minutes. Around 5:30 we see BaToei arrive on a motorbike with her grandmother. I apologized to the grandmother for the confusion and tried to explain what had happened. What later transpired was broken English/Thai conversations and moments of awkwardness. Soon after the grandmother left some of the other children from the neighborhood came over.  We played badminton until I could no longer stand getting eaten by mosquitos. The other children went home and we enjoyed a dinner of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and then I taught her how to play Uno. Terri joined us for a few rounds of Uno had we had a lot of fun! When it was time to go to bed Terri and I prayed with her, and went to bed wondering what the next day would hold.

Saturday, oh how do you spend a whole day entertaining a child and yet, still wanting to accomplish everything on your never ending to-do list.  When we first woke up she wasn’t hungry, so I let her play a game on my iPod, while I read and caught up on emails. Then I made her and Terri breakfast (scrambled eggs with tomato). After she helped us clean up, I did the dishes, Terri wiped the stove-top area and she wiped down the table. Terri found a coloring book so that helped her occupy her time as we did some of our household chores. For lunch I made Teriyaki chicken, one of my specialties, this ended up being a failure. I have made this dish so many times, but this time around I had too much salt in the rice. Also one of the major ingredients in this dish is pineapple, and guess who doesn’t like pineapple- BaToei. Also, I thought I had bought chicken strips but instead I had bought chicken legs. So Terri’s chicken wasn’t cooked all the way. I felt horrible.  We cleaned up some more and Terri headed out to go to a coffee shop so that she could upload a video and send it to her church, as well as to get a back massage. So that just left me and BaToei. We played Badminton for a little while but it was so hot we went back inside. I tried to teach her the card game “War” but after a while she decided to switch to Uno. This now leads to a proud mom moment- I taught her how to shuffle! By the end of her stay she was shuffling the whole Uno deck and we know that’s a lot of cards! We also did some formal Thai/English practicing. A few years ago my brother gave me a Thai book for Christmas. So we used that book to learn. We learned phrases such as “Nice to meet you” and words such as “watch, book, and newspaper”. Later I let her borrow my computer to watch some cartoons on Youtube. Something I learned about motherhood this weekend is that a good mother is very selfless. I needed to use my computer to work on lesson plans, but instead I let her use it. Looking back I can see how selfless my own mother has been, putting our needs before her own, and it is something that I truly appreciate and hope that I will be willing to apply when I’m a mom for real.

Early Saturday evening, the same children came over from yesterday, and they saw that our Christmas tree was still up. So we had an impromptu English lesson teaching them what each ornament was. For example, that’s an angel, that’s a star. Soon, Terri came home with dinner- food from our favorite restaurant. We had fried fish and chicken and cashew nut dish. We enjoyed a lovely meal together with the children and once they had their fill the other children went home. We cleaned up and Terri, BaToei and I watched Despicable Me 2. Terri bought it in Thailand so we were able to watch it in Thai and have English subtitles. It’s so fun watching movies with children. I loved hearing her laugh and enjoy herself. Terri was tired so she went to bed halfway through the movie. After Terri had been gone for a few minutes BaToei said in English “Terri, sleep?” This was the first time she had spoken English without being prompted. I was so proud!! After the movie I prayed with her in broken Thai before going to bed. And she said with a big smile on her face that she understood my prayer! Yay!

The next morning I made rice and eggs and then we went to church where she was reunited with her grandmother. I think we both had a good time and learned a little of each other’s languages. She’s a really sweet girl and was always eager to help; she even did her homework without us even asking her to. I wonder if this will happen again and am excited to see how the Lord will use it.

2013

As I reflect on the past year I am just in awe of how The Lord worked things out. 2013 started out with a lot of unknowns. I had just returned from Guatemala. I had no idea where I would work. I had no idea  how I would go back to Thailand and was not really sure if I wanted to return. I knew the Lord was calling me to Thailand, but I had also fallen in love with Guatemala and the ministries there. I was so confused. Why did The Lord allow me to be in love with two different countries? A few months later I was able to return to Guatemala and I got the closure I needed. The Lord revealed to me that my time there in 2012 was just for a season. He also taught me that He doesn't need me but that He chooses to use me when and where He sees fit. It's such an honor to be used by Him and sometimes we take it for granted and sometimes we waste the opportunities He gives us. But His grace still abounds.

2013 was also the year of transitioning. A lot if my friends got married, and a few moved away. Life in Birmingham was looking different. Which in a way helped me to leave Birmingham when the time came. Leaving friends and family is never easy, no matter how often you do it, but it gets easier when you have less people to say goodbye too.

The latter part of the year was full of learning. Learning how to live truly live in rural Thailand. Having to get used to having extra housemates like ants and geckos. Learning how to teach English to Kindergarteners. Learning a different culture and a new language and alphabet. Sometimes I feel like a Kindergartener as I try to read Thai- and I get so excited when I can read something. Learning patience and learning to have grace with other people when they don't behave in the way I think they should.

2013 was a good year, my prayer is that 2014 would be an even better one. May God be glorified and may I look more like Jesus by this time next year than I do today!

Happy new year!!