April has arrived again.  It is hot. Over 100 degrees every day with no end in sight.  This Seattle girl begins to feel like a fish out of water this time of year, 5 months of dry season and building heat and humidity, but no rain.  I’m thankful for air conditioning, sweet mangoes and running water! I have acclimated, though, as I used to turn on the air when it reached 94 degrees, but now I can make it to 100 before I succumb. This is the time of year when we think we are crazy to be here instead of in cool, gray Seattle.  We are looking forward to our summer visit and hope for one of those gray, cool summers everyone hates.  Sorry.

            On our visits home, the question we get most often is, “How much longer will you be staying in Chiang Rai?”  And the answer is always, “We don’t know, but we’re going back next year!”  This year, the answer is a little less foggy.  After much prayer, thought and discussion, it has become clear to us that we will be staying at CRICS for quite a while longer. I can give you logical reasons for this:  the school is growing rapidly and needs stability in its leadership; Cindy has been offered a job as curriculum coordinator, which is one that has deep interest for her; Lindsey will probably be posted with SIL nearby (Yippee! If you’re interested in her newsletter, just let us know); Dan is looking forward to new challenges leading Boy Scouts and teaching Calculus; the list could go on.  All of these reasons are true, but in reality, there is only one reason that matters.  God has made it clear to us that His desire is for us to stay longer.  And obeying Him makes us, even in this heat, feel like:

  

So what does this mean for us, logistically?  We have the world’s best renters for our condo (Dan’s brother Darrel and his wife, Debbie), so that is taken care of.  After being told we would have to move from our little duplex here, our landlords changed their minds, which was a relief after looking at other houses that cost twice as much for little more, so we are working on making it homey.  Mostly, however, it means that we will continue to need your partnership in this ministry longer than we ever anticipated.  Your support in prayer, in friendship and in finances.  We would love to share the story of the work that is happening in northern Thailand with your church, your friends or your family.  We promise just to share the story, to let people know that millions of people here in Thailand are living in bondage, praying to false idols, and not knowing the King of the Universe who came to save them.  Can you imagine teaching your grandchild to pray to a gold painted cement statue? Wouldn’t you want better for them?

We will be home from June 9 (Lindsey graduates from college June 11, a whole year early) until July 19, right after Cindy’s dad’s 80^th birthday.  If there is a time in there when we could meet with you, or with your faith community, please contact us, we would love to see you and share what God is doing at CRICS, and in northern Thailand.  Perhaps there is another missionary out there, who just needs to be invited.

If you are interested in supporting us financially, please check out:                       https://tnt.teachbeyond.org/USA/give/projectinfo.aspx?desig=40170 a new giving page that takes you directly to us,or  https://give.teachbeyond.org/ 

If you’re interested in giving to the school building project, go to:                                      http://crics.asia/give/development/  

Thanks for all the ways you show your love for us and the people of Thailand.

Akha Village Visit

Last week, all four of us went on an overnight field trip with all the secondary students from FLC. We had a great time visiting two artists' installations, two museums, an Akha village and a hydroponic farm about an hour northwest of Chiang Rai. However, it is the Akha village I would like to tell you about. The Akha are a hill tribe that live in China, Laos, Myanmar and northern Thailand. They're well known in Thailand for their beautiful needlework, however they are considered refugees and many have a difficult time gaining citizenship here and are quite poor.


The village we visited is one that friends of ours have been working with for quite a while. Many of the tribal people had been employed at the tea plantations in this area that secured their employees by giving them small amounts of opium at the end of each workday. Our friend Chuck (the husband of our principal, and the father of one of Dan's students) met up with them as they entered a Christian drug rehab program. Many of them became Christians through this experience, and because of it, they were kicked out of their village. They are struggling to survive in a new and difficult location. Chuck has worked with them to build a water system, supply electricity and now they are beginning to develop a coffee plantation. Despite being ostracized from their families and very poor, they adhere strongly to their faith and are a great encouragement to Chuck, as he is to them.

We had the joy of eating dinner in the village. Akha food is fabulous, although they are partial to dog, they were kind enough not to serve any to us!


The secondary kids horsing around near the Akha village.

This has been a week of loving being here while laughing at the frustrations, and appreciating the people who are helping us through them.

First, the fun. We have finished making all the reservations for our trip to the beach in April. We have two weeks off from school at the hottest part of the year, so we're heading south to the islands. The first week, we'll be on the west coast on the island of Phuket along with three of the girls friends who will be visiting at that time. Phuket is one of the biggest tourist destinations in Thailand. The pictures are gorgeous! We'll be able to alot of fun touristy things with our visitors, parasailing, snorkeling, shopping, etc. The second week, after the girls' friends have gone home, we're going to travel to the east coast, and meet up with friends from Chiang Rai to see Koh Samui and Koh Tao. I love making vacation plans, and this is the vacation of a lifetime. It will mean buying a smaller, cheaper car when we get home, but it'll be worth it.

The frustrations were small this week. Our car broke down, again. It has broken down at least once a month, probably more than that if I counted. The gas line started leaking badly on my way to school, the one day that Dan didn't come because he had gone golfing with a couple of friends (yes he played hooky to go, but golf courses are crowded on the weekends here, just like they are at home and he wanted to play before the hot season begins). Thankfully, we made it to school. There is a Shell gas station just around the corner from the school that also does repairs. One of our Thai speaking friends at school took our car over and explained the problem. He also asked if they could fix the front passenger door that has been stuck locked for about three weeks. The shop was able to fix the gas line, but they weren't able to unlock the door. However, they did fix the latch on the driver's side door, which has always been very tricky to open because the latch was in such poor condition. This car (we've named it SpEd, short for special ed car) has deserved a blog all to itself, if you can't tell! It cost about $15 to get this work done.

(SpEd, unwashed because we're afraid if we wash it all the paint will fall off)

Our car has made me appreciate the Thai people very much. I (Cindy) was at the Chiang Rai night bazaar with the girls and one of their friends the night the door wouldn't unlock. I had locked it because I was able to find a free spot on the street, too cheap to pay to park in the hotel lot (80 cents) where we usually park that has a security guard. Knowing it would be late when we got back, I wanted to lock the car, which we've been able to unlock before, although with some difficulty. Anyway, three teenage girls and a woman obviously unable to unlock the car, so a Thai man came to help. He was able to unlock the driver's side (which we've never been able to unlock) so we could all get home. When the gas line started leaking on the way to school, another Thai gentleman knocked on my window and motioned under the car to try to warn me what was happening, which allowed me to find the problem when I got to school and get it fixed before school was out in the afternoon. We've had mechanics come when another hose burst at the bowling alley (the only western style entertainment in all of Chiang Rai), they came immediately and fixed the problem for only a couple dollars (thanks again to Tim, the same Thai speaking friend for organizing that). When a tire blew, again, Tim and some helpful Thais were there to take care of the problem quickly and inexpensively. Several times I've had Thais help me parallel park that just happened to be on the sidewalk, I don't think my parking is that bad, I think the Thais are just that helpful.

On top of the car problems this week, our upstairs bathroom acted up again. We realized we have had a problem with just about every piece of plumbing in the house, washing machine (replaced) downstairs toilet, kitchen drain, the hose next to the toilet upstairs (all toilets here have spray hoses next to them as a sort of simple bidet), upstairs sink (twice now) and upstairs toilet (it just sings about every fifth flush, a musical toilet). Knock on wood the shower has been fine except when we had no water at all for four days the first week of school. Each time we've had a problem, though, our landlady has responded immediately and had a repairman (our househelper's husband) come and get it fixed by the next day. This time the bathroom faucet, which was just installed a few weeks ago when the previous one blew apart, decided to turn itself on anytime water was running anywhere else in the house. Weird. Wandee came with her husband to fix it and cleaned up the kitchen and ran some laundry for us as long as she was here. So, while there are frustrations about the durability of structures, I am so appreciate of both the Thais and the Americans and how kind and helpful they are!

The beautifully tiled, but unpredictable upstairs bathroom.

Valentine's Day and more

Friday we celebrated Valentine's Day at school. This is a much different experience in a school where many of the students have never celebrated Valentines day before, and you don't just run to the store and buy a box of valentines. Eventually, thanks to the book A Zillion Valentines I managed to convince even the boys that it was fun and wasn't all about boys and girls. They had a great time delivering their cards and opening them, frosting and eating heart shaped cookies and watching a movie about the history of the day.

Chat, on the far right, is obviously a bit of a clown, and just couldn't resist hamming it up for a picture.


There are many advantages to having your whole family involved at the same school. Friday was one of those. The student council sold roses, chocolates and songs to raise money for the prom. Our girls were two of the four singers, and Dan and I gave songs and chocolates to each other and the girls.

Zion looks a little demonic in this picture, sorry, he's actually a very nice young man, I'm not quite sure what Kenny's doing!


The day ended with a dance, themed cosplay, which means the kids could dress up as any fictional character. Megan was Pippi Longstockings, Lindsey and some of her friends dressed up as Alice in Wonderland characters. Lindsey is the Queen of Hearts.



The dances at FLC are for all ages, including parents and teachers. It really is fun to see the teenagers dance with the little kids, parents dancing with their children, and everyone just having fun. The teens all have a great time just dancing in big groups for the most part, and if they do partner up, it's so they can use some of the dance moves they've learned in their ballroom classes. It really is all the joy of music and movement that dances should be, without any of the heaviness that pervades high school dances in the States.

Today Megan turned 17. She's now too grown up to want to do much to celebrate, but she did reach a milestone last night. She stayed overnight at a friend's house for the first time while her friend's parents were out of town. Knowing Megan and Grace, I'm not even worried. We're looking forward to going out for great big hamburgers and yummy fries later for her birthday dinner. There aren't many places to get those in Chiang Rai. I can hardly wait!

These pictures are from our only other trip to Barry's Restaurant. I could barely eat my much smaller burger.

Exercise

I know alot of runners. They love to go out running because it helps them think, clears their minds, makes their bodies feel great and provides an outlet for stress. I am not runner. I am most definitely a jogger. I go out because I like to eat (I need to write a whole blog about all the wonderful food here) and I don't want to get fat, my dog needs exercise and I want a healthy old age. I don't find it addicting, enjoyable or relaxing in any way, except for the time spent with my husband, who is in equal discomfort. I wish I did enjoy it since it's cheap and convenient and because we do it four mornings a week (in the dark). This time of year the routes we normally go are too dark (no streetlights) so we've started running in circles around a quiet, pretty block behind us that has streetlights. That is not helping my enjoyment any although Lacey loves it because she can be offleash and sniff and race to her heart's content. I suffer through Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday because I can look forward to the weekends.
On Saturdays we generally go bike riding. Bike riding in Chiang Rai is alot of fun. First of all, it's flat. It is located in a huge, flat valley surrounded by mountains on three sides. A block or two off the main road and you're surrounded by farmland; rice fields, cows, chickens, small villages, and always with the backdrop of the mountains, steep, but low and covered in green. Now that the rice fields are greening up again, it's really beautiful. We have one good bike and one bike that is good exercise that the Quesenberrys are kind enough to let us use while they're back in the States. On Saturdays we often ride for an hour or more, just enjoying the scenery, the beautiful weather, and the change from jogging.
Sundays are even better. We go to a 50 meter pool about 15 kilometers north of us. It belongs to a man who built it for his daughters who love to swim. He charges 30 baht (just under a dollar) for people to come use it. It is a beautiful outdoor pool, set in a garden of palm trees. The owner lived in the States and speaks English fluently. His daughter is trying to become fluent enough to get her master's degree in the States, so it's fun to talk with her as well. When I get in the water, I have all those sensations that runners talk about. I feel like I could go forever. I relax, get in a zone, love the sensation of using my muscles, and feel the stress fall away. This time of year the water is chilly, but after a few laps, it feels great, and so do I.
Yesterday we biked with friends up to the pool, swam our laps and biked home (after a stop at the pink windmill coffee shop, which is owned by new Christians and which is absolutely beautiful). We finished by stopping at the outdoor restaurant down the street and picking up deep fried bananas and sweet potatoes, sticky rice and papaya salad for lunch. Yum!! No sore muscles, but I did get sunburnt. Imagine swimming outdoors in February and not freezing!
Things I will miss when we leave Thailand? The great biking and swimming!


This area of Chiang Rai province is famous for its pineapples and they are delicious. Sweet and ripe, they come in all sizes from smaller than an apple to the huge ones we're used to seeing. You can eat a whole pineapple and not get a sore mouth. There are dozens of these little stands lining the roadside in this area.

A typical view in our area. There are two temples in this shot, the red roofed gate in the front leads to one behind the tree and the white tower is another one in the distance. There was one more even further off and further to the right.

Post swim and feeling great in the warm Thai sun!




Butterscotch frappes await! (The pink windmill is off to the right, you can't see it in this shot.)


Sorry about the bad angle, Ruth, but you can see how pretty this shop is.

Working in the rice fields looks painful. Most of the work is still done by hand, I don't know how they can stand up at the end of a day.

A well earned lunch.

Sticky rice is far stickier than any rice I've had before, and the best rice ever. Green papaya salad has a vinegar and coconut sugar dressing, tomatoes, green beans and peanuts. Lindsey and I love it, Dan and Megan don't care for it. Deep fried sweet potatoes are a favorite food for me here, Dan likes the bananas. Off to the left is morning glory. We eat it stir fried for school lunch reguarly, but somehow I just wasn't interested in the raw stuff.

January 15, 2010

The unharvested rice straw has all been burned off and the soil turned under. Fields are being flooded and the nursery fields have a haze of green as the new rice begins to come up. The days are beginning to get warmer and more humid again, although they're still quite pleasant. I got very brave and killed a cockroach in the dog food today (just a small one, and I'm waiting for Dan to get home to dispose of it because it's still wriggling and I can't seem to get it completely dead). We stopped at the local market today and picked up allergy medication for Dan, which he can get very inexpensively here. While there we picked up sliced papaya and little Thai donuts, which are mouthwatering. They put Krispy Kreme to shame, especially when eaten dipped in sweetened condensed milk, a staple desert ingredient here. One woman was selling live toads, presumably for eating. She laughed at my startled reaction.

Today was a teacher inservice day. I have been working with the elementary director to try and get the science curriculum in shape. We have developed a flow for the various types of science at the various grade levels and are working to get the curriculum we need to fill in the gaps. Today we reorganized the resources we had to fit the changes. It was fun for me, since teaching science is my passion. It looks like we might get some K'nex from the States next month. I can hardly wait to play with those!

There was a solar eclipse today. We were wondering why the day seemed to be getting dark and a little cooler when Julie, our elementary director heard that there was an eclipse. One of our Thai staff found a welding helmet that allowed us to look directly at the sun safely. Evidently it was the longest eclipse of the century and was full just north of us in China. It was really amazing to see. We just wish the students were all there to see it, too!

Lindsey has made it a goal to make dinner once a week since she has more time here. Last Sunday we had meat loaf and cheesey mashed potatoes. Tonight it was cream cheese pesto with pasta and fruit with cream cheese dip. She has discovered and fallen in love with Recipes.com. I just hope she keeps this up, it makes all of us happy!

Yes, we live in Thailand

This has been a week of knowing we live in Thailand.

Right now it's Sunday morning about 8:00. Our maebaan (housecleaner) and her husband are here to fix our kitchen sink. Our landlady is here also to chat with them. Our sink has been clogged for several days. It took us a couple of days to locate Draino. After detailed descriptions of packaging and location at Makro (Thai Costco) from American friends I finally managed to find the last bottle hidden behind several varieties of floor cleaner. Unfortunately it didn't work. We called a friend who speaks Thai well and had him call our landlady and explain the problem. She was hoping he and Dan could fix it, but they insisted they couldn't. Our maebaan's husband, who does some gardening for us, is also a great handyman (he fixed our broken toilet a couple months ago), so they came this morning. The plumbing for our kitchen sink is interesting. The drain pipe goes out the wall, along the back patio and empties into a small cement trench along our back fence. When they opened up the drain and flushed it out with a hose, a dead toad came out. I guess we'd better put a screen over the open end of the drain pipe! While he was waiting for the glue to dry on the pipe, he also fixed our front gate so it rolls better, at least temporarily. Since we have to roll open and closed this big gate every time we go anywhere, that will be very nice.

Our washer has been leaking out of the bottom for awhile now, but a week and a half ago it got to the point where it wouldn't hold water well enough to wash a load. Shortly after we discovered that we got an email about a missionary family that is moving from Chiang Rai to Pattaya, down in southern Thailand. They had a washer for sale, so we immediately called them and told them we wanted it. We picked it up yesterday and have done about 10 loads of wash. Yea! Clean clothes! We were lucky, it is sunny and quite warm. Yesterday even had a slight breeze, so the clothes dried very quickly hanging on our racks. We have room for about 2 loads of wash on our racks, so when there is a large quantity of clothes to wash, warm dry weather is very helpful!

This has been one of those weeks when I am very frustrated at my inability to speak Thai. It makes everything so much harder. If we were going to be here any longer than a year, I'd definitely be studying. We are so very thankful for friends here who speak Thai well and are so willing to be helpful to us over and over and over again!