All Glory be to God!!!

Hello there! I must say that I am proud of myself for sticking to my schedule of writing 1 blog/month. Woohoo!!  There are some things that I want to update people on that have happened in the last month or so. 

Viti...what???

I have had some skin issues here. It actually started towards the end of last school year. I figured it was just because of the hot season here in Thailand and it would clear up when I went back to the States. Oh, how I was wrong. After a few trips to the dermatologist, one skin biopsy, and being told that I could have discoid lupus, I was given the diagnosis of vitiligo. My lips had already started to lose color (as some of you saw when I was home this summer) and I now have a few spots on my left cheek and near my chin. I also have them above my lip and on the left corner. When I first found out, I will admit that I was sad and was already super self conscious of the spots. What am I going to look like in a month, in three months, in a year? Will it spread? Will the medication work? Will the color come back? All questions that I still don't know the answer to. But one thing that I cling to now and that I wasn't focused on during that first week: God's got this and He loves me.  He showed me that what is on the outside doesn’t matter. What He cares about is my heart. 1 Samuel 16: 7 “…for the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.”  This wasn’t the only health issue I have had since returning. I had a pretty bad bout of bronchitis that I am finally getting over (I had been sick since the day before I left the States).  There was a point when I just felt like my body was failing me. God spoke to me again through His word. Psalm 73:26 “My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” Oh, how this verse has been my rock these last two months!

All of the light spots are from vitiligo

ME!! :-)

Started my master's program this month!!! Wohooo!!!!
Starting my master's degree was something that I had hoped to start at some point this school year. I thought August sounded good, but still needed to do research. In a matter of an hour I had found an online program that allowed me to do a dual concentration in ESOL (English Speakers of Other Languages) AND in Reading!! It is through Concordia University in Oregon (perfect because I am already licensed through Oregon!). Too good to be true, right? So, I applied and had an "interview" and was accepted into the program within a week! My hopes of relaxing and preparing myself mentally in July were completely crushed when they offered me a pretty good scholarship to start in July instead of August. Sooo....one month went down to one week. Oh goodness!! But I survived and classes are going great! However, I did forget how much I absolutely DREAD writing papers! Uggggggggggg!! Who forgets that part of school?! Hahahahaha!! 

Homework Schedule...oh how I didn't miss this!

Overnight Camp!!!
We had Overnight Camp last weekend and it was a blast as always!! The kids come to school Friday and they don’t leave until Saturday afternoon. Our theme this year was the Olympics!! How perfect?! We had 6 teams and each team was an Asian Country (Lao, Vietnam, Cambodia (my team!!), Philippines, Indonesia, and Malaysia). Thailand was the host country. It was SO MUCH FUN!! I really got to teach my group of students what true sportsmanship was and was so proud when they stopped chanting “Cambodia” and started chanting the name of the other team…all on their own!! I was so awesome!!!  We had an opening ceremony, games, a campfire, and then closing ceremonies. We also had a verse that went along with our theme which was Hebrews 12: 1-2 “Let us run with endurance the race before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus.”  This verse was shown/ taught throughout the weekend and I pray that students truly understand that Jesus is the key to having endurance in this life!! It was a great time at the 2012 GES Olympics!!!

Still feeling like the luckiest girl in the world!!
Although my body still hates Thailand and I hate writing papers, I cannot even begin to express the joy that I feel and have felt these last two months! I have been blessed with an incredible and unexpected new friendship. I have more classes and more students that I work with this year, but I have absolutely loved every minute of it! My work schedule and personal schedule is crazy busy, but I would not trade it for anything!! God has blessed me beyond measure and I feel absolutely undeserving of any of it. God’s grace and love has overflowed my cup this month and I honestly stand in awe of Him. I am in awe of His plan for my life and mostly His timing. I know His timing is perfect and all I can do and want to say is “Thank you, God!!” All glory to God!!!

Grade 1 students reading :-)

My lovely Grade 2 students :-)

 
Psalm 46:10 "Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!" 

Feeling more and more at home :-)

There is so much to update on over the last few weeks since being back in Thailand! I have decided to first update on my new living space. As some of you know, I have moved off of the school campus and now live in an apartment (technically a condo) down the street. It’s close enough to the school to feel secure and able to get help quickly if I need it, yet far enough away to feel like I have a home away from work.

I was a bit apprehensive in moving off campus because everyone else (minus one other person) lives on campus. I was afraid it would be a challenge being involved with groups and staying in the loop with things. I am naturally a more reserved and shy person, as most of you know. So I had my doubts and fears about being off campus. God has simply been amazing in helping me to come out of my shell even more and surprising me these last few weeks!! I have made connections with new staff members and volunteers as well as building more on other friendships that were started last year. :-) I have also just truly enjoyed living on my own and setting new routines for myself! It has been a great start to this new year!! 

Here are some pictures of my apartment. Still some decorating to do, but it's coming along thanks to Lisa!!  :-)

View from the door

Entry Way

My little kitchen area

View from the door

Dinning area

TV unit. I don't own one, but was given a nice chalk board to put there instead :-)

Living room/ extra bed (sofa turns into a bed!)

LOVE how big this bed is!!!!

Partial view of my bedroom. Yes, those are sliding glass doors.

My huge closet thingy! (i forgot what they are called)

Another blog will be coming shortly to update on other things that have been going on. I just wanted to give some sort of an update while I wait to do the next blog. I have a wonderful conversation tonight with a dear friend and I want to share part of it. One thing that God has been teaching me and reminding me of is His love. Not only His love for me, but His love for ALL of His creation, whether saved or not. I have been reminded that He loves us no matter what. It doesn’t matter what we have done in the past, present, or future. His love is never ending. It’s unfailing. THIS is the love that I want everyone to know. To feel this amazing, undeserved, freely given love that surpasses our understanding. It is a free gift that He willing gives and my mission is to share it and tell the world about it!!!

 “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:37-39 

Back in the Saddle Again

As requested, here is an update on the last 9 months of my 1^st year in Thailand. (I actually started this post in December, I just never quite finished it hahaha!) I just picked random pictures, way to many to choose from for each event that happened!!


Hello there!!!
I must first apologize for such a long break from blogging. I am really going to try to be better at doing it on a somewhat regular basis. Don't give up on me yet! The last blog that I did was in September and A LOT has happened since then! I will update you on the big things that happened.


October: Mission trip to Japan.

First Japanese meal using chopsticks!!!

Our Team with the Pastor & Youth Pastor 

(and their wives)

Samaritan's Purse Team from Australia!

Decorating hot water bottles to give away :-)

Repainting Nativity Scene.

 I had the incredible opportunity to do a mission trip for 2 weeks in Japan. Words cannot describe how amazing this trip was. It was so neat to see God working in the hearts of the Japanese people and using so many different people from all over the world to work alongside each other.Our team was made of 5 people and we all attend Evangelical Church of Bangkok, the church that sent us. We meet with an amazing missionary couple (Tony and Marsha) once we got there and they were basically our life line. They were amazing!!! From picking us up at the airport 5 hours away from the church that was hosting us, to making sure we had food every day, to making sure we had ways to serve Saitome Baptist Church and the Japanese people. We were able to go out into the community around Saitome Baptist Church to bring in new people to the church as well as go out into other towns to help people struggling with the aftermath of the tsunami. We help a Fall festival both in Sendai and on the peninsula for tsunami victims, we did an English camp for the kids, Repainted an old nativity set that people from all around Sendai come to see at Christmas time, and also partnered with Samaritan’s Purse to help with the rebuilding and clean-up process of homes that were ruined by the tsunami. This is just a very brief overview of how God used us there in Japan. Again, words cannot describe how incredible this trip was. I feel blessed to have been a part of it.






November/December: Nam-tum (Thai word for flooding) and home for Christmas.
After returning home from Japan, we were faced with a national crisis within Thailand: flooding. With having so much rain during the rainy season, the river climbed to dangerous levels and flooded many parts of Thailand. Our school is within walking distance of the river. The community on the other side of the river from us was completely flooded. By the grace of God, the dikes and sandbags held the water back and we were not flooded. We still had to deal with the issues of shelves being completely empty at the stores, school being cancelled for 5 weeks, and then school being extended for an hour each day to make up for the cancelled time.  On a brighter note, we had our Christmas program in December as well. We had two programs, the indoor program and outdoor program. Our amazing music teacher put together the indoor program for all of the grades. All of the class performed selected music and the elementary program included acting and speaking parts! It was amazing! Each teacher was in charge of creating something for their class to perform for the outdoor program and the teachers also did a performance of the “12 Days of Christmas” GES style. I also sang in a quartet! So much fun!
The last big event of December was spending Christmas at home in America :-) 

Picture of some of the flooding in Nonthaburi (courtesy of Eunice) 

My roommates and I all dressed up at the Christmas Program

Jamison and I rockin' our Christmas headbands!

January/ February: Sick as a dog!!
Biggest event for these two months was getting sick. Yuck! I was sick for a total of 2 ½ weeks. I was hospitalized for 4 days of those days. It went from being a bladder infection and cold to having dengue fever to being a virus that had to run its course. The latter was the correct diagnosis. Oh the joys of being in a hospital where there is a language barrier. Thankfully, God provided excellent doctors at Bumrungrad International Hospital. My hospital of choice now for everything!

Waiting to be admitted to the hospital :-(

March/April: Summer School
School was extended until the end of March because of the flooding. We were done with school on Friday, March 30, I went to the beach Saturday and Sunday, then started teaching summer school on Monday. Summer school went well. I taught a more intensive version of what I normally teach during the school year. I only saw 7 students total (an hour at a time) but I really enjoyed it. I also had my first experience of  Song Kran, the Thai New Year. Basically, people go around throwing water on each other for 3 days. I am not kidding! If you are on any type of vehicle that is open or on foot, you are fair game! Brittney and I went to Kho Chang and by the time we reached our hotel (we were in a sungtow, which is a truck that has benches built into the back with a cover over the bed of the truck) we were completely soaked! We were sitting ducks, with no way of defending ourselves. I swear the driver was stopping on purpose! Hahahaha!  It was a fun experience though.  :-) (I didn't take any pictures during Song Kran, darn!)

Enjoying the view :-)

Eunice and I enjoying our new hats :-)

May: Home to America!! 

What's Next?

I'm back!!!! After hearing several requests/ complaints from people back home about my blog, or lack thereof, I decided to continue to blog again.

Wow, I cannot believe it has been 9 months! Time surly does fly!! Lets just skip ahead to current times, I will update as necessary on what you have missed. ;-)

School is starting again!! Whoo!! I have been back in Thailand for a week now and I must say that it feels good to be home. We start school on Thursday and as of now, I am not ready to begin. So much to do!!! 

I am currently living off campus and LOVING it!! This also means that I have to be more intentional with my friendships, but that is a good thing. It will help to get me outside of my comfort zone even more! Hooray for new challenges!! I have met some awesome new teachers already!

This is going to be a great school year!!

I started a new devotion given to me by a dear friend (love you Ms. Eunice!!!). It is called "My Utmost for His Highest" by Oswald Chambers. I absolutely love this devotional! Today's reading was entitled "And After That What's Next To Do?" The answer: Seek God whole-heartedly. This is my prayer for this year. No matter what trials may come this year, I pray that I would remember to seek God and cling to Him. That I would rely on Him and His plan for my life and not on my own self-fulfillment. 

 “So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you." Luke 11:9