Learning Thai

On Koh Si Chang

Eliza and I have survived a little over a week now on our own. Candice and Claire made it safely to America and are immensely enjoying their time there. We've had a bit of a rough week - Eliza has been sick with some sort of stomach ailment since last Sunday. It improved at the end of last week - long enough for us to make a quick trip to a beach on nearby island, but now today she is feeling worse again. Other than that though, we've been doing OK. We're buying even more meals than normal, cleaning less often, and Eliza's hair is freed from the constraints of barrettes and bands.

I'm still waiting to hear back about the English teaching job at the factory. In the meantime I'm getting more inquiries from private students but am trying to put them on hold until I know for sure about the other job. This afternoon I'm supposed to meet a friend for our first Bible study (we were going to start last week but I had to take Eliza to the doctor instead). Our team's method is to introduce the scriptures to Thai people and trust that the Holy Spirit will guide them (and us) in understanding as we read and study. That sounds good in theory, but as I look ahead a couple of hours and imagine all of the potential difficulties that could arise while studying Genesis 1 in Thai, I realize how much we are really depending on the Holy Spirit!

Thanks for your prayers for these ongoing Bible studies - and we'd also appreciate your prayers for health. In addition to Eliza's sickness, Anita has been diagnosed with dengue fever, and Sharon has been sick for a couple of days. Thanks for remembering us during these sometimes stressful and difficult periods of illness.

-Tom

Posted by Tom & Candice Mast at 02:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I'm currently reading The Kingdom of the Yellow Robe, written in 1898 by Ernest Young, an Englishman living in Thailand. One of the subjects he covers is Thai marriage traditions. At that time men were allowed to have many wives (in some cases, they still are) while women were not permitted the same "privilege." One reason he gives for this is that "there is a remarkable difference in the several dispositions of men and women; men, however many wives they have, and whatever their feelings towards them, would never desire to kill them, but if women had more husbands than one, they would wish to put to death all except the one they liked best, for such is their nature."

-Tom

Posted by Tom & Candice Mast at 02:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Claire, Fred and Laci get up close and personal with a hippo at the Crocodile Farm.

This morning Eliza and I woke up to a very quiet house. After 11 fun-filled days with part of my family, they - along with Candice and Claire - left last night. They're still in the air, on the 17 hour flight to New York. So now it's just Eliza and I here for the next few weeks. The time with Gail & Del, Fred & Michelle, and their kids went quickly. Over the past few days we went to the crocodile farm, did a lot of shopping, and got to go out for individual couples' dates. It was hard for our family to say goodbye last night - we are all going to miss each other a lot!

Now Eliza and I will need to adjust to a new lifestyle - it will be interesting to see how it goes. We have some babysitting options but nothing regular set up at this point, so she'll probably just ride along with me for a lot of my errands, meetings, and teaching jobs. I'm also hoping to get a lot of reading and some longer-term planning done during this time.

Here are a few more random updates...

-My first two Bible studies with our landlord (Khun Seri) have gone well. He continues to show interest and ask questions. I've also invited Khun Yupin, a Christian lady from our neighborhood to join us. She does an excellent job of gently and winsomely witnessing to Seri and he really connects with what she says. I'm excited about the potential of working together in other Bible studies with Yupin. She is interested in our "simple church" approach and has many connections here in Thipawan. She told me that she has been praying for the past few years that many people here would come to know Jesus.

-I've applied for an English-teaching job at a local factory. I'm excited about this for several reasons. It would allow me to teach adults. It would be a regular job and would pay fairly well. And, it could provide opportunities for further interaction with factory workers - something that our team has been praying for. If I get the job it would start in early July.

-And for those interested in Thai politics..a group opposed to the current government has threatened to move their long-running protest onto the Government House grounds this afternoon. The police are apparently preparing for the threat of violence and no one knows for sure what will happen if the protesters do try to force their way in. Let's pray for peace!

And of course our family would appreciate your prayers over the next month. This is by far the longest amount of time that we've ever been separated and we're all going to need God's grace to get through it with our sanity intact.

-Tom

Posted by Tom & Candice Mast at 10:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

The fun continues! All the kids are now back on schedule and we're having so much fun getting to know each other again. A few pictures of our last few days.....

On Wednesday, we all headed to the Grand Palace. The kid's were troopers in the heat. The guys had to do this classic pose that all tourists love to do.

But Laci did it cuter.

Claire is getting much better hairdos for school now that Aunt Michelle is around!

Laci is a big fan of Lewis who she calls "The Bunny."

And we're ALL big fans of cutie pie baby Owen. Getting excited for a little brother around here!

Today we enjoyed a "girls morning" (shopping at the weekend market) and a "guys night" (watching a soccer game at the stadium). Tomorrow we're expecting a big crowd at our house for church.

-Candice

Posted by Tom & Candice Mast at 05:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Soooooo excited to have our cousins from Delaware visiting us! This is our first ever cousin reunion with all 5 cousins, so it's a big event! This is the girls hugging Allison at the airport. We've been spending the first few days trying some new Thai foods, swimming, and mainly resting up and recovering from jetlag. We'll start some more sight seeing tomorrow.
All the kids have been great troopers and are adjusting great to being on the other side of the world. Poor Owen, the baby, is finally getting some sleep and feeling better.

Aunt Gail reads a story. The aunts and uncles are a big hit.....from badmitton with Aunt Michelle to Claire and Fred reestablishing their red-headed bond, it's been really fun. Allison and Tom are becoming big buddies too.

Here they are making yummy turtle brownies with the aunties. We are so excited for all the delicious snacks they brought!

All the girls in their new nightgowns from Grandma Mast. Thank you, Grandma, we love them!!

Today we had fun at Leo Land- our favorite water park and everybody had fun cooling off. Tomorrow Claire's headed back to school and the rest of us will go visit the Grand Palace.

-Candice

Posted by Tom & Candice Mast at 05:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

The Lord's Prayer is one of Eliza's favorites to recite at bedtime. This is mostly for the benefit of the grandparents! :)

Posted by Tom & Candice Mast at 07:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)