Twisted Ankle

Today is my day off. Woohoo! Sadly, I have not been able to do as much with this day as I would have liked, as I rolled my ankle yesterday while playing with one of the kids. I'm REALLY hoping the swelling goes down soon and the pain goes away quickly. I woke up in the middle of the night to get the baby a bottle and the pain was quite strong, but it hasn't been nearly as bad since.

My biggest hope and prayer is that my ankle will be in good shape by the time I head to Australia. My man and I have plans to do lots of exploring since it will be my first ever visit to the Land Down Under. There are mountains to climb, beaches to walk, oceans to swim in, dancing to do, and 1000 steps to climb, not to mention wandering aimlessly around Ikea or the big city of Melbourne. I would be so sad if a little twist of the ankle prevented me from enjoying my time in Melbourne to its fullest.

More than exploring the city and surrounding areas, I am so excited to spend time with Sumu, the man of my dreams.

Abuse

As I was riding my bike into town today to study at the coffee shop where I am now, I came upon a woman carrying her baby on her back, a perfectly normal sight. The next moment I noticed a man who had pulled over on the side of the road and I watched him storm over to her and yank her by the arm, and begin to drag her toward the passenger seat in the truck, all the while yelling fiercely at her. This troubled me deeply, and I pulled over to the side of the road just ahead of the truck. As the man is yelling at her I asked, "Do you need help?" in Thai. She declined, but I could tell she was afraid. I wished there was something I could do, but as I was on a bicycle and I was pretty sure I left my cell phone at home, I felt totally helpless.

What are the chances that this man is going to take her home and beat her for trying to run away or go against his wishes? Pretty high, I thought. I reluctantly continued on my way to study, all the while praying for this woman and her young baby. A couple minutes later I saw the man drive past in the truck, woman and baby in the passenger seat, and baby carriage in the back. The woman had such a look of desperation, fear, and resignation all wrapped into one.

My heart goes out to this woman who likely feels like she is trapped and has no way out. Did she attempt to run away but he found her and brought her back? What has happened that this man feels he has the right to speak to her and grab her that way? It left me wondering how many women in Thailand are living a life similar to this woman, trapped in an awful cycle of abuse and dependence with no way out. Is there no place for her to go and get help?

Smile!

Baby Non is getting better and better at sleeping during the night, which makes me a happy nanny since my job is to watch him during the night, 6 days a week. Tonight he was especially precious. After sleeping nearly 6 hours between his first and second night feed (yay baby!!), I gave him a generous helping of milk and burped him afterward, as he was fussing. He let out two HUGE belches that could have been mistaken for a grown man's. After his tummy was feeling more at ease, he decided this would be a great time to have a conversation. So, he proceeded to stare into my eyes and coo as I responded in turn. I love these moments when we get to "chat" back and forth. He is so responsive for a little guy (now two months old). The best moment of this evening, though, is when he was beginning to fall asleep and out of nowhere he gave me a huge grin! I had seen a few gassy winges and some half-efforts at a smile, but nothing like this. He smiled at me; there was no doubt about it! Granted, he was also falling asleep, so maybe he was smiling at the though of a nice night's rest, but either way I got to witness a huge grin for a brief moment. It made my night.

This little boy has sure enraptured my heart. I think it will be very difficult to say goodbye in seven short weeks. And the rest of the kids... it has been SO NICE to be able to spend time with them again. I hope it is meaningful to them that I came back and didn't just abandon them like so many people in their lives. I realize I am only here for a short time (five months), but I'm praying that I can leave a positive impact on them during this time. I really do hope that I will come back here in the future, if not to live and work then at least to visit. Chiang Rai has certainly stolen my heart.

Burma Relief Work?

A friend and I here in Chiang Rai are praying about taking a group up to Burma for earthquake relief work on our weekend off, not this weekend but the next. She is a nurse and had an idea to bring medical supplies and administer basic medication to the people in Burma who are suffering injuries from the earthquake that occurred a few days ago. We're planning on meeting with some Christians who run a local coffee shop to see if they would pray about seeing if this is a possibility, and possibly joining us. There are lots of things to consider: 1. How are we going to get money for medical supplies? 2. How are we going to get the supplies to the people? 3. Would we be able to go into Burma ourselves, or would we be prevented by Burmese government? 4. Would some Burmese people here in Thailand be willing to go with us as translators? 5. What direction is the Lord leading us to go? 6. Who all would be able/willing to join us?

The Burmese border is only an hour's drive from here, and it just makes sense that some of us would go to help as we are so close and able to provide at least some relief for those suffering just across the border. Please be praying for the Lord's direction in this, as the Burmese government isn't the most welcoming. But, if the Lord is in this, we trust that He will direct us and protect us along the way. Please pray for clarity for all of us involved as we meet together about it tomorrow.

Massage Time

Two massages in 48 hours? Yeah, I could get used to this. Today I met up with an old friend who I met last time I was here in Thailand. She's been on staff at the YWAM base here for the past 5+ years, and when I returned to Thailand in January she was on furlough for six months back home in Melbourne. She returned last week, so today we met up for lunch and massages. She had been massage-deprived for the last six months, and although I just got a foot massage yesterday, I figured I could manage to suffer through another one for the sake of an old friend. :)

It was especially fun meeting up with her as she just got back from Melbourne, where I will be headed off to in 51 days to see my 'fan' (Thai for 'boyfriend'/'girlfriend'). The fun thing is, she is from his home church that I will be attending while I'm there! She told me today that she thinks he's a great guy; I agreed wholeheartedly. I'm so thankful to have friends who know him. It's not just a random internet relationship or even a random person I met who doesn't have any connections to my life. He came here with four other close friends who I got to know as well, so when I go to Melbourne I already know some wonderful people besides him. Upon meeting this team of individuals from his home group, I felt an instant connection, not just with him but with the spirit of this group of people. I am really looking forward to seeing them again and spending time with them as a group. They really do love the Lord and seek to glorify Him and make Him known. I could certainly stand being friends with these people.

Earthquake!!

I experienced my first ever earthquake last night. I was nowhere near the epicenter, but we certainly felt a number of sustained rumbles here in Chiang Rai throughout the night and into this morning. The funny thing is, I was actually talking on the phone to my boyfriend (man I like the sound of that) when the first one hit. Somehow I felt safer even knowing that he was there to talk to on the other side of the world. The baby didn't wake up, which was great, but when I went out to check on the boys two of them were up with the other nanny and walking around... it certainly shook them out of bed. It was really quite mild, though. At first I thought maybe there was a truck rumbling by, but that didn't even make sense since we're out in the country and not near a major road. The first thing I did was open the window and listen. The rumbling was not just in the house; it was all around. Shortly after the first quake and aftershocks, I saw on Facebook that the quake was centered in Burma, just north of here. I still have yet to hear about damages. From what I heard, the first on was like a 7.0, and there was another 5.6 (ish) around 11:30. It's pretty weird to feel the earth shaking under my feet. It is disconcerting to know that the ground underneath me is really not as stable as it seems.

"Facebook Official"

It's funny how making a relationship "Facebook official" makes it all the more concrete. It is as if we are saying to the world, "I care about this person and I don't care who knows it!" It's just been so long since I've had someone special in my life, and certainly nobody as special as this guy, that it all seems so surreal. But, this is really happening. It is "Facebook official". No taking things back now! Muahahaha! :)

In other news, the kids finished school a week ago, so I've started doing reading groups with them. Today we opened a Tubba Blubba project that was sent to us via Chantel (thank you, Chantel!), and the kids began writing about themselves and about Thailand. They had horrible attitudes about it at first, but I think they began to actually enjoy it once they got into it, though they wouldn't admit that to me. I'm really hoping they embrace the project and put together a nice collage of Thailand for the kids back in America.