Rock Solid Family

In the airplane.

June was such a busy month, that I spent my time living my blog instead of writing about it.  Now it is July and my husband and I are in Thailand and I hadn’t even taken the time to tell everyone through my blog of our plans to go. 

We left on the evening of June 27, which was Joshua’s 13 birthday.  It’s hard to believe that we are now parents of a teenager. 

Last year about this same time Scott went to Thailand to help the Missionaries here with an ESL and Basketball camp.  They had a very productive trip last summer and Scott wanted to bring me back to see the country this summer.

I have been really confused as to what days everything has taken place on.  I know we left on Monday night, June 27. However I was a little confused as to which day we actually arrived on since we gained 12 hours, I believe.  We arrived in Thailand on Wednesday, June 29, Thailand time.  Whereas back home it would be Tuesday, June 28.

We had a little problem with Jet lag but it really wasn’t as bad as I anticipated.  I think because I slept on the plane I was able to stay awake the rest of the day until bedtime.

The very next morning we went with Bro. Rusty, the missionary here in Thailand, to observe some of his ESL classes. We didn’t realize that we would be teaching on our first full day in Thailand, but that turned out to be good since I didn’t have enough time to get nervous.

Posing with a Lady dressed in a Peacock costume.

Scott and I taught 2 classes on Thursday.  That school asked us to come back each day next week to give the teachers an opportunity to practice their English with us.  This will be a great opportunity to get to know the teachers and not just the children.

Then on Friday, I believe we only taught one class that day.  We have really enjoyed the students of each of the schools.  They are very responsive and eager to learn. 

Today we visited a Keren village outside of Chiang Mai.  It was really neat to see the difference in country life as compared to city life.  It was a beautiful village.  Scott and I got to teach a class of 5 year olds in the village and after the time we taught them was up, we enjoyed sitting in on Bro. Rusty’s class and seeing how he taught the High School aged students.  Following the classes we watched as Pawn the Missionaries’ helper gave a Bible lesson in the Keren language to the children of this village which was her hometown.

The evenings had been full of activity as well.  Wednesday evening, we observed Bro. Rusty and his wife as they taught some children that came to their home for English lessons. 

Thursday evening, after their English class, they took us to a restaurant where we ate in traditional Thai style at a table while sitting on the floor.  We enjoyed watching the live entertainment of traditional Thai performers.  The above picture was taken at that restaurant with one of the performers.  She was dressed as a peacock. 

Friday evening, we went to an evening market and did some shopping for things to bring back with us to friends and family back home. 

Tonight after the time we enjoyed with the Keren people we visited a fresh produce market where there were all sorts of interesting fruits, some of which I had never seen before.  We also went to another market where we bought a few more souvenirs and ate a Waffle topped with ice cream.  The food here has actually been very good.  I hadn’t been faced with eating a bug yet.  That doesn’t mean that it won’t happen, but it just isn’t the first thing that people put on your plate.  We have enjoyed some very good meals of different types of chicken, rice, fish.  I guess the only funny incident with food was at the mall, I ordered a Vegetable Pizza and it turned out being more like a hashbrown with vegetables cooked into it.  It was really delicious though.

Teaching ESL at one of the Schools in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Right now it is night here and we will be getting up for Church in the morning.  I have really enjoyed this first week here.  It has been really busy and flown by very quickly.  I have more pictures that I will post in another blog. 

Keep us in prayer as we continue work here for another week and a half.  And keep the Missionaries here in prayer as they continue to serve the Lord in this location even as we go back home. 

 Romans 10:14-15 “How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!”

When I was a kid, I used to think my life was rather boring.  I wanted to be a writer but never saw anything that happened to me as very interesting.  I always thought my day to day activities were ordinary and mundane.  What I should have done was had a nice long talk with my mother and asked her about any of the crazy moments she had raising me and my brother and sister.  I’m sure her life would have sounded like an adventure for sure.  As kids we don’t see those things that happen as very interesting but when you see it through your mother’s eyes, you realize how funny and interesting your life really is.

 It all begins with five children in a van with one lone mother, me.   My husband gets off work too late to get his car registered and he had asked me one day last week, if I would mind going into town  to pay the registration fee for his car that went out in May.  I told him that I would be happy to take care of it for him.

I took the registration paper in hand managed to get all the kids loaded into the van and off to the tax office we went. 

We had to park in a parallel parking spot on a one way street that required us to cross a lane of possible traffic.  Elijah was asleep in his car seat and I decided to keep him in his car seat and just carry him in.  I got him out of the drivers side of the van and ran around the other side to make sure the other children didn’t get hit by cars as they got out.  I then sent them in pairs across the road making sure they were safe and finally I made it across. 

We then had to go up a lot of steps to the main entrance of the Court House where the tax office was located.  I didn’t count the steps but Hannah and Ruth did.  I don’t remember how many they said their was, maybe 14 or 15.  We entered the office and went down the hallway to a steep flight of stairs. I quickly carried Elijah in his car seat down the stairs and as I reached the bottom step, Hannah panicked. She has a fear of heights.  I turned around and saw Hannah at the top of the steps hollering, “Aaaaaa!!!”  I knew this was not a good thing because when she starts to panic, Jonathan reciprocates. Ruth went up and held Hannah’s hand the rest of the way down the steps.

 Jonathan just sat right down on the step where he was at when she started panicking and started hollering.  I had to set Elijah’s car seat down and go up the steps to get Jonathan and carry him down.  As I was doing this I informed the children that perhaps we should go back up on the elevator when we were ready to leave.  The older 3 liked that idea, but Jonathan then started hollering, “I don’t want to go on an elevator!” I decided that I would cross that bridge when we came to it.  We then went into the tax office, after I reassured Jonathan that the tax office was not an elevator. 

I had all the kids sit down on the chairs that were by the door.  I turned around looked at the empty lines and then declared, “I forgot our insurance card!”  I was picturing having to take all the kids back out to the car by way of all the steps and elevators.  The lady behind the window where I had originally imagined a long line told me that she wasn’t going to do that to me.  She let me get the car registered without seeing our insurance card.  Isn’t it wonderful when the Lord blesses you with other sympathetic moms at just the right moment. 

I paid the taxes and had to get the kids all back outside and back in the van.  As we stepped out of the door Jonathan started his repetitive crying, “I don’t want to go in an elevator! I don’t want to go in an elevator!”  I set Elijah with the older 3 children in the elevator and told them that I would meet them on the next floor by the elevator.  I then picked Jonathan up and carried him up the flight of steps and then stood by the elevator waiting for it to catch up with me.  In that brief wait, I imagined the kids going to the wrong floor, or the elevator breaking with 4 of my children in there without me.  But thankfully I didn’t have to worry for long because the door soon opened. 

Of course Jonathan was still thinking that I was going to take him in it and was still upset.  I finally calmed him down and informed him that we were now up the stairs and there was nothing more for him to worry about.  We then went outside and managed to all get in the van without any more incidence. 

After that adventure, we went to Wal-mart where I always find it funny how people start counting us.  I know they arer counting my children by the way their heads start bobbing as we walk by, and then they whisper to the person they’re with, “Wow, five kids! Or was it six?” Which of course results in them having to recount to make sure they didn’t get the wrong number.   🙂 

Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain. (1 Corinthians 9:24)

Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us (Hebrews 12:1)

I gave our youngest son Elijah a plate with ice cream on it this evening.  All of our other kids were happily enjoying their ice cream but Elijah did not like the coldness.  He immdediately started hollering like the ice cream had bit him or something.  I tried to wipe his hand and give him some in a spoon but he had already decided that he did not like ice cream.  I knew he loved tomatoes so in order to make him feel better, I asked him if he wanted a tomato instead.  Well, he calmed down and enjoyed his tomato.  Of course the rest of us were finding this hilarious.  So I had to take a video of it. 

I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well. (Psalms 139:14)

I’m very behind in my blogging. The month is already half over and I hadn’t even blogged about any of the things that has happened this month. I’ll try to make up for it by writing several catch up blogs. 

The first Sunday of this month, May 1, Hannah was baptized.  It was the most giggly baptism I’ve ever witnessed.  Usually Baptisms are a serious occasion but leave it to Hannah to giggle the whole time. When Scott helped her into the baptistry she grabbed ahold of his arm and giggled because the water was cold.  She was a little short to be able to see over the edge so Scott held her up so that everyone could see her.  Then he gave the explanation that Baptism is a picture of Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection and that it shows that Hannah is now following Him. 

Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation. (Habakkuk 3:18)
Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit. (Psalms 51:12)
Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation. (Isaiah 12:3)

Joshua and I at the concert.

 This has been an extremely busy month and I haven’t blogged nearly enough during it.  I’m using this post as another catch up blog. 

Our Church’s Youth Group

We started the month with belt testing on the first Saturday of the month in karate class.  Scott earned his blue belt and I earned an orange belt. We take more pictures of our kids than we do of ourselves. 

That same evening Joshua and I joined 3 other sets of mothers and sons from our homeschool group for a Mother/Son date night.  We took our sons out to eat at a Mexican Restaurant and then went to a Inspirational All Gospel Concert.  It was a really great show and everyone had a good time.

Every year on Easter Sunday we take a picture of the kids in our church. Normally I try to get the picture after the morning service but everyone had scattered so I got this picture after our evening service. Our youth group has sure grown in numbers and in size these past 3 Easters that we’ve been here. They grow up so fast. Makes the pictures each year fun to look at as they get bigger.

Ruth in home economics at co-op.

Another new activity we were involved in this month was a Homeschool Co-op. For those who do not know what a Homeschool Co-op is it is where a group of homeschool families get together and each parent volunteers to either teach or help out in a class. This was our groups first time to have a co-op and the kids enjoyed it a lot.

Hannah making a bead necklace in her 4-6 year old class.

We had seven classes in this co-op. They were science, home economics, art, music, and a unit study on horses, a 4-6 year old class, and a 0-3 year old “class”. Technically the 0-3 year old were more in a nursery setting but we called it a class. I taught the music class and other mothers taught the other classes or helped in the classes. The kids really liked the classes they took and are looking forward to doing co-op again in the fall.

Joshua doing a science experiment at co-op.

Also this month we started a garden.  Which has been growing.  We have already been enjoying some of the herbs out of our herb garden and are looking forward to getting some fruit from our bigger garden. 
 
Last week, Scott and I got our shots in preparation for our trip this summer to Thailand.  We also bought our tickets this week. It has been amazing to watch as God helped us have the money for the tickets as well as taking care of issues that we felt completely helpless on. We have a very small view on our lives.  It’s nice to know that God can see what will happen tomorrow. When things may look bleak to us, He knows what’s around the corner and that everything will be okay.    

Jonathan and Elijah in their 0-3 year old “class” at co-op.

This has been an incredibly busy month and it’s not over yet. We still have a family reunion to attend this week.   

I don’t know what all God has in store for us in May.  I’m sure it won’t be boring.  I’m just glad He is here with us each step of the way.  Through the easy times and the hard times it’s good to know that God is here to help us. 

It’s a blessing to be able to look back over the month and despite the hard points in the month, we can still look back at it and say, “This has been a really good month!”

Romans 8:28 “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”

If the first thought you had when reading the title of my blog is that it sounds like a mess, you would be right. 

Hannah had gotten some gum today at our Homeschool Co-op class.  I’m not sure how she got the whole thing in her hair.  I think she had accidently got her hair in her mouth and then got a little bit of gum in her hair and then she started chewing on it to try to get it out of her hair which in turn got the whole piece of gum in her hair. 

I reread that last sentence and couldn’t think of a better way to word it than that.  I still don’t know where she decided that chewing the gum in her hair would get it out, but I have found that peanut butter, although greasy and messy in its own way, at least saves a young lady from having her hair cut up to her ears.  So with a lot of peanut butter and a little silent prayer, we managed to get the gum out of her hair.  I’m sure if she had thought about it she might would have eaten the peanut butter out of her hair but I sent her to go wash her hair instead.

Hannah, our daughter that just turned 6 a week ago, can now claim to have two birthdays.  She was saved tonight. She can now claim to be born again (See John 3).

She has been asking us questions about how to be saved for quite a while now.    When she asked the questions before she never seemed to care to go any further with it.  We don’t believe in pressuring our children to be saved but we don’t hide the good news from them either.  We make sure that they realize that they are sinners and that sin is the bad things we do.  We tell them that one day when they feel bad for those bad things they do, that God wants to forgive them.

In the earlier years when Hannah would ask about being saved, it was just something she wanted to do to be like her older siblings that were saved.   In her mind it was a club she wanted to join.  The thing she was lacking was the conviction of her sins.  She knew she did bad things but she didn’t feel any guilt about it.  At that time, I told her that God knew that she wanted to be saved and would protect her until the day that she understood.

I then asked her when was a good time to be saved.  She said, “Saturday?”  I decided she needed to hear the verse again.  Then she said, “Oh, NOW! I guess since the Bible says it, I should be saved today then!” 

I then asked her if she wanted me to show her some of the verses that tell about being saved.  She agreed and I started with Romans 3:23.  She then said, “Oh, is this what Daddy did when he talked to the other girl about how to be saved.”   I told her it was, and I asked her if she would like Daddy to show her the verses about being saved.  She said an excited yes.  And we went on with our lesson about Jesus telling his disciples to let the little children come to him.  It was a fitting lesson. 

Then tonight after we prayed our bedtime prayers as a family, I asked Hannah if she wanted to talk to Daddy and she said that she did.  So Scott took her into the other room and shared with her a few verses.  He said that she understood it all completely.  In fact she told him how to be saved!  He told her about how we can’t get to heaven by the things we do and and she told him, “Yes, I know that Jesus died for my sins and that the only way we can go to heaven is by asking Him, and He sees me! I don’t know how He sees me but He sees everything! and He was with you when you were in Paraguay and when you were in Thailand and He was with us here!” 

Then she wanted to be alone while she prayed.  So Scott stepped out of the room and told me about their conversation.  Then she came skipping out of our room and said, “I did it!”  We asked her if she asked Jesus to save her and she said that she did.  She was going to skip right off to bed but we stopped her for a hug.  She is now a new creature.  Now we will get to enjoy watching her grow as a new child in Christ.  What a wonderful thing that is.  After a child is saved they have a new purpose in life and it’s an exciting adventure to watch.  I love my children and I’ll be praying for Jonathan who I’m sure will be ready in about 3 years.  It seems that is the age in our family that our children start really understanding how to be saved.  I will be praying for Jonathan and Elijah that they will be saved at an early age as well.  I couldn’t ask for a better blessing than to see my children follow Him.   God is so good!