This past weekend we had an opportunity to travel to Bangkok and once again experience the joy of taking on a big city with R&R. The R&R I’m referring to is not Rest and Relaxation but Raymond and Rudy. In case you had any doubts, the city of Bangkok is not on the world’s top 10 list of ideal places to take a toddler and a 6 month old. We had fun, but now I’m looking for a major dose of the other R&R. We had two main reasons to visit Bangkok, to do some paperwork for the renewal of our missionary visa and also to attend the wedding reception of our dear Thai friends, Tony and Kiriya.
The trip to the Evangelical Fellowship of Thailand Office to work on some visa renewal paperwork was not exactly the highlight of the trip. It’s the kind of situation where you’re hoping to show the office workers that you deserve a new visa for the coming year. If they rated it on the quietness and passivity of Raymond and Rudy we would…..well I think you know where I’m headed with that comment. The last hour of the visit to the office was spent with me in the van with the boys in their car seats creating quite the symphony of complaints. We were grateful when that errand was completed and within 10 minutes of driving in Bangkok’s traffic, the boys were asleep and all was quiet at last.
The highlight of our trip was attending the wedding reception of our friends. We met Tony and Kiriya in Madison during the year 2003)that we were home, just after we were married. They were both studying Economics at a Doctorate and Master’s level. We became good friends as they were the only Thai people in the church we attended in Madison and have kept in touch over these past 4 years. I have to say that I am really impressed with Tony and Kiriya as they have dated for 10 YEARS and are just now finally getting married and able to start life together as a couple. I’m impressed by their patience and faithfulness. Their reception was held in the Pullman King Power Hotel
in Bangkok, a brand new hotel. It was the sort of event where we felt like we couldn’t believe we were invited to such an elaborate affair. There were ice sculptures and incredible hors d’oeuvres. There were beautiful clusters of flowers everywhere and the guests were dressed to impress. It kind of felt like a taste of what it will be like when we get to heaven, that feeling of being amazed to be a part of something so wonderful, feeling like you don’t deserve to be there, yet knowing that the only reason you’re there is because you know the host and He knows you.
On Sunday we headed home, arriving in Wiang Kaen early in the morning on Monday. As I walked into our house upon returning I rejoiced at seeing the Christmas tree that we had decorated and everything all lit up in readiness for our upcoming celebration. As I was catching up on laundry and washing dishes, unpacking and putting away this morning it struck me that despite the fact that our home is prepared Christmas, my heart is not. I sit down for 2 seconds and my mind just whirls, then Raymond is wanting to play catch and Rudy’s diaper needs to be changed and my heart is anywhere but where I would like it to be. It’s a challenge to turn my eyes and my thoughts upward, but one that I want to overcome. There’s a lot of temptation during this time of year. Somewhere between candy canes and “Jingle Bell Rock” there’s the temptation to make Christmas about something totally different than what God intended when He gave us Jesus. There’s the temptation to either become ensnared by the distractions or to get so consumed with busyness that one forgets to slow down and consider what we’re missing when we fly through the season with a preoccupied heart. There’s more planning and preparing to do, but tonight rather than give into the busyness I’m going to slow down and read the Christmas Story, I want to be ready when it’s time to celebrate the Savior’s birth.
As you were sleeping last night we were busy over here roasting a turkey, mashing potatoes, squirting whipped cream on pumpkin pie and rejoicing in the fact that we have enough leftovers to be able to put our feet up for a few meals and not have to turn on the stove. Although we live far away from the land of supermarkets, I am grateful for the handful of stores that sell the items we need to make Thanksgiving Day actually seem like Thanksgiving Day. This is one day we don’t eat rice, although we did make some for the guests with whom we shared Thanksgiving dinner. The last time we celebrated Thanksgiving in Wiang Kaen we kept to ourselves. Jeremy’s parents were visiting, Ray was 6 weeks old and we just felt like having a celebration amongst ourselves. It was fun although it can’t compare to the fun that we had today with 7 extra guests and little Rudy too.
Everything started about a week ago when I decided that we should invite some of our closest Thai friends to dinner, rather than just having a small family affair. Jeremy was surprised that I wanted to take it on but he agreed, asked our friends, and then it was too late to change our minds! We purchased everything we would need for the meal when we were in Chiang Rai last week and even remembered to take the turkey out of the freezer 2 days ahead of time. I was a little surprised, maybe a better word would be distressed, when I took the turkey out of the fridge this morning to discover that it was still partially frozen! 2 hours later Ray discovered that we had thawed the turkey in his bathtub. Luckily Jeremy’s mom and dad are visiting us and because his mom determined that this wouldn’t cause any major setbacks, I felt better. The rest of the preparation went off without a hitch, except for when a bowl slipped onto the top of one of the pumpkin pies and created quite a dent.
I have to admit that I was surprised how much our friends loved the food. None of them had ever eaten anything like it and they were impressed. We fed them turkey with gravy, stuffing, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie. They all went home talking about how they wouldn’t need to eat dinner that night, even though they only ate a fraction of what most Americans would slam down at a typical Thanksgiving meal.
Our favorite time of the meal was at the end when we all went around the table and talked about something we were thankful for. We’ve done this a million times, but for them it was new and several of them were teary eyed as they talked about how thankful they were that they had come to know the Lord. To know that we have had a small part in sharing God’s love for them was the biggest blessing we could have been given on this special day.
If one word could define most of what I did today it would be 'pumpkin'. I decided it was finally time to make a dent in the growing pile of gourds we have in our kitchen. The first pumpkin we received from one of our neighbors brought many smiles and words of appreciation. The second one, I thought, 'well, we already have one, but thank you.' The 3rd one started to become a burden and then the fourth one an eye sore. So, today I took three of them, and chucked them in the backyard... ha ha just kidding....I actually steamed them and collected all their meat to freeze for future baked goods roasted the seeds and made some pumpkin yeast bread. There is still one more big pumpkin staring at me from the bottom shelf in the kitchen but I just don’t have the heart to deal with any more for awhile. The next time I see a neighbor coming with a pumpkin I may just have to lock the front door and try to keep the kids quiet so they think we’re not home. It’s an interesting part of life that we never experienced in the city, the sharing of one’s produce. When it’s time to harvest a certain crop we can almost always guarantee that we’ll get our own hearty share of it through our generous neighbors. When the corn is harvested they will come bearing plastic bags full of freshly steamed corn, while saying ‘you must eat this now I just made it fresh!’ As the bags are usually delivered in the morning and usually contain upwards of 20 ears of corn, more often than not the plea to eat it right away is ignored. During the month of May the main vegetable that is brought to our door is something like a watermelon sized cucumber. Now, I like cucumbers but what do you do with three, watermelon sized cucumbers? Some years I have been creative and made cucumber soup or cucumber salad. Some years my creativity extends as far as to wait a few weeks and then throw them out the back door for the local pigs and chickens to devour. When the banana trees give up their ripe fruit we end up with bunches upon bunches of bananas. When the bananas do get ripe they come in a huge bunch which probably numbers close to 80 bananas. Naturally one family cannot eat the whole thing and so it is divided among the homes in the area. We often receive a bag of 20 very ripe bananas that need to be eaten sometime in the next 2 hours or they’ll all turn black- this always makes for interesting meal time preparation. Despite the over abundance that we receive at times we are very thankful to our neighbors for their generosity. They don’t have a lot to give us but when they do have something they are eager to share.
You may remember me singing the praises of my clothesline a few weeks ago? Unfortunately the bamboo clothes line had a little accident a few weeks ago. I had just finished dragging out the last of the 2nd load of laundry and as I put the last piece of clothing on, the whole thing just snapped in half! Ray was standing at the back screen door saying , “fall! fall!” These were not welcome words as I struggled to collect myself and the wet laundry from the dirty ground. I almost said to him, “could you please just come out here and help me!” Yet I knew there was little a two year old could have done to help in such a crisis.
We made it back from our trip late on Friday night, just about Saturday morning actually. All in all it was fun, but it was a whirlwind. We decided that a trip like that needs several more days to make it truly relaxing and maybe a few grandparents around to help with the little tikes as well. Raymond had a blast although we realized that he thinks ‘Phuket’ means getting in the van and driving and driving and driving. After 2 long days on the road we hopped in the van for a quick little ride to get some lunch and Ray was saying “Phuket, no, Phuket, no!”
Rudy took it all in stride and was a great little baby, although I felt bad that he couldn’t enjoy the scenery as much as the rest of us during the times in the car.
On the first day of our trip we drove to Bangkok and visited a big mall, appropriately called “The Mall”, where we found a plethora of foreign restaurants. Kentucky Fried Chicken, McDonalds, Pizza Hut, Dairy Queen and Swensen’s Ice Cream looked pretty good to us after all the rice we've been eating. The second day we drove down the tail of Thailand and stayed at the Chumpon Cabana Hotel. Our time at this hotel was probably our favorite of the whole trip. It was quiet with hardly any other guests, located right on the ocean, had a table of toys for kids to play with, excellent food and we stayed in our own recently refurbished bungalow. This was Ray’s first experience with the ocean. When he first saw it he ran all the way from the top of the beach down to the water. When he realized that the water was coming in as waves, he turned around and ran back yelling “scared, scared!” He ended up getting used to it though and had a great time playing.
On the third day we made it to our destination in Phuket, the Orchid Resort. We had sort of mixed feelings about going to Phuket. Phuket was one of the areas that was severely damaged during the Tsunami in December 2004. In fact earlier that year Jeremy and I went on vacation to a place called Phi Phi Island, and it was the buildings on that island that were almost entirely destroyed by the Tsunami. Click here for more information about how Thailand was affected. It has been almost 3 years since the Tsunami although we could still see evidence of the destruction. Signs on many of the street corners pointed the way to escape routes in the case of an emergency and a huge tower placed in the middle of a busy beach area housed an alarm loud enough to warn visitors of danger.
We made it through our time there without any natural disasters though and even laughed at a t-shirt we saw for sale in a market which said:
2003- SARS
2004- Tsunami
2005- Bird Flu
2006- Bomb Scare
2007- What’s next?
When we arrived at the hotel a representative from the Christian Hospitality Network greeted us, helped us check into our room and presented us with several gifts; a bag for each of us with small toys for the boys and exciting things like American candy, Ziploc bags and lotion for the adults. The swimming pool was right outside our main floor hotel room and we spent much time there over the next couple of days. The retreat included a huge buffet breakfast and dinner every day along with an evening gathering time. They also offered counseling and medical services through a variety of their staff. The first night I, Hillary, went to the meeting while Jeremy watched the boys. I don’t think I have laughed that hard since college. How good it felt to just laugh at their jokes and impersonations. It was such a blessing to me as I don’t really have an opportunity to do anything on my own like that up in Wiang Kaen, I didn’t realize how much I missed it. Every night the staff would leave gifts for us in our rooms while we were at dinner. One night they left us cards and letters that family and friends from home had written for us especially for the retreat. What an encouragement it was to receive those letters. It truly was a blessing for us to be able to go to the retreat and the service that this group offers is a much needed gift for so many. It was just the sort of thing our family needed but we were too busy or felt too guilty to tell anyone here that it was something we needed. The Lord provided right on time.
I write this post in the midst of a flurry of packing and preparing. This Saturday our family will be driving down to southern Thailand for a missionary retreat. About 6 months ago we received an email from The Christian Hospitality Network inviting us to spend several days relaxing at a hotel in Phuket.....for free!!! After some consideration, for about 5 seconds, we responded that 'yes, we would love to take part in a free vacation!' I'm having serious thoughts about joining this Network when/if we retire from missions. Imagine part of your job being to plan vacations for tired missionaries, what a blessing! We will be staying at the Phuket Orchid Resort, in case you want to jet over and say 'hello'. We are thrilled about being so close to so many swimming opportunities. It has been longer than I care to admit since I've done laps or any kind of productive water activity outside of washing dishes or bathing the boys. If you think of it please pray that we would have a safe and fun trip. Pray too that the boys would be especially positive and flexible. We look forward to sharing more about our trip when we return next week.
Imagine yourself as the young mother of two small boys, for some of you this is not too difficult to imagine. You can probably picture the busyness, the chaos, the joy and the tiredness that one who is in this position might experience. Now imagine that you meet with your doctor one day and he says something like the following. “For the next few weeks maybe even a month or more you’re going to need to take it easy. When you’re tired you need to rest. You need to eat well and lay off heavy lifting. You need to cut way back on your chores at home and focus on taking good care of yourself.” You would probably laugh and think that such a prescription would be impossible to follow. What if your doctor tells you that you have no choice in the matter because you’ve just been diagnosed with Infectious Mononucleosis, Mono (it sounds so much more serious when the full name is given). As you probably guessed, this is exactly what happened to me yesterday. After almost a week of suffering through a very painful sore throat and then not responding positively to antibiotics I found out the true cause of my illness. As difficult as it is to think about how our family will survive in the coming weeks, I am convinced that the Lord will use this time to bless us. Already today it has given Jeremy and Raymond an opportunity to drive to Chiang Rai together and spend the day running errands, eating pizza and chatting in the car. It gave me a quiet day at home with Rudy and a chance to enjoy his company in an uninterrupted way. It will be a short season of life where I can sit back and enjoy my family, not focused on laundry or dishes or cleaning or meal prep, but focused on those I truly love- and sleeping a lot of course!
Here's Raymond sharing one of his favorite books with Rudy, 'Harry the Dirty Dog'.
Here's Jeremy at a waterfall with some of the church youth group members during their school break trip
Tonight we are celebrating the life and achievements of Thomas Edison. Even though Edison didn’t technically ‘invent’ the light bulb, he did improve upon an older idea and produced the first reliable and long-lasting source of light, not including the sun of course. The reason for this celebration stems from an experience I had tonight that made me think long and hard about how thankful I am for light and electricity. This evening Jeremy left for a trip to Bangkok. We’re hoping to trade in our truck for a vehicle with more seats and Bangkok is the best place to go for a good deal. Anyways, Jeremy left at about 5:15pm and at 5:30pm the electricity went off. This happens every once in awhile for a few minutes but only rarely for an extended period of time. I was hoping for the few minutes variety. Ray and I had been reading together and had to stop as it was getting hard to see, even by the light from outside. Ray and I said a quick prayer together that God would restore the electricity, soon. I actually had Ray pray, something he has been doing lately when I have him repeat after me, thinking that maybe his childlike faith would bring the lights back on sooner. It didn’t and we were in the dark for 2 hours. Now, there’s a difference between no electricity when one is in the Boundary Waters for a camping trip with one’s good buddies and when one is at home as the only parent at dinner time with two small children, especially when they are boys. As I poked around in the kitchen with a flashlight, trying to round up dinner for Ray, I remembered that my intention to do all of today’s dishes after the boys went to bed had been an unfortunate one. For no electricity not only means no lights, it means no running water. So, I decided it would be an early bedtime for the boys as I was getting worn out with all this running around in the dark. I had them both ready for bed by 7:30pm, right when the lights came on! I checked to see if there were any spaghetti stains that I missed wiping off of Ray’s face, kissed them goodnight and put them to bed! Success. A few minutes later as I was doing the dishes and thanking the Lord that the electricity had come back, it went off again, but only for a few seconds before it returned, another close call. In closing, I found an interesting fact about Thomas Edison’s life. “When a schoolmaster called him (Edison) ‘addled’ (confused and/or spoiled), his furious mother took him out of the school and proceeded to teach him at home. Thomas Edison said many years later, ‘My mother was the making of me. She was so true, so sure of me, and I felt I had someone to live for, someone I must not disappoint.’” Tonight we are celebrating Edison’s great inventions as well as the example and love of his mother which clearly encouraged him to do amazing things. Something I hope I can do for my boys.
