We're not in Kansas anymore...

When I restarted the blog a couple of months ago, I said that it was going to be more or less… “a tally of lessons learned (both in and out of the classroom), and the joys and trials of following God to a vastly different side of the world.” Since we’ve now been here for four weeks (five if you count our time in Bangkok), I thought I’d put together a few observations of life in Southeast Asia. I’m hoping that these bring a smile to your face; feel free to laugh along with us.

One of the things I was most concerned with was learning to drive on the opposite side of everything. I am happy to report that it’s going well. Terrified screams are no longer coming from the passenger seat. It almost feels normal. And I’m getting used to people (cars, scooters, bicycles, pedestrians) just merging without warning; from the shoulder, from the next lane, from blind alleys. Lanes are interesting phenomena too. Standard operating procedure is that you have all of your lane, but you are also free to use up to half of each lane on either side of you. Just bear in mind that the person next to you has the same rough boundaries.

We will begin learning Thai mid-August. Right now, we’re in the midst of learning Australian. It’s actually harder in a way, because it is so similar to English. And prior to our Thai classes beginning, we will be starting to teach English to a class of 6^th graders in a nearby Isaan village. The goal will be teaching them conversational English. The kids know some vocabulary (it’s required learning) but they don’t necessarily know how to use it properly. We’ll be using role play and songs to help them become more conversational, we’ll be telling and acting out Bible stories, and we’ll help them get ready for 6^th grade English testing. Still, their English is already better than my Thai. That’s what you call ironic.

But perhaps the thing that has struck me the most over the past few days is that we are really here. It’s taken us so long to make this happen that the realization has been gradual. We’ve been sitting in meetings at our Area Retreat for the past few days, sharing what is happening in our lives. And it has struck me more than once that we’re really in Thailand. And… we’re going to be here for the next few years. We have finally realized the call that God placed on our lives almost four years ago. It’s actually sort of surreal.

Our Team Leader checked in with us the other day on how we’re doing. I admitted that I was both excited and terrified about teaching, about home schooling, and about learning. And I am: excited and terrified. But that’s good, because it means that I know I can’t do it all on my own. We need the Holy Spirit, and we need your prayers. Thank you for sticking with us.