Learning Thai

Our Great God
by Fernando Ortega

Eternal God unchanging
Mysterious and unknown
Your boundless love unfailing
In grace and mercy shown

Bright seraphim in ceaseless flight
Around Your glorious throne
They raise their voices day and night
In praise to You alone

Hallelujah
Glory be to our great God
Hallelujah
Glory be to our great God

Lord we are weak and frail
Helpless in the storm
Surround us with Your angels
Hold us in Your arms

Our cold and ruthless enemy
His pleasure is our harm
Rise up O Lord and he will flee
Before our sovereign God

Let every creature in the sea and
Every flying bird
Let every mountain every field
And valley of the earth

Let all the moons and all the stars
In all the universe
Sing praises to the living God
Who rules them by His Word

I was listening to this song during my devotions the other night and thinking about how I've never been more aware of my own frailty or God's greatness in my whole life. It can be easy to get depressed and overwhelmed here when i think about the extent of the darkness and the number of lost people in this huge city. I am so thankful that God's greatness and not my weakness is what counts. In "My Utmost For His Highest", Oswald Chambers says, "We should quit asking ourselves Am I of any use? and accept the truth that we are really not of much use to him. This issue is never of being of use, but of being of value to God Himself. Once we are surrendered to God, he will work through us all the time."
The holidays have been a more challenging time for me emotionally. Please pray for joy and peace for us during this time when we feel the reality of being away from home and family. We are excited about our Christmas plans to travel up north to Chiang Mai and spend some time in the (hopefully) cooler north. In the meantime we've hung some paper snowflakes, put up our manger scene and are singing Christmas songs wtih the girls, despite the 90 degree heat!
-Candice

Posted by Tom & Candice Mast at 08:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

We've now been in Thailand for just over three months. It's hard to say whether it feels like longer or shorter than that. We're continuing to focus on language study and building relationships here in our neighborhood. I'm halfway through the second four-week module at Union Language School. We're focusing on sentence patterns now - learning to say things like "Don't get off the bus until the bus has stopped." "Do you think it will rain today?" "Please take this book to the teacher." etc. I'm enjoying the classes and I'm looking forward to getting into the Thai script after the Christmas break.

I'm getting to the point where I can carry on simple conversations and I really need to start practicing more. I've met a guy (nicknamed Golf) who lives down the street from us who speaks English very well. He's willing to help me practice Thai, and I think that he could be very helpful in learning more about the language and culture. He also (happily for us) graduated from a prestigious Bangkok culinary/hotel management school and is now working in his mother's restaurant.

We've been blessed by a number of people who have taken an interest in us and helped us in a variety of ways. This week we discovered (when a warning notice was delivered) that I had not been paying our water bill in the correct way. We asked a Thai friend to translate the past-due notice and they then insisted on going to the water department themselves to figure out what was going on. This same friend invited us to join their family at a celebration our neighborhood is holding this coming Saturday in honor of the king's birthday. That should be a fascinating cultural experience (and I'm sure we'll have some pictures to post afterwards).

Here are some random pictures from the past few days...

We had a team meeting at our place on Sunday. It was a good time of worship, Bible study, and talking about our team goals.

Last Saturday we went to the Gulf of Thailand and ate dinner at a restaurant that sits on the end of a pier. The scenery and the seafood were both good.

Eliza with ponytails. I think that she was getting tired of me asking her to smile when she gave me this look.

-Tom

Posted by Tom & Candice Mast at 04:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Happy Thanksgiving, everybody! We miss all of you at home and are thinking of you today. We enjoyed having our team here for Thanksgiving dinner (from left: Joe, Sharon, girls, Tom, Ben, and Dan) with a little variation on the traditional meal. We had roast chicken, corn on the cob, rolls, papaya salad, mashed potatoes and chocolate cake. Now we're all stuffed and the guys are watching the OSU game- only a week late.
We feel blessed and full of gratitude to God for all of you! We love you!

Posted by Tom & Candice Mast at 09:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

I had an enjoyable time yesterday morning learning to make somtam (a spicy green papaya salad with garlic, tomatoes, dried shrimp, lime, etc). Our friend Pino, who is a maid on our street, brought all the ingredients except for the papaya which are growing in our front yard and even the mortar and pestle used to pound together the ingredients. She speaks Thai very rapidly and I have a lot of trouble understanding her, but I am trying hard not to get frustrated with myself and to keep a learning attitude! In the end it went so well that I’m going to try making it for Thanksgiving dinner with our team tomorrow- we've got loads of papayas to use (three trees full).

We also enjoyed our first two English tutoring lessons with a Thai pastor and his family. They are Neno, Oay, Putter, and Grace. We are working on teaching them conversational English- starting with greetings, colors, numbers (I have one red pencil. Please take a green pencil, etc), and verbs. We are enjoying getting to know them better. If anyone has some English teaching tips let us know! We feel a little like teacher imposters but are having fun!

On Tuesday I made my first visit to Nightlight, a ministry to exploited women and kids in the sex trade in Bangkok. It was amazing to see so many women who have come out of prostitution and are now making jewelry for a living and learning about Jesus. They had a bible study while I was there and were singing Christmas songs. It's incredible to think about what God has done! I will be volunteering there every Tuesday afternoon/evening. Please pray that God will give me opportunities to serve him through this ministry.
Link to Nighlight’s website.

Posted by Tom & Candice Mast at 07:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Well I think I can say that today was the first time I ever went to church and came home with a fish (and a fish tank no less!). Our family returned to the small Thai church near our neighborhood for the second time this morning. We were blessed again by the family feel of the church and everyone's kindness toward us. Someone had a birthday so we had cake and the birthday lady gave little bags of presents to all the children. The congregation always eats together after church so we joined in and ate noodles with the pastor. In the process we discovered that he would like to take English lessons from us, so he and his wife and two children will be coming to our house two evenings this week to begin English practice. We are glad for the opportunity. Now, back to the fish! Claire and Eliza were admiring the fish in two tanks in the pastor's office, and before we knew it, he was offering one to us. They got the quite large fish into a bag and began dipping water from the tank and we realized they planned to give us the whole setup! It was amazing and we are all thrilled with "Dr. Dorothy" (she is a "doctor" fish and Claire picked "Dorothy" like Elmo's fish). The pastor even brought us home along with two guys who helped us set it all up. This afternoon Tom went out for food and came home with frozen blood worms, dry food to "make it's head grow" and a bag of teeny shrimps that she is currently gobbling up.

The church this morning had santas and a little tree with colored lights and it seemed totally incongruous with the weather! It's hard to feel that the holidays are actually approaching when the temparture feels like mid- August. The last two days have been absolutely sweltering although we had a refreshing breeze and short rain last night. I've been thinking about how I can make it "feel" like Thanksgiving and Christmas around here. I think more than ever we will just need to focus on the reality of what this season means, without all the trappings. We are so thankful for so many new expereiences and people in our lives this year!
-Candice

Posted by Tom & Candice Mast at 04:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Claire and I are doing our part to support the Buckeyes today for their big game against Michigan. If I had been a missionary in Thailand when this rivalry started 103 years ago I suppose that I would have had to wait for 6 months or so to get a letter from someone in Ohio telling me about the result. Thanks to iTunes, however, I will be able to download and watch the game within the next couple of days. All I need to do is studiously avoid the internet until then for fear of learning what happned. I suppose that all of those pioneer missionaries who packed their belongings in coffins would probably be ashamed of me.

This morning Candice's friend, Tiang, invited us to go with her family to a pool at the school where her husband teaches. We had a fun time with them - and the water felt great. Eliza enjoyed playing in the water more than she has before.

Posted by Tom & Candice Mast at 02:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

We've been agonzing over whether to cut Claire's hair. We love it, but she keeps getting heat rash from it and it's been a tangled mess which she constantly complains about having us brush. Tom finally talked us into it. Claire and I walked down to the beauty shop this afternoon and she got a huge kick out of being pampered, having her hair washed and blown dry, etc. We're trying to get used to her new look- we think she looks 8 all of a sudden! It's amazing how often your pride in your child is mixed with sadness at seeing another stage go by!

-Candice

Posted by Tom & Candice Mast at 03:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Cambodia border
We did our first Visa run yesterday- doesn't that sound all illegal and clandestine? Actually, it was an extrememly well planned and scheduled trip to the border of Thailand and Cambodia. Essentially, we just had to leave Thailand and have our visas stamped for another 90 day visit upon our return. As I mentioned, the trip was highly timed. We left on the dot of 9:30 in a nice air-con bus with lots of leg room. In exactly two hours we each got an allotment of toilet paper and stopped for a bathroom break. When we got back on the bus, fried rice was waiting, etc, etc. We even watched four movies, timed down to within minutes of each break and stop. The stop at the border was a little anticlimatic. We just stood in line for a few mintues for the stamp of approval and walked across the dusty bridge over "antifreeze looking water" (quote from Joe the intern who went with us) to stand in Cambodia for five minutes before re-boarding and heading back. For the first time in my life, I could identify with immigrants and asking for permission to live in a country.
For me the highlight of the trip was the natural beauty out the bus window. After almost three months in Bangkok, we are anxious to see more of our new home county. I saw rice fields being harvested, houses on stilts, all kinds of trees and palms, gray water buffalos standing with long legged white birds, and lots of lush greenery and rivers. Although we dreaded the long day on the bus with the girls (we left home at 8 am and returned home at 8 pm), they behaved well and Claire actually enjoyed the trip, eating strawberry popcorn and watching Dora the Explorer on the i-pod. We're glad to have the trip over with and that we don't have to do it again for 90 days!
-Candice

Posted by Tom & Candice Mast at 03:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

This morning we hosted a team meeting at our house and had a good time of sharing, Bible study and prayer. It was encouraging to hear more about how God is working in our lives and and we were refreshed by the fellowship and spiritual input.

After the meeting we went over to our landlords' house. They had invited us a couple of weeks ago, which is unusual - their invitations tend to be more spontaneous. They hadn't mentioned anything, but we wondered if there was some special occasion. It turns out that their youngest son had just graduated from some kind of college program and today was the celebratory lunch. Like usual, our landlady had prepared an incredible amount of food - probably 10 different dishes. We had two kinds of rice, papaya salad, several kinds of meat, fish soup, noodles, squid, and two kinds of spicy salad. (Then after we were back home this evening they sent over two bags of rice and shrimp.) Claire and Eliza enjoy being at their place and they really seem to enjoy having them there.

As we learn more Thai we're able to have slightly more meaningful conversations with them which is encouraging. On Tuesday Seri (the husband) will be having some kind of laser surgery on his eye which was damaged years ago. He's worried about that, so we'd appreciate you joining with us in prayer for him.

At one point during the afternoon the son who had graduated got dressed up in his graduation outfit and then a round of picture-taking commenced. Claire and Eliza were enlisted as props for many of these pictures. I think that they are starting to get used to it - they've been the subjects of many a camera-phone photo session at the grocery store or on the sidewalk.

Since we had our camera along we joined in...

Here's Candice and the food-laden table. (Carmen - I hope that you've taken note of the last two entries which contain pictures of Candice :) )

This is Dtu (the graduate) and his girlfriend.

Our landlords, Khun Ulai and Khun Seri. As the hostess she didn't sit down the entire time we were there. He ate with us and made sure that we were eating enough; urging us to "eat slowly" so we could fit more in. He speaks a little English (but always refers to Ulai as "my husband" - something that makes us unsure of any other relationship terms he uses).

-Tom

Posted by Tom & Candice Mast at 08:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Well, we hear that the cool season is (almost) upon us. The temperature today is in the 90s and the sun is blazing down. It hasn't rained for weeks. The local stores are well stocked with fuzzy sweaters, warm hats for babies and coats. We're expecting the snow any day now! We've heard it might get as low as 65 degrees and that Thais will be bundling up. With the rainy season past, we are noticing that our plants must be watered daily or they will shrivel and drop branches (and we wouldn't want our landlady to see that!). Even Claire and Eliza like to help.

We're enjoying this hot Saturday from mostly indoors (although the girls did "swim" in their tub on the patio and we had a picnic lunch- spicy papaya salad, chicken and sticky rice, out there). We are doing lots of laundry and mopping floors. Tomorrow our team will all be here for church and we will be going to our landlord's home for lunch.
Thanks for all your prayers. We continue to plug away at our Thai studies- learning how to ask more questions and talk in very simple sentences and different tenses.
Thai words of the day: living room= hong nang len (sit and play room). Foreigner=farang (we hear that one a lot).
"..You are no longer foreigners (farang) and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household." Ephesians 2:19
-Candice

Posted by Tom & Candice Mast at 12:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Bagged drinks - Iced coffee and tea (chaa yen - pictured above) as well as sodas are often sold in bags here in Thailand. I suppose that these are cheaper than cups and they are more convenient to carry while riding a bicycle or motorcycle. I've found, however, that they are not as convenient for setting on a flat surface. The coffee and tea are made from a strong concentrate and then mixed with generous amounts of sugar and condensed milk. Very refreshing!

Posted by Tom & Candice Mast at 12:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Yesterday was Loi Krathong day here in Thailand and we were able to attend our community's celebration. A krathong is a "boat," typically made from banana leaves, and it contains flowers, a candle, incense sticks and some coins. The practice of making and floating these on the first full moon in November began as a way to apologize or atone for polluting the water that is so important to the life of Thailand. From what we read and observed there is also an element of praying or wishing for a happy future.

It's a very happy celebration and is a family-oriented event. At our local park there were food vendors as well as people selling hundreds of krathongs. There were also carnival-style games, singing children, and a beauty queen contest. At dusk people began lighting the candles and incense sticks and floating their krathongs in the small pond.

Celebrations like this took place all across Thailand. Today one of the Bangkok papers reported that "A city hall campaign to encourage families to float just one krathong each into the capital's waterways appears to have caught on. Bangkok refuse workers collected about 20 per cent - or 250,000 - fewer floats this Loy Krathong from canals and waterways." That gives you an idea of how popular this festival is!

Here are a few pictures...

One of the many tables full of krathongs for sale.

Claire posing with a krathong.

People would light their krathong, take a moment to pray, and then release it into the water.

The most interesting game at the festival involved this ring with about 50 numbered tubes around the edge. Participants purchased tickets corresponding to the numbers and then two mice were released into the ring. One of them would eventually run into one of the tubes and whoever had selected that number would win a prize (anything from a stuffed animal to a radio to a case of beer). We tried our luck once, but unfortunately the mouse did not run into tube #12 and we left empty-handed. I felt somewhat cheated because at one point the mouse was heading in the general direction of our tube, but the people standing nearby evidently had their money on tubes on the opposite side of the ring and they succeeded in scaring the mouse away by banging on the wall. Oh well, maybe next year...

-Tom

Posted by Tom & Candice Mast at 09:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)