You know, I find myself most inspired to write a blog when I'm surprised by something... and God seems to be into surprising me with things. Today was no exception.
I woke up to the thought of "ugh... the boys will be waking up soon..." or something to that effect. It was a normal Saturday morning and aside from getting the boys out of bed and to the breakfast table, I didn't really have any plans. I decided to slip into bed for a bit longer after the boys were up and with their nanny, and not long after that I got a phone call from my friend Lucy. She invited me to come see her dressed up in traditional Auca for this parade thing downtown. I didn't really know much else, but she said it would be fun so I decided to make my way down there by bike, bus, then taxi. I was pleasantly surprised to find that there were no foreigners in sight at the parade; not what I expected! However, I did happen to be right where all the people were setting off for their march down the street. I stood on a corner taking pictures and soaking in the sights, since I wasn't having any luck getting a hold of my friend. Finally she called and told me "Go where the people are going. I'm there sitting on a truck. You can come inside." This was the extent of my directions, and she sounded busy so our conversation was short. I asked if this meant to walk to the end of the parade and that seemed to be the case. Well, I was surprised to find what a long route they marched! I walked and walked, all the while fairly certain this is not where I was supposed to be going. The best part about this walk was getting to hear a band play "Phantom of the Opera" for the SECOND time, since they had already passed me once. :) During this journey, I started piecing things together. It was a celebration of some sort involving flowers, because every float and every person was decorated with flowers somehow. Eventually I saw a banner than read in English, "5th Annual Flower Festival". Fun! I figured, even if I didn't find Lucy, this was well worth coming out to see.
After walking the length of the parade, I decided to go where the people were going when they finished. Maybe this was the "inside" that Lucy was talking about. Being, without exception, the only farong there, I felt a bit out of place, but feigned confidence as I quickly scanned the property and found nothing like what she described. By this time I was completely wiped out and had no idea where I was, and I was not about to walk the length of the parade to get back to the downtown area. I resolved to hop on the first songtaew (taxi) I saw. Well, the first one passed me by and I didn't manage to wave it down, and I wasn't feeling like running, so I settled for the second. The SECOND songtaew that came my way stopped, and I said "bai tah roht mai?" which means "can you take me to the bus station?" He seemed to understand and agreed, so I hopped in the back with a lively group of eight lotto ticket sellers. The man across from me tried to sell them to me and got a good laugh from the rest of them. It was only later that I realized they ALL had these ticket selling cases. They must all be friends, because generally songtaew rides are very quiet, yet this was not the case here. They were fun. :)
When we finally arrived at the destination, I had ABSOLUTELY no idea where I was. Wherever it was, the bus station was not in sight. I asked the guy about the bus station and he seemed to gesture that it was here, and I was really confused. I finally asked him to take me to the night bazaar which is right by the bus station I want to go to. I said farewell to my new friends and the driver began turning around to head back. Looking around, it seemed to be part of the flower festival. There were food stalls and flowers and people everywhere. Why not check it out, since I'm here anyway?
So, I stayed, and I'm so glad I did! There was so much there; I could hardly take it all in. I wandered through this one area that had sections representing each different hill tribal group, complete with a house you could look inside and people wearing their traditional garb, many of them selling their wares and cooking traditional food. I was delighted! After checking out the homes and some of the foods, I wandered on and found amazing gardens. They must have been preparing for this a long time. There was even a waterfall that I'm pretty sure was built just for this occasion. There were flowers of all kinds there, all over the place. I couldn't help but think how much God loves us to give us such beauty. The sad thing is in the midst of all of this Buddha was getting the glory and not Jesus.
This day was a complete surprise in everything I did. I was wiped out by the time I got home, but so glad that God gave me this day as a gift. He never ceases to take my breath away.
Saturday, December 27, 2008
Saturday, December 6, 2008
Smile in the Sky
This happened several days ago, almost a week now I think, but still I think it is worth mentioning. I was at Companion Coffee Shop with a bunch of friends last Monday night, if I remember right, and all of a sudden P'Lut (the owner of the shop) was calling us all come to the back kitchen area to see the sky. I looked in the sky and was totally astonished: there was a smile in the sky! No joke, it was amazing. The shot above was taken without a tripod, so it's not the clearest, but you get the "picture", hehe.
I'm pretty sure the eyes were planets; they were just too bright to be stars, in my opinion. below them was a crescent moon positioned perfectly to make a smiley face in the sky. How often does that happen? I'm pretty sure that was a once in a lifetime sight to see. It's funny because it happened amidst all kinds of turmoil with the government. The prime minister has since been ousted as a result of protesters stopping up the airports. It just doesn't seem like a time when God would want to give a country such a gift as a huge amazing smile. However, He did, and it just reminded me once again about His unconditional love. Plus, He knows that my love language from Him is love notes like that, so I felt like it was especially for me, showing me how pleased He is, that He is smiling on me right now. Who but our Great Lover would come up with something so clever? It's even better than Jimmy Stewart's line in It's a Wonderful Life: "You want the moon? Just say the word and I'll throw a lasso around it..." Seriously, to think that we have someone who is after our hearts so much that He will go to whatever extreme it takes to win us back to Him, or if our hearts are His, in my case, just to remind us of what we have in Him.... that's pretty awesome.
Oh, and the best part about all of that: the next day in preschool I was telling the story to my kids about how God put a smile in the sky to show us He was happy with us. I drew a picture to show them what it looked like and put it on the wall. Later that day, Mai was busy playing, then she looked up, stared at the picture for a second, and said, "I like God." That made my day. Pretty much my week, actually. I can teach them Bible stories, show them how to pray, etc, but I can't teach them to like God. He is the one that does that. So, that made me so happy to see that God was working in her heart.
Ok I better wrap this up for now. I feel like I should write more, but Companion is once again calling my name!
Thanks for reading,
Stephanie
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Back from the Hills
Hello friends!
I just returned today from my friend Lucy's village about an hour or so drive up toward the hills from here. Her family is Akha, which is one of many different tribes that live in Thailand and all over Southeast Asia. Each tribe has their own language that they speak, as well as Thai. I have friends that are Akha, Lisu, Karen, and there is also Hmong and Lahu, to name a few. I think those are the big ones. In addition to speaking their own tribal language, they also have special trades and ways of dressing that are unique to their tribe. The Akha people, in my opinion, are the most decorated. Often in the night bazaars you will see these old ladies with ornate head dresses selling various wares, but I skeptically thought that they only wear these for show. It was really nice to spend a few days in an authentic Akha village, away from any trace of tourism, and see that the old women and men would wear these headdresses there, as well. Some babies would wear the traditional clothing, but most of the children and young adults didn't bother wearing the traditional clothing on a normal day.
One interesting thing I noticed about this village was the simplicity of the lifestyles. Many Akhas come from Burma or Tibet as refugees and don't even have rights as Thai citizens, so they are left to farming and handicrafts as a means of income. Lucy's parents are some of the hardest working people I've met, getting up at 3am to go to work, farming, and not returning until about 6pm. Their skin is leathered from years of working outside, and they look older than they probably are. For as hard as they work, though, the pay is meagre. I didn't ask how much they make, but whatever it is, they get by along with some help from supporters for their 3 children. Sombat, Lucy's 19-year-old brother, and his dad built the house they are living in by themselves, and Meh and Pa (I don't even know their names, hehe) had to hike far into the hills to fetch bamboo materials. If they want to cut down bamboo near their home, they have to pay a good amount for it, and if they are caught cutting it down without paying then Pa gets sent to jail.
Cooking is fascinating to watch: they don't have a stove, so they cook over a wood fire in the back of the house (which isn't a big problem since the floors are made of dirt). There are small chairs consisting of 3 pieces of wood nailed together, sitting maybe 4 inches off the ground, perfect for using the ground as the countertop to prepare the food. These guys are far better cooks than me, and with their limited resources they managed to whip up amazing meals for us to eat, and repeatedly told me to "geen yuh yuh" (eat lots!!). I felt so honored to be a guest in their home.
I did get to try some unique foods while I was staying there. The first night wasn't unusual: Tdom Ka Gai (chicken ginger soup) with some other spicy stuff. Thankfully I'm well acclimated to spicy foods now, so nothing really poses a problem. The next day we had some green beans and rice which my friend prepared, along with some soup made out of canned fish that the cats had gotten into, hehe. Everything was delicious! After that, we took a trip to the zoo where I was cussed out by a bird (no joke!). We had ourselves a good laugh, and then we went to get some food at the local restaurant and rent some movies. Upon our return trip home, we stopped at the river we have to cross along the road to get to the village, and some village friends were catching fish. They showed us their plunder, and it was a bunch of fish, anywhere from probably one to three inches long. They were having a great time catching them, and when they were finished, they decided to barbeque them at the nearby sala (grass hut). They cut stalks of (I think) the middle of bamboo leaves right down the middle, lined up the fish in a neat row, and tied the end together to hold in the fish. They then barbequed them to perfection, and when all was finished, we feasted! They even brought sticky rice and spicy dip to complete the ensemble. Apparently, you can eat these things whole, but I wasn't too keen on eating the head or the tail. Everything in between was good, especially dipped in the chili powder/salt mixture, with a side of sticky rice!
The rest of the day was pretty lazy for the most part. Sombat, Lucy's brother, went into town for soccer and the rest of us (Lucy, her sister Hannah, and myself) lazed around, napped and watched a movie or two. When Sombat returned that evening, he brought me a special treat: fried crickets! I was a bit taken aback at the sight of them, and realized that my avoidance of this delicacy ended tonight. I flashed him a questioning look and then went for it; it was actually quite delicious! Salty, crunchy, fried... what more could you ask for? As long as the legs didn't get stuck in my teeth I was doing alright with the whole deal. When it got down to the bottom, though, with pieces of legs and heads shifting around in the bottom of the bag, I was done. Oh but that's not all! Soon after that, dinner was ready: soup and fried dog! hehe. This was interestingly enough not as difficult to eat as I would have imagined, say, a year ago. I wasn't a huge fan of it, as it was dehydrated, rehydrated, and then fried, still pretty tough to eat. You really had to work at each piece, but the flavor was pretty good. There's this Thai wives' tale that eating dog in the winter time keeps you warm inside. I know it's just a wives' tale and all, but I really did feel pretty warm inside that night as I went to bed, and the nights are really getting cool now!
The next morning, this morning actually, Lucy's parents cooked up such a feast for us, and everything was so so good! There was a bowl of sliced fruit mixed with salt, peppers, and sugar, and maybe some other things, some more small fish, bamboo with spicy dip, a really good bamboo dish, bone soup (I didn't realize until the end that I'm actually supposed to eat the bone itself. Instead, I ate the meat off of the bones and slipped the rest to the dog), and a cauliflower/unidentified meat dish. Everything was so good, and I think they were quite pleased that I enjoyed their authentic Akha food, too.
We mozied our way on over to church and it was a wonderful service, complete with singing from the kids, a time for anyone in the congregation to read or sing a song, and there were several farongs (foreigners) visiting and we all went up and shared what we were doing in Thailand, etc. After we returned from church, Lucy's father told me how glad they were to have me, invited me back again when harvest time is over so I could go fishing with him, and gave me one of his home made cups that he carved out of bamboo. It is a beautiful piece of art and I am going to treasure it (and use it) for a long time to come, I imagine.
If you think of it, please pray for this family that is now dear to my heart. Every 3-5 years they have to build a new house, as the bamboo only lasts so long. They are getting older and weaker and I know the trek into the forest to collect bamboo isn't as easy as it has been in the past. Please pray that the Lord would provide a means for them to build a more lasting home for their family. Also, Hannah, the 17-year-old sister, just left for a job in Bangkok today, where she will be working as a nanny for 6 months. Pray that she would be wise and the Lord would keep her safe during that time.
If you want to support this family in any way, let me know and we'll figure something out!
Thanks for reading,
Steph
I just returned today from my friend Lucy's village about an hour or so drive up toward the hills from here. Her family is Akha, which is one of many different tribes that live in Thailand and all over Southeast Asia. Each tribe has their own language that they speak, as well as Thai. I have friends that are Akha, Lisu, Karen, and there is also Hmong and Lahu, to name a few. I think those are the big ones. In addition to speaking their own tribal language, they also have special trades and ways of dressing that are unique to their tribe. The Akha people, in my opinion, are the most decorated. Often in the night bazaars you will see these old ladies with ornate head dresses selling various wares, but I skeptically thought that they only wear these for show. It was really nice to spend a few days in an authentic Akha village, away from any trace of tourism, and see that the old women and men would wear these headdresses there, as well. Some babies would wear the traditional clothing, but most of the children and young adults didn't bother wearing the traditional clothing on a normal day.
One interesting thing I noticed about this village was the simplicity of the lifestyles. Many Akhas come from Burma or Tibet as refugees and don't even have rights as Thai citizens, so they are left to farming and handicrafts as a means of income. Lucy's parents are some of the hardest working people I've met, getting up at 3am to go to work, farming, and not returning until about 6pm. Their skin is leathered from years of working outside, and they look older than they probably are. For as hard as they work, though, the pay is meagre. I didn't ask how much they make, but whatever it is, they get by along with some help from supporters for their 3 children. Sombat, Lucy's 19-year-old brother, and his dad built the house they are living in by themselves, and Meh and Pa (I don't even know their names, hehe) had to hike far into the hills to fetch bamboo materials. If they want to cut down bamboo near their home, they have to pay a good amount for it, and if they are caught cutting it down without paying then Pa gets sent to jail.
Cooking is fascinating to watch: they don't have a stove, so they cook over a wood fire in the back of the house (which isn't a big problem since the floors are made of dirt). There are small chairs consisting of 3 pieces of wood nailed together, sitting maybe 4 inches off the ground, perfect for using the ground as the countertop to prepare the food. These guys are far better cooks than me, and with their limited resources they managed to whip up amazing meals for us to eat, and repeatedly told me to "geen yuh yuh" (eat lots!!). I felt so honored to be a guest in their home.
I did get to try some unique foods while I was staying there. The first night wasn't unusual: Tdom Ka Gai (chicken ginger soup) with some other spicy stuff. Thankfully I'm well acclimated to spicy foods now, so nothing really poses a problem. The next day we had some green beans and rice which my friend prepared, along with some soup made out of canned fish that the cats had gotten into, hehe. Everything was delicious! After that, we took a trip to the zoo where I was cussed out by a bird (no joke!). We had ourselves a good laugh, and then we went to get some food at the local restaurant and rent some movies. Upon our return trip home, we stopped at the river we have to cross along the road to get to the village, and some village friends were catching fish. They showed us their plunder, and it was a bunch of fish, anywhere from probably one to three inches long. They were having a great time catching them, and when they were finished, they decided to barbeque them at the nearby sala (grass hut). They cut stalks of (I think) the middle of bamboo leaves right down the middle, lined up the fish in a neat row, and tied the end together to hold in the fish. They then barbequed them to perfection, and when all was finished, we feasted! They even brought sticky rice and spicy dip to complete the ensemble. Apparently, you can eat these things whole, but I wasn't too keen on eating the head or the tail. Everything in between was good, especially dipped in the chili powder/salt mixture, with a side of sticky rice!
The rest of the day was pretty lazy for the most part. Sombat, Lucy's brother, went into town for soccer and the rest of us (Lucy, her sister Hannah, and myself) lazed around, napped and watched a movie or two. When Sombat returned that evening, he brought me a special treat: fried crickets! I was a bit taken aback at the sight of them, and realized that my avoidance of this delicacy ended tonight. I flashed him a questioning look and then went for it; it was actually quite delicious! Salty, crunchy, fried... what more could you ask for? As long as the legs didn't get stuck in my teeth I was doing alright with the whole deal. When it got down to the bottom, though, with pieces of legs and heads shifting around in the bottom of the bag, I was done. Oh but that's not all! Soon after that, dinner was ready: soup and fried dog! hehe. This was interestingly enough not as difficult to eat as I would have imagined, say, a year ago. I wasn't a huge fan of it, as it was dehydrated, rehydrated, and then fried, still pretty tough to eat. You really had to work at each piece, but the flavor was pretty good. There's this Thai wives' tale that eating dog in the winter time keeps you warm inside. I know it's just a wives' tale and all, but I really did feel pretty warm inside that night as I went to bed, and the nights are really getting cool now!
The next morning, this morning actually, Lucy's parents cooked up such a feast for us, and everything was so so good! There was a bowl of sliced fruit mixed with salt, peppers, and sugar, and maybe some other things, some more small fish, bamboo with spicy dip, a really good bamboo dish, bone soup (I didn't realize until the end that I'm actually supposed to eat the bone itself. Instead, I ate the meat off of the bones and slipped the rest to the dog), and a cauliflower/unidentified meat dish. Everything was so good, and I think they were quite pleased that I enjoyed their authentic Akha food, too.
We mozied our way on over to church and it was a wonderful service, complete with singing from the kids, a time for anyone in the congregation to read or sing a song, and there were several farongs (foreigners) visiting and we all went up and shared what we were doing in Thailand, etc. After we returned from church, Lucy's father told me how glad they were to have me, invited me back again when harvest time is over so I could go fishing with him, and gave me one of his home made cups that he carved out of bamboo. It is a beautiful piece of art and I am going to treasure it (and use it) for a long time to come, I imagine.
If you think of it, please pray for this family that is now dear to my heart. Every 3-5 years they have to build a new house, as the bamboo only lasts so long. They are getting older and weaker and I know the trek into the forest to collect bamboo isn't as easy as it has been in the past. Please pray that the Lord would provide a means for them to build a more lasting home for their family. Also, Hannah, the 17-year-old sister, just left for a job in Bangkok today, where she will be working as a nanny for 6 months. Pray that she would be wise and the Lord would keep her safe during that time.
If you want to support this family in any way, let me know and we'll figure something out!
Thanks for reading,
Steph
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Loygatong, etc.
You know, it's funny. I sat down today to help a friend write an article for a school newspaper back in her home country, Australia. I told her that I'm a bit of a grammar geek (although you probably couldn't tell by reading my blogs, as I'm not really into editing them), and I would love to help her with this article. Well, sitting down to write it proved to be more challenging than I had anticipated. It brought me back to high school and college English classes, writing those dreaded essays as late as I possibly could, often the morning it was due. As I was sitting there trying to formulate intelligible sentences that would be school newspaper-worthy, I realized how I'm so not into writing articles, but I could edit them all day long! I've often thought how it would be a fun job to work for a newspaper, but now I'm not so sure. :) However, I truly do enjoy writing down my thoughts in the form of a blog. I'm not sure it prepares me for writing any great works, but it hits the spot for me...the itch to get my thoughts down on paper. One of my greatest skills is forgetfulness, and I would really hate to forget my life as it goes by, thus this blog and numerous journals that I have kept throughout my life.
In other news...this week is Loygatong, an annual festival held on the full moon of November (ish?) where Thais say sorry to the river for all the pollution and bad things they've done throughout the year, and put offerings into the river to make penance. It is a Thai Buddhist tradition and the whole country shows up to celebrate. There are special markets, fireworks going off every night for probably a month, a parade, and even these cool lanterns that people light and they float up into the air. The children all had to bring a special "boat" to school that consisted of a cross-section of banana tree about 5 inches in diameter and 2 inches thick, with beautifully folded banana leaves and flowers pinned to the top. The Thais are brilliant when it comes to making these! Last night five of us, including the eldest of the girls, Belle, went to watch the parade and check out the market nearby. It was a lot of fun, but it made my heart sad to see all these people putting their offerings in to the river, believing that it is somehow washing away their sins for another year, or something to that effect. I've felt a heaviness this week, and I'm strongly suspecting that Loygatong has something to do with it. The enemy has a hold on this nation through Buddhism, robbing Thais of the joy and freedom of knowing Christ. That's something I should be fired up about, but often I just feel a numbness or a heaviness in my spirit about it. I don't like that at all, and my prayer is that God would open my heart and my eyes to see Thailand as He does. Please join with me in that prayer.
Today, I think the highlight of my day would have to be lunch time. I joined my friend Bethany (also from Australia) on a walk down to our favorite Lan Ahan (food shop?) where the cook has really become a friend of ours, P'Na. As soon as we got there, as she often does with me, she put us straight to work! Food sanitation standards seem to fly out the window in these places, yet I've never gotten sick off of the food. Apparently using different knives and cutting boards for meats and vegetables is a convenience that you don't have on a busy lunch rush in Thailand! We were busy chopping vegetables, cutting chilies, dishing out rice, and my favorite: cutting congealed blood! That's a first for me. I've eaten it, just not cut it before. There's really not much to it; it's about the texture of a light, eggy custard that holds its shape but easily falls apart in your mouth. It's REALLY not my favorite thing to eat, and I avoid it whenever possible, but it's a pretty prominent (yet nonessential, in my opinion) ingredient in some good soups. After we helped P'Na through the rush, she had me cook our food! It was nice because now I have a better idea of how to make some tasty Khao Pat (fried rice). All I need is to pick up some oyster sauce and I think I'm good to go! I already have the fish sauce on hand, which is an essential ingredient to pretty much ANY Thai dish. I was quite skeptical about this stuff at first, but have since embraced it. It's amazing how many food phobias have gone out the window this past year. Who would have thought I'd be eating whole fried bite-sized fishes, worms, blood, chicken fat, unidentifiable meats, SUPER spicy foods, along with the prior hang-ups such as olives, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, mushrooms, and fish. I'm still not down with eating bite-sized octopuses or much other sea food aside from fish, but I'm thankful for how far being in Thailand has brought me from being a picky eater. It makes my previous hang-ups seem quite trivial. :)
In other news...this week is Loygatong, an annual festival held on the full moon of November (ish?) where Thais say sorry to the river for all the pollution and bad things they've done throughout the year, and put offerings into the river to make penance. It is a Thai Buddhist tradition and the whole country shows up to celebrate. There are special markets, fireworks going off every night for probably a month, a parade, and even these cool lanterns that people light and they float up into the air. The children all had to bring a special "boat" to school that consisted of a cross-section of banana tree about 5 inches in diameter and 2 inches thick, with beautifully folded banana leaves and flowers pinned to the top. The Thais are brilliant when it comes to making these! Last night five of us, including the eldest of the girls, Belle, went to watch the parade and check out the market nearby. It was a lot of fun, but it made my heart sad to see all these people putting their offerings in to the river, believing that it is somehow washing away their sins for another year, or something to that effect. I've felt a heaviness this week, and I'm strongly suspecting that Loygatong has something to do with it. The enemy has a hold on this nation through Buddhism, robbing Thais of the joy and freedom of knowing Christ. That's something I should be fired up about, but often I just feel a numbness or a heaviness in my spirit about it. I don't like that at all, and my prayer is that God would open my heart and my eyes to see Thailand as He does. Please join with me in that prayer.
Today, I think the highlight of my day would have to be lunch time. I joined my friend Bethany (also from Australia) on a walk down to our favorite Lan Ahan (food shop?) where the cook has really become a friend of ours, P'Na. As soon as we got there, as she often does with me, she put us straight to work! Food sanitation standards seem to fly out the window in these places, yet I've never gotten sick off of the food. Apparently using different knives and cutting boards for meats and vegetables is a convenience that you don't have on a busy lunch rush in Thailand! We were busy chopping vegetables, cutting chilies, dishing out rice, and my favorite: cutting congealed blood! That's a first for me. I've eaten it, just not cut it before. There's really not much to it; it's about the texture of a light, eggy custard that holds its shape but easily falls apart in your mouth. It's REALLY not my favorite thing to eat, and I avoid it whenever possible, but it's a pretty prominent (yet nonessential, in my opinion) ingredient in some good soups. After we helped P'Na through the rush, she had me cook our food! It was nice because now I have a better idea of how to make some tasty Khao Pat (fried rice). All I need is to pick up some oyster sauce and I think I'm good to go! I already have the fish sauce on hand, which is an essential ingredient to pretty much ANY Thai dish. I was quite skeptical about this stuff at first, but have since embraced it. It's amazing how many food phobias have gone out the window this past year. Who would have thought I'd be eating whole fried bite-sized fishes, worms, blood, chicken fat, unidentifiable meats, SUPER spicy foods, along with the prior hang-ups such as olives, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, mushrooms, and fish. I'm still not down with eating bite-sized octopuses or much other sea food aside from fish, but I'm thankful for how far being in Thailand has brought me from being a picky eater. It makes my previous hang-ups seem quite trivial. :)
Saturday, November 8, 2008
Fak Tong Gaeng Buat
Hello friends :)
First of all, I just want to say that this has been a beautiful day and I feel like God made it that way just for me. One thing I really find myself enjoying in Thailand is going out to the market on my bike whenever possible, often with no specific purpose. Today I had a slight purpose: I brought my camera along so that I could get some pictures along the way. I often hesitate bringing my camera simply because I don't want to look like a tourist, but that is a silly reason to miss out on getting some beautiful pictures. Plus, my wonderful brother Ben admonished me to be taking more pictures so he could see what I'm up to, which was just the kick in the rear that I needed. :) Anyway, my spirit has been feeling a bit dry as of late, and today showed me, once again, that the Lord knows how to meet me just where I'm at. I try so hard to be good at reading my Bible or praying, trying with my own strength to feel God's presence, yet I believe increasingly that He isn't interested in my methodical devotions. He is interested in ALL of my heart, and seeks me out right where my heart is at! He is just the lover every girl dreams of. Why do I long for more when He is truly all I need? I can honestly say that today, at this moment, I am truly satisfied in Him. Not because I am super spiritual or anything of the sort, but simply because my Lover once again showed me how much He loves me today, and my heart is full. Over a year ago when I decided to do a school with YWAM-- I just didn't know HOW LONG--the greatest reason was because the Lord was calling me to come away with Him for awhile. He wanted to heal my heart and show Himself to me. I knew that, and I came away expectantly. Some days are discouraging because I don't "feel" Him like I wish I would, and I feel like I am wasting this time by not digging in and getting all I should out of it. But He is SO dang faithful! When will I realize that this isn't at all about me searching after Him, but it is Him chasing after me? Aside from singing a few worship songs on the bike ride (as well as "Think of Me" from Phantom of the Opera), there was really nothing super spiritual about my day. But, I know once again that I am loved and that is enough for me.
That said, part of my day out involved wandering Bandu Market (Tha-LAHT BAHN-do) somewhat aimlessly. I came upon a woman selling coconut cream in baggies as well as another coconut byproduct--I'm guessing it's the milk straight out of the coconut, but I'm not REALLY sure. Anyway, I decided to buy some of the coconut cream for 15 baht (less than 50 cents) and it came with a big bag of the coconut milk stuff too! I was excited, because this is a way better deal and way more fun than buying coconut cream out of the box. It is an essential ingredient in curries as well as many Thai desserts, and I even used it in banana pancakes the other morning (so good!). Anyway, I figured it would be worth buying, and I'd sort out what to do with it later. Subsequently, I decided to wander through the fresh vegetable section of the market. Nothing really struck my fancy. I almost bought some ginger roots to make tdom ka gai or something of the sort, but I didn't really feel like making that at the moment. Then, on a whim, I decided to buy some pieces of pumpkin--probably a couple pounds worth at least. There are a couple different directions I could go with this combination: 1. Pumpkin Curry (Gaeng Gurry Fak Tong) or 2. Pumpkin dessert soupy stuff (Fak Tong Gaeng Buat). I was really torn, as both sound amazing, but I've decided to go with the dessert (largely because I think there will be a better opportunity to share it). A Thai friend of mine made this, and it was AMAZING! Well, at least I thought so. So, I want to make it myself! I found a recipe online that looks pretty close to what my friend did, so I thought I would share it with you. Seeing that Thanksgiving is coming up soon, it could be a nice little addition to your spread of desserts, and a little taste of Thailand. Pumpkins are a bit different here, but they're close enough to effectively have the same flavor, from what I gather. So, I hope you enjoy this dessert as much as I have/will, if you choose to indulge and try to make it yourself. Let me know how it goes if you do!
In Christ,
Stephanie
PREPARATION:
1. Clean the pumpkin well and peel off the skin. Halve the pumpkin and remove the seeds, cut into 1x2 1/2 cm pieces. Soak in slaked lime water for 30 minutes.
2. Mix the sugar salt, and coconut milk and cook over medium heat.
3. When the sugar has dissolved, strain and return to a boil. Add the pumpkin and cook until done.
4. Pour in the coconut cream and bring back to the boil, then remove from the heat.
5. Spoon into a dessert bowl and serve. Can be served hot or cold.
Tip: If the pumpkin is not soaked in slaked lime water, its texture will be soft and the coconut cream will be quite thick. Slaked lime water is a clear liquid made by mixing 2 tablespoons of slaked lime with 5 cups of water stirring well and leaving until the lime crystal have sunk The clear liquid is the poured out. However, when I (Steph) made this with my Thai friend it turned out just fine without soaking it in the lime water, so I don't think it's totally necessary.
Recipe courtesy of: http://www.thaifoodplus.com/Thai/Recipes/Dessert/Pumpkin_in_Coconut_Milk.php
First of all, I just want to say that this has been a beautiful day and I feel like God made it that way just for me. One thing I really find myself enjoying in Thailand is going out to the market on my bike whenever possible, often with no specific purpose. Today I had a slight purpose: I brought my camera along so that I could get some pictures along the way. I often hesitate bringing my camera simply because I don't want to look like a tourist, but that is a silly reason to miss out on getting some beautiful pictures. Plus, my wonderful brother Ben admonished me to be taking more pictures so he could see what I'm up to, which was just the kick in the rear that I needed. :) Anyway, my spirit has been feeling a bit dry as of late, and today showed me, once again, that the Lord knows how to meet me just where I'm at. I try so hard to be good at reading my Bible or praying, trying with my own strength to feel God's presence, yet I believe increasingly that He isn't interested in my methodical devotions. He is interested in ALL of my heart, and seeks me out right where my heart is at! He is just the lover every girl dreams of. Why do I long for more when He is truly all I need? I can honestly say that today, at this moment, I am truly satisfied in Him. Not because I am super spiritual or anything of the sort, but simply because my Lover once again showed me how much He loves me today, and my heart is full. Over a year ago when I decided to do a school with YWAM-- I just didn't know HOW LONG--the greatest reason was because the Lord was calling me to come away with Him for awhile. He wanted to heal my heart and show Himself to me. I knew that, and I came away expectantly. Some days are discouraging because I don't "feel" Him like I wish I would, and I feel like I am wasting this time by not digging in and getting all I should out of it. But He is SO dang faithful! When will I realize that this isn't at all about me searching after Him, but it is Him chasing after me? Aside from singing a few worship songs on the bike ride (as well as "Think of Me" from Phantom of the Opera), there was really nothing super spiritual about my day. But, I know once again that I am loved and that is enough for me.
That said, part of my day out involved wandering Bandu Market (Tha-LAHT BAHN-do) somewhat aimlessly. I came upon a woman selling coconut cream in baggies as well as another coconut byproduct--I'm guessing it's the milk straight out of the coconut, but I'm not REALLY sure. Anyway, I decided to buy some of the coconut cream for 15 baht (less than 50 cents) and it came with a big bag of the coconut milk stuff too! I was excited, because this is a way better deal and way more fun than buying coconut cream out of the box. It is an essential ingredient in curries as well as many Thai desserts, and I even used it in banana pancakes the other morning (so good!). Anyway, I figured it would be worth buying, and I'd sort out what to do with it later. Subsequently, I decided to wander through the fresh vegetable section of the market. Nothing really struck my fancy. I almost bought some ginger roots to make tdom ka gai or something of the sort, but I didn't really feel like making that at the moment. Then, on a whim, I decided to buy some pieces of pumpkin--probably a couple pounds worth at least. There are a couple different directions I could go with this combination: 1. Pumpkin Curry (Gaeng Gurry Fak Tong) or 2. Pumpkin dessert soupy stuff (Fak Tong Gaeng Buat). I was really torn, as both sound amazing, but I've decided to go with the dessert (largely because I think there will be a better opportunity to share it). A Thai friend of mine made this, and it was AMAZING! Well, at least I thought so. So, I want to make it myself! I found a recipe online that looks pretty close to what my friend did, so I thought I would share it with you. Seeing that Thanksgiving is coming up soon, it could be a nice little addition to your spread of desserts, and a little taste of Thailand. Pumpkins are a bit different here, but they're close enough to effectively have the same flavor, from what I gather. So, I hope you enjoy this dessert as much as I have/will, if you choose to indulge and try to make it yourself. Let me know how it goes if you do!
In Christ,
Stephanie
Pumpkin in Coconut Milk Dessert Recipe |
INGREDIENTS:
| |
PREPARATION:
1. Clean the pumpkin well and peel off the skin. Halve the pumpkin and remove the seeds, cut into 1x2 1/2 cm pieces. Soak in slaked lime water for 30 minutes.
2. Mix the sugar salt, and coconut milk and cook over medium heat.
3. When the sugar has dissolved, strain and return to a boil. Add the pumpkin and cook until done.
4. Pour in the coconut cream and bring back to the boil, then remove from the heat.
5. Spoon into a dessert bowl and serve. Can be served hot or cold.
Tip: If the pumpkin is not soaked in slaked lime water, its texture will be soft and the coconut cream will be quite thick. Slaked lime water is a clear liquid made by mixing 2 tablespoons of slaked lime with 5 cups of water stirring well and leaving until the lime crystal have sunk The clear liquid is the poured out. However, when I (Steph) made this with my Thai friend it turned out just fine without soaking it in the lime water, so I don't think it's totally necessary.
Recipe courtesy of: http://www.thaifoodplus.com/Thai/Recipes/Dessert/Pumpkin_in_Coconut_Milk.php
Friday, October 31, 2008
Proud Teacher :)
I should really go to bed, and I was almost there, until I found out a friend was hurting and had to make a phone call. Anyway, that brings me to where I am right now...wide awake at 12:39am! The good thing is, it is Friday night, which means IT'S THE WEEKEND! The downside is: I am eating breakfast with a bunch of peoples in the next room at 7:30--an amazing farong birthday breakfast, to be exact. I'm quite excited about the bacon and eggs (a nice follow-up to the pizza, cake and ice cream tonight), but 7:30 is going to come rather early, I imagine. In most cases, in my current circumstances, I would follow up that nice breakfast with an even nicer nap, finishing off my sleep cycle (after all, you can hop right back into REM and pick up where you left off, and if I'm lucky that's the sleep cycle I'll wake up to, but that's another story), HOWEVER I will be going with some friends on a shopping trip up to the Burmese border today. I am not really in need of much, although I might look for some more Christmas presents, but it's more just for the fun of it all. We're leaving precisely at 9:00am (in Thailand that means like 9:15 or 9:30, usually). So, no nap for me until later.
Great news, though! I have just moved into a new place! My other place was great; I really did enjoy it. It was very much a Thai style place: one room plus a bathroom with a squattie potty, cold shower, and a kitchen outside. I seriously enjoyed it there, and my neighbors were wonderful, but the ministry director decided to bless me with an invitation to stay up in the manager's cottage for the remainder of my time, and I am quite excited about it. I've been staying in the girls' house for the last 6 weeks while someone was away, and she just returned on Wednesday, so I've been transitioning myself over there slowly but surely. I slept there last night for the first time, and I absolutely loved it. First of all, the place is huge! Well, depends on your definition of huge, but it is definitely more than enough space for me and my stuff. I have a separate bedroom, a desk, a table with chairs, a refrigerator inside, a nice little corner cabinet with a coffee maker, tea, a hot water maker, and all sorts of random goodies, a water cooler, a wash machine (although I am thankful that I learned to hand wash my clothes at my last place), my own rice cooker (essential), an outdoor kitchen with a tw0-burner stove... oh and the best part: a mosquito net above my bed! I can see why people like having canopies over their beds. It creates quite the atmosphere, complete with frogs and crickets and tokays (huge geckos that make a sound that sounds like their name: Too-kay) singing outside and not a highway around. Oh, and quite possibly even cooler : a mosquito racket (I might bring one home. They electrocute mosquitoes. Pretty handy.) with a light attached to it (the first one like that I've seen)! I don't mean to brag or anything, but I pretty much have it all over there! haha j/k. But seriously, it is going to be so nice to have my own little abode where I can invite people over for dinner and not worry about intruding on my neighbors' space. And, I even have a place for people to sit that isn't the floor! I bought a mat for the floor of my last place, but farongs* usually prefer sitting on chairs if they (we) can help it. I'll post some pictures some time if I figure out how to do that on here.
One (or two) more strand of thought, and I'm finished. Really. First: I was so proud of my student yesterday I was just about in tears. I had to stop myself from crying, actually. About 2, maybe 3 months ago now, I made a deal with my student Garin. I told him that when he learned his numbers 1-60 really well and could tell them all to me without my help, we would bai teaw (go out for fun) on the bicycles. A bit of motivation to put his mind to it. At that point, he had trouble getting to ten. Well, yesterday I got to be the proud teacher who saw my student count to 60 all by himself, and I got to tell people (in front of him, of course) what a smart boy he is and that he was going to get rewarded for his hard work! Today, we got to follow up on that deal. Aside from his music class with Baa (Aunt) Susie, we got to ride our bikes down to the market and he got to pick out a cool toy airplane. Man, that's what teaching is all about right there. Actually helping someone learn and getting to rejoice with them in their accomplishments. It's funny, because I was feeling quite discouraged at the beginning of this week, getting back into the groove of things after break. I found myself getting irritated WAY too easily, and it was really frustrating on my part. But, the Lord is faithful and He changed my attitude and brought good out of this week. I'm so thankful that I get to be a part of the learning process in this 7-year-old boy's life. He's not the smartest or the best behaved and he's probably not going to be an engineer when he grows up, but I have learned so much about loving another person through that boy. Not only has God been teaching me how to show him love, but Garin has taught me so much about love with God's extravagant love shining through him. As we were riding our bikes back, I was thinking about what would happen if he was in danger. I know that I would throw myself in harm's way to prevent anything from happening to him. But, you know what else I realized? He would do the exact same for me. Now that's an extraordinary boy.
Ok, that is all I have to share today. It is now WAY past my bedtime, and I'm starting to feel it. God bless and may you somehow be encouraged by my words today.
In Christ,
Stephanie
*Note: the word "farong" generally refers to anyone of European descent. Put simply: white folks. It is also the name of Guava in Thai. A fun little joke around here is "farong geen farong." (Farong is eating a farong) It usually gets both Thais and farongs alike laughing it up, especially when a farong is actually eating a farong (don't get morbid, here. I'm talking about the fruit!). Another note about farongs, while I'm on the subject: it is so weird to walk around tourist areas and see so many farongs around! When I was in Chiang Mai, I couldn't handle it; they were everywhere! As if I'm Thai myself. Haha. But seriously, it is strange, and I really dislike it, because I know that I am one, and when I am around so many others, I feel like I'm just another tourist. I hate feeling like a tourist. Sometimes, I just have to swallow my pride and be one, though. Ok I'm done. :)
Great news, though! I have just moved into a new place! My other place was great; I really did enjoy it. It was very much a Thai style place: one room plus a bathroom with a squattie potty, cold shower, and a kitchen outside. I seriously enjoyed it there, and my neighbors were wonderful, but the ministry director decided to bless me with an invitation to stay up in the manager's cottage for the remainder of my time, and I am quite excited about it. I've been staying in the girls' house for the last 6 weeks while someone was away, and she just returned on Wednesday, so I've been transitioning myself over there slowly but surely. I slept there last night for the first time, and I absolutely loved it. First of all, the place is huge! Well, depends on your definition of huge, but it is definitely more than enough space for me and my stuff. I have a separate bedroom, a desk, a table with chairs, a refrigerator inside, a nice little corner cabinet with a coffee maker, tea, a hot water maker, and all sorts of random goodies, a water cooler, a wash machine (although I am thankful that I learned to hand wash my clothes at my last place), my own rice cooker (essential), an outdoor kitchen with a tw0-burner stove... oh and the best part: a mosquito net above my bed! I can see why people like having canopies over their beds. It creates quite the atmosphere, complete with frogs and crickets and tokays (huge geckos that make a sound that sounds like their name: Too-kay) singing outside and not a highway around. Oh, and quite possibly even cooler : a mosquito racket (I might bring one home. They electrocute mosquitoes. Pretty handy.) with a light attached to it (the first one like that I've seen)! I don't mean to brag or anything, but I pretty much have it all over there! haha j/k. But seriously, it is going to be so nice to have my own little abode where I can invite people over for dinner and not worry about intruding on my neighbors' space. And, I even have a place for people to sit that isn't the floor! I bought a mat for the floor of my last place, but farongs* usually prefer sitting on chairs if they (we) can help it. I'll post some pictures some time if I figure out how to do that on here.
One (or two) more strand of thought, and I'm finished. Really. First: I was so proud of my student yesterday I was just about in tears. I had to stop myself from crying, actually. About 2, maybe 3 months ago now, I made a deal with my student Garin. I told him that when he learned his numbers 1-60 really well and could tell them all to me without my help, we would bai teaw (go out for fun) on the bicycles. A bit of motivation to put his mind to it. At that point, he had trouble getting to ten. Well, yesterday I got to be the proud teacher who saw my student count to 60 all by himself, and I got to tell people (in front of him, of course) what a smart boy he is and that he was going to get rewarded for his hard work! Today, we got to follow up on that deal. Aside from his music class with Baa (Aunt) Susie, we got to ride our bikes down to the market and he got to pick out a cool toy airplane. Man, that's what teaching is all about right there. Actually helping someone learn and getting to rejoice with them in their accomplishments. It's funny, because I was feeling quite discouraged at the beginning of this week, getting back into the groove of things after break. I found myself getting irritated WAY too easily, and it was really frustrating on my part. But, the Lord is faithful and He changed my attitude and brought good out of this week. I'm so thankful that I get to be a part of the learning process in this 7-year-old boy's life. He's not the smartest or the best behaved and he's probably not going to be an engineer when he grows up, but I have learned so much about loving another person through that boy. Not only has God been teaching me how to show him love, but Garin has taught me so much about love with God's extravagant love shining through him. As we were riding our bikes back, I was thinking about what would happen if he was in danger. I know that I would throw myself in harm's way to prevent anything from happening to him. But, you know what else I realized? He would do the exact same for me. Now that's an extraordinary boy.
Ok, that is all I have to share today. It is now WAY past my bedtime, and I'm starting to feel it. God bless and may you somehow be encouraged by my words today.
In Christ,
Stephanie
*Note: the word "farong" generally refers to anyone of European descent. Put simply: white folks. It is also the name of Guava in Thai. A fun little joke around here is "farong geen farong." (Farong is eating a farong) It usually gets both Thais and farongs alike laughing it up, especially when a farong is actually eating a farong (don't get morbid, here. I'm talking about the fruit!). Another note about farongs, while I'm on the subject: it is so weird to walk around tourist areas and see so many farongs around! When I was in Chiang Mai, I couldn't handle it; they were everywhere! As if I'm Thai myself. Haha. But seriously, it is strange, and I really dislike it, because I know that I am one, and when I am around so many others, I feel like I'm just another tourist. I hate feeling like a tourist. Sometimes, I just have to swallow my pride and be one, though. Ok I'm done. :)
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Late Night Thoughts
You know, I feel pressure to come to a blog with something profound and life-changing, and if I don't have that, why post a blog? Well, I realize that the pressure I feel is self-imposed, so I thought I would face that head-on tonight with nothing profoundly life-changing to share.
Isn't that true with my relationship with God, too? I come to Him wanting to give/get something significant, but when it comes to my everyday worries and fears, I hesitate coming to Him because He has heard it all already. It's the same old stuff. Putting it in words makes it sound so... unspiritual. But, that is reality. I may be halfway across the world, serving God by teaching preschool to orphaned children, but it doesn't reduce the struggles and misgivings. It is interesting. I don't have the accountability like I do back home... the really close relationships asking the hard questions, the regular sermons, the amazing worship times... I feel like I am learning what it means to be a Christian, really. I was just talking with my friend here about this and we had a great discussion. We were talking about how we missed the great worship times and the solid friendships and the depth of teaching, but maybe that's not what it's all about. Of course, those are vital parts of most of our lives as Christians, but it is important to be certain of who you are in Christ even when those aren't readily available.
Lovers of Jesus come in all different shapes and sizes, yet there is one thing that is abundantly clear: we all share the same Love. (This seems completely out of place and I'm not sure where I was going with that, but I'll leave it anyway.)
I feel like I'm rambling, trying to make my thoughts sound spiritual when really they're just random. However, if you think about it, everything is spiritual, because Holy Spirit never leaves us; He is with us always. But that's beside the point (if I even had one).
I guess, I am just thankful that whatever I am going through, good or bad, God is with me and loving me no matter what. I don't have to have all the answers, and I'm not unlocking the secrets of the universe, because those are His secrets to reveal to me anyway. I just get to enjoy the journey that the Lord has me on. I often get so caught up in trying to figure out where the road leads that I forget to look at the beauty all around me. The beauty of life, though, is God leading me through it. If things would go how I imagine them in my head, my life would look so different, but I'm so thankful that I'm not in control of my life! Thinking about next year, when I go home, the following months, I really wonder where He is going to lead me, because I have NO FLIPPIN clue! That's the fun in it, though, isn't it? As much as I would love to know what God has in store, I am so thankful that I don't, and I just get to lean in to Him and let Him lead me along.
So, this blog may not have much coherency, but these are my thoughts as of this Thursday night in Thailand. May you be blessed. :)
Steph
Isn't that true with my relationship with God, too? I come to Him wanting to give/get something significant, but when it comes to my everyday worries and fears, I hesitate coming to Him because He has heard it all already. It's the same old stuff. Putting it in words makes it sound so... unspiritual. But, that is reality. I may be halfway across the world, serving God by teaching preschool to orphaned children, but it doesn't reduce the struggles and misgivings. It is interesting. I don't have the accountability like I do back home... the really close relationships asking the hard questions, the regular sermons, the amazing worship times... I feel like I am learning what it means to be a Christian, really. I was just talking with my friend here about this and we had a great discussion. We were talking about how we missed the great worship times and the solid friendships and the depth of teaching, but maybe that's not what it's all about. Of course, those are vital parts of most of our lives as Christians, but it is important to be certain of who you are in Christ even when those aren't readily available.
Lovers of Jesus come in all different shapes and sizes, yet there is one thing that is abundantly clear: we all share the same Love. (This seems completely out of place and I'm not sure where I was going with that, but I'll leave it anyway.)
I feel like I'm rambling, trying to make my thoughts sound spiritual when really they're just random. However, if you think about it, everything is spiritual, because Holy Spirit never leaves us; He is with us always. But that's beside the point (if I even had one).
I guess, I am just thankful that whatever I am going through, good or bad, God is with me and loving me no matter what. I don't have to have all the answers, and I'm not unlocking the secrets of the universe, because those are His secrets to reveal to me anyway. I just get to enjoy the journey that the Lord has me on. I often get so caught up in trying to figure out where the road leads that I forget to look at the beauty all around me. The beauty of life, though, is God leading me through it. If things would go how I imagine them in my head, my life would look so different, but I'm so thankful that I'm not in control of my life! Thinking about next year, when I go home, the following months, I really wonder where He is going to lead me, because I have NO FLIPPIN clue! That's the fun in it, though, isn't it? As much as I would love to know what God has in store, I am so thankful that I don't, and I just get to lean in to Him and let Him lead me along.
So, this blog may not have much coherency, but these are my thoughts as of this Thursday night in Thailand. May you be blessed. :)
Steph
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Welcome!
Hello friends!
I have been wanting to create a blog outside of MySpace or Facebook for awhile now, but for some reason I just kept putting it off. This way, friends who don't have either of those can find out what is going on in my life, and I just like this idea better than posting things on MySpace like I've been doing. Actually, I'm thinking I will be deleting my account soon, as I've found Facebook to be a bit nicer as far as keeping in touch and posting pictures and privacy and what-not. :) Really, the only reason I've kept my MySpace account was for posting blogs, because I know that several of my friends check it regularly, and I want to keep them up-to-date. Well, now you can check this instead! I hope it's not too much trouble. Then again, that is the point, in a way. I only want those who will really go through the trouble to go to a different website to read my blogs anyway. Why bombard hundreds of people with blogs that they don't actually want to read anyway? (That is the trouble with Facebook. It's great, but I feel like I would be intruding on all these people's pages every time I post a blog.) So, this blog is for those of you who want to hear about what the Lord has been teaching me, what I've been doing here in Thailand, how you can be praying for me, etc. I'm not even sure how all of this works, but hopefully it will be a nice set up.
Enjoy!
Stephanie
I have been wanting to create a blog outside of MySpace or Facebook for awhile now, but for some reason I just kept putting it off. This way, friends who don't have either of those can find out what is going on in my life, and I just like this idea better than posting things on MySpace like I've been doing. Actually, I'm thinking I will be deleting my account soon, as I've found Facebook to be a bit nicer as far as keeping in touch and posting pictures and privacy and what-not. :) Really, the only reason I've kept my MySpace account was for posting blogs, because I know that several of my friends check it regularly, and I want to keep them up-to-date. Well, now you can check this instead! I hope it's not too much trouble. Then again, that is the point, in a way. I only want those who will really go through the trouble to go to a different website to read my blogs anyway. Why bombard hundreds of people with blogs that they don't actually want to read anyway? (That is the trouble with Facebook. It's great, but I feel like I would be intruding on all these people's pages every time I post a blog.) So, this blog is for those of you who want to hear about what the Lord has been teaching me, what I've been doing here in Thailand, how you can be praying for me, etc. I'm not even sure how all of this works, but hopefully it will be a nice set up.
Enjoy!
Stephanie
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