Ancient Siam

This week Ethan's 5th grade class had an overnight field trip to Ancient Siam outside Bangkok and I was asked to be a chaperone. What a fun trip! Ancient Siam was built by a wealthy man who wanted to preserve the old Thailand. The city is built on over 200 acres of land that has many reproductions of famous buildings/temples/wats/historic places and some old buildings were disassembled and rebuilt on site. Many craftsmen live on the premises along with fishermen, cattlemen...to portray the authentic Thailand. There is an actual floating market on the premises, many places to eat, livestock roaming the city and all is accesible by walking or bike riding. All of the ISE 5th graders were required to bike over the two days. We had very nice accommodations that were even air-conditioned. Most of the time I spent with my 5 boys that were assigned in my group, biking, hiking and exploring the amazing living museum. The site also has a very extensive obstacle course each of the kids were required to complete. Along with delicious, authentic, Thai meals the staff also prepared a campfire for us in the evening. The ISE teachers provided all the fixins for smore's and this was the first time for many of the children they had ever roasted a marshmallow, I've never seen such an extensive safety talk about roasting a marshmallow!! Some of the rules they taught us, "Don't fling a flaming mellow. Don't bring a burning mellow to your face too quickly..." All the kids seemed to enjoy the experience despite the heat but several of them commented that they found marshmallows too sweet. Most of Asia just doesn't consume sweet things like we Americans do and their systems aren't used to it.

We had a great time but I'm tired. I was busy after hours (about 6 total) of bike riding-playing nurse. The school brought a first aid bag and I put it to good use-we had lots of scraped knees, a sprained ankle, headaches and one girl was sick all night with an upset stomach-she vomited 4 times during the night. You can imagine how pleasant that was in our dorm of 12 girls and 4 sponsors, of course she couldn't hit her bucket in the middle of the night in the dark(remember she's 11)and we had to clean up the messes without turning on a light in the whole room, trying not to wake the girls that were able to sleep, using only the light of the flashlight. The bathroom was about 30 meters from our dorm room. Needless to say I didn't get too much sleep!!

Ethan had a really great time and it was bittersweet to see him having so much fun with his classmates. For you that don't know we have made a decision to change the boys over to the British International School next year. After much evaluating and praying we have decided it is the best thing for the boys. I'll tell you more about the decision later and thank you to each of you that have been praying with us about this decision.

Let's see-only 9 days until we leave for a couple of months in the states. We are so excited!

God of this City

A friend of mind just posted this video on Facebook and I wanted to share it with you. Why? Am I a Kris Allen fan? I have never even seen him before now. Some people get American Idol here and keep up with the latest competitors but we don't have access to it with our TV package. No, I want to tell you the story behind this song. It all started in Pattaya, Thailand a few years ago. An American group was here on a mission trip and had the opportunity to perform at a local bar. They could sing whatever they wanted as long as they kept buying cokes. While performing and singing songs of praise in this dark place, this song was revealed to them, given to them, laid on their hearts... for the city of Pattaya. This song gives me such hope and encourages me about the work that God is doing here.

I haven't shared a lot about the city of Pattaya too much here because it's a family blog! I have some younger readers and I haven't wanted to be too graphic plus I don't want to worry my mom too much! Pattaya is a place like no other. There are an estimated 30,000 prostitutes over the age of 18 in this city alone. We live on the outskirts of the 'business' but are faced with it regularly. Recently, when Nathan was completing his scuba license we had to regularly go down a most disgusting, disturbing soi (street). Nathan had to be at class by 9:30 and even at that hour there were many ladies out soliciting business. It is so, so grievous. How offensive it must be to a holy God.

But-I am hopeful. I am hopeful that greater things are to be done in this city. I feel like I'm setting on the periphery watching God doing something here and it feels exciting to be a small part of that work. Thailand was not on our radar even one year ago-Exxon just doesn't give much lead time! But of all the places in the world God could have sent us, He chose here. And He is sending lots of Christians here mostly through their vocations. DOW Chemical has a HUGE project here at the moment and God has sent many believers through them. An older friend of mine here from TN, that was a missionary to India for over 20 years has lived with her son over the last 4 years in Pattaya. She said even two years ago she knew only a handful of Christian women in this area. She attends our Bible study that has had over 20 ladies at some meetings, women from every nation. God continues to send families to visit our church. He is opening doors here. Our church has found a Thai Presbyterian church to partner with here in this city. Our pastor is beginning English classes there on Wednesday nights, hopefully some of their faithful members will be learning English alongside Thai unbelievers. Songkran our driver is very interested in the free classes and now we just have to work out a schedule so that Mark can be driven home from work early enough to allow Songkran to attend the classes. If each of us that has been transferred here because of work can testify and live out the gospel even just in front of our drivers and housekeepers this city could be changed. We are the light in the darkness-There is NONE like our God!

Please pray for us that we will be faithful to what the Lord is calling us to here in Pattaya. We will be leaving in less than two weeks for HOME we will be there for over two months and we are excited!! Can I just say that again, "We are EXCITED!" We want to go back and get refreshed and recharged to return to the work the Lord has for us here. In the Fall, Molly and I will be taking over a Ladies Prison Ministry. I will share more at a later date but please pray for us. We are here under the auspices of Mark's work but know that God has us here for a much greater work.

Our Anniversary

On Thursday Mark and I celebrated 27 years of marriage! My goodness, where has the time gone? We reminisced and laughed about some of our earlier days together, we were so young (the early days-the disastrous puppy stay in our car overnight on our third night of married life, running from several tornadoes in Dumas our first week of marriage, his first paycheck with Mobil being late-eating the discovered Spam left in the camper from previous Northcutt trips and our scrapping and saving for a meal, (which included searching for lost coins in the car seats) at McDonald's only to witness Mark dropping our entire meal on the floor-and that was just the first month!!) We knew so little about what being married for 27 years would look like but we both agreed that God was so good to put us together and we are so thankful that we embarked on our life journey as one. We are both still happy with the choice we made all those years ago. The choice to love each other no matter what comes our way, realizing that we made a covenant before a holy God to each other. How blessed I've been to have a Godly husband to lead and guide me over almost three decades, to love me sacrificially day in and day out, to lean on through some of the most unimaginable roughest times, and a most wise father to our children. I love you, Marko!

I've included a couple of pictures from Esso Thailand's latest shareholder report of Mark. He had to have a make-up person before the shoot and he was totally grossed out thinking about the lipstick dispenser and wondering how many lips it had touched prior to his. It's a weird thing for your husband to come home with a full face of make-up on, that's for sure!!

Laos

We just returned from a four day visit to the small country of Laos. We traveled to watch Dustin and Nathan compete in a soccer tournament with students from 7 partnering International Schools. I was hoping flying a couple of hours North would give us some reprieve from the heat but it was even hotter in Vientiane, the capitol of Laos. Mark had a holiday at work Friday, it was the Big Buddha holiday here in Thailand. That's actually what people call it being the most celebrated holiday set aside for Buddha.

Because of costs the boys actually took a short flight to Northern Thailand and then a 2 hour bus ride over the border into the communist country with their teammates. A new experience for them crossing through customs and passport control via land. We flew directly into Laos with 4 other families from our school. The boys stayed with a family from the Vientiane International School of Laos. Their particular host family opened their home to 5 ISE boys which was a 5 minute walk from the school. We stayed at a hotel in the center of the small, quiet, city.

Everything was within walking distance in this former French colony, it was occupied until the 1940's by France. The influence of France is still very much obvious in the architecture and the wonderful bakeries throughout the city. We ate at some great little French sidewalk cafes while enjoying croissants and other French pastries. We went to a Laos Cultural show one night with dancing, singing and some delicious Laos food which is not too different than Thai food. We visited several city landmarks one of those being the Victory Gate of Vientiane. The story I heard is that the landmark that very much resembles the Arc of Triumph in Paris is that the US gave Laos enough concrete to build an airport in their capitol city and instead they used it to build this Victory Gate-go figure?

We enjoyed shopping at the local morning market in between watching some great football matches. Dustin made the All-Stars team and Nathan had some really great saves as goalie. They were able to compete with much larger schools and we were really proud of their effort, they finished 4th of the 7 teams and actually held the team from Phenom Penn that won the entire tournament to 0-0. We watched a lot of soccer over the last few days because we had to cheer on the girl's team from ISE as well.

I was confused all weekend trying to convert money from the local currency of Kip, it was roughly 8,400 Kip/$1 US dollar. Most of the local people understood Thai and the Laos language is very similar. For instance in Thailand, "Sabie Dee My?" translates to How are you? in Laos to say Hello-"Sabie Dee". It was a very enjoyable trip and now we return to only 3 1/2 weeks of school and then we are off to the US!! for a couple of months. As the time approaches I feel myself getting giddy with excitement. We are all looking forward to seeing family and friends, hearing English, eating all the foods we have missed over the past 10 months and cooler weather.

Speaking of family, I just want to wish my Mom a Happy Mother's Day. What a blessing she is to me. She has poured her life into raising me, loving me and caring for me, my siblings and Mark and the boys. She has always been there for me whenever and however. What a treasure to not only be able to call her Mom but also Friend, I love you, Mom. I can hardly wait to spend time with her this summer, I have really missed not seeing her and our frequent phone calls. Happy Mother's Day!

Buff

Yesterday, I took this picture of Ethan and Buff setting in my reading chair in my bedroom, no less! Ethan really loves his puppy and it has been quite the ordeal getting this puppy settled and half-grown. If you remember at the first of the school year how difficult the transition was for E-man? He loves animals and we thought it might help if we got him a puppy here in Thailand, to make it easier.




In October we purchased this miniature Shih Tzu, such a cute little thing. Ethan loved that puppy! After about 2 weeks we took it to the vet for its first round of vaccinations. When I picked it up they informed me they had wormed him too, I was concerned because he was so tiny. My concerns were valid, the next morning when we woke up he was practically comatose, he wouldn't respond at all. I really thought he wouldn't last while we rushed back to the vet. When I walked into the door, they asked, "You drop? Head injury?" I told them that no, I was questioning if maybe he had too much worming medicine less than 12 hours ago? They replied, "Oh, I think neck injury." After telling them that we didn't want any heroic measures taken, that I was okay with the IV that is now pouring dextrose into the poor little puppy but nothing else. I left the puppy in their care thinking that I would never see it breathing again. Miraculously they called about 6 hours later and said, "Come get puppy, okay now, no head injury!!" Ya think?! He really was awake and moving around, Ethan would be so relieved. But right away that night the poor thing started coughing and while we were gone on the weekend he died. Our housekeeper, Nok, stays in our home when we are gone and she called me while we were gone informing me that the puppy had died, I had warned her this might happen. Mark and I decided to wait and tell Ethan on the way home from the airport and not ruin his weekend. Our driver beat us to it. When he picked us up at the airport curb with our luggage in hand, he just blurts out, while laughing, "Puppy died! hahahaha!" Ethan was devastated and so upset that Songkran found this so amusing. That is so 'Thai' they laugh in any awkward situation. It was a long 1 1/2 hours ride home listening to Ethan cry, trying to comfort him and help him understand this culture more.




Well, the following week we journeyed back to the kennel where we had purchased the sweet puppy, Fluff, and bought his brother-Fuzz, who looked just like his deceased brother. Ethan was so happy. We decided to wait to take this little one into the vet for vaccines until much older and bigger. Three weeks later we were out of town again, this time in Cambodia and our phones wouldn't work there. When we returned, again we are met at the airport by Songkran laughing and bearing bad news. "Puppy died! hahaha!" This time I'm caught unaware also and I'm trying to clarify what he just said. I'm in shock and Ethan is devastated-AGAIN! "Puppy fall in pool and drown, hahahaha!" We are all so sad the entire trip home. Ethan is not only upset with the insensitivity of Songkran but is very angry toward Nok. I helped him think about how terrible Nok probably feels, that accidents happen. He keeps saying, "Why wasn't she watching mom?" I reminded him about an acquaintance of ours in the states that had just lost their 2 year old in a drowning accident. "Just think about how much they loved their son and terrible, terrible accidents happen." When we arrived home, there is Nok on the porch anxiously awaiting our return, crying too. She feels terrible and wonders if Khun Da will fire her. I tried to comfort her and assured her that I understand that accidents happen. She said, "You don't fire me?" I conveyed to her that we are Christians and that we are called to forgive. I told her that God has forgiven me of many, many things that were not accidents and that because I have been shown so much grace and forgiveness I must forgive those who do things against me. I know that this was an accident. The next morning she told me that when she went home, her husband, mother, boys and brother were all waiting to see, "What Khun Da say?" She told them that Khun Da different, she Christian. I pray that a small seed was planted there in that household and since then, I have had many opportunities to show Nok how Christians are different. Please pray for us that we faithfully live out the Christian life before others that God has placed in our life path.

We just couldn't handle the prospect of losing another little puppy, so after a few weeks, we went and found a big, strong, Thai dog. This is a breed that is known for its heartiness and guard dog abilities. It is a Thai breed, it looks like a small Husky. Ethan fell in love quickly with Buff also. This is much different than the two earlier dogs, this is an outside dog (where she stays most of the time!)a guard dog. It's been great having her here because we can now turn off the outside lights because we have a guard dog watching the place for us. That has been wonderful, I was having to sleep with a night mask because of all the light streaming through the windows at night. I'm grateful that we have made it through all the rounds of vaccinations and Buff is a hearty swimmer. In fact, she loves terrorizing the catfish in our pound, swimming, chasing them around. All the boys like Buff, but Ethan loves her. Boys and their dogs!

Coconut Caper

On Saturday I went to the local market with Khun Nok (my housekeeper) and her family on a mission. I was cooking Aunt Sara's coconut pound cake for Bible Study on Monday and I needed shredded coconut. We are surrounded by coconut trees but I'm still unsure how to grate my own. Khun Nok informed me that I can buy fresh coconut at the market. I stop by the local market near our home about once a week to purchase fresh pineapple (supalot), bananas (gluai) and many other exotic fruits like long-gons. I have started buying some rice (kow) and eggs (kai) there as well, it's so much cheaper than the grocery store and fresher. We now also buy fried chicken there on occasion, it's really yummy. Most of the Thai people go there at least once a day. Nok usually goes twice a day for breakfast and a dinner meal. A lot of my friends can't get past the amount of flies in the open market and the language barriers but I just love the adventure and the bargains!

Khun Nok was taking me to a busier Saturday market, I'm posting some pictures from our trip. I got about 1 lb of freshly grated coconut for 20 Baht-about 0.60. For me she peeled the entire coconut before putting it through the grater usually she just haphazardly peels it and the Thai people have lots of brown flecks of outer husk in their coconut. After peeling it she just ran it through a large meat grinder. Khun Nok wanted fresh coconut milk so she grated another coconut and then scooped it out and transferred it to another metal grinder and added water to the mixture. Nok says fresh coconut milk is the best thing for an upset stomach.

The cake turned out tasty even though the fresh coconut was a lot less sweet than our American version, it also was a finer consistency. I served it with fresh supalot and whipped cream.

Holiday Continued

On Friday we had a smooth 90 minute ride in the speedboat to Phi Phi islands. Such a beautiful, remote setting, a group of islands that have been made popular by movies such as the James Bond Goldfinger and Leonardo DiCaprio's Beach but also the terrible tsunami that devastated the area 4 years ago. I tried not to mention that earlier, didn't want the boys or Mom to worry. We were in a very private resort on the Northeast side of the island and the only reminders of the tsunami were the tsunami evacuation route and the tsunami memorial. It's amazing to me that everything could be rebuilt so quickly in such a remote place.

I just love the whole tropical island vacation-being met at the pier with lavender scented washcloths, leis and a refreshing pineapple drink. It was the beginning of a very relaxing, enjoyable vacation. Because of our inconvenience of being delayed by the weather the resort bumped us up to beach side bungalows-Wow! what a treat! We arrived on Friday of Easter weekend, before leaving I had tried to find a church on-line to attend on Sunday-no can do! We were told the island is Muslim and there are no Christian churches but we know that WE are the church, so Easter 2009 on Phi Phi had a church! When we arrived the lady assisting us with check-in had cross earrings on and I asked if she was a Christian, she was. Don't you just love 'coincidences' like that? She told me she was from the Philippians and had been working on the island for 3 months and had not been able to find any type of fellowship to attend anywhere on the small island. I invited her to worship with us on Sunday but she had to work. It was great to see her throughout our stay and Rose would be a great addition to a church start-up if anyone is feeling led to plant a church on a beautiful, exotic island in Thailand?!

On Friday afternoon we took advantage of a sunset snorkeling/diving trip. Nathan completed his diving certification through school only 2 weeks before we departed. The tide was low and we snorkeled right on top of the beautiful, coral reef. We saw many vibrant, tropical fish of all colors. Purple starfish, Purple sea-anemones, puffer fish, a few eel, lion fish.... Nathan at the deeper levels caught sight of a couple of sharks over the weekend along with some octopus. What an incredible blessing to get to witness so much of God's beauty in the sea, we are thankful.

On Saturday our Clarkson friends joined us. We were so grateful they arrived safely after the political upheaval in our hometown of Pattaya on Friday and Saturday, we were unsure they would be able to get out for their flight. We have now taken several trips with them and it is such a great fit. Drew is 14, they have an Ethan who is 11 and Carter who is 8. Sweet boys and they all get along so well. God really answered prayers in their being here in Thailand at the same time we are. We continue to pray that God would work out all the details of their staying, Mr. Clarkson works for GM.

On Sunday we had a wonderful brunch breakfast as Phi Phi was celebrating their Songkran holiday with powder painted on faces and a lot of water splashing going on, I just looked around at all the people and wonder if none of those people have a thought of God and the crucifixion/resurrection of Christ? I am humbled and eternally thankful that I have been given the privilege to know the way, truth and risen Christ.

I had planned a scavenger hunt for the boys to collect items used for the stations of the cross. They rooted up some bread, nails, stones, gauze, candles...Mark led us in a great time of worship on the deck of our bungalow with our friends and we sang a couple of hymns-the ones we knew the words to! An Easter we will never forget.