Learning Thai

On Saturday, we the monthly celebration meeting at our house in combination with a big Nicaraguan feast. Two of our team mates, Nixson and Efrain come from Nicaragua and we thought it would be fun to try some of their food. With them coordinating, we all worked together to make beans and rice (mixed, called gallo pinto), salad (vigaron- yucca, cabbage and tomatoes with lime/vinegar/salt, and pork rinds), and grilled meat. It was so delicious! ....and we made so much that the whole team has been eating it for many meals since!

Por (a university student and recently baptized believer who is being discipled by Efrain and Nixson and attends our meetings).....washing Yucca with Silas. Silas loves this guy and calls him Pii Por (older brother Por).

Our first experience cooking with yucca.

Nixson fries up the beans while Dan looks on. Since Dan lived in Nicaragua for many years, he was an important taste tester. :)

Dan assembles the vigaron to serve the old fashioned way...on a banana leaf.

Seri gives Silas a taste of the salad. Seri is a guest who makes himself at home....he swept our yard and driveway while he waited for the other guests to arrive!

Guests arrive: Geat and two kids Dtao and Faa.

Nixson explains the food to some more university friends.

I think the food made Nixson and Efrain (helping himself here) a little homesick! Nixson kept saying that the smell made him miss home.

This was Pon's last night visiting from Laos- he had to leave for the bus station later that night. So we had a good time of prayer and blessing for him. He misses Thailand and our group but is confident that God will use him in Laos too.

Sunday school...Eliza, Faa (that's a pork rind in her mouth if you're wondering), and Claire show off their "love crowns."

By the way, although not seen in the pictures, our team mate Colleen worked really hard to make this possible too! She also made a really good Nicaraguan drink- dragon fruit juice that required laborious straining of tiny black seeds! It was fun working as a team to make this feast possible and everyone seemed to really enjoy it judging from the amount consumed!

-Candice

Posted by Tom & Candice Mast at 09:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Since I returned from America last week we have quickly settled back into our normal activities. Those activities, however, never stick to the same schedule and no two weeks are ever the same. The other night we met with our teammates Dan and Colleen to talk about our current activities and to plan for the future and we thought that a quick summary of our agenda from that evening may help to give those of you who are interested an update on our work.

Discipleship – We spend a lot of time thinking and talking about how we can best encourage our friends as they grow in their relationships with God. This has lately been complicated by the fact that several of them have moved away from Bangkok, so we are making phone calls, planning visits, and trusting that God will continue his work no matter where they end up. Pon (our friend who has been studying in Vientiane, Laos) has been in Bangkok for the past couple of weeks during his university break. It's been encouraging to have the chance to talk with him again and to see the work that God continues to do in his life.

The foundation – I am working with the Rosedale Business Group to register a foundation that can work in Thailand. We envision this being a platform that will allow for a variety of activities in the future – hopefully including teaching English and exporting coffee. There’s a lot of work that goes into getting this kind of entity started and I’m working with a Thai lawyer to work through all of the red tape. We’re excited to now have a group of potential Thai board members whose expertise will greatly assist us.

University student retreat – We’re working with Efrain and Nixson to plan a retreat for university students at the end of October. They want to invite their friends to go on a trip to the beach that will also include focused times of discussion about the Bible and prayer.

REACH team – In early December another REACH team will arrive to work with us. I met the five young ladies on the team while I was in Columbus and we’re excited about them joining our team. They’ll do a lot of English teaching and we hope that they can also connect with students at the universities where Colleen works and Efrain and Nixson study.

Candice and I also continue to teach English to a variety of people – from kindergarten students to young professionals.

Hopefully this list gives you some ideas about how you can pray for our family, our team, and our friends!

-Tom

Posted by Tom & Candice Mast at 02:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Our friend Pon has a break from university in Laos and is spending a few weeks in Bangkok. It's been good to see him again and Tom has been enjoying catching up with him. For a few days, he went to visit some of his family in an area with a lot of shrimp farms. This weekend he brought us a surprise treat of a few kilos of fresh shrimp and three big (LIVE) crabs!

Silas calls crabs "pinch" for obvious reasons. :) He was quite fascinated with the live pinch scrambling around on our porch.

Keeping a safe distance!

It was our first time cooking live crab and I have to say it was scarier than I thought it would be! Those things do not go down without a fight. There was a lot of scrabbling on it's part and screaming on my part.

Finally he goes into the pot. I have to admit, I felt a little bad about live boiling. Sorry crab! But they were delicious! Thanks, Pon!

-Candice

Posted by Tom & Candice Mast at 10:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Look who missed Daddy while he was gone....

Playing catch with Aunt Gail's handmade bean bags (we love them!!).

Wearing his new jammies and playing with his airplane from Daddy. We are all feeling spoiled by all the wonderful gifts from America!

Happy to be together!

-Candice

Posted by Tom & Candice Mast at 10:13 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

We had to miss the wedding, but we decided to have our own celebration instead- just like we did when Uncle Philip got married. It helps make things real in the kid's minds. In fact, Eliza prayed for "Aunt" Mindy and I don't think she even noticed she called her aunt for the first time. :)

Claire's wedding plans. She delegated responsibilities to the rest of us.

Claire creates an artistic wedding aisle. We did an outdoor wedding- we got clouds, but the real wedding got rain!

The guests arrive.

It was a fancy wedding. Silas wore his dirt shirt for the occasion...and predictably, he kidnapped a guest.

Eliza was in charge of decorations.

Here comes the bride!

Prince George waits at the altar.

Scripture reading.

You may kiss the bride

The happy couple. We had to use a Prince since we have no boy Polly Pockets, but we thought the proportions were about right. :)

The only part of the wedding that was not pretend. :) Prayers of blessing.

Because when dolls get married, the cake must be pink.

While we were planning this wedding, we realized that Eliza has never been to an American wedding! Claire had to fill her in on the details from Aunt Anita and Aunt Rebekah's weddings. I loved the vows that Eliza came up with..."George, do you promise to take care of Mindy? Mindy, do you promise to take care of George?" We prayed that you will be really happy together and take good care of each other! Love and congratulations from Thailand!

-Candice, Claire, Eliza and Silas

Posted by Tom & Candice Mast at 06:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Since Tom's been gone, time has gone veeeerrrrry slooooowly. :) It's been a good time too though. We've been getting a lot accomplished in homeschool...learning about fractions, subtraction, Greek Myths, ocean animals, spelling, Bible, creative writing, etc, etc. Silas has been into riding his bike fast in circles around the house (although he still scoots rather than pedals) and painting with watercolors (so hard he puts holes in the paper).

A popsicle to distract from his aversion to bath time.

We've been thankful for the way God has sent little reminders that he is looking out for us....a friend who stopped in after work last night with some dessert, Ulai and Seri (our landlords) who check on us and bring us bananas.
I feel peaceful and safe- even after news that a thief was killed in our neighborhood a few nights ago- I know God has his hand on us. I'm thankful too that Tom has been safe in all his travels and is recovered from his sickness. Praying for a sweet time with his family this weekend and a smooth and joyful wedding day for George and Mindy on Saturday.

Ulai and Seri also brought lunch over (grilled chicken, fried pork, Chinese noodles, sticky rice, papaya salad) on Philip and Betsy's last day here (Tom left two days before they did). It was really nice to have a relaxed meal with them...Ulai hardly ever sits down to eat with us- she's always cooking and serving.

God is good. And we are doing fine in spite of a touch of cabin fever! Today we plan to head out for groceries and then have a little wedding of our own. ! Thanks to those of you who have prayed for us and checked in with us. We are looking forward to being reunited as a family next Wednesday!
C.

Posted by Tom & Candice Mast at 02:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

My Perfect Pet

I have a perfect pet, brown and furry. He is a monkey. He is a little quiet sometimes- a little too quiet because he climbs the banana tree and eats the ripe bananas! My perfect pet will sleep with me. We'll snuggle up in bed. My monkey will scratch my back and wrap his tail around me. When I wake up, he brushes my teeth! Then I tie on his bib and give him a banana or two. He will sit on his bench and eat very politely. And then we would run outside to play! My monkey makes me marvelously happy! Hurray for monkey!

By Claire

(Can you tell she likes to have her back scratched and her teeth brushed for her?? :))

Posted by Tom & Candice Mast at 11:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Philip and Betsy,
Your visit meant a lot to me. Thanks for...
1- Your boundless admiration for all things Thai...which made it a lot of fun to show you around.

2- Philip- for eating food that was too spicy for you without flinching :)

3- Betsy- for your insightful observations.


4- Keeping a Rhodes family tradition alive by playing Settlers late into the night.

5- Giving Tom and I a really fantastic date night. Thanks for paying for our sushi and taking care of our kids!

6- Introducing us to new music and playing guitar and singing your songs for us (I'll never forget the kids dancing behind you while you lead them around the house singing In That Day).

7- Being brave enough to venture out on your own and for learning some Thai words along the way.

8- Lots of reading, chasing, talking, holding, soccer playing, coloring, ponies, playing with our kids. They love you!
(p.s. Thanks for the shape game, Aunt Bek!)

9- For family art night (Dab Mast and Hermanito Mosquito forever).

10- Going on vacation with me and the girls.

11- Being our family and helping connect us with "home" again.

It was an incredible treat to have you here and we all have such good memories of our time together. We pray for God to use this coming adventure for your own growth and to touch many! His grace IS enough!
Love, Candice

Posted by Tom & Candice Mast at 10:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Praying for you lots as you fly across the world! We love you Daddy/Honey!
Candice and Kids

Posted by Tom & Candice Mast at 10:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I'm leaving early tomorrow morning, going from Bangkok to Tokyo to Dallas to Washington D.C. My youngest brother is getting married next Saturday and I'm very grateful for the opportunity to attend. I'll also be fitting in a meeting with part of our support team in Ohio and with the Rosedale Business Group to talk about the foundation work. I'll get back to Bangkok on Wednesday the 15th.

Our family would appreciate your prayers during our time apart - that I would enjoy safe travels and good connections in America and that the rest of the family would be safe and free from any illnesses or accidents. Pray especially for patience and strength for Candice!

Thanks,

Tom

Posted by Tom & Candice Mast at 08:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

* Claire learning the backstroke in the Gulf of Thailand with Uncle Philip
* Long talks about church and family
* Eating Thai seafood while watching Asian music videos
* Going to the British library and reading in the bean bags
* First time Thai massages
* Meeting my English students at the mall
* Riding songtaew trucks, skytrain, wooden floored bus
* Sidewalk roti (pancakes with condensed milk)
* Reading to the kids and playing Poly Pocket and ponies
* Listening to Philip play guitar and sing
* The fire show at the beach and eating by latern-light right by the ocean
* Ferry ride and seeing the colorful fishing boats
* Team church at the park and meeting our team and friends
* Shopping for souvenirs at MBK
* Eating duck and noodles at a hole in the wall
* Shrimp feast
* Eliza collecting rocks with Uncle Philip

Posted by Tom & Candice Mast at 04:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)