I'll Be Home for Loi Krathong

I'll be home for Loi Krathong! That actually has a nice ring to it doesn't it? I was very fortunate to be home for Christmas our largest Christian holiday!  (I'll never understand why non-Christians celebrate Christmas, but hope that one day THEY'll understand why they celebrate it!)

I was also fortunate to be "home" in Thailand for one of their biggest Buddhist holidays.  Loi Krathong.  Pronounced "Loy - Gra- Tong"  (I think).  Loi means to float and Krathong, kind of sort of means, lotus shaped container.  You'll get more from the pictures than you will my explanation of them so I'll just tell you that they're typically made of a slice of the trunk of a banana tree and banana leaves and straight pins.




  I got to learn about them and make them with my university students and these are the base items we used. Here's how mine turned out! I was going for a peacock theme!


Okay, Okay, that's not really mine! This is really mine!


 My Loi Krathong may not have won any beauty contests, but if there was a contest for most pins used, I'd have gotten first place for sure!

Once your little float is made you can beautify it with flowers and candles.  Some Buddhists will place incense for the spirits to take in or a coin as offering to the spirits.  Like us and our Christmas traditions, lots of people do different things for different reasons on this spiritual holiday. What I mostly understood from my university students is that it's kind of like "out with old, in with the new!"  When you float your lantern down the river all your "bad stuff", anger, hatred, trespasses, errors, misfortune, etc. go away with it.  It's a bit of an act of worship, attempt at making merit, hope for good luck, offering for forgiveness all wrapped up in one!

So we made our floats, some more meticulously than others, (I'm just not very Asian, okay?!) and we floated them down the river!! (Cue gasp! I should probably take this time to tell you, I also, celebrated Halloween and am a huge Santa supporter!) Take a Xanax infused with grace and hear me out! I won't debate you about my pagan holiday rituals except to say, Jesus is the Reason for the Season, Our God is Greater Our God is Higher, and This is the Day the Lord has Made,

 but there was more to our Loi Krathong celebration, so keep reading! 

Once a month we host and invite our students to an event we call Quest, it's a night where we answer their questions about Christianity and teach them about the foundations and threads of our faith, love, service, joy, peace, healing, thanksgiving,  and on this particular night FORGIVENESS.  The Gospel is always presented in Thai, to debunk the idea that it is a westerner's faith, He sent His Son for them too!!! God speaks their language as clear as He speaks our's, which makes Him even more mighty in my eyes than ever before because Thai is super hard to speak!  The full moon of the 12th Thai month, (Loi Krathong) just happened to fall or rather rise on a regularly scheduled Quest weekend!! So... we celebrated forgiveness with them! My pastor explained to them the simple message of the privilege of our DAILY Loi Krathong opportunity, the message of the cross, the TRUTH that we are ALL sinners, and have we all have plenty of things we need to float down the river, but that our Savior took care of that debt for us, that His mercies are new every morning and available to them too! Then we wrote down our sins and shortcomings that we wanted God to forgive, stuck them on our floats,  prayed together, and jumped on our motorbikes to float them down the river!

I kind of love my job!

Let Me Out of Here

I used to have this little box on my desk when I was a youth pastor.  Often times after I checked my Thursday morning voicemail or after students left my office I would push the button and concur with the lil man in the box! Or simply make it my prayer to God by saying, "Amen." at the end of the lil man's words!

We've all felt this way! Some of you are visiting family right now or holed up in a vehicle with all your children and are feeling this way in this EXACT moment!

Today the title of my devo was, "God In a Box."  God immediately reminded me of the little man in box that used to sit on my desk and let me know He feels this way sometimes too! Like on days when I try to do everything on my own, when I incessantly worry rather than pray.  When I succumb to being overwhelmed and wave the white flag of defeat! He says, "Excuse me! Excuse me! Could you let me out of here! Last I checked I was victorious over death, hell, and the grave! The Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the provider, the healer, the redeemer, the restorer, your Father, your Savior! So could you LET. ME. OUT. OF. HERE!?"

I smiled at my the humor of my very real God and said, "Sure thing Lord, let's hang out!" And I let Him out of the little box I keep Him in when I'm busy or worried or overwhelmed. What a world of difference it makes to let him loose!

Inspired by:  Priscilla Shirer's, "ONE in a million"

My Pictorial of my Day at the ZOO with Commentary of Course!

Okay, so there are a few things you should know before you move forward: 

 #1 I HATE animals, it's just true, write PETA or PITA and tell them I not care! 

#2 My co worker LOVES animals and knows a lot of dumb facts about them, I have to keep her from petting street dogs and cats so this was a true act of love and sacrifice to take her to the Zoo

 #3 Once you've been to Africa on a legit Safari and seen lions in the wild, a cheetah chase down a gazelle and rip it apart before your very eyes, and had to put your vehicle in reverse because the mommy elephant was not happy you were getting too close to her baby elephant, you are ruined for zoos FOREVER!! 

#4 However, if you're going to the Zoo, International Zoos are the way to go and I have to say Chiang Mai Zoo is nothing to sneeze at unless you're allergic to animals and all things outdoors like myself! What makes them so much better? How do I put this?  I think it's a lack of safety regulations, like if you WANT to stick your finger in and pet the tiger it's totally doable! 

To start the day off, there was this really cool sign I think it's translated: if you're old and wrinkled or a cute little girl you get a discount

Then you pass the pink flamingos, normally a pink flamingo in the front yard screams TRASHY or TACKY or WHITE TRASH (We can still say that one right?!) I mean last I checked it's okay to bash whites and Christians and it not be considered a hate crime right?! Wow! Where did that come from? But live pink flamingos in the front yard are CLASSY, COOL even, but I did feel real bad for this ugly duckling in the front! I hope he has a great personality and good sense of humor!

Like I said, she wants to pet ALL the animals and thanks to the international zoo standards, she gets to pet this Lemur, but I'm pretty sure he wasn't thrilled about it!        
Then we got to hold the birds! He nibbled on my ear! I was NOT thrilled!

It's totally normal for elephants to hang out behind my bamboo posts right?

Here  she goes again with the petting!
While the safety standards are a bit subpar, they are serious about NOT smoking! The penalty is time with the lion.  However, it's no so offensive in the Outback part of the zoo and you get rewarded with Koala time if you engage in smoking!

I almost bummed one off the rude British guy in front of me because seriously how cute is this guy!?
 
You see the TWO lizards?  One has sense to use sunscreen and sit in the shade, the other is going to be needing some aloe at the end of the day! It's common sense guys, it's a jungle out there!

This pretty pretty peacock better be so glad it rained on my mama when we came to the zoo because she would've had all his tail feathers in her suitcase bound for our Christmas tree!

I will admit I could have watched the monkey's all day! And if you've ever wondered what a woman scorned sounds like press play on the video below!

Okay, so I couldn't resist his cuteness. Notice what's standing between me and him, NADA! I captured this great lil cameo of Gratiana's head shot! 
And I'll admit I think that the penguins are pretty cool and kind of can't wait till they open the arctic exhibit because they're going to have cold weather penguins and a polar bear!

This is a southern elephant, he's drinking straight from the hose pipe! I wish I had it on video because when the guy tried to order him to give it back to him, the elephant just kept turning away from him and kept on drinking! I secretly love it when the animals don't do what the trainers say. I mean what's more entertaining watching tigers jump thru hoops or grab a man's head in his jaws?!

About those safety regulations! haha! Seriously, could have gotten a bear hug! And he was super cute I mean for an animal!

And last, but not least my favorite pic of the day, a tribute to all my tired mommy friends, which is unfortunately not clear at all, but see this sweet mama monkey breast feeding the lil baby monkey?  Her eyes are closed and she looks worn all out! The male monkey goes off to do a lil swinging and she let him know with some hollering and some arm swinging of her own that she was NOT happy!  Unfortunately I was far too enthralled with her look of exhaustion and irritation to catch it all on video!  Come see me and I'll take ya to the zoo!

Oh the Places They'll Go!

I've always loved working with young people! ("always" meaning on the average day, some days youth ministry, counseling, and leading interns gave me a run for my money, I can admit that! and "young" meaning people under 30 like myself!)   There's just so much LIFE and POTENTIAL and excitement, the possibilities for their futures are endless!

I'll be the first to admit that when Convoy of Hope decided to shut down their internship program that I was bummed, angry, sad, disappointed, and a bit lost and confused.  I LOVED doing life with those interns, watching them soak up life lessons, and Jesus, and new cultures, missions, and watching them give until hurt!

Being a missionary to Thailand was never on my radar, especially not without young adults in tow! I was always taught never to do ministry alone, you should always have a "Timothy" along with you learning and replicating.  Plus, what on earth would I fill my time with without 20 interns in tow?! (Naps, movies, hanging with friends that I don't have to count when we get into a vehicle to go home, some more questionable adventures that I just couldn't bring myself to do because the possibility of having to notify someone's family that their kid died while crawling across a dilapidated rope bridge over a raging river!)  Needless to say I've figured it out to a degree!  But it's still part of my DNA, I still wish my chickens, my sweet lil minions were here with me.

A few weeks ago, myself and some fellow missionaries went to visit a new university that has over 20,000 students in its first year! It was bigger than any school I've ever seen.

In the near future, we are hoping to start an English center and church here. We spent the morning doing a prayer walk around the campus.  I ventured in and out of the dining area that was buzzing with students, I peeked in class rooms to see that Thai college students aren't much different than American students, as there were a couple sleeping, several on Facebook, or texting on their phones, and some were even engaged in learning! 
 






Like most places here in Thailand, the classroom is a place where you discard your shoes outside the door before walking in! I actually LOVE that part of the culture here because it means I get to teach and sit in church barefoot! The only thing better could be wearing my cowboy boots!  Even though it's a sight I see everyday now, I was struck by all their shoes.

I kept thinking about Dr. Seuss' , "Oh the places You'll Go!"
Here's an excerpt from the good Dr. , but if you have time google it and read the whole thing!

You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes
You can steer yourself
any direction you choose.
You're on your own.  And you know what you know.
And YOU are the guy who'll decide where to go.

On the one hand I am so excited for them because they have so much ahead of them and on the other hand they have SO MUCH ahead of them!  So many choices to make, so many roads to navigate, and so many mountains to climb.

Life is hard; life without the help and hope of Jesus; I shudder at the thought!



I see all their shoes lining every hallway and stairway and I know statistically speaking over 95% of them do not know Jesus. I sigh at the thought, but hope fills my soul as I think about the coming English center and church or churches to follow, I think about the feet that will fill these shoes learning of Christ and choosing to follow Him and oh the places they'll go, the people they will take Him to! I immediately think of the verse that says, "how beautiful are the feet of those who bring Good News," and get excited that some of the shoes in front of me could belong to such feet. The Lord shifts my gaze to my own feet in my Yellow Box flip flops, I crinkle my toes at His imply, it may be the only time I've ever wished for bigger shoes.

I realized then that Thailand was not just a "blip" on the radar of my life and that I may never have another blonde "Timothy" in tow, but how beautiful would a long line of dark hair and brown eyes be when I stand before the Lord? I LOVE my students and hope that when you pray for me that you will pray for them!

This time the Lord didn't send me WITH young people, but TO young people and Oh the Places They'll Go!

"I hope he picks me up!"

I'm not sure what has spurred this post on, a number of things I think, of which teaching English would not be at the bottom of the list.  Parents if you ask your kiddos what they want to be when they grow up and they say, "An ESL teacher!" (English Second Language) then you need to help them RIGHT NOW begin to hone their charades and Pictionary skills because a lot of days that's what I do in both my elementary teaching and my university teaching! You're welcome students!

We've also determined that our students at TLC should probably specify if they want to speak Northern English or Southern English as these are obviously two different dialects! No worries my students will be fluent in southern before my term is up here! Complete with the knowledge of what GBO means, the ability to sing Rocky Top, how to appropriately use the term ya'll, the word soda is only used when preceded by the term baking, and the term pop is something that happens to your behind or mouth if you use any of the words on the No Fly List, coke makes the world go round, and that thing you put your groceries is in is most definitely a buggy! You're welcome America. 

I think there are things we say that we have no idea what they mean. Myself and a couple other missionaries were taking the Harvard Dialect Survey and the question was what do you say when it's raining outside and the sun is shining! Myself and my Alabama colleague said without missing a beat, "The devil's beating his wife!" Our Texas counterpart was appalled and wanted to know why we said such a thing. We shrugged and defensively replied, that's just what it means! 

One time I was telling my California friends about keeping someone's kids. Grabbing their kiddos a little tighter they looked at me puzzled and a bit horrified. Evidently if you keep someone else's kids in California it means kidnapping?! Where I come from it means babysitting! (California Criminals!)

We missionaries especially AG missionaries (Assemblies of God) definitely have our own lingo, just listen to any MK (missionary kid) talk about kicking their STL (Speed the Light) truck into 4wd and using the snorkel to cross a river to get to a village, or how when BGMC (Boys & Girls Missionary Club) sent them the new projector for the church and their parents put a sheet on the wall and used it to let them watch movies! 

I never think too much about it until I make a statement to a friend like, "I'm having lunch with a pastor today I hope he picks me up!" 

Depending on the friend they could think many things:

You want the pastor to physically pick you up off the ground. (Creepy)

You want the pastor to hit on you like with pick up lines. (Creepier)

You want the pastor to pick up the tab. (Not as creepy and likely truth, but not the meaning)

You are depressed and want the pastor to encourage you. (Maybe not Creepy, but definitely needy)

I don't really know why we say it, but when a missionary says they want a pastor or someone else to pick them up, they mean support them monthly financially.  Which I guess, in a way,  could mean many of the above: physically move me to the nation of my calling, pick up the tab, and encourage me by helping me get to where my heart is! But definitely NOT the pick up lines, ew!
Disclaimer :Unless he's cute and single and has a heart for missions and then the pick up lines are welcomed.

Sooo if you'd like to PICK ME UP:  CLICK HERE

My SIL wrote a blog this week about stuff my niece says, my favorite was when she evidently told my brother to, "Sit down!" and her mother yelled from another room, "Niah, we don't demand people to do things, what do we say?"  And Niah whispered to Matthew, "I not say please!" hahahahah! So proud!

But another was when her lil brother was crying in the floor and Niah went to him and said, "It's okay, don't cry, Mommy will probably come pick you up!" (Not sure where the probably comes in, I mean maybe my SIL often lets that sweet little boy cry in the floor unattended to, who knows, but Niah at least had some faith that Cara would indeed pick him up!) Which is what we all need sometimes when we find ourselves lying in the floor crying, to be picked up!!!

I can't help but be grateful on this first day of November, for all those who have picked me up with monthly support and made it possible for me to be here in Thailand.  For the friends whose photos line my walls who pick me up with prayer and encouraging words and silly texts.  For my family, who often picks up the tab for me and who I know I can count on to pick me up

out of any hole I might dig.  But ultimately for my savior who has picked me up time and time again when I've fallen, when I've been knocked down, or when I've just laid down in defeat. Countless times, He's picked me up. Praying for each of you that have picked me up in any way, that He'll do this for you today. Thankful!

Isaiah 41:10
"For do not fear for I am with you, do not be dismayed for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you (pick you up :)) with my righteous right hand."

From the Heart of Bess: When Niah Prays

 I can't believe she's almost 2.5 and this is the first blog entry with her as the subject! She calls me Bess and I love it! She can totally say my full name correctly, but this has been her choice, I've even chuckled when she's corrected her Daddy, when he says, Mary Beth, she says, "No, Bess!"  

Over the summer I was visiting these cutest kids in the world (I'm NOT biased, I'm very well traveled & seen thousands of kids therefore this is a statement based on much research and therefore fact) I stepped off a curb and before my foot ever hit the ground something popped and waves of pain and nausea swept over me! Niah was on one side and her cousin Kyah was on the other so I was trying NOT to cry or teach either of the lil parrots any new words and trying NOT to throw up! Niah began to cry because she knew I was hurt and Kyah just kept saying, "Be careful! Be careful! and patting my back!"  Niah is super sensitive to other people's feelings so she was a bit frantic and kept saying, "Daddy pray!" Matthew said, "Niah pray!" And then they did.  Her prayer went a little something like this, "Jesus, Bess foot, amen." 

I have to say it STILL hurt, but Bess was brave and we went on about our business.  The next morning Niah's great G'ma Chickie asked me at church how my foot was, before I could answer, Niah said, "It's okay, Niah pray!" I mouthed silently, "It still hurts a little!" 

I drove back to Springfield went to a Cardinals game with my roommate all the while walking on the foot which by this time was twice the size and a nice purple color, but it didn't hurt.  My boss told me I needed to go to the doctor, so I did, after doing tests he tells me I've ruptured my Achilles and torn a couple of ligaments and wants to know what kind of pain medicine I want.  I said, "It doesn't hurt!"  He said, "Yes it does!"  I said, "No it doesn't."  He said, "It has to, what do you want?" I said, "My two year old niece prayed for it, so I'm guessing that's why it doesn't hurt!"  He snarkily replied, "Whatever helps you sleep at night," and handed me a script for pain meds, which I never had filled, and fitted me for a brace, which I think I wore twice, it didn't really go with any of my sandals!

If you asked me the hardest thing about being a missionary, for the past 2.5 years it's been being away from Miss Sassy Pants and now her chunky lil brother Malachi who pretty much just smiles all the time! Before they were born, I guess my answer would've been not being a good squatter and bed bugs! 

As much as I'd love to head home and open up my own private therapy practice in Niah's new play house, I rest easy knowing that's not where I'm needed at all. Jesus is the center of their home and she gets it! Her first instinct in time of trouble and fear was to pray! When Niah isn't excitedly telling me about her day, or sticking both fingers in her nose, or showing me her shoes, (I'm confident this happens EVERY Face Time conversation we have!), or telling me what her lil brother is doing, she's quoting her most recently memorized scriptures or telling me how much fun she had with her "friens" at church! She's safe, loved, very well fed (just ask her what she had for breakfast when you see her IF you have time for her very detailed list! "Umm.. I have pancakes, eggs, bacon, toast, fruit, some of daddy's chocolate chip pancakes!" and her play house may or may not have more square footage than my current dwelling! But best of all Jesus is the center of her lil world, half the places I've been since she & her brother were born lacked all the things she has; safety, love, food, and the knowledge of where to turn in times of trouble or fear! Where I currently dwell Jesus not only isn't the center, but He's practically unknown.  So, for now, we'll face time and talk about boogers and shoes and breakfast and bows! And laugh! My luggage will be filled with gifts for her and her brother and my heart will be filled with peace that while I'm sharing Jesus here, she's surrounded by Jesus there! 

Bess loves you Niah!

10 NOT so Great Things about Driving a Motorcycle in Thailand

1.  Rain.  Even sprinkles hurt at 100kph (my friend told me) Also, no one looks cool in a poncho.

2.  Being behind garbage trucks, cattle trucks, and pig trucks.  Did you know when animals are in the back of big trucks, they get scared, like they're being taken to slaughter or something, and they potty a lot!? It stinks!

3.  Being behind concrete trucks, loose gravel trucks, pretty much anything that could be carrying loose particles of any kind.  They HURT!

4.  Thai parking lots, a.k.a. where ever they stop in the street.  Need to run into a store?  No problem, park in the lane and turn your flashers on while you shop or don't turn your flashers on, whatever.  Also, when they use the shoulder for parking the driver's door is going to open to the street side sooo seriously watch out!

5.  The A/C just plain stops at stoplights and works rather poorly under 50kph.

6.  Helmet head! Sometimes my head is soaked by the time I arrive somewhere! So that hope of meeting Mr. Southern, Short, Tan, and Handsome in Thailand is greatly diminished when I'm soaked in sweat upon arrival to any and all destinations. I was trying to order a Starbucks the other day and the guy taking my order said, I'm guessing you want something COLD?! I like to be told I look hot, but I don't think this was a pick up line!

7.  Giving an accidental stop light concert.  Ear buds are in and music is at 100% volume so I can hear it over the roar of the traffic so I sing at 100% volume too! Unfortunately, the roar of the traffic stops at stoplights and my motorcycle gang compadres at the head of the line with me get to hear NOT my music at 100%, but my singing!

7.5 Going deaf because of the 100% volume.

8.  Speed bumps! Sometimes ya see em sometimes ya don't, but you always FEEL them! Sometimes flying off the seat in a forward motion is kind of fun like when your bum gets lifted up out of the seat on a roller coaster, it's the coming back down part that's a real downer!!! Punny?

9.  When you have to go to the bathroom! We can all recall a time when we had to go real bad and we're on the road and there's just no restroom in sight so every bump and turn becomes a challenge and your friend starts singing TLC's Waterfalls or talking about leaky faucets or something more offensive.  Well intensify that by the start and stop of CANAL street which gets it's name because of the Canal running down the middle of it, as well as, feeling not just every bump and turn, but every pebble AND you're needing to use your core muscles as well as other muscles to hold the bike up right so they're not as useful for holding anything else! It's just a lose, lose situation.

10.  Bicycles! Dear cyclist, there is no bike lane, and if there was it would be for motorbikes not for YOU! Unless you can accelerate to faster than the speed I am going when you pull out in front of me or when you're riding with your buddies 3 bikes wide, then you should NOT get in front of me! Also, man who was weaving between my bike and a car and began to wobble, reaching out and grabbing me was not the appropriate reaction as you nearly gave me a heart attack. Also, it's super hot here in Thailand, I'm guessing from your short tight shorts that you're European, it's cooler there and I don't think the traffic is so bad either. Bike on back!