Repeat the Sounding Joy!

Joy to the World is a popular Christmas song, but I use to HATE when we sang it! I didn't like it because it was SO familiar. This year that has come back to bite me because my students are singing part of that song in their Christmas program. That means that I hear it EVERYDAY! Yay! :) We even sang it in chapel today. I feel like I cannot get away from this song. Today as I was listening to my students sing it in chapel, they know the words. I mean they can sing the whole entire song! The heart breaking part is that they have no idea the powerful truth that they are singing. "Joy to the World, the Lord is come. Let Earth receive her King!" Right away that is like a sucker-punch! The King of Kings has come to Earth! "Let every heart prepare him room!" It broke my heart to hear them sing this line and to know that their hearts are full of idol worship and empty hope.

Christmas is such a special time in the States. Even if people don't know Christ, many will still attend church, and the whole country quietly directs their thoughts towards Christ, if only for one night. Here, no one even pauses on Christmas. Everything stays open, schools are still in session, and the only thing that changes are the prices at the beach because so many tourists come through at this time. How sad to be so far from the truth!

Just listen to this beautiful Christmas song that is now taking a special place in my heart and rejoice in the fact that our King has come! Our Savior reigns! Pray for my students, that these wouldn't be empty words but that they would take on new meaning. That they would go deep into their hearts and that they would prepare him room!

Happy Father's Day! :)

“Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you."

Exodus 20:12 

This past weekend, we got to do just that, honoring the fathers at our school and the father of the country. It was a wonderful weekend! Here are some highlights from the ceremony in my classroom and the celebration downtown! :) Enjoy!

How amazing is our God!

Today in church it was announced that it is Thailand's national day of prayer! The government came to the Thai church and asked it they would hold a huge national ceremony to call on our God for the nation of Thailand and the flood devastation. How amazing that something as awful as this flood has turned the eyes of the nation to God! He is so amazing! Today from 5-10 P.M. they are giving the church the national stage right next to the huge reclining Buddha...a very holy site for the Thais! How amazing! :)

loving you too much so much very much right now!

I LOVE Thai music! Right now this is my favorite song! I just thought that I would post it on here so you could all get a little taste of what modern Thai culture is like. Getting ready for school tomorrow. It is our last full week before Christmas break! And then we go back to our regular school hours. It will be nice because this extra hour everyday is EXHAUSTING! Enjoy the music! :) -and yes, that is English they are speaking half way through!

back to the grind...

So day 2 of school is almost complete! I am exhausted and worn out and a little bit sick! I have had my air conditioning on really cold at night because I want to burrow in my blanket and pretend that it is winter. I think this winter weather has given me a cold though because my throat is screaming and my nose has been sneezing all day. I feel like I was run over by a truck. I guess this means the AC is going back to normal. I will just put cut-out snowflakes around my room to make it feel like winter now! :)

So almost all of my students are back. Yesterday I was missing 8 and today I am only missing 5! One of my students did not return this semester. Which is sad but also really nice because he was a handful and the whole class dynamic is more relaxed now. AND it means I only have 25 instead of 26 students because I was given two new students this semester! The new boy I got has already slapped a student and gotten his name on the board and missed break time- and he has only been here a day and a half! We will see what the future holds with him!

Until December break our school day is extended one extra hour to make up some of the lost days. That means that I teach from 8-4:40 and I tutor before and after school. It will only make December break so much sweeter because I definitely think that I will need the rest. I was contemplating going to an island for Christmas but staying home and sleeping sounds pretty wonderful right now!

Well I have to go prepare things for the Christmas program, Christmas decorating contest, and Father's Day ceremony. It is the King's Birthday next Monday so we do not have school. It is our last day off for the entire year so I plan to enjoy it! :) Keep well North American family! Thailand is busy but it is so nice to see my students again and to be working! I even missed the school lunches a little bit...but only a little! :)

the end is near!

We have had more scares and rumors about school being postponed even further...there was even a nasty rumor flying around that we would be out of school until December 13th...luckily that was all it was- a rumor! We are officially starting on the 21st! I am so excited! I forget what it is even like to teach! We now have all our vacation days taken away AND an extra hour added onto our school days to make up for all the time that we missed. It means that our school day (until the middle of December at least) will be from 8:00-4:40. Its a LONG day but we have a lot of lost ground to cover so it will be good! I was very productive today so I am starting to feel like myself again, like I have a purpose! :)

Tomorrow all the girls are taking a field trip to IKEA. They just put one in- it is about 3-4 hours from here but it is our last hurrah before the whirl of school consumes us! I am gonna look for some sweet canisters and who knows what else! I have a house to shop for! :) Tonight I am babysitting for a couple on campus. They have a Christmas tree and stockings hung up and I am listening to Christmas as I type this. It's nice to be in the holiday spirit! I can't believe that Thanksgiving is next week! We are having a big staff Thanksgiving dinner next Saturday. It should be a really fun/relaxing time! Everyone is bringing a dish and we are all chipping in for a turkey. We have so much to be thankful for this year!

On Saturday some friends and I are going downtown to build some water bottle rafts for flood victims to use to get themselves and their belongings out of their houses. It should be a good time! We are going to go to a local church in the afternoon then that is a bilingual church. Every aspect of their service is in both English in Thai. Its a neat environment and I think it will be a good way to spend our last Saturday of "freedom!" As much as I am looking forward to starting school I am not disillusioned about how much work it is going to be!

i take it all back!

change of schedule again! school now does not start until the 21st....we are all getting frustrated around here and we could use some bolstering prayers! Forget having a countdown to Christmas break, in my house we have started a countdown until class starts again!

almost back to normal

Well we got to escape for a little bit to the beautiful island of Koh Chang. The water was warm, clean, and beautiful! We were there for 5 days, and I am pretty sure that we did not leave the water the entire five days! We would go to the beach around 9, go right in the water, and not leave it until about 5 when we went back to our place. It was so beautiful and relaxing! One day we went snorkeling and we saw a sting ray jump out of the water and many exotic fish. It was beautiful! I had a lot of fun and came back very refreshed!

When we got back from the beach it was nice to see that all the water in the streets from the sewer over flowing had gone back down and the school down the street from us that was completely underwater is now completely dry! Rainy season is over and the days have been sunny and breezy! We made it through the worst without getting flooded! The only way we can get flooded now is if one of the dykes break or the sandbags don't hold. I was told today that I could "de-flood" my classroom though which is a relief. We moved all our furniture back in our house too so it feels more like a home again! School starts again on the 15th. It will be so nice to be able to get back into the classroom with my students! I miss them and I miss teaching them! The grocery stores have food again. I even saw bottles of water on the shelves! :) Life is returning back to normal here at GES.

Even though God was good in protecting us though, there are so many people who did not end up as lucky as us. So many people are without homes and possessions. I heard about a Thai woman yesterday who travels to visit Thai women in other countries to teach them how to do Bible studies. She is in Germany right now and has been in contact with her neighbors who say that they have nothing left. Everything has been ruined. She said that even though her house is flooded and destroyed, she is not going to come back home to take care of it, she is going to stay and finish her work in Germany. On the walkways that go over the roads, there are so many homeless and hurting people who have been sleeping there because they have no where else that is dry to go. Please pray for the hurting and homeless here! May they see God working even in their pain and loss!

livin in a little piece of paradise!

So my roommate has friends in high places! She is friends with someone who works for the US Embassy so needless to say their house is AMAZING! They had planned a vacation for Phuket...an island down south and just extended their stay because of the flooding. They offered their house to us to stay in until the worst of the flood threats are over. So we packed up all our water and all the food that we had stored up and made our way over to this piece of paradise. This house has its own private swimming pool, huge comfortable beds, each bedroom with its own bathroom complete with its own tub and shower. We can order for a massage to come to the house, a golf cart to take us anywhere we want to go in the little village, and get take-out from amazing restaurants! We are living the life!

On Monday we are escaping Bangkok and the flooding and going 5 hours south to Koh Chang, a little island known for its beautiful emerald green water and of course elephants. Here in Thailand seeing elephants is like seeing dogs or cats, they are like pets that you can find walking down any street. We are going for a whole week because school is canceled until November 7th now, and even that could change and be pushed back until the 15th.

So a little update on Thailand and the flooding...God has protected and provided. If you look at a flood map, we are the island of dry. Everything around us is underwater but for some reason water has not touched us. The drains on the side of the road have filled and are going out into the streets but even that water is more like a big puddle than anything we actually have to fear.

I ran into one of my student's parents at a local grocery store on Friday and they said that the water in their house is up to their knees. Ice is the name of that student and he is the shortest student in my class. He is really tiny. His parents told me that he can't go downstairs or the water would go over his head and being the fact that he is Thai, he cannot swim! :)

Thank you for your prayers...keep them coming! God is certainly answering them! :)

my dad left and the water is coming!

So my dad and I got back from Chiang Mai Friday night and we decided it would be best for him to see if he could get an early flight out so he wouldn't get stuck here! It was sad that he had to leave early but I would have been a nervous wreck the whole time he was here.

I am sure that my mom has done a good job of keeping everyone updated but just in case she missed people, the flood is coming soon! It has hit my province really hard and we are pretty much just waiting now for the siren to go off that means it has come here. The dam has been holding so far but it will be a strong tide the next couple of nights because of the full moon so there is no way we can escape it!

Today my roommate and I went to a grocery store. It opened at 10 and we got there right when it opened. We were able to get two cases of water and I am glad that we could because by 10:13 all their water was gone. It was crazy!

I will keep you posted on what's going on. But before I sign off, I just want to share some pictures that I took with my dad when he was here! :)

so far we're still dry!

Well its Sunday night and so far we have yet to see the flood waters come. The surrounding provinces are really hurting right now but God has kept us dry so far! It has rained a lot this weekend though! Hopefully we can continue to stay dry tonight so we will have no trouble getting a ride to the airport tomorrow for our trip to Chiang Mai! I am really looking forward to getting away and seeing some different sights! It will be nice to get out of dirty Bangkok and breathe some clean air!

My dad and I are having a good time so far! It's weird always being with someone so tall in Asia though! I am feeling like a tourist and I like it! :) It's nice to be able to see things that people fly half way around the world to experience! Thanks for your prayers of safety! If you can remember, keep my students in prayer. I know of at least 8 whose houses flooded, it could be more now...may they be reminded of God's provision and His goodness....things I have really stressed to them this year that I am hoping will take root in their hearts!

flood flood go away...if you have to come, come another day!

So life here in Nonthaburi is a little crazy right now! There are all these intense flood warnings right now! People are building cinder block walls around their stores and houses, and the country is running out of sand bags. We are having emergency flood evacuation practice with our students, and half of my students have been missing all week because they cannot get out of their houses. On top of all this, my dad is en route to visit me! I am just worried I won't be able to get to the airport to get him, especially since we are right down the street from the pier. There are rumors that a dam is about to break, if that happens, it is looking like we will be underwater! :( We are also getting hit with a tropical storm this weekend, and if that is the case, the dam will certainly break. Pray for our little school, and me and my dad!

BUT there is humor in even this situation. On Monday, my class was finishing up their weather unit. Because so many of my students were missing, I decided that we would create extreme weather forecasts. I showed them some examples of weather forecasts and I told them that in extreme weather forecasts, the meteorologist will often times tell them things to do to get their house ready. I asked them in the case of a flood, what are somethings they could do to get their house ready. I was thinking in my head of examples that they could say like, "move the furniture upstairs, get lots of drinking water, etc." But no, not my little Thai students. As soon as I asked the question, without blinking 7-8 students AT THE SAME TIME said, "move the rice upstairs!" You know you live in Asia when rice becomes the number one priority! :)

What a weekend!

This weekend flew! On Friday we didn't have school because it was a teacher workday so we could get report cards finished since our last day of school for the first semester is FRIDAY! I cannot believe that I am already half-way finished with my first year of teaching. It has gone by so incredibly fast!

Then, on Saturday, a man from our church took me and two other teachers on a trek through the rain forest at a national park about 3 hours outside of Bangkok. We had these awesome leech socks that we had to wear, and even still I picked quite a few leeches off of me...one particularly big one! We got to ride an elephant, had an amazing lunch, and went on a hike through the jungle. We saw monkeys (ling in Thai) swinging from the trees, a green viper, several hornbills, and amazing trees and flowers. It was so beautiful and so quiet! I forgot how quite the world could be. I live on a street that never sleeps in a city that is always moving. We didn't see any other humans from the time we got into the rain forest to when we got out. No buses, taxis, motorcycles, people, vendors- just quiet! We could hear birds and monkeys, and rain falling on the trees. It was a wonderful day!

My dad comes to visit on Thursday! :) I have planned our trip 50 times over already! I just can't wait to introduce someone from my family to Thailand. I hope he loves it as much as I do! :)

who is your king?

I love going to the movies in Thailand. I just love the comfortable seats, the opera-like setup of the hallways, the funny Thai previews and of course the King's Anthem. Before every movie, they play the King's Anthem, and show pictures of the King. Everyone stands up to show their respect. Just before the song comes on, a sign comes on the screen in English and Thai to let you know that the Anthem is going to start next. It says (in English at least) Please Stand for the King, the Pride and Inspiration of all Thai People.

Last Saturday I went to see a movie with one of my friends. There were only a few other people in the theater (it wasn't a great movie). When it came time for the King's Anthem, the people a couple seats down from us did not stand up! I was mortified! Not standing up can land you in prison! They take the respect to the King very seriously! When the King's Anthem is played, the world stops. No one moves until it is done being played. I could not believe that they did not stand up! It bothered me all week.

But then I started thinking, the Thai king is not my king. I have another. But do I pay him the same honor and respect? Do I say the He is the pride and inspiration of me? Or do I make him worth less than what he is? All those people had to do was stand to show the King respect. It is so simple....but it meant they had to actually stand. I know what I should do for my King, but do I just not do it because of the inconvenience it is to me to "just stand?" Just wanted to share with you some thoughts this morning.

School is going good! Less than 3 weeks until the semester ends and we get 2 weeks off!

 I am having some issues with a student. He is my lowest student, in both English and Thai so I know that means there is something else going on there. His father runs with gangs throughout Nonthaburi (my town) and my student has been bringing in weapons into school (don't worry mom they are just plastic right now) but he draws disturbing pictures on all his papers and he only takes out books about war and weapons (which I will be putting a stop to!). He is also my student who for masquerade day dressed up in a full army and gas mask outfit. He is also disrespectful to the other classmates, lazy, and unmotivated. In other words, he is every teacher's dream! :) I have to have a meeting with him and the headmaster. I have been trying all year to have a meeting with his parents but they have been unresponsive. Please pray for me as I deal with this student, and for my student and his heart as well. His name is Folk.

hudson taylor

This morning I read a story to my student's from Hudson Taylor's life. It started with how Hudson Taylor was discouraged that no one had taken the Gospel seriously. One night he was particularly discouraged when a Buddhist man stood up and said that he wanted to know more. His grandfather and his father had been searching for the truth and he wanted to know more about this truth Hudson Taylor was talking about. The man became a Christian, was baptized, and even took Taylor to a Buddhist meeting where the man shared his testimony with his friend. It was this part of the story that made me stop though. It says, "However, a few nights after the man had accepted Jesus as his Savior, he asked Hudson Taylor a very hard question. "How long have the people in your land known about Jesus?" Hudson Taylor answered, "Oh, hundreds of years." "WHAT?" said the man in amazement. "You knew the truth for hundreds of years and didn't come tell us? My father searched for the truth all his life and died without finding it. Why didn't you come sooner?"
            Just a little something to ponder....:)

Three Cheers!!!!

Today I was so tired! I am always so cold at night with my air-con on so I turned it off. At first it was really nice but then I woke up sweaty so I turned my air-con on again and then I woke up cold so I turned it off, and the cycle kept continuing all night. Needless to say, it was an awful night's sleep and I woke up dead tired this morning. Wednesday is not a hard day for me, but I teach the first 4 hours straight with only a break for lunch which I didn't have today because we had a student's birthday party during lunch (they go all out here...it is pretty much a gourmet feast! BUT it was good because today is nasty soup day in the cafeteria so I never eat a good lunch on Wednesday UNLESS there are birthdays! :)) Anywho, I was tired so I was not exactly my cheery self this morning. But then something absolutely amazing happened that totally redeemed my day and my attitude!
Mos is a student of mine who started at GES this year. He spoke virtually no English at all. It was a challenge trying to pantomime how to do math, science, english, and geography the first few weeks and months. He is so motivated though and driven to learn. He wants so badly to be able to understand. He has come such a long way since the beginning of the year and it has been really fun watching him develop. I remember at the beginning of the year he couldn't even say my name so for the first two weeks my name was "Teacher" until he could figure out how to say "Miss Sarah." But today Mos completely blew me away! We have a verse that we learn for chapel every week and sometimes in the mornings I will ask if any of the students want to say it to the class from memory. Today Mos raised his hand and stood up and said our memory verse! Then we went to flag and when we got back, it was time for math. In math, Mos had his hand raised several times to answer questions. Mos! Mos raised his hand in class. He understood my general instructions to the class. He didn't need any extra hand motions, picture drawing, pointing, or simple instruction. He got it! Then in English AND science Mos answered questions. And he got a B+ on a science quiz that he did ON HIS OWN! I was just so blown away. I am so proud of him! Today was a good day! :)

motley crew

Today I was watching my students as they were reading their Reader's Theater Scripts, and I just thought, "I really love them!" Sure, sometimes they drive me absolutely crazy and I can't wait until 3:40 when I can kick them out of my room, but they make me laugh more often than not! I love this crazy bunch of kids and I feel so lucky that I am able to teach them! I mean how can you not love these kids...

If America and Thailand got together...

So today is Monday, and that means  that it is my LEAST favorite day of the school week. Monday is my busiest day which is not always the best way to ease back in from the weekend. Today when I woke up I thought..hmm...if I were in America teaching, I wouldn't have to go to school today. So I decided that today I would make a list of all the things that I miss from America. Pretty much all the things that if Thailand had, would make it the most perfect country ever! :)
1. Pandora
2. Panera
3. sunroofs
4. fall
5. blueberries and raspberries
6. hot water
7. midnight milky way bars (thank you Sister Sarah for getting me hooked right before I leave!:))
8. an English library
9....and that is all I can think of! Thailand is a pretty wonderful place though even without all those things! Half way through rainy season! :)

We've been to the ocean and back!

We had an amazing field trip to Ocean World yesterday. My students LOVED it and I did too! For it being Thailand, it was such an educational and well-put together field trip! They had to go on a scavenger hunt to find different types of fish, they got to play with penguins, and we saw some amazing looking fish. All of my students kept hugging me throughout the day to let me know how much fun they were having. The sixth grade that came with us didn't enjoy it too much but we sure did! Here is a video below that I took before the tour. I tried to upload a longer video of my kids after the tour was done but blogspot keeps telling me that I can't! :( Enjoy this one though!

this one's for you mom!

So my mom really likes my student, Ice. My students gave a speech on Friday about who their hero is. I thought that I would upload some of them so you could see them. Ice's is the first speech, but it is only the first part of it. Then, Ton Gla's is the second. His is hard to hear but it is so sweet...he says that Jesus is his hero because he came to heal the sick, and to love everyone...even to die on the cross. And yes, Ice is in this video too...he loves the camera! :)
Field trip to Ocean World on Friday! It is Asia's largest aquarium! I am very excited and my students are too! I'll post more pictures after that trip! Hope everyone back home is braving the storm! We could use some stormy weather here! Maybe it would cool everything down! The last week or so has been really hot!

a little bit of catch up

So much has happened since the last time I wrote so I thought that I would catch you up on life here in SE Asia. I have been busy and exhausted lately! I feel like between teaching, grading, lesson planning, and all the wonderful extra duties, plus youth group, Thai language lessons, and preparing for the girl's retreat I had no energy left to even climb up the three flights of stairs to my bed! BUT the girl's retreat took place this past weekend and it was pretty cool!
   The girl's retreat was with a group of Burmese refugee girls that live up in Mae Sot (about 8 hours) from where I live. It is in conjunction with a school that my church supports. They do not speak Thai which is a little tricky and they don't speak English which makes it even more tricky to find translators. God provided them for us though and we had the opportunity to be able to communicate with them the whole weekend. There were several teachers from my school who went, along with women from the church, and some people from America who came just for the retreat. I had 8 girls in my group who I spent the entire weekend with. They are wonderful girls between the ages of 14 and 16...don't worry I will include pictures at the end! :)
  We were able to give them BIbles in Burmese so they could read them, and a good portion of the weekend was spent teaching them how to use the BIble and how to have a personal devotion time with God everyday to better get to know him and his Truth. We also played games, did crafts, and had a special banquet for them at the end that concluded in a pretty sweet dance party!
  The only negative part of the weekend was the leaders themselves. There was a lot of tension between the American team and the rest of us. The American team had lead 12 girls retreats before and they did a lot of the schedule planning for this retreat. The only problem though was that they had done their retreats in Guatemala and America. Thailand, especially refugees in Thailand, have a completely different culture and need to be approached in a very different manner. The team from Thailand had been to Mae Sot on previous trips, they knew the culture, place, and the girls. They were getting upset at the American team and the American team was getting upset at the Thailand team. I chose to not get involved and instead I just focused on my girls! It worked pretty well for me, but God can never work as powerfully when His people are divided!
   We ran into some problems with our transportation on the way back, and instead of getting home at 8:00 on Sunday night, we got back at 1:30. I still had to get up at 6 for work the next day so I was a little tired on Monday for work to say the least, and of course Monday is my most hectic day in regards to my schedule! :) I survived though and now for the next 2 days I have parent teacher conferences. I am not particularly looking forward to them, but it will be nice to be able to share with the parents some concerns that I have.
   I also met a friend at the gym....my first gym friend! Her name is Nattie. She takes the same class that I do on Monday night. She speaks English very well so I am hoping she can help me with my Thai! Which, by the way, my students are telling me is getting better and better! The one night I even had a full conversation all the way home from church with the taxi driver in Thai! AND church is about 40 minutes away with no traffic! Yes there was alot he said that I didn't understand and vice versa BUT I was pretty proud of myself! Enjoy the pictures from this past weekend! Fon di na kah! (Have good dreams! :))

meet my students!

I took a short video today while we were making our science displays. Meet my students! :)

Overnight Camp!

Overnight Camp is a really fun time where we put on a "camp" for them from Friday after school until Saturday afternoon. It takes a lot of planning, means Friday is a CRAZY day in the classroom, and there is not a lot of time to prepare for the next week, but it is so FUN! Our theme this year was the beach and we taught the students about humility. On Friday night they rotate with their teams, so I rotated with the orange team and had students from every grade. At the end of the night we have a campfire complete with hot dogs, s'mores, and very sweaty students! :) We put them to bed and wake up early the next morning for class activities. It is a highlight for the students every year and it is really fun to be able to spend time with them outside of the classroom! I love my kids and it was a very fun (but EXHAUSTING!) weekend!

I am also starting to help out with the youth at church. Today was the first day that I got to meet them and spend time with them. My housemate and I both decided to help out with the youth this year and it is really neat because we are the only female leaders. I think the girls (especially in middle school) need someone who is a girl to talk to. They are all really sweet and 3 of them just moved to Thailand this past week! Hopefully we can really pour into their lives and help them feel comfortable in Thailand and especially at the church!

I'll post some pictures from the campfire below...

My new name is Aunt Sarah!

You can now officially call me Aunt Sarah! Isaac made his appearance into the world tonight! I am so excited! I am sad I cannot be with the family right now traveling up to New Hampshire to meet him, but I will skype with him and hopefully will see him soon! :) God is good, and everything went smoothly and both mom and baby are doing well! YAY! :)

I'm back!

Koh Tao was the most beautiful place I have ever been! We had an amazing time! The scenery was beautiful and nothing can compare to being able to take a 4-day weekend trip to an island! I feel a little spoiled and I almost cannot believe that this is my life! God is so good and I have been so blessed! We hiked up the steepest road ever imaginable to get to this lookout that was absolutely incredible! Then we looked around the island, went swimming in the pool, ate a late lunch and pretty much zonked out at our hotel room. The next day we got up early and went on an all-day snorkeling trip around the island. The fish were so beautiful! I have never seen anything like it before. We were suppose to go to a bay that was known for having sharks but there were none when we got there! :( It was the best vacation and a great way to relax! Have to go back to teaching tomorrow! I'll post a few pictures from the island on here so you can see the beauty of it...

vacation here I come!!!!!

WOO HOO!!!!!
   No school on Friday and no school on Monday means a 4-day weekend and a trip to the beautiful island of Koh Tao for me! :) We leave tomorrow (Thursday night) and take a night bus to Chompun and then a ferry to Koh Tao. It is suppose to be one of the most beautiful islands in Thailand- if you have time Google it! I will also be sure to upload pictures so you can be jealous of me! ha! :)
   I am exhausted and I am definitely in need of a break and some relaxation time! I just hope that with traveling so far we would still be able to enjoy ourselves! I am so excited!
   I am connecting with my students well. This week we had open house which was a great time to meet the parents and share a little bit about what I really want to stress and emphasize with the students and what we need to work on as a whole class!
  Life in Thailand is great! I am blessed and God is good! :)

a long day!

Just to give everyone an update, this week I had been having some not so normal health symptoms! I thought maybe it was stress or any number of different things. I kind of blew it off until today. Today when I was in church, the pain in my abdomen was so intense that I had to leave and go home. I woke my brother up on Skype to get my parents so I could talk to them about what I was experiencing with my body. They told me that they really thought I needed to go to the hospital. When my roommate came home we talked about it and decided that I should go so we went I am glad that I did!

When we first got to the hospital, they said listening to my symptoms they thought I had kidney stones. If that was the case it would mean I would have a very expensive ultrasound. We waited for about half an hour and when the tests came back, I did not have kidney stones, so I did not need to get an ultrasound done or more testing. HOWEVER the levels in my kidney were really high. They are suppose to be at a cell level of 5 and mine were at a level of 50. The doctor told me that I had a very severe kidney infection. Right now I am on antibiotics and (thank goodness!) painkillers. I have another appointment on Thursday after school to check out my levels again. All my medication and doctor visit came to half of what an ultrasound would have cost.

Since taking my medication, my pain is almost gone and I feel normal for the first time in days. I think I can handle teaching this week which is a blessing! Hopefully the antibiotics kick it out so on Thursday I can get a clean bill of health! :)

Besides having to miss church and scare my parents a little by waking them up at 2 in the morning I am no worse for the ware! :)

Nothing New....

My mom told me that I needed to blog again and update everyone but there really is nothing new on the home front! I am working hard on my lessons and getting into the swing of things with teaching. I get paid in 2 days which is a HUGE blessing (we get paid monthly so this is my first paycheck) and I start Thai lessons tomorrow. Two hours every week I will be learning Thai from a Thai woman who is certified to teach Thai to foreigners. I have never too gifted at picking up languages so I hope that I am able to pick it up quickly and make the most of it! We will see how I do! :) 
   I also joined a gym today. It is nice and offers a lot of fun classes. I joined with two other teachers so it will be fun going there with them and getting to know them better there! Also it is another great way to make relationships and maybe learn a little more Thai! :)
   Thank you all! 

my birthday and wai kru

                                            a cake from a student-how cute is that???

So Thursday was my birthday and Wai Kru! Wai Kru is a day where the students show their appreciation for their teachers by giving them flowers. Eventhough it is only after a week of school, it is still a fun day to spend with all the students. It was also my birthday which was fun because it only added to the day! My roommates made it really special for me too! They made me birthday muffins (a Green tradition) and carrot cake (my absolute favorite!)! It was a special day! Thank you all for your birthday wishes as well! I felt loved! :)

Meet Grade 3!

I would like to introduce you to my grade 3 class! As you can see, we have a lot of boys! AND my students have not mastered the art of equal lines but that is okay because it is still the beginning of the year! :)

My Classroom is Lived in!

My students have come and gone and my first day as a teacher in Thailand is complete! :) They were so excited to come in the classroom this morning! They were lined up at 8:00 to come in and school doesn't start until 8:30! They truly love to learn! They are a talkative little bunch which is not common in this type of school environment so even though it can be a challenge it is also a blessing! I have 3 great new students in the class this year, Nenna, Fuji and Mos. Mos does not speak much English but Fuji certainly does and Nenna falls somewhere in the middle! Thank you for all your prayers today! :)

My students come tomorrow!!!!

Tomorrow is the first day of school! I have spent all weekend and week getting my classroom ready for the kids to come! I wanted to post some pictures so you could better picture where I am going to be ministering all year long! Enjoy!
P.S. I have a fish theme! :)

                                                               view from the door

                                                                      reading corner

                                        my desk and student work bulletin board

   view from the back of the student's desks; the green bulletin board is more covered now, not a most recent picture

view from the side door

If you think of it...

So I have a prayer request for all of you! In August, we had planned on doing a girls retreat with some of the Burmese refugee girls. We were going to take them to a nice hotel, play games with them, do their nails and hair, have dance parties, and have a big pizza party at the end of it. We also were going to make it kind of like a church retreat and have worship and workshops and things. My roommate from last year, Eunice, was the head of the planning and I was going to come alongside and support her in whatever area she needed. WELL, Eunice is stuck in a hospital in Maryland, with no end in sight of when she will be returning to Thailand. She had a surgery in March that she is now having complications from. Please pray for her quick recovery!

However, that means that I have now taken up the responsibility of planning this girls retreat on top of getting my classroom ready for school. There is a lot that needs to be done, and there are people from the States coming to join us on this retreat who have already bought their tickets, so we cannot postpone it. Please pray for wisdom, diligence, and time management! I have never planned anything like this before and I really want it to be a special time for these girls. Also, we have no funding for this trip and the girls have no way of paying for it. On Sunday, I am meeting with the pastor to see if our church here in Thailand can sponsor at least a portion of the trip.

So in summary, please pray for a quick and complete recovery for Eunice, wisdom, diligence, and time management for myself, and that God would provide the funds for these girls! Thank you! :)

Pictures of Thailand floating market and crocodile farm

Week One Down...

So week one of orientation is officially complete! I have not been able to get into my room yet because they are currently holding summer school in there so I have done all of my bulletin boards, name tags, and planned out the first day. Life has been good here so far! I am completely moved into my room and I have made connections with the other new teachers. I am so excited though because one of my roommates comes tonight! I will not have to be in this big house by myself any longer!

Tomorrow we are taking a little "field trip" to the floating market and the crocodile farm. In Thailand, their value of life is not as high as in the states so I am sure we will be holding, petting, and who knows what else with the crocodiles tomorrow. It should be an interesting day! :)

Side Note: I have been able to reconnect with some old friends from last year, and they remember me! Even some of the hawkers on the street recognized me and asked me when I had come back. It is nice to see everyone again!

Please pray that everything would come together with my classroom so I will not feel stressed or unprepared for my first day. I have 25 students-the largest class in the school. They have capped it though so at least I will not get a class any larger than that! :)

I'm here!

I made it! I am back in Thailand...after the longest travel days of my life! We took off from JFK almost 4 hours later than planned! Our plane was delayed coming in and then we finally got on it almost 2 hours after we had planned. Boarding took FOREVER and then there was so much air traffic at JFK we got in a very long line. As we are waiting to leave, a woman passenger began to freak out that she wanted to stay in New York. She began to run up and down the aisle screaming she needed to get off this plane! Her husband and the stewardesses attempted to calm her down but she was slowly becoming hysterical! Finally they decided to go back to taxi the plane back to where we had started from and let her out. We went through that long process, then they had to go below and retrieve her bags. Now our plane needed more fuel. By the time this was all done, we got back into an even longer line of planes. BUT I made it through the travel experience. I got to go outside in Germany! So all in all it wasn't so bad!
  
I arrived in Thailand around 10:00 Sunday morning. I got through customs and got my bags no problem. I found Solomon (one of the school administrators) and we got in a taxi and made the long trip from the airport to GES! I have to say I had forgotten how hot Thailand was until I stepped out of the airport!
  
I must confess on the plane from Berlin to Bangkok I was having my first ever series of doubts since this whole experience began! I started to think, "why did I ever want to do this?" "PA isn't that bad!" But as soon as I got through customs, I was standing at the baggage claim waiting for my bags and I smelled it! Bangkok has a very distinct smell...kind of like dirty sewer water. Call me crazy though but I like it. It grows on you! As I was standing there I smelled that dirty sewer water smell and I was comforted. I knew that I had made the right decision! This is where I wanted and needed to be!
 
Now I am all unpacked (for the most part). There are just a few things that I need to get to be completely settled in. I am so happy to be back in Thailand...and to not have to go on an airplane for several months! :) Thank you all for your prayers!

Leaving PA

So today I am leaving for Thailand. Slowly but surely it is starting to set in. I am beginning to think of all my "lasts." Last time I wake up in my bed, last time I brush my teeth at the sink, last time I hug my mom goodbye. But with lasts come firsts too. This will be the first time that I am really on my own and I am ready for it! My whole life is packed up in two (extremely HEAVY) suitcases. I'm ready to go. I'll write again on the other side of the world! :)

God is good! :)

Tonight I was reminded through people lifting me up in prayer how blessed I am with the people that God has placed in my life! Thank you everyone! It was so encouraging and appreciated! God is good and faithful!

Side Note:
  Some people have been asking me what the title of my blog means. It's called Tuesdays in Pink because every Tuesday at the school we wear pink shirts in honor of the king. The color use to be red but a local group that is involved in some of the political unrest wears red so as not to be associated with that groups, the color was changed to pink.

Welcome to the Journey!

This is my first blog. Come inside my thoughts as I impart on this journey...

In one month and three days I will leave for a year in Thailand! :) I will be teaching the third grade class at Global English School. It is my first class and I am so excited to begin teaching and using my fancy college degree! :)

Last September through December I spent that time in Thailand at the same school. I spent the time working with students, helping teachers, and doing a lot of bulletin boards! It will be reassuring to be able to go back to a familiar school, and be with familiar people! Thailand has a saying though that I think applies to my situation. When in a local store or talking to a taxi driver, when comparing various items, they will always say that they are "same same but different!" This is much what I am expecting of my first month or two back in Thailand. Much of it will be the same. The school will be the same, many of my students will be the same, some of the people I work with will be the same, etc. HOWEVER, I am also fully prepared for changes. Some teachers are not returning, students are a year and a grade older, my housing will be different, and my mindset will be different because I will be staying a lot longer! I'm excited for this opportunity though!

Thanks for joining me in the journey! I'll keep you posted on all experiences and adventures! :)