During the last month I have had quite deep conversations with 2 different ladies who live in my area. Both of theses ladies are mums to young children and both have been considering working away from home. Maki, the mum of a 2 yr old little girl, shares with me that she is thinking of […]
God told the Israelites, “Do not oppress a foreigner; you yourselves know how it feels to be foreigners, because you were foreigners in Egypt” (Exodus 23:9). In the same spirit, Jesus tells us, “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Matt. 22:39). Speaking for Western Christians, I don’t think most of us fully grasp the implications of […]
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 […]
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 […]
The past month has seen unusually heavy rains across South Thailand resulting in flooding across vast areas of the South of Thailand. One of the areas that flooded was the area we live in, including our home. The road in front of home turned into a fast flowing river and we had water over half […]
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 […]
Uniforms are a big thing here. Unlike the Western country on my passport, where people love to rage against uniforms, screaming and protesting that uniforms hinder individuality and personal expression, the Thai love to wear uniforms. Uniforms give one a sense of belonging to something larger than oneself. They allow for a bond of commonality. […]
After 8 months in Lopburi, I wanted to find a nice way to say goodbye to Thai friends in my neighbourhood and surrounding community. I figured I’d make it the opposite of a house-warming party, maybe house-freezing, with ice cream. But chose to call it a Desserting Party, though the pun didn’t translate so well […]
On June 9th I got on a crowded overhead train in Bangkok and observed that two thirds of the commuters were wearing yellow. It turned out that the whole nation was wearing the colour of the monarchy, and especially celebrating the 70th anniversary of the reign of their King – Bhumibol Adulyadej. Even after working […]
I’m pretty sure the motorcycle taxi drivers have bets with each other about how quickly they can make it back to their waiting stations. I fully expected the wind to rip the contact lenses out of my eyes and so I vowed I’d never take a motorcycle taxi again, but Bangkok traffic can be a […]
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 […]
One day, after several months living in Isaan, I glanced at my feet and to my surprise, noticed a strange new growth from the sides of each one of my feet (I will spare you the picture!). At first glance, I became quite concerned that these were either massive plantar warts, an infection, or […]
For a week I had been teaching orality at a conference and whilst going home on the last night I passed a couple on the side of the road. Feeling convicted that I should help them, I stopped and then reversed back to them. Their motorcycle had broken down and they needed a ride. The young man […]
It is “four-showers-a-day” weather. It is “I-don’t-need-a-microwave-to-melt-butter” weather. It is “I-feel-like-crying-when-I-open-the-closet-in-the-morning-because-everything-already-looks-too-hot-to-wear” weather. In other words, it is hot season in Thailand. It is the season of short tempers and damp hair clinging to one’s neck. It is the season of fatigue and the taste of salt when you kiss your child’s cheek. The heat sits […]
It is nine months since we started learning the Thai language in Lopburi and attending a local church. At first it was nice to be back with people we knew, as we had visited this church some seven years ago. But soon it got more difficult. After several weeks you discover how little you actually understand of […]
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. […]
We had been living in Thailand for just over 9 months and as a family we had adjusted well on most fronts. Our kids, up until now, had risen to the challenge of distance education, a different way of life to the one they were used to and many different foods. Then rather suddenly our middle […]
I love to bake. It helps me relieve stress and it gives me joy to inflict my food on others (as I’m not the best cook!). Since moving to Thailand we have baked many western creations for our neighbours as a way of showing friendship and appreciation of their kindness to us. A while ago […]
I recently helped one of the local Christians put a walk-way into his house. He lives in the middle of a rice field and the land his house is built on floods a little every year. The house is up high on stilts but getting in and out of the house becomes difficult, as the […]
It is getting darker and darker. Not only because the sun is setting, but also because traffic lights vanish the further we leave Khon Kaen behind. Khon Kaen seems to be the center of the Isaan Joint Venture, the team we will be joining next year. Today we had our first team meeting, this evening […]
‘’Wow, your Thai is really good, how many years have you been in Thailand’’ says the Thai student who sits in the back of my car. I am trying to concentrate on driving and keeping an eye out for the many potholes on the road. At the same time I am having a conversation in […]
We all need it from time to time – a haircut. So there I am sitting in the barber’s chair to have my first haircut in Thailand and the result is very, very short! As usual, I start casually looking into the mirror before me at what is around behind me. Where am I? I […]
How can you make the most of your retirement? I recently read an article by Evan Tarver listing “7 Reasons Why Americans Retire in Thailand” and it got me thinking. Tarver started his article about the benefits of retiring in Thailand by saying, “If retiring Americans are looking to maximize their retirement, it’s a good […]
I’ve never liked hospitals. Glad I have not needed to go often at all. Naturally, they are places that you go to because you have to, or feel called to be. Hospitals can be places of healing, but they are also places of suffering, waiting and death. As I was making my way through the […]
I am standing in our kitchen one morning with our housekeeper Mrs. Yaa and I freeze as I hear these words but I am not sure whether I understood correctly. Translating in my head slowly, I realized I heard it right. Our neighbour is dying? “He fainted at home two days ago and has been […]
