Khun DanDam, Khao Yai National Park, Thailand

Nang Rong Falls, Khao Yai National Park, Thailand

Thailand is so beautiful.

Long story short, it was great.  I loved the falls, the scenery, the mountains, our Thai family (yes, I call them family as we’ve connected so well and they have done so much to care for us already), and just everything that we did today.

Another thing I hold in common with them is a love for food.  Yep, the matriarch of the family (3 generations live in one house) enjoys cooking, and all of them very much enjoy eating.  Fabulous, no?  Every time we have a meal together, they bring (or order) us new things to try, as well as remember our favorite foods.  (And, I often return favors with baked goods, knowing they’ll enjoy it!).  Today was no different – as we went from the tree vendors to the falls, our friends told us to pull over so they could buy us a roadside snack.

All along the road (as is the case pretty much anywhere in Thailand) were little stalls and cabana-type structures hawking roasted meats, veggies, fruits, salads, and snacks.  The one we stopped at was selling something called ข้าวหลาม – khaaw laam.  Fortunately for you guys, I remembered to take a photo halfway through munching in the car.

It’s really a simple snack – sticky rice roasted over a fire or coals in a piece of hollowed out bamboo.  The rice is usually mixed with some sugar, coconut cream and sometimes black beans (like mine) or sesame before being roasted.  You can eat it hot right when you buy it or take it home, pop in the fridge, and eat it later cold.   Yum.

P.S.  In case you were wondering what we had for our picnic at the waterfall, we had perhaps my favorite meal in Thailand – som tam and roasted chicken.  This combination of food is to Thai picnics what burgers, hot dogs, and potato salad are to American barbecues.

… and Brook feasted on a couple of chicken feet.  Blergh.

We moved.

No longer residents of Lopburi, Thailand… now citizens of greater Bangkok.  And, it’s wonderful.  Seriously wonderful.  I honestly can’t begin to describe to all of you just how spectacular and refreshing this change of location, change of home, change of lifestyle has been for the two of us.  It is nothing short of a blessing, and that’s really the best way to put it.  After all of the struggles with noise, dirt, mold, allergies, lack of basic conveniences (a flushing toilet, for example), health problems, stress, unfriendly (and rather scary) street, living beside people who wanted absolutely nothing to do with us, etc……. we are now living in a whole new world.

I feel normal again.  Well, as normal as is possible being an American girl living in Thailand, of course.  But really, after living in the country for a year, it does feel normal.  I sometimes wonder now how weird it will feel the first time we return to the States.  Hmmm.

In front of our new house, before going out on my birthday.

Anyways, since I don’t have a bunch of pics ready to post online yet (since we just got our internet hooked up in the last day or so), I figured I’d just list off a few of the things I’m really thankful for in our new home.  It’s true, I’m no longer calling where we live our “house”… no, this place is worthy of being called our home.

• 2 real, self-flushing toilets (yes, we have 2!)
• a bathtub (a rare find in Thailand)
• a separate shower area upstairs
• a patio behind the house where I can do laundry and cook
• an automatic washing machine, with a big metal rack to dry clothes in the sunshine
• my own oven/stove (outside to keep the house cooler)
• a corner lot that actually has a little bit of yard
• a couch to sit on
• trees!
• windows on every single wall (we only had one in Lopburi)
• complete floors in every room (meaning no broken tiles, no missing chunks of wood)
• space for visitors (hint, hint!)
• a corner lot that enable us to be quite visible to neighbors, giving us the opportunity to make friends
• lots of neighbors that are willing to talk to us
• loudspeakers that broadcast weekly community announcements, which are always preceded by 5 minutes of 1940′s swanky night club style music, then closed out with more music that sounds like the end of an old-timey radio show
• birds in our trees
• quietness
• the ability to begin sleeping again
• a functional a/c wall unit in our bedroom and office
• a functional kitchen nook (one wall of our living room) with cabinets and a countertop!
• a gracious, friendly landlord
• no fluorescent tube lighting in the house  :)  (it’s all cans or circle fluorescents)
• a corner lot that happens to be where the kids play after school every day
• a little house-front vegetable stand (that sells flour, too!) in our “village”
• when riding my bike to the vegetable stand, a few people already call to me by name to say hello
• being able to actually hear the crickets at night, rather than booming clubs
• … and so much more!

Now that we’re just about finished with all of the work that goes into setting up a home from nothing (literally, we moved here with clothes, computers, and a few small items), it’s time to get back to language study, meeting new people, and learning just how we can reach out to the community around us.  I can already envision so much good here.  In the past few days, we’ve had 3 women from down the road either walk or ride their bicycles down to chat with us while we did work on our yard.  We’ve had conversations with the older couple who lives across the street, and talked to a lady a few houses down about her plants and what she thinks we should do with our yard.  The kids that play on our street corner finally got up the courage to speak to us and invited Brook to play some badminton, while I brought out fresh chocolate chip cookies to feed them at the beginning of the week… and, they came back this afternoon, rang our bell, and asked if Brook could come out again to play!

Have I mentioned yet how refreshing this change has been?  I’m beyond thankful.

The craziest thing about this – aside from the fact that I can now read and write a completely foreign script, and speak enough Thai to be mostly independent in everyday life, as well as hold my own in general conversation all in a totally new, totally tone-dependent language – is that it means we’ve been living in Thailand just short of a year already.  We arrived in-country July 29th (crazy enough, my dad’s birthday), last year – 2009.

It’s been a year since we’ve been able to hold onto or see either side of our families in person.  It’s been a year since I’ve eaten cottage cheese (I used to eat it like every day).  It’s been a year since I’ve seen a field of corn or soybeans, seen a proper cow, or witnessed a traffic jam in the suburbs of Chicago.  It’s been a year since I’ve experienced an actual change in seasons.

That’s just crazy.

So, what is it that I’ve spent the last year doing?  Studying.  Lots and lots of studying.  Kinda weird, tough, and humbling to go from being the one teaching others for a few years back to being a student.  And, even at that, being like a pre-schooler.  During the course of my studies at the center here in Lopburi, I’ve gone through 9 learning modules:

• 1-3 : basic survival Thai (numbers, colors, days of the week, etc.) written in English phonetics.
• 4 : the writing module, where I learned to read and write the Thai script (because all modules after #4 are completely written in Thai!).
• 5 : how to carry out certain daily life tasks, with sample conversations on ordering a gas tank, reserving a hotel room, both giving and asking for directions, etc.
• 6 : Thai family structure, as well as cultural norms and traditions and how they’ve changed through the generations.
• 7 : easy Gospels unit where I studied 3 Bible storybooks which contained each of Jesus’ parables.
• 8 : self-study/ module out – I learned about kitchen terminology and Thai food with a woman from our community instead of a teacher at the school.
• 9 : Christian communications – learning how to use the high royal/religious vocabulary set for prayers, opening/closing church services, how to both read and explain passages from the Bible, how to tell stories for children (I drew the picture cards below to help me tell the Creation story during my exam), tell my own testimony, and explain why I came to Thailand.

I know there's no Day 7 card - I don't know what God looks like, so I obviously couldn't draw him resting!

After every module, every student has what we call a “check” – a one-hour oral exam with a teacher other than your own, and a language advisor writing down their evaluations as you speak.  Yesterday (Wednesday), I had my final check – Module 9.  It was crazy knowing this would be my last one while in residence at Lopburi.  It went alright, despite the fact that I’d not been able to sleep more than a total of 2.5 hours in the last couple of days, nor was I able to study as a result of some pretty crazy neighbors and their noise.  I guess that means I’ve truly learned the language, right?  If I can still speak it well enough to be understood and pass my exam, while unable to see straight, without studying, and feeling a massive beating headache… I’d say my progress is just dandy.  Yep.

After my final module check, then it was time for the big humdinger – the Year One exam.  Dun dun duuun.  Surprisingly, it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be!  I can’t really give you any details on what it was, or how it was carried out on here though.  The Year One exam needs to be kept secret so every student has an equal chance at displaying their true skill level.  I will tell you though, that it was comprised of both an oral exam and a one-hour writing session.  I actually thought they were both kind of fun.  Yeah, I just said an exam was fun.  And, you’ll just have to take my word for it, since I can’t tell you what I did!  In all seriousness, part of the fun came from the fact that I felt like I’d truly accomplished something.

Halfway through Mod 9 - is my handwriting neat enough?

Brook doesn’t have his last set of exams (same ones I did) until next Wednesday, the 7th.  So, what am I doing in the meantime?  Packing, chilling, and doing lots of cleaning.  Why?  Because now that we’re finished, we finally get to move out of Lopburi and get our lives started!  But, I’m not going to tell you any more about that yet… you have to wait at least another week until we move, and hopefully get the internet all hooked up at our new house.  :)  All I’m sayin’ is we’re headed to Bangkok, and I love the house.

Today was full of final classes, tonight full of studying (from which I am taking a short break to write this and eat a bowl of Carnation brand almond ice cream) for my module 9 (Christian communication) and final Year-One exams tomorrow.  Then, it’s a week of cleaning, packing, and seeing everyone and their brother for the next week while the Mr. completes his studies and exams (ending Wednesday, July 7th)… final Fellowship Group meeting next Wednesday night… and then we move the 8th!  Is your head spinning from that?  Again, I say whoa.

So, here we are chatting about food.  That makes me happier than studying books of course.  So, what will I introduce you to this week?  Jackfruit.  Why?  Because our new house (oh, how I LOVE to say that!) has its very own little – well, quite big, actually – jackfruit tree at the back corner of your yard.  (Yes, we have a yard, too!  Ok, I’ll stop – you have to wait until we move for more info.)

Here's a whole jackfruit.

Jackfruit are thought to be the largest of all tree-grown fruits in the world.  Depending on location and climate, this fruit can reach up to 80 pounds in weight, 20 inches in diameter, and 36 inches in length!  It has a bumpy green exterior and tends to grow low on the tree.  When opened, the fruit emits a fragrance similar to a blend of pineapples and bananas.  However, I’ve been told that if the fruit ripens and is left unopened, it will begin to smell like rotting onions until cracked open and the smell of its interior flesh can take over.  Eeew.  We’ll have to see how this works out with our own tree.

Jackfruit pods

So, what part of the jackfruit do you actually eat?  Every football-shaped jackfruit can contain between 100-500 seeds (depending on the size of your fruit) with fleshy pods or bulbs surrounding each one.  The pods are a canary yellow in color, and tend to have a crisp, slightly sweet texture.  I seem to think it tastes similar to a tart, not quite yet ripened banana.  Depending on ripeness, it may even make your teeth squeak when you bite into it, so if certain food textures or sensations give you the heebie jeebies, you may want to steer clear of this particular snack.

As with many things in Asia, every part that can be used of both this fruit and the tree it comes from will be used.  The large seeds found inside of each bulb can be boiled and eaten similar to a chestnut.  The bulbs themselves can be eaten raw as a fruit, boiled or stewed in curries, or (due to it’s texture being similar to cooked chicken) used as a vegetarian meat substitute in certain Thai dishes.  Its leaves are used for wrapping different types of foods, and making containers for small items.  The wood of the jackfruit tree is quite lovely in color and is used in making certain Southeast Asian musical instruments, as well as furniture and certain housing elements in India.  Also, the wood can also be used to create a deep golden colored dye for ceremonial clothes worn by monks.  They really do use every part of the tree.

Sadly, I doubt you’ll be able to find jackfruit in your local market or grocery store, as there are only a handful of trees located in Southern Florida, and a few more in the Asian exhibit at the San Diego zoo.  Looks like you’ll just have to come visit me in Thailand, and eat them from MY tree!  :)

As I opened the door and stepped outside to head for classes this morning, apparently, a snake took that as his invitation to come inside.  I have no clue where it came from, I didn’t see it at all… but, Brook did.  Not more than 2 steps out the door, he hollered to me that a snake had just come in the house.  What?!  No way!  I didn’t see anything of the sort.  Thinking perhaps it was a ball of dust, or a stray thread falling from our curtains, I asked him repeatedly if he was sure (while remaining briefly outside the threshold of the door, of course)…

We both got down on our hands and knees (after I decided to come back inside) looking under the bench, the desk, the book shelf in the corner… and nothing to be found.  He was sure he saw a bright green snake slither in past me, and we were determined to find it.  5 minutes later, he saw it under the bookshelf in the corner.  So, with him keeping an eye on the creature, I ran to get a my heaviest pot to use to smash its head.  You see, at this point, we didn’t know if it was poisonous or not – so, we figured killing it and getting the chance to examine closer after it was no longer moving would be the best course of action.  After all, only a few months ago, friends of ours just across town discovered a big bad cobra in their kitchen.  (They lived on the edge of a rice paddy, so not a huge surprise… but, still unexpected!)

Anyways, it kept playing hide-n-seek for nearly 20 minutes, before it decided to come out from under Brook’s camera bag (on the lowest shelf of the book rack) and climb straight up the wall.  Wait a second.  What?!  YES, this snake slithered straight up a sheer, smooth, painted wall with little to no effort at all.  I have NEVER seen anything like it in my life!  It was frightening and awe-inspiring all at the same time.  After making its way up to the top of the window frame, it lifted its head and first several inches of its body off of the wall as it poked around the window looking for an opening, I assume.

That’s when my hero made his move, knocking the serpent in the head with the crooked handle of my big umbrella.  Just the right length to reach it, and heavy enough to knock it senseless to the ground.  Once on the ground, Brook (my aforementioned hero) finished him off quickly with the umbrella, and I stood there watching in amazement as the body continued to writhe, curl, extend, and slither on its own after it was already done for.  Snakes are beautiful creatures, yes… but also very dangerous, and we couldn’t take that chance.

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Here it is, the freakishly long, skinny, bright green creature that invaded my home this morning, after being immobilized permanently.  I was sure to take a few photos so we could later identify just what type of snake it was without having to keep it in the house.  (And, I believe the tiles on our floor are 6-inch squares, if that helps you visualize at all.)

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We’ve come to learn via internet research and advice from fellow expats in Thailand that this is, in fact, a Golden Tree Snake – also called an Ornate Flying Snake.  Incredible creatures they are, they have the unique ability to climb straight up sheer surfaces (as witnessed this morning), as well as fling themselves in such a manner that they seem to fly from branch to branch among the treetops.  Also, we were relieved to find out that even though this particular snake is a member of the Viper family, its venom is so mild that it would not be harmful to humans.  Other than a painful bite and swollen limb, there would not be worse damage done.

I never enjoy the death of a fellow living creature, but as we weren’t sure of this particular one’s nature, it was the best option.  We know now for the future that we don’t need to worry about this type of snake, and that capturing it to release out somewhere else won’t be a dangerous operation.  Even though they scare the snot out of me, I do think snakes are beautiful creatures (especially when secured behind thick glass in a tank that has a tight-fitting lid).  Just Google this snake and look at the detail in its scales, the bright green color, and the black edging and bands on its body.  It’s really incredible!  (Even moreso when it’s not in my house… :)  )

I forgot to take a shot of my own bowl, so I've borrowed this one from the internet.

Let’s start with the name – Massaman Curry.  The term Massaman actually comes from an old word meaning “Muslim.”  Though known as a Southern Thai dish, the spices that are used to make the curry paste for this meal are thought to have come to Thailand long, long ago by way of Muslim traders from India.  Thus, the name Massaman Curry.

When you hear the word “curry,” do you automatically think of Indian food as I also once did?  The term essentially means to stew or cook something slowly in a pot.  That’s exactly what you do in both Indian and Thai curries.  However, the thing that sets each set of flavors apart are the spices typically used in the pastes and powders used to create these dishes.  Curries throughout both Thailand and India, of course, vary from region to region – even family to family – but there are some common spices included in each, no matter what the type of curry.  Here’s a list of typical spices and seasonings present in each country’s curries:

• India – cumin, fenugreek, coriander seed, fennel, cardamon, asafoteida, turmeric.
• Thailand – galangal, kaffir, lemongrass, basil, fish sauce, shrimp paste, chilies, coconut milk.

Sadly, the inclusion of cumin (especially fresh ground or whole seeds) makes me unable to eat the copious amounts of Indian food that I would like to.  Large amounts of that particular spice cause a rather unfriendly reaction in my body.  I can take it in smaller amounts, such as in homemade Mexican food (pre-ground or spice mixes that have naturally lost their intensity), thankfully!

Ok, so back to the Thai food.  Thailand has a wide range of curries that are classified by color – red, green, or yellow – depending on the type of chilies used in making the curry paste, or the addition of turmeric (as in the case of the yellow curries).  Massaman tends to fit moreso in the yellow category, as the spices used to make its paste are different in nature from the rest of Thai curried dishes.  The Massman paste is comprised of dried chili, black peppercorns, coriander seeds and roots, cloves, cardamon, (a small amount of) cumin, lemongrass, galangal (similar to ginger), shallots, garlic, tamarind, and shrimp paste.  It’s a sort of fusion between Thai and Indian food.  Can you smell it already?

Massaman Curry Paste

To make the curry, all you need to do is add a bit of Massaman curry paste to coconut milk and simmer it along with some cardamom pods, a cinnamon stick, and your choice of Thai basil or dried Bay leaves.  Add in some onion, chunked up beef, and diced white or sweet potatoes and let it cook for a couple of hours.  Some people even add in some star anise for an added boost of flavor.  This really is a very aromatic meal, mixing so many flavors together.  Surprisingly though, it isn’t overwhelmingly spicy or hot.  It’s just right, and just plain delicious.  You can either eat is straight from a bowl, or do like I do and spoon it over a plateful of rice.  Either way, it’s really good.

Now, to the rest of you, to whom I may sound like just another a blabbering girly girl hyped up over something insignificant, I say “whatever.”  With the kindest smile, of course.  :)

Today, Brook and I had a few hours to kill between lessons and decided our time would be best spent checking out a new store on the other end of town.  It just opened on Wednesday, and we decided (after the last Grand Opening we tried to attend) it would be better to wait a few days until the curious crowd died down a little bit.  Even better, we decided midday would cut down on the masses even more.  Yes, this plan worked, and off we went to check out this place called Makro just outside of the city.

Makro, for those of you who don’t know, is a more simplified Thai equivalent to Sam’s Club.  They sell many items in bulk (cooking oils, snacks, some fresh produce, etc.) at a discounted price, and shoppers are asked to have a membership card.  This week, they’re letting people in without a card though, so they can start shopping and get hooked on it first.  Ha.  I’ve heard about these stores, and driven by them many times during the course of the past year, but had never been inside one.

I was in sheer awe of their produce section and frozen items, the dairy case (yes, there was a dairy case!!!!!) and the bakery.  I don’t expect any of you to understand, but after living in our city for a year, lacking many food items that I’ve been accustomed to having for the past 25 years, this place about made me cry.  Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love Thai food!  But, it’s nice to have something more familiar every once in a while, ya know?

So, what did I see that I haven’t seen before (well, sometimes in Bangkok, but not in Lopburi)??  Massive blocks of cheese (one mozzarella, one white cheddar, one yellow Australian cheddar, one gouda and one parmesean)!  Real sour cream!  Ground beef, frozen pizza dough, yellow corn tortillas, dried bay leaves, Canadian bacon in chunk form, Prego spaghetti sauce, both black and green canned olives, lasagna noodles, Granny Smith apples, balsamic vinegar, real navel oranges, fresh strawberries, lemons (very rare), real sweet corn, frozen blueberries (berries are pretty non-existent here), frozen spinach (oh my goodness!), and both red & white wine vinegars.  It took most of the power I have within me to resist grabbing some of everything and shoving it in my cart as we walked the store (though it did help reminding myself that it was all a bit expensive on our Thai budget, and these sort of things would have to limited to an infrequent “treats” basis.  Ha!).  I simply could not believe my eyes.

But the biggest thing to me, the thing that made my eyes well up with tears for some inexplicable reason, was celery.  Real, fat, bright green, large bunched, crispy, refreshing, glorious celery.  I have been wanting for this simple pleasure for a year now – chicken salad just isn’t the same, egg salad lacks that fabulous crunch, peanut butter is lonely without it… and today I found it.  I’m not kidding about how happy I was to pick it up, see the stamp from California, and take it to be weighed.  And it wasn’t too expensive either!  Only about $1.00 US for a good sized bunch.  I was like a little kid proudly carrying a new toy around throughout the store. I just couldn’t stop smiling.

I know, I know.  I’m a silly girl.  But, it’s those little things in life that help refresh this girl when day to day life in Thailand gets to be just a little bit too much.  That celery made my day.  I ate a few sticks with peanut butter for lunch, and I made the most delightful chicken salad for supper.  It was wonderful.

What’s one of your “little things” that can cheer you up or make everything all better?

It’s been a bit of a struggle for us living here in Lopburi, but we’ve done our best to really focus on the pros – the victories and positive things – in our thoughts, blogs, and everyday conversations.  There is only a small group with whom we discuss the cons.  I think it’s better that way, ya know?  With this system, we are able to vent, share our frustrations, and receive advice from those closest to us while being motivated to continually look for the blessings in each to day to share with the rest.  God has blessed us so richly with the ability to deal with and adapt to our constantly changing lifestyle, and for that I am really thankful.  I much prefer living my life on the bright side.  Wouldn’t you agree?  After all, we’ve got a roof over our heads, food on the table, and are physically able to get out of bed everyday and take care of ourselves.

That being said, we’ve received questions from friends lately about what it is that we miss from home (aside from goodies that they want to send us from the States – yeah, for that!).  It’s kinda weird how random things just kind of pop up in my mind when I least expect it.  Seriously, I can be walking down the street in 100 degree heat and blazing sun, headed to buy a bag of tomatoes in the market, and suddenly I’ll see a kid with a fancy looking notebook and start thinking about Hobby Lobby and all of the crafts I used to make for our home with supplies from that store.  Ha!

So, what is it that I miss from home?  Well, besides the obvious – family & friends, holidays together – here’s a little bit of what’s come across my mind in the past several months.  My intent here is not to depress you or make anyone feel bad for us, rather I hope it might help bring you joy as you seek to appreciate these things in your own life, as well as give you an idea of just how different the way of life is on our side of the world.  And hey, maybe the next time you enjoy one of these, you’ll think of us and say a quick prayer.  That would be awesome.

So, here we go, in absolutely no particular order at all.  I’m typing as I’m thinking….

• Distinct seasons – we have hot, hotter, super hot, and wet hot.  Our coolest season is equivalent to a Midwestern summer.  The sun is also, according to my own highly scientific analysis, roughly 150 times larger and closer to us over here.  :)
• Carpet.
• Grocery stores (when available) laid out in what I would consider a logical manner.
• A real toilet that does not require a bucket & bowl to flush.
• Furniture – you know, like a couch or an armchair.
• Gardening.
• Quietness.
• Windows – yeah, we’re in a middle unit rowhouse with one small window set downstairs, and one window upstairs.
• A cool wind / breeze – Lopburi is often referred to as the “city where the wind doesn’t blow.”
• A kitchen.
• Water you can use from the tap.
• Grounded electricity.
• Being able to speak with the people around me without practicing everything in my head 10 times before saying it.
• Not being stared at everywhere I go.
• Hearing crickets at night and birds in the morning – we live in a “concrete jungle.”
• Listening to rustling leaves – no trees anywhere near our house, and not that many in our city either.
• A roof that completely covers the house.
• Cleanliness.
• Not being sweaty all the time – TMI?  Hahaha.
• Knowing where to go & what to do naturally.
• Washing machine.
• Blankets.
• My old pup, Lily.
• Having a car.
• Shoes that aren’t flip-flops.  (Although I do absolutely LOVE being barefoot/wearing sandals all the time, I do miss wearing some nice ballet flats or occasional heels.)
• Cheese & bagels.
• Radishes & spinach.
• Smelling good.
• A real shower and/or bathtub – we have a hand shower on the wall next to our “toilet.”  Haha.
• Cold weather.
• Scented candles, in the evening, with a cool breeze bringing the smell of Fall in through the windows.
• Having barbecues.
• Grilling food.
• Incandescent light bulbs.
• Grass/ lawns.
• Insect control – the ants here do not march two by two, they come in full armies.  :)
• A piano close by.
• Singing at 628 or in the band on Sunday mornings.
• Speaking English.
• Having a “home” to settle into – this is our second housing already, and we will move again in July.
• Current events – what movies are out, new music, what’s going on in people’s lives, news in the States.
• Brook’s old man slippers.
• Water temperature control.
• Getting dressed up nicely & doing my hair – it’s not worth it in the heat here, as you get gross within 5 minutes.  Ha.

… and the list goes on.

Life in another country really is a whole new ballgame, that’s for sure.  Everything that was once familiar is gone, and it’s like learning how to live all over again.  It truly is an adventure every single day.  And we are blessed.  Each time I think about something  miss from home, it gives me the opportunity to relive the memories that I’ve made in those places, doing those things, the people that I was with.  That’s a huge comfort.  Even when times are rough, I have good things to look back on, and the hope that all will continue to work itself out in the end.

Perhaps next week, I’ll fill you in on some of the things I believe I’ll miss from Thailand when we get to come back to the States for the first time.

Take a look at this video – it’s only a few minutes long – then join us in praying for East Asia and the workers that are needed.

Extended version- Call to prayer for 900 new workers from OMF Media on Vimeo.