Our time in Bangkok just started and is nearly done, but as always, the Father knew what we needed and when.
We've had a fabulous time connecting with Santosh - a friend from Orange that is working here this year. We joined him in one of the local slums on Thursday where he and a few others have started to teach English in order to build relationships. It's really encouraging to be reminded of all the simple ways to connect with communities - especially children, they are so ready for relationship all around the world.
Yesterday we took the morning to see Thailand - all of it, actually. There's a place called 'Ancient City' just outside of Bangkok. It's a park that's shaped like Thailand and has replicas of all the most famous sites in Thailand - not the original sizes, but not miniatures either. It sounds cheesy, but it's REALLY well done. Think Disney's California Adventure without rides, crowds or salespeople. The man who built this place really wanted to preserve authentic Thai history, and the replicas are pretty amazing, so it was a sweet way to see Thailand as we couldn't have otherwise seen it.
This morning J & Santosh played basketball and now we're headed for some famous Thai massage therapy to allow those muscles to keep travelling :), and tonight we fly out to the Philippines.
Friday, March 30, 2007
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Catching you up
I guess we haven't said much about what we got to see/be a part of in Quy Nhon - likely a by-product of the saturation effect.
We were there to see two friends of mine from the days of Mariners College Group - Jason & Jill. Jill's prego with their first baby and oh so ready to meet her baby girl this summer! Both of them teach English and we got to be a part of some classes - because they're learning about geography/describing countries, it was a perfect time for us to share about where we've been so far. They had questions about the different foods, different clothes ... I don't know if it's possible to walk into a friendlier room than each classroom we visited.
Quy Nhon is a small town - mostly a fishing port; thus all the pictures of the vibrant boats. As soon as you get out of town, everything is green and wet and full of rice fields. It is absolutely beautiful - hopefully some of the pictures can give you a glimpse.
One of our favorite things to do was ride our bikes along the beach road - on the one side were beautiful islands out in the water, but on the other side was very real life occuring in front of you. Many of the homes were literally chopped in half to create the new road - it's still the family's home, but now half of the walls/roof are missing. Crazy.
Best of all was just the simple time with Jason, Jill, & their co-teacher Mark. It's so fun to laugh and share what the Father is teaching along this journey of life. Every time I think about sites or activities that fill the guidebooks, I also remember that I wouldn't trade the time that we've had with Family.
And now we're in Bangkok; we just have three days here, but as soon as we catch up from the last 30 hours of travel, we're excited to dig in.
We were there to see two friends of mine from the days of Mariners College Group - Jason & Jill. Jill's prego with their first baby and oh so ready to meet her baby girl this summer! Both of them teach English and we got to be a part of some classes - because they're learning about geography/describing countries, it was a perfect time for us to share about where we've been so far. They had questions about the different foods, different clothes ... I don't know if it's possible to walk into a friendlier room than each classroom we visited.
Quy Nhon is a small town - mostly a fishing port; thus all the pictures of the vibrant boats. As soon as you get out of town, everything is green and wet and full of rice fields. It is absolutely beautiful - hopefully some of the pictures can give you a glimpse.
One of our favorite things to do was ride our bikes along the beach road - on the one side were beautiful islands out in the water, but on the other side was very real life occuring in front of you. Many of the homes were literally chopped in half to create the new road - it's still the family's home, but now half of the walls/roof are missing. Crazy.
Best of all was just the simple time with Jason, Jill, & their co-teacher Mark. It's so fun to laugh and share what the Father is teaching along this journey of life. Every time I think about sites or activities that fill the guidebooks, I also remember that I wouldn't trade the time that we've had with Family.
And now we're in Bangkok; we just have three days here, but as soon as we catch up from the last 30 hours of travel, we're excited to dig in.
Same Same
I love good endings, and we had the best ending to our time with Jason & Jill this weekend. We left Quy Nhon (kwin yawn) by train to Tam Ky (tom key) and then on to Hoi An (hoy on). Hoi An is charming, almost European-esque – it’s on the water, with shops and restaurants lining each side and lots of alleys to wander through.
It’s a definite tourist town, which is a bit of an anomaly for us. Probably the most English we’ve heard in a café in a long time (not to mention it just being the first time in a café in awhile), and the first day I was here I thought about divers – don’t they go through a process that’s kind of a slow re-entry to the surface after being submerged for awhile? Well, I took a deep breath and thought “okay, this is the beginning of that process for us.”
But even in entering a town where there are more people the “same” as us than not, there is a lot that is “same same”, the Asian equivalent to our “same, but different”. On the one hand, many of the travelers here are on the same kind of trip, but there are so many dynamics we’ve been allowed to experience that are missing from the typical “backpacker” trip … so many more faces to associate with places than sights alone. I want my life to be this way – same same. In the world, not of it. I’m nowhere close, and fight the desire of self-indulgence (not just satisfaction, mind you, but indulgence) on a nearly daily basis, but maybe success is more in the constant tension than anything else. What I know for sure is that the One who made me the same as those around me can also give me a heart that is same same.
“Only by full dependence upon Him are the hidden potentialities of our natures realized. Apart from this we are but half-men, malformed & unbeautiful members of a noble race once made to wear the image of its Creator.” – A.W. Tozer, Pursuit of Man
It’s a definite tourist town, which is a bit of an anomaly for us. Probably the most English we’ve heard in a café in a long time (not to mention it just being the first time in a café in awhile), and the first day I was here I thought about divers – don’t they go through a process that’s kind of a slow re-entry to the surface after being submerged for awhile? Well, I took a deep breath and thought “okay, this is the beginning of that process for us.”
But even in entering a town where there are more people the “same” as us than not, there is a lot that is “same same”, the Asian equivalent to our “same, but different”. On the one hand, many of the travelers here are on the same kind of trip, but there are so many dynamics we’ve been allowed to experience that are missing from the typical “backpacker” trip … so many more faces to associate with places than sights alone. I want my life to be this way – same same. In the world, not of it. I’m nowhere close, and fight the desire of self-indulgence (not just satisfaction, mind you, but indulgence) on a nearly daily basis, but maybe success is more in the constant tension than anything else. What I know for sure is that the One who made me the same as those around me can also give me a heart that is same same.
“Only by full dependence upon Him are the hidden potentialities of our natures realized. Apart from this we are but half-men, malformed & unbeautiful members of a noble race once made to wear the image of its Creator.” – A.W. Tozer, Pursuit of Man
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
Saturation
So today I learned an important lesson – my pants get a bit indecent when saturated. And it didn’t take long for me to reach a saturation point in today’s downpour.
This matches a bit of what my heart and mind have felt lately: saturation. I’m not sure how much more I can absorb. There are moments I just feel done with being the tourist attraction for everyone to either practice their English on or to ask for money – or both. Moments I just want to know what I’m looking at in the grocery store. Or which direction to go to even get to the grocery store. And I think we reached our language capacity back in China.
The other day we found a “secluded” beach – it stayed secluded for about 15 minutes, until some of the local village children came to see the sights – us. ‘Personal space’ has no meaning, and I finally just started laughing when I looked up and was literally surrounded within inches. I had to fight the initial frustration in order to appreciate that it was pure curiosity that brought them, and finally as I sat up and laughed (the international language), their smiles in return won me over. Somehow I accidentally gave them the impression that I wanted them to collect seashells for me, so before I knew it I had about 10 pockets-full. By then my only frustration was the language barrier.
It’s not easy to be away from your home country for this long – but it is good. I was especially reminded of that yesterday as the Father renewed my heart. It was just one of those days when you’re aware of what you’ve been given. The air was clear, the day was bright, the islands off the coast inviting, and the breeze refreshing, not to mention the ridiculous privilege of getting to share life with those the Father has called here.
I still feel saturated, and now I know not to wear those pants if it looks like rain, but I’m glad to wake up where He has me.
This matches a bit of what my heart and mind have felt lately: saturation. I’m not sure how much more I can absorb. There are moments I just feel done with being the tourist attraction for everyone to either practice their English on or to ask for money – or both. Moments I just want to know what I’m looking at in the grocery store. Or which direction to go to even get to the grocery store. And I think we reached our language capacity back in China.
The other day we found a “secluded” beach – it stayed secluded for about 15 minutes, until some of the local village children came to see the sights – us. ‘Personal space’ has no meaning, and I finally just started laughing when I looked up and was literally surrounded within inches. I had to fight the initial frustration in order to appreciate that it was pure curiosity that brought them, and finally as I sat up and laughed (the international language), their smiles in return won me over. Somehow I accidentally gave them the impression that I wanted them to collect seashells for me, so before I knew it I had about 10 pockets-full. By then my only frustration was the language barrier.
It’s not easy to be away from your home country for this long – but it is good. I was especially reminded of that yesterday as the Father renewed my heart. It was just one of those days when you’re aware of what you’ve been given. The air was clear, the day was bright, the islands off the coast inviting, and the breeze refreshing, not to mention the ridiculous privilege of getting to share life with those the Father has called here.
I still feel saturated, and now I know not to wear those pants if it looks like rain, but I’m glad to wake up where He has me.
Saturday, March 17, 2007
Two by Two
This week we've been able to see Jason and Jill in action with their English students - all first year University students with the innocence that most American students lose around 4th grade.
Last night, two by two on their bicycles, they (some of the students) led us through Quy Nhon for Bun Cao, Che, and other Viatnamese dishes that I can't pronounce. It was a great time for them to practice their English and for us to get to know more of their life.
Last night, two by two on their bicycles, they (some of the students) led us through Quy Nhon for Bun Cao, Che, and other Viatnamese dishes that I can't pronounce. It was a great time for them to practice their English and for us to get to know more of their life.
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