Learning Thai

Here's a quick update on some of what's happening in our lives - and a couple of prayer requests...

Candice left yesterday for a women's retreat in Phuket. She called last night and said that it's off to a good start. Pray that this could be a refreshing time for her and that the kids and I would survive without her. She'll return Saturday evening.

Then next Wednesday, Eliza and I will travel to Mae Sot with the REACH team. We'll be doing an English camp for a group of kids there and then spending a few days visiting villages and a refugee camp.

We continue to be excited about the group that's meeting at our place. We're working our way through the Sermon on the Mount, and it's led to some very interesting discussions. You can continue to pray particularly for our landlord. He's taking this very seriously and is starting to wrestle with the implications. Pray that he could experience the peace of God.

-Tom

Posted by Tom & Candice Mast at 07:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

6 years old!!
We celebrated Claire's birthday yesterday since I will be at a women's retreat on her actual b'day (the 27th).

Claire chose ice skating as her birthday activity and it was the perfect weather for it- since it got up to 37degrees yesterday (98 F). It felt so wonderful in the rink. It was all hushed and steamy and you could even see your breath (something our girls haven't experienced in three years!). We all loved it in Magic Winter Land. Unfortunately we left the girls coats lying on the couch at home...hence Claire in the gigantic sweater.

Claire wanted a "rainbow" themed birthday but since rainbow decorations were not to be found, she was in charge of decorating herself so made the party hats and decorated our plates with rainbows.

Even Lambie got a hat! Another big milestone for Claire on her 6th birthday is giving up Lambie and sucking her thumb (very connected). Tom bought Lambie for Claire before she was born and she has been very attached to him. Over the past month she has been using a chart to work on using him less and less with the goal of giving him up by her birthday. She's done a great job kicking the habit! We'll miss you Lambie! :)
She's also looking forward to her school holidays (over March and April) and is finishing up her last three days of school this week.

In the heat, the icing was melting fast, so m-n-m's helped with the decorating issues. Claire loved her presents from family and got mostly books from us which we are looking forward to reading with her.
Happy Birthday, big girl!

-C

Posted by Tom & Candice Mast at 07:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

The other evening our landlady came over and cut this big bunch of bananas off of our tree. (I don't know if there's a word in English that differentiates between the individual bunches and the whole shebang or not. Thai, of course, has one.) She then cut them apart and divided them between our family and hers. So now we've got a LOT of ripening bananas in our kitchen. They're one of Silas' favorite foods - but I think that we're going to have trouble getting through them even with his help.

-Tom

Posted by Tom & Candice Mast at 01:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

A few months ago we made a decision about our future - but we just realized that we may not have made that clear to many of you. When we moved to Thailand in August 2006 we committed to staying for three years. Around the time that we began our third year here, we decided to extend that by two years. This, of course, was not an easy decision to make - especially as we considered schooling for our girls and the long-term separation from family. However, we are very excited about what is happening in Thailand and we are confident that this is where we should be for now.

So, we'll be visiting to the States for a time of rest and reconnection with family and friends in October of this year. Then we'll return to Thailand in January 2010. We're looking forward to seeing many of you again when we visit this fall - and we want to thank you again for your ongoing prayer support!

-Tom

Posted by Tom & Candice Mast at 02:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tom and I had this crazy idea that it might be fun to get to know Claire's classmates a little better and help them with their English a bit....so we decided to start an English "playgroup"/class one day a week after school and invited all the kids in her class to come to our house after school. We thought it might be a little crazy but fun. After 15 kids registered we got a little scared though! We've been at it for a few weeks now and the best word for it is MAYHEM...and fun too of course!

The first week, the kids were energetic but pretty good, although we were a little surprised how freely they dug into the toys and wandered off during the teaching! We worked on making nametags, spelling out words with plastic letters, saying our names, etc using mostly games. The second week, pandemonium broke out- the shyness had worn off and the kids were WILD!! They tore through our house screaming and pulled out about every toy we owned, with no interest in the games and teaching we had planned. Yikes. After an hour, Tom and I were both exhausted!

Week 3, it was Teacher Tom and Teacher Candy, back in charge! We locked up the toys and did a lot more planning! I bought a bunch of floor rugs with pictures of animals on it and every kid got their very own rug and place to be (rather than charging about the house at will). Yes, it took a lot of kid wrangling, and yes, we are still totally outnumbered, but things were quite a bit calmer, with quite a bit less screaming.
As an added bonus, some of the parents hang out, so we can meet them and connect them to their kids...and now when Claire talks about the kids in her class, we know exactly who she means! They are a very, very energetic and fun bunch.....
A few pictures of our wild times, I only wish they captured the volume of sound!.....

Day One. Jiw with her nametag.

The pile of shoes that is outside our house every Tuesday afternoon.

Chalk drawings in the driveway.

Drawing and labeling body parts.

Showing off their body posters to the class. There was quite a variety- one bleeding profusely, a princess, and lots with legs coming directly out of the head.

The new rule is that the kids first participate in our games/teaching and then they can have a little free time with the toys at the end. The kids seem to enjoy themselves- one has been dragged away crying and last week Ploy asked if she could come every day (um, I don't think so, honey!)....so if we can retain our sanity, we'll keep inviting them back!
-C

Posted by Tom & Candice Mast at 08:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

We got back from Loas on Saturday morning, tired out from a night on the train with grumpy, sleep deprived Silas. I think, without exception, we were very happy to be home. After a lot of standing in line at borders and the embassy, we now have new tourist Visas.

Monks in Vientiane.

We took many tuk tuk rides all over town. Silas usually was happiest when bumping along in his stroller or in a tuk
tuk. Most of the rest of the time, he was pretty cranky from his interrupted nap schedule.

Long line at the embassy.

While waiting for our Visas we did some sightseeing in Viantiane. Here is Claire with a pretty door in the gate to a stuppa we visited.

The girls got some of the usual requests to pose with other tourists for pictures.

Happy to be boarding the train back to Bangkok.

We have a full week coming up with preparing for a new team member, lots of meetings, Thai class, and a kid's English class (more about that soon!).
-Candice

Posted by Tom & Candice Mast at 01:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Because we couldn't renew our current visa, we'll be leaving tonight on a trip to Vientiane, Laos. We'll take the overnight train to Nong Khai and then cross the border into Laos tomorrow morning. It will take a couple of days to apply for and receive a visa to return to Thailand. We plan to come back on another overnight train, arriving home early Saturday morning.

The girls are excited about the trip - they love the adventure of sleeping on the train. And we are looking forward to exploring a new city (especially one with good bread and coffee) even though we'd obviously rather not be in this situation.

If you think about us you can pray for safety, patience for all of us (especially Silas!), and success in getting new visas.

-Tom

Posted by Tom & Candice Mast at 11:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Sunday was a big day for Claire! She was in a dance performance that was part of the end of the year show/Kindergarden graduation. Here she is in her dance outfit (check out our loaded mango tree and Lewis in the background!)

Claire with teachers. Her main teacher is on the left, Khruu Aew. Claire will miss her when the school year ends at the end of March.

The 500 or so parents and guests had a "Chinese table" meal during the program. Tom and I have been to several such events and have learned that this means you will sit at a round table with about 8 people, you will be given tiny servings of family style Chinese foods (like fish bladder soup) and the program will inevitably last for hours! :)

The Kindergardeners graduate. Claire's pre-school is called Anubahn Butsayamat and it is three levels of kindergarden. Claire is in the middle kindergarden so won't "graduate" until next year. :) Eliza will be in the first level starting in May this year.

Claire did a great job with the dance to loud Thai pop music (she had practiced with her class many days at school). She said she was nervous while she was waiting (for hours!), but seemed to have fun once she got there. Tom was taking pictures at the stage and said she was singing along the whole time!

Claire's partner was Pan...probably paired up as the two tallest girls in the class!

Claire and her good friend Dang Gwaa.

Claire and all the girls in her class.

Since the meal was, ummm...less than substantial, we made a celebratory stop at McDonalds on the way home. It was one of those days that makes you think, wow, my kid is growing up!
-Candice

Posted by Tom & Candice Mast at 05:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)