Kara to Asia Update 2-28-09

Trip to Pahk Isaan:
At the beginning of the month I had the privilege of visiting Northeast Thailand and attended my first Thailand Covenant Church Meeting. It was about a 13 hour drive through some mountains and dry plains until we reached the Isaan region. The Thai people in Isaan speak a different dialect of Thai, so only a few things could I understand. It’s also the land of sticky rice and peculiar instruments that have become popular throughout Thailand, but have their origins in this region.

In the picture to the right I’m standing in the middle of a rubber tree farm out that Ba’Anan (my host mother who is standing next to me) owns in partnership with her friend (behind her in the blue). I had never seen rubber trees, much less have the opportunity to see what a whole field of them look like, but it was quite fascinating. Rubber has been a long-standing commodity in Thailand, once dominated by Western investors, but now 1000’s of acres of rubber tree farms are in the hands of local Thai investors. Let’s hope they’ll turn a profit someday!

Thailand Covenant Church (TCC) Meeting: This large group photo below includes most of the TCC leaders and some of their family members. We spent about two days together in meetings, both logistical and worshipful. It was a special privilege to be part of this group and experience the church in action. I learned about both the joys and trials that are being experienced by these leaders in their respective ministries and felt their care and hospitality throughout the weekend.

Icey’s 3rd Birthday: I’m learning more and more what it’s like to feel like part of the family and when I’m the one who has the camera and video recorder, then it becomes my job to make sure these special events get recorded. Little Icey is Art and Ying’s oldest child and I have to say that we have a special relationship.

When I first came to Thailand, it seemed that Icey, in the midst of his terrible 2’s, was the most genuine person around. I imagine that children (across all cultures) are very similar and when they like something or don’t like something they know how to show it. Icey is no exception and when he liked having me around he showed it, and without needed explanation, there were times, when this foreign women (who couldn’t understand him or much of anything) was not on his top ten list of favorite people. However, after 4 intense months of language and cultural acclimation, Icey now understands that I’m his friend, and has given me a special name that fits his own language ability (P’La). Building trust with little Icey has been some of the most challenging and yet most beneficial of my experiences in Thailand up to this point.

Covenant Missionary’s Asian Retreat 2009:
This photo was taken at the 2nd Missionary Retreat among Covenant Missionaries to Asia. We spent almost a week at a remote resort at an Oceanside resort, where I was able to go snorkeling for the first time in my life.

It was a great time to have some close communion with God and experience His presents in my life in very profound ways. I was able to just be alone with God for hours at a time without the pressure of having to be present among my Thai family or even in Thailand itself. God made himself present in times of worship, the words of guest speakers, and conversations with other Covenant Missionaries. I was a real blessing to be afforded this time so early in my missionary experience and yet at a crucial juncture along my path of culture acclimation after overcoming the most difficult stage of the journey (the first 3 months). It was also at a time when the impact of being away from friends and family has been quite profound, so some intimate time with our Lord was just what I needed.

Making a Traditional Thai Snack:
The day following our Retreat in Asia I was thrown right back into the wonder of Thai culture. In the picture to the right I’m putting a shredded coconut mixture into sticky-rice flower and forming it into a little ball. This is then put into a very sweat coconut cream that is then wrapped in banana leaves. The cream, rice flower, and shredded coconut becomes like a gelatin within the banana leaves and turns out to be very delicious and extremely sweat.