2nd Email Update:

I hope that you are all doing well! Please feel free to send me updates on what’s happening in your lives; I am always happy to know. It’s hard to believe that over a month has gone by since I arrived in Thailand on Oct. 10th. It’s now Nov. 20th, and I’ve been busy getting settled so that I would be able to have a routine of sorts and feel somewhat at home. Culture shock is still at hand, but I have many resources to help me cope with living in a new country and trust that the Lord’s hand over my new life. Psalm 91:1 is a comfort!

Praise Report:

• God’s Faithful Provision (friends, family, money, education, etc.) The Help of my Thai family with the Following:
• Daily Meals & Various Provisions.
• Social & Emotional Support.
• Music Lessons & Thai Lessons.
• Accomplishing Basic Communication Needs.
• God’s Protection Throughout Our Adventures.
• No major mishaps on my Motorbike.
• Acquired My Worker’s Permit with P’Som Nok’s help.
• Passed a Surprise Police Inspection.
• Completed 1 Month of Thai Studies.
• Attended the Loy Krathong Ceremony.
• Visited 1 Orphanage & 1 Hospital.
• Have had no feelings of illnesses for the past 4 weeks.
• Baby Au came into the world strong & healthy.
• Have been having fun and productive English Lessons.

Thai Desert: The dark pink things had a bit of a crunch to them and the broth was coconut milk (I think). It seemed to me to taste a bit like bubble-gum. It was a great late-evening treat with Ying & Klairung (felt like girl-talk time).

Prayer Requests:

o God’s Faithful Provision.
o General Health & Safety for everyone at CEFE (our music ministry & fish farm).
o Ot & Ying (with a 2yr old & newborn!!).
o A heart ready for service.
o God’s Blessing on Everyone involved in my Thailand journey (known & unknown).
o Sensitivity to the needs of my Thai family and Thai-people in general.
o Thai & Music Lessons.
o Steady Growth in Communication & Relationship Development.

Left to Right: Ot, Eye, Baby Uah, & YingNew Addition to the Family: I’m so happy to tell you that Ot & Ying (the family I live with at Ba’Anan’s) just became the proud parents of their second child on Nov. 19th. I was able to spend some time with them at the hospital and look forward to Ying coming home with the baby tomorrow.

The Center for Church Enablement (CFCE), my home base, is often full of a variety of activities. Here are some of the faces I see almost every day. From left to right are pictured: Yui, Klairung, Paing, Boi, & Mai. We are often sitting around the big brown table working out the challenging dynamics of Thai/English. I’m grateful their help and patients. Something new and interesting happens almost every day around this table. It’s the general place to be on the compound.

On Sat. Nov. 15th we attended a Thai-Falang (White person) Wedding. It was quite beautiful and rather interesting. The bride and groom came down the river on a bamboo raft and walked through this beautiful archway up to the stage to exchange vows. The ceremony was translated from English to Thai and featured Thai traditional music and dancing.

The best part of this experience was the opportunity to fellowship with church members, one lady in particular: Ba’Orissa, a Karen woman. The Karen people a minority group in Thailand, generally located along the Thai/Burma border; and are often under persecution.

Ba’Orissa, who used to spend time teaching English, confessed the difficulties of understanding Northern Thai. I was grateful to meet another woman who I could communicate with in English. She grew up in a Christian home, as have many Karen; some are even involved in evangelism to Thai people. Both people groups need our prayers.

Thai Music at Thai Church: You’d think there’d always be Thai music at a Thai church, but unfortunately this isn’t the case. Most of the time Western Hymns are sung; they’ve been translated into Thai, and don’t get me wrong, I like hymns, but at Thai church I like Thai music better.

However, on Sunday, Nov. 16th, Ba’Anan (CFCE’s leader & my house mother) spoke at our Thai Church and our Thai students from CFCE led worship. I felt very blessed to be part of this ministry and I hope to become a more established musician who’d ready for service. So far I can read Thai Notation slowly and have memorized a few short songs. This will come in handy on Saturday, Nov.22nd where I have the opportunity to attend another Thai/Falang wedding. A group from our music ministry will be playing and I’ll be able to attend as part of the team, rather than a guest, should be exciting.

Be Blessed in all your adventures too!

With Love in Christ,

Kara Jo Maus

Kara.jo.maus@gmail.com
171 Mu 13, San Sai Kaew Rd,
T. Pa Fai A. San Sai, Chiang Mai 50210
THAILAND Home Phone/fax +66 53 353 197 Cell Phone +66 86 189 7776

The Loy Krathong Festival 11-12-08

Last week I had the pleasure of experiencing The Loy Krathong Festival, an annual favorite among Thai people by both Christians and Non-Christians alike. There are a variety views as to how or if Christians should participate in it and much prayer and discussion is held over the issue. As an outsider looking in, the ceremony was beautiful, exciting, and just plain fun.

My Thai family, however, (who are convicted Christians) did not attend the festival, but allowed me to experience it without much apprehension concerning my religious convictions.

They were more concerned about my safety in regards to all of the random fireworks which you can get a taste of in the video clip below. You'll also hear some great music by the live band that was playing in the background.

A few days before the actual Krathong Ceremony is The Sansai Festival which involves the simultaneous launch of 1,000-10,000 hot air balloons. These aren't the kind of hot air balloons we see in the states, but look like the picture to the picture above. Ot brought one home, as seen above, so that I could experience it up close and personal as I was not allowed to attend the simultaneous launch. In spite of the historical cultural bondage represented, I believe that those who've been raised in Christian homes perhaps associate themselves with these ceremonies in the same way as many Christians do in the states in regards to celebrating Halloween or decorating our churches with Christmas Trees.

The balloon launch is then followed by the Floating lantern ceremony, which takes place later in the week, and involves the reverent floating of thousands of beautifully hand-crafted lotus shaped vessel made of flowers and banana tree leaves (Krathong) into ponds, canals and rivers. Here's the lotus to the left that Ying made for me to send down the river. I do not believe, however, that she or any other members of my Thai family made their own for sending, but were happy to introduce me to the annual tradition because of my inexperience.

Bangkok Visitors 11-6-08

Throughout the first week of November we were treated to a visit by our friends from the Thai Faith and Music Foundation (TFMF) in Bangkok. It was fun to see some new faces and familiar faces. I spent a week visiting and learning from TFMF in January, 2008, during my Mission and Ministry in Asia course through North Park Theological Seminary (NPTS). Our friend, Ek, from TFMF, came to learn a new rhythm routine on the Big Gong and is pictured to the right. The routine, taught by Ot, looked rather complicated and took a couple of days for Ek to master. So far I've only seen men (Pooh Chai) play the Gong, but maybe I'll have a go at it and break this gender specific instrument. We'll see...I'll let you know if I make any progress toward accomplishing this task. The photo to the left is displaying an extremely delicious meal conducted by Ba'Ruth, in the blue, who is Ba'Anan's sister-in-law. She's also in a photo I posted earlier of a the pinning/welcome ceremony help back in January in Bangkok. It was quite a joy to see her again and contemplate the process of becoming a Short-Term Missionary was beginning to be cultivated among the group from TFMF almost one year ago. This picture also introduced me to a new method of grilling. If you look carefully you'll see that the fish are on top of a hollow clay pot that is fill with a burning substance, wood I believe.

Motorbike & Thai Language School 11-7-08

For the past 2.5 weeks I’ve been surviving the twists, turns, and various obstacles on my motorbike from Ampur Son Sai (my home district) to Payap University in Ampur Chiang Mai. These trips began with much trepidation, but I have grown to enjoy them immensely. Here’s a picture of me pretending to be riding my motorbike. It’s a Honda Click automatic and I’ve been told by my Thai brothers that this bike is Suay Mahk Mahk (very beautiful). It’s a popular bike to have and I will be happy to be donating it to the Thai Covenant Church upon my departure. For the time being I’m just grateful to have some “wheels” to get to Payap and the market. It takes about 25 minutes to get to school and I probably average about 35 kilos an hour and no more than 65 on the Super Highway, which is quite fast enough for me. Class is from 9am-12pm with a nice break in the middle and I am so thankful to be studying Thai right now. I’m slowly but surely increasing my vocabulary (remembering tones) and putting adjectives after their objects (like in Spanish). Much credit goes to my Thai family, who are very patient with me, learning and saying the words I understand, and repeating themselves often and more slowly! It’s challenging for all of us, no doubt, but it’s always exciting when our messages get through the void. Here’s an ok picture of the sign outside of Payap and the place (below) where I like to stop and buy roasted buns that come with an amazing honey-butter tasting spread. I'm not sure yet what they're called in Thai, but they're definately a tasty treat.

Kitchen Fellowship 11-2-08

Some of my most enjoyable experiences so far have been spending time with my Thai family in the Kitchen. Our kitchen is very different from any that I’ve been in America, but familial dynamics are very similar. The kitchen is the place to be when I just want to hang out with my friends and Thailand is no different. This isn’t to say that I’m really cooking any more that I did with friends at home. They could surely testify to this, but I’m always good at pitching in when directed and happy to do the dishes when I get there first. So far I’m been allowed to stir, role little pork balls for soup, and crush little chili peppers with what looks like an archaic stone bowl and hammer. I totally want one! In the picture my friend Klairung is washing dishes, Ying is chopping veggies, and Beam is displaying the pork soup that she and I made together. I hope to have many more great experiences in the kitchen and get more opportunities to help prepare our meals. Thai food is great, very healthy and always fresh. Trips to the market are made almost daily

Trip to the Mountains 10-12-08

On the Sunday after the welcome gathering at P’Anan’s (my home) I was taken on a trip the Mountains. There I saw many spectacular things and to help you get an idea about I will try to explain what’s happening on this journey through the flow of events via my pictures. Here I am to the left feeling pretty elated on account of some wonderful euphoric culture shock feelings with a Pepsi in hand.

Here’s what the view often looked like on the road ahead.
Stubborn obstacles sometimes blocked our path; the stare-down didn’t last too long, but definitely had to come to a complete stop. (Not much fear behind those eyes).
As we continued along the roads twisted and turned without too many hills or cliffs (to my relief). This one led us to a home owned by the Thai Covenant Church. It’ll be used for future outreaches to the people who live in the surrounding villages.

Here is a proud picture of the King of Thailand posted on a wall outside the house. In Thailand you can’t go far without running into a picture of the much revered King or one of his family members.

To the left are a couple shots from the front porch; it was absolutely breath-taking. Thailand has has a tropical climate with a high degree of humidity. Average temperature is 30'C., varying from 32.5'C to 23.7'C. There are three seasons : hot, rainy, and cool. The hot season, from March to May. From June to October the country is visited by the southwest monsoons bringing billowing clouds and cool showers. The cool season, from November to February, would be better named "warm" season. In Chiang Mai, which has a lower humidity and is usually, but not always, cooler, the temperature drops considerably after sunset.

To the right is a picture of my friend Klairung (Air). She’s taking it easy for a few moments before we head back down the road again to visit the home where she grew up in. Now she lives at CFCE and spends her time studying accounting and English at Payap College. I’ve been experiencing a great amount of help and encouragement from her as I adjust to life in Thailand.

Throughout the drive way we saw fields of corn; what we would think of as Indian corn. I couldn’t help but take note, what being a farmer’s daughter and all, but I saw no modern machinery. Here’s how it’s stored after harvest.

When we came to Klairung’s home, her sister was chopping up marigolds in great quantities. There were whole fields of Marigolds waiting to be harvested, cut, cut again, and then put into bags to be hauled into town.

An exciting seen below: The shaving of a pig, ready to be roasted (I’m assuming).

Here’s another product (a root of some kind) being prepared for market. My friend Eh (a student at Phayao Bible Seminary) is displaying. He was also our driver for the trip and we stopped here at Ohle’s mountain home for a quick drink of water.

Before we left the mountain road we passed by an Elephant home. Eh pulled in the drive so I could get a great picture, but it wasn’t a day to meet and greet them any more closely. I’m not sure that they would have been the family friendly kind, but a great end to an amazing trip.

Chicago Farewell Party 10-4-08

On October 4th, 2008 I said goodbye to many of my friends at Paul & Gretchen DeNeui’s house. Paul is standing in the picture to the right explaining the meaning of the string- tying ceremony; a tradition common in Northern Thailand performed at significant junctures in a person’s life. Two of my friends, Christy Sherman and Jenny Win, are listening intently as Paul explains how the Thai strings are used as a tool for blessing in the name Christ. They are not significant in themselves, but symbolize a blessing spoken, by an individual or family, over another’s life. My friends took turns saying a blessing or prayer for me as they tied one of these strings to my wrist. My Mom, who is sitting next to me in the picture below was also tied in this ceremony. It was a blessing to be blessed!! I have participated in three string tying ceremonies and they have all brought me to tears. I believe that God is able to work powerfully when we bless each other in the name of Jesus through the use of this redeemed Buddhist ceremony, commonly practiced in Northern Thailand. It was an overwhelming experience to be tied by new friends from Thailand, old friends from South Korea and Burma, and old & new friends from the United States. I will never forget the love and support I felt and do feel from all the people who have helped me immensely as I follow what God has for me in Thailand.