It's been just barely over 6 months since I left the states; since the first blog was written about the beginning of the "Thai Adventures" upon landing in Los Angeles. So here's a quick re-cap of the initial time spent here with a little more detail on the most recent month.
September-November: Arrived in Chiang Mai on September 2nd, met up with the Parkers and the 6 other "interns" who had just flown in from the States in the previous few days. I spent a lot of time teaching English to the staff and working on different work projects: (ie. wall painting, gravel spreading, planting, etc.). We did a lot of different games and discipleship things with the girls in the evenings and on Saturdays. Had time on Fridays to take a day off and explore Chiang Mai via hopping a Songtaew or TukTuk to get us around town, meet friends, eat American food, etc. Also took time to visit the Northern villages near Chiang Rai, explore a little bit of Bangkok, and finally debrief with a week of respite in Phuket and Koh Phi Phi. It was an awesome time for reflection, exploring and seeing what God really had for me/us as far as where in the wide world I/we fit.
December - After a quick run across the border to Vientiane, Laos (12 hour busride one way), and coming back with a new Thai visa I got to work on setting some roots. I was able to purchase a scooter instead of just renting one monthly, got all the stacks and stacks of paperwork for the work permit accomplished. (Thanks largely to the awesome translating skills of Chat Chai). And then was able to help with different projects around the Christmas season.
January - School. This month sticks out in my mind as the hardest one so far. Mostly because if it weren't for the girls' free Saturdays, soccer with friends from church on Sunday mornings and an random invitation to an Ultimate Frisbee tournament I wouldn't have had any life at all outside of school. Every weekday morning from 9-12 was dedicated to studying and mastering the "art" of reading and writing the Thai language. Once that was finished for the day I'd "scoot" (pun intended) back to BHJ, have lunch, and then teach English to the staff for the next 2 hours. Once finished with class I'd have just a bit of time to get stuff done before the girls came home and things like homework or bible study would begin after dinner. January was a good month setting roots and making good friends with Thais and Farang through church, soccer, and a Thai campus ministry called The Light. Also after just having gone through the hassle of getting my Work Permit, I helped several other people get theirs with a lot less brain damage and much more quickly. This in itself might turn into a big ministry asset in the future of being able to help other missionaries stay in the country and not always having to leave for new visas every 3 months.
February - This last month was a little more even paced with days beginning to see a good rolling average of routine. I've set up a structured teaching schedule so that its not too fast for me or the staff, having a day in between English classes where I can go to Thai tutoring and they can do their own work related activities in the mornings. This schedule has allowed me to manage teaching/learning at a more reasonable pace for everybody, and then thus opening up slots of time devoted to the liaison part of my job description. I've been working on keeping the sponsors in better contact with their girl(s) and vice versa; therefore uploading more recent photographs and bios of the girls as some of our sponsors haven't heard new information since they began supporting them several years ago. Big problem in our mind. So I've been working on making things run a little more smoothly and less of the "well I hope they're using the money I'm sending them."
So there's a quick 6 months in a nutshell. As always, I'm extremely grateful for those who have helped get me here and who continuing to keep me in this part of the world. Now that I'm past the initial 6 months "touristy" phase, really excited about the long-term fruit that is only viewable from the extended stay!
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