Christmas

Christmas Eve dinner at the Cowboy Cafe. They had Thai food as well as pasta, steaks, mashed potatoes, french fries and pizza :-) Lots of people got pizza, but cheese is hard to get here and pretty different, so they didn't like it all that much, it didn't taste like home. There were horses outside that entertained the kids after dinner and a little girl named Pearl, age 8, who was also dining there. She is from Oklahoma and we enjoyed speaking English with her :) At the end of the table are Oi and Taay - our translater and Thai host. They are both awesome!!!

 Kiera's christmas gift, a big sty on her eye :-)

 Christmas morning puzzle.

I've got to go, Christmas was great, our parents sent gift bags for us to open this morning as a surprise. It was a wonderful, thoughtful surprise. The homesickness kicked in today :-)

Tuk Tuk in Thailand

Merry Christmas from Thailand!!! It is beautiful, sunny and hot here - it doesn't feel like Christmas, but our team had a great Christmas morning together and Christmas Eve meal to make it feel a little more like home.

Yesterday, Christmas Eve, we had the day off. Our family took a tuk-tuk into town (about a 15 minute ride into Ratchaburi). The tuk-tuk is pictured below, it is a fairly slow open air taxi. The kids love it and so do I :) It only cost about $2.50 for all of us to travel this way.

Here is our family standing in front of the house we are staying in. While it looks pretty Western from the outside, there are many things that make it truly Thai. The washing machine and hand laundry washing station are both outside. Inside has a fan in every room because there is only air conditioning in the bedrooms. The toilets can't flush toilet paper and there are bucket showers :-) You can't drink the water and you have to clean up your food quickly so the little tiny ants don't get your food before you do :-) If I would have written this last week it would have been with sadness and missing our Western life, but this week, I'm starting to find these things endearing. Part of our Thai lifestyle. I like the simplicity here.

Here are some pictures from us at the market. In the first picture, we are looking at the live fish, toads, snakes, box turtles, goldfish and other weird slimy, slippery things. Mason loved it!

Banana break after a full day of sightseeing and shopping! The kiddos don't love the food here, so meals are supplemented with bananas, chocolate milk (because the white milk is shelf ready and tastes weird) and saltines :-)



Free Day and Miscellaneous

Three week round-up:

Before we left it was CRAZY - we had our last week of lecture, good-bye parties, no Eliza (so sad!), Christmas with grandparents, packing, shopping, returning... It was a great week, we loved spending time with 100 Fold and the Garrigans before we headed out and also our last lecturer - Dan Bauman (he spoke on having a real and simple and wonderful relationship with God, he was very encouraging, peaceful and inspiring). 100 Fold had a Christmas party - movie, hot chocolate, pjs and praying for us before we left. We love being part of 100 Fold - they have been encouraging and supportive. We look forward to being back in February and getting to be full-time 100 Fold and full-time family :-)

Thailand:

Bangkok:

We flew into Bangkok and were only there 12 hours. Long enough to sleep, shower, have breakfast (bananas, toast/jelly, pineapple and yogurt), lunch (3 different Thai stirfry dishes over rice and egg), an orientation meeting to tell us the do's and don'ts of Thailand, how to use the bathrooms, how to greet others and a few words. Then we were on our way to Ratchaburi in a van (2 hour ride).

Ratchaburi:

We got here on Wednesday, Dec 12 and we will leave on Thursday, Dec 27. So far we've participated in a Christmas Party - it was for the neighborhood and very evangelistic. The pastor preached the gospel, there were really fun Christian songs that the band played. Our team did a skit, sang two Christmas songs and shared a testimony. There was so much food and ice cream for everyone! Pineapple, rose apple, guava, pad see yew, a spicy curry dish, papaya salad, rice, rice noodles, spicy bean dish, orange noodle dish (?), ... This is the church where the day before we prepared the area by spreading gravel for them.

There have been two days of construction and site work for another church about 1.5 hours away, close to Burma. I went with the kids the first day, but it was so hot and dirty and slightly dangerous, that I stayed home with them the second day.

Sunday, we went to church and also the above Christmas party. 

One day, on our way to spread gravel / level the area at a church, our hosts brought us to the floating market as a surprise. Apparently, this is the original floating market. There are others in Thailand, but this is the first one - at least that is what they claim :-) We took a ride through the floating market. It was SO cool!!! Thankfully we went with two team members (Ann-Kristin and Brent), they helped the kids remember to not put their hands on the outside of the boat. So mostly their are vendors or shops on either side of the waterways and if you want to buy something you point and your boat driver pulls over OR the shop owner has long wooden sticks with a hook on the end and they will hook your boat and pull you over.

We had a day off and went to the "Beautiful Cave", which was beautiful, but also VERY HOT. Hotter than outside and with 100% humidity. It was hard to breathe, 95 degree weather never felt better when we got out, at least it was only 85-90% humidity outside. Perspective!  At the caves, we had lunch and shopped at the markets. Out back from where we ate lunch, there were these puppies, they were born that day!!! The store owner came over and pulled out the puppies for us to all hold. Good thing we couldn't get the puppy home because they all wanted to keep one!



Also, on our free day we went to "monkey mountain", where there are hundreds of monkeys that would like to be fed. Someone on a moto was selling corn on the cob to give to the monkeys. The monkeys would take the corn right out of your hand - if you wanted them to, but also if you weren't paying attention. It scared Kiera (and me, a little), but Selah and Mason really liked the monkeys. Then we went to visit a temple. It was huge, apparently the biggest in the area. The feeling of desparation and being lost of the people there visiting was evident. It was so sad to see them praying to statues that could do nothing for them. It is so hard because we can't speak Thai, but we can pray!

Around the temple, there were a lot of monkeys also, but these aren't ones you feed. Crazy! By the end of the day, I didn't think seeing a monkey was that strange. At one point, Selah and Kiera were looking through a fence (on a bridge) at a monkey sitting up in a tree - the monkey was 4 feet away and eye-level with them. Selah tried talking to the monkey, or maybe taunting it, and the monkey jumped onto the other side of the fence from them - the girls were SO SCARED and ran the fastest I've ever seen them!

We also went to a bat cave to see thousands of birds flying out of the cave at sunset. Ross and Joe hiked to the mouth of the cave, the rest of us watched from the bottom of the hill.

I'm sure I've missed stuff, but this is a good account for now. Next time, I'll try to remember and take pictures of and document squatty potties and bucket showers. I'll also try to write about the do's and don'ts.

Love to all!

Life in Ratchaburi

First morning, our team was gathered together for a team meeting.

(Ann-Kristin, Joe, Christian, Brent, Kamilla, Hillary, Johnny. Not pictured: Adam, Hannah, Zac, Ross, Lane, Ethan and the kids: Truss, Cole, Selah, Kiera and Mason)

Lane and Mason on the bike built for 4.

This is how we usually travel, 4 on the bike and one adult walking. I, Lane, prefer to walk if Ross is there because the bike isn't the easiest to drive, but I've done it a lot to today and I'm getting better at it. Mason has the best seat on the bike, by far :) The girls are squished and they get hot, but at least they get a free ride.We ride the bike back and forth from the house that we are staying at to the office where most of the team is staying. At the office or base, we have breakfast, meetings, get picked up to leave for outreach, hangout... Our house is an easy 5 minute walk for Ross or I, but more like 15 minutes with tired kids. Zac and Hannah and their kids are staying at a house another 5 minutes past us, so only the singles are staying in the office. At the next location, we will all get to stay in the same place :-)

A playground close to the house. Ross took the kids one evening while I was with the rest of the team at a ministry event that was late at night. I didn't get home until almost midnight.

We have an afternoon ice cream treat every few days, Mason really likes this "Thai Food".

Selah and Kiera helping wash dishes after breakfast. I think Kiera officially has a work duty, she loves helping the girls with the dishes and the girls (Hillary and Ann-Kristin) are great at showing her what to do and letting her help.

A family picture taken outside the base, you can sort of see the street we live on in the background.

Traveling to Bangkok

We left our dorm at 3:30a on Monday, December 10. We were all excited and ready to go! Three vans and two trailers went to the airport because there were two teams leaving on the 6:00a flight to Seattle. Ten minutes after leaving the base, each van driving along the snowy / icy road, a deer crossed the street in front of the first van. Dead Deer. Luckily the driver remained calm, the van stayed on the road and the only injury was to the deer. Well, the van had a headlight out and probably some dents, but it was still drivable. Then as we were still taking in the fact that there was a deer being tossed to the other side of the road, our van (Van 2) also felt a crash. Deer #2 tried to cross the street and jumped right into the side of our van - the passenger side door was dented and having a hard time opening and well, deer #2 didn't make it either.

The rest of the trip was less eventful (thankfully!). All our flights were on time, good weather, decent plane food, lots of movies and books and naps on the flights. We had 6 hours in Seattle, so our friend, Hannah Gordon (from Birmingham), came to the airport to visit with us. It was so nice to see her smiling face and hear about her life in Seattle. Then we boarded the plane for a 12 hour flight to Seoul. Then after a 1.5 hour layover, we had another 6 hour flight to Bangkok. We all got some sleep on the planes and felt decent, but tired when our flight got in at midnight on Tuesday. By the time we got our luggage (below):

Took a team picture:

and road in the back of a few tuk-tuks:

We arrived at YWAM Thailand (Bangkok) at about 3:30a. Fitting that our trip took us exactly 2 days :-)

 This picture is the second night - arriving in Ratchaburi, everyone was so tired and we were waiting to find out where we would sleep, and for dinner to arrive, so Ross, Selah and Mason slept on the floor.



Prayer Requests

Schedule: Today is Monday. We leave next Monday for Thailand. One week. There is a lot that needs to get done between now and then - packing for Thailand, packing up our dorm room because we have to move out while we are gone, "christmas", lectures, good-bye parties, meetings... All good stuff, just a lot :-)

Strep: Strep is going around the base. Selah had strep last week, but so far Kiera and Mason haven't gotten it. I almost don't mind if they do get it, I just want them to get it before we leave so I can start them on antibiotics.

Housing: When we get back from Thailand we will have 2 months guaranteed in a family dorm room (like we are in now), after that we will need to find housing off base. There are a few things with this - we have always felt like we are supposed to live on the base, but even if we move off base for a season, we will stay on the housing list and can move back if something opens up. Also, to live off the base is more expensive, like 2-3 times as expensive. I know that God will provide, so far he has been so faithful with all of our expenses, but I'd still like prayer :-)

So... Would you please pray for:
1. That our week would be peaceful and we would get enough sleep and all the little details would get done and not be stressful.
2. That Kiera and Mason won't get strep, but if they do, that they will get it soon so we have time to take them to the doctor.
3. That our housing situation when we get back will be exactly what God wants for us - dorm, on base, off base... And that we will have the finances for it if it is off base.

Praise:
All of our DTS expenses have been paid!!! We serve an awesome God who even cares about the finances and wants to provide for the dreams that He has put inside us. Thank you to everyone who was part of this!!!

Weekly Roundup 12/03/12

A video of the first graders (including Selah) singing this past weekend at a holiday festival. I'm not sure which song is in this video, I just picked one. Hopefully it is good :-)

Ross at the 100 Fold Studio Christmas Party - we had a white elephant gift exchange. This was the first thing he picked. He ended up with a Snoopy 1000 piece puzzle because he knew I would like it :-) I got the last 5 Harry Potter movies, we had the first three already, so now we have the whole set. 

Ross and the kids singing a worship song. This was a Sunday morning that we didn't go to church, so instead we had church in our room.

Selah "sleeping on the ceiling"

Mason "sleeping on the ceiling" (Kiera didn't want to do it)

This is from the night that I taught on relationships. That is me up on the stage.

I went shopping on Black Friday. Ross built a chair fort for the kids.

Another cute picture of Mason sleeping out of bed

The girls coloring in the lecture hall

Mason coloring in the lecture hall

Selah got a haircut

Selah got a big haircut on Friday, at least 3-4 inches. I was nervous that she wouldn't like it, but she has had so many compliments that she just bounces along with the a sass in her step that says, I'm cute and I know it :-) She looks even more grown up and super stylish. It will be a great cut for Thailand!

Bittersweet Goodbye to Eliza

Most of you know about our sweet Eliza. Eliza Olsen was our nanny for the past 11 weeks of DTS. She did her DTS at this same base 2 years ago and is still good friends with a lot of the staff and by the end of her time here, she was good friends with the DTS students and SBS students. Eliza has a way of making everyone around her happy. She is always positive, cheerful, joyful and speaking encouraging words of life and making those around her feel appreciated and loved. How? you may ask yourself? It is Jesus shining through her everyday. She is so fun to be around and a good influence on me :-)

Eliza was also great with our kids. I know that she loved them and prayed for them each day and the kids could tell by the way they responded to her in love also. She had a lot of responsibility and handled it with grace. She took Selah to school in the morning and many mornings walked her into her classroom, then she came back and took Kiera to her preschool and then had Mason for the morning. At noon, she would pick Kiera up and feed the kids lunch (we were always late to lunch, so she would have them fed before we got to the cafeteria). Then she had a small break before coming back to put Mason down for a nap and hang out with Kiera for the afternoon until 3:30. We tried to let her have evenings off, but she was always willing to be with the kids during evening lecture if we needed her.

ALSO - Eliza helped me with laundry (read between the lines - she did the laundry, folded the clothes and then put them away), washed our dishes, ran errands around the base and in Lakeside for us. You name it she was always willing to help.

We have one more week here without Eliza and it is so strange. Every girl I see with long hair, I check to see if it is Eliza.

Below is a picture of the 6 of us on her last night here. The other two pictures are from the going away dance party for Eliza - this was the end of the night when everyone was praying for her and encouraging her. It was so great to see how many lives she impacted in the short time she was here. Another testament to her impact is that when she was leaving at 5:15 the next morning (after a dance party that didn't end until midnight), the SBS guys on her hall, all got up to carry out her luggage and wish her a farewell.

Oh, I forgot to mention the best part, the reason Eliza left early was to go meet her new nephew - Thaddeus!!! 

Eliza - we love you and we miss you!!! 

Ballerina and Drum

Kiera is such a cutie with a mind of her own. A few days ago in our Thailand outreach meeting, we were learning a dance that we will do as part of ministry while in Thailand. Kiera was watching and I asked her if she wanted to learn the dance too. She said no and then she ran off to find Eliza. I didn't think much of it. Well, she returned about 15 minutes later with her beautiful dress on and her hair in a bun. What I didn't realize was that she went to find Eliza to help her get dressed for dancing. Oh, I love that girl!

After our meeting, the kiddos were playing in the lecture hall. There is a stage with lots of musical instruments, but the kids aren't allowed to touch any of them except the box drum (seen below). So they each took a turn banging on the drum. It actually sounds decent even when they play on it because it isn't too loud. Maybe we will have a musician in our family yet. Maybe...

A True Montana Man

November 25th. The day we will all remember - especially the deer. November 25th was the last day of   hunting season in Montana. Ross had been hunting almost 10 times throughout the season, often just going for a few hours right up the mountain where we live (Blacktail Mountain :-).  One Sunday he also got to go on an all day elk hunt. Elk hunting is very different than deer hunting. With deer hunting you pick a good spot, try to be super quiet and wait for the deer to come within 300 feet. Well, with elk hunting you actually track the elk, then call them every so often, if you don't hear anything in return, you keep tracking. Ross went out with 3 other guys and they hiked around a mountain 12 miles tracking an elk. They said that the hoof prints were huge, but they didn't get to actually see any. None of the guys were too disappointed though because they spent the day out in the woods with their buddies. 

But back to my original story... On Sunday, November 25, the last day of deer hunting season, Ross woke up early to go hunting one last time. He went with his friend, David Garrigan, about 3-4 miles up the mountain from where we live. We love that it is so, so close! Well, he saw a buck about 400 yards away and he fired twice. (He's a good shot with a great gun, thank you, Mike!!!) He hit the buck once right through the lungs, the bullet actually went in one side and out the other. He was ecstatic! He and David spent the morning pulling this huge buck down the side of the mountain, he had a bald spot by the time they got him to the car. Ross said he weighed at least 200 lbs (I like that is right, more if that doesn't sound like much :-). Either way, apparently he was a big buck. 

Next, he brought the deer back to base and hung it in the facilities building where he learned how to skin the deer and cut all the meat off (after letting the deer hang a few days - i can't remember why. It isn't a problem to leave the deer for a few days though because it is so cold, it is like a meat locker even in the facilities building). The meat was packaged up and put in a friend's deep freeze until we get back and then we will get it all processed into steaks, ground venison, sausage... and hopefully make some more yummy venison jerky (thank you to the Wideners for introducing us to that!).

Below are some picture of the deer. WARNING: if you are queasy, don't go all the way to the bottom.

The buck when Ross found him

Hanging in the facilities building

Proud Papa

After the skinning