Being a good steward is something that I have struggled with my whole life. Seriously. What happens when I have money? I spend it quickly instead of saving it or tithing or using it for a better purpose. What do I invest my time in on a school night? Relaxing in front of a computer instead of doing homework. My point is, when I am given something, whether it is a role, a material thing, or a responsibility, I usually butcher it. :\
Today, I saw Dr. M @ NWC and wow, it was wonderful to see him. As I was downloading my pics that I stored on the team's laptop, I read the email he forwarded us from an ICS team member from a few years back. Not to simplify the email, but it pretty much challenged me in this way: I need to really choose to commit to what I learned/experienced and/or to commit to the changes that I made (or wanted to make). Something like that. And it made me reflect on all that I did learn and see overseas about everything inside me and around me...
Throughout the rest of the day, I began to think about some of the changes or things that I want to commit to....
-Evangelism. Not being ashamed of the Gospel, but really pursuing others in love and gentleness, and suffering what I need to suffer as I carry my cross and spread the Good News in all I do... The main thing I need to do in this area is to ask better questions... I'm usually not the person asking people about Jesus. For some reason, in the past, I usually only talk about God to friends/family/acquaintances when they ask. But after being in the islands of SE Asia, I have truly seen that I need to do what Allah calls me to do in Matt 28:19. People that I need to do this better with are my parents and non-Christian friends.... I need to express to them how grateful I am for J.C.... He has done so much for me and I want to tell the people that I care about how important He is to me, and how much they would love Him too.
-The friends I made overseas. Like my students and adopted family members and C friends. I need to continue to develop my friendships with them somehow. So I will have to get REALLY creative.... like maybe sending them pictures/postcards, small things from my own culture, pretty much sharing my life with them and hoping that they reciprocate and get to know me...
There's so much more.... but these are mainly some of it...
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Monday, December 21, 2009
This week...
has been intense because of all the ups and downs I have had. Some of the ups was seeing my close friends, seeing my immediate family, and then seeing my "extended" family--this included several cousins and aunts/uncles that are from different states.
However, some of my downs was that although I was able to see many of my family members, it was because of the death of my uncle that I was able to see them. Many of them came to his funeral this past weekend. Other downs include: not being able to see my friends' (Ka Zoua and Michael Berry's) new born son, not being able to really connect with friends as much as I would like (Neng, Jenni, Roxy), the inconvenience of a broken phone, the cold weather, etc.... I know all of those are just small things that can be fixed.... but things get blown up when the real downs are that my uncle passed away... and I never got to say good bye to him.
My uncle was such a sweet, God-loving, humble, and humorous man. His smile was the most genuine and child-like and innocent, and biggest and cheesiest and sweetest and most contagious smile... He loved his wife and kids so much... and He loved God so much. I will miss him. Seeing his face at church and watching him cry because of how awesome our Lord is... I will miss him. And now I am challenged to be a good niece and cousin to my aunt and cousins. Watching them this weekend can't be described. I will never know what they went through until the time that may come for me to experience those things... but watching my dear family go through that pain was just so much...I can't explain it. This weekend was so long, so draining for me alone, and I can't even imagine how much it was for them. The funeral was four days with a watching night where we stayed up all night to the next day. My aunt barely got any sleep, and I'm sure my cousins didn't either... I just don't know what to feel or think...
I remember Dr. Morgan telling me to be prepared to face all of this when I returned home. But I didn't think it would be like this. I thought it would be of two extremes: where I would just be completely thrown back by my uncle's death and by the pain from it and by the pain my cousins + aunt will have; the other extreme was that I would be unaffected because as my uncle aged and became more ill, I grew distant from him and thought that I may not be as affected and may be able to be strong for my aunt and my cousins.... but I didnt really get either extremes but actually got a little of both worlds... it was like bouncing back and forth. And then sometimes, just laying in bed, feeling numb and wanting to just be gone and escape.
I'm sorry if this is too much emotions for you all to read... but this is what I am currently feeling. It hurts so much, especially since coming home from Asia has not really been what I expected. I've already gotten easily agitated, become impatient with my brothers and sister. My faith is so small and I am already falling into pieces. Materialism, apathy, immorality and sexual immorality, sin and everything is clawing at me and calling my name. The holiday spirit and festivities make me feel out of place and are also calling me to be merry when I really am not. Everyone is asking how my trip was, and really I just want to tell them about how much my heart opened up to living overseas and to learning a new language.... And I want to teach them what I have learned.... and I want to tell everyone how much I miss the cities and islands I went to. How much I miss our dear friends overseas.... everything. And about my team. How I miss my team. All the girls had their own unique personalities. The guys with their humor and with how they coped with such a small amount of guys. And Ruth, how she was my companion during the internship.... I wish I could express how faithful God was to me through all the people I met (through the team and through the nationals and etc...)
Despite the downs this weekend.... I will try to remember the ups as well... and the biggest up that I should remember is that my uncle is in a better place. I know he is smiling and rejoicing with the Lord and they are both smiling down. I can only ask that the H.S. helps my aunt and cousins during this hard time... and the other big up is that I developed some great friendships overseas... and although I may never see many of them again, I will remember all the memories I had with those wonderful people.... and how God blessed me and was glorified in them... Praise the Lord... Alham delullah... My God is still faithful even though I am imperfect and I mess up... TYJC. Kuv hlub koj thiab cia siab rau koj. Thov lo pab kuv os tus Tswv.
However, some of my downs was that although I was able to see many of my family members, it was because of the death of my uncle that I was able to see them. Many of them came to his funeral this past weekend. Other downs include: not being able to see my friends' (Ka Zoua and Michael Berry's) new born son, not being able to really connect with friends as much as I would like (Neng, Jenni, Roxy), the inconvenience of a broken phone, the cold weather, etc.... I know all of those are just small things that can be fixed.... but things get blown up when the real downs are that my uncle passed away... and I never got to say good bye to him.
My uncle was such a sweet, God-loving, humble, and humorous man. His smile was the most genuine and child-like and innocent, and biggest and cheesiest and sweetest and most contagious smile... He loved his wife and kids so much... and He loved God so much. I will miss him. Seeing his face at church and watching him cry because of how awesome our Lord is... I will miss him. And now I am challenged to be a good niece and cousin to my aunt and cousins. Watching them this weekend can't be described. I will never know what they went through until the time that may come for me to experience those things... but watching my dear family go through that pain was just so much...I can't explain it. This weekend was so long, so draining for me alone, and I can't even imagine how much it was for them. The funeral was four days with a watching night where we stayed up all night to the next day. My aunt barely got any sleep, and I'm sure my cousins didn't either... I just don't know what to feel or think...
I remember Dr. Morgan telling me to be prepared to face all of this when I returned home. But I didn't think it would be like this. I thought it would be of two extremes: where I would just be completely thrown back by my uncle's death and by the pain from it and by the pain my cousins + aunt will have; the other extreme was that I would be unaffected because as my uncle aged and became more ill, I grew distant from him and thought that I may not be as affected and may be able to be strong for my aunt and my cousins.... but I didnt really get either extremes but actually got a little of both worlds... it was like bouncing back and forth. And then sometimes, just laying in bed, feeling numb and wanting to just be gone and escape.
I'm sorry if this is too much emotions for you all to read... but this is what I am currently feeling. It hurts so much, especially since coming home from Asia has not really been what I expected. I've already gotten easily agitated, become impatient with my brothers and sister. My faith is so small and I am already falling into pieces. Materialism, apathy, immorality and sexual immorality, sin and everything is clawing at me and calling my name. The holiday spirit and festivities make me feel out of place and are also calling me to be merry when I really am not. Everyone is asking how my trip was, and really I just want to tell them about how much my heart opened up to living overseas and to learning a new language.... And I want to teach them what I have learned.... and I want to tell everyone how much I miss the cities and islands I went to. How much I miss our dear friends overseas.... everything. And about my team. How I miss my team. All the girls had their own unique personalities. The guys with their humor and with how they coped with such a small amount of guys. And Ruth, how she was my companion during the internship.... I wish I could express how faithful God was to me through all the people I met (through the team and through the nationals and etc...)
Despite the downs this weekend.... I will try to remember the ups as well... and the biggest up that I should remember is that my uncle is in a better place. I know he is smiling and rejoicing with the Lord and they are both smiling down. I can only ask that the H.S. helps my aunt and cousins during this hard time... and the other big up is that I developed some great friendships overseas... and although I may never see many of them again, I will remember all the memories I had with those wonderful people.... and how God blessed me and was glorified in them... Praise the Lord... Alham delullah... My God is still faithful even though I am imperfect and I mess up... TYJC. Kuv hlub koj thiab cia siab rau koj. Thov lo pab kuv os tus Tswv.
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Back "home"
Hey all, I'm finally back home again. Home. What an interesting name. Although this is home, for some reason my heart is still in Asia.
I have so much to say. I wish I could have documented everything onto a USB flashdrive and just stick it in your brain, and have you all watch what I experienced. :) But of course life isn't that easy right?
Anyway, I won't spill all the goodies here in this blog, cuz there is so much to say, therefore there's also a lot of organizing to do. I just wanted to let you all know that I officially arrived back in the states on December 14 @ 10:30 am in Minneapolis (which was yesterday morning). I slept all day, then woke up at 9. Went back to sleep at 12 am, woke up at 4 am, went back to sleep at 10 am, then woke up at 4 pm. Lol. Right now it's 1:30 am. I'll be heading to sleep soon.
But anyway, I just want to thank all of you that have been following my updates and the blog. It means so much to me to know that many of you care enough to read this stuff. It's actually very touching. I apologize for the lack of updates for the past 2-3 weeks. In Southeast Asia, my team and I were at islands without internet connection. And if there was a connection, it was very low. So, no worries, the full updates should be coming a long for these next couple of weeks.
Anyhoo, for these past couple of days, many people have already been asking me how the trip was and I just have the hardest time trying to tell them. I planned on certain things to tell people in one sentence, but that sentence changes with different people. So it's hard. Therefore, before I completely update you all with what happened and what I did in Asia, I'll just let yall know what's on my heart and mind right now. Which is a lot.
Anyway, as of now, I suppose I go in and out of being sad. It's like I'm mourning what I saw and experienced. Today, I looked at the sand that I brought back home from an island that I stayed at... doing that brought a lot of emotions out. Every time I left a country, I would mourn for that place for about two weeks. Right now, I'm still mourning for the last country I went to. I'm just thinking about all the language that I learned (which was very little), the food, the ocean, and the wonderful friends I made. Especially the friends. And its difficult to try and think about whether I will ever see them again.
Not to mention, I miss my team. I never realized how difficult it was to be without them. I also never knew how difficult it was to explain my stories to someone other than my teammates. Whenever I explained something that I experienced to a teammate, even if they werent with me, I knew that they would somehow understand or listen. But being back in the States now, it's just different. People listen, but I'm not sure if they really are. It's not a good or bad thing. It just makes me miss and cherish all the friends I made and all the moments we shared together....I also miss speaking the language that I learned from the last country that I went to. I know I only learned a little. But at random times, I want to just use my right hand (a cultural mannerism that I adapted), or say good morning in that language, or even thank you and etc. It's so disappointing to me to not be able to do that anymore. I know I'll work through these emotions and come to a stage where I am okay with that. It's just that I don't want to forget anything that I learned.
Anyway. Sorry for making this such a sad-sounding post! But dont worry... the future is looking brighter. Tonight I was able to share some stories and customs of the last country that I went to, and doing that brought me so much joy and contentment. I already feel better about what I shared with others. I suppose that the key to all of this is to share this new life that I have with others, especially with the ones that care about me. For a majority of today and yesterday, I just wanted to lay in bed and mope around because I was incredibly sad about leaving those countries and the beautiful people I met. It's still hard, but what I will try to do now is be a good steward and tell my story to everyone...
Anyway, sorry for the long blog!!! I was trying to keep it short. But please keep me in your prayers as well. This weekend is my uncle's funeral. And I have no idea how that will look. Hmong funerals are usually longer than 3 days, but in the states, because of everyone's busy schedules and because of the weekends being the only time open for others, Hmong American funerals are only 3 days. So this weekend will be just remembrance and a celebration of my uncle... pray for me and my family you guys. Thanks
I love you all. And to any of the friends that I met in Asia, I love you, miss you, and I am thinking of you.
-Danielle
P.S. My hopes are also lifted up because On December 26, I will be going to St. Louis with Ruth, Noelle, Nora, and Mikalia. Us ladies will be going to the Urbana 2009 Conference. It's an M Conference and will definitely mobilize us once more and connect us with several people. :) I'm SUPER excited about this conference, and I might possibly find a career-based job here. We'll see! :)
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Look @ the next entry for pictures, but this is the update from facebook...
It's been interesting being here in Bangkok. There are many people from all nations here helping out with the ministry here. Irish people, Americans, Philipino, Hmong ;), and of course Thai. So the subject line holds all the greetings in different languages.
As of now, I message you all from Ladkrabang (Lat Krabang, Thailand). Today will be my last day here. :'((( I am actually kind of sad/disappointed now that I think about it... but yes. Today is my last time here in this city at least. After an hour of teaching, we will have a mini thanksgiving dinner.
Anyhoo... here are some extra updates from me:
1. Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Although I celebrate it today, I will also do it tomorrow on a larger scale at the actual Santisuk English School location.
2. Today was my last day of teaching my students from the main SES location. :'( I said my last goodbyes. I truly enjoyed my time with the students there. I will post pictures eventually!
3. I believe my body has FINALLY recovered from diarrhea!!! Wooooo!!!
4. Please pray for Sheng Her. She has an eye infection and will be staying behind in Bangkok to heal her eye in the hospital. Yesterday they finally found out what the bacteria was and they are targeting it with specific medicine. They will also be giving her medication to heal her cornea soon. So please pray for her!!!
5. I am kinda nervous because I will be giving my testimony this weekend. It will be interesting... I'll be doing it at a church service in SINGAPORE... and right after my testimony the Hmong students will be singing a Hmong song. :)
6. Speaking of Singapore, we leave Thailand/Bangkok on Friday around 7 AM. We will arrive in Singapore and stay there until early next Monday.
7. By Monday/Tuesday, we will be in Southeast Asia. Please pray for us as we are there....
8. I will not be able to update you all because there will be more limit on access to the internet.
9. I miss you all.
10. I am really tired.
11. I have to go.
12. I updated my blog! There are also pictures.
daniellelor.blogspot.com
13. I bid you all farewell!!!
14. P.S. Today i started seeing Christmas decorations in Bangkok. It was so bizzarre because I havent even thought of Christmas yet!!! But when I get back I am pretty sure that I will see holiday decor EVERYWHERE!!!
15. I am still getting used to the cars being on the left side hehe. :)
16. OKAY!!! Good bye for real now. ;)
As of now, I message you all from Ladkrabang (Lat Krabang, Thailand). Today will be my last day here. :'((( I am actually kind of sad/disappointed now that I think about it... but yes. Today is my last time here in this city at least. After an hour of teaching, we will have a mini thanksgiving dinner.
Anyhoo... here are some extra updates from me:
1. Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Although I celebrate it today, I will also do it tomorrow on a larger scale at the actual Santisuk English School location.
2. Today was my last day of teaching my students from the main SES location. :'( I said my last goodbyes. I truly enjoyed my time with the students there. I will post pictures eventually!
3. I believe my body has FINALLY recovered from diarrhea!!! Wooooo!!!
4. Please pray for Sheng Her. She has an eye infection and will be staying behind in Bangkok to heal her eye in the hospital. Yesterday they finally found out what the bacteria was and they are targeting it with specific medicine. They will also be giving her medication to heal her cornea soon. So please pray for her!!!
5. I am kinda nervous because I will be giving my testimony this weekend. It will be interesting... I'll be doing it at a church service in SINGAPORE... and right after my testimony the Hmong students will be singing a Hmong song. :)
6. Speaking of Singapore, we leave Thailand/Bangkok on Friday around 7 AM. We will arrive in Singapore and stay there until early next Monday.
7. By Monday/Tuesday, we will be in Southeast Asia. Please pray for us as we are there....
8. I will not be able to update you all because there will be more limit on access to the internet.
9. I miss you all.
10. I am really tired.
11. I have to go.
12. I updated my blog! There are also pictures.
daniellelor.blogspot.com
13. I bid you all farewell!!!
14. P.S. Today i started seeing Christmas decorations in Bangkok. It was so bizzarre because I havent even thought of Christmas yet!!! But when I get back I am pretty sure that I will see holiday decor EVERYWHERE!!!
15. I am still getting used to the cars being on the left side hehe. :)
16. OKAY!!! Good bye for real now. ;)
Monday, November 23, 2009
Hello All
Lol so when I told many of you that I would be updating my blog so that you all can have detailed ideas of how my internship was going, I'm sure you all thought that I would be updating often or something.
I also thought I would too. Lol. But time does not permit me to update you all as often as I'd like. And when I do want to I am too tired. Or I have SO MUCH to say that I cant say it all.
Anyway. Bangkok. I have so much to say about it. I will try to keep it to four sentences or so, so that I can save space and time to show you all pictures.
Bangkok is a very interesting city because the people are changing. The culture and people here are deeply seeded into the customs and values of Buddhism. Buddhism is definitely in the air (to put it metaphorically). You can see shrines on almost every block if not every neighborhood, and shrines are typically seen in many buildings/stores. It's definitely more objective to see the shrines, palaces, Buddha necklaces on students and etc., but when I say deeply seeded, I also meant subjective tell. I am only here for a short time and I feel that I will never be able to truly comprehend how subjective/deeply rooted it is, and how much it influences this society. Maybe I'll be able to know if I were to live/stay here for AT LEAST 5/6 years, and learn the language/be fluent in it too.
In addition, the city is in political unrest. But that is very subjective too. No one will probably tell you this unless you are a foreigner (like me) that is directly asking the question, and your sweet and gracious students are willing to give you an answer. The people in this city truly adore their king. They are so loyal and will even report someone that insults the king to the authorities. You could probably lose your life for saying something about the king (and even if you meant it positively, it could have sounded negatively to someone else). Nonetheless, they love the king, but many dislike/loathe particular political parties. Or if the do or don't like a particular party, they might just ignore the whole political discussion entirely. The thai do not speak about political issues...
Anyway. I think that is enough for now. I feel very blessed to have been here. I am so privileged to have gotten to know so many students. I will miss my students. There are some moments that make me appreciate them and treasure our moments together so much.
Although I have enjoyed my time here and with my students, I feel like I have not given the culture justice... I have only been here for such a short time without knowning very much about social issues, the religion, the language, etc... I don't know what people are really thinking like here. Their thought patterns, their concerns, etc. Well I know some of their concerns and etc, but still. A month is really nothing sometimes.
From all of this, I learn that in the future, long-term goals are definitely bette suited for any type of ministry. Maybe that is why my youth group has so many struggles as well. We always have people in short-term leadership and there is no one in a long-term position. Things are always unstable. Long-term goals force us to do things like learn the language, understand the social issues, strategically plan, get to know the people etc etc... most of all, long-term stuff forces us to go to God during the suffering and the praising... Yeah.
So yes. That is some what of what I've learned here so far!
As for pictures:
Lunch. :) Real Thai food that one of my cell members made. Nov 6.
One of the views from a train we were taking to the city of Kanjanburee. November 12
Me and Rung (one of the Thai workers @ Santisuk English School [SES]) on the train going to Kanjanaburee.
The waterfall at Kanjanaburee.
Me and Gai in the water @ Kanjanaburee. Gai is one of the Thai teachers @ SES.
On the way back from Kanjanaburee. Gai, Amy M., Mikalia, Moi.
We were in a tuk-tuk. My student Honey and her son, Nano. November 13.
Japanese dinner. Lol. We were really hungry. November 15.
Dr. Morgan's head and one of the palaces/temples @ the Grand Palace. November 18
Moi @ the Grand Palace. November 18
My student's son, Nano. He loves me!! And I am going to miss him SO MUCH... sigh. November 18
Some of my favorite things in Bangkok.
I saw this movie with my high school students on Nov. 21! :P
The other SES location that I teach English at. The city is called Lad Krabang.
One of the benefits to being @ Ladkrabang. CJ. Haha he's such a cutie. November 23
Here's his beautiful smile. November 23
These are the students that I teach @ Ladkrabang. Ploy, Milk, Mah, then me, Wit, and Ly. They are a very intelligent, unique, and hard-working bunch. November 23
Here is my other class at the Bangkok SES, taken today Nov 24! :)
Goofy picture.
Chris, Jeab and me. One of our students. Very good essay writer. :))
OKAY!!! Bye everyone!!! Send me a hello!!! :)))
I also thought I would too. Lol. But time does not permit me to update you all as often as I'd like. And when I do want to I am too tired. Or I have SO MUCH to say that I cant say it all.
Anyway. Bangkok. I have so much to say about it. I will try to keep it to four sentences or so, so that I can save space and time to show you all pictures.
Bangkok is a very interesting city because the people are changing. The culture and people here are deeply seeded into the customs and values of Buddhism. Buddhism is definitely in the air (to put it metaphorically). You can see shrines on almost every block if not every neighborhood, and shrines are typically seen in many buildings/stores. It's definitely more objective to see the shrines, palaces, Buddha necklaces on students and etc., but when I say deeply seeded, I also meant subjective tell. I am only here for a short time and I feel that I will never be able to truly comprehend how subjective/deeply rooted it is, and how much it influences this society. Maybe I'll be able to know if I were to live/stay here for AT LEAST 5/6 years, and learn the language/be fluent in it too.
In addition, the city is in political unrest. But that is very subjective too. No one will probably tell you this unless you are a foreigner (like me) that is directly asking the question, and your sweet and gracious students are willing to give you an answer. The people in this city truly adore their king. They are so loyal and will even report someone that insults the king to the authorities. You could probably lose your life for saying something about the king (and even if you meant it positively, it could have sounded negatively to someone else). Nonetheless, they love the king, but many dislike/loathe particular political parties. Or if the do or don't like a particular party, they might just ignore the whole political discussion entirely. The thai do not speak about political issues...
Anyway. I think that is enough for now. I feel very blessed to have been here. I am so privileged to have gotten to know so many students. I will miss my students. There are some moments that make me appreciate them and treasure our moments together so much.
Although I have enjoyed my time here and with my students, I feel like I have not given the culture justice... I have only been here for such a short time without knowning very much about social issues, the religion, the language, etc... I don't know what people are really thinking like here. Their thought patterns, their concerns, etc. Well I know some of their concerns and etc, but still. A month is really nothing sometimes.
From all of this, I learn that in the future, long-term goals are definitely bette suited for any type of ministry. Maybe that is why my youth group has so many struggles as well. We always have people in short-term leadership and there is no one in a long-term position. Things are always unstable. Long-term goals force us to do things like learn the language, understand the social issues, strategically plan, get to know the people etc etc... most of all, long-term stuff forces us to go to God during the suffering and the praising... Yeah.
So yes. That is some what of what I've learned here so far!
As for pictures:
Lunch. :) Real Thai food that one of my cell members made. Nov 6.
One of the views from a train we were taking to the city of Kanjanburee. November 12
Me and Rung (one of the Thai workers @ Santisuk English School [SES]) on the train going to Kanjanaburee.
The waterfall at Kanjanaburee.
Me and Gai in the water @ Kanjanaburee. Gai is one of the Thai teachers @ SES.
On the way back from Kanjanaburee. Gai, Amy M., Mikalia, Moi.
We were in a tuk-tuk. My student Honey and her son, Nano. November 13.
Japanese dinner. Lol. We were really hungry. November 15.
Dr. Morgan's head and one of the palaces/temples @ the Grand Palace. November 18
Moi @ the Grand Palace. November 18
My student's son, Nano. He loves me!! And I am going to miss him SO MUCH... sigh. November 18
Some of my favorite things in Bangkok.
I saw this movie with my high school students on Nov. 21! :P
The other SES location that I teach English at. The city is called Lad Krabang.
One of the benefits to being @ Ladkrabang. CJ. Haha he's such a cutie. November 23
Here's his beautiful smile. November 23
These are the students that I teach @ Ladkrabang. Ploy, Milk, Mah, then me, Wit, and Ly. They are a very intelligent, unique, and hard-working bunch. November 23
Here is my other class at the Bangkok SES, taken today Nov 24! :)
Goofy picture.
Chris, Jeab and me. One of our students. Very good essay writer. :))
OKAY!!! Bye everyone!!! Send me a hello!!! :)))
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Update
Hello all. I hope you are all well. I'm doing pretty deece. :) Well, I'll try to keep it short. Please leave comments/message back I would love to hear from you!
Updates:
1. Got to talk to some people at NWC Breakout Chapel for my department and got to share a little about what I've been doing. It was so cool to "feel" connected with my profs, and with people in the department. :) I miss everyone. ;) I wonder if my sis, Paul, Matthew, and etc were there!!! Probably not. :\ You guys probably skipped out on that breakout chapel. Haha.
2. Anyway. This is what my Mon-Thurs days look like:
8 am - wake up, get ready
9:45 - make sure that lesson plan is set and turn on the AC in my classroom ;)
10 am - start class (English Level 2 -- there are 4 levels)
12 pm - class ends. have lunch. take a nap. go on the internet and update people. eat more. prepare and have the next lesson plan for my next level two class ready.
2:30 - walk to the van stop to be transported to the city of Lat Krabang
3 pm - van leaves
3:30 or 3:45 - van arrives to destination. walk to the english center.
4 pm - arrive at english center. continue preparing lesson plan. talk with the hosts. talk with my teaching partner. sleep.
5 pm - class starts (these are generally my highschool students. ;))
7 pm - class ends. walk back to location where van picks me up.
7:30 - van arrives, go back to Bangkok and apartment
8:15 - arrive @ destination. eat. prepare lessons. get ready for bed. talk with the team. journal. devotions. etc etc.
11 pm - lol i always try to aim for 10 pm for bed time but i always get in at 11.
3. WOW my schedule looks packed huh? In fact yes, it is. But the reward getting to know my students is very satisfying. For the first hour of class, we work on the grammar for sentences they write. The next hour includes pronunciation, Bible passage reading, practicing conversations, and going through their work book.
4. My students are so kind and gracious and thoughtful and sweet. One of them, called Honey, took me to a floating market and to Thailand's wax museum. She shared her time and family with me and some of my teammates. it was such a privilege to get to know her and her husband and 2 year-old son. Honey is one of the most hospital people I may have ever met. And the Aor, she is also very thoughtful. She wrote my name for me and thai and gave it to me on a cute piece of paper. And then Ple, she bought me some sweet taramind things to eat today. They are all so thoughtful. And older than me too. I will post pics up eventually. ;)
5. Right now, I am pretty tired. I did not get a lot of sleep because of a late meeting after coming back from lat krabang. I feel that I also am getting a little sick. So I'm trying my best to take care of myself. No more thai coffee drinks and fried food. :'( and junk food. :(((
6. There is so much more that I want to elaborate on. But I might be on the internet for DAYS. lol.
7. I feel a little misplaced right now. I have mixed feelings abotu Beijing. What are they you may ask? Well here they are: I'm wondering if I really did fall in love with the city of Beijing. I truly enjoyed my time there and seriously considered being there for a long-term typa deal. However, now that I think about it... I'm confused because I dont know if that was enough time to do "loving a city" justice. I do miss it though... sigh. But it was only two weeks so. Therefore, I am confused.
8. I really did enjoy my time in Beijing, but I am also enjoying Bangkok too. The people here are so different. It's not a good or bad thing. They are just so considerate. It speaks so much to me on many levels. Shall elaborate on that more some other time.
9. I went and visited a Hmong church on Sunday. Wow that was a breath of fresh air AND really interesting to see Hmong-thai people. They were very energetic and fun. Will elaborate more on this eventually too.
10. Well it's hitting the 1 pm mark, which is the 1 am mark for you. I need to get some things done like take a nap and get some food and lotsa water in me before I leave to lat krabang.
Thanks for reading!!!
11. Prayer requests: my health and the team's health (about 2 have physical injuries [someone came to asia w/ a bad knee and another rolled their ankle], 1 has a poor immune system and needs to watch everything they eat lest they faint, and 2 others are still recovering from a nasty cough/sore throat). Also pray for team unity, for peace since we all have hectic schedules and mainly for us to do His will.
Thanks!!!!
Updates:
1. Got to talk to some people at NWC Breakout Chapel for my department and got to share a little about what I've been doing. It was so cool to "feel" connected with my profs, and with people in the department. :) I miss everyone. ;) I wonder if my sis, Paul, Matthew, and etc were there!!! Probably not. :\ You guys probably skipped out on that breakout chapel. Haha.
2. Anyway. This is what my Mon-Thurs days look like:
8 am - wake up, get ready
9:45 - make sure that lesson plan is set and turn on the AC in my classroom ;)
10 am - start class (English Level 2 -- there are 4 levels)
12 pm - class ends. have lunch. take a nap. go on the internet and update people. eat more. prepare and have the next lesson plan for my next level two class ready.
2:30 - walk to the van stop to be transported to the city of Lat Krabang
3 pm - van leaves
3:30 or 3:45 - van arrives to destination. walk to the english center.
4 pm - arrive at english center. continue preparing lesson plan. talk with the hosts. talk with my teaching partner. sleep.
5 pm - class starts (these are generally my highschool students. ;))
7 pm - class ends. walk back to location where van picks me up.
7:30 - van arrives, go back to Bangkok and apartment
8:15 - arrive @ destination. eat. prepare lessons. get ready for bed. talk with the team. journal. devotions. etc etc.
11 pm - lol i always try to aim for 10 pm for bed time but i always get in at 11.
3. WOW my schedule looks packed huh? In fact yes, it is. But the reward getting to know my students is very satisfying. For the first hour of class, we work on the grammar for sentences they write. The next hour includes pronunciation, Bible passage reading, practicing conversations, and going through their work book.
4. My students are so kind and gracious and thoughtful and sweet. One of them, called Honey, took me to a floating market and to Thailand's wax museum. She shared her time and family with me and some of my teammates. it was such a privilege to get to know her and her husband and 2 year-old son. Honey is one of the most hospital people I may have ever met. And the Aor, she is also very thoughtful. She wrote my name for me and thai and gave it to me on a cute piece of paper. And then Ple, she bought me some sweet taramind things to eat today. They are all so thoughtful. And older than me too. I will post pics up eventually. ;)
5. Right now, I am pretty tired. I did not get a lot of sleep because of a late meeting after coming back from lat krabang. I feel that I also am getting a little sick. So I'm trying my best to take care of myself. No more thai coffee drinks and fried food. :'( and junk food. :(((
6. There is so much more that I want to elaborate on. But I might be on the internet for DAYS. lol.
7. I feel a little misplaced right now. I have mixed feelings abotu Beijing. What are they you may ask? Well here they are: I'm wondering if I really did fall in love with the city of Beijing. I truly enjoyed my time there and seriously considered being there for a long-term typa deal. However, now that I think about it... I'm confused because I dont know if that was enough time to do "loving a city" justice. I do miss it though... sigh. But it was only two weeks so. Therefore, I am confused.
8. I really did enjoy my time in Beijing, but I am also enjoying Bangkok too. The people here are so different. It's not a good or bad thing. They are just so considerate. It speaks so much to me on many levels. Shall elaborate on that more some other time.
9. I went and visited a Hmong church on Sunday. Wow that was a breath of fresh air AND really interesting to see Hmong-thai people. They were very energetic and fun. Will elaborate more on this eventually too.
10. Well it's hitting the 1 pm mark, which is the 1 am mark for you. I need to get some things done like take a nap and get some food and lotsa water in me before I leave to lat krabang.
Thanks for reading!!!
11. Prayer requests: my health and the team's health (about 2 have physical injuries [someone came to asia w/ a bad knee and another rolled their ankle], 1 has a poor immune system and needs to watch everything they eat lest they faint, and 2 others are still recovering from a nasty cough/sore throat). Also pray for team unity, for peace since we all have hectic schedules and mainly for us to do His will.
Thanks!!!!
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Some of China... and a touch of Bangkok. ;)
Me and Amy on Oct 23. We were trying dog meat today. It was very good. :)
Renmin University, also known as the People's University of China.
Some noodles I had in Beijing. Joann (our host) said it wasn'treal Beijing-people-food though. :\ Oh well. :)
Some students from Renmin University and me. We had dinner together and had a really good conversation. I miss them. :( Taken on Oct 24.
Random puppy. ;) So cute huh?
Haha. I know this is a funny picture of me because of the bag... Oh well. :) But I am at Tianamen Square on Oct 26. This is also in front of the forbidden city.
This is what 5 yuan looks like. Me thinks that the girl on the left is Miao-tsu (Hmong).
This is me kissing the dragon or elephant water draining thing @ the Temple of Heaven. October 27
I forgot what this hall was called, but it is the one where the Emperor would go pray to God and the ancestors. He would ask for a fruitful harvest for the year. (Still @ the Temple of Heaven)
Rose garden @ Temple of Heaven. Pretty huh?
Terracotta Warriors in the city of Xi'an on Oct 28. It was such a great sight to see. Wow.
One of the dishes of our last meal in China. Oct 28 :'(
Me and Jo-Lao-Sher aka Joann. I miss her so much already. She was such a great host. :'(
Thailand!!! Me on the plane.
Me and Mona!!! This was today. November 4. I am about to leave to go and teach English at Santisuk's Ladkrabang location.
More updates soon to come!!! I miss Beijing so much!!! And I'm really starting to get used to Thailand... :) It's been good so far.
Bye and please continue to pray for us.
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