lots of news...

I'm gonna apologize ahead of time for this post of sporadic thoughts...I can't quite remember in order what all we did this week, so here goes :)

~Sunday night after church, we enjoyed going to a restaurant called "Boom Steak", where they served lots of American food...It was our group of six and our good friends Pat, Ploy, Fern, and a new guy we met who goes by Big M. It was so much fun hanging out with them--they are all 3rd year students who can speak really good English and we've had several other opportunities this week to spend time with them :)

~We didn't get to teach Wednesday, on account of the University being cleaned--for fear of spread of the swine flu. There's been a case reported in Thailand and one of the students in Thailand died from it because they had had a previous illness, causing their immune system to be weak. Therefore, lots and lots of people are wearing masks around town...Since none of us 6 are scared or paranoid by it, it's given us great opportunities to share with our friends why we aren't afraid--we believe God gives us courage and hope through Him :)

~Our party last night went great...some regulars came, but we also got to meet a couple new friends as well. We played several new games, including a game called Bananas (I think)--one person is chosen to be questioned, but they can only use one same word continuously to answer all the questions--without laughing or smiling. For instance, the group may choose "Bananas" as the word...Whoever wants to in the group can ask that person questions like, "What's your name?"--Bananas. "What do you dream about?"--Bananas. "What did you ride to school today?"--Bananas. We had people answering questions with words like roach, moist, monkey breath...But if you laugh when you answer, the person who asked you the last question gets to be the next one interrogated. At one point, I had to answer with sewage... "What are you drinking?"--sewage. "What's your favorite smell?"--sewage. "What do you like to swim in?"--sewage.
It's lots of fun to see how long you can keep a serious face :)

~One of the recent pastimes we've been doing: swimming! We've discovered a pool that's really nice and it's cheap to go to. Today was a great day to go, and Oliver & Charlotte got to join us as well... Pat and Nida also stopped by for a little while :)

~Coming up July 25-26: English Camp. It will be at a center in Mahasarakham...We have enough spots for 50 students to come, but there haven't been any commitments made so far. We've only gotten to spread the word the past week or two, and many people are saying they have midterms the next week to study for. Please pray that many students will want to come so we can use this opportunity to grow relationships with friends and spread the love of Christ. Also, pray that we will do our best to prepare for the camp and have faith that God will bring students to it...Many times, Thais tend to shy away from situations where they think there won't be many people besides themselves, but if they know that there will be a big group going to an event they don't want to miss out. So if we can get a few students interested, we're hoping that will bring many more to join...

~Tomorrow is an exciting day because a Christian family that consistently comes to Thai church Sunday nights is getting baptized...The father (Ot), mother and their 3 boys are being baptized in a nearby river, so I can't wait to be part of that joyous time in their lives :) God is so good!

Until next time, Adios! wait, I'm in Thailand...