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

Where has the time gone?!

Wow! I can't believe it has almost been two months since I have updated my blog :-/. Life has been flying by and I have enjoyed every minute of it!!! Let's see, where to begin...

August: A busy month, but still time to bond and have fun with the roommates. We decided that it was time to turn our "prison" into a home. We called our apartment a prison because every wall was white and bare. Trying to get paint supplies in a hardware store that doesn't have English posted anywhere or English-speaking workers was an adventure for sure. Lots of miming involved hahahaha. This was a weekend to remember: painting with country music playing in the background, grill cheese and tomato soup for lunch, a trip to Swenson's for a delicious ice-cream break, and pizza for dinner!! Oh and the amazing painting dance moves Justina and I came up with while listening to the Cupid Shuffle! We still need work on the decorating part but got rid of some white walls. Good times indeed!!!

September: This has been a month full of adventure with the students and staff at GES. We had our staff retreat in Pattaya, which was so much fun!!! It was a weekend focused on getting to know both the Thai and English-speaking staff even better. I even had the opportunity to talk with a Thai co-worker about God!!!! How awesome is that?! I also went on my first field trip with Grade 3 and Grade 6 to Ocean World! That place was so cool and very educational for the students!!

Ms. Nichole and Ms. Sarah

Grade 3 and Ms. Sarah

Grade 6 and Ms. Brittney

GES Staff

God has been doing some other amazing things here in Thailand other than these awesome memories that I have :-). I have been given the opportunity to talk with students on multiple occasions one-on-one about God's amazing love. I have also been given two exciting and amazing mission opportunities as well. I will be joining a team with Habitat for Humanity on October 1st to help work on a house in the area. I will also be going with a team to Japan during October break to help serve the people that were affected by the tsunami and are still in need. This trip is just a few weeks away so prayer that final details and financial needs are met and taken care of would be greatly appreciated :-). 

Last, but not least, I wanted to share a picture of my 2nd grade group of students. This group is by far my challenge group. Two boys like to test my patience and push boundaries. One boy and one girl cannot sit still for more that 1 minute at a time. Two of the girls are chatty and tattle on the boys and each other every 5 seconds. One boy is usually in la-la land for most of the class period and when he isn't in la-la land, he is talking to someone. Then of course there is the one girl who is like an angel and can do no wrong. With all of these challenges that I face in the short amount of time that I have them, they never cease to amaze me! Today was one of those days. I was preparing myself mentally before I had to pick them up. I had them the last period of the day.....oh boy. It started off a little rough, but as we began the lesson, every single student was on task!! The students earn tickets for good behavior. They can cash in those tickets for prizes. My student that I struggle with the most proudly announced "Ms. Nichole! Ms. Nichole!! Two more tickets and I can get a prize!!" He hasn't been able to cash in his tickets yet, so it made my heart melt to see his excitement (hopefully it will happen soon!) Oh how I love my job!!

Grade 2 Students. And yes, she is wearing a scarf in 90 degree weather! hahahahahaha

Still in Awe :-)

I am still in awe of being in this amazing, exciting country! I don't think there is a day that goes by that I say to myself "wow...I can't believe God brought me here!" I feel so blessed to be chosen by God to do His work in Thailand. I don't have much to update. I am doing well here with teaching. I absolutely LOVE my job!! I have taken a couple of trips to an orphanage here as well. Being able to love on babies has been so good for my soul! It felt so good to just pray over the babies and show them love and attention, even if it was only for a few hours. It breaks my heart to see so many of them...I wish I could just love on all of them!! I have also found myself in constant prayer lately. Not necessarily for myself, but just for the people of Thailand, my students, the teachers here at GES, family back home, etc. Will you pray with me? Prayer is so important to God's work and is so powerful!!!!

Thank you for all of your love and prayer as I continue on God's path here in Thailand. Here are a few pictures from this month :-)

At the orphanage holding a sweet baby girl :-)

At Erawan Waterfalls in Kanchunaburi

Bridge on the River Kwai in Kanchunaburi

My life vest didn't quite stay down :-)

A tier of the Erawan Waterfalls

Elephant riding in Kanchunaburi...it was an adventure for sure!

God's Love

God never ceases to amaze me. :-) Over the last couple of weeks I have wondered what my purpose of being here is. Yes, to teach, but what other things does God have planned? How else can I serve and be a witness?? There are organizations and ministries that I could always join. Should I join any? I just started to feel...lost I guess. Then today happened!!! I had the most AMAZING question asked by one of my grade 2 students!! It took several tries by her and 5 other students before I understood the question, but it made it that much more special. She asked me "why did Jesus die for me?" I cannot express the joy and excitement that I felt at that moment!!! Not only was I getting to share with my students about God's love, but God was showing me that my purpose for being here has always been right in front of me. It is so easy to get distracted or start looking for God's purpose. I just have to remember to be patient and wait for His timing.

I have also been reminded of God's love over the last few weeks. His love of other nations, cultures, and people. Most of all I have been reminded of His love for me personally. I am in a culture where I am the exact opposite of what is considered "beautiful". In Thailand, the whiter your skin is, the better. I have learned that buying shower gel here is not wise due to the whitening components to them lol. I am also in a culture that sees anyone over a size 5 as "fat" or "big." These are just things that we wouldn't openly talk about to others as Americans, but there is no problem with it here. These are just things that are culturally different and hard to get used to. On top of all of that, I seriously stick out here!! It hasn't bothered me in the past, but oh man can I really tell here! LOL. Now I am not saying all of this in a tone of sadness or frustration or dislike of the Thai culture. It is just very different from the American culture. Satan has definitely used this opportunity to take my focus away from God's work and purpose for me in the self-esteem department. I have come to realize this and I know that it doesn't matter what others think of me. Even if I am not beautiful in other's eyes, I am beautiful in God's eyes. He created me exactly how He wanted me, and HE thinks that I am beautiful!! :-) There have definitely been some challenges emotionally over the past couple of weeks, but it just means that God is making me stronger as I overcome each one of them!!

On a brighter note....I am taking Thai language lessons!!!! Right now it is only once a week for 2 hrs (wish it was more) due to time constraints :-/. I am enjoying it SO much!!! I think that the hardest part of Thai language is the tones. They have 5 different tones!! So you could have the same word, but it may have different meanings depending on the tones that are used when saying it. During the first lesson, we had gotten over halfway through before I realized that the little marks above all of the words told you what tone to use! It was one of those funny "a ha!" moments :-). I have also taken the opportunity to practice little phrases here and there with my students. I asked my grade 6 group "do you understand?" in Thai,  and I got in trouble for speaking Thai!! They are not allowed to speak in Thai in the classroom unless given permission and apparently that rule goes for me too!

All in all, my walk is strengthening daily as I look to God for daily guidance. I thank you all for your continued prayers and support.  I promise that more pictures will come soon!!

"The LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing." Zeph. 3:17

A Slight Deviation

I returned home for a week to be with the family. I am so thankful that God allowed me to make the long trip back to the States to be with family as we mourned the loss of David but also celebrated his life. God never ceases to amaze me. On my journey home I had a lay-over in Tokyo and I met a girl who happened to go to Corban and was on her way home during a break from teaching in Indonesia!!!! That was totally God!!! We both happened to be wearing Corban t-shirts and were waiting for our long flight to Seattle. It was soooo nice to be able to talk to someone (I usually don't talk at all during my trips). I think I needed to have this confirmation that going home was were I needed to be (I had struggled a bit with leaving and having to miss the first day of school). 

I made it back to Thailand just fine :-). It is so nice to be back and to really start my job! I love my job!!!! I have successfully taught grades 1a, 1b, 3, 5, and 6!! I just love it!! There were a few hiccups, but overall it went well. I had to do some impromptu drawing for my 1st graders. We were working on a worksheet that had pictures of different items on it. They had to color the items that had the same sound/letter at the beginning. After receiving blank stares, I realized they didn't get it. I wanted them to see that the letters were the same, thus making the same sound. Writing the names of the items on the board wouldn't have meant anything to them, so I had to draw the pictures and then write the name underneath. I can tell you right now that I have problems drawing stick figures, but somehow managed to draw on the board a towel, zebra, zipper, football, kangaroo, pie, and a turtle among other things. It actually looked really good!!!!! Some of them were guessing what it was before I even finished!!! Even Brittney was impressed and that is saying a lot! One thing I didn't expect to find was how quiet they are! I burned through an hours worth of material in half an hour because they hardly responded to anything, except my 6th grade group which consists of 6 boys.....they had no problems talking :-).  After talking to some other teachers, I felt better. Apparently they are all quiet until they get to know you. We did get to play learning games though....I played Rhyming Bingo with some of my students and they loved it!! Especially when the prize for winning is candy from America. My 1b group was disappointed the second day because they didn't get any candy.

I truly did miss being here and was so happy to be back :-). I just can't imagine being anywhere else.....God has the perfect plan!!!

Me at dinner :-)



Brittney's beautiful artwork :-)



She was very friendly :-)