Christmas pics 2008 175
Christmas pics 2008 175 Originally uploaded by oceanicthai
Posts
Being In America
We've been in America since December 4th, about 7 weeks now. We've gotten over reverse-culture shock and are enjoying the USA thoroughly! We'll be here until March 19th.
Our Airport-Closure Adventure
We knew that time was tight between the end of our conference in the Northern end of Thailand and our flight out of the country from the Southern end. We figured that since we would be flying there would be no problem getting home in a day and giving ourselves 2 full days before our flight to the U.S. We were scheduled to fly back to Southern Thailand on December 1st and get on our flight to the U.S. on December 4th. We flew to Chiang Mai with no inkling that the beautiful new airport we transferred at in Bangkok would be seiged by protesters just a few days later. At our conference we realized that we were not going to be flying back. The alternatives were train, bus, rent a car or rent a mini-van with a driver. Being economical we chose the train or bus, and in the end, due to scheduling, it had to be the bus. It would be a grueling 20+ hour trip home, but we weren't overly concerned because Thailand has beautiful VIP buses that are really nice to ride in. Unfortunately ther...
Baptism October 2008
Baptism October 2008 Originally uploaded by oceanicthai Our newest church members
Seashells
She looked mad, remembering the seashell given to her by a young missionary that had just came back from a visit to the ocean. "Why did she give me this thing! It didn't cost anything, she just picked it up from the sand!" I was speechless. The intensity of her annoyance really surprised me. Then she showed me a cross-stiched bookmark another young missionary had made and given her. "Look at this! It is so cheap, what kind of present is this for me, her teacher, for Teacher's Day!" I don't remember what I said, but I put the cultural information in my brain-file. What was that all about? I understand the young missionary's thoughts. "Oh, I'm at the ocean and I'm thinking about my beloved Thai teacher. Here's a shell, I think I'll pick it up and bring it to her to show I was thinking about her." Then the bookmark, "I'm really stretched for money right now but I know I need to get something for my teacher to show her ...
