Have you ever wondered what the sweetest sound in the world is?

...Well, here you go.  

Their sweet singing carried so far...I had to capture a small fraction of it. 

Two weeks ago, a group of high school students and their teachers from Australia came out to Agape for the day and put on a mini VBS. They did crafts with the older kids, put on a puppet show, and led a time of worship before they left. The kids LOVED it and enjoyed the change of pace from our day to day activities. 

Our little ones especially enjoyed the puppet show and were so excited when the puppets "sang" a song that they knew. At one point, the students putting on the show stopped the track they were singing to because the children were singing so loud, and were so excited, that they over sang the track. They just stopped and listened to the little ones sing. It was so beautiful. The big kids loved it too and were singing just as loud as the little ones! :)

These kids love to sing, but they love Jesus even more. I never grow tired from watching them worship any chance they get! They teach me daily what it looks like to have childlike faith and to love Jesus with all that I have. I am so blessed. 

Brinner, Dinner with Shannon and John and a reunion with friends!

*Blog post from June 16*

Last week was a week full of exciting dinner experiences!  I know I blog about food a lot, but this week was out of the ordinary because some very special people played a huge part in making our meal times fun and enjoyable.

Monday was an insane day! The kids were CRAZY, the weather was weird, and by the end of the day, we were exhausted! The Yellow Sign Lady (the street vender where we get most of our meals…a lady who happens to have a yellow sign) was closed so we decided to pull our money together, go to 7-11 and get some BREAKFAST food for dinner! We purchased eggs, bacon, ham, and bread for toast.  We have been eating so much Thai food that we needed a break. We got home form 7-11 just in time before it started to pour rain. Once we brought all of our loot inside, Rachel and I started making our “brinner” as we like to call it. ;) Once I had cracked all dozen eggs and laid the bacon and ham on a pan, I went to go turn on the oven and found that it didn’t work. Just when we thought all was lost, we ran across the street to ask our boss Laura if she could help us. Laura came over and taught us how to turn on the gas (which was outside at the back of the house) and helped us light the stove with a match. Once the stove was up and running, “brinner” was underway yet again. I scrambled the eggs and cooked the bacon and ham while Rachel toasted the bread.  We all pulled together our jams, salsa and milk to make one delicious family feast!  It was awesome and felt so great to enjoy the comfort of an American meal!

On Tuesday Becca and I made dinner plans with our wonderful RD Shannon (our boss back at ACU) to have dinner with her and her new husband, John! They had been traveling around Thailand for their honeymoon and were spending their last night in Chiang Mai before leaving Thailand. They told us to meet them a place they heard great things about called SP Chicken. We called our cab driver Phudit and made plans for him to pick us up at our house and take us to SP Chicken. He never showed up however, and when we called him to confirm, he ended up sending his friend, Seth to come pick us up. The bad news was Seth didn’t speak English. SO, we called John (since he can speak some Thai) and he told Seth to take us Night Bazaar where he and Shannon would meet us. We ended up meeting them at Starbucks and got to follow them to the restaurant in a tuk tuk! The whole evening was an adventure, but the tuk tuk was an adventure all by itself! We ended up making it to dinner and had a delicious meal of chicken, sticky rice, vegetables and papaya salad! It was so much fun to be able to meet up with people we knew from back home in Thailand!

Becca took a video of our first tuk tuk ride! 

Wednesday was ALSO exciting because we got to meet up with the other ACU team that is here working in down town Chiang Mai at Chungdoi Church! It had been so long since we had seen them, we made it a point to call each other up and go somewhere together! We called our cab driver who sent someone else (again! This time, it was his friend Mr. Poo) and had him take us downtown to the mall where we met the other ACU team in the food court for a dinner of Pad Thai. It was so much fun to swap stories and hang out with people our age who spoke the same language...it’s crazy how much I took that for granted before…I never will again after this summer!  ;) We all had a blast and plan to start meeting regularly!

Last but not least, our final dinner adventure was last night (Friday) when WE GOT PIZZA! Our first pizza after being in Thailand. It. Was. Glorious.!  Thanks for reading about my week! Have a great day! :D 

Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you "The Crazy Eight!"

We finally have some pictures of the kids! I'm so excited to introduce them to you all! I am convinced that these are eight of the cutest kids in the whole world! They each have such unique personalities, and each one of them has stolen my heart! It's so much fun to arrive at Agape every morning and have eight sweet faces run to greet us, with hugs and kisses, saying our names in their cute little accents! I wouldn't trade those moments for anything and I am so blessed and grateful to be here in Chiang Mai and be apart of these kids lives...even though it's only for a very brief time. 

So here they are! The crazy eight! 

This sweet girl is quiet and independent and loves to play on the playground! She rarely likes to be held or cuddled and likes to do things on her own. :) She loves to sing and dance and play on the slide all by her self!  

She loves her rice! :) 

This little guy may be small, but he is the leader of the pack! He is ALL BOY and loves to run, yell, and climb! He is also a TALKER! He talks non stop and I would give anything to be able to understand him! He has the sweetest voice! He loves to repeat the few English phrases he does know like: "I FON A BIGGGG ONE" when he finds sticks and rocks on the playground, or "SIT DOWN!" to his little buddies when its time to eat. He also loves to say "AMEN" (he is usually the loudest after the prayer) and "HALLELUJAH!"  

This goofy guy is the sweetest child you will ever meet! He loves to cuddle and be "babied." He is very clever though, and knows how to "work the system"...often earning him extra snacks and treats from the nannies. He is CUTE and he knows it. ;) He loves to hold and play with anything that's small and calls it "baby." He loves to go visit the babies in the play room next door. He blows them kisses and always asks if he can hold them...even though they are just as big as he is. ;) He is fearless (which is not always a good thing!) and is a great climber! He is VERY strong for being so little!   

This little one LOVES to SING! And say "YAY!" "AMEN!" "HO! HO! HO!"(he is a HUGE Santa Clause fan!) and "NO WAY!" He loves receiving encouragement and giving hi-fives. He is also all boy and is a fast runner! He loves going on walks and often runs ahead of everyone else. :) He enjoys to cuddle too and can always be found sitting in someone's lap. He is such a sweetie pie!  

This little man's smile will melt your heart every time! As you can see, he has the longest  eye lashes ever...watch out ladies! ;) He has a very tender heart and is very protective over the younger kids in our group...even though he is only a few months older than they are. He always wants to push the little girls in the wagon when we go for walks and looks for flowers to put in their hair. He loves to jump on the trampoline and run like the wind.     

This precious little girl is the youngest in our age group. She loves to count her fingers and toes and when we sing "If you're happy and you know it." Her favorite thing to do on the play ground is swing! She even fell asleep on the swing once! It's her favorite place to be and is where she is the happiest! She does a great job at keeping up with the older kids and makes sure she is noticed...at all times. :)        

This may not seem like the greatest picture to you, but it really captures every single part of her! 

This little Angel is so sweet and is the definition of Miss I-N-D-E-P-E-N-D-E-N-T! She loves to play with baby dolls and is great at keeping the boys in line. The slide is her favorite place in the world! She is always so sad when we have to come in from the playground. She loves having her hair fixed, and likes to look at herself in the mirror. :) She enjoys pulling things (flowers, grass, weeds) from the ground and giving them to the nannies or her friends. She is always smiling and has the cutest laugh!

This girl is a FIRECRACKER! She is the oldest in our  age group and is our "crazy girl." She LOVES to sing, dance, and jump along to music and is always moving. She is very girly and enjoys wearing dresses and having her hair fixed. She will often take out her hair several times a day and ask one of us to do something different with it.  She is really silly and laughs all the time...She has so much joy! As you can see, she also loves having her picture taken. :) 

  

Well, there you have it! Our Crazy Eight! :) 

I'll be posting more pictures from our time at Agape soon!  

Thoughts on our first Monday

*Blog post from June 4th*
 
Our first Monday was loads of fun and excitement as we got to know the kids a little bit better and were able to meet some of the other nannies.
 
 
When we first get to Agape in the mornings we wake the kids up, given them baths and breakfast, wash dishes, and then usually take them on a walk or play outside. Since the rainy season is well underway now, we usually play inside, do crafts, watch a movie, or dance/sing to music before we get them ready for their devotion and worship time (8:30am-9am). After their devo, if there isn't any cleaning to do, we head back to our home for the afternoon while our kids go to their Preschool/Kindergarten and nap. In the evenings we give the kids dinner, have play time, and then its bath time before we put them to bed. I'm really looking forward to going back tomorrow! Each day just gets better and better and I fall more and more in love with our sweet kids!  
 
 
One of the most amazing things that I experienced our first Monday was the worship service. Everyday all the kids six and under (the older kids have their own at a different time) and the nannies come into our room for a devotional and time of worship in the morning from 8:30-9am. Monday was a little different because it was a Buddhist holiday (Buddha’s birthday) so all the older kids had the day off from school. They normally won’t join us for the devotional but today they did. One of the nannies played the guitar for the worship time and one of the other nannies led the devotional. It was simply amazing! It was such a sweet, beautiful time of worship I wish so badly that each of you could experience. Each and every one of the children sat so still and was so focused the entire time...even the babies remained quiet and still! It was so incredible to see the children's (and the nannies!) love for the Lord! Some of the children were blind and able to see the ones around them, or weak and had bandages all over their body. A few were struggling to sit up straight on the floor, and unable to sing. However, each of the children had their hands raised or their eyes closed; so focused on worshiping their Heavenly Father. It made me ashamed to think of the times that I have found it "hard" to worship because I was hungry, distracted, or had a headache, when here these children have struggles far greater than my own and are able to give all they have to the Lord in pure, selfless worship. They were not aware of anything else besides worshiping in the presents of their Father. It was so beautiful that it brought tears to my eyes. It was also so sweet to see how the younger ones would look at the older ones and try to mimic the way they were worshiping. It was a very sweet time that I will look forward to everyday! 
 
 
Thank you very much for your prayers! Our team is settled into our home and loving every minute God gives us here in Chiang Mai!  

Welcome To The Ant Farm!

One evening after it rained and flooded our kitchen (filling our oven and stove with water), we found a large population of ants in our kitchen. Emily has appropriately  named our house “The Ant Farm” because there are ants everywhere! We see them in the bathrooms, coming in and out of outlets, and even in our pantry (we have to triple bag our food). A lady who works at Agape told us that she believes that ants are the foundation of her home, and if it weren’t for them, her house wouldn’t be standing. ;)

So just in case you haven’t seen the ants we found in our kitchen a while back…Enjoy. :) 

~Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Exodus 20:3~

One of the first things I noticed about Thailand is that idol worship is everywhere. At the front of every little shop, business, or store front, you will see a Spirit house. Spirit Houses are everywhere in Thailand. Because of the belief in Animism and fear of the spirits, many Buddhist believers attempt to appease the spirits by lighting incense, placing flowers, and giving an offering of food at the shrine. We live in a neighborhood full of Buddhist believers. There are spirit houses and spirit catchers all over our neighborhood. The picture to the right is of the spirit houses at the entrance of our Muban (neighboorhood). Satan has a strong hold over those who live around us and people live in constant fear of these spirits.  

Spirit houses in front of our favorite market. 

Another spirit house at the entrance of our Muban.

Food offerings in front of the spirit house

In America, we tend to not believe in spirits, so Satan won’t use "spirits" with us. But here, spirits are very much real and present because people believe in them…and they are very afraid. Laura told us about one of our neighbors who will not walk from her car (in her driveway) to her house at night because she is afraid of the spirits that lurk in her yard. One of our first nights here, our team got together and prayed Psalm 91 over the house. We prayed a blessing over each room and in every corner of the house. We asked for protection over us and our home, and prayed that the Lord would reign and dwell within us and use us and our home for His glory alone. We asked that the Holy Spirit will enter our home and be present with us. It was an awesome time of prayer and a great reminder of what an awesome God we serve and that there is no greater power than the name of Jesus!

Our trip to Doi Suthep Temple with King and her family really opened my eyes to the extent of idol worship here in Thailand. As we scaled the misty steps that took us up the mountain to the temple, I looked around at the people that were making the lofty trek with us. Old and young alike were holding flowers, food, and prize possessions, all things to offer before Buddha. We finally reached the top and took off our shoes to enter the temple. It was an incredible sight. Because of our altitude, there was a thin mist hovering around the temple. The smell of incense was strong and the collective murmur of prayers and chants filled the air. The bright gold architecture of the buildings and statues reflected the low sunlight and pierced through the cloudy afternoon sky, making the temple shine brightly. Every so often, the tolling of a bell could be heard as those who were done with their time of worship “sent” their prayers up to Buddha by ringing a bell. It really brought the Old Testament bible stories to life as we walked around the temple watching people bow low before gold statues of Buddha and burn incense in worship to this false god.

As we further explored the temple, we passed a frail, elderly woman, with tears in her eyes, who was kneeling before a miniature gold Buddha at what looked like a little “worshiping station” (these were placed within and around the grounds of the temple… in case the other temples were full) as she lit incense and placed her offering of fresh fruit before the idol, she began to pray. I could not help but notice the sincere urgency and longing in her face as she bowed lower and continued praying. My heart could not help but break for her. At that moment, I wished so badly that I could understand Thai to know what she was saying. I wanted to kneel down next to her, wrap my arms around her, and tell her how much Jesus loves her and how much He wants her to know Him. He alone is the Way the Truth and the Life and does not require offerings of fruit and incense. All He asks is that she accepts His FREE gift of salvation. He died for HER and wants to have a personal relationship with her.  Although I may never see that woman again, and be able to tell her that person, I pray that God will place someone in her path to share His great message of salvation with her. The image of that woman will be burned in my memory forever and I pray that it always will be. It has further fueled my desire to share the good news of salvation to those who continue to walk in darkness here. Although there is a language gap and a time limit, I long to be the mouth piece of God while I am here, living in this Buddhist country. My heart burns with love for these people and I long for them to know the one TRUE God.

  Please join me in prayer for the country of Thailand and the city of Chiang Mai. Pray that God’s light will break the darkness and the hold that the enemy has over this place. Also be in prayer for my teammates and I; that although we are only here for a short time, that we will make a lasting impact in this community and that those who live her will see Jesus in us. Pray that God will give us boldness and the opportunity to continue to share His love with those around us.

Thank you!! I hope y’all are doing well!           

     

Adventures on my first day off!

*Bear with me! These next two blog post are from Sunday, June 3^rd. I’m still trying to catch up on my past blog posts as time and internet allows.*

On Sunday, Emily and I had our first day off!  Emily’s dad has a friend who lives here in Chiang Mai and she offered to take us out for the day. King came to pick us up at 8am on Sunday morning along with her husband and their two precious little girls, Pai and Fai. They were so kind and generous to us! Although they did not speak English very well, they told us little bits of information and facts about each place we went. They were so sweet and truly “wined and dined us” the entire day (It is extremely offensive and rude if you turn down any food or drink in Thai culture…I have never consumed as much food in my entire life as I did that day! :) ).  Emily and I had a wonderful time and we got to visit so many amazing places in Chiang Mai and see more of this beautiful city. 

King and her family took us to:


·         The Doi Suthep Temple: The temple where they believe Buddha’s bones are buried. It turns out that the day we visited was the day before Buddha’s birthday. (June 4^th) On our drive up the mountain to Doi Suthep, we noticed large groups of people dressed in all white, walking up the mountain. King told us that they were Buddhists making a pilgrimage up the mountain out of respect to Buddha on his birthday. When we got to the top of the mountain, before ascending up the high stair case to the temple, we saw the many festivals going on and vendors selling their “Buddha themed” goods. King’s husband bought us fresh orange juice and some snacks before our climb. On our way up to the temple, we had people stop us and ask Emily and I to take a pictures with them, since we were “faraong.” :) I wasn’t able to get any pictures of the temple, so if you haven't seen/heard of this temple, PLEASE Google image this place! It was truly spectacular and unlike anything I have ever seen in my life (Look out for another blog post on my thoughts of the temple).  

·         Hmong Village, a Hill Tribe village with a museum and a small market filled with lots of goods that the village people make by hand. It was a beautiful village with a great view of the mountains surrounding Chiang Mai. They also had gorgeous flower gardens that went straight up the side of the mountain.

·         Bhubing Palace, the king of Thailand’s winter palace. There were some AMAZING flower gardens filled with the most beautiful flowers I have ever seen!! (But your rose bushes are better than the ones they had Dad! ;) )

·         Giraffe Café, an amazing buffet style restaurant with lots of delicious Thai food to try and beautiful fruit. The walls of the restaurant were all glass and we got to watch giraffe’s and lions (not in the same enclosure) while we ate. King followed me around to make sure I tried (and ate!) everything they had. Thai people take great pride in their food! 


·         U-Mong temple, one of the oldest temples in Chiang Mai.

·          A café called “Dailycious”, where we had coffee and cheesecake.


·        Rimping Market, a grocery store with a lot of imported western goods. King told us it had lots of “foreign” food and was really excited to take us there. Forgetting where I was, I was thinking food that was foreign to me. However it was a store much like the ones we have at home…it was very similar to an HEB. :)


·        B2S Bookstore, Emily and I spent most of our time looking at Thai cook books. Again in the foreign (English) section.


·         Walking Street, which is a huge night market open on Sundays. They have a lot of handmade goods here too! We also tried our first Mango Salad (at King’s request. ;) ) If anyone wants anything special from Thailand, please let me know! We will definitely be going there again. ;)

After Walking Street, King brought us home around 11pm. It was a full day, but we had a blast with King and her family! 

Entering the Bhubing Palace   

A foggy view of Chiang Mai from Doi Suthep   

Palace grounds

More palace grounds

Hmong Village

A bell they believe that "sends" prayers up to Buddha 

U-Mong temple, over 700 years old. It was very beautiful inside and was full of  intricate tunnels.