Thailand- it's where i live

I live here when i don't live out of my suitcase. The food is good and the people are very kind. Here are a few pictures for you.

January Pics

Here are some random pics from life over here. Enjoy!

Lovely dinner options.

Interesting find at the grocery store. Needless to say, I didn't buy them.

At the Panda exhibit, they sell Pando Poo! I didn't buy that either.

The beautiful orchids of Thailand!

Life is good. I missed winter, though. It's been a little cool, but NOTHING like Kyrgyzstan last year.
God's creativity shows in the climates and seasons, foods and flowers the world over.

Chloe has arrived

Baby Chloe entered this world on December 17th. Unfortunately I was half a world away for this birth. I'm so glad that eveyone else was nearby. Mary and Chloe had a rough first week with health issues but they are doing much better now. Matt did a great job taking care of his girls. We are so happy to have all the 2006 babies with us!

Decorations in Chiang Mai

Take a look at the Christmas decorations in the mall in the Chiang Mai. Notice Santa hanging out on the left. This year this costume is the normal red suit. Last year it was blue. With each year they are getting more into the grove of "Happy Holidays".

Sadly that they have no idea of the meaning of Christmas.

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang

Here is the truck I drove for my first two months in Chiang Mai. In high school I cared so much about what vehicle I drove. Now look! Can't get much worse than this! :) It's uglier up close.

So glad that now I have upgraded to a little four door sedan; it came with my new house. So much easier to drive than an old standard!

Malaysian Vacation

Super cool that my teammate's parents allowed us to use their timeshare. We spent a week on the east coast of Malaysia. Never in my life have I done so much of nothing!

There were some interesting happenings:

First we were a little weary to find out that it was typhoon season - which it turned out to only rain three times while we where there. The water wasn't as calm as normal but that was fine because we spent most of our time at the pool.

Secondly, our first few days there the resort was full of Muslims - women in full cover sitting in but mostly around the pool. This made us not want to put on our bathing suits! Lucky for us that we were the only ones who wanted to be out at the pool from 12 to 3 pm - prime sun hours. (On this side of the world many people use whitening creams to get lighter skin and there we were soaking in the rays)

Thirdly, by Wednesday the conservative guests had been replaced by Chinese Malaysian men in Speedos!

We had a great time of relaxation! A little reading, a lot of praying, listening to music, swimming, walking the beach and catching some rays. Praise the Lord for down time!

Thai Holiday

Thailand is a Buddhist country, yet here in the north there is an amazing amount of Hinduism mixed in. Sometimes you will see Buddha's right along side with the elephant god from India. Their paradigm for thinking about the world is so different from a Christians. Ancestors are very important to them. All good Buddhists have an alter by their house where they "feed" the ancestors. I guess it's kind of like "appeasing the spirits".

Here is a picture of a shrine lite up the night of their holiday.

(mentioned below)

They celebrated a holiday, Loy Katong, a couple weeks ago where they are supposed appease the water spirits or something like that. They light with fire and then send big cylinder kite like things up in the air. It looks amazing as hundreds light up the sky like stars.

I’m in Chiang Mai, Thailand

I am very glad to be here with my team. It feels pretty natural. Today as I walked in the bizarre I thought to myself, “I really live here, this is my new home. How odd yet normal feeling.” I’ve been driving all around the city in my borrowed standard pickup truck. I like the challenge of weaving in and out of lanes with motorbikes all around and at the same time making sure not to stall out in traffic that is inching along. It’s great.

Last week I went to a reservoir with my team for a little get away. We stayed on a houseboat for one night and played in the water all day as well as getting in several games of Settler’s of Catan. Very nice. All for the price of $13.00. Not bad for two days of fun in the sun.
 

Baby Grace

What a tremendous blessing that I was in Orlando for the birth of little Gracie, my sister Kaye's baby. I really didn't expect for the timing to work out. HE is good to us. I even got to assit in the delivery. Gracie is a precious little one.

Baby Jude

Baby Jude came out to play!

It's amazing how life can change in an instant. Sally, my sister, once was carefree and independant and now her life will never be what it was. It's interesting how change is inevitable. To create is to change the world. God did it in each day of creation and He is still doing it in our lives today. Whether creating a baby or creating a new decor for the living room, whether creating a job for a person in need or creating an opportunity for fun, we are living life in the same light as our Creator. With creation comes change; they go hand in hand. At times embracing change is easy; while other times change brings us to the pit of dispair. One thing constant in life is change. It's intersting how it all fits together.