Chaing Mai English Camp 2009

I didn't know what was going on the first day of camp. I didn't know if I would have a class of kids, how long I would have them for, what I was supposed to do with them, if any materials would be provided for activities, if I would be sleeping with the kids, or if I would have anytime to myself. Oh, did I mention that we couldn't even really talk to these kids because of a slight language barrier? This was the epitome of not being in control of one's environment.
We started with morning worship and song service, and that was ok. And then the main camp dude, Ajun Saipin spoke for a while, and then we split into classes. Suddenly I was responsible for a dozen kids. I still didn't know what was going on. Luckily there were two teachers for each class, and my partner had a few ideas. We played some random games and taught them a song or two, and somehow an hour passed by. The kids went to lunch and I wondered what just happened.
Over the next three days most everything was done spur of the moment. If you got 5 minutes of cramming time before hand you were lucky. I ended up telling the story of David and Goliath one night--I'm ashamed to say that the story I told more closely resembled the Veggie Tales version than the Bible. By the last day (maybe even from the first day) everyone was pretty ready for the camp to end. We were having fun, but exhaustion was setting in. We were just sitting around chilling after our last official "class time" (or activity time, or whatever it was) when Cory mentioned that it just didn't feel like camp if we didn't have a camp fire at least once. This was our last chance. We ran over to the nearest 7 Eleven, bought a lighter, cleared a spot in the sand, grabbed some dried out Banana leaves, collected some old bamboo and kindled a small fire.
The kids gathered round and we tried to sing some good ol' American camp songs. They didn't know what was going on, they only knew a few songs in English. We decided we would tell another story and act it out, that had been a favorite with the kids the night before. We ended up telling three. Cory told the story of Shadrack, Michack, and Abendego, (spelling?) Jorge told a story of Daniel and Prayer, and I told the story of Daniel and the Lion's Den. Anyone who wasn't talking acted it out, and Supap translated. Afterwards, Brandon, Cory, Jorge and I stayed by the fire and prayed.
I felt that that night, as we kindled the fire, the Holy Spirit was kindled in each of us as well. I felt the difference in myself. I started the week out pretty pissed off, but here we were volunteering to spend extra time telling stories to the kids and praying with them.
I find I have a negative attitude when things are thrust upon me or I don't know what's going on. I threw up quick prayers throughout the week that God would help me have a better attitude. But I don't think God asks us to have the a good attitude. Just be willing, and don't worry about your attitude, because it will come with time. Its not our job to have everything figured out and be the perfect. I still don't know what's going on. I guess I'm ok with that.


The team.


The Hokey Pokey is not what its all about in Thailand.


Its me preaching!

Just kidding, I could never preach. I'm just telling the story of the Good Samaritan. Cory is the Samaritan, Supap is the victim, and Brandon is the donkey.


And the full cast! They were all remarkably silent... leaving me to try to sum up the moral of the story. Hopefully most of my bad sum upage was lost in translation.

Ruining Kelly's picture with the skin I just peeled off my forearm.


Oh, check out the elaborate costumes we designed and made! Remarkable craftsmanship, I know.

Making sure my group spells C, CH, CHRISTIAN correctly.


Flowery necklaces...


After Graduation.


The students' rendition of me. They spent like three hours on the shading on my upper lip.


Everyone!

Chaing Mai Bay Thiaw

Wall Mural

Sometime during the first or second week of our stay in Bangkok, Cory had the idea of painting a three story high wall mural on our street. "Just something to brighten up the neighborhood," he explained. However, as guests in a foreign culture we don't want to just slap any Christian image up. Over the past 5 weeks much discussion, consideration and prayer has been put into what exactly could be painted--what would be acceptable to put up in a part of town full of Buddhists and Muslims. We may have found the answer.

About 30 years ago a Christian missionary commissioned a distinguished Thai artist to paint certain stories out of the book of Revelation. The artists had no exposure to western illustrations of Revelation; his art was to be strictly from Thai eyes and in the Buddhist style. Four distinct paintings were completed and delivered; unfortunately, though they were beautifully rendered with exquisite detail, only a handful of people have had the privilege of seeing them.

The paintings were an attempt to illustrate Christian themes in a Buddhist medium, but it managed to alienate both sides. Certain Christians complained that the Bible should not be illustrated in a Buddhist style, and a group of Buddhists actually filed a lawsuit claiming that the paintings had been stolen from their temples.

The paintings are now in the keeping of a wealthy Thai, Christian family. Two paintings, one of heaven and the other of the millennium after the 2nd coming, are in their home. The third depicts the resurrection of the evil at the end of the millennium, and can be found on the 6th floor in the school the family owns and operates. The forth portrays the second coming, and cannot be found; I have yet to see it.

Four distinct paintings were completed exquisitely, full of painstaking detail. Each painting tells a specific story, but within each are sub-narratives to be discovered. We spent a good amount of time going over the paintings inch by inch and finding more and more meaning in the illustrations. I felt sure that if we were going to paint a wall mural, it should look like this.

So as of right now, March 28, we still don’t even know if we’re going to attempt this project. We may want to try to copy one of the paintings as closely as possible, merely rearranging design elements to fit a vertical aspect ratio, or we may decide to illustrate something less overtly Christian and just emulate the style. Or we may not do anything at all. This would be a leviathan of an undertaking. I have very little experience with real paint and no experience with three story high canvases. Cory has done some wall murals so that is encouraging, but the logistics of making this happen are far beyond my knowledge. Please pray that if it is God’s will that we spend our time in Thailand this way, that he will open the doors and make this happen. I know for sure that it will be a miracle if God completes this project through us.

PS These quick snapshots do not give the art justice.

Ayutthaya

Hua Hin Bay Thiaw

My Legacy in Bangkok

As a short term missionary you live for those moments when you know that you are leaving a lasting impression—when you’ve made a difference that’s tangible, lasting, and… well concrete. Last Friday night I had one of those moments. I had just been dropped off by the sang tao and was walking the rest of the way home. As I strolled down the street I noticed that something was different.
“That’s weird,” I thought to myself. “Where are all the street vendors?” Typically the side walk is crowded with make-shift shops and eager peddlers. But as I continued onward I saw only a smooth void of concrete.
“I guess they all pack up early on Friday nig—.” Suddenly my foot slips and I start to fall backwards. My spacecat-like reflexes kick in and my other foot slips backward to catch my fall. Close call. I look down in bewilderment. No banana peal in sight, just cement…cement that is wet…I’m walking on wet cement. As any good American I immediately wonder, “Why didn’t they mark it off? Where was the sign?” I look around hoping no one saw me. Immediately behind five solid footprints bear witness against me. Looking up I see a few Thai ladies peering from their shops.
“Give me a break, ladies. Where I come from we have clearly demarcated areas complete with a graphic of a man slipping just when someone is mopping a floor. We even have warnings on our coffee cups informing us that our coffee is in fact hot. I need something to tell me the cement is wet. I'm not smart enough to figure it out myself.”
At this point I would like to say that I thought about how I could make it right—you know, like when you back into someone’s car, you leave a note with your number on it, right? Yeah, I didn’t think about that at all. I just wanted to get out of there with as much dignity as a big, illiterate white guy in Thailand can muster. So I exited to my left stepping over the rope boundary wisely placed on one side to make sure no one walked into the construction zone—yes they put one there, but not where I had entered. I walked down an alley and never looked back. Actually that’s not true, I went back to see the damage. A dog or two had also been victim. I actually have been noticing a lot of the cement work in the city since the incident, and there are often footprints imbedded in the sidewalks. Apparently spick and span cement work is not a priority to the city planning committee of Bangkok.
So there it is. That’s my lasting impression on the city of Bangkok—something concrete I can go back to and say, “I made that. The city will never be the same because of me.”

The Stuff I'm Doing

Another thing I’ve forgotten to blog about is the work we are doing here in Bangkok. Basically we are doing documentary video projects around the city, and in the future we will travel around Thailand. That’s our main work. Cory and I are also trying to find time to do sketches for a three story wall mural we want to paint before we leave. And last but not least, each of us, Brandon, Cory and I, take turns teaching English in the Center. The first two times I taught I hade about 2 minutes warning, but it actually turned out to be pretty fun. My favorite thing to do is to draw diagrams of the mouth to illustrate how to correctly pronounce consonants. My newest method is to split the word up into consonant and vowel sounds and have them ununciate each sound by itself. I then try to get them to do it faster and faster until they can say the word. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. OK, that’s pretty much my work in a nutshell. Oh yeah I several weekends ago we went to Pattaya Prison and Cory and I drew caricatures of the prisoners. Ok, the end.

Chaing Mai

So I’m still catching up with my blogs. We went to Chaing Mai two weekends ago, and I’m finally posting something about it. Chaing Mai is the 2nd biggest city in Thailand, located in the north. We went to the Adventist center about 45 minutes outside of the city. This is the place I probably would have been working if I went to Thailand earlier. It was a really chill weekend; we just hung out with the SMs there and enjoyed not being in the city. The highlight of the weekend was going to this amazing waterfall. You can see video and a bunch of pictures on Cory’s blog. Seriously, click here now and see the video.


We're ready for a weekend away from Bangkok.


The new media and health centers. I'm not really sure why we all walk so far apart.


Captures the look of the area nicely.


Politically correct.


Not politically correct.


Only a piece of the waterfall. Go check it out on Cory's Blog.


The only way to travel.

Goodbye Paasaa Thai

Paasaa Thai class has come to an end, and I can now say that “phom puut nitnoy paasaa thai” (for all you ignorant Americans, that’s “I speak a little Thai language). But that being said, even the most basic communication with Thai speakers is very difficult. If nothing else, I feel paasaa Thai lessons have……strike that! As I was typing “Thai lessons have” I received a phone call that Cory was kind enough to record on his Mac. This illustrates my paasaa Thai skills better than I ever could write. Enjoy.

So I think it’s pretty clear; I’m condemned to play a losing game of charades for the next three months. So if I gained nothing else from paasaa Thai class, I have some warm glowing memories as contained in the following photos and video.

Me and my kruu (aka teacher)


The whole class. *tears*



So if you want a taste of learning Thai? Look no further.

Pictures at Last!

So we just finished paasaa Thai class yesterday, and we finally got the wireless internet working! So I should be able to post more often. Its hard to believe I've been here a month already. Everyday in this country has been bursting at the seams. Its been hard to find any free time to post whats been going on. These pictures will have to suffice for now.

Our night of arrival after a nice 20 hours of flying time.

The kids on the street where I live.

View from our balcony.

The talat behind our home.

baan phom yuu klay anusaawariiphrochaaw taaksin

The river I cross pretty much every day.

I am way too happy about this elephant.

Way too happy turns to panic.

I see potential.

She adopted me for a Sabbath afternoon.



Just chillin'




She thought I was handsome...




One of the very few pictures I took. Special thanks to Brandon and Cory who took all of these other pics, and whose blogs you should check out for more of Bangkok. I'm going to bed, its 3 in the morning and uploading photos takes forever.