Christmas outreach celebrations

Paul and I manning the Step Ahead booth
I won a toaster oven at the gift raffle! Good for Step Ahead.

Ton emceeing
Benz emceeing
Pak Ping Church choir caroling

http://picasaweb.google.com/briswann/ChristmasFestivalMarketplace

On Sunday we had a big Christmas celebration at Pak Ping Church. I was surprised at how many people showed up. Benz told me that in Thai culture, if an important person (a teacher, or someone with a title) invites people to an event, they feel obligated to show up! So I think that because Pastor Achara invited people personally, the whole front lawn was packed full. As always, we had dinner, and then there was a gift raffle, a skit, the choir sang, and a pretty neat dance number performed by some cute little boys in gold costumes. (a traditional Thai song and one that sounded Indian). But it is also Thai culture to have LONG meetings and ceremonies for hours on end, oh my goodness! I am absolutely meeting-ed out at the moment and am looking forward to a few days of actual rest. Even though this is supposedly vacation, it hasn't been one yet. But it's still been good.

The Christmas festival at the marketplace went well. Praise God, Benz has been feeling a lot better the past few days and was able to emcee as planned. She and Ton did a great job together, and Benz looked so gorgeous! I've never seen her so dressed up before. I was supposed to be an usher, which is why I had an official-looking badge, but nobody told me anything I was supposed to do, so I just stayed at the Step Ahead booth and talked to people about out new classes coming up, which was good. Quite a few people stopped by to learn about Step Ahead, and a few seemed really interested in taking classes. I enjoyed it. The event was not translated into English, so I didn't even try to pay attention to most of it, because my brain is TIRED from all of these long Thai ceremonies. Some things were pretty amusing, though, like when the little kids were on stage performing, the Jesus birthday cake, and Ton throwing stuffed bears to screaming teenagers. The director of the Bible school where Amnuey, Ton, Chaiyot, and Mae went gave the message. A lot of people attended, so I think a lot of people got to hear about the meaning of Christmas, which is cool. Some of our neighbors showed up (the couple who own the bar across from us, Geng from the bike shop), so Paul and I can continue to build relationships with these people. At the end of the evening, my number got called out, and s0 I won a toaster oven! I was standing next to Chaiyot listening to the numbers and was so surprised that mine was called! It's good for Step Ahead.

Now the Quinley family is visiting (John, Kim, and their 4 kids), so I can spend a few days relaxing and getting to know the kids. They are teenagers actually, not young kids. It is really nice to have them here. Carter, their oldest (only) daughter is sharing a room with me. She's a freshman at Univ. of Richmond. John and Kim do such a good job with Step Ahead. When they are here, I feel relaxed, because I know that I can bring any concerns I have about the center (or any concerns about life!) to them, and they often have solutions! They are like Bronson and Evelyn- older and wiser than me, resourceful, and committed to caring for people. I can see the same traits in their children, who seem very mature for their ages. Their oldest son, John John, is only 17 but he's already taught English courses by himself and helped on outreach teams in different parts of Thailand and (I think) Laos and Cambodia. I may be a little biased, but I think missionary kids are just the coolest.

Visa run to Burma wins prize for the most forms of transportation in one day!

http://picasaweb.google.com/briswann/VisaRunToBurmaDec07

Ok, I have some blogging to catch up on! I'm going to post two entries today, but separately, about the visa run and then about the Christmas celebration. Last Friday I went for my much-dreaded visa run to Burma. It's not that I was worried about my safety; I feel really safe in Thailand, and Paul had just made the same trip about a month ago. I was more worried simply about traveling by myself in Thailand, not knowing the language- getting lost somewhere or stranded in the heat and not being able to communicate where I needed to get to, or getting motion sick on a bus or boat. In fact, I had a stomachache for two days before I left. On Friday I went to stay with some of Paul's friends in Kuraburi, on the way to Ranong. They are a wonderful Australian family. They picked me up because they had dinner in Khao Lak that evening. We drove through the hills, along windy roads and beautiful landscape, but it was mostly dark, so I didn't see it much until the morning. (I was sitting in the front seat, so I was fine). There are really tall mountains where they live! And their house was so nice! I took a bunch of pictures. I haven't been in a spacious, Western-style house with a large kitchen in 3 months, so I was surprised to realize that I've missed some things... like couches! They just don't really have couches here. They usually sit on the concrete floor, sometimes on little mats, or sometimes there are plastic chairs. Step Ahead has wooden chairs, but couches or comfortable reclining chairs are pretty much non-existent! Their house was all decorated so nicely for Christmas, too. I had a cozy little room to sleep in, complete with a library of John Piper and other great books. I went to bed early and slept better there than I've slept in 3 months, I think.

I was awakened early in the morning (5:00!), though, by the call to prayer at the mosque just down the street. I took that opportunity to pray for the people there. In the morning, we had a nice breakfast and read from Luke, and then I was off for my 2 hour bus ride to Ranong. I took a Dramamine, which helped me not feel quite so nauseous on the windy, mountain roads, but it also made me so drowsy and SO out of it; I might as well have had 5 or 6 beers! The bus let me out in Ranong, where I caught a ride on a motorcycle to the immigration station. There I picked up a departure form and caught another motorcycle to the port, which smelled strongly of fish (gross). There were a bunch of men with small fishing boats, and I thought, "is this official?" But this is actually how you do a visa run, so ok, I went along with it. I was in my own boat with a captain and a two little boys. We stopped at about 5 check points altogether, at one of which the little boy ran my passport up, and then I got off at the Burmese immigration station, where I paid 100 baht for some guy to walk with me from the boat over the bridge, just a few hundred yards or so (ha! I could've easily found my way alone). Not only that, I was sure that Paul didn't get fooled like that when he did his visa run (I asked him later; he didn't!). Anyhow, I got my little stamp (my passport is filling up with stamps quickly), walked back over the bridge and returned to Thailand. The Thai port of entry is really cool looking, with a big golden statue. The police searched my backpack there and eyed my tin of ginger mints suspiciously, and then we headed back to the port. The boat ride was actually quite nice; it was beautiful and relaxing. I was afraid I might get seasick, but actually it was not any different from going out on the lake with my parents.

From the port, I caught a song taow (sp?) back to the Thai immigration station. I just love the variation in prices for things, too; I was charged 100B to take a motorcycle from immigration to the port, and then 12B on the song taow the same distance- back to immigration! What?! Anyway. While standing in the (long) line with other farangs to get my re-entry stamp, I asked around to find out if there was any space available on one of the shuttle buses to Khao Lak (they go directly there, so you save lots of time). I met a nice English guy who said he didn't think there was room on the shuttle he'd taken, but fortunately for me, there was one space available! Unfortunately, in the very back seat though, so I took another Dramamine before we left. Again, I was pretty loopy from the Dramamine, so the good thing was that I wasn't aware enough of my surroundings to be nervous about the crazy driving which is the norm in Thailand. Apparently, when I called Paul, who was traveling back from Hat Yai the same day, he said I sounded really out of it- deadpan and talking really slowly. We laughed about it later; I asked him if I made any sense. Whew! And this is what all farangs who live in Thailand for longer than 3 months have to do- every 3 months! I left at 9.30 in the morning and returned at 6 p.m., worn out but happy for God's protection and blessings along the way, even though it was a trip I'd rather not have taken. I counted up 6 different forms of transportation in a 24-hour- period: car, bus, motorcycle, boat, song taow, shuttle bus.

Preschool visit and small Christmas meal w/ students

Chanpen, Jit, and Mouy helping make a small Christmas lunch
Champu and an adorable little girl at the preschool
Kids playing tug-of-war


I am really enjoying my time off from teaching! I'm finding enough to keep me busy here this week, but it's nice to have a change of pace. On Wed., I visited my friend Champu's preschool (she is the head teacher there) in Lam Kaen. I've been planning to do this for a while but hadn't found the time. It's one of the 4 Step Ahead preschools. The head teachers are all really neat people; they meet here every Thursday. They had a Christmas party when I visited, so there were games and a gift exchange, a Christmas tree, lunch and ice cream. It was really fun.

On Tues. Benz and I went to Takuapa to get the cable boxes (T.V. cable, that is) fixed, and I thought I might do some Christmas shopping, but really there aren't any good shops in Takuapa. It's bigger than Khao Lak, but actually we have to go to Phuket to do any real shopping. Benz and Ton are emceeing the big Christmas outreach celebration that will take place on the 25th at the big boat that was washed on shore in the tsunami (it now serves as a memorial). So I helped her look for a dress to wear and tuxedo for Ton to rent, but I think that will be too expensive. We had lots of laughs that day; once again, I went to the wrong side of the car to get in, but this time, I fooled her also, and she was about to get in on the passenger side and then said, "oh man! You made me go to the wrong side! Since you went to that side, I just figured I should go to the other side." It seems like no matter how long I live here, I'll always get confused about which side of the car the steering wheel is on. John Quinley told me that if he's supposed to be driving and he goes to the wrong side, he just reaches into the glovebox to "look for something." That won't work for me though, since I'm never driving!

Today three of my/Paul's students came over to make a small Christmas lunch. We made basically the same stuff I made for Thanksgiving, just much less complicated, thanks to the stuffing mix I go in the mail (thanks!) and my decision to buy already cooked chicken! These three ladies, Jit, Chanpen, and Mouy, love to cook and we always have a great time together. I am so happy that they actually like to eat Western food! (a lot of Thais think Western food is gross).

Tomorrow Benz and I are going to Phuket, and the evening, I'll go to Kuraburi to stay the night w/ some of Paul's friends on my way to Ranong to do my visa run. That will take all day Saturday. And now I should go to bed before it gets too late.

Step Ahead Christmas Party

Check out new pics and one short video: http://picasaweb.google.com/briswann/StepAheadChristmasParty

Thanks for praying for our Christmas party! It was a huge success. The turnout was much bigger than I'd expected! (We had planned for a lot of ppl; we just weren't sure how many would actually show up). I don't know exactly how many came, but it must have been about 50. I think 6 or 7 students came (2 from my upper beginners class, the rest from Paul's beginners class). Our friend Gaan came, and she invited a friend also. Then we had Heather, Richmond, and Hope with us, who are traveling around the world and serving in different ministries. It was great, because they helped out a lot with preparations- cutting out shapes from cookie dough and decorating cookies, decorations, and then clean-up afterward.

I was the emcee for the night; Benz translated, and Paul gave a very good, clear message about the meaning of Christmas. Paul, Benz, Amnuey and I sang a song in Thai and one in English, and they did several more in Thai as well. It seemed like the students really enjoyed the singing; some of them sang along, too. I really enjoyed a couple of the Thai Christmas songs; they are very joyful and fun! During one of the songs, some of our goofball friends from church (Mae and Ton) turned the lights out, lit sparklers, and sprayed us with silly string from the second floor (which is why you can see green or white stuff in our hair in some of the pictures). We had SO MUCH food! We ordered from our next door neighbors, Joe and Tanya, who run a nice guest house and restaurant (we eat there a lot). The food was all delicious; we had phad Thai, green curry, a vegetable dish, and some kind of spicy pork with lettuce. It reminded me of having Thai meals at the Arkansas House, except even bigger! :)

We played a game called "pass the parcel," which is a little package with different layers that you pass around while the music is playing, but when the music stops, whoever is holding it has to peel back a layer and do whatever it says. Some examples: Hope had to rub baby powder on her face. One girl had to tell somebody she loved him (she told Paul, hehe). Somebody else had to do the chicken dance. It was hilarious and chaotic. After that, we did the gift exchange, which was also slightly chaotic b/c we didn't get the numbers quite right. Each person had to present their gift to someone by drawing numbers (it was more complicated than that, but that's the simplified version). I got a set of Tupperware containers for food, which was really practical! (Plus, they're pink, so I was happy). All in all, it was one of the best Christmas parties I've ever been to, and I'm happy that some of our friends who don't know Jesus had a chance to hear about why Christmas is so important.

Last day of classes, Christmas prep, cell group

Two new photo albums: http://picasaweb.google.com/home?tab=mq

Wow, it's been quite a while since I last blogged! Things have been so busy, but lots of cool stuff has been happening as we've just wrapped up our classes for this 8-week-term.

I can't believe it; I taught my last class today! Now I have a long Christmas break, which I had worried would be a little too long, but I've figured out now what I need to do to keep myself busy and happy. I still have not finalized my travel plans for Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, and Bangkok; it's a little complicated to find the best time. I think I will stay around here until Christmas and do my visa run in Ranong. Then I'd like to go up north after Christmas, but John and Kim and their family are coming down here, so I want to be here for their visit. So maybe I'll just be here for part of their visit.

I've started going to the cell group that Paul goes to (Ton's church), and actually, I'd like to switch to his church because I absolutely love it, but the only thing that makes me hesitate is that Paul would have to translate for me every time, and he needs a break from that. But actually, there are two other girls who speak English quite well who might be willing to translate for me some, too. I'd like to get to know them (Champu and Bea) better as well. But the point is also that I'm really wanting to focus on learning Thai now and building relationships with Thai people, so this smaller, less formal, wonderfully warm fellowship is a better fit for me. For the next term, I've switched my Wed. evening class to Thurs. evening to free up Wed. to go to cell group.

This week we did Christmas lessons, which was really cool because we had a great opportunity to share the Gospel with our students. With two of my classes, I read the story of Jesus' birth from Luke, and in two of them, Paul and I sang "What Child is This" (and he played guitar). I used the bridge illustration to show why Jesus is such an important person (not just a person), whose birthday we still celebrate 2,000 years after his life.

Last week I went on a really fun shopping trip to Phuket with Benz, Mae, and Ton. It was the king's birthday, so I didn't teach classes, and we really took advantage of our mid-week day off. We went to a store called Supercheap, which is the Thai version of Aldi. It was great, except it was boiling hot in there with no A/C! Oh, and I had my most interesting toilet experience in Thailand so far. We went to a shoe store on a little side street, and I wanted to use their bathroom. After I made my way to the back of the store through a maze of boxes and junk piled up, a crate with puppies, and there was the toilet: no stall, no curtain, nothing: just a toilet in the open surrounded by junk. No walls; behind the toilet was a very short sheet of metal for some privacy (but I could see right over it anyway) and behind it the alley. I did my business as quickly as possible. (but you start to find things like this amusing; it didn't actually bother me.) Then we went to the big mall to get some things for the Christmas party, for the gift exchange, etc. I didn't find everything I was looking for, but Paul found the cookie cutters (plus food coloring and sprinkles!) on the weekend when he went with Nuey.

Yesterday I started making cookies for the Christmas party w/ Jit and Chanpen; I made a triple batch of chocolate chip and a double batch of sugar cookies. I haven't baked the sugar cookies yet though; tomorrow morning I'll roll out the dough, cut the shapes, bake and decorate them. There are 3 Americans visiting here to see what Step Ahead is about. They're traveling the world, actually, getting involved w/ different ministries. Paul's taking them to the mushroom and orchid farms tomorrow, and afterwards I think they'll help me with the cookies.

I made my first curry w/out the help of my cooking partner, Jit, tonight! It was green curry, and I thought it tasted really good. I'm slowly learning how to cook stuff and I feel settled and very happy here. My stomach has been MUCH better for the past 1 1/2 weeks or so; thanks, everyone, for praying for me back at home. I'm eating normally again and I feel so much better. I'm still having trouble sleeping, though. Speaking of sleep, it's getting really late here. Signing off.

John's second visit; plans for this month

Check out new pics: http://picasaweb.google.com/briswann/ChongFahDinnerLoyKratongPingAndPumpkins These are some random pics from Benz's camera. My dad is sending me a camera which I hope will arrive before I go up north for Christmas break! I haven't finalized any dates yet, but I'm planning to go up north to Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai for maybe 5-6 days to visit a friend, do a visa run, and enjoy some cooler weather! Classes for this term end Dec. 13th, and then we're having a big Christmas party at Step Ahead Dec. 14th. So sometime after the Christmas party (maybe the 16th or so) I'll head up north. I'll stop off in Bangkok to visit John and Kim as well, maybe both on the way there and back. I wasn't expecting (or perhaps hoping NOT to) spend Christmas day here in Khao Lak, but I think it looks like I will after all, because we have a lot of things going on here and a lot of good outreach activities; we'll do Christmas caroling in the area (at hotels and stuf), have the Christmas party at Step Ahead for our students, and then a big service for all the churches in the area, plus any visitors who want to attend, on the 25th. Though I am definitely sad to be away from my family/families (both my American and Austrian ones!) during the holidays, I am reminded that I'm here to serve and share Christ's love and hope, and there's no better time to do that than the Christmas season (except for maybe Easter). I thought everyone from Step Ahead would go home for Christmas, but I found out that 4 out of 5 of us, at least, will be here. I'm not sure about Ping, but I suppose she will probably stay here, too. Benz will be getting ready to take off for New Jersey for a year to do a cultural exchange program with a church there, so she's not going home until January.

John came down on Thurs. and had a short visit with us; he left again on Fri. afternoon. We had a really nice dinner together at the Chong-Fah hotel/ restaurant on the beach (I've included a few photos from that, but they didn't turn out so well). It was really good to meet with him, though. I am encouraged every time I talk to him. He's such a good boss. He's definitely the visionary type; he has tons of good ideas and is always optimistic about carrying them out! (or having them carried out). But at the same time, he really looks after the well-being of his volunteers and listens to any concerns we have. He encourages us to develop our talents and empowers us to step out in new areas. He and Kim are both like that, and I appreciate them so much, even though I only see them once a month for short visits. There are a couple of exciting new projects/ things coming up for Step Ahead: Amnuey is going to start teaching a computer class, and one of the preschool teachers is going to start an eco-tourism hotel, where people can come stay and learn about Thai culture and lifestyle. I think they are planning to hire some guys from the Moken village (I wrote about/ posted some pics of them a while back) to work there. During the "downs" and sometimes boredom w/ my daily routine and the limitations I have to work w/ here, I am still reminded that this is an amazing opportunity that God has given me here.

Last night we loaded up the vehicle and went to Takuapa for a music contest put on by our friend Mae's church. It was really fun! The contestants were all teenagers. Our friend Ton was the emcee, and Mae translated the message given at the end by a Philipino guy. The music was not particularly good (often off-key!), but the kids had a great time, and it was a great outreach opportunity. Paul did some translating, too, for the judge (an American guy). It was a late night; we helped tear down and then left from Takuapa at around 11:15, picked up Benz from work and ate dinner around 11:30! Then we dropped off Ton in Lam Ken and Chaiyot at his house and got back around 12:30. It was such a good evening, though; I am happy that I'm starting to feel more connected here.

This morning, I finally got to visit Paul's church. Ton is the pastor there- in Lam Ken. Actually, I visited their cell group on Wednesday night, but I can't remember if I already wrote about that. Benz, Paul and I went there together today. It is a small, very simple house church. The meeting room has a concrete floor, and they set up plastic chairs for service and clear them away to sit on the floor for lunch. The bathroom is a squatty potty, and to wash your hands, you go to the backyard, dip some water out of a bucket and lather up your hands w/ a bar of soap! There is a small cooking unit (not a stove, but something like one). Needless to say, there's no air-conditioning, but there's not at Pak Ping Church, either, so I'm trying to get used to being HOT on Sunday mornings. (Last night, however, there was a wonderful cool breeze; I was almost chilly sitting outside!). I really loved Pastor Ton's church. I don't know how to describe it except that it's sweet; without all the unnecessary extras, these people just focus on loving the Lord and each other. They have so little but they are so generous. Pastor Ton has barely enough money to live on, but he insisted on paying for our meal last night (and would not be persuaded otherwise) -and not out of an attitude to show off, but just to bless his friends. It's a small church, maybe 12-15 people. No instruments except guitar, but I felt that the worship was genuine and beautiful. And God does not require a big, fancy building in order for us to worship Him. Ok, that's all for now, though I always feel like I have so much more to share than I can write about!

Birthday, Thanksgiving... and health issues

This is going to be a long entry... I was a little worried about spending my birthday and Thanksgiving in Thailand; holidays and special occasions can be the worst times to be abroad, so far away from your family and friends. But actually, my birthday turned out great! My friends at Step Ahead got me a chocolate birthday cake (it was yummy!), and Paul, Amnuey and I went to the beach and swam to the raft and dove, swam, and enjoyed the sunset and waves until the moon came out (lovely)! During the day, Ping and I made banana and pumpkin bread. We had a fun time in the kitchen, and I am so glad that we are starting to connect more. She's using a lot more English, I'm using more Thai, and I think she's warming up to me (she's quite shy). That girl is awesome in the kitchen. She chopped that pumpkin up in about 3 minutes, whereas it would've taken me about 15 to cut it (no joke). She was excited about making the bread; she'd been wanting to learn how to make it since the last time I did it. She thought we should try making mango bread, or papaya, hehe. She is cute. After the beach, nobody else wanted to go out, so Paul and I went to an Italian restaurant in Khao Lak that I've been wanting to try for a while. I had pumpkin gnocchi w/ creamy gorgonzola asparagus sauce. It was delicious. Then we visited Benz at work (she's working part-time at a tour company now; can't remember if I already mentioned that).

Saturday was the big cooking day. Paul roasted 3 chickens in the oven and helped me w/ various side dishes, and Amnuey peeled and cut the sweet potatoes for me. It was so much work, though. I cooked enough for about 20-25 people, but only 15 or so showed up. Two of our students came, plus Gan from down the road. I'd invited Al and Karin (Canadian couple from our church) and Jay and Melanie (another Canadian couple from church) plus their two kids. They brought some food, too. I chatted w/ the students, prayed for the food, we sat down to eat... and then halfway through my meal I got REALLY nauseous and had to go upstairs to the bathroom. The nausea was followed by a fever for a couple hours, so I was in bed for the rest of the afternoon until around 5:30 p.m. I've had recurring stomach trouble since I've been here, but it's so hard to figure out what the problem is, b/c it's not every day or even all day when I get it; it might be 1x or 2x a week. I eat quite a variety of foods (Thai and Western), and this time it was food I cooked at the house that made me sick! So I went to the dr. in Khao Lak yesterday, and the diagnosis was: inconclusive. He said it didn't sound like I had a bug; I looked healthy, stomach felt and sounded normal. He supposed it was a reaction to food but that I could get tests done at the hospital in Phuket if I wanted to. Bronson and Paul's mom both suggested that I keep a food log, writing down everything I eat and how I feel. So I've been doing that since Friday. I decided not to go to the hospital in Phuket yet, b/c my stomach is feeling a lot better since yesterday. But then yesterday I woke up w/ a migraine that lasted until late afternoon! At least I can thank God that when I get migraines, they are relatively mild (I don't usually get nauseous; but my vision blurs, my eyes are very sensitive to light, and then I feel a lot of pressure behind my eyes). So those of you who are praying at home, please pray that I'd stop having so much health trouble! It makes me feel worn down and stressed out to deal w/ this stuff all the time. But God comforts me in my distress, when I turn my worries over to Him (I Pet. 5:7, I think that's the one, but I'm not going to look it up at the moment!)

Saturday was also Loy Kratung (still not sure about spelling), a Buddhist festival. By evening, my stomach was settled (still hurting, but settled) so I went w/ Paul and Amnuey to the fairgrounds, which were bustling. People were sending off little boats made of banana leaves and flowers and candles on the river. It was very pretty, actually.

Our household has been more harmonious lately, and I'm happy about that. The conflicts were getting a bit tense, but I think that usually happens when people live together. In general, I feel like we're more balanced and settled w/ each other now, which is great. I love my teammates! Another good thing is that my Thai is coming along... well, I need to take a more active approach (and Bronson gave me a good idea about that), but I'm happy to be understanding a whole lot more now. OK, I've got to go for now. Thanks, everyone, for the birthday wishes, packages, etc. :)