1) Riding the train over the River Kwai
2) Fun after the farewell dinner
3) Plane ride back to the states
4) At the Tsunami Memorial Park
5) Devotions at the hotel in Bangkok
Monday, July 27, 2009
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Update on my doctor's visit
I loved Thailand, but it is good to be home. My visit to the doctor was this afternoon. He could not get over my legs. They are more red today around the rash areas and look more inflamed. I’m not sure if it was the long flights yesterday or what. My right ankle was really swollen yesterday and today as well. He told me that I really need to elevate it and rest it. He gave me an upgraded steroid cream to put on the rash areas and prescribed oral steroids for the next few (?) weeks. He read about the paederus bug and took my past history into consideration. He was going to consult with his father-in-law, a dermatologist that was in town visiting him, to see whether or not to put me on an antibiotic.
To see a picture of this bug, look here:
http://dermatology.cdlib.org/127/case_reports/paederus/qadir.html
God’s blessings!
To see a picture of this bug, look here:
http://dermatology.cdlib.org/127/case_reports/paederus/qadir.html
God’s blessings!
More Pictures of the last few days
These pictures are:
1. My snapper fish dinner with a 20% discount!
2. Saturday picture at the men's seminar
3. Saturday picture at the women's seminar
4. The Bridge over the River Kwai
5. My hospital angels: Oh, Joe, and Tak
(I have the same dress on for lots of pictures. Just so you know, I had the dress cleaned often while I was there! After the episode with my legs, the two dresses I had with me felt better to wear than pants or shorts)
Pictures of last days
Here are some pictures of the last few days:
1. Riding an elephant
2. Having fun together and saying goodbye on the last night in Bangkok
3. Receiving a goodbye gift from the Bangkok JIL team
4. An early picture of one of my legs
5. 4 AM at the airport saying goodbye
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Wednesday evening - still in Atlanta
It is 6 pm Wednesday evening and we are in Atlanta waiting for a delayed plane. I am so tired! We left the hotel in Bangkok 27 hours ago at 3 am Thailand time. I had hoped to blog about our last day in Thailand, but by the time we got back to the hotel on Tuesday night and packed all of our bags, it was 11:15 pm and our week of paying for internet access expired at 10:22. I won't attempt to write any more tonight, but if you read this this evening, continue to pray for the last plane flight!
Monday, July 20, 2009
Tuesday morning - our last full day in Thailand
Yesterday was a sight seeing day. We got on the tour bus at 7 AM here at the hotel and rode 3 hours through the beautiful countryside to Kanchanaburi. That is the location of the Bridge over the River Kwai, the Cemetary for the Allied Soldiers and the Death Rail. Since my Dad was a Marine and I have watched the movie based on the bridge numerous times, it was a cool thing to be there. We took a one hour open air train ride over the bridge and around the area (the bridge itself is not that long) . then we ate at a restaurant right by the tracks and saw one of the caves where Allied soldiers are said to have stayed at some time during their work here. Keith took over 1200 digital pictures yesterday. He usually sits in the front of the buses because he is the "official" photographer for our group, although we all of course are taking pictures.
Our devotions on the bus were meaningful in a special way. One of the songs we sang, Above All, has taken on new meaning after being in Thailand. The people here love their king and queen and their pictures and/or portraits are in their houses, churches, and all along the roads and streets. They truly honor and respect the royal family. The opening lines of that song, "Above all powers, above all kings" will always make me think more about the kings of this present world, and especially over here. I bet I have more than 40 pictures of the king and queen taken in the various places we have been.
Today we have a bus toup and boat tour of Bangkok. We take an hour ride on the bus to another part of the city, get on a boat to see that area, then visit the Grand Palace and one of the famous temples. We all have to be dressed in long pants or dresses/skirts today. We meet with the staff at the Lutheran Hour's Ministry headquarters tonight for final devotions and a good bye meal. I'm sure many of us will be in tears again like we were the last day of the seminar, and after Sunday's churcd service. Then we have to finish our final packing (ugh) beacause we leave the hotel at 3 AM tomorrow morning.
Our flight leaves somewhere around 5 AM, we travel for about 24-25 hours total, and will be back in Mobile by about 6/5:30PM in the evening. We gained 12 hours on the way here and lose 12 hours on the way back. That will be something. I will try to get a few more pictures posted, but that may have to wait until we get home. Almost forgot to tell you that we also rode elepahnts for 30 minutes yesterday.
Thank you for your prayers up to this point and please continue them.
Love and God Bless,
Diana
Our devotions on the bus were meaningful in a special way. One of the songs we sang, Above All, has taken on new meaning after being in Thailand. The people here love their king and queen and their pictures and/or portraits are in their houses, churches, and all along the roads and streets. They truly honor and respect the royal family. The opening lines of that song, "Above all powers, above all kings" will always make me think more about the kings of this present world, and especially over here. I bet I have more than 40 pictures of the king and queen taken in the various places we have been.
Today we have a bus toup and boat tour of Bangkok. We take an hour ride on the bus to another part of the city, get on a boat to see that area, then visit the Grand Palace and one of the famous temples. We all have to be dressed in long pants or dresses/skirts today. We meet with the staff at the Lutheran Hour's Ministry headquarters tonight for final devotions and a good bye meal. I'm sure many of us will be in tears again like we were the last day of the seminar, and after Sunday's churcd service. Then we have to finish our final packing (ugh) beacause we leave the hotel at 3 AM tomorrow morning.
Our flight leaves somewhere around 5 AM, we travel for about 24-25 hours total, and will be back in Mobile by about 6/5:30PM in the evening. We gained 12 hours on the way here and lose 12 hours on the way back. That will be something. I will try to get a few more pictures posted, but that may have to wait until we get home. Almost forgot to tell you that we also rode elepahnts for 30 minutes yesterday.
Thank you for your prayers up to this point and please continue them.
Love and God Bless,
Diana
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Sunday morning before church
Yesterday was a memorable day.
Here's some real life math. Guess what cost me 1079 BAHTS and took only 35 minutes to do? Give up? A trip to the hospital in Bangkok (which also serves like a type of walk in clinic) to find out that I do not have ant bites, I must have gotten bitten by the paederus bug in the Phuket area, and the effects didn't show up until here. The amazing thing is that I received excellent care about 5 minutes away from the Lutheran Hour center here, and received 5 different medications/cleaning ointments for a total of $33 American dollars. That includes the hospital fee, doctor, and all medicines.
The bites were really bothering me yesterday morning so I wore a loose fitting dress instead of pants to the seminar. That made my bites visible to people. Dennis, the wife of Lutheran Hour's Journey into Light director, Boom, suggested that I go to the hospital and have it checked. At first I thought of it like going to the emergency room, but he and others assured me that it was not like that here in Bangkok and that it would not cost much.
Three men from the Lutheran Hour took me in a car to the hospital. Upon arriving, the receptionist took my basic information along with passport number, and then sent us up to the second floor. Within minutes a lady directed us into a room to see a female doctor. She took one look at my legs and got out a dermatology book and went right to the bug and right to pictures of skin that looked like mine. She said it was very common in Thailand. She started telling me what she was going to give me and how I had to treat the areas that were affected. The funny part of all this was all the translating going on between the three men who were with me in the doctor's room, the doctor, and me. I now refer to these three men as my flesh and blood hospital angels. They were so concerned that they heard all of the doctor's instructions and that I in turn, understood what she was telling me to do.
One part that we had to go over a number of times was the water issue. The water is not safe to drink here, so everything we do uses bottled water. We even brush our teeth with it. I am not supposed to take a shower and let water, or dirty water run over these areas, because they are now starting to ooze, for lack of a better word. I am supposed to take like a sponge bath and I have to stop swimming in the pools. The past two days, since I woke up early in the morning, I have gone swimming in the hotel pool before the seminar. Now that these spots on my leg are opening up, I have to keep them clean.
Next step was going to the hospital pharmacy which was right next to this doctor's office. Once again, my three "angels" worked hard to make sure the pharmacist told them what to do, they told me, I repeated it back again, and the pharmacist confirmed it. It would have been a sight to see if it had been videotaped! I paid the 1079 BAHTS ($33) with my Visa card (don't leave home without it) and left with my bag of 5 things and we came back to the seminar location.
The men had written down the instructions in Thai, then after the seminar was over, Boom, translated it again to me while my nurse friend Carol sat nearby to make sure I know what to do. Basically I have a saline solution that I have to clean the areas with twice a day. Then I had some type of scrub that I had to use yesterday on it, but it was only a one time thing. Carol said they use that before a surgery to clean the area. Then twice a day I have ointment to apply to the areas. While it is still a rash, I have one thing to put on it. When it opens up and is a wound, I have a different ointment to use. The doctor gave me an antihistamine to take once each morning, but it is the exact same thing as the Clarinex I have been taking since I got the bites. My allergist sent me to Thailand with a daily supply of it already.
Well, that is my hospital experience. The seminar yesterday was such a blessing, but I will have to talk about that later. I need to go upstairs and clean up my body - which is more of a challenge now.
One more thing I will tell you. My friend Carol who has gone on many mission trips decribes the difference between a vacation and a trip like ours this way: When you take a vacation, you go through the land. When you do a mission trip like this, the land goes through you. That has definitely happened to me. My life in Christ will never be the same and these people I have been with at the seminar these past three days have made a lasting impression in my heart. I am bringing back with me some precious memories and gifts that they have given me. May God continue to bless us all - you all at home and the people here.
Diana
Here's some real life math. Guess what cost me 1079 BAHTS and took only 35 minutes to do? Give up? A trip to the hospital in Bangkok (which also serves like a type of walk in clinic) to find out that I do not have ant bites, I must have gotten bitten by the paederus bug in the Phuket area, and the effects didn't show up until here. The amazing thing is that I received excellent care about 5 minutes away from the Lutheran Hour center here, and received 5 different medications/cleaning ointments for a total of $33 American dollars. That includes the hospital fee, doctor, and all medicines.
The bites were really bothering me yesterday morning so I wore a loose fitting dress instead of pants to the seminar. That made my bites visible to people. Dennis, the wife of Lutheran Hour's Journey into Light director, Boom, suggested that I go to the hospital and have it checked. At first I thought of it like going to the emergency room, but he and others assured me that it was not like that here in Bangkok and that it would not cost much.
Three men from the Lutheran Hour took me in a car to the hospital. Upon arriving, the receptionist took my basic information along with passport number, and then sent us up to the second floor. Within minutes a lady directed us into a room to see a female doctor. She took one look at my legs and got out a dermatology book and went right to the bug and right to pictures of skin that looked like mine. She said it was very common in Thailand. She started telling me what she was going to give me and how I had to treat the areas that were affected. The funny part of all this was all the translating going on between the three men who were with me in the doctor's room, the doctor, and me. I now refer to these three men as my flesh and blood hospital angels. They were so concerned that they heard all of the doctor's instructions and that I in turn, understood what she was telling me to do.
One part that we had to go over a number of times was the water issue. The water is not safe to drink here, so everything we do uses bottled water. We even brush our teeth with it. I am not supposed to take a shower and let water, or dirty water run over these areas, because they are now starting to ooze, for lack of a better word. I am supposed to take like a sponge bath and I have to stop swimming in the pools. The past two days, since I woke up early in the morning, I have gone swimming in the hotel pool before the seminar. Now that these spots on my leg are opening up, I have to keep them clean.
Next step was going to the hospital pharmacy which was right next to this doctor's office. Once again, my three "angels" worked hard to make sure the pharmacist told them what to do, they told me, I repeated it back again, and the pharmacist confirmed it. It would have been a sight to see if it had been videotaped! I paid the 1079 BAHTS ($33) with my Visa card (don't leave home without it) and left with my bag of 5 things and we came back to the seminar location.
The men had written down the instructions in Thai, then after the seminar was over, Boom, translated it again to me while my nurse friend Carol sat nearby to make sure I know what to do. Basically I have a saline solution that I have to clean the areas with twice a day. Then I had some type of scrub that I had to use yesterday on it, but it was only a one time thing. Carol said they use that before a surgery to clean the area. Then twice a day I have ointment to apply to the areas. While it is still a rash, I have one thing to put on it. When it opens up and is a wound, I have a different ointment to use. The doctor gave me an antihistamine to take once each morning, but it is the exact same thing as the Clarinex I have been taking since I got the bites. My allergist sent me to Thailand with a daily supply of it already.
Well, that is my hospital experience. The seminar yesterday was such a blessing, but I will have to talk about that later. I need to go upstairs and clean up my body - which is more of a challenge now.
One more thing I will tell you. My friend Carol who has gone on many mission trips decribes the difference between a vacation and a trip like ours this way: When you take a vacation, you go through the land. When you do a mission trip like this, the land goes through you. That has definitely happened to me. My life in Christ will never be the same and these people I have been with at the seminar these past three days have made a lasting impression in my heart. I am bringing back with me some precious memories and gifts that they have given me. May God continue to bless us all - you all at home and the people here.
Diana
Friday, July 17, 2009
Day 2 of the seminar
Praise God that our second day went well. Opening and closing worship with this group is a blessing. Today we sang Lord, I Lift Your Name on High and You Are My All in All (Jesus, Lamb of God) as well as some Thai hymns/songs of praise. It is such a neat experience going back and forth in English and Thai. We close with Praise God From Whom All Blessings Flow often and the harmony is great. I took some videos of songs today, I hope it comes out okay. Those take quite awhile to upload, so if you want to hear a Thai song, go to Keith's blog. He put one on yesterday.
Today the women used bracelets made out of different sized and shaped beads to talk about three different things: Their life of faith in Jesus, the story of Jesus, and the Lord's Prayer. After we had the Bible study and explanation of each, we once again practiced telling the stories to each other at out tables so that we would all be able to tell the stories to our families, friends, and to children.
In addition to the Bible studies, we had lots of fun this afternoon. The Thai women taught us a fun song where we greet each other, then we taught them the fun song Shake a friend's hand. We were laughing and enjoying each other so much! When the men came to join us at the end of the day for our closing worship, we did another fun Thai song all together first. Keith and I both videotaped it. I so hope it comes out, it was great. We are really forming some neat new friendships as we gather together around God's Word and our common faith.
The two nurses in our group, Carol and Juli, both who work in hospitals specializing in stroke care and heart attack care, did a session on taking care of the bodies God has given us and educating us all on things we need to be aware of with stoke and heart attacks.
Just one day left with these wonderful people who are attending the seminar. The ladies can all say my name well because Diana does not have any hard sounds and they all know abou Princess Diana. Some of them jokingly call me that! Keith ate with our table of ladies today and I told him he should start calling me that! He just laughed, imagine that. One of the ladies gave me a neat visual aid that she uses to tell children the about their need for Jesus, and I am eager to show it to you all.
On Sunday, we split into two groups because the two worship services we are involved with are at the same time. At this time it looks like we will be in the group that worships at the same location that our seminar is at. The others will ride in a van about 15 minutes from here.
I had my first cheeseburger tonight since we left the United States. It was so good. I continue to enjoy the Thai food, but the burger and fries were great. After supper we went to the local Walmart type place (all walking distance from our hotel and the location of the seminar) to get me some Tiger Balm. That is what I am putting on my bites. They itch!! Neither Keith nor I slept well last night. I think I was afraid of more bites, and my tossing and turning kept Keith up. He is sleeping now, and as soon as I finish, I am hoping to sleep as well. I am taking antihistamines, but that doesn't completely take away the itching.
Keith had a busy day. He did quite a bit of the teaching today and will do most of it tomorrow. Since the ladies are having such a good time in the midst of all of our learning, he picked up a few fun items for the men tomorrow at the Big C (Walmart type store).
I so enjoy reading the comments that some of you are posting. It makes me feel closer to home even as we are so far away. God's continued blessings to you and keep praying for us. I will probably try to get some pictures posted tomorrow.
Today the women used bracelets made out of different sized and shaped beads to talk about three different things: Their life of faith in Jesus, the story of Jesus, and the Lord's Prayer. After we had the Bible study and explanation of each, we once again practiced telling the stories to each other at out tables so that we would all be able to tell the stories to our families, friends, and to children.
In addition to the Bible studies, we had lots of fun this afternoon. The Thai women taught us a fun song where we greet each other, then we taught them the fun song Shake a friend's hand. We were laughing and enjoying each other so much! When the men came to join us at the end of the day for our closing worship, we did another fun Thai song all together first. Keith and I both videotaped it. I so hope it comes out, it was great. We are really forming some neat new friendships as we gather together around God's Word and our common faith.
The two nurses in our group, Carol and Juli, both who work in hospitals specializing in stroke care and heart attack care, did a session on taking care of the bodies God has given us and educating us all on things we need to be aware of with stoke and heart attacks.
Just one day left with these wonderful people who are attending the seminar. The ladies can all say my name well because Diana does not have any hard sounds and they all know abou Princess Diana. Some of them jokingly call me that! Keith ate with our table of ladies today and I told him he should start calling me that! He just laughed, imagine that. One of the ladies gave me a neat visual aid that she uses to tell children the about their need for Jesus, and I am eager to show it to you all.
On Sunday, we split into two groups because the two worship services we are involved with are at the same time. At this time it looks like we will be in the group that worships at the same location that our seminar is at. The others will ride in a van about 15 minutes from here.
I had my first cheeseburger tonight since we left the United States. It was so good. I continue to enjoy the Thai food, but the burger and fries were great. After supper we went to the local Walmart type place (all walking distance from our hotel and the location of the seminar) to get me some Tiger Balm. That is what I am putting on my bites. They itch!! Neither Keith nor I slept well last night. I think I was afraid of more bites, and my tossing and turning kept Keith up. He is sleeping now, and as soon as I finish, I am hoping to sleep as well. I am taking antihistamines, but that doesn't completely take away the itching.
Keith had a busy day. He did quite a bit of the teaching today and will do most of it tomorrow. Since the ladies are having such a good time in the midst of all of our learning, he picked up a few fun items for the men tomorrow at the Big C (Walmart type store).
I so enjoy reading the comments that some of you are posting. It makes me feel closer to home even as we are so far away. God's continued blessings to you and keep praying for us. I will probably try to get some pictures posted tomorrow.
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Pictures from the first day of the seminar
Pictures from the seminar today. Worship team playing Shine, Jesus, Shine; The ladies at our table making the witness beads and in front of the altar; talking about shapes and faith in God - we have a wonderful interpreter!Praise God for Seminar Day 1
What a blessing we had today! The day began with an opening devotion for both the men and the women together. Seems like there were about 22 men and 24 women who attended, plus the 14 of us in the PLI group and the Luutheran Hour Ministry staff. The devotion was spoken in the Thai language, but we had an English version to follow. Singing Shine, Jesus, Shine was definitely a highlight of our time together. We followed the song on PowerPoint. They would sing a verse in Thai, then those who could speak English along with the 14 of us would do it in English. Then we would have the chorus on the PowerPoint in both Thai and English and sing it together. I videotaped part of the singing, sure hope it comes out! They sang a beautiful song in Thai that I hope I learn the melody for the next couple of days. After the devotion, the men went across the street to another building and the women stayed where we were.
We had a fun ice breaker where we each had a ziplock bag with 5 different colored beads. We were instructed to go around the room, introduce ourselves to another person, and then swap a bead with them. The object was supposed to be to calmly walk around and share your name with a few other women and wind up with the same color of beads in your bag. The fun part was that many people seemed to want to be the first one finished, and it became a funny and crazy time as well. Laughter definietly helps break the ice.
The theme today had to do with a Life of Faith. After we did some fun things with a string of pearls (fake ones) , my friend Kathy who wrote the Bible studies for these three days, started the lesson. She would have me do a "mini Math lesson" on a geometric shape, and she would follow that with the Scripture application. For instance, the first one was about triangles. The equilateral triangle is a special one because all three sides and all three angles are equal. No one angle or side is bigger than any other. We used large posterboard cut outs when we would talk. Then she would follow with the fact that our God is one God, but three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The women were very receptive and we were all blessed by our time together.
After we finished with all of the shapes and the explanations, each woman made "witness beads" with one of each shape so that they could share the faith story with others, including children.
We did lots of other things together and it was an awesome day. We started at 9:00 this morning and finished about 4:00 this afternoon. Each one of us PLI wives are at a table with the women. There are a total of 6 of us at our table. The five women and I have already exchanged email addresses so we can keep in touch. A couple of the women at our table speak pretty good English, so that is really helping. Some of the 24 women are pastors' wives, a couple of them are pastors, some are active lay people. Most are married and have children, but there are quite a few single ladies. It is a good mix.
Two of the ladies at my table had a great reunion today. They met at camp 35 years ago. At that time, one was a Christian and the other was not. The one who was not a Christian then is now a pastor at a Christian church that is worshipping about 20 or more people. She was married to a missionary who died about 8 years ago. She is continuing to spread the Gospel message. The two women had not seen each other in 35 years. Our God is an awesome God!
The unpleasant thing that happened to me today was that I was "attacked" by some ants in bed last night and I have 10 - 15 welts on my legs, somewhat like fireants. Janice, you said to experience it all, but I would have liked to have skipped this part. Thank you God for my supply of antihistamines and things like benadryl cream. The missionary that teaches English, Robin, gave me some special ointment that is also helping with the itching. Since the ants got me and not Keith, I guess all that I can say is that I am sweeter and better tasting than him!?
Oh well, it is about time to eat. Your prayers for our team, our health, our safety, the people we are interacting with mean so much. Thank you.
We had a fun ice breaker where we each had a ziplock bag with 5 different colored beads. We were instructed to go around the room, introduce ourselves to another person, and then swap a bead with them. The object was supposed to be to calmly walk around and share your name with a few other women and wind up with the same color of beads in your bag. The fun part was that many people seemed to want to be the first one finished, and it became a funny and crazy time as well. Laughter definietly helps break the ice.
The theme today had to do with a Life of Faith. After we did some fun things with a string of pearls (fake ones) , my friend Kathy who wrote the Bible studies for these three days, started the lesson. She would have me do a "mini Math lesson" on a geometric shape, and she would follow that with the Scripture application. For instance, the first one was about triangles. The equilateral triangle is a special one because all three sides and all three angles are equal. No one angle or side is bigger than any other. We used large posterboard cut outs when we would talk. Then she would follow with the fact that our God is one God, but three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The women were very receptive and we were all blessed by our time together.
After we finished with all of the shapes and the explanations, each woman made "witness beads" with one of each shape so that they could share the faith story with others, including children.
We did lots of other things together and it was an awesome day. We started at 9:00 this morning and finished about 4:00 this afternoon. Each one of us PLI wives are at a table with the women. There are a total of 6 of us at our table. The five women and I have already exchanged email addresses so we can keep in touch. A couple of the women at our table speak pretty good English, so that is really helping. Some of the 24 women are pastors' wives, a couple of them are pastors, some are active lay people. Most are married and have children, but there are quite a few single ladies. It is a good mix.
Two of the ladies at my table had a great reunion today. They met at camp 35 years ago. At that time, one was a Christian and the other was not. The one who was not a Christian then is now a pastor at a Christian church that is worshipping about 20 or more people. She was married to a missionary who died about 8 years ago. She is continuing to spread the Gospel message. The two women had not seen each other in 35 years. Our God is an awesome God!
The unpleasant thing that happened to me today was that I was "attacked" by some ants in bed last night and I have 10 - 15 welts on my legs, somewhat like fireants. Janice, you said to experience it all, but I would have liked to have skipped this part. Thank you God for my supply of antihistamines and things like benadryl cream. The missionary that teaches English, Robin, gave me some special ointment that is also helping with the itching. Since the ants got me and not Keith, I guess all that I can say is that I am sweeter and better tasting than him!?
Oh well, it is about time to eat. Your prayers for our team, our health, our safety, the people we are interacting with mean so much. Thank you.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Some pictures
Here are a few pictures from the past couple of days:
The Tsunami Memorial Wall
John 3:16 at the Evangelical Fellowship of Thailand
Young people attending English class and missionary teacher, Robin
Wednesday afternoon
We are back at the hotel for a little while and then we go nearby to observe a beginners English speaking class led by a Lutheran missionary woman from the United States. This morning we took about an hour or so drive in a van through parts of Bangkok to go to the headquarters of the Thailand Christian Organization (can't remember the official title - left my notes and brochure upstairs in the hotel room) where they coordinate most of the Christian Missionaries in Thailand. He said that over here the Christian denominations work together to spread the Gospel. They showed us a 5 minute Powerpoint/movie presentation about their work, took us on a tour of their facility, talked with us and then answered our questions. It was so interesting. I loved the large wording on one of their walls that had John 3:16 in the Thai language.
Everywhere we go the wonderful people feed us! We had snacks this morning during the presentation. Both churches made large amounts of food for us after the services on Sunday. The tsunami victims we visitied had food for us. I am convinced I will gain weight over here when I had really planned to lose some! Our friends have been laughing at me because of all the pictures I have taken of our food. It would be hard to describe it though without the pictures. Keith continues to put the hottest sauces on his food while I am happy to stay with the mild stuff. The thing I miss the most is skim milk.
We are here with Lutheran Hour Ministries and here is their website if you want to see a bit about them: http://www.jilthailand.org/aboutus_en.php
We will put up a few more pictures when Keith can help me. He has them in his laptop. That's about all my brain can handle - I get sleepy spells like now when at home it is 3:43 in the morning!!
Everywhere we go the wonderful people feed us! We had snacks this morning during the presentation. Both churches made large amounts of food for us after the services on Sunday. The tsunami victims we visitied had food for us. I am convinced I will gain weight over here when I had really planned to lose some! Our friends have been laughing at me because of all the pictures I have taken of our food. It would be hard to describe it though without the pictures. Keith continues to put the hottest sauces on his food while I am happy to stay with the mild stuff. The thing I miss the most is skim milk.
We are here with Lutheran Hour Ministries and here is their website if you want to see a bit about them: http://www.jilthailand.org/aboutus_en.php
We will put up a few more pictures when Keith can help me. He has them in his laptop. That's about all my brain can handle - I get sleepy spells like now when at home it is 3:43 in the morning!!
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Wednesday morning, back in Bangkok
Hello family and friends. We are back in Bangkok now and ready to begin the teaching phase of our trip and more observations about the present ministries here. We flew out of the Phuket area last night at 6:40 PM. What a beautiful part of God's creation. It was breathtaking. Our hotel was a more seculed spot right on the cliffs of the Andaman sea. I could look out of our room right on to some foliage and water. We were not near a beach or the town, so it was quiet. The one night and early morning when we had the main storm we had water in our room. We used all kinds of towels to soak it up. It so reminded me of home in Alabama during a tropical storm and/or minimal hurricane winds and rains. Thank goodness that we had all of our luggage up off of the ground (because of some of the little bugs/insects/critters in the room.) Since we live in the south and are used to dealing roaches, gnats, etc. that wasn't too bad for us here. Only difference was I don't know the names of these bugs.
You already know that we worshipped at two churches on Sunday and spent part of that day and Monday visiting with tsunami victims. I am writing in a journal as we go along so that I can capture the stories as accurately as possible.
The seminars for men and women begin tomorrow. There are people driving as far as 13 hours to attend the seminar. If I understand correctly, we only have room for 25 women in our seminar and that already filled up and there is a waiting list. Tomorrow's focus for the women is "A Life of Faith". Kathy, one of the wives, wrote the Bible studies and we are all assiting her and leading the small group activities. She is relating Life with God to geometric shapes. After our ice breaker, she will have me teach "brief mini lessons" on shapes and then relate them to God. For instance, the first shape tomorrow is an equilateral triange. I will show a large equilateral triangle and how it has three equal sides and angles. No side or angle is bigger or smaller than the other one. She will take it from there and relate it to the Trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Please pray for us as leaders and the women who attend. We will have a translater, so I have to speak slowly and pause often. What a challenge that will be!!!!
Oh well, I would like to write more, but I need to go take a shower and get ready for the day. I am downstairs now in the room that has two computers. We have group devotions here in the lobby of the hotel in about 40 minutes, then two vans pick us up to transport us to all the different places we will be visiting today.
Thanks for the prayers.
You already know that we worshipped at two churches on Sunday and spent part of that day and Monday visiting with tsunami victims. I am writing in a journal as we go along so that I can capture the stories as accurately as possible.
The seminars for men and women begin tomorrow. There are people driving as far as 13 hours to attend the seminar. If I understand correctly, we only have room for 25 women in our seminar and that already filled up and there is a waiting list. Tomorrow's focus for the women is "A Life of Faith". Kathy, one of the wives, wrote the Bible studies and we are all assiting her and leading the small group activities. She is relating Life with God to geometric shapes. After our ice breaker, she will have me teach "brief mini lessons" on shapes and then relate them to God. For instance, the first shape tomorrow is an equilateral triange. I will show a large equilateral triangle and how it has three equal sides and angles. No side or angle is bigger or smaller than the other one. She will take it from there and relate it to the Trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Please pray for us as leaders and the women who attend. We will have a translater, so I have to speak slowly and pause often. What a challenge that will be!!!!
Oh well, I would like to write more, but I need to go take a shower and get ready for the day. I am downstairs now in the room that has two computers. We have group devotions here in the lobby of the hotel in about 40 minutes, then two vans pick us up to transport us to all the different places we will be visiting today.
Thanks for the prayers.
Monday, July 13, 2009
Keith's blog
Keith has a separate blog at ringersk.blogspot.com and we are trying to write differnet things so you have two perspectives on our trip.
Monday evening in Thailand
Today has been an emotional day. We were at the tsunami memorial, cemetary, and talking with one particular family about their experiences in the tsunami. There are not adequate words to describe the feelings and emotions I have today. Yesterday we worshipped at two different Lutheran churches and the people were wonderful. Both are in the tsunami affected area and after the service spoke about their experiences. We met people who now have a saving faith in Jesus because of what happened after the disaster. Two of our pastor friends preached yesterday, two more preach next Sunday, and Keith and the other two will lead the seminars for the pastors and lay people in Bangkok later this week.
The first few days here our hosts had us experiences the sights, sounds, tastes, and places in this area. The 12 hour time change has been a major challenge for all of us but I am doing better with it than I originally thought. We have taken so many pictures each day that we will have lots to share.
That's about all for now. We are sharing the Internet with the other couples here. We had two days of significant storms, somewhat like our tropical storms and category one hurricanes, so Internet was not an option. We are staying in a hotel here, but even though it is pretty nice, it does not have the conveniences that we are used to.
God's blessings to you all!
The first few days here our hosts had us experiences the sights, sounds, tastes, and places in this area. The 12 hour time change has been a major challenge for all of us but I am doing better with it than I originally thought. We have taken so many pictures each day that we will have lots to share.
That's about all for now. We are sharing the Internet with the other couples here. We had two days of significant storms, somewhat like our tropical storms and category one hurricanes, so Internet was not an option. We are staying in a hotel here, but even though it is pretty nice, it does not have the conveniences that we are used to.
God's blessings to you all!
Sunday, July 12, 2009
We are fine, but Internet problems at hotel
All is going well here except the Internet is not working at the hotel correctly. After days of trying to do this, the nice hotel clerk is letting me use her hotel computer for a few minutes. We will update more once we get back to Bangkok. Keep up the prayers!! Thanks!!
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Good first day
We had a good day today. We had a devotion after lunch and then met with the director of Lutheran Hour ministries in Thailand and her husband for an orientation. Her staff prepared a wonderful evening meal and we toured their facilities here in Bangkok. We also saw the Luther Institute of Southeast Asia. We are back at the hotel now and getting ready to leave here tomorrow to go to the southern part of Thailand. The time difference is wierd, but we are adjusting better than I thought. Please pray for a safe flight again tomorrow!
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
We are here!
Thank you for all of your prayers. We arrived safely here at 11:45 PM Thailand time on Tuesday night, 11:45 AM Alabama time. We are staying in a hotel in Bangkok tonight and meeting with the Lutheran Hour ministry hosts this afternoon and evening for an overview of our time here. Tomorrow at 5:00 AM we leave Bangkok and fly down to the tsunami area for the next few days of our trip. We ate at the hotel this morning. Good food, lots of rice and fish dishes along with some eggs and fruit and breads. I took it easy on the food, Keith is already putting hot sauce on everything. Keith is out taking pictures while I am updating everyone. We will post as often as we can!!
Diana
Diana
Sunday, July 5, 2009
We begin our trip soon!
We are making the last preparations for our trip. We appreciate everyone's prayers for safe travel and a God pleasing time in Thailand.
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