Greetings from the other side of His 'Privileged Planet',
I'm sure it is morning!
Yesterday, after a most lovely and full day, Hank, Laurie and I thought we'd take a nap before supper. Guess what? I just woke up and the rest are still asleep! It is 4:24 AM 'T" time and here I am having been FULLY awake for at least one hour! Guess we should have tried that 'light-bulb' trick. Have you heard of it? Yep, upon the first night of arrival, just before going to sleep, place a lighted bulb about 3 " away from (behind) the inside of the right knee, hold in place for 2-3 minutes and this will (ahem) adjust your 'internal time clock' to the new time! It does cause me to smile to think that as this is being written, you all are in the midst of your day... 15 hours difference, CA time.
To catch you up a bit... continuing on from the recent update and pix of our journey.
Upon arriving 'home', Chelsi warmly greeted us. That would be their friendly and most optimistic Golden Retriever! She is convinced that our only purpose in life is to endlessly and successfully wrangle the very wet tennis ball from her mouth, toss with gusto and patiently wait for her to swiftly return for more of the same!! It is so sad to see her disappointment when we run out of steam.
Let me take you on a quick tour of The Kidz very pleasant and welcoming 2-story, 5 bedroom, 2 bath home. (The owner has gifted them with a most incredibly low rent.)
As we enter, according to Thai custom, shoes are removed. The wooden floors shine like a penny, walls are freshly painted with every corner clean as a whistle. The whole house is ' mouse-quiet' because house construction is of cement. What we've really noticed is the steps don't creak like ours. Upstairs are the four comfy bedrooms and a bathroom. We have discovered that these fully- tiled, step-down bathrooms seem to be one large shower with sink and toilet included. Just grab the shower hose and there you go. Lori's kitchen appliances are a 2 gas burner hot plate, miniature bottom-freezer drawer refrigerator and an oven which will bake 9 cookies at a time. Because of this climate, ants are a huge challenge. A and L must keep EVERYTHING clear of any food particles. They are on constant guard and very successful, as a result.
This red-tile roofed neighborhood is gated with guard-house...........but there is no money to pay a guard. The outdoor electrical lines are amazing..........lots and lots of them, rather spaghetti-like, on one pole!!!! The streets wind like a maze and remind us of our trips to Mexico. Also, cars steering wheels are on the right and thus, traffic (mostly motor-bikes) flows opposite to our practice. Anders honored Hank by putting him behind the wheel on the first day! As of yet, he hasn't asked for the keys! :~)
That little jaunt was on Thanksgiving morning when we drove to Payap University, an international school where A and L are studying for their International Master's in Business. This 6,000 student body school was founded as a Christian University. Each building is named with a Christian influence. For instance, A and L's business major is named Pentecost. I noticed another with the title of Shepherd. Christians are found to be few and far between. Thus, A and L are leading a most necessary outreach to area universities.
Our purpose that morning was to help Professor Dr. Esther, her mother Thelma (Americans) and home economic students make cinnamon buns as part of the university's Thanksgiving dinner. It was fun to jump right in and get acquainted during this joint effort. Esther had made 10 double batches of dough that morning. We lost count of the number of huge baking pans which were filled.
Dinnertime was set for 4 PM in the autumn decorated cafeteria. A most interesting menu, it was! Turkey, dressing, cranberries, mashed potatoes, rice with selection of various levels of hot spices and seasonings, fruits, 29 homemade pumpkin pies (made singlehandedly by Jessica from the office of Campus Life) and, of course the yummy buns. Student entertainment followed, including a 'Turkey Game'. What a bunch of wild turkeys!
An American gave a brief history of Thanksgiving and his family tradition. A small choir (mix of Thai and Americans) sang, "May the Lord Bless You and Keep You", with others following.
As the day came to a close, I looked at my watch and chuckled........."Our friends back home are still asleep with their Thanksgiving Day just beginning!"
A and L introduced us to many folk during the dinner hour. One in particular is their precious and good friend, Nan (pray for her), who invited us to lunch at her restaurant the following day. Another event included on Friday would be the morning arrival of friends and house guests, Oskar and Rebekka, Swedish 'workers'. They are stationed about a 12 hour bus ride from here!
Our Friday began with A and L's short jaunt to the bus stop for O and R's arrival. Lots of greetings, hugs, laughter, breakfast, devotions and planning for the rest of the day. It is so good to hear that familiar Swedish accent with which I was raised. Dad immigrated from Sweden as a young man and never lost that dear accent.
For transportation, Hank resisted the offer of the car keys, five jumped in the car, loaned to them by a dear church friend, while O and R happily hopped onto a motor scooter. ....and off we zoomed.
We were taken on a bit of a tour of the university's amazingly vibrant and colorfullly decorated campus. We are in the midst of their 4-day graduation celebration. Guests are greeted with the beauty of flowers of every sort and hew. This 3rd day is set aside for picture taking. Various, gorgeous, color-themed settings are placed here and there. Potted plants everywhere! We took many pictures because it is so true, 'a picture is worth a thousand words'! Now, this 4th day is actually graduation day. We hope to get a glimpse of it, as well.
From the campus we walked a short distance to Nan's restaurant. A whole sea bass, delectable vegetable dish, green curry, rice, fruit, green tea. We could not thank her enough for such a feast!
Back to the campus with Nan leading the way. We soon were in the midst of booths of hand carvings, weavings, lovely hand-made clothing items, etc.
Intermingled were untold numbers of food 'booths' where your meal or snack is cooked, right there on the spot. We were less than hungry at this point and actually will probably resist 'street vendors'. More pictures coming your way! Oh, on a small stage sat four elderly gentlemen............probably our age. They must have been the village sages. It was now coming to the close of the day so the audience had dwindled down to only a few on chairs which made up the front row. Behind them were four long rows of mats on which a large audience must have been sitting earlier. Not many chairs needed here in the East, it seems.
This monologue, thus far, has mostly been of what we have seen with our eyes. With our hearts we have observed much sincere longing and willingness for the Lord's work to be accomplished by Him, through His workers, for The Kingdom here in Thailand.
Here in Chiang Mai, the student ministry is the main thrust. As we soon go to the villages, the scenery will change, but the purpose will not. Unto You oh Lord, unto You!
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