Sunday, July 20, 2003
Well, I offically turned down my opportunity to go to graduate school this fall. After a lot of prayer, discussion, and thinking, I decided it was the best decision on many levels. I made the call this past Friday, and though they were disappointed in my decision, they understood and wished me well on whatever I do next. I will also be able to get my deposit for my on campus living back, so that can go towards an apartment in Berea. I am actually updating my blogger here in Berea at the moment. I arrived this past Thursday and have been looking for jobs and apartments to get settled in ASAP. So far I have found a great apartment with EVERYTHING furnished (including washer/dryer, dishes, and furniture..etc etc), and I have applied for a few jobs. I will also be looking some tomorrow before I head home.
My official plans now are to apply for the Journeyman program, hoping to leave in March/May, depending on when and if I am approved and chosen. Also, I am praying about applying to some graduate schools/seminaries for the fall in case the Journeyman program doesn't work out. I read a scripture today in Ecclesiastes that (paraphrasing) that the man that always looks to clouds will not harvest, and the man that always looks to the sky will not sow. The commentary in my bible explained that if you keep waiting and waiting (being overly cautious), you will never accomplish anything. I also read this morning that you should "cast your bread upon the water, and in its due time it will come back to you." (Again, paraphrasing.) Anyway, I am carefully and prayerfully setting out to see where God will have me go next, even if that means hanging around Berea for a bit with a less-than-ideal job and serving Him at my church. Whatever you do, do it with all your might (I read that today in Ecclesiates too!).. and always be JOYFUL! There is so much that He is showing me now about a lot of things, all of which has to do with me completely surrendering all my wants, desires, dreams,... everything. I know that God will bring about whatever is best for me IN HIS TIME.. I've always known that. But it's so much harder to actually practice that, everyday, in all aspects of my life. So I want a husband someday to do ministry with? I give it to You, Father. So I want everything for me to work out so I can go serve God in Thailand this coming spring? I give my plans and my desires to You, Father. I want a job and place to sleep and live in the next few weeks? Lord, you know what I need and when I need it. I give it all to You, Father.. let me be so sensitive to Your spirit and Your instruction that I hear You as clearly as You want me to, and let me walk every step of my life in assurance that You have laid that step out for me before I even existed. Let everything that comes out of my heart, my mouth, my actions, and my life reflect YOUR goodness and YOUR power... and Your love, which is one of the greatest gifts you have ever given to me and those that have come to You with broken hearts. As this day begins, renew my spirit, and sharpen it so that I may reflect You to someone.. MANY someones today. I am never worthy of that privilege, but it is the very least I can do for You, God. Let my words be few before You, My Father and Holy God whom I serve.
My official plans now are to apply for the Journeyman program, hoping to leave in March/May, depending on when and if I am approved and chosen. Also, I am praying about applying to some graduate schools/seminaries for the fall in case the Journeyman program doesn't work out. I read a scripture today in Ecclesiastes that (paraphrasing) that the man that always looks to clouds will not harvest, and the man that always looks to the sky will not sow. The commentary in my bible explained that if you keep waiting and waiting (being overly cautious), you will never accomplish anything. I also read this morning that you should "cast your bread upon the water, and in its due time it will come back to you." (Again, paraphrasing.) Anyway, I am carefully and prayerfully setting out to see where God will have me go next, even if that means hanging around Berea for a bit with a less-than-ideal job and serving Him at my church. Whatever you do, do it with all your might (I read that today in Ecclesiates too!).. and always be JOYFUL! There is so much that He is showing me now about a lot of things, all of which has to do with me completely surrendering all my wants, desires, dreams,... everything. I know that God will bring about whatever is best for me IN HIS TIME.. I've always known that. But it's so much harder to actually practice that, everyday, in all aspects of my life. So I want a husband someday to do ministry with? I give it to You, Father. So I want everything for me to work out so I can go serve God in Thailand this coming spring? I give my plans and my desires to You, Father. I want a job and place to sleep and live in the next few weeks? Lord, you know what I need and when I need it. I give it all to You, Father.. let me be so sensitive to Your spirit and Your instruction that I hear You as clearly as You want me to, and let me walk every step of my life in assurance that You have laid that step out for me before I even existed. Let everything that comes out of my heart, my mouth, my actions, and my life reflect YOUR goodness and YOUR power... and Your love, which is one of the greatest gifts you have ever given to me and those that have come to You with broken hearts. As this day begins, renew my spirit, and sharpen it so that I may reflect You to someone.. MANY someones today. I am never worthy of that privilege, but it is the very least I can do for You, God. Let my words be few before You, My Father and Holy God whom I serve.
Wednesday, July 16, 2003
Home again. We got off the plane in Louisville about 6:30pm yesterday (Monday the 14th, EST). I fell asleep about 1:40am last night, only to get up the next day at about 9:00pm. Now it's about 2:00am, and I am wide awake. I hope this jet lag doesn't last too long.. but in the meantime, I am catching up on email and my journal, uninterrupted by slow dial-up connection (not much traffic on an early Tuesday morning).
The plane ride wasn't too bad. We flew out of Chiang Mai on Sunday afternoon and arrived in Bangkok about 6 or 7pm. After going out on the town for some dinner (Outback Steakhouse.. ah, yes), we swung by Hard Rock Cafe and then back to the hotel to wait/sleep 3 hours before getting up and heading to the airport for our 5:30am flight. I along with a couple other girls decided to stay up and talk, which was excellent. The rest of the flight was blur (maybe it was due to the lack of sleep we had). We almost missed our flight out of Bangkok (I guess they like to board a little early.. Japan time tends to run about 20 minutes early anyway.. completely backwards from Thailand time, I might add). But it was no biggie, and the rest of the flight was good. On our monstrous flight from Tokyo to Minneapolis, MN (about 10-13 hours), we had to make a stop in Fargo, North Dakota due to bad weather in Minneapolis. It only set us back about an hour, so it was no big deal. By that time the lack of sleep for 24+ hours was catching up with me, and I crashed for about 1 1/2 hours.
I apologize to you faithful readers of my journal for not updating regularly the last few weeks of my trip (I doubt there are many of you, but hey it makes me feel important). Since I am suffering from the jet lag now, I will try my best to summarize it for you. For further details, please ask me anytime. Especially if you have any questions about my conversations with friends about God, please ask in person, since this is available to anyone and may result in unfavorable consequences if I share too much online. With all that said, here are my basic activities that happened, picking up at July 4th.
Friday, July 4th
Today was the big 4th of July party that we threw at Quintin and Kim's house, full of fun, music, food, fireworks, and laughs. We spent the entire morning cleaning, cooking, and preparing for the event. Balloons needed blown up, decorations needed taped, the street needed to be swept (we used the entire road in front of their house and covered it with awnings and set chairs under them), food needed to be set out, etc. etc. We used pictures of the American flag, as well as a paper Uncle Sam and red, white, and blue balloons to decorate. We had to hurry because we had plans on going to the American Consolate that afternoon for a couple of hours for the big 4th of July party before we started our own.
The Consolate was fun.. it was almost a shock to see so many Americans together, eating McDonald's and listening to American songs played by local college brass ensembles and choirs. One group even played "Mambo Number 5." There were also foot massages going on to help raise money for an organization that helps to pay for medical (and other) needs for children and families affected by the HIV/AIDS virus in the area. It was a good cause, and I could never pass up a good massage. :) Overall, it was fun, and we got to visit with a lot of M's and some friends we had met earlier.
The night was wonderful: many of our friends from all three colleges came, along with other farangs and M's. Some of Quintin and Kim's Thai neighbors also came to join us. Probably about 100 people came at one point or another. During the night, I did face painting for many of the children and the college students (thankfully others chipped in too to help), and we ate and ate lots of Thai and American food. Later that night, some of us lead some silly songs to sing, like "Singing in the Rain," "If You're Happy and You Know It," and the "Hokey Pokey." Old and young alike really enjoyed it, and a lot of embarassing pictures were taken of us as we lead them. :) There was also a great skit done by the Far Eastern College group, the one where a guy goes to the doctor for a check up (they modified it so that it was people riding on the song-tow, common transportation in Thailand). One guy is on the song-tow to begin with. People keep coming in with different illnesses, like sneezing, coughing, and scratching. One by one they come in, and each time the first guy keeps catching their diseases, leaving the originally sick person feeling better and getting off. The skit ends with the first guy sneezing, coughing, scratching uncontrollably, and even barking (a girl got on the song-tow with her dog at one point). The skit ends with a pregnant woman getting on the song-tow and the guy running away yelling in terror. Anyway, the story of the 4th of July was told to the Thais (and translated by an ah-jahn who is good friends with Quintin and Kim). Part of what was talked about was the freedom we received as part of our independence, particularly our freedom of religion. It was very well done, and I think it got some of our friends thinking about it. We also sang the Star-Spangled Banner and God Bless America, providing words for our non-American friends. Everyone raved about the party, making all the work worthwhile.
Okay, I think it's enough for now. To tell you the truth, the rest of my stay in Chiang Mai was just full of awesome events, conversations, sharing times, and sad goodbyes. I am sorry to say that I will probably not be able to record them all on here, but if you would like to know more about it, please feel free to ask. Some things you may want to ask about are my karaoke experiences (there were actually 3, and they were FUN), my day helping with an English camp at a local middle school, our picnic with our buddies from school, our last few days at the dorm with students, and our final church meeting the day we left (we had invited several of our friends and other M's to join us, and it was wonderful). Please feel free to give me a call (if I already know you and you have my number.. I don't really care for psycho strangers calling me at odd hours), or feel free to email me. I am going to start working on scanning and adding Thailand pictures to my site now, so please check it out. Take care all, and I will hopefully write again soon. Please be praying for me as I decide on the next step of my life. I am praying about applying to become a Journeyman in Thailand for 2 years working with Quintin and Kim with their organization "Campus to Campus International." But that would mean postponing graduate school a few years. I just want to serve God wherever He places me, even if that means going to graduate school now. I want everything I do to be a service to Him, and wherever that is I will go. What I do know is that I have a deep sincere love for the Thai people, language, culture,... I want to go back, whenver I can. Please be praying. Thank you so much for all your prayers while I was there; there were days when I could feel the power of God through your prayers. God was merciful by keeping me from getting sick hardly at all, and for the easy transition through jet lag, and for patience when my own patience was running thin. Thanks be to God for His mercy, power, and grace. I thank God for the sheer opportunity to go to Thailand and for the conversations I could have, the friends I made, and the life lessons I learned. I could never thank Him enough for just this summer alone, much less everything He has given to me. He is truly an AWESOME God, and worthy of praise every moment of our existence.
The plane ride wasn't too bad. We flew out of Chiang Mai on Sunday afternoon and arrived in Bangkok about 6 or 7pm. After going out on the town for some dinner (Outback Steakhouse.. ah, yes), we swung by Hard Rock Cafe and then back to the hotel to wait/sleep 3 hours before getting up and heading to the airport for our 5:30am flight. I along with a couple other girls decided to stay up and talk, which was excellent. The rest of the flight was blur (maybe it was due to the lack of sleep we had). We almost missed our flight out of Bangkok (I guess they like to board a little early.. Japan time tends to run about 20 minutes early anyway.. completely backwards from Thailand time, I might add). But it was no biggie, and the rest of the flight was good. On our monstrous flight from Tokyo to Minneapolis, MN (about 10-13 hours), we had to make a stop in Fargo, North Dakota due to bad weather in Minneapolis. It only set us back about an hour, so it was no big deal. By that time the lack of sleep for 24+ hours was catching up with me, and I crashed for about 1 1/2 hours.
I apologize to you faithful readers of my journal for not updating regularly the last few weeks of my trip (I doubt there are many of you, but hey it makes me feel important). Since I am suffering from the jet lag now, I will try my best to summarize it for you. For further details, please ask me anytime. Especially if you have any questions about my conversations with friends about God, please ask in person, since this is available to anyone and may result in unfavorable consequences if I share too much online. With all that said, here are my basic activities that happened, picking up at July 4th.
Friday, July 4th
Today was the big 4th of July party that we threw at Quintin and Kim's house, full of fun, music, food, fireworks, and laughs. We spent the entire morning cleaning, cooking, and preparing for the event. Balloons needed blown up, decorations needed taped, the street needed to be swept (we used the entire road in front of their house and covered it with awnings and set chairs under them), food needed to be set out, etc. etc. We used pictures of the American flag, as well as a paper Uncle Sam and red, white, and blue balloons to decorate. We had to hurry because we had plans on going to the American Consolate that afternoon for a couple of hours for the big 4th of July party before we started our own.
The Consolate was fun.. it was almost a shock to see so many Americans together, eating McDonald's and listening to American songs played by local college brass ensembles and choirs. One group even played "Mambo Number 5." There were also foot massages going on to help raise money for an organization that helps to pay for medical (and other) needs for children and families affected by the HIV/AIDS virus in the area. It was a good cause, and I could never pass up a good massage. :) Overall, it was fun, and we got to visit with a lot of M's and some friends we had met earlier.
The night was wonderful: many of our friends from all three colleges came, along with other farangs and M's. Some of Quintin and Kim's Thai neighbors also came to join us. Probably about 100 people came at one point or another. During the night, I did face painting for many of the children and the college students (thankfully others chipped in too to help), and we ate and ate lots of Thai and American food. Later that night, some of us lead some silly songs to sing, like "Singing in the Rain," "If You're Happy and You Know It," and the "Hokey Pokey." Old and young alike really enjoyed it, and a lot of embarassing pictures were taken of us as we lead them. :) There was also a great skit done by the Far Eastern College group, the one where a guy goes to the doctor for a check up (they modified it so that it was people riding on the song-tow, common transportation in Thailand). One guy is on the song-tow to begin with. People keep coming in with different illnesses, like sneezing, coughing, and scratching. One by one they come in, and each time the first guy keeps catching their diseases, leaving the originally sick person feeling better and getting off. The skit ends with the first guy sneezing, coughing, scratching uncontrollably, and even barking (a girl got on the song-tow with her dog at one point). The skit ends with a pregnant woman getting on the song-tow and the guy running away yelling in terror. Anyway, the story of the 4th of July was told to the Thais (and translated by an ah-jahn who is good friends with Quintin and Kim). Part of what was talked about was the freedom we received as part of our independence, particularly our freedom of religion. It was very well done, and I think it got some of our friends thinking about it. We also sang the Star-Spangled Banner and God Bless America, providing words for our non-American friends. Everyone raved about the party, making all the work worthwhile.
Okay, I think it's enough for now. To tell you the truth, the rest of my stay in Chiang Mai was just full of awesome events, conversations, sharing times, and sad goodbyes. I am sorry to say that I will probably not be able to record them all on here, but if you would like to know more about it, please feel free to ask. Some things you may want to ask about are my karaoke experiences (there were actually 3, and they were FUN), my day helping with an English camp at a local middle school, our picnic with our buddies from school, our last few days at the dorm with students, and our final church meeting the day we left (we had invited several of our friends and other M's to join us, and it was wonderful). Please feel free to give me a call (if I already know you and you have my number.. I don't really care for psycho strangers calling me at odd hours), or feel free to email me. I am going to start working on scanning and adding Thailand pictures to my site now, so please check it out. Take care all, and I will hopefully write again soon. Please be praying for me as I decide on the next step of my life. I am praying about applying to become a Journeyman in Thailand for 2 years working with Quintin and Kim with their organization "Campus to Campus International." But that would mean postponing graduate school a few years. I just want to serve God wherever He places me, even if that means going to graduate school now. I want everything I do to be a service to Him, and wherever that is I will go. What I do know is that I have a deep sincere love for the Thai people, language, culture,... I want to go back, whenver I can. Please be praying. Thank you so much for all your prayers while I was there; there were days when I could feel the power of God through your prayers. God was merciful by keeping me from getting sick hardly at all, and for the easy transition through jet lag, and for patience when my own patience was running thin. Thanks be to God for His mercy, power, and grace. I thank God for the sheer opportunity to go to Thailand and for the conversations I could have, the friends I made, and the life lessons I learned. I could never thank Him enough for just this summer alone, much less everything He has given to me. He is truly an AWESOME God, and worthy of praise every moment of our existence.
Tuesday, July 08, 2003
It's our last week here in Chiang Mai, and of course we are busy, busy, busy. I am trying not to think about leaving this place. There are so many people I've gotten to know, to challenge, and to be challenged by. On one hand, I think that I am ready to see my family and friends again, but another part of me feels like I sort of developed a home away from home here. I wish that my journal over the past few weeks could completely describe all of the feelings, struggles, victories, and wonders that I have experienced here. Maybe that's why it has been so hard to keep writing in this journal lately; it only scratches the surface. At the same time, I want those at home to know some general activities that we are doing. However, because we have to be careful to disclose names (just in case), and because this is available to anyone to see, I can't tell much of the "behind the scenes" work going on. For those of you at home that would like to know more about my experience here, please feel free to ask. Now, I am going try to cover most of the main events that have happened in the last week or so... hang on..
Monday, June 30th:
To pick up where I last left off, Monday after classes were finished we went with our team to MonkChat, which is where common people can go talk to Buddhist Monks at Wat Suan Dok, the big school for monks and novices in Chiang Mai. While I was there, I got to talk to three monks. They were all very friendly, and were eager to speak English. The purpose of the program is to help the monks practice English, as well as allow people and foreigners to ask the monks all kinds of questions. It's a really good opportunity to share about Buddhism and Christianity. It certainly opened my eyes to some things, and it was just an enjoyable experience.
Tuesday, July 1st
Sightseeing with an Ah-jahn. NCC let us take the day off to go see several of the surrounding wats, as well as a couple of museums. There was much to see and take pictures of.. I'm beginning to think that I am going to have to develop an entire site just of my pictures of Thailand :)
Wednesday, July 2nd
Our visas ran out today, so we had to go get them renewed at the Immigration Office. After a couple of hours and a slew of hassles and minor ordeals, we got our visas, and even had them extended for two extra days so that we wouldn't have to pay the extra fine for going past the usual 10-day visa. After leaving Immigration, we headed for some small waterfalls on Doi Su Thep. We climbed around for a while (I fell once and broke my camera, but it was fixable), had a small picnic, and went ahead and had our team bible study. It was really refreshing to be outside, hearing the waterfalls, and just sharing what was on our hearts for a while. We broke up into small groups and discussed the bible study and what God has been showing us in the past week. I admitted to my team that I was a little downhearted. I had been looking to the Journeyman program to return to Thailand at the end of the year. However, I found out that it was not possible for me to do that, because of the large amount of applicants already waiting for spots. The IMB is also having more financial contraints, so there are actually going to be fewer placed in positions. Anyway, I have not tried to think too much about what what the next step is for me, but I have to be honest and say that it does haunt me in the back of my mind. We then shared prayer requests and lifted each other up in prayer.
The North Chiang Mai College team also went to one of the student's funeral tonight. The family had actually already had several days of memorial services (the more days you have supposedly shows your status/wealth), and this was the last night- the body was to be cremated the next day. It was nothing like the typical American service. The casket is put in a huge red paper/wood? house with gold decor, Christmas lights, flowers, and strobe lights all over it. After all of the funeral ceremonies are finished, the casket along with the house is burned. The Buddhists believe that the house will serve as a living place for the dead person in the next life, or heaven, I'm not sure which. During the service, people come and burn incense toward the body, placing it in a large gold urn which is beside the casket. The service took place outside, and we arrived as a monk was chanting over a PA system. He then gave a "sermon" in Thai, and afterwards they served food. We were told that most funerals lasted a long time, with 3 or 4 monks chanting and delivering messages. However, this one only had one monk, and even had a DJ and dancing afterwards. One of the Ah-jahns at the funeral said that it was because the student was so young, and many of the students came to the funeral. We left with a couple of the administrators shortly after the monk finished speaking.
Okay, getting busy (again). I'll try to update one more time before I leave, but if not I'll do it after I get over my jet lag back home. :)
Monday, June 30th:
To pick up where I last left off, Monday after classes were finished we went with our team to MonkChat, which is where common people can go talk to Buddhist Monks at Wat Suan Dok, the big school for monks and novices in Chiang Mai. While I was there, I got to talk to three monks. They were all very friendly, and were eager to speak English. The purpose of the program is to help the monks practice English, as well as allow people and foreigners to ask the monks all kinds of questions. It's a really good opportunity to share about Buddhism and Christianity. It certainly opened my eyes to some things, and it was just an enjoyable experience.
Tuesday, July 1st
Sightseeing with an Ah-jahn. NCC let us take the day off to go see several of the surrounding wats, as well as a couple of museums. There was much to see and take pictures of.. I'm beginning to think that I am going to have to develop an entire site just of my pictures of Thailand :)
Wednesday, July 2nd
Our visas ran out today, so we had to go get them renewed at the Immigration Office. After a couple of hours and a slew of hassles and minor ordeals, we got our visas, and even had them extended for two extra days so that we wouldn't have to pay the extra fine for going past the usual 10-day visa. After leaving Immigration, we headed for some small waterfalls on Doi Su Thep. We climbed around for a while (I fell once and broke my camera, but it was fixable), had a small picnic, and went ahead and had our team bible study. It was really refreshing to be outside, hearing the waterfalls, and just sharing what was on our hearts for a while. We broke up into small groups and discussed the bible study and what God has been showing us in the past week. I admitted to my team that I was a little downhearted. I had been looking to the Journeyman program to return to Thailand at the end of the year. However, I found out that it was not possible for me to do that, because of the large amount of applicants already waiting for spots. The IMB is also having more financial contraints, so there are actually going to be fewer placed in positions. Anyway, I have not tried to think too much about what what the next step is for me, but I have to be honest and say that it does haunt me in the back of my mind. We then shared prayer requests and lifted each other up in prayer.
The North Chiang Mai College team also went to one of the student's funeral tonight. The family had actually already had several days of memorial services (the more days you have supposedly shows your status/wealth), and this was the last night- the body was to be cremated the next day. It was nothing like the typical American service. The casket is put in a huge red paper/wood? house with gold decor, Christmas lights, flowers, and strobe lights all over it. After all of the funeral ceremonies are finished, the casket along with the house is burned. The Buddhists believe that the house will serve as a living place for the dead person in the next life, or heaven, I'm not sure which. During the service, people come and burn incense toward the body, placing it in a large gold urn which is beside the casket. The service took place outside, and we arrived as a monk was chanting over a PA system. He then gave a "sermon" in Thai, and afterwards they served food. We were told that most funerals lasted a long time, with 3 or 4 monks chanting and delivering messages. However, this one only had one monk, and even had a DJ and dancing afterwards. One of the Ah-jahns at the funeral said that it was because the student was so young, and many of the students came to the funeral. We left with a couple of the administrators shortly after the monk finished speaking.
Okay, getting busy (again). I'll try to update one more time before I leave, but if not I'll do it after I get over my jet lag back home. :)
Thursday, July 03, 2003
Things have just picked up and flown the last couple of weeks. Today is the first time in almost a week that I have been able to get NEAR a computer, and it's been about two weeks since I last updated. It would be impossible to relay every single event that has happened, but I can try to record the highlights (actually I am having to look at my day planner to remember what has gone on since the 20th, the last day I updated). Here goes:
Donna's Journal: The Good Parts Version
Thursday, June 26th:
Today was Teacher's Day, which is a big deal here in Thailand. The students spend all week making big ornate flower arrangements and sculptures to present to the teachers this day (there is also a judging later of the flowers and the winners are announced that night). There is also a fashion show at night, a Kan-tok performed by the students/staff at NCC, as well as a band that comes. We were able to participate in the morning ceremony, where the flowers are presented and a monk comes and chants and gives a "sermon." It was pretty different.. we had been to the wats before but we had never really attended a Buddhist ceremony. The students also sang a couple of songs for the teachers, and awards were presented for those in the senior class with a GPA of 3.5 or better. Some of our friends received the awards, so that was exciting.
After the ceremony, we went out to watch the last day of the freshie orientation. The people here really take their orientation seriously. A couple of days before we saw the freshman rush at Chiang Mai University. For the first semester, the freshmen have to say a cheer every time they see an upper classman.. the type of cheer depends on the year of the upperclassman. They keep track of it by making freshmen ("freshies," as they call them) carry a little book and have the older students sign it when they have done it. Also, all of the freshmen boys had to shave their heads, and the girls have to wear their hair in some crazy hairstyle everyday that the upperclassmen girls pick out. The day we ate with some of the architecture students, the girls had big pigtails sticking up on each side of their heads with bright silk flowers decorating them. Anyway, here at NCC they only do it for the first month of school, but they aren't as extreme in that case as Maw-Chaw Univ is. However, on Teacher's Day it is the last day of orientation for the freshmen and the campus has been turned into something like a big carnival with different stations for the freshmen to be taken to. From about lunchtime until 4:30 or so the freshmen rotate to different stations and do crazy things, have their faces covered with whitish paint stuff, the boys' and girls' hair put up in ponytails and stuff. It was pretty interesting to watch. We talked briefly with one of the head administrators whom we've become close to. He said that the administration had tried to stop it from happening, or at least make it more constructive, but the students had pretty much disregarded them and did it their own way. I guess college students will do what they will do, no matter where they are.
Anyway, we didn't stay long because we had to leave for our weekend whitewater rafting trip. WOO HOO!! We loaded up our stuff and met up with the rest of our team (all 11 of us got to go together, along with some other Americans here working with the IMB, etc. AND one of our Thai friends who has been coming to church with us!). After three hours on a windy road (and a few stops because people were feeling sick), we made it to Pai. We grabbed a bite to eat and settled into our place to sleep, which were these cabins that were sort of sitting in trees. It was pretty rustic, and the beds were covered with a mosquito net canopy to keep us from getting eaten alive. But our adventure was just beginning...
Friday, June 27th:
We got up and headed out at about 7:30 am. We walked to the Pai Adventure hut (the group we were going with for our two days rafting on the Pai River), and ate some breakfast before heading out. We also met the owner and our head guide, Alex (he is Thai, but I think he just took on an easy farang name for his customers). :) We piled into the back of a couple of song-tows (trucks with big bed covers, common transportation in Thailand), and took another 1 1/2 windy drive through more mountains. When we finally arrived, we suited up for the rafting trip and were given some basics on safety and general guidelines. This was my second time whitewater rafting, so I was eager to hit the river. After Alex split us into groups per raft (we had 20 people, so we took 4 rafts all together), we walked down to the river, got into our rafts, and started out.
The first day on the river is to get you used to being in the raft, rowing together, taking commands, etc. There are virtually no rapids either, so most of the time was taken up just enjoying the view (I didn't have my glasses on, so it was blurry, but still beautiful). We drank in the quietness of the woods/jungle on either side of the river, and saw occasional birds, one of which was a peacock (that's what one of the guides said, anyway). About halfway through the afternoon, we stopped at some waterfalls and got out to explore. There are places in the waterfall where you can sit down in it, and it feels like a jacuzzi. There are other places where you can stand in the waterfall and feel the water pour over you.. some people swung on vines and jumped into the water off rocks. It was awesome. Then it was back into the rafts and onto the campsite.
We reached the camp at about 4:30. We tied up our rafts and walked across a bridge made of bamboo and logs. By this time it had started to rain, so we dropped off our gear at the bungalows (basically big sheds with three walls built on bamboo stilts with mosquito nets draped underneath where we sleep). Alex then told us about a cave nearby that we could explore with a couple of the guides before dinner. Several of us grabbed some flashlights and our helmets and headed up the side of the mountain.
The cave was really fun. After climbing down into it we just explored for about an hour or so. We found some bones, as well as some of the cave walls that were made of some kind of stone with little glittery fragments in them. There were a few tight spots (let me emphasize TIGHT.. we had to squeeze through a couple of really small places.. Fortunately there were big mud puddles to help us slide through (please note the sarcasm). :) Anyway, it was a blast.. we were covered in mud, sweat, and scrapes; when we got back to camp we got some pictures and then jumped back into the river to clean up before dinner.
That night we sat around the campfire and sang some praise and worship songs, and talked about some things that we were thankful for. We then prayed together, giving thanks and praying for further safety the next day on the rapids. A couple of hours later we turned in.
Saturday, June 28th:
At about 6:30 am, our group was packed up and had gathered at the river's edge for a baptism. One of the girls on my team committed her life to God about 3 years ago, but had not been baptized (she had been christened as a baby.. she was raised Catholic, but is no longer in the Catholic church). We sang a couple of her favorite worship songs, and a few of us on the team gave her some encouraging words and scriptures. We then prayed for her, and Quintin baptized her there in the Pai River. It was a really great experience, for us on the team and for our guests. Our friend from Chiang Mai University came to watch as well, and he was really interested in the idea of baptism and asked a lot of questions about it afterwards. Talk about killing two birds with one stone! Afterwards, we quickly ate some breakfast and was back out on the rafts, heading further toward the rapids.
We stopped one more time before reaching the whitewater. There is a hot spring that feeds into the Pai River, and apparently there is a special kind of mud that forms because of the lava activity that makes the water scalding hot. Our guide Alex smeared my face with some of the mud, and soon after everyone had it on their faces. It is actually a good face treatment, and sells for about 2,000 baht at some spas (the equivalent to about $40-50). Several photos and mudfights later, we cleaned off and for the rapids.
We could hear the rapids before we even reached them. To be honest, I was getting a little scared. I have always had a fear of deep water and drowning, but I love the feeling of rafting in rapids. I nervously asked Alex how tough the rapids were, and he assured me that they didn't get any worse than a class 3, which is about intermediate. No biggie, I have been in worse.
We came on our first real rapid shortly afterward. Since I was sitting in the front, I jammed my foot under the front of the raft and gripped my paddle hard. The last thing I distinctly remember was hearing Alex call, "Go!" and paddling hard. For the next minute or so Alex continues to call out commands ("Left! Right! Stop! Back!..."), and the roar of the water is all around us. We are dodging branches, praying that we don't hit a rock too hard. Of course, we do and I almost go flying out of the raft.. thankfully one of the guys in my raft grab my wrist and I gain my balance.
Okay, sorry to cut this narration short, but I have just a few more minutes until I have to go prepare for our class we teach. Overall, the rafting was really awesome.. there were some pretty fun rapids, and Alex was a great guide. We spent about 3-4 hours in the rapids, and no one was injured. A few hours later (about 4-5 hours of driving on curvy roads through the mountains-some curves were literally 135 degree turns), we are back at Quintin and Kim's house, dirty, exhausted, and content.
Okay, the rest of this will be summarized for now. I hope to further elaborate my feelings in all of this, but I am running short on time. Here goes..
Sunday, June 29th:
Church was great again.. one of my friends whom I met the first day here in Chiang Mai came, which was a surprise to everyone. She is pretty devout in Buddhism, but she really enjoyed the service. Afterward, she and the other girl who came to church went with me and two of my other teammates to the Airport Plaza (the big mall in Chiang Mai). We treated them to mango frappucinos and window shopped for a couple of hours. We got to have some interesting conversations, and we got to know them better.
After that, we were invited to go to a cookout at a couple of faculty's house from Maw-Chaw. Our team, along with about 30 Thai students from Maw-Chaw, ate burgers and hot dogs, and played some fun games. I met some really neat students, and had a great time. Afterwards our team split up again, and our NCC group went back to the dorms to get some sleep before another week began.
Monday, June 30
Bad news. When we first arrive into the office we are told that two students were killed in a motorcycle accident last Thursday night. Alcohol was involved (which is pretty typical here, or anywhere else for that matter), and the family had the funeral on Saturday. It was a terrible loss to many people.. the two students were seniors who were to graduate this December. We found out later that one of them was actually engaged. Everyone was more subdued today, including the faculty and staff. We were invited to the funeral of one of the boys that died (the family was having another funeral at their house) that was to take place on Wednesday.
Okay, that's it for now. Gotta run and prepare for class. Please be praying for us as we try to utilize the rest of our time here as best as we can. Just about 10 more days left here in Thailand.. please pray for the wonderful people here, for the grieving families, for the students that who are asking questions about our faith, and for our team leaders who have made our experience here in Thailand so wonderful.
Donna's Journal: The Good Parts Version
Thursday, June 26th:
Today was Teacher's Day, which is a big deal here in Thailand. The students spend all week making big ornate flower arrangements and sculptures to present to the teachers this day (there is also a judging later of the flowers and the winners are announced that night). There is also a fashion show at night, a Kan-tok performed by the students/staff at NCC, as well as a band that comes. We were able to participate in the morning ceremony, where the flowers are presented and a monk comes and chants and gives a "sermon." It was pretty different.. we had been to the wats before but we had never really attended a Buddhist ceremony. The students also sang a couple of songs for the teachers, and awards were presented for those in the senior class with a GPA of 3.5 or better. Some of our friends received the awards, so that was exciting.
After the ceremony, we went out to watch the last day of the freshie orientation. The people here really take their orientation seriously. A couple of days before we saw the freshman rush at Chiang Mai University. For the first semester, the freshmen have to say a cheer every time they see an upper classman.. the type of cheer depends on the year of the upperclassman. They keep track of it by making freshmen ("freshies," as they call them) carry a little book and have the older students sign it when they have done it. Also, all of the freshmen boys had to shave their heads, and the girls have to wear their hair in some crazy hairstyle everyday that the upperclassmen girls pick out. The day we ate with some of the architecture students, the girls had big pigtails sticking up on each side of their heads with bright silk flowers decorating them. Anyway, here at NCC they only do it for the first month of school, but they aren't as extreme in that case as Maw-Chaw Univ is. However, on Teacher's Day it is the last day of orientation for the freshmen and the campus has been turned into something like a big carnival with different stations for the freshmen to be taken to. From about lunchtime until 4:30 or so the freshmen rotate to different stations and do crazy things, have their faces covered with whitish paint stuff, the boys' and girls' hair put up in ponytails and stuff. It was pretty interesting to watch. We talked briefly with one of the head administrators whom we've become close to. He said that the administration had tried to stop it from happening, or at least make it more constructive, but the students had pretty much disregarded them and did it their own way. I guess college students will do what they will do, no matter where they are.
Anyway, we didn't stay long because we had to leave for our weekend whitewater rafting trip. WOO HOO!! We loaded up our stuff and met up with the rest of our team (all 11 of us got to go together, along with some other Americans here working with the IMB, etc. AND one of our Thai friends who has been coming to church with us!). After three hours on a windy road (and a few stops because people were feeling sick), we made it to Pai. We grabbed a bite to eat and settled into our place to sleep, which were these cabins that were sort of sitting in trees. It was pretty rustic, and the beds were covered with a mosquito net canopy to keep us from getting eaten alive. But our adventure was just beginning...
Friday, June 27th:
We got up and headed out at about 7:30 am. We walked to the Pai Adventure hut (the group we were going with for our two days rafting on the Pai River), and ate some breakfast before heading out. We also met the owner and our head guide, Alex (he is Thai, but I think he just took on an easy farang name for his customers). :) We piled into the back of a couple of song-tows (trucks with big bed covers, common transportation in Thailand), and took another 1 1/2 windy drive through more mountains. When we finally arrived, we suited up for the rafting trip and were given some basics on safety and general guidelines. This was my second time whitewater rafting, so I was eager to hit the river. After Alex split us into groups per raft (we had 20 people, so we took 4 rafts all together), we walked down to the river, got into our rafts, and started out.
The first day on the river is to get you used to being in the raft, rowing together, taking commands, etc. There are virtually no rapids either, so most of the time was taken up just enjoying the view (I didn't have my glasses on, so it was blurry, but still beautiful). We drank in the quietness of the woods/jungle on either side of the river, and saw occasional birds, one of which was a peacock (that's what one of the guides said, anyway). About halfway through the afternoon, we stopped at some waterfalls and got out to explore. There are places in the waterfall where you can sit down in it, and it feels like a jacuzzi. There are other places where you can stand in the waterfall and feel the water pour over you.. some people swung on vines and jumped into the water off rocks. It was awesome. Then it was back into the rafts and onto the campsite.
We reached the camp at about 4:30. We tied up our rafts and walked across a bridge made of bamboo and logs. By this time it had started to rain, so we dropped off our gear at the bungalows (basically big sheds with three walls built on bamboo stilts with mosquito nets draped underneath where we sleep). Alex then told us about a cave nearby that we could explore with a couple of the guides before dinner. Several of us grabbed some flashlights and our helmets and headed up the side of the mountain.
The cave was really fun. After climbing down into it we just explored for about an hour or so. We found some bones, as well as some of the cave walls that were made of some kind of stone with little glittery fragments in them. There were a few tight spots (let me emphasize TIGHT.. we had to squeeze through a couple of really small places.. Fortunately there were big mud puddles to help us slide through (please note the sarcasm). :) Anyway, it was a blast.. we were covered in mud, sweat, and scrapes; when we got back to camp we got some pictures and then jumped back into the river to clean up before dinner.
That night we sat around the campfire and sang some praise and worship songs, and talked about some things that we were thankful for. We then prayed together, giving thanks and praying for further safety the next day on the rapids. A couple of hours later we turned in.
Saturday, June 28th:
At about 6:30 am, our group was packed up and had gathered at the river's edge for a baptism. One of the girls on my team committed her life to God about 3 years ago, but had not been baptized (she had been christened as a baby.. she was raised Catholic, but is no longer in the Catholic church). We sang a couple of her favorite worship songs, and a few of us on the team gave her some encouraging words and scriptures. We then prayed for her, and Quintin baptized her there in the Pai River. It was a really great experience, for us on the team and for our guests. Our friend from Chiang Mai University came to watch as well, and he was really interested in the idea of baptism and asked a lot of questions about it afterwards. Talk about killing two birds with one stone! Afterwards, we quickly ate some breakfast and was back out on the rafts, heading further toward the rapids.
We stopped one more time before reaching the whitewater. There is a hot spring that feeds into the Pai River, and apparently there is a special kind of mud that forms because of the lava activity that makes the water scalding hot. Our guide Alex smeared my face with some of the mud, and soon after everyone had it on their faces. It is actually a good face treatment, and sells for about 2,000 baht at some spas (the equivalent to about $40-50). Several photos and mudfights later, we cleaned off and for the rapids.
We could hear the rapids before we even reached them. To be honest, I was getting a little scared. I have always had a fear of deep water and drowning, but I love the feeling of rafting in rapids. I nervously asked Alex how tough the rapids were, and he assured me that they didn't get any worse than a class 3, which is about intermediate. No biggie, I have been in worse.
We came on our first real rapid shortly afterward. Since I was sitting in the front, I jammed my foot under the front of the raft and gripped my paddle hard. The last thing I distinctly remember was hearing Alex call, "Go!" and paddling hard. For the next minute or so Alex continues to call out commands ("Left! Right! Stop! Back!..."), and the roar of the water is all around us. We are dodging branches, praying that we don't hit a rock too hard. Of course, we do and I almost go flying out of the raft.. thankfully one of the guys in my raft grab my wrist and I gain my balance.
Okay, sorry to cut this narration short, but I have just a few more minutes until I have to go prepare for our class we teach. Overall, the rafting was really awesome.. there were some pretty fun rapids, and Alex was a great guide. We spent about 3-4 hours in the rapids, and no one was injured. A few hours later (about 4-5 hours of driving on curvy roads through the mountains-some curves were literally 135 degree turns), we are back at Quintin and Kim's house, dirty, exhausted, and content.
Okay, the rest of this will be summarized for now. I hope to further elaborate my feelings in all of this, but I am running short on time. Here goes..
Sunday, June 29th:
Church was great again.. one of my friends whom I met the first day here in Chiang Mai came, which was a surprise to everyone. She is pretty devout in Buddhism, but she really enjoyed the service. Afterward, she and the other girl who came to church went with me and two of my other teammates to the Airport Plaza (the big mall in Chiang Mai). We treated them to mango frappucinos and window shopped for a couple of hours. We got to have some interesting conversations, and we got to know them better.
After that, we were invited to go to a cookout at a couple of faculty's house from Maw-Chaw. Our team, along with about 30 Thai students from Maw-Chaw, ate burgers and hot dogs, and played some fun games. I met some really neat students, and had a great time. Afterwards our team split up again, and our NCC group went back to the dorms to get some sleep before another week began.
Monday, June 30
Bad news. When we first arrive into the office we are told that two students were killed in a motorcycle accident last Thursday night. Alcohol was involved (which is pretty typical here, or anywhere else for that matter), and the family had the funeral on Saturday. It was a terrible loss to many people.. the two students were seniors who were to graduate this December. We found out later that one of them was actually engaged. Everyone was more subdued today, including the faculty and staff. We were invited to the funeral of one of the boys that died (the family was having another funeral at their house) that was to take place on Wednesday.
Okay, that's it for now. Gotta run and prepare for class. Please be praying for us as we try to utilize the rest of our time here as best as we can. Just about 10 more days left here in Thailand.. please pray for the wonderful people here, for the grieving families, for the students that who are asking questions about our faith, and for our team leaders who have made our experience here in Thailand so wonderful.
