Catching Up

I've been dreading updating this blog for so long. So much time has passed since my last post that I can't think of where to start. I ended up helping out with teaching for about 3 weeks and at the end we had a graduation for the 60 or so students. It was quite the affair! I think a little more organization could've gone into it, but I guess it's over and they're all happy to receive their certificates. The graduation ended up being a prime witnessing opportunity, especially with the parents there. At times I felt the information thrown at them was a little too deep theologically (Michael preached), but hopefully they at least got a small picture of the gospel.

While down in Supan Buri Alison and I also had a chance to take a Sunday off and travel to the Bridge over River Kwai. It was nice to take a break and be a "tourist"- although generally I hate that feeling. Upon arriving in Kenchanburi we rented a little bike thing that Alison and I could barely fit in (yes, I'm gaining weight) and went to a couple museums, a large cemetery, and the bridge. There was a lot of interesting history to learn about. After wandering around a bit we decided to visit a tiger temple. We snagged a taxi and took off. It ended up being more like a haven for half dead/doped-up tigers. Not as exciting as I expected, nevertheless I got a picture with one. Following the thrilling tiger experience we went to a 7-tiered waterfall of which we only got to see two tiers (the other 5 were closed off). We still had a blast and the falls were pretty.

On the night of the 7th, Alison and I caught a bus from Bangkok back to Chiang Mai and met up with the rest of the group to make plans for Christmas break. When we arrived at the center Melissa was frantically trying to assemble some brochures and posters for the Jesus for Asia booth at GYC. We all helped her with that and got them done at the last minute before she had to fly out for the States (those of you attending GYC, be sure to stop by the Jesus for Asia booth). The next day we had a meeting about our travel plans for Christmas break. Rob, Phoebe, Alison and I are now in Cambodia after a super long couple days of traveling. Thankfully no major mishaps occured at the border when getting our visas, etc. We arrived at the Adventist School late Thursday night (after our tuk-tuk drivers got us slightly lost). On Sunday morning we left for Phnom Penh (about a 7 hr. ride from the school) at 3 in the morning. Quite frankly I'm a little tired of traveling, but since it's the only time I'm sure I'll ever be here, I guess it's worth it. Right now we're just waiting on our visas for Vietnam to go through. They are supposed to be done tomorrow- so we'll hopefully take a bus tomorrow afternoon to the border, spend a few days there and come back to Phnom Penh. I'd really like to visit places around Phnom Penh (killing fields, etc.). When I was younger I read a book about the mass genocides that took place in Cambodia during the 70's. It's interesting to actually be here and see it first hand. I'm thankful I have the opportunity to visit all these countries. The other day towards the end of worship we were talking about traveling and dealing with cultural differences, etc. We were expressing the difficulty of merging into a totally different lifestyle. When we were talking I realized Christ experienced the same thing, yet on a slightly grander scale. He, after living in heaven and being exalted and worshipped by all, stooped down to earth just so we could have an opportunity to experience eternal life. Sometimes I feel like I've been in Thailand for eternity and I find myself reminiscing about home, but I guess there is no place on this earth that can truly be called our home. I can't forget that Christ came to this world and went through a drastic culture shock, so we could go to our true home one of these days. I don't know if this makes sense, but it gave me a little something to think about. Anyway, I hope you are all enjoying the Christmas season back home! It's a little tough to get in the spirit when we're in 90 degree weather and surrounded by coconut trees. Oh well- have a great Christmas everyone and I'll see you in 5 months!

Slight Change

After being in the Karen village for about 2 1/2 weeks I received a phone call from Melissa, our leader, informing me that I would be going down to a town called Supan Buri in Southern Thailand to help teach English. Another girl in our group, Alison, had been teaching there for a couple weeks already and the students were steadily growing in number, so apparently some help was needed. Right before I came down, our group (Ricky, Brian, Phoebe, P Ying & I) decided to take a couple days off and go on a 3 day elephant trek in the jungle. We were all pretty excited. They took us on a boat (on the river dividing Thailand and Burma) for about 1/2 hr., then dropped us off where we were informed by our tour guide that we'd be hiking for 5-6 hrs. That was something we weren't expecting! The hike was pretty strenuous, but a lot of fun. One of the first things we saw was a poisonous snake dangling over the path. Later on we were able to cool off in a large waterfall. From there we hiked about 45 more minutes and came to the village we'd be staying in for the night. The next morning we took off on the elephants. I was slightly scared at first. Phoebe and I sat in a basket on top and Ricky rode on the neck. I never realized how cumbersome they are. Every time it stepped we rocked back and forth. It was a lot of fun though. After a couple more days in the jungle we went back to town where I was to take a bus to Chiang Mai, stay at the center for a day, then head down to Supan Buri. After the farewell, I hopped on the rickety bus to experience my first travel alone in a foreign country. It was a tad bit strange being the only white person, but thankfully the lady sitting next to me spoke some English. After some interesting events I finally made it safely back to the center that evening. The next morning P Jen took me to the bus station again for my ride down to Supan Buri. So, I'm finally here. It's quite a switch from the village. The normal bed is nice that's for sure. Anyway, I guess the real reason I'm here is not to enjoy the "luxurious" living, but to teach English. Each afternoon around four P Aor, Alison and I walk to the school which is about 10-15 minutes away. Usually a loud chorus of "Hellos" ring out from a ways away. Soon after Alison and I are bombarded with many hugs. The kids have seemed to really warm up to us farangs (foreigners). The class starts around 4:30. Usually we begin with prayer and a few songs we've been teaching them, then Alison reads a short Bible story that they repeat back to her. Towards the end of class we work on vocabulary and conversational phrases. The kids are very enthusiastic and their eagerness to learn is very evident. Since it's a Buddhist school I find it amazing that the principal of the school allows us to teach the things we do. There seems to be a smaller group (of the 80 or so) that appear very interested in spiritual things. I believe God is really working on their hearts. After teaching, sometimes we go over to a young man's house (about 20 yrs. old) where we've been having Bible studies. He is very open to the Bible and it's exciting to see him ask such honest questions. Hopefully God will be able to use him in this community to arouse other people's interest in spiritual matters. He still has issues to deal with like smoking, but it seems that he really wants to serve God. Please pray for the work our group is doing here in Thailand. Thanks so much and I hope all is going great for you at home! God bless.

No Longer a Vegetarian?

I'm at an internet cafe in a town called Mae Serang right now. A couple guys in our group had to come in to renew their visas, so we all decided to tag along.
Last week we made it safely to our destination- a small village in the mountains of which I still don't know the name. After one of our evening meetings a couple from the church invited us over to their house for supper. We arrived and one of the first things I noticed through the hazy, smoke-filled room (from cooking over an open fire) was that the main dish they were offering us was whole, fried fish. It looked quite disgusting. We felt bad because none of us touched them. After they found out we were vegetarians they whipped up some super hot chili sauce for our rice. Later on we found out that the fish was something they served only for special occasions and that it was really expensive. It was pretty neat though- they had offered us their best. Another interesting aspect of eating here in the Karen village is that they eat with their hands. It felt so weird the first time I did it! I almost felt barbaric, but that's what the people do, therefore we follow suit. After supper they passed out some desserts and other snacks. There was one particular snack that Phoebe and I tried. It was kind of crunchy and salty. We didn't know what it was, but we had asked one of the Thai girls and they said it was safe. Later on that evening I noticed a girl with a package of the same snacks we'd been eating. On the outside label was a huge lobster. I became a little concerned. I've never had meat in my life. I asked the Thai girls about it though and they claimed the lobster is just a brand name and that the snack didn't contain lobster of any form. Anyway, it was all kind of funny. I'm much more leery of everything I eat now.
Yesterday was full of different experiences as well. We had the chance to help some church members harvest in the rice paddies. It was a lot of fun, except for the leeches. Because we didn't have tall boots like the locals, they told us to just go bare foot because it was very muddy and our flip flops would've been swallowed in the goop. We cut the rice with a tool similar to a scythe. Sometimes it was hard to maneuver though because it was so muddy. One of the Thai girls (P Mem) got stuck for a minute or so. It was quite entertaining. After harvesting for a while I was hosing my legs off and I noticed my leg was bleeding. Apparently a huge leech had been sucking on my leg all morning- it was so disgusting! Anyway, after that we went "jungle shopping" which meant we were going to be picking mushrooms. I've never liked mushrooms, but now they're even more repulsive to me after seeing where we picked them. We pretty much dug around in compost piles looking for them. The piles had other substances (cow manure) in them as well. Yum. It just doesn't seem healthy to eat things that grow on stuff like that.
Well, I'm being told that it's time to go. Who knows what exciting things will happen tomorrow! I hear we may be teaching some English in the small school at the village. Should be fun!

Last Minute Update

Once again, plans have changed! We just found out we'll be leaving tomorrow morning for a village located about 5 hrs. in an unknown direction. Pretty ambiguous, I know. It'll be fun as always though! As far as I know we'll be staying there for the next couple months, until Christmas break (Dec. 11). They've decided to keep everyone together in the same group, which I'm very excited about. I hear there's a possibility we may be able to check our email every once in a while, so that's good news too. Man, life just couldn't get better. I'm not sure if we'll get cell phone reception. We'll see... So, I hope life is treating you all well back at home! Miss you all- adios.

First picture!

Part of our group after walking up to a scenic overlook- the view was beautiful and it was really nice to see everyone again after being apart for a while.

A Short Break

Aright, we're back at the "ranch" (academy) again. Since I know you've all been religiously checking this extremely interesting blog in anticipation of more news, I guess I'll give a little update. We spent the last week up in the mountains in a village known as Bukjan ("bok-jon"). While there we pretty much kept the same schedule as we had been, except we were having worship with the villagers every morning at 5. People here are very dedicated. When I heard that the church members met every morning at that time for worship I was pretty shocked. You would never hear of people in the States even considering that. Good grief, it's hard enough to get people to come to a mid-week Bible study in America. So the mornings all started out pretty early: getting up at 3:45 or 4 to read, etc. then we'd have corporate worship at 5, breakfast at 7, and then head out to different villages to do health work. There are 2 nurses in our group and the rest of us are learning to administer natural remedies and things of that sort. Usually we'd head back around 5pm, have a short break (eat some sacred American food like peanut butter crackers), and head to the evening meeting at the church around 7:30. I say around 7:30, but it really means more like 8 because nothing in this country is ever done on time. At the meeting one of us would talk on health, then Michael would give a Bible talk.
On Sabbath we were divided into 2 groups. One stayed at the local church, while the other (my group) went to a nearby village. There Rob spoke on the 8 laws of health then Michael gave the sermon. In the afternoon a bunch of villagers came to the church to have their blood pressure taken, etc. One of the ladies that showed up was a practicing spirit medium. She was an older, haggard looking woman- the exact picture you think of when imagining a witch doctor. We ended up having the opportunity to read the Bible to her and pray with her. We also explained the serious danger of tampering in the spirit world. She appeared fairly receptive and was open to the idea of coming to church the following week. Keep praying- God is working.
That evening we found out we'd be taking off the next morning, so after a tasty "farang" (foreigner) breakfast (which we get once a week!) we loaded up and headed back to the academy. So now we're here for a few days. I'm very grateful for this time of relaxation since many of us are on the verge of getting sick. The late nights and early mornings are catching up to us. Yesterday they took us to Chiang Mai. I was pretty excited because I had plans of buying some running shoes. I found some decent ones, but they didn't have my size, so hopefully we can go again and I'll have better luck. I miss running- it'll be good to get back into that routine. Brian, who'll be in my group these next couple months, just bought a soccer ball too! Now if that's not reason for excitement... A group of us just got back from playing with a bunch of the local academy students. Very fun.
As for now, we're all just hanging out here at the center, hoping to recover from our nagging colds and coughs and waiting for the next word. We've been divided into 3 groups. I'll be spending the next 2 months with Nola (missionary from Cambodia whose helping us for a while), Brian, and Ying (our translator). After these 2 months a group of us- Rob, Alison, Phoebe, & I, are planning on taking a trip to Cambodia for Christmas. We get two weeks off so we're thinking of visiting Ankor Wat and some other sites. Should be fun! Okay, this post is mega long so I'll wrap it up. Hope school/work is going great for you all back home! Alright, better jet.

Off Again

A lot has changed since my last post. They switched up our groups, for the millionth time, and sent us off to two different villages. Our group has spent the last week in a small village up in the mountains. On Sunday we were out walking around and an old lady pulled us into her hut and out of the blue started dressing me up in a native Hmong costume. After a while she had us all decked out in the colorful garb and we ended up going around the village inviting people to the meetings at the church. Each night a different member of our team spoke at the local Adventist church about the 8 laws of health. Tuesday night I spoke on proper rest. The next day we went out visiting sick people. Some reoccurring health problems seen in these parts are gout and high blood pressure. I ended up doing massage on a stroke victim who was paralyzed on her right side. I also gave her some exercises to do to help strengthen her limbs. Our leader keeps saying, "Oh! Emily can do massage and put together exercises for these people since she's a physical therapist." Uhh, not quite. I have to remind her that I'm not- kinda funny. Doing the exercises and massage is good experience though. One day we got a call from a frantic mother whose boy was very sick. It was a 15 year old kid that was having severe stomach pains. We started doing a bunch of natural remedies on him. The house was absolutely filthy. When I walked in I noticed these huge beetles hanging from the ceiling on some twigs (apparently they enjoy fighting beetles here in Thailand- kind of like cock fighting). I was instructed to give a onion rub to the boy, so I sat down and proceeded with the treatment. In a few minutes I felt a bunch of wet globs of an unknown substance falling on my head. First I thought it was a leaky roof, but Ricky started laughing really hard and then told me to look up. I was sitting right under the disgusting beetles and they were going to the bathroom on my head. So gross. It actually was pretty funny though-- I entertained the whole group that's for sure. Strange things like that have been happening to me. Like the other day a nasty dog left his mark all over my backpack. Good times, good times. On Wednesday our group hiked out to visit some church members at their job site. On the way one of the Thai girls in front of me screamed and jumped back-- it was a long, bright green poisonous snake. Close call. After visiting the church members we begged our driver to take us to the village where the other group was. Even though it had only been 4 days since we'd seen them there was a lot to catch up on. Friday was a blast because they got to come to our village for an American breakfast (cornflakes, soymilk, bread & fruit--sounds boring, but it was amazing because it didn't include rice), then in the afternoon they took us to town. That day they had announced that each group would be staying one more week in their respected villages. We never know what's going on until right before something happens. I'm still, at times, finding it difficult to adjust to the oh-so-laid-back mentality here. It's quite different than what I'm used to. I'm pretty laid back as well, but I generally like having a tentative schedule. Those of you who know me also know I appreciate organization. I guess it's been good for me though. So they'd announced we'd be staying another week in the village, but the next day they informed us we'd be heading for another place. So we had to pack up that night and take off. They said we'd be going to a very primitive village way up in the mountains-- one that got electricity just last year. I was pretty excited for something new, but, once again, they just changed our plans. The other group (Brian, Alison, Holly, Mem, Ying, Bee, & some other Thai girls) have been working in a village that's struggling with spiritualism and things of that nature. Apparently they encountered a demon possessed man as well as a Buddhist monk who was attempting to get the villagers to come to his meetings (instead of our group's meetings). So since they've been having challenges we've decided to join our groups and help them out for the next week, which I'm very excited about. It'll be interesting I'm sure. For now though, I'm just glad to have this short window of time to check my email before we go back out. I did buy a cell phone so I'm not exactly totally disconnected from the outside world when we're in the villages. In all I've been having a blast. Life is great! At times it hits me that I'm in Thailand. I know people who would probably never dream of doing things like this. I love it- might as well live life to it's fullest and experience as much as I can. Alright, this is getting too sentimental- better get going. Pray for us, especially while we're in this next village. Thanks a ton!

Last Day of Connection with the World

So I've finally found out who I'll be spending the next month with: Rob, Alison, Mem (our translator) and I will be heading out to a village tomorrow to start the work we've been receiving training for. Our group of about 10 is being split into smaller groups, each with a media guy to film, and a translator, and being sent to villages all over. Thankfully our assigned village is only about 30 minutes away, so perhaps we'll be able to come back periodically to check our email (chances are slim though). During our stay we'll mainly be teaching the villagers about the 8 laws of health. I don't exactly know what else we'll be consuming our time with, but we'll see! The main goal is to just get in and start living like them- to become familiar with their customs, etc. An American couple (SMs from Walla Walla) invited us over to their place for supper and games tonight. American food! I guess it's kind of a farewell thing before we are subjected to the primitive villages. I'm excited to start the village work though. This is pretty short, but times up. Gotta get to class! Pray for us.

Heart of the Jungle

The past week has definitely been a time of adjustment! I am currently sitting in a Thai pastor's kitchen listening to a torrential rainfall, watching a lizard crawl up the wall opposite of me, and attempting to figure out where to begin. It's been quite a week. Last Sunday I embarked on (what I'm sure will be) quite the adventure. And so far it's proven to be just that! After a super late night of packing and frantically searching the house for my lost passport (which we found a few hours before leaving), I left the plains of Kansas for a slightly more exotic destination. I flew from KC to Chicago, and then endured a 13 hr. flight from Chicago to Tokyo stuck between one old guy to my right and 2 to my left who couldn't speak English. Just my luck. To condense things, we (Alison, Brian, & I) arrived safely in Chiang Mai on Tuesday afternoon. Upon arriving, they announced we'd be fasting for 3 days. This wasn't the most welcome news, especially after eating the less-than-exceptional airline food for 2 days. Since I'd never really fasted before, I wasn't exactly sure how it would go. It ended up not being as bad as I thought--although I did lose almost 10 lbs. which I thought was a little unhealthy to do in just a few days. When the fast ended we indulged in tons of exotic fruit-- rambutan, dragon fruit, passion fruit, pamelo, and some more familiar ones like bananas, pineapple and coconut. The animals here have been cause for more interesting experiences as well- the other night 3 guys in our group were walking back from the pastors house and they ran into a python that stretched clear across the road and was probably 8" in diameter. I thought they were exaggerating, but they had their video camera and caught it on film. Exciting times in Thailand that's for sure! There have been many other unwanted creatures found in our dorm room such as lizards (called a tuque which lives in a hole in our ceiling), tarantulas, squirrels (which my roommate Alison and I had a fun time chasing out!), and many other unidentifiable insects. Right now we're staying at the Chiang Mai Adventist Academy, which is about an hour north of Chiang Mai, right in the middle of the mountains. The view is beautiful. We are having health/Bible training for about 3 weeks and then we'll head out for the villages where we'll stay for 1-2 months at each place. I don't know all the details yet, but it should be fun/challenging. Taking baths in a river, washing clothes by hand, sleeping on mats, etc. I guess that's why I chose Thailand as opposed to Europe or a more westernized country- for the unusual experiences. Well, there's much more I could write, but I can't remember the half of it and you honestly don't have the time to read about it, so I guess that's all for now. I'll try to at least put a couple pictures up sometime...ha. Right. I know, I'm horrible about keeping this blog up. I'll try harder...but with being way out in the villages, etc. I'm not sure how soon that will be...we'll see. Bye for now!