First day in Krabi

I arrived in Krabi yesterday and have had a busy day today! First, we went to visit my new school.







Oh, I forgot to mention breakfast! I thought about you Wyndie!


Then we visited the house where I'll be staying. My room has the headboard for a bed but nothing else! Yes, a bed!









I will be staying with a Thai family. This little girl is Bai Toie. She is adorable but was playing shy. The next picture is in front of my house where the dad cooks noodles and people stop by to buy them.



We also visited two other schools where two guys from Texas will be working. They are about 15 minutes from my school.

We went to lunch at the market and then bought some fruit. I'll have to do a whole post on Thai fruit at some point.





After dinner I got to call mom and grandma (yay!) and then I did some recordings for Richard's radio show! My voice will be heard all over Krabi! Make sure to tune in to 100.7 True Love!

Love you all!
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In Bangkok!

Well here I am! I didn't know I'd have time to post so soon but I'm at the hotel and have a few hours before I head back to the airport to fly to Krabi so I thought why not!

The flight was great, no delays or anything and I slept a lot and ate weird airplane food :)

Here are some interesting pictures to share.




Bible and Buddhist book in hotel drawer.Those Gideons are working hard!


Fancy smancy bathroom with shower and bathtub



Sigh... :)


Good to know there is Cartoon Network here! Lol


View out of the window, the airport is on the left.

And last but not least, the very impressive toilets in Tokyo. :)))))


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Location:Mu Ban Park View City,Bang Phli,Thailand

My prayers

I have been praying about this trip for months now.  First, praying if it would be God's will, if it would please Him, or if He had something else for me this summer.  I contacted the missionaries there in November, but it wasn't until around February that I really felt as though God had answered my prayers and I decided for sure to go.  Part of it is the love and compassion I have for Thai people.  That is something that is not from me, it's from God.  He put it in me, so that it would motivate me to go!

Once I made my decision, I've been praying for a two things specifically...

• that God would soften the hearts (and minds) of the teachers and students I meet so that they may want to learn more about Jesus
• that God would give me the words to say so that I can be clear about my relationship with Jesus and why I love Him

I humbly ask you to join with me in prayer for those things, and while you're at it, here are some requests a little more on the personal side. :)

• that I wouldn't experience (much) culture shock, or that when I do, I will be able to move through it quickly and easily
• that I wouldn't experience a lot of homesickness - especially toward the end of my trip.  The last couple weeks have proven to be the hardest when it comes to missing family, friends, and the comforts of America

I feel so blessed to go on this trip! I feel totally wrapped in prayer! (Does that make sense?!) My church prayed for me this morning and my small group prayed with me tonight. I know that these prayers are going before me and that He is in control!  Love you!

Some thoughts

On Tuesday I will be getting on a plane to travel to Thailand! This will be my third trip.  When I look that this map it just blows my mind! (I made this map to show the kids at church.)  Here is how my trip will go:  from Charleston to D.C., then to Tokyo, then to Bangkok to spend the night in an incredibly fancy hotel, then fly to Krabi (southwest Thailand) the next day!  A total of 25 hours of traveling!  I think about missionaries years ago, and the trip they had to take! It would have taken months to get to Asia, and I fret about 25 hours! 

I'm thinking about the foreign culture and how interesting everything is to me. I just LOVE Thai culture and everything I see is a feast for my eyes. I only wish I could read Thai! But even seeing the foreign lettering everywhere is interesting for me. It really never gets old for me.  Here are some pictures that will hopefully show you what I mean.  You can click on the pictures to see them better.

 A Buddhist temple

 An English poster at school (can't wait to try this recipe!)

 Girls at a Bible study - eager to learn!  We are sitting in a hut (I don't know what else to call it.)  A lot of the homes I visited in the country have these huts outside in front of their house and that's where we usually sit to visit. Also, notice the blue washing machine behind the girls! 

 Learning a Christian song with hand movements.  Notice all of the trees behind them.  I *think* those are rubber trees.

 Fancy traffic light in the city of Krabi

 Floating market

City street - notice this motorcycle's attachment. Also notice how many motorcycles there are!  I took this picture from a tuk-tuk (3 wheeled taxi).

 Making a bracelet of jasmine for me at my friend's house

Sidewalk market

I just want to express how INTERESTING everything is!  That is part of the fun of traveling to another country!

I have been praying for my trip for months and I will share some of those prayers with you on my next post.

In less than a week...

 I will be eating delicious dishes like the one below.

That's fried chicken with rice.  Basically, I go for the most American dishes I can get while in Thailand.

Maybe I'll branch out a bit this time!

Or maybe not!

I can see it so clearly...

She walks in, hair wind blown, of course, from having her windows down. (No matter how hot it is - that's the way to drive she says.)  Her huge smile graces her face showing bright white teeth.  She hugs me, teasing me at the way I don't squeeze very hard. So she squeezes harder, giving me a little back scratch with her short nails. I squeeze back, giggling.  I notice how warm she is, from having the windows down and the sun shining on her.  She's holding a cup, seems like she always walked in with a cup.  Don't know what was in it ;)  She talks of her latest love:  scuba diving, tattoos, cooking, gardening, making soap from scratch, whatever it may be.  She's got her phone with her, ready to text back with her help if the restaurant is having a problem.  She raves about whatever we are eating.  She uses the word, "awesome."  She glows.  She radiates.  She shines. She's lovely, she really is. 

And I miss her. So much it hurts.

Looong Time!

This is mostly a post to make sure that I can blog from my iPad, since that's what I'll be doing this summer while I'm in THAILAND!!!!!

(Not that I'm excited or anything.)

I have three weeks left of school with my fourth graders. I have had some of them since second grade, so it will be bittersweet to say goodbye to them. But, at this point, I'm just focusing on getting through these next crazy weeks.

Then, I'll be leaving for Thailand on June 14 for about six weeks. I really hope to do better at blogging this time around. Last time, my access to computers was sketchy and random. Hopefully, having my iPad will make all the difference!

I will finish this little test post with a picture that makes me smile!




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...from the missionary's blog

by The Thaikid Returns

What can a person do in 6 weeks of teaching in a Thai school?

After her shock of sleeping on a pallet on the floor each night, “squatty potties” (toilets), and cold dip baths, Katie adjusted well. Living at the school in one of the houses provided for teachers has been good for Katie. She has learned to eat a variety of Thai foods daily with the teachers . Many times trying to smile while eating foods she didn’t like. In the evening she exercised with them.

At her desk, Katie had her Bible, Christian tracts, and an Evangi-Cube. During long breaks, she read her Bible and did a Bible Study. When students and teachers asked her about what she was doing, Katie had an opportunity to tell them about God. During her English classes, Katie taught songs like “My God is so big” to her students too. Before leaving to return to America, her students lined the way out of the school to say “Goodbye” to her.

During her time here, Katie has had opportunity to get close to two teachers, A. Nit and A. Biap. As she got closer to these teachers, they opened up and told her about their struggles in life. Her housemate, Nit, wanted a Bible to read and has been asking questions about what she has read. Nit was impressed by the genealogy of Jesus in Matthew chapter one because of her Chinese background. Once back in America, Katie will keep in contact with her new Thai friends and will be emailing some favorite scripture verses for A. Nit to read. Another teacher, who was closed, has begun asking questions, as well. Two students have shown interest in God and asked for a visit and more Christian literature.

Before leaving a teacher told Katie, “Thank you for coming and bringing so much good to our school.”

What can a person do in 6 weeks in a Thai school? They can be a good friend and share the love Jesus with others.

A typical day at Blai Praya Wittyacomb School

6:30 AM - Wake up to the sound of a Thai news radio station being broadcasted throughout the school grounds. Wish they would turn it off so I can sleep more :) Roll off my pallet and head downstairs for a dip bath and brush my teeth. Read my Bible, pray, eat a granola bar, and get dressed.

7:50 - Walk to morning ceremony on school grounds with my roommate, P'Nid (Her first name is Suphanee, but her nickname is Nid. P stands for big sister.) Observe morning ceremony: a teacher lectures the students while they stand in straight lines (in the sun!), a student leads the other students in the Thai National Song, then the school song, then they say the 5 tenants (??) of Buddhism and wai to Buddha. I keep my hands by my sides.

8:10 - Walk to school, climb 4 floors to the English department. Sit at my desk and receive my schedule for the day. (Turn the fan on HIGH!) There are 8 periods in a day and I usually have 3 or 4 classes. In between classes I do a Bible study called "A Woman's Heart: God's Dwelling Place" by Beth Moore. It is great and I usually am able to finish 2 "days" in one day. I also check papers sometimes or work on my next lesson. There is a computer in the room, and when the power is working I can check the internet!

I am also blessed with many visitors to my desk! Teachers come and offer me food and fruit and sit down to talk and practice their English. Students stop by and look at my pictures or just smile at me. They all marvel over my white skin. I tell them, "In America white skin isn't popular! Dark skin is!" They can't believe that white people would actually lay in the sun to get darker. When they go to the beach they wear a hat, pants, and long sleeve shirt so they won't get darker!

A typical class - I walk into the room and am greeted enthusiastically and happily! "Hello teacher!" "Hello Katie!" Then the class leader says loudly, "Stand up, please." All the students stand up and say, "Good morning teacher Katie." I say, "Good morning! How are you?" They say, "I'm fine and you?" I usually throw them off my saying "Excellent!" or "Great!" (They only know fine!!) And then I tell them to sit down.

Sometimes the teacher will give me a topic to teach and sometimes they will say it's up to me. So I do songs: "Hokey Pokey," "This is the way" and so on. We play games to practice their English. I also do a lot of vocabulary practice by showing my pictures. I can show them pictures of my sisters and they learn the word. Pictures of my dog, my church, so on. They LOVE to see my pictures, especially of my sister Karlie! They say "suay mak mak mak!" Which means, very very very beautiful! (I agree, by the way!)

I also get a chance to share my faith with them. I usually draw a cross on the board and say, I'm Christian. Or in Thai - Chris-te-an. I tell them that I love Projow (God) and Preyesus (Jesus). I tell them about my boat (church). Some students know what I'm talking about but for many I am the first Christian they have ever met.

12:20 - Lunchtime! P'Beab (Niyom) usually cooks lunch for me and it's pretty good! We sit at my desk and eat together. Sometimes, teachers will make "appointment" with me and take me to a restaurant for lunch. Every Thursday I meet with the Blounts (missionaries) for our weekly meeting. It is such a blessing and encouragement.

4:00 - School is out! By this time I'm HOT and yucky, so I go home and take another bath and change clothes. Sometimes I watch a little TV (ER on DVD) or read my book. Take a break!

5:30 - My roommate P'Nid and I go to the market on her motorcycle. They sell raw meat, fruit, and vegetables. And don't forget insects to eat! We buy some meat and vegetables and go back home and prepare dinner. It's been fun learning how to cook Thai!

6:30 - Go walking around the school with P'Beab! Sometimes I watch her play basketball first.

7:30 - Time for another bath and get ready for bed! Do my Bible study "Lies Women Believe" and write in my journal. Talk to Grandma or Mom. Go to sleep around 9:30!

Well, I hope this gives you an idea of my typical day! There are always surprises and different things that happen, but this can give you a good idea! Leave a comment!

Thailand! (part 1)

So, by now, I'm into my second week of my missions trip to Thailand. And the theme so far? God is good! He has been my Everything this week. So much has happened that I have no clue how to start blogging about it! My internet access has been shaky to say the least. But, I will give it a shot!!

Tuesday, June 16: Began my journey to Thailand! Charleston to Atlanta, first. Spent a few hours walking around the Atlanta airport. Got lost once and ended up having to go through security again. Yes, I am that ditzy sometimes!

Finally got on the flight to Japan. Once I am sitting there, the pilot announces that there has been a volcanic eruption in Russia! The ash is covering the path that we were going to take over the Pacific, so we have to take a longer, alternate route. As a result, we have to stop in San Fran to fuel up. Great news! :)

The flight is uneventful! I sleep, listen to music, and read. Watch a little tv on the screen way in front of me. I try to ignore the couple next to me who show way too much PDA. I think it was about 14 hours. Finally arrive in Tokyo, where they have held my next flight! Yay! I was afraid I would have to wait for another plane. The next flight took 8 hours. More sleeping and eating weird airplane food. At least I have a seat between me and the person by the window! I can move my legs! Yes!

Arrive in Bangkok. Can't keep the smile off my face. No problem getting my baggage and finding my taxi. Went to stay in the nicest hotel I've ever experienced! Slept more, took a nice long shower, and went back to the airport for my last leg of the journey. It took about an hour and we were in Krabi!

Linda and Richard were there to pick me up and they took me to their house not far from the airport. They successfully kept me up for a few more hours before I went to bed.

Friday, June 18: Time to begin work! I went with Linda and Richard to the Thai countryside. We visited people who said they were interested in learning more about God. We had a Bible study. Same on Saturday, except that the group on Saturday is mostly young girls and they are so excited to learn about God! And excited to see me, a foreigner! They call foreigners "farangs," and I hear it whispered whereever I go! Also "cow" which means white! The girls touched my hair and legs and were so interested in me. It was too cute. Two twin girls, Not and Nan, were especially smart and answered all the questions correctly! (I was told-the whole thing was is in Thai.)

Also, on Friday, we went to my school: Blai Prayawittyacom! It is WAAAAY in the country and not like my other Thai school. I finally met Niyom, the teacher who I had been in contact with before my trip. She is so welcoming and invites us to eat lunch at her house. Before lunch, she ushers me into an English classroom and leaves me there to talk to the kids! This was when those pictures were taken that are on my facebook account. I spent about 20 minutes there but it felt like a long time because I wasn't sure what to do!

Then, we go to my new house. This is where culture shock hit me! I thought that I was prepared but I definitely wasn't. It is a 2 story house. On the bottom floor it has a small living area and kitchen and bathroom. Upstairs are 3 bedrooms: mine, Suphanee's, and an empty one. There's no AC, and in my room there is no bed. The bathroom consists of a Thai style toilet (I won't get too graphic here!) and a tank of water. You use the tank of water to both flush the toilet and dip a bowl in to a take a bath. Whew! This shook me up! I wasn't ready for that!

Anyway... (it gets better! I promise!)

Saturday, June 19: Worked again with Linda and Richard. The most memorable moment from this day was the Thai funeral we attended that night. One of Richard's friend's mother died. When you get to the funeral, you go to this area that looks like a restarant or a family reunion set up. You eat dinner and there are hired cooks and waitresses. One of the dinners was chicken inards! Mmm! After you eat, you go up front and sit in the chairs for the audience. Monks are seated up front. The coffin is there, and in front of it is an image of Buddha that people go kneel in front of and light insense. Off to the side there is a platform where the monks will chant. There is a white string that is hanging down to the platform. It goes up to the ceiling and then back down into the coffin. That is so the chants that the monks say go right into the coffin.

On the platform there are these big paper fans that have a picture of Buddha on one side. The monks hold them in front of them while they chant. Linda said that they do this because they don't want to be distracted or think bad thoughts while they are chanting. On the other side, writen in Thai, it says: "You are born. You grow old. You have pain. You die." How sad. What kind of hope is that?

While the monks are chanting (which is the strangest sound), everyone in the audience wais (holds their hands in front of them in a prayer-like gesture) to show respect to Buddha. We don't wai, because we are Christians. No one even pays any attention to us. Linda told me that there is a lot of pressure on the monks because if they make one mistake during the chants, the person who died is doomed.

After the monks chant, people go up and give money to the monks. This is one way to make merit for your next life (I think). And, people have to bring money in a white envelope to give to the family. Richard had to give money for all of us.

Well, this is long enough for part 1! I'll add more later! Sorry I can't post pictures!

If you managed to make it through this whole post, leave a comment!

1:10 AM

I thought I'd stop in and say hello since I can't sleep! Only 2 days until I leave for Thailand! I'm leaving Tuesday morning and flying to Atlanta, then Tokyo, then Bangkok. I'll spend the night there and then fly to Krabi the next day. (Click on that link to see some pictures of beautiful Krabi!) So, all together, there will be about 23 hours of flying!

And I'm pretty much ready. But my brain won't settle! At about midnight I got up and packed some of my bathroom stuff, then made up my guest bed, washed the dishes in my sink, and here I am still not tired. I guess I'll go try to sleep again!

His love

It's truly hard to understand His love for us. These passages make it so real...

From a woman who wrote about her husband's response to her double mastectomy:

As we wept and trembled when he took my bandages off the first time, I was so ugly, scarred, and bald. I was in intense grief that I could never be a whole wife to him again. Steve held me tightly and with tears in his eyes said, "Melana, I love you because that is who I am."

I instantly recognized Christ in my husband...No comeliness in us draws Christ's attention; it is only His essence that draws Him to us.

And this one...

Put together all the tenderest love you know of, the deepest you have ever felt, and the strongest that has ever been poured out upon you, and heap upon it all the love of all the loving human hearts in the world, and then multiply it by infinity, and you will begin, perhaps, to have some faint glimpse of what the love of God is.

from Lies Women Believe by Nancy Leigh DeMoss

Oh Lord, give me the power to understand, as all God's people should, how wide, how high, how long, and how deep your love really is. And help me experience your love, though it is so great I may never fully understand it.

Every last detail

I'm sitting here near tears because of God's goodness. He has taken care of everything regarding this trip. I'm just writing this because I don't want to forget how He cares for the smallest details in my life. He is SO good. My most recent example - I just got off the phone with a friend from church. Yesterday, I mentioned that I wanted to find 8 little gifts for the English teachers at the Thai school. I wanted to take them a little something American or South Carolinian! She went out and bought 8 mini Charleston baskets for me to take. What??? I mean, how sweet is that.

And yesterday, my church went above and beyond when they gave me more money for my trip. And promised their prayers over and over.

I just can't get over His goodness. And the goodness of His people. Oh Lord make me worthy of serving you!

This is one of those posts...

...where I have to be real! I'd like to be all, "I'm fine! I'm brave! I'm excited! God's in control!" But the truth is, I'm scared! I'm anxious! I'm nervous!

Ok, enough with all the exclamation marks. But you get the point. These 2 pictures below represent my biggest sources of anxiety. The first picture is of the Suvarnabhumi Airport, and it represents the flight to Thailand. It's going to be long. I've done it before, and I was miserable. Unless you've been on one of these excruciatingly long flights, you just don't get it.

Second, the whole airport thing. If you know me, you know that I'm quite prone to getting lost. I have no sense of direction, and these huge airports frighten me.

Last, the hotel picture represents the night I have to stay in Bangkok alone. I'm staying in the airport hotel, so I won't have to take a taxi or anything. But I've never spent the night alone in a hotel! Really, I've never spent the night alone in any situation like this.



But, and that word is key, I KNOW this is God's will for me. I KNOW He wants me to do this. I KNOW He will protect me. And I KNOW that although it may be tough, it's really not that big of a deal. And it will totally be worth it, when I get to meet all those sweet Thai students and teachers. That is the part I can't wait for!