Here are a few pictures...

Songkhla province has a series of long sandy beaches which were surprisingly empty. It's apparently not a popular spot with foreign tourists and Thai people prefer to sit under the shade trees to eat and talk instead of sunbathing or playing in the water.

Friday, however, was a school holiday and when we walked down the beach we attracted this crowd of kids - all eager to see Eliza and to practice their English ("Good afternoon!" "Welcome to my school." How old are you?" "My name is?" (that last one is apparently the way that many Thai kids learn to ask "What is your name?")) Eliza is used to attracting a fair amount of attention in Bangkok - but in Songkhla it went to a whole new level.

For two days we rented a motorcycle and had a lot of fun exploring on our own. The first day we visited an island in the middle of a huge lake and on the way back decided to follow signs for a mangrove forest and cemetery (unusual in our part of Thailand since Buddhists cremate their dead). We never found the mangrove forest, but we did find the cemetery in the middle of a small Muslim fishing village. This place was markedly different from anything else that I've seen in Thailand. The streets were narrow, there was a mosque on the hill in the middle of town, and there were goats and sheep running around all over the place.

While we were driving through the village, a man greeted us from the sidewalk and I stopped to talk with him. He quickly invited us out to a little house built on stilts over the lake to rest and talk. He brought us some food and water and told us more about that area.

To get to this house on the water we had to walk across a series of logs with only a very rickety bamboo fence to aid with balance. Surajai carried Eliza on his back - good thing for her, because I'm not sure if I could have gotten her there and back safely!

Another day we drove south of town and met Man, a squid fisherman who lives in a small house just across the road from the beach. He invited us back to his house and had his mother-in-law boil these huge shellfish for us. Then we went to the beach with a small gang of kids and hunted for crabs and crabs in the surf. Eliza stripped down to her underwear and joined the kids in the water. Then we sat in the sand and ate the shellfish (and Man ripped apart the crabs they had just caught and ate them raw). It was a privilege to enjoy this kind of hospitality.

We also visited the Songkhla Zoo (Eliza's reward for patiently putting up with all of our running around). It had the typical pros and cons of a Thai zoo. A lot of the cages were empty, but on the bright side you could strip leaves off of the bushes and feed them to the giraffe. And we got to watch a black panther being fed a piece of chicken dangling far above his pen from a pulley system. The zoo keeper made him jump and miss a few times before putting the meat within range of his leap.

All in all, it was a very enjoyable vacation - and Eliza was a good traveling partner. Here she enjoys a fried chicken leg at sunset.

Now we're looking forward to having Candice and Claire back at the end of this week!

-Tom

Eliza and I have been living a bachelor's life here. Lots of meals on the floor (meaning we sit on the floor, not spill our meals), minimal housecleaning, and Eliza somehow manages to stay up later than normal. We've been able to spend quite a bit of time hanging out at our landlord's house; he really enjoys Eliza's company. For some reason he's not showing as much interest in the Bible study we started - but I trust that God is continuing to work in his life. You can continue to pray for him and for the trouble that he continues to have with his eye.

Eliza has been a good sport about tagging along with me to a variety of meetings and appointments. She loves to ride on the motorcycle with me and almost without fail will begin singing made up songs in her high-pitched voice as we ride along. Next week there's a two-day Thai holiday, so we're planning to take advantage of that and go on a short vacation in the southern part of Thailand.

Again, thanks for your prayers for our family. We really appreciate it.

-Tom

But this sentence, which I also saw today, is not even close: "She attended to be an air hostage."

The teacher then went on to explain (in Thai) that "she intended to be an air hostess."

When I encounter mistakes like this it makes me wonder how many equally ludicrous things I say in Thai on a regular basis.

-Tom

"Every single town and village of Siam is crowded with temples...their number seems to be out of all proportion to the number of the population...[T]he reason for this superabundance of religious edifices is not to be found in the immense number of people who are popularly supposed to believe in the teachings of Buddha...no one who has lived in a Buddhist country will venture to assert that...the vast majority of the people do anything more than passively accept the superstitions of their forefathers without ever inquiring or even caring whether they are the true teachings of Buddha or not...It is not possible to call them Buddhists at all, if the term is to be used as comparable to the term Christian as applied to the believers in Christ in Western lands."

I'd say it's exactly the same as the state of Christianity in "Western lands." Whether we're talking about Christianity or Buddhism (or probably any other religion), a sizable percentage of people who identify themselves with that faith could not justifiably claim to be active, sincere disciples who are truly dedicated to the teachings and morals of the religion. All cultures contain some level of religious symbolism and tradition (Thai culture happens to include a lot). And even though many people are content to practice or observe only that "cultural religion" it is never the same as a true faith and commitment to the original teachings.

There are "true Buddhists" in Thailand and they bemoan the widespread hypocrisy and watering-down of their religion in the same way that "true Christians" in the West do.

-Tom

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

-Tom

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

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

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

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

Claire is continuing to enjoy her new level (kindergarten 2). It's more advanced and she spends more time writing letters (both English and Thai). Here's a page that caught my eye in her Thai reading/culture book.

The first page says "We have a wat [temple] and a school near our house. We go to the wat to make merit." On the opposing page it says "There is a church near the school. People who believe in Christianity go to the church. The church is the place to make merit for Christians." I'm not sure what nationality the priest in this picture is supposed to be, but he doesn't look Thai. I think this is a good representation of how Christianity is viewed here - there's not animosity or disapproval, just the assumption that it is foreign whereas Buddhism is the natural Thai religion.

Every morning the kids line up to sing the national anthem while they raise the flag and then they often do some other chanting followed by some dancing exercise. Claire was a bit taken aback by the wild dancing at first, but now seems to enjoy joining in. Here's a video of the student's boisterous rendition of the anthem.

This one day at the school is basically the only teaching that I'm doing right now. There are some possibilities coming up and I'm trying to be more selective in choosing my students. This is leaving me with more time for other activities and I'm excited about the good possibility of beginning Bible studies with two different people in the next week. Our landlord, Seri, is coming over tomorrow and another guy in our neighborhood wants to start something soon. This is what we've been hoping and praying for so we're praising God for His work and anticipating that He will glorify Himself through the study of His word. We're grateful for your ongoing prayers as well!

-Tom

Introducing our new and improved team! (also including our "India branch"- Lowell, Amy and kids). For those interested in who's who (r is for reach)......Back row: Anita, Amy, Reina, Nixson, Candice, Beth (r), Aida, Dan, Raul, Eder. Front Row: Colleen (r), Ashley (r), Nora Grace, Lowell, Sam, Miriam, Deanna (r), Claire, Eliza, Tom, Sharon, Joelle (r), Brittany (r), and Efrain.

Just for the purpose of comparison...this was our entire team 8 months ago in September at our last team retreat! Wow, look what God has done!

Our team won't stay this big for long as Lowell and Amy head back to India after the birth of their baby and the Reacher's leave us in August. Plus Sharon and Raul's terms as interns also end this summer. So, we're enjoying our numbers while it lasts. The time in Chiang Mai was really good for us in spending more time together and learning more about each other since we are spread out in our living locations and doing a wide variety of work.

The time was really refreshing. Dan lead us in studying examples in the Bible of incarnational ministry. It is such a challenge to think of all the new areas that God could be leading us into...but really exciting too!! You can pray for Tom this week as he begins meeting with two friends for Bible study here in Thippawan.

It was a big blessing for the girls too. They had the chance to have a "bible study"/craft time with a Reacher during our sessions and really enjoyed that. One night we had an evening Bible study and Eliza cried and cried that she had to go to bed because she wanted another Bible study. :) They also enjoyed running in the grass and playing with the Stoltzfus kids as well as daily times in the pool. Claire learned to swim underwater so that was a big deal for her!

Now we're happy to be back home settling into our normal routine. Claire is back to school today. She will be going to Thai school Tues-Thurs and having home school Mon and Fri. Tom is teaching English at her school on Thursdays.

-Candice

On Monday our team made a visit to Ayutthaya (the former capital of Thailand). Here is our first team picture with all 17 of us (plus Claire and Eliza).

Please pray for our team as we meet together over the next 4 days. I think we're all looking forward to a chance to rest in beautiful Chiang Mai, to get to know each other better as a team (since we have 5 new team members) and have time to think and pray about what God has in mind for our team here. We'll be traveling by overnight train tonight (Wednesday) and returning Sunday night.

On an unrelated side note, we were watching some CNN election coverage this morning and Eliza and I had the following conversation during Obama's speech:

E: I like Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama (Hilly Inton and Rak Obama)!
C: Who do you think should win?
E: Hilly Inton
C: Why? Because she's a lady?
E: Ladies should always win, not boys.

Just one pundit's opinion.

-Candice

One of his favorites, sushi, for lunch.

His birthday present, a lovebird (which is actually a small parrot), yet unnamed. He is a little nervous with us still so we are letting him live in the house for awhile and get used to us. Tom has great plans for his taming and training. The girls gave him a triangular Thai pillow for one of his favorite activities, laying on the floor to watch soccer.

Tom and his girls and birthday banana cake (recipe courtesy of Mom Mast- it turned out great!).
In birthday celebration part II ( I had to teach my final English class the night of his birthday), Tom and I went out for a fun date on Friday (courtesy of Reach babysitters) for BBQ, browsing a bookstore, Starbucks and a movie.

By the way, Claire has finally recovered from her "bug" (fever, intestinal problems) and is back to normal praise God! You can be praying we all stay healthy and safe for a busy upcoming week with the team. On Monday, we plan to go on a group trip to Ayutthaya (the old capital) because it's a Thai holiday and to celebrate our leader, Dan's birthday. On Wednesday we leave for our 4 day team retreat in Chiang Mai.
-Candice

Claire brought home these matching guitars from Burma and she and Eliza both love them. This morning Eliza was strumming and singing "Prajow pben kwaam rak" (God is love). I love the dreamy look (see pic) that she gets on her face when she plays. :)

Feeling very lucky to be mommy to Claire, Eliza and Nong (little brother/sister). Tom and the girls gave me a really nice day with homemade cards, earrings, roses, and lunch at a fancy Italian restaurant. We also got a chance to talk to our Moms that day. We love and miss you!!

Eliza shows off her artwork. She and I had a lot of fun painting together and making a little art gallery while Tom and Claire were gone.

This is the promised "Tom in skirt" picture. I'm sorry, he wasn't a very cooperative subject, so this is all I've got. He actually has three of these, called "paa kow maa" (the one he's wearing is from Burma and called a lognyi- everyone there wears them). The paa kow maa is basically a long piece of fabric that wraps around and can be tied or rolled at the top. This morning he was doing some "daddy nesting"- practicing making a baby sling from one. :) He actually wears them quite a bit and brags on their coolness and versatility (he took one for a towel/sheet/blanket on the trip).
Today we're enjoying a rainy day and are so happy the rainy season is finally here!!
-Candice