Lost and Found

Just to let you all know...I got my camera back!!! Sometimes at the movie theatres here they make you leave your camera at the front, to ensure that you won't use it to bootleg films. This was the case with my camera...after two hours of sitting through a movie, I was destined to forget that my camera was not in my purse, and I walked out of the theatre none the wiser. I like to think that it was a bit of a miracle getting it back. You can never be quite sure what's going to happen in this country...someone may think your camera is nice and take it for their own. I wasn't getting my hopes up. But, lo and behold, they still had it after a week and I am so grateful!!! There weren't even any extra photos taken on it!

In other news, I have begun reading and writing. It's so fun and so hard! I read my first word the other day at a local coffee shop. I was so excited that I called one of the girls that worked there over to confirm that I had read it right. They laughed behind the counter at me after that.

Psalm 27

Something that has been speaking to me...my eyes simply cannot go on to the next chapter. It seems that I must stay here for awhile.

The Lord is my light and my salvation-

so why should I be afraid?

The Lord is my fortress, protecting me from danger,

so why should I tremble?

When evil people come to devour me,

when my enemies and foes attack me,

they will stumble and fall.

Though a mighty army surrounds me,

my heart will not be afraid.

Even if I am attacked,

I will remain confident.

The one thing I ask of the Lord-

the thing I seek most-

is to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,

delighting in the Lord's perfections

and meditating in his Temple.

For he will conceal me there when troubles come;

he will hide me in his sanctuary.

He will place me out of reach on a high rock.

Then I will hold my head high

above my enemies who surround me.

At his sanctuary I will offer sacrifices with shouts of joy,

singing and praising the Lord with music.

Hear me as I pray, O Lord.

Be merciful and answer me!

My heart has heart you say, "Come and talk with me."

And my heart responds, "Lord, I am coming."

Do not turn your back on me.

Do not reject your servant in anger.

You have always been my helper.

Don't leave me now; don't abandon me, O God of my salvation!

Even if my father and mother abandon me, the Lord will hold me close.

Teach me how to live, O Lord.

Lead me along the right path,

for my enemies are waiting for me.

Do not let me fall into their hands.

For they accuse me of things I've never done;

with every breath they threaten me with violence.

Yet I am confident I will see the Lord's goodness

while I am here in the land of the living.

Wait patiently for the Lord.

Be brave and courageous.

Yes, wait patiently for the Lord.

Amen.

A Little Bit Low

These last few weeks have been ones of lonliness, anxiety, pain (both emotionally and physically), and sadness. It started with some difficult conversations that I needed to have, which have not yet been fully resolved. It's amazing just how much being emotionally drained can affect you physically! My health has not yet fully recovered from that ulcer episode just over a month ago...

Then last Saturday, I was driving my motorcycle to school. It was raining, the roads were slick and people were a bit careless. As I left my house I told myself to be particularly aware of what was going on around me, then got on my bike and went on my way. Just as I was approaching a very large traffic circle, another girl on a motorcycle just cut into traffic! She didn't look at oncoming traffic at all, and didn't exactly merge...she just cut out right in front of me. There was car beside me, so I had two choices...I could hit her or I could fall. So, I hit my brakes and because the roads were slippery with rain I went down. I slid for what felt like meters, but could have only been inches, and finally came to a hault. Thankfully there were many people around to help me up. They picked up the bike and moved it off to the side, picked up my broken sandal and magically put it back together, and then tested out the bike to make sure it still worked...all the while laughing, I'm sure to make me feel better about the whole situation. I couldn't think, and could barely communicate, but what I could say was "my butt hurts" as I had taken the spill primarily on my rearend. Then, after we established that I was relatively ok, and the bike still worked, they sent me on my way...I got back on that old horse and drove the rest of the way to school. When I got there I immediately burst into tears, and the teachers tended to my wounds (which were few...thank the Lord) and then finally sent me home. I went into shock, and haven't quite been myself since.

That same weekend I lost my camera, and my bike helmet got stolen (well, actually traded...they took my nice helmet and left me a relatively crappy helmet). So, all in all I have been having a tough go of things.

All I can say right now is that I am in need of prayer. Please, I ask that you would come alongside me in these moments...pray for restoration of health, for peace, and for joy. All of those seems to be hard to come by at the moment. Thanks.

Free Stuff!!!

Thailand simply continues to amaze me. There are things that take place and happen to me or around me that are so far removed from what I understand back home, that it makes me laugh. I have two such instances to relay to you now...

There is a big sports field near my house called Sinaam Geelaa. I go there a few times a week to run (as the staring is much less frequent there than if I were to run on the street), and sometimes play basketball or badminton. I had just finished my run and I was passing by this group of people all undernieth this tent that I had seen there for a few weeks, but never quite understood what it was about. This man then approached me and explained a bit about what they were doing...they were testing people's hearts and fitness, and he asked me if I would like to be tested as well. I kindly declined, but I decided to sit with some of the people there and talk to them a bit. After a bit of persuading, I finally gave in and proceeded to go through a series of tests. First, they measure your height (they had to bring the bar up quite a bit for me), then your weight, then your body fat percentage. They write all of these scores down on a little page that's all in Thai and then they send you on to the next test...following of all that, they test your blood pressure, your pulse, then they make you lift something, push something, blow into something, and squeeze something. Then the grande finale is to sit on a bike with a heart moniter thing and pedal for 5 minutes. I seriously had no idea what was going on. After it's all over, they take your little score card and put all of your data into a computer and it spits out this reading that tells you how healthy you are. Apparently, I'm kind of fat. A guy that was helping me out (who appeared to me to be quite fit) was said to be just plain fat. I think I have discovered a bit of a cultural difference! Anyway, it was well fun even though I hardly understood what I was doing and what my results were all about.

Now, my second incident is this little treat that I discovered a few months back. There is a store here called Big C. Boy, do I ever love this store!!! I guess the best way to describe it is it's like Walmart, but way cooler!! Plus, it's a little taste of the familiar so I like going there. Anyway, after you are done shopping you go to this magic counter and you hand them your receipt. Sometimes they give you something, and sometimes they don't. I have no idea how it works or why they do it, but it's awesome!!!! I often come away with free cans of pepsi, one time I got a laundry bag, and another time I got a book...but this time...oh, this time!!! This time I got a haul! When I walked up and handed the guy my receipt he took a look at it and said, "My mii khong" (which means 'we don't have the things', or something to that affect), so I thought that either I wasn't going to get anything this time, or that they didn't have the thing that they were going to give me. I started to walk away, but I saw him bustling around behind that magic little counter and before I knew it he handed me a mug, two small packages of cookies, and a package of squid!!! I was so excited!! I was meeting Bitsy somewhere after that and I couldn't find her, but all I could do was smile with my free things in my hand and chuckle to myself at how wonderfully odd this country can be sometimes.

My strange, new free things!!! Hooray!

The picture on my sick, new, favorite mug. Can anyone tell me what it is?

Done and done!

The photos are added!!!! So click on the button that says "view photo album" to the right, and view away friends!!!

Photo Time!!!

So, I reckon it's been awhile since I've added some photos on here. So, here's a bit of my current life in Thailand. Also, in other news, I just got a motorbike!! It's a wee Honda Wave, but it's loads of fun. Please pray for safety as motorbike accidents are as common as the rain fall in this country.

Wan and I, her first time skating!!!

My friend Duane and I...

Our living room...decorated beautifully by Bisty...it really feels like home.

My birthday apple pie!!! Bitsy made it for me as a surprise. I absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE pie!

Phil and I after swimming in the brown waters at this waterfall...I found some sick, big bug in my shirt after it bit me.

So, that's it for photos right now. I have loads and loads, and will be adding them to my photo site shortly (and i will let you know when i do that). Thank you for faithfully reading friends!!!