HOME! I am here.....yadda yadda yadda....

SO! Wow....I just never updated this as much as I should have! So much happened every day that it was hard to write it all out every night!

What an amazing time I had in Thailand! I didn't want to go, nor was I prepared to leave....it all happened so fast! I should've burned my passport....I think that would have been sufficient. ;)

During my last few weeks there I was able to help Tom Silkwood with the lighting on set....I wasn't able to help as much as I would have liked to, but I was hardly ever at the building for the first few weeks, so we took a day to fix some of the cameras. The time and focus that it takes to build a movie set was well beyond my expectations. I praise God that He uses the efforts and skills of the Silkwoods and their staff to do such a time-consuming work for Him! Their labor pays off in many ways, and I'm thankful for it.

The weekend before I was able to help them, I was a high school counselor at Hume Lake in a mountain resort in Chiang Mai. Hume Lake is a very popular Christian camp back in the States, but every other year they haul out some of their staff to Thailand and hold a camp for missionary kids and other high schoolers interested. We were able to see many come to know the Lord that week, and the Lord really blessed us with the speaker, Chris, who has a way of captivating the hearts of any around him, and the students loved him. God was great! He worked on my heart as well....

My plans are to return to Thailand.....I'm filling out another teaching application and praying over it, as well as considering my options for volunteering in other ministries. I'm open to what the Lord has for me....He has allowed me to love the people of Thailand and to love helping the ministries there as well. Only God knows what is in my future! I love that song, "Many things about tomorrow, I don't seem to understand, but I know Who holds the future, and I know Who holds my hand." So true! And I couldn't praise Him enough for it.

Thank you for keeping updated with me....you all have been very patient in waiting sometimes weeks for me to do so....I tried to keep as many things updated as I could, but it's not one of my talents, staying in touch. Haha! Enjoy the pictures! For those of you nearby, I'll be speaking twice about my trip there....once on Saturday, November 7, at the International Missions Dinner at Grace Baptist in Tremont, and I'll have a slideshow with some more pictures of my trip, and also at My Sister's Keeper ladies meeting on Tuesday, November 10, at 6:30 p.m. You can get ahold of me if you need directions! Thanks again!

Has it really been eight days since I posted?!?!?!

AHHHHHHHHHH! Time seems to go by so quickly here! I tell ya! So much has been going on, that I don't even know where to begin! We started the second and last English camp with the young girls from the Daughters of Ruth, and it went GREAT! I loved each and every one of them SO much. They ranged in age from 7-13, and they were wonderful girls and quick learners! Thank g'ness. Hahaha......I'm trying to get some pictures uploaded now....but the signal is really weak today, so it may take a few more days. Sorry folks!

What else did we do? Oh! On Wednesday we went to the Chiang Mai Zoo. Talk about amazing! In America they won't let us anywhere NEAR the animals, and here they practically roam free?!?! I fed a hippo, an elephant, a giraffe, and a STINKEN LEOPARD! Yeah, you heard me, a LEOPARD! It was the best day ever. The place is HUGE, and we walked about ten miles, but the girls loved it, and so did I. It was by far one of my best days here. The girls were so sweet....I told them that I have this strange fear of crocodiles, and so a few of them tried to distract me while we went past the gator area....haha, I knew where we were, but I pretended not to so they'd feel good. Ha! They're so precious!

The Lord was able to give me the opportunity of speaking at the Chiang Mai Women's Correctional Facility in the heart of Chiang Mai. I was told by the Aa-jaan (pastor) that they usually had a small group of about 10-20 women come, and he asked me to speak to them and give them my testimony. "Well sure!" I thought. What's a small group of women! Well we walked into the prison yard and there sat about 300 women. I was stinken terrified. I had to pray ALOT before getting up there. I had a translator, so that was a real blessing, but scary nonetheless. I gave them the verse, John 14:18, where Jesus says, "I will not leave you comfortless. I will come to you." I explained the verse in context, but also how they can apply it to their own lives. So many broken women....I cried when I left. My heart is definitely in the prison ministry. These women are so tender and hungry for the Gospel. I hope that many were able to come to know the Lord through my testimony and invitation. They were as much a blessing to me as Lord willing the Holy Spirit was to them through my words.

Tomorrow I head out for Missionary Kids' Camp up in the mountains. I'll be back on Tuesday! Hopefully with lots of pictures and great stories! Have a wonderful weekend folks!

I need to get some stinken pictures on here!

So.....today was the best day ever. I was asked to lead devotions today with the girls. I do it through Angela Morse, who translates for me. She's great! The Lord really put it on my heart to do the Romans Road with the girls, and to give my salvation testimony. I didn't ask after we had an invitation who accepted Jesus Christ into their hearts, because I know that the girls would be embarassed, but I believe some did....and Angela mentioned it later that one in particular, Nee, looked as though she had tears in her eyes after the prayer. God is SO good! I feel so honored and privileged that He would allow me this opportunity to serve Him in Chiang Mai. How wonderful it is to know that I can freely talk about His sacrifice to others, and see them so willingly come to the cross.

Everything about Chiang Mai has been wonderful so far. As I walk through the little village area where I'm staying each morning, I'm met with kind faces of people who either want to take a picture with my camera, or want to walk and talk with me. Unfortunately that's very limited, since I don't speak that much Thai, but it's nice to have them there and meet them anyway. The people in Thailand have a kind spirit about them, and I like that. :)

The food....can I talk about the food again? It's just all good. I love rice, and I love pork, and I love chicken, and I love sauces, and I love the fact that the other day when we bought pizza for all of the girls, there choice of topping was.......KETCHUP! This place is perfect! How I am going to miss it. But I don't want to think about that right now.

I went to see the Buddhist temples in the mountains on Wednesday. They are so beautiful! Pure gold, and they are in this quiet, serene area where there is a BREATHTAKING view of Chiang Mai. I loved it. It was sad to see the tourists so openly embrace the Buddhist philosophies, even though I don't really believe that they understand them completely. But it was a great outing! Tom and Gayle are two awesome tour guides. Haha!

So.....I'm not gonna lie....I miss The Office. Rant over.

Random, I know, but there ya go. I've been here one week, and it's been a great one at that. Thanks for keeping up to date! I'll try to get some pictures on here! You can check out my Facebook as well, and if not, just add me and you can look through my entire album!

Cop-Coon-Cah for reading this......

That means thank you, peeps! Tomorrow I start my Thai lessons! I am so excited! Since I only have two weeks to learn as much Thai as possible, since I won't be able to continue the Thai lessons with the prison visits and MK camp in the coming weeks, we're starting some intense lessons dealing with phonetics, etc. I can't wait! I've learned a few words so far, but not many. Haha.....A for effort, perhaps? ;)

Ahhh....the Thai church was amazing. They started off with singing....I'm going to post a video of it on my Facebook....the girls' voices (of the Daughters of Ruth) were beautiful. So in tune with each other, and so sincere. These girls have come from VERY broken homes, and the fact that they sing with so much peace and honesty is moving. I loved it. Very different from America, but wonderful nonetheless. I still miss my church, but what a rewarding experience!

The Aa-Jaan, or pastor, preached on Jesus being the Bread of Life, and how selfish it is for us not to share the Bread with others. It was a great message. My friend Angela helped translate most of it for me, thank g'ness......mmmmhmmmmm......

How do I explain Thailand to someone?!?! A lot of people have been asking me to sum it up. It's hard! It's a crazy place, but a beautiful kind of crazy. It's so different, the sights, the smells, the people. I feel very blessed to be able to experience this, and to do the work that Christ has called me to do.

English camp for the Daughters starts tomorrow. I am so excited! We've brain-stormed a lot over the lesson plans, and I think the girls are going to catch on very quickly. :)

Take care, mit. (friends) Yeah, I'm bilingual now. Hahaha.....fo' sho'. Not really though.

Well bust my chops....

SO.....I was able to experience a little bit of the Thai culture at an outdoor/indoor/barely any doors market today. OH BOY. I just love food, I don't know how many people I've told THAT secret too, but it was just wonderful getting to take in all of the sights and smells, (yes, friends, even with my lack of a sense of smell I got in a few good whiffs), and really enjoy the FOOD. And oh, THERE IS FOOD! Sticky rice, pork on a stick, fresh pineapple! And oh so very CHEAP! I'm gonna be honest right now, I am not even gonna lie.....I'm drooling a little bit typing about it. AND.....I know with a lack of Starbucks at every corner, which here is replaced by a 7-11, I now have a new favorite! It's called Cha-Yen, which in Thai means Tea-Cold, or Cold Tea. Oh, it's amazing. They mix sugar, condensed milk, and red tea together, and shake it up with ice, and it tastes like heaven. Mine was gone within a minute. OH SWEET MOSES....I could have one every day.

I'm not feeling too jet-lagged, a little tired spurt here and there, but for the most part I'm doing great! God has been wonderful about it thus far....I know He's really helped my body to adjust. Praying for that to continue!

Fun fact.....there are miniature lizards EVERYWHERE....I'll find out the name again and post it, but they're so cute! All over the tops of the walls, but they eat mosquitoes so they're welcomed here. I'll get a picture and post it as well.

Thanks for keeping in touch! Take care, and good night Americans. ;)

Oh bury me NORTH! Of the warm....perrrrairie!

So yeah.....that's a quote from the infamous duo of Abbott and Costello. WELL....so here I am! Made it thus far to Taipei, Taiwan. Have yet to experience symptoms of the swine flu, even though I am surrounded by people in masks. So strange! I really never thought of it as a big deal, but some of these people are terrified!

I was going to update in LA, but this very creepy man seemed very interested in everything I was doing, and I didn't really want his input on my blog. Haha! It was a good time though. Thanks for The Sizzler, Greg.....and thank you security man for not detecting the large amount of money taped to my body. Yeah, I know....but carrying it in my purse just didn't seem like the greatest idea. So I opted for body parts....because that's who I am, and that's how I roll.

I'm not even gonna lie, I am exhausted. Who'd have thought that Taiwan would have showers in their bathrooms?!?! Had I known, I would've prepared! That's amazing! What sweet rapture to have gotten a nice shower! Oh well, I'm more thankful for running water the longer I sit here with gnats and flies getting overly close. I feel like a mere cow. Yes, a cow. Only less the full stomach. :( But bless my soul I had a Coke! Mother of carbonation! It was delicious!

Take care, and stay tuned. DUN DUN DUN.

Like Sand Through The Hourglass....

So is stinken waiting for tomorrow to get here. I FINALLY, and yes, emphasis was purposely implied, FINALLY got my passport after stressing for most of the weekend, and then my flight was cancelled. HAHA! The Lord has an amazing way of saying, "Don't you like being reminded daily that since I called you there, that I'M in full control?" Yes, of course I do. Sheesh.

But all is well! I spoke to a lot of nice Asians today, and I got my flight schedule back on track. Leaving the same time, just adding a stop to Bangkok. Who doesn't want to go there and explore their airport for five or six hours? Why not?! Or I can nap, because e'erbody likes to fall asleep at a foreign airport with their laptop and wallet! Haha....all righty then.

Can I just brag on some of you a little bit? Many of you have been praying, and some of you have given financial support as well, and it's blown me away how wonderful everyone has been. Seriously, your support has helped me in so many aspects. I thank my God upon every remembrance of you. :) And knowing my track record with homesickness, I will be remembering you often.....oh boy.

So this school that I'm supposed to be interviewing at....I heard that it was mainly for missionary kids, so my first thought is, well....that it was tiny. Turns out, it's in an old sports club building...and when I say old, I mean brand new, hardly used, with a pool the size of my house. Now mind you, the pool will not be the only reason for my decision to teach there, if the Lord wills, but I mean, ya know....I am human. Though God be with the poor souls who ever see me swim. Trust me though, I'm not going in without a turtleneck and flowing modest apparel on. C'mon, I'm Baptist.

So this has been a great rambling session. I'll try to keep everyone updated as much as possible! And yes! Pictures will be taken! Keep in touch, peeps.