Winding down in Trang

Less than a week left in Trang with Cross Cultural Solutions! I can’t believe it. I’m not looking forward to saying goodbye, especially to the CCS Trang staff – Khem, Jack, On, Mama T, Cha . They have created my impression of Thai people. They’ve freely given me their time, their help with the culture, re-pronounced the same basic words and answered my never-ending list of questions. Sight-seeing is so different than partnering with people in another country to accomplish a shared goal. Serving together raises questions and situations that allow you to see and experience the norms of another culture while having someone available to help you understand it from their perspective. I’m so grateful for how they’ve come alongside me these last 5 weeks…

For different reasons I feel a connection with each of them: I love Khem’s wisdom in leading the staff and the volunteers as our Program Director. She’s a single woman balancing her career, responsibilities to her parents, she’s active with her friends and she looks toward the future with hopes for that special someone. Jack, our Assistant Director, has planned our cultural activities & group outings. He’s also spent lots of extra time with us in the evenings – going into Trang town & sharing his favorite hang-outs. I think Jesus shines out of him so much – he always has a smile on his face, a laugh and he continually seeks to serve us. It’s the time that Jack spends with us volunteers that makes me feel like we’re not work to him – “his job” – rather, he wants to be with us and he looks forward it. On, our Admin Asst, also loves kitties and cute things. I’ve shown her photos of the miscellaneous kitties I’ve met around Thailand. The day I walked around Trang town I ran into her downtown. As a stranger in town, it was so fun to have her call out my name as I strolled down the unfamiliar sidewalks. Mama T is normally the first person to the Homebase each morning and she greets me with a huge smile while I’m eating breakfast. Because of her I know many more useful Thai sayings. Cha drives me to my placement each day. We know about the same amount of English & Thai comparatively but that hasn’t stopped us from trying to communicate. He’s willingly quizzed me on the Thai names for fruits and colors and instructions that I can use at the Daycare. He’s one of many examples to me that language can be overcome as a barrier.
I’ve really come to love these new friends and I will miss them very much. I picture it like I arrived in Trang with my heart on a platter – ready to dive in and give it all I’ve got. I did & as I prepare to go, some of me will be left behind. I decided to stay in Trang for an extra day so I’ll have a little more time with the staff before I head off to Pattaya.



FUN LITTLE FACES
Here’s some photos of the cute kiddos I enjoy teaching and playing with each day. Heather, a new volunteer, has joined me at the Daycare so last week I started helping Khruu (Teacher) Ja with her group of children. Ja doesn’t speak much English but I have loved working with her because she finds ways to incorporate me into whatever she’s doing. To help her, I bring simple games & activities with written instructions that my CCS staff has translated into Thai. The kids are precious - among my favorites are Kong (cute smile) & Mo (with me).





A BREATH OF FRESH AIR

I have loved having new volunteers join us at the Homebase! Our house is more full & there’s always something happening to be a part of or a conversation going on. It was a blast to head to Koh Lanta this past weekend with four of them – Matt (New York), Evan, Tomas (Argentina) & Heather (Canada).






ANSWERED PRAYERS

I felt some personal breakthroughs lately as I’ve experienced new ways that the Lord is restoring and refreshing my heart and soul. It boils down to some basic things: I’m different because I know Jesus Christ. He’s transformed my heart and what comes out of it. Like 2 Corinthians 5:17 says: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” There will always be an element of ‘fitting in” to the world that doesn’t happen once we put our faith in Christ’s death on the cross for salvation because He has so deeply changed our hearts. At the same time, though, because Christ was so sacrificial in what He did for me, my heart has become more fully given to the people around me – friends that I want to know Jesus. I want them to have what I have. I long for Him to be glorified and for empty ways to be exposed because they fall so short of all the perks that can only be found in Him. These truths aren’t new to me but the renewal of them has felt critical in the steps that I’m taking forward in life. THANK YOU for your prayers for me!!

Miss you! Love, Becky

~ brief message to you ~

Hello!
Eight new volunteers arrived to CCS Trang last Saturday. It's been a blast getting to know them and spending time with them.
I leave in the morning for the island of Koh Lanta for my last weekend in Trang with 4 of the volunteers.
I hope to send a longer update on Sunday or Monday night since I won't be taking my computer this weekend.
Thinkin' of you! Becky

Settlin' In At The Daycare

The last week has been great! I’m very happy to be at the Daycare, serving the kids and the staff. My role is to look & find needs, providing an extra set of hands to help in all aspects of what the kids are doing. Typical morning begins with a crying fest of the children who are struggling with separation anxiety from their moms…sadly a few of these kiddos cry the whole morning that I’m there…Hai is one example. No matter how much I’ve tried getting him interested in a game, a toy, an activity, he wails unendingly and, if he can, he’ll take my hand and pull me towards the door, pitifully whining “Pai! Pai!) (Go! Go!) The ‘criers’ seem to struggle the most on Monday and get a little more adjusted as each day of the week goes along.

Given their short attention spans, I’ve been picking low commitment activities to do with them to help the staff – counting objects in Thai, telling them colors, playing “Ring Around the Rosie”. The kids are usually divided into either 3 or 4 groups, about 8 to 12 per group, with a staff person responsible for each group. I’ve been helping Khruu (Teacher) Yuun since I’ve been coming. Yuun is in charge of the Daycare and speaks the most English of the teachers. I’m happy to do whatever I can to help ~ this afternoon I raided the kids section of the Lotus/Tesco store (similar to a Walmart) in Trang for some more teaching aids. I picked up some balloons, plastic fruits w/ 2 halves to match together, little bowling pins & extra crayons. Along with some photocopies of paper activities, I’m armed for the week ahead :)


The BODY of CHRIST

Last Tuesday was a holiday in Thailand – celebration of Coronation Day – to mark the 59th anniversary of the Coronation of the King Bhumibol Adulyadej in the Kingdom. For me it was wonderful – extra day off to catch up on some things and to continue exploring the town of Trang. I woke early and took one of the CCS bikes into Trang. I covered a lot of ground quickly – had breakfast by the Train Station, got times & prices for traveling for the weekend, stopped by some stores…but the highlight was stopping by a coffee shop. I had passed it earlier & noticed the sign “Grace & Peace”. Hmm, I thought, wonder if they’re Christians…?

I’ve been looking for a nearby place (and there’s really not a lot that’s too nearby to the CCS Homebase) where I could meet Kwan, the woman from the church who wanted me to help her with her English exam. Grace & Peace is owned by a Christian Thai couple who have two children – Grace (a girl, about 9) and Peace (a boy, about 7). Instantly they welcomed me into their store & we had a conversation about our faith in the Lord. Mana, the wife, studied English at the University about 10 years ago, and though she feels rusty, we managed quite well. She was so happy for us to have met & asked if we could pray together right then – which we did. I left so encouraged & have been back twice – first with James to get an afternoon Iced Mocha before a CCS meeting & then to meet Kwan to practice English.

What struck me was how similar it felt to the weekend my Thailand plans were becoming official: I shared my concerns & the unknowns about my plans with a few believers and they made some calls, sent some emails & prayed with me that the Lord would coordinate the details. Likewise, I asked Jack about going to church in Trang & within a few days new friendships have opened up that I sense are among the reasons that I’m in Thailand. None of it has been about my efforts - it’s the Body of Christ working in harmony to accomplish the Lord’s purposes. I’m so grateful to receive these blessings and the renewal it’s brought to my heart.

Coronation Day also gave me the opportunity to see a Thai Dance ceremony - menora dancing.

WAIT A SECOND, ANOTHER BOUNDARY TO SET?

Just after finding a better balance of my time and stress with my Volunteer Placement, I received another new “boundary” opportunity….seems to be a theme lately! Long story that I’ll abbreviate: I was asked to select the color schemes for a group of chalet resort rooms in Trang. Now, isn’t it funny that I’ve left my interior design career in the US only to have this opportunity on the other side of the world? My heart is to serve people – which sometimes isn’t so good because I can commit to things that I shouldn’t. So, especially lately, I’ve been seeking greater discernment in my ‘yeses’ and my “nos”. The man that asked me to help him is the same great Christian gentleman from the church who invited me last Sunday night for dinner with his family.

So, “why is a boundary needed here?”, you might wonder…Well, I was immediately concerned that this project might not be little in terms of the time commitment. To serve him well, I would need to visit the rooms, consider the type & amount of lighting, take into account any existing furniture or furniture to be purchased, see how the exterior building colors would relate to the spaces, select paint colors and their placement within the rooms (and, oh, did I mention that he’d like different schemes in the rooms, not just the same for all of the rooms?). Would there be additional materials to select too?
The whole opportunity for me to help him had an air of concern to me about it. “Becky, don’t just say yes to this” were the words loud & clear in my head. So, after praying & considering some of what I did know about the opportunity, I wrote an email expressing my desire to help but also my concerns. I gave some options of how I could help him with more reduced time on my part but which would allow my expertise to give direction to his overall goals. The gentlemen very graciously wrote me back, letting me know he sees my concerns, is fine if I can’t help at all but will accept whatever amount of help my schedule and desire allows for. So, still a few decisions to make but I’m headed in the right direction…

Koh Mook

I made a solo journey to Koh Mook this weekend, an island off the coast of Thailand, about 2 hours (minivan & ferry) from Trang. It being low season, there were very few tourists & very few people that spoke any English. It was quiet and kind of empty; I felt lonely and got a little stir-crazy! But, it was beautiful & I took advantage of time in the ocean & the sun, time to read , pray & journal. Definitely wished you were there! Becky :-)

Some Photos to Tell the Story...and Some Changes

Saturday May 2nd ~ a 6 1/2 hour walk around Trang!

I opted to stay in Trang rather than to travel this weekend. Dana left Friday and James & Evan went away for the weekend so I had time to explore on my own. I started off at a coffee shop in the morning at one end of town and then ventured down many of the streets - eyeing up souvenir gifts & researching travel info - as I began a long walk back to CCS's homebase.

A photo can tell a thousand words so here goes... (can't resist a few captions, though)

Trang municipality has about 70,000 people with about 600,000 in the surrounding area.

CCS's Homebase is about 1 km from the entrance to the Trang airport - a handy thing for someone looking for her way home.

The Clocktower - I've read its the largest one in all of Thailand. Wonderful landmark for me to keep my barings!

Sign in front of the City Hall Building near the Clocktower.

Center photo shows His Highness the King.

Intricate detailing of an elephant on the sign.

We saw a real elephant being lead down one of the city streets the day before - don't know why? CCS staff said it was really unusual.

Sign post near the City Hall building.

Sawngthaew, small pickup truck with two benches in the back, used as a bus/taxi. I was looking for one of these to catch a ride back to the homebase but none around. Since the homebase is a little outside the city - they're difficult to find. I had figured I'd probably be walking the whole way back (and had 2 offers from the CCS staff for rides, if I got tired of walking). I'm guessing I walked 6 or 7 miles total?

Like other Asian countries, cute things abound - little stuffed animals, cell phone trinkets, shirts with catchy little saying. I love cute things and have a certain weakness for certain ones of these. Needless to say, I spent a few baht here and there...

Are there many other places where you could buy a scooter with Doreman or Ariel on it?





While American car companies continue to struggle, I've seen several advertisements for Chevrolet's truck - the Colorado. I couldn't resist asking the dealership if I could have a photo with one. :) Ahh, I do miss Colorado!

STUFF THAT'S BEEN HAPPENING...

BOYS' HOME to THE DAYCARE

I loved volunteering at the Daycare with Dana last Thursday. There were about 25 kids, ages 2 to 5. The Daycare is part of a Nursing School which provides both reasonably priced daycare for working adults as well as an observation/class requirement aspect for the Nursing Students.

My role is less structured - I helped with teaching the English alphabet, numbers, colors and playing games with them. I quickly had a couple of favorite children from among the group. The children are fed breakfast and lunch, have numerous hand-washings, have meditation time & sing the national anthem (I'm told this - we didn't do these two things on Thursday), play, short teaching time and showers/teeth brushing before their afternoon nap. Extra hands are really helpful!

Well, after a lot of pondering and prayer, I requested that my placement be changed to the Daycare. The Daycare was never offered to me as an option originally. The plan had been for Dana and Holly to go there & CCS typically doesn't send more than 2 volunteers there. With Dana leaving & Holly having cancelled, I decided to ask if it was a possibility for me. Khem made the calls & I'll be going to the Daycare starting tomorrow for atleast the next 2 weeks! I'm very excited. While I value the role I had at the Boys Home, I think this will be a better fit. And, I will return to the Boys Home for either the last week or the last 2 weeks of my time in Trang. (They already have 2 volunteers, who arrive mid-May, scheduled for the Daycare. I'll only continue there if there's enough kids to make it worthwhile.)

For a lot of personal reasons, I think this will be really good for me. Top of my list is my own questions of wanting kids or not, sometime later in life. As I've gotten older and am not married yet, honestly, I've often felt that they would be too much work. Selfish, I know. I've figured maybe I would just skip parenting (that is, if I do get married...) because my time to myself is so highly valuable to me. I've felt like I have this major irony in life - how can I want to give so much in caring for other people but be unwilling to give unconditionally to a child? (I realize that it's partly b/c as a parent you surrender being able to pick & choose when you give - it's pretty much 24/7 for 18 years!) Anyway, I love children and value them so much. I hope to process through some of this through volunteering - that the Lord will expose some lies in my thinking and give me a fresh perspective.

Among my other thoughts - different schedule (start earlier, done earlier) + less stress in terms of planning and language = more time for me to pray & process through the many things I had hoped to accomplish while in Trang. Possibly good for Evan to work on his own - planning wise? The three nursing students on Thursday & I tried communicating in English & Thai - good opportunity to make some Thai girlfriends while I'm here & keep learning the language on a bit slower pace (which I reallly need - I'm sad to admit!).

And, I guess what topped off my decision is the feeling that making the change was acting out a good boundary for me. Historically, I'm not good at choosing when to leave something - almost always, I hang in there, thinking that with more work & perserverance, the task will end in success. So often, though, I go down with the ship. So, I think this decision is progress for me in this area.

So, well see how it goes! And, the reality that I'll probably be back at the Boys' Home before I leave Trang is fine with me. By then there will be a few more new volunteers so Evan & I will have the opportunity to team with them for the lessons.

SOLO TRAVEL

With Dana now gone & James leaving this weekend, it will be just Evan & I for a few weeks. I'm anticipating that any weekend traveling I will do will be alone. So, I've adjusted to this idea and will run with it. While I get recharged alone, what's the fun to go to a beach by myself? So, thanks to ALL of you who I truly feel are along with me on this journey. I'll pull up a towel next to my beach towel just for you :)

CHRISTIAN CHURCH

A total highlight to my time is learning that one of the staff, Jack, is a Christian :) Up until this weekend I hadn't gotten to ask him much about his background and his faith. I asked him if I could go to church with him this morning & he said he was glad to. Jack is from a town about 2 hours away and he normally goes home on weekends so he isn't always in Trang to attend this church. Jack said that very few of his friends are Christians.

It was a large church - typically around 500 people - and there was English translation headsets so I could hear & understand the sermon. The sermon was great - on Acts 1:1-11. The pastor really stressed waiting on God's timing, knowing and having the Word deep in your heart and being a witness through the power of the Holy Spirit. At the end of the service, two people stood up and said they wanted to accept Jesus into their hearts! So encouraging and empowering as I press on to be a light where I'm at!

After the service, a Thai woman came up & asked me I could help her with English. She has an English exam that she's failed 3x and really needs some help. I hope it works out for me to help her somehow --- she doesn't have good English and my Thai skills, well...

And, a retired man asked me if I would like to have dinner with him and his family tonight. The man spent many years in the US & has wonderful English. He gave Jack & me a ride home & spoke of how he sees everything that's happened to him as a gift from God.

Please continue to ask the Lord to use me as a witness and encouragement to those who I meet and spend time with.

Gotta go for now! Wishing you a wonderful and restful Sunday!

Love, Becky

Another week goes by...

BOYS WILL BE BOYS

Bin, Pop, Kung, Bia, J and Kit. These are a few of the nicknames of the boys from the school. (Most of the Thais that I've met have first & last names but the names are long so they go by nicknames to each other - not just for us foreigners).

The largest chunk of my mental energy in the last week has been spent thinking of ways to teach English lessons & games to help the boys learn AND to always be prepared for a twist. I'll use one of today's activities as an example: It was a continuation of one of yesterday's exercises where we had given the boys a worksheet with Thai words & English translations & a pencil drawing of each word for clarification. The words were ones like: palm tree, sky, river, grass, flower, etc. We had told them (with some translation help by Su, our female Thai translator) to take 5 English words from the worksheet and to draw them in a picture with pencil or crayons (they absolutely love to draw & I think some of them designed the tatoos that are on their bodies). When their time was up, write the 5 words in English on the back of the page, and if they could, to write a sentence with 1 of the words. Our plan was to have them read their words to the rest of the group and they would get a candy if they could write and say a sentence (some of the older boys can come up with very basic English sentences though not typically pronounce all the words. To this, we volunteers give them great credit and admiration since we can't create many full Thai sentences!). The boys got into the activity right away - but -surprise! - we didn't seem to notice that Su had left after about 15 minutes. So we attempted to communicate in a combination of a little Thai (we have some phrase cheat sheets) and a fair amount of English, what we wanted them to do. "Khian bon gradaht." (write on paper) "Haa" (5) I held up the paper with the vocab and pictures, pointed to the back of the paper, interjected a smile, wrote the names on the back and wrote a sentence, showed the class (about 12 boys this morning) and ended with "Khao jai mai?" (do you understand?)

Gratefully, Bin, one of our older boys who both knows some English and is willing to take the risk of trying to speak it, said he did understand. So, we asked him to tell the others. Which, I think he did, but only about 5 of them started to write the words and Bin didn't understand it was to be on the back of the page. (Back or front side of the page did not matter - yea! they're writing the words! I'd given up on the sentence goal by this point.) James, Evan & I start walking around the 3 tables the boys are at, checking spelling, asking them to repeat the words after us "Phuud taam khruu" (speak after teacher) and encouraging them that they'd done well.

About this time, Su returned and was able to help us again with what we asked the boys.

Next we switched to working on numbers 1 to 100 - pronounication, writing both "1" and "one", we gave out a worksheet and then tested the boys by having them come up to a dry erase board to write the answers. We had two more games - Bingo (which many past volunteers say the boys love) and a "The Price is Right" kind-of game where two teams would compete to match items to cost amounts in baht. Both of these we didn't get to & we'll save for another day. (Tomorrow we're going to help with an English camp in the city of Trang - about 200 students participating.)

We typically reward the boys with affirming words, candy and stickers (Kristi - these are the girly-looking stickers that you left with me! Amazing how much they like them and they like to use them to decorate their nametags! Thank you!!!) When we first arrive in the morning the boys come over right away to sit at the tables, they take their nametags from us and they wait to hear what we're going to do. We've learned that if we (or another group - there's 1 group that comes one morning each month for an hour or so) don't come then they boys don't have a lesson during the day.

A quick word about Su: I'm very grateful to have her help though we often don't understand what she's saying and when she doesn't understand us, her answer is always yes, with a smile. Often, I ask her to say something to the boys, she says yes, and turns away, saying nothing. Other times, I ask her one thing to say and she says a long paragraph and the boys begin a variation on one of our lessons. She still knows infinitely more English than we do Thai and we desperately need her help if we want more success - so, thank you to Su - I will not take you for granted!!

In a funny note, Evan, James & I laugh that Su seems less comfortable talking to either of them than me. It is always, "Becky, you teach now", "Becky, you tell boys lesson", "Becky, I need to go". James and Evan have sometimes felt invisible and I've not wanted to feel in charge again. Is it because I'm the oldest? I'm also a woman? Who knows! Doesn't seem to have happened with past volunteers. Today we adjusted our tactics - when Su addressed me I looked at Evan, asked for his agreement & then did the same with James. Thursday will be good - I'm not going to the Boys' Home but with Dana for her last day at the Daycare Center - so Su can have lots of direct communication with the guys!

* "REST?" & OTHER THOUGHTS OF REFLECTION

Many of you know that I have looked at my time in Trang as a possibly restful time for me to pray through pieces of the future, maybe be a little less structure-oriented (yes, I believe this is possible for me through the power of God!) and chill-out a bit. Is this happening? Well, the first two days I felt like that was happening - I read a book in the evening, watched a movie the next night with the other volunteers, it was great. THEN, we started volunteering. Of the 3 of us, I'd say I'm the most planner-oriented, James is a very close second (and I'm very grateful that he likes having a plan b/c we'd be dead in the water if we didn't come prepared to the Home - it's hard even with a plan!!) and Evan is, well, not operating on the same mindset in terms of planning. He's content to go with the flow with what we come up with. This, I tell myself (over & over again!), can be great since, in some ways, I'm working on growing in some areas to be more like Evan. In this area, though, it's stressed me out. I've felt very concerned for when James leaves and I might be doing a lot of the planning solo or atleast have to use some coersion so we plan together. Finding a balance in all of this is part of my learning curve for Trang that I feel convinced is part of why I'm here so I'm pressing on. "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perserverance. Perserverance must finish its work so that you may be be mature and complete, not lacking anything." James 1:2-4

Likewise, I've run the gammet of feelings and emotions about the successfulness of what we're doing and all the frustrations associated with the lesson planning and execution...feels like we're reinventing a wheel that's been figured out decades ago and could be much simplier. I took some time to write out my thoughts in my journal last night and pray about how I was feeling. This morning I prayed through James 1:5-6, asking the Lord to give me wisdom about what to do. I was headed for a day of being grouchy and impatient. Praise the Lord for how He met me in my place of need. By the middle of the day, I decided to skip out on the activity for tonight so I could have some time to myself (time for this introvert to recharge!). I was feeling behind on the blog, too, and also knew that the extra time would help me in that area. Saying no to the activity, I'd say, triggered concern on our director's part so I had a long conversation with her about my thoughts. It was productive and she didn't take it as complaining (which I'm sensitive to not wanting to do - we're here to help, right?). She encouraged me about comments from the staff at the Home and the value of our work there and I was able to suggest ways she and the other staff could help us more with our Thai skills and lessons.

* YES, THERE ARE SOME PERKS

Just when I was ready to chuck my Thai phrasebook off a cliff (no, there aren't any around me) last week, the other volunteers & I did go away for the weekend. We went to Koh Phi Phi Don island, a destination that James had researched and really wanted to go to. In all fairness, I do need to mention the trip in this post. Koh Phi Phi has 2 island - a larger, Phi Phi Don, and a smaller, Phi Phi Leh. Koh Phi Phi Leh is where the movie "The Beach" was filmed. Both islands are beautiful with long-tail boats, snorkeling, beaches, monkeys and of course, mosquitos! I'm grateful for a weekend trip while Dana is here (she leaves this Friday) as I've enjoyed her company & there won't be another gal volunteering here for a while. I had my second round of stomach sickness over the weekend so I was in bed by 7:30pm on Friday night. All in all, it was a fun weekend that came at the perfect timing.

Since I still don't have any Boys' Home photos to share, I'll add a few from Koh Phi Phi!

who says a cat doesn't like the beach?

"Oh Huckleberry....time for a trip!"

This post has been long - thanks if you made it to the end! Let me know if you have something you'd like to hear more about. I'm still leaving LOTS of stuff out!

I miss you, Becky

Down South!

Hello from the coastal city of Trang!

Thanks so much for your prayers! It means so much to my heart to hear from some of you and to know that you're praying for me as well as the impact this trip can have in the lives of others.

It's been great being in Trang so far. I arrived Saturday afternoon. At baggage claim in the one-gate airport of Trang, the other 3 volunteers & I figured out who we each were & got our introductions underway. Cha, the driver for Cross Cultural Solutions, & Jack, the assistant director, met us at the airport. The CCS base is only about 15 minutes from the airport (and about 15 minutes outside of the downtown part of Trang). After we got a little settled-in, we were introduced to the rest of the staff: Khem, the program director; On, the business/finances person and Jiew (aka Mama T for Mama Thailand) & Jia, our cooks/housekeepers. I felt right at home by how much they wanted to answer our questions, were concerned about jetlag/being tired & made sure we weren't hungry. CCS has a nice homebase - capacity for about 24 volunteers they say (though we can't quite imagine that many in the house) - so we have plenty of room with just 4 of us. From about 6pm (unless we have a special evening activity) until 6am only the 4 of us are in the house - though there's a night watchman, Miaw, on guard out at the end of our driveway (I'm not sure if Miaw is there more for our security & the threat of theft or more b/c this is another way that CCS is providing a job for the local enconomy?). Here's a picture of the living room where we've met for our orientation & Thai language lessons.

Saturday evening we went on our own little version of "The Amazing Race" which was really fun. We were divided into pairs, dropped off in the downtown of Trang and given 5 tasks to complete in 90 minutes + returning to the homebase. Our tasks were focused around helpful information for our stay - finding the train station & getting schedules & costs of fares, finding a store where we could get digital photos developed, locating a travel agency & researching a weekend destination that we'd like to go to, buying an order of Ro Tee (a local dessert that the city Trang's known for) and purchasing 1 kg of dragonfruit. With limited Thai vocabulary we depended on our smiles and the graciousness of the folks we encountered. There was only one gentleman who seemed genuinely disinterested in our concerns - the rest were super helpful and friendly though not familiar with much english (which we expected for Trang). But, my teammate, James, & I got 'er done & we made it back to the home base 1st. (yeah, that is 1st out of 2 teams - guess we didn't need to be too competitive!).

I've enjoyed getting to know the other volunteers - in the photo, clockwise from bottom: Evan (19 from Vermont), Dana (19 from Massachusetts), me, James (32 from Yorkshire, England) & Khem, the program director. If you look closely, you can see Cha, our driver, in the back. The clocktower in the background is a landmark for Trang (makes me think of Back to the Future...). I'll get to spend a bunch of time with James & Evan as the three of us will be going to the Boys Juvenile Detention Home together. More on that below...

Sunday & Monday consistented of orientation time to get to know the area & more about CCS's background in Trang as well as some R&R time to get to know each other. Sunday the staff took us to an island off the coast of Trang for a grilled lunch & some time in the water & sun. It was about a 40 minute van ride to the coast from which we took a boat about 20 minutes to this little secluted spot. Absolutely beautiful!

Today was my first day volunteering at the Juvenile Detention Home. Everyday James, Evan & I will be expected to have games, lessons, something prepared to get the boys interested in practicing their English. The boys can stay at this facility for up to 90 days while they wait to hear the outcome of their case - most are in for theft. The facility has a tall chain linked fence with barbed wire surrounding the boys' grounds; guard houses watch the perimeter of the property. Currently there's about 35 boys at the

Home, mostly 14 to 17.

Today seemed to go well. We were armed with some ideas from past volunteers & spent our time doing introductions, competitive team Pictionary & a worksheet on basic body parts - we went over the English words & then had them teach us the Thai words. The boys can attend their time with us at their own will - i.e. if they get bored they can simply get up and walk away. Past volunteers left a lot of comments telling us not to be discouraged if they left - sometimes the group started at 25 and dropped to 5 by the end of the 2 hour morning period. We were encouraged. We started with 11 and kept adding on through our time - up to about 20. This is definitely a chance for me to [try to!] fit myself into the mind of a teenage boy. We rewarded them with candy & are trying to make learning a little bit of a game to keep their interest up. Looking at their faces, it hard for me to imagine them needing to be at the Home. Almost all of them look so young - and have a sense of innocence - I'm reminded of our director's consistent affirmation of the value of what we're doing - seeking to help these boys make better decisions for their futures as we invest time in them today. I keep telling them "dee mai" (very good) when they get something right and trying to catch their eyes to give them a smile. I'm ask the Lord to help each one of them see all that they can be in the future and to turn to Him. I'm glad that 80% of communication is non-verbal, I'm trying to shove a whole lot into each smile :) far more than I know in Thai at this point!

Overall the boys have some comprehension of English and seem to have a willingness to learn. I'm grateful for the opportunity of tag-teaming with James & Evan, too, as we can multiple our efforts, cut down on lesson planning and divide & conquer!

As for photos - they don't want us to take cameras to take photos :( i can towards the end of my volunteer time but even then I will need to distort the boys' faces for anything I print.

We returned to the homebase this afternoon later than planned and then had another Thai language lesson - practice, practice, practice!

That's it for now - time to head to bed!

Thinking of you! Love, Becky

Ahh, so much I’ve seen to tell you about yet time is limited – I’m sure yours, as well as mine, so I’ll stick with the highlights.

Kristi & I were grateful to return to a relatively calm Bangkok following the riots and protests of the previous week. Things had simmered down and the red shirts had conceded a defeat, abandoning camps & leaving the city with disappointment. I asked a few Thai’s their opinions & from an economy-driven-aspect they seemed annoyed themselves that the Thai holiday of Songkran was chosen for the protests as it disrupted an important time for Thailand to have tourists and the income.

We arrived back to Bangkok on Wednesday morning and headed to Khao San Road – a backpackers destination with cheap lodging and tons of stuff to buy. We were slated to load Kristi up with a ton of souvenirs and gifts to take back to the US, however the last ‘official’ night of Songkran got in our way. Not many vendors wanted to risk their stuff getting ruined while the crowds clearly valued partying instead! While I loved (well, that’s not completely true) Songkran in Chiang Mai, as it felt a bit more of a family affair, on Khao San Road it was much more of a Daytona Beach/Spring Break experience, in my opinion. Not only were we doused with lots of water, at this location (I don’t know about the rest of Bangkok?) the Thais were way more into smearing everyone with this water/flour (I think?) concoction. So, as you try to move through a sea of people – literally elbow to elbow – imagine the folks to your left and your right reaching out to touch your face or shirt to smear stuff on you…Some Thais were gentle, some a little rougher, all with good intent, I believe, though more than once it was TOO much and I needed some space! (Khao San Road during Songkran is not for the claustrophobic, that’s for sure!)
What added to our last night of Songkran (though technically Thailand extended the holiday b/c of the red shirt incident) was that I got sick on some Indian food Kristi & I had for lunch. Kristi is such a good sport – not only did she endure my love/hate feelings of Songkran (I hate being cold and I felt that way enough times to avoid some of the water throwers at all costs – including shielding myself with her body a few times), I got sick while we were walking around and threw up in my little plastic bowl while we sat on a sidewalk. (My little bowl was for dousing water on others.) Yep, good times! (Sorry to those of you who might not have wanted that picture ;-) )

the crowds of Khao San Road (top) & My "I've had enough of Songkran" face! (bottom)

KRISTI

It so much bears repeating how much it means to me that Kristi was able to travel and experience Thailand with me. She had already been to Bangkok and Koh Samet (a beach area) and I knew from long before our travel plans were definite that her motivation to go was to support and love me more than she needed to see Thailand some more. I felt her love and care for me deep down to my soul and her companionship in the last 2 weeks made the start to this adventure SO much more fun & memorable. I’m so thankful for the depth of our friendship which also lent itself to some ‘debrief’ opportunities for us to improve our communication with one another. It is a gift from the Lord to have friends that know us deeply, who applaud and nourish our strengths and who also can speak to our weaknesses gracefully with incite and love. In many ways, this aspect our ‘team’ dynamic during our traveling time has been a great preparation for my communication with the other volunteers that I’m about to meet. It was bittersweet to see Kristi off at the airport yesterday morning. So sad for me to see her go but so very grateful that she was able to come. I’ll forever cherish our experiences in Thailand together. We’re planning for a return in 35 years (if not sooner), let us know if you’d like to join us!

SOLO SITESEEING

I’ve had 1-1/2 days to recover from my stomach sickness, rest up and see a few more sites around Bangkok. With the extra time on my hands, I decided to take a ½ day tour of a floating market this morning. So worth the trip. It was about an hour outside of Bangkok & while it was quite a tourist trap, it was really fun. I almost bought a little toy for my nephew Grahm until I saw “made in china” on the bottom…hmm, what’s that about?! Since my luggage is already full, I’ve told myself not to buy anything of any size unless I’m ready to mail it to the US. This strategy had worked well so far and I’m glad to be more of an observer of the culture than a consumer of the available stuff!

I see the Lord putting people in my path that I’m grateful for: a woman from Canada who was likewise interested in some conversation & company – we ate dinner together last night; a guy from Brazil on my floating market tour who lives in Laos & who’s traveling for a couple of months – I was able to tell him a little of our time in Chiang Mai as he’s heading there tonight; a guy from Malaysia who literally knows more about US history and current events around the world than I think I’ll ever know – we had a long conversation including pondering of the sex trade - is ‘supply’ or ‘demand’ more to blame? When Kristi left yesterday, I was glad that I knew I was supposed to stay in Thailand. I pray that the Lord will continue to bring people into my life that He will influence me with as well as use me to influence.

FLEXIBILITY
My surprise of yesterday was that Holly, one of the 4 other volunteers I was to work with, has decided to postpone her time with Cross Cultural Solutions until September. She’s 19 & her parents felt uncomfortable with the events of the red shirt riots & protests. Very understandable. Of the other volunteers, only Holly & I had directly communicated and I had planned my day & lodging tonight around meeting her at the airport when her flight arrived. I was excited for the early start to this new friendship. So, while there’s a bit of disappointment on my end, I’m freshly reminded that this is a time and experience for me to remain flexible.

REFLECTIONS
For me the backdrop of this trip continues to be that I’ve made significant decisions to try new things as I consider the future. Leaving my job & going overseas for 3 months have both been enormous decisions for me, marked by the desire to find new ways to be challenged and to invest myself in serving and helping people once I return to the States.
Two songs that have really resonated with my heart are:
Whatever You’re Doing (Something Heavenly) by Santus Real
Details in the Fabric by Jason Mraz
I’m excited for the next stage of this trip – the time volunteering with Cross Cultural Solutions in Trang – and I look forward to seeing what it will hold.

Let me know how you’re doing!

Know that you’re thought of & prayed for.

Miss you, Becky