Back Home

Hey everyone! Just wanted to let you all know that I arrived home safely. After 12 hours in the Bangkok airport followed by 23 hours of travel time I met up with my family in Boston at about 7pm on Wednesday! So now I'm getting over jetlag and unpacking and doing all those fun things...I will put up a few pictures soon once I unpack my camera :)

The Home Stretch...

So it's reaching that time: the time where I will board a plan and say goodbye to my Thai family in anticipation of seeing those I miss back home. As long as all goes according to plan, this Tuesday I will head to the airport in Bangkok so I will be ready for my 6am flight on Wednesday. Then at about 7pm New England time I should arrive at Logan airport! insanity....It still has not set in that I'm actually leaving. But I'm getting ahead of myself: thank you so much to everyone who prayed for the youth camp last week! It was a lot of fun. We had around 40 kids I think, plus a bunch of adults from the different churches. We had some great worship times and lots of games and some skits (I got to be in one as a mute person trying to join the army: it doesn't matter that you don't speak the language if your character is mute!). I really enjoyed getting to hang out with the camp staff---there were the two university students who are living with us as well as 6 people who came out from YWAM in Bangkok. (if you don't know what YWAM is you should check them out: http://www.ywam.org/) It was great to be able to spend a lot of time with people my own age: I realized I haven't done a whole lot of that these past several months. A lot of times it reminded me of camp back home, which was fun. The same spirit of excitement surrounded by a healthy dose of laughter and nature and kids :) Though we did do a few things that we've never done at camp back home--like go on a "safari" ride at night looking for elephants! Lots of fun. So, overall quite a success. And then after camp I got to play the tourist for a couple days in Bangkok! I went back to stay at the YWAM base and do a little bit of shopping while I was there. So that was fun! Got to take some pictures and browse through lots of roadside shops and do a little bit of bargaining for prices. I'm glad I got to fit that in before leaving! As far as the next couple days, I don't have a lot of plans: we're doing a party this afternoon as a combination end-of-English-class/goodbye party. That should be fun! and then I'll just be trying to spend as much time with the kids as possible and saying my goodbyes... So if you happen to remember, please pray for safe travelling! I will try to remember to post some pictures when I get home--the internet is more readily available there! :) See you all soon!

Hello

Hey everyone! Just wanted to send out a quick update. Life here is going well--busy as always, but quite good. Been spending a bunch of time with the kids, which is nice! It is strange to think that I'll be leaving them in just under two weeks. Exciting cause I'll be going home, but sad because I'll be leaving everyone here. Transitions are always complicated. Anyway, that wasn't the reason I'm sending out this update. Just wanted to ask for some prayer for this weekend: we are holding a youth camp for about 50 kids in the area. Lots of games and singing and fun is planned, so it should be a good time! Just pray that all goes well and that God provides everything we need! Thanks so much! See you all soon. :)

Thai New Year

The morning dawned with an air of anticipation that you could almost taste. The children ran around after breakfast getting ready: taking showers, doing dishes, putting on bright Hawaiian shirts, packing backpacks of extra sets of clothes and towels. To an outsider it might look like preparations for a day at the beach. But the real answer was on everyone's mind: it was the first day of Songkran!
By about 10:30, everything was ready. Lunch had been made, bags had been stowed in the truck, buckets and cups had been gathered. The truck was soon filled with Thais and their American cohorts. Most of the excitement was contained in the back of the pickup: this was where most of the festivities would take place on the way to town. The first 15 minutes or so of driving were relatively normal despite the excessive excitement: the group was passing through the forest and so there were few others around. Once on the other side of the forest, however, there was the first episode of water-throwing. Up ahead on the side of the road someone sighted a child next to a large water barrel. Evidence of earlier wettings was clearly shown in the darkened pavement across half the road. The truck slowed as the child flung his bucketful of water with all his might, soaking those sitting on the edge of the truck. And so it began.
No one in the back of the truck was spared: by the time they arrived in town all were drenched with water. Some had spots of white and pink adorning their clothes as a result of sprays of colored water. The wet did nothing to dampen the enthusiasm that permeated the group. They piled out of the truck and began to set up. The big barrels were set on the sidewalk, the hose was dragged out and put to work filling the largest barrel, and everything that needed to stay dry was put either in the cab of the truck or inside the building. Everyone ate lunch while waiting for the barrels to fill, and then the real party began.
Armed with plastic cups and bowls, the group headed for the sidewalk where the barrels of water were waiting. As trucks or motorcycles passed full of soaking passengers, the water bearers closest to the road threw water high in the air attempting to drench the passer-byes. Most of the action, however, took place when there were no cars passing by. This was the chance to dump bucketfulls of water on whoever was standing closest to you. An afternoon-long waterfight took place on the sidewalk, including the passing cars in the fun.Eventually, the water began to run low as the children threw it on each other faster than the hose could refill the buckets and barrels. This lack of water gave them time to refill their stomachs on a second lunch or on ice cream from the store next door. Soon there was enough water to continue play for a while, but when the water ran low a second time there was a bigger issue than a slow hose. The town's water tower had begun to run low. Since everyone was pumping water as fast as it would come, the town's water supply could not keep up. Slowly the group accepted the fact that the day of throwing water was coming to an end. After the last bucketfuls of water were dumped on people or cars it was time to head for home. The truck was loaded once again and the homeward journey began. This time, when water was thrown at the riders in the back of the truck they had some to throw back. So the day out was concluded with a friendly exchange of water with the residents on the side of the road as the truck rolled by.
Upon arriving home, the crew climbed tiredly out of the truck and sought out showers and dry clothing. Although the excitement wasn't as palpable as in the morning, you could still feel it. An outsider might not know why so much excitement was still in the air. But the answer was on everyone's mind: the next day was the second day of Songkran!
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ps...day 2 of Songkran was also a success! we spent the time driving around, not stopped in one place like the day before. This was a lot of fun as we got to throw water at a bunch more people. We also saw a bit of the ugly side of the festival: lots of drinking and a bit of dirty dancing and stuff in a couple of the towns we drove through. For the most part though, it was just good clean fun! I think the US should start a holiday that's just a weekend long water fight. :-D

Hello everyone! It has been a while, so I figured I might as well write an update for you all...A lot has happened since I last wrote, so I'll do my best to summarize everything. :) But before I do that...Happy Easter! I hope you all had a wonderful one! (Ours here was good--had a couple egg hunts, some Easter cake, a good church service, fun English class, and saw a few elephants to top it off! :)
So where to start...I guess I've been doing mostly three things: traveling, working, and playing. So I guess I'll start with the traveling cause I happened to put that first in the sentence. ;)
Since I last wrote, I have done a lot of traveling! (sorta normal at this point.) Been to Pattaya a couple times and Bangkok once. But we also went on a pretty long road trip! Rodney and Phimpha know a lady who lives in Pattaya. She was sold into the sex trade when she was 8 years old, escaped, married, and then since her husband died has lived at a church in the city. Because she was sold at the age of 8, she has no ID card or identification papers of any sort. In Thailand, this is a very bad situation to be in. If you don't have papers you're considered to not be a citizen--you can't prove that you are! So you can't get a job, get a license, or anything like that. If you are stopped by the police and don't have papers they can send you back to your hometown or home country if you're an illegal alien...So even though she was born in Thailand, she was scared of traveling b/c she might be stopped by the police, and she's never been able to have a real job, etc. You're probably starting to wonder what this lady has to do with traveling and road trips, so I'll let you know. Phimpha and Rodney decided that they would help her to find her family so that she could get ID papers. She remembered what town she was from, so we drove to Pattaya (about 4 hours from where we live) and then drove with her up to Chang Rai province in northern Thailand (about 12-15 hours from Pattaya). Once there, we did a lot of driving up and down mountains talking with random villagers to try to figure out who this lady was and where her family was. Long story short, we found many people who knew who she was and found out that her mother moved about 10 years ago. So we got enough info to get her temporary papers that will be good enough to work until she can get permanent ones. Overall, a pretty successful trip! (and a trip with lots of beautiful mountain views! I'll try to get some pictures up at some point...)
Item number two: working! We have spent a lot of time, particularly in the last week, working over at the shelter house. It was sort of pushed to the side for a week or two because we weren't in the area, but we have been going ahead full steam to get it ready! So I've been doing some painting and sawing and helping fix irrigation pipes, and lots of other random things. It's been lots of fun! I always have enjoyed that sort of thing; it's definitely rewarding stuff! We've also been doing English classes still, which is fun! We got to do an Easter egg hunt in class this past week, which the kids enjoyed a whole lot. It's strange to think that we only have two more weekends of classes...
Finally--I've been doing some playing! As always, the kids love to play! They are all on summer vacation, so whenever I'm around there are kids who are ready to hang out. The young ones are content to run at you for a hug or be carried around upside-down or throw cups of water on you when taking a bath or random things like that. Then I've been playing lots of card games with the older ones, and some checkers, and some soccer...It's so much fun to get to know all these kids and see their different personalities and how they grow and change. The young ones especially have grown so much in just the few months that I've been here! It's neat :) oh and another note on playing: the end of this week is the Thai new year or "Songkron" festival. So lots of playing with water is in my near future! Exciting!!
Well, I'm sure you're all tired of reading by now! Sorry it got so long---if I were better about updating this I'd have less to write in each update I guess! Thanks for your prayers--they are definitely appreciated! Please continue to pray for safety for us all, and please pray for a youth camp that we'll be running from April 28th-May1st!
Thanks so much! (ps...I'll be home in a month! Isn't that crazy? Can't wait to see you all then!)

some pictures...

Hello everyone :)

Latest count of people living in he Timothy House: 29....lots of people, each with a story to tell! Unfortunately, they usually tell it in Thai and I don't have the time to tell you all of them. Sorry!
But when I get home you can always pick my brain if you're interested. :)
By the way, I tried again to upload pictures but it didn't work. I will have to get to an internet shop to try again...sorry! If you have facebook check out the pictures there or find someone who has facebook and steal their password.
That's all for now!
Have a happy day.

Hi everyone,
A few people have been asking me when I'm coming home so I figured I'd put it up on my blog. The plan is to come home on May 9th. Leaving Thailand about 6am and getting into Boston around 7pm. SO unless something changes, that's when I'll be home! :)
That's all for now folks.

Life in Thailand

Hello all,
thought I'd write another update cause I have time...and that doesn't happen too often!
Life here has been pretty busy with lots of people needing help, English classes, travelling, etc...
I think the biggest change recently has been the amount of people staying at our house. Rodney and I just did a count, and it's up to 24-26 people depending on the day. We are back to 13 kids plus two families of a mother and two children...and then our two Thai workers, Phimpha, Rodney, myself, and a lady that sometimes stays with us and a Pastor that comes and goes...so it's a very full house! Makes life very interesting--seems like there's always a baby crying or kids wanting to play soccer or basketball or dishes that need washing or laundry that needs to be done...oh, and English lessons that need to be written. I've been procrastinating on that one lately! (It's so much more fun to play basketball!!) It's funny how you can fly to the opposite side of the world and find yourself doing a lot of the same things you would have been doing back home...just in a very different environment! (and with different people...)
The story for today is about one of the families that I mentioned: the lady and two kids who came to us from a nearby province a couple weeks ago. This lady is running from her abusive husband. She had been living with him in a small apartment in the city, working and taking care of the kids while he spend most of her money getting drunk all the time. Her daughter became so scared of her father that she peed herself when he called her name. (She is almost 5 years old...) The son (who is 2 or 3) is slightly behind developmentally because this lady was hit by her husband while she was pregnant. Not a good guy at all. But still the lady stuck with him, hoping he would change for the better.
Finally, it became too much. Her sister-in-law heard about Phimpha and moved in with us, and soon she took her kids and followed suit. She called Phimpha and we drove over, helped her pack all of her things into the car, and adopted her family into ours. Her husband now has no income and no one to pay rent on the apartment that he lives in. He has found another girl, but who knows how long before she realizes what a bad man he is and kicks him out as well.
The first week or so in the Timothy House was a little hard for this family: the kids did not know how to play and have fun. There was a lot of crying and not much smiling. But praise God: there are more smiles than tears now! The kids are learning to be children again...they play with the other kids and laugh and run around and give hugs. Of course they still cry sometimes--they're young still--but they are learning that they are safe. It is so cool to see the change that real love can have in the lives of kids. I don't know what the rest of the story will be for this family, but I know that God has it all figured out!
So the moral of the story is...love a kid. ;)
well, I've got to go teach some kids how to speak English. In the meantime, please pray for a girl who is with us--she is 13 and due to have a baby in May. She's doing pretty well, but still could use some prayer.
Thanks everyone!

Things I Took for Granted Back Home

In case you were thinking of coming to Thailand, these are some things you might not find as easily as you would back in the states:

-Hot Showers
-Toilet Paper
-Doors
-People Who Can Speak English
-Milk, Cheese, Pasta...lots of food
-Internet Access
-Cold Winters
-Frisbee Games
-Indoor Kitchens (without chickens running around in them)
-Automatic Washing Machines
-Dryers
-Crackers (snack food in general)

A Story

Thought I'd just share a random story with you all since that's what life is made up of over here: random stories.
About 12 years ago, Phimpha was busy following God by taking care of children and other random ministries. Well, some people in the area where she was living decided that they didn't like her and what she was doing. So they started badmouthing her to everyone they met. At this time, God told her that the people who were spreading lies about her would one day come and bow at her feet and beg for mercy.
About two weeks ago, Phimpha went with Pastor Randy (the guy from California) to a large church meeting in order to translate for him as he spoke. After the meeting, some people stayed in the church so that Pastor Randy could pray for them. With them was a woman who just sat there for a while and then eventually came and started clinging to Phimpha's feet and weeping. She cried and cried and said sorry over and over again. Phimpha, not knowing who she was, tried to comfort her and Pastor Randy prayed for her and did his best to help as well. Eventually this lady's story came out. Twelve years ago, she was one of the people who spread all the lies about Phimpha. After this, her (not Phimpha's, the lady's) whole life turned to shambles. The group of people she was working with turned on each other in the middle of a business deal, and this lady lost everything: her money and even her house. She has nothing and her family is going through a lot of issues. But she could see that God was working in Phimpha and that is why she got on her knees and begged for Phimpha to forgive her. Crazy how what God says comes true, right? Even if it takes 12 years.
But that's not the end of the story: right now, that lady (Her name is Sree) is living with us here at Timothy House. She needed some time to talk to Phimpha and hopefully work through some of her problems. Some of her family members are with us now too: on Thursday we got a call from her cousin asking us to come right away because she was afraid that her husband would come home drunk and beat her or her children. So we drove to her house, arrived as she was finishing packing her few belongings, and drove her here. We now have two more kids hanging around and a couple extra ladies helping out. I don't know how long any of them will stay--Rodney always says that everyone stays longer than they planned originally. So keep this family in your prayers! They could use it--as could we all :)
Oh---another thing that could use some prayer: we are starting a shelter house for women and girls who need a place to stay. It will be for people like the woman I mentioned above who have abusive family members they are running from or girls who want to get out of prostitution/the bars. We already have four girls who need a place to stay, and maybe this lady is another! We have found a house to rent, we just need to get the money to rent it, time to clean it up and fix a few things, and someone to stay there full time with the girls! That's all....glad we have God on our side!
Well, that's all for now, folks! Enjoy your day! :)

Thoughts on Freedom

(Written Wednesday Night)
How do you free someone who doesn't want freedom? That's the problem we spent the afternoon discussing today.
Many people talk about rescuing the girls involved in the sex trade or the bars here in Thailand. There is research on it, foundations dedicated to it, and plenty of organizations dedicated to raising awareness about and money to fight the sex trade. But what good do they do? After talking to Rodney and Phimpha about it, it sounds like nothing worthwhile is being done.
Part of this is because of corruption and greed. Phimpha calls it using the "pity stories". If you tell enough people about girls who have been trafficked or forced into prostitution, you can fill them with pity and they will donate money. Then you can buy yourself a new car or a better house or nice clothes. If you tell your donors that you are going to build a house for girls rescued from the bars, you can get the hardware store to write up a fake bill that says they charged more than you actually owe. Then you can keep the extra for yourself. It is too costly to actually make a difference when fighting the sex trade: you have to commit to work with the girls long term, you must set up aftercare programs or live with them full time. You will not get paid much, and you will spend all that you have. And who would want to do that?
Another problem is the danger. Say you did find someone who was willing to put in the time, effort, and money to try to fight trafficking. If they started to make a difference, chances are they'd end up dead. Corruption is the norm in this country. Most of what happens in the bars here is "illegal", but so many of the police officers and government workers are involved in all the shady business that no one is going to do anything about it. Rodney told me about a place where they used to live that was right next to a karaoke bar. They were talking to the police about it one day because it was illegal: it was not registered or licensed, and there was more than just drinking and karaoke going on...Anyway, the police officers said very politely that they were sorry, they just couldn't do anything about it. Turns out, the bar was owned by the chief of police. If you fight them, they will kill you. There is no incentive to follow the law because most of the time there is no consequence if you are found breaking it.
Finally, we come to the question that I asked at the beginning: how do you rescue someone who does not want to be rescued? Most of the girls involved in the sex trade in Thailand began working in the bars at the age of 12 or 13. Once they have been in the business for several years, many realize that having sex is an easy way to make money. They stop valuing their bodies because they have learned not to care about what men do to them. If they are taken out of the bars ("rescued") and taught a trade, they might be able to make some money. But the amount they make in a day or a week pales in comparison to what they could make in a half hour back in the bars. So why stay away from the bars? If you care more about money than you do about your body, there is no reason to stay away. So once a girl is "rescued", she more than likely will find her way back to the very job that she was rescued from.
So how do we free these children? How do we fight the greed and corruption and lies? How do we teach girls that they are valuable when their entire culture says they are not? How can we bring perpetrators to justice when the workers in the "justice system" also own the bars? I keep thinking of the verse "And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free," (John 8:32). We need to get these people to understand the truth--the truth about God's love and the truth about their own worth. We need to change the entire culture. Only then can we truly set these children free.

Wow---it's February already!

Hello everyone! Sorry it's been so long between updates! Life has been pretty darn busy here these days. Right now I am sitting in the middle of the forest at a research center that has free wifi...unfortunately the Internet is down so I can't check my email, but it's raining so I don't want to try to drive home on the moterbike. SO I figure I might as well write an update since I'm stuck here anyway! :)
As you might imagine, a lot has happened since I last wrote to you in January! I will do my best to fit most of it into a readable update and not bore you too much!
One neat opportunity we had last month was helping out at an English camp at a nearby school. This camp was a one-week thing they put on for 6th graders and 9th graders because these grades take standardized English tests at the end of the year. Since Rodney and I are native English speakers, we were asked to come and help out. It was a lot of fun! Most of the time we would just read the English parts of the lesson so that the kids could hear how words were pronounced, but we also did a bit of teaching about grammar, etc. It was a good chance to meet a bunch of people in the area as well--one of the days I got to play basketball at the school and I hung out with the 6th graders during their lunchbreak a couple days. Lots of fun! We visit our pastor friend in that area a lot, and every time we drive by the school there are students who recognize us and wave :) We were also able to build relationships with some of the teachers there, which has been good. Just last week we went over to the school to pray with one of the teachers who has been having some family and financial trouble. It is cool to see how God can use something like a local English camp to get people interested in Him!
With the Australians gone, I did a lot of helping out around the house during most of January. Dang and Anun (The Thai couple that works with us) took a week off near the end of the month, so there was a lot to do! There were a couple days that week where I stayed home with just the two year olds and the disabled guy that we take care of. Interesting seeing firsthand what it takes to take care of them every day! I have a lot more appreciation for Dang (The Thai lady) now that I can really see how much she does every day! Now that they are back from their vacation, though, I have done a lot of travelling around with Phimpha and Rodney, which I always enjoy. Phimpha is always busy visiting someone or going to meetings or working with the ladies' ministry or the church, so there is always something to be done!
Another change that happened just two weeks ago is that Rodney fell and sprained his ankle pretty badly. This has kept him out of a lot of the action for the past couple weeks, but he is finally improving to the point where he will probably be back to normal in a few days. (That is a cool story in and of itself---when he fell, he was sure the foot was broken, and when they went to the hospital the first x-ray showed a break. They needed to x-ray it again to be able to treat it, and everyone was praying for it at that point....The next x-ray showed no break! Sounds like a God moment to me....)
God has been doing some pretty neat things lately here, though it's hard to describe everything that's going on. A couple weeks ago, Phimpha and I went to a worship service/prayer meeting at another church and there was a pastor from California who was speaking about the fact that God wants to see a revival happen in Thailand. He believes that it's going to start with the women, and then the men will catch on and help to lead it. He has been staying with us for a bit over a week now, and has been teaching at pastors' meetings and at the ladies' group that Phimpha leads. Seems like God is preparing a lot of people in Thailand to do some big things....a lot of change needs to happen in the church in order for them to be more effective in reaching out to the community. And maybe this is the time when it will happen! Only time will tell, but I think God has big plans even though we don't know what they are yet! Exciting, huh?
Well this is getting pretty long, but I'd like to ask for prayer before I end! Please pray for some English classes that we are starting up! (I think I already mentioned them---the ones on Saturdays and Sundays) Also, prayer for Rodney's ankle would be appreciated, and also that we would clearly see God's leading in this revival--that we would know what our part in it is!
That's about it! Thinking of you all and praying for you! :)

Hello everyone!
I do not have time to write a full update now, but I just wanted to throw a note up here to let you all know that I am in fact still alive and in Thailand...just in case you were wondering ;)
we start English classes this week at a local church, and we are always busy with meetings and helping people out. Also, we might have three more girls come to live with us soon! We will probably find out tomorrow.
Well, gotta run! I will try very hard to update you soon.
Hope you are all doing well! As always, any prayers are appreciated.

January

Hello again everyone!
I didn't realize it had been so long since I last wrote to you all...oops! I tried to get some pictures up here, but it wasn't working for some reason, so I'll have to try some more.
In the meantime, I guess I can fill you in on a bit of what has been going on here since all the Christmas parties. This month has been a lot of change around here. All of the Australian volunteers have gone home at this point, so it's a lot quieter around here. We're doing a lot more of the day-to-day life instead of parties all the time. I've been spending a good deal of time helping out with the kids and household stuff like laundry or dishes---when I am at home, that is. a lot of days I am out with Phimpha riding along as she works with the people or visits other pastors. It has been interesting to meet so many people and be able to visit them in their homes or fields and see a bit about what life is like here.
One of the main things that we have been doing recently is making plans for an English class at one of the local churches. We plan to start in February and have classes each weekend until the end of April. So we have had several meetings with the pastors involved at the church so that we can try to figure out how many kids might be interested and what sort of materials we will need or topics we will want to teach. I don't really feel like much of a teacher, but I know that God has got my back, so it'll all work out ok! And hopefully I'll be able to find some resources online that will be helpful!
Well, I've got to run, so I will try to get a longer update up soon.
In the meantime, please be praying for strength for all the workers here to keep following God and doing His work. Also, please pray for one of the girls here, June, who left yesterday to return to her family. And finally, if you could pray for our planning for the English class, that would be much appreciated!
Thanks all.

The long-awaited update

Hello everyone!
Ready for a long update? It's about time I guess!
Christmastime here has been very very busy!
As I said before, we had a lot of Christmas parties. Christmas parties here are very similar to a Christmas program or service back home: There's lots of music, usually a speaker or something, sometimes people performing dances or other things like that. Some of the parties had some games for the kids, and they all had food and some sort of gift to give out. One of the coolest things for me was getting to see the kids receive gifts from Operation Christmas Child. For those of you who aren't familiar with that program, it's a way for people in richer countries like the US or Australia, etc. to give gifts to children who might never have received one before. Basically you put together a shoebox full of toys, school supplies, hygiene supplies, etc. and then the organization ships it out to places like Thailand to be distributed to kids in need. (if you want to find more info, check out their website: http://www.samaritanspurse.org/index.php/occ) I have helped to put together boxes back home for lots of years, and it was really neat to be on the receiving end this year. watching those kids open the gifts was so cool--seeing their faces as they got a new car or a stuffed animal was just...hard to describe. They get so excited for something that would seem so mundane for a kid back home, because here the kids just don't have much of anything.
At the first Christmas party I went to that gave out the boxes, there was a little girl, probably 2 or 3 years old, who got this stuffed raccoon that was almost as big as she was. She loved that thing! She was hugging it and playing with it, and pretending to run away from it but then running back and grabbing a hold of it...it was just so cute and so sweet to see her so happy just because someone else decided they were going to make someone's Christmas a little bit better. It made hers better!
Another thing that was interesting was to see the parents' reactions. It's something I never really thought about before since we just always think of the kids who will be getting the gifts. But a lot of times, the parents were just as interested as the kids---digging through the boxes, seeing what was inside. They weren't running around playing with the toys, but you could tell that they were blessed by the boxes even though it was for their child.
At the first Christmas party we went to, us white people (the three Australians and me) were asked to sing a song as part of the program. So we ended up singing Joy to the World in front of 200 or so Thai people who were there for the party. We sang it again at the party the next day, and after that Phimpha asked me to sing at I think 4 other parties that we went to. So that was an interesting experience. I tend to get way more nervous when I'm singing by myself than when I sing with other people like I do back home. But I don't think I made too much of a fool of myself! (or probably she wouldn't have kept asking me to sing, right?)
In other news, we have had a lot of elephant visitors over the past week or two! Phimpha loves elephants, so whenever we see sugar cane on the side of the road we stop to pick it up and put it at the end of our driveway. Then the elephants come and hang out to eat it and we get to see them! That's mostly good, except when they get too familiar they end up finding the kitchen and stealing rice and bananas...but that was just once, so hopefully they'll stick to the sugar cane from here on out!
Not too much has been happening since the end of the Christmas parties this past weekend---This week I've stayed home most days. I've spent my time watching the two year olds, doing some laundry and dishes, reading, eating rice....oh wait. I do that all the time anyway.
Been doing a lot of thinking about the future and what it'll look like. I've decided I still have no idea what it'll look like, so haven't gotten anywhere in the "planning" stage. But I've been talking to God a lot about life, and working on giving mine to Him. I've realized that the hardest part to give to God is the people in your life: I'm fine with living in Thailand with a different language, different food, weird bathrooms, and cold water showers. But telling God that I could live far away from my family and friends if He wants me to is a different matter. But He is good. And He is what matters. So we will see what God has in mind for my future! If he ever tells me I'll let you know, but I have the feeling that He'll just tell me as I go. Sort of like a treasure hunt where you get clues to send you to the next spot and eventually you find the treasure. :)
well, I'm going to end this before you all fall asleep cause it's so long. Sorry for getting all philosophical on you! hope you enjoyed reading this!
~Andrea~
“Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it."
Matthew 10:37-39

Happy New Year everyone!
I hope you all had a wonderful time partying it up or whatever you do to bring in the new year! I hear that some of you got over to the party at my house, which is good! That's always a good time :)
Still haven't gotten around to typing up the longer update I promised, which just means it'll be wicked long when I finally find the time!
But for now, enjoy life! Hope it's as good back home as it is here! Spend your new year wisely! :)