Thai culture is unique and wonderful, very different from my own warm South African upbringing. We first noticed this in 2014, when we first arrived in Thailand, and quickly learned about appropriate ways to behave in public using gestures which are considered acceptable and normal. However, after arriving from our first home assignment it felt […]
I just read a fascinating article called, “In Thailand, blood sacrifice is out, Strawberry Fanta is in. (https://www.pri.org/stories/2017-04-06/thailand-blood-sacrifice-out-strawberry-fanta) Most all Thai homes have a “spirit house” in which resident ghosts reside in order to protect a person’s property and in exchange for this service are served a variety of fruits, sweet meats, rice, coconuts, but especially […]
The opportunity came out of the blue… Our local community was going to celebrate the “Khaochi- Festival”. For that reason they invited us to join in and produce a Swiss style Khaochi. Khaochi is made with sticky rice, which is the basic food for the Isaan people. The sticky rice is put around a stick, […]
In trying to get back into Thai language learning, I sought out the help of Ms. Noy, who is a neighbor of ours and also a former Thailand championship takraw player. Ms. Noy has made her earnings (and even built her house) from prize money received from winning championships. She has traveled to many […]
When we moved to Isaan a few years ago, we had some contacts, who seemed genuinely interested in the gospel. But after some months, most of them were gone. Later, we realized that they were afraid of their community, because there were people who told them that if they became Christians they would not be […]
It seems that every year during the Songkran Festival in Thailand a new record is broken. If it was a new record for the most water throwing revelers in the same place it would be acceptable, but instead it represents the high number of deaths and injuries on the highways and byways of Thailand during […]
The main motto promoted by the Thai tourism department is “Amazing Thailand”. The year 2016 was indeed amazing for our country, but none so surprising, especially in the area of sports, than the first place finish of Leicester City in the Premier Football League. The previous year Leicester had finished in 14th place and the […]
Nothing is left to coincidence in Thailand. Today while reading a book I learned that even a house plan in Isaan has a deeper thought behind it. It has to do with auspiciousness. The four wind directions have different meanings in Buddhism. ‘’East is auspicious, represents life, is sacred (the Buddha shelf of the house […]
Last year, we had an outing to the nearby mountains with some of our Thai friends. As we walked along through the forest, they continued to point to the many species of plants and flora that were edible. It seemed to me as if nearly everything around us could have been eaten. This is not […]
Mother Khong saw another turtle along the road. She wanted to pick it up, but she hesitated. She did not have to bring the turtle back to the turtle temple. A few months ago, she would have brought back lost turtles to the temple. In this temple, a turtle with a god inside is honored […]
I began sprinting toward the sky train, even as I realized it was a hopeless cause. Once those doors start sliding closed, they don’t open again until the next stop. To my astonishment, the doors stopped at mid-point and began re-opening, just as I reached the front car of the train. I sprang into the […]
This is an often asked question of missionaries. One of the reasons we eat out so often is that eating out is often cheaper than eating at home. But the main reason our family eats out is to get to know the people in our neighbourhood and to hopefully build up relationships with them and […]
I feel like Thailand has lost its colour. I have lived in Thailand for over 16 years. Normally, it is a place of colour, noise and smiles. My Thai friends and neighbours love to wear bright colours and love loud music but since their beloved King died, they have lost their colour and many have […]
A while ago we were watching a movie about Australia. After a while we decided to put on the subtitles as English is our second language and the strong accent was too hard for us to understand. My husband went to watch a movie at the cinema the other day: unfortunately no subtitles, just Thai […]
The American swimmer, Michael Phelps, caused quite a stir at the Olympics in Rio when he arrived at the starting blocks for the 100 meter freestyle relay race with large circular bruises on his back. It took a while for the reporters to figure out that he and his teammates were trying to get a […]
It’s the middle of the night and we are awoken suddenly. A desperate cry chases the silence of the night away. The corpse of our neighbour’s son has arrived home. It’s another tragic story we hear about a young person – only 36 years old – he has died in a traffic accident. We see […]
Fuming, I knew that later I would (or should) be laughing, but I wasn’t laughing yet. Earlier that morning, I had stood waiting for public transport to Bangkok. Van after van blasted past me. Apparently not too many empty seats were available at 8 a.m. Finally, a van pulled over. “Victory Monument,” called out the […]
I’m not the best cook, but from time to time I like to cook a meal. Last time I cooked, two thoughts came up that I’d like to share. First: Cooking and Culture Food is an important part of every culture. Wherever you go, which ever country you visit: everyone likes to talk about good food. […]
I piled my family of five kids into our truck and set off to preach at a Thai church on a Sunday morning. On the way there, my wife saw a guy selling watermelons on the roadside. She asked me to stop and she bought five good-looking watermelons. I thought, “This is more than enough […]
For me the greatest challenge in moving to Thailand has certainly been trying to become proficient in speaking Thai. Each day is a challenge to retain what I have learnt and to not only increase my vocabulary, but to do so with the correct sentence structure. Along with this we attempt to communicate in a culturally acceptable way. […]
My family and I teach a children’s English class at a local church. We have been teaching weekly for around 2 months and the number of children attending has steadily increased. It is super to observe the friendships developing between the kids as they meet weekly, but it has also been a blessing as my […]
Larry Dinkins was tired. His two-week ministry trip to Thailand had been fruitful, but intensive. He’d led 10 one-on-one counselling sessions, attended three church services and spoke at several seminars. Now, he was on the plane headed home. His plans for the 13-hour flight from Taipei to Los Angeles included relaxing and watching a few […]
In my local Thai restaurant, I ordered a non-spicy food dish. It was a shock to me as I ate, for it was as if a fire was burning inside my mouth. 3 glasses of cold water weren’t able to quench the spiciness. My language helper suggested that I let the waiter know directly not […]
When a new missionary first gets to the mission field, it is obvious where home is. It is that place where you just left. It is the place where you grew up, went to school, got an education, discovered a church family, and formed your most important relationships. But when you live overseas long enough, […]
I was recently discussing the temptation and sin of man in the Garden of Eden with a small group of Isaan people. I talked about how the serpent, which in the Thai Bible is the same word as snake, tempted the woman to eat the fruit from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and […]
Street vendors abound in Thailand. Roasted corn, iced drinks, sticky rice, grilled pork, grilled chicken, fried chicken, fried hotdogs, hot dogs wrapped in waffles, ice cream, noodle soup, breakfast, lunch, and dinner, with 2 snacks in between – if you really wanted to, you could survive without ever setting foot in a grocery store or […]
“If he joins the Bible study, we won’t.” A few ladies looked at me for my response. I had no idea where this statement was coming from, so I asked them. “He is a phiipohp, if he is coming, we won’t come any more.” He had been attending the Bible study meetings for a few […]
Mr. Joy did come to some church gatherings over the past three years. But he never seemed really interested in the Lord until last month. Suddenly, he was diagnosed with a tumor in his brain and needed a surgery. Last week, I saw him at a wedding. As he shared what he was going through, […]
At this time we are in the USA for home assignment. Something that I have been doing in Thailand is using Bible story telling as a way to connect with people in the Word of God. While we are here in the Stockton, CA, I decided that I would do the same thing here. At […]
