Hello from Phuket, Thailand!
(Pronouced: Poo-ket :)
Here I sit poolside as I update you all. Its the second week of Spring Break for GIS and it was a much needed break for all. Its now full-blown hot season in Chiang Mai, which is comparable to August-September weather in Southern California. Its in the upper 90s and 100s every day and dry. The rice fields are being burnt in preparation for the rainy season causing moderate to high pollution levels.
Spring Break
Over Spring Break I've had the opportunities to escape the heat and pollution of Chiang Mai. The first week of break, I went up to Doi Ang Khang in the Shan mountains of Northern Thailand, 10-15 minute drive to the border of Myanmar. I went with Kosharah and her family who also live and serve in Chiang Mai (who really have become like my other family here). It was a wonderful 5 days of resting, reading, hiking, eating, and game playing. The mountains were quiet and the gardens were beautiful. Doi Ang Khang is known for its peach trees in the Spring, so we enjoyed as many peach smoothies as were available!
Hiking Fun
Hanging out in the English Rose Garden
Playing games at night with the family
Hide and go seek in the dark through the gardents
Kosharah's 4 year old nephew and I were it :)
The Dunham Clan (plus and minus a few :)
Several older ladies lay out their wares on the ground between the cabins and the restaurant in hopes of selling to the visitors. I wish I could've spoken with them to hear their stories. But even if I could speak Thai, it most likely wouldn't have mattered as most of them speak tribal languages.
This week, I'm back here in Phuket at Mai Khao Beach with my family, the Fords, and their team. It cooler than Chiang Mai and this is a rare break from the rain. Not really soaking in the rays this time around but I've enjoyed spending time with them here. I've had a couple rainy runs on the beach and some amazing quiet times enjoying God's company on the beach despite the storms. I don't know if it's because I grew up near the beach or if thats just how God created me, but I feel physically closer to Him while on the beach and always have. The beach is my escape to Him and this time is no different, in spite of the rain storms. I'm happy to have a few more days here before heading back to Chiang Mai and reality on Friday night. One memory I will never forget was being kissed by a baby elephant here by the pool! He went in for the smooch three times when all I wanted was to pet him and get a picture for my dear friend Veronica! So yes it was all caught on film [so to speak ;)]
My poolside view as I write this :)
March and April
If I may, I'll travel back in time a bit to tell you a little bit about March. It was starting to get hot and the pollution became increasingly bad (although there were only 2 days where PE and outdoor recess were canceled for all the kids - we have a list of sensitive kids who need limited exposure to the air). February was the month of struggle as many of you read in my last post and March was a month of recovering from that. Thank you to all of you who prayed me through February. I felt your prayers and I'm thankful for you and your continued prayer support.
March was Reading Month which came with many exciting events to get the kids pumped about reading! An author came to visit our school, there was a month long reading challenge fundraiser for a local Christian Thai School (second grade together made a goal to read 498 books in the month of March… they read over 700! And not just picture books either! Reading wise, they are ready for Third grade!), and the last day of March we had a Book Character Parade! The Book Challenge Fundraiser raised a great deal of money for the School of Promise's library! The kids were really excited to read to raise money to help other students have access to more books. To learn more about the School of Promise, check out http://www.hopeinternationalschools.org/schoolofpromise/.
Two of my students presenting The School of Promise Principal (also another 2nd grader's dad!) with a check from our fundraiser for them.
All dressed up for the Book Character parade!
From Back Left to Front Right: Abe Lincoln, An American Girl, Cinderella, Cleopatra, Plop (The Owl that was Afraid of the Dark), Ninja, Cat in the Hat, Hermione, Mary (Little House on the Prairie), Joshua, Greg Heffley (Diary of a Wimpy Kid), Susan (Narnia Tales) Fairy GodMother, A Three Musketeer. Captain Underpants, and a Manga (Maybe?) Character I don't know :)
In March, we also had the school counselor come in a talk to both second grade classes once a week about honoring one another. This was wonderful for Kosharah and I who were beginning to be at our wit's end about the bullying that was occurring in our classes. She was wonderful with them and taught them how to honor one another, how to recognize how another is feeling by their words, facial expression and body language. She did some role playing with them and talked through dealing with conflict and tattling. Additionally, she took two groups of 5 students once a week each to go deeper into the same topics for them. She was an answer to prayers for us and gave us as well as our student tools to dealing with these situations as they arise. Please continue to pray for our hearts and our students' hearts as we return for the final 7 weeks of school after break.
The last Thursday before break we went on an exciting field trip to an area of town called Sankampang. It has many "factories" where raw materials are made into sellable projects. Later this year, Second Graders will be have their own opportunities to make products to sell to each other and parents to learn low level economics. This field trip gave them the chance to see how silk, umbrellas, and pottery are made in Thailand using materials specific to this area. They loved it!
The most exciting news of March was finding a house to rent for next year! The first week of April, Kosharah, Emma, Meghan and I moved into a 4 bedroom house in a muu-baan (neighbor) not far from the school. While we were sad to leave our old homes, we are absolutely loving our new house with the exception of the giant ants that attack every night around 10. We will go through many bottles of bug spray in the coming year! We have had fun painting the walls fun colors and have lots of exciting artsy projects to decorate the house with to make it homey. I've also bought a scooter to drive around! As we now live further away from school than I did when I lived with the Fords and will need a form of my own transportation. The paperwork is still in process but I hope to have it (and my Thai driver's license!) by the end of April. I'm excited that although this year is coming to a close very quickly, that everything is lining up for next year. Please pray with me for God's providence for financial support for next year for all of us. Kosharah and I will continue to teach 2nd grade next year and Meghan has been hired to teach 1st. We will all be in the States for June and July; please pray that it will be an amazing time of reconnecting with friends and family, as well as meeting with supporters, both new and old, to talk about how God is using us in teaching the children of missionaries in Thailand. We are all excited to be returning together next year!!
Kosharah, Me, and Meghan in front of our new house!
Here are the Second Graders of GIS singing in their Spring K-3 Music Concert (on the same morning as our Field Trip!)
Lastly, I've update the Creepy Crawlies Section so if you like crazy creepy crawlers, check it out!