Rain, rain, and more rain

Hello to everyone! I decided my bro and sis-in-law had a good idea, so I decided to copy them. ;) I'm going to try to update this once a week so that I'll be able to keep in touch with everyone better. Some weeks it could simply be . . . "I taught this week" or whatever, but I'll try to keep it interesting. :) With the upcoming months, that shouldn't be a huge problem 555555.

It has been wet and cold on this side of the pond. It has rained (and I mean poured) at least once a day for the last 3 days. It has been about 23 degrees C (maybe 60ish F), which has caused me to wear a jacket or sweater. Definately haven't needed an air conditioner or even a fan for the last several days. It's kinda strange.
This past weekend, I got to be a part of Aim and Beth's wedding. It was an interesting time as they mixed American traditions with Thai traditions. The rehersal was interesting because everything had to be explained to everyone in two languages, plus you had all of the differences that had to be explained to everyone. However, it was a BEAUTIFUL wedding and went off without a hitch. ;) One of the exciting farang traditions was the fact that EVERYONE got cake. Many times at Thai weddings, they will have a fake cake with about 8-10 pieces of actual cake that are served to the parents, bride and groom, and a few other special people there. However, at Aim and Beth's wedding, everyone was served a piece of cake. There were even choices of chocolate, red velvet, or vanilla. If that wasn't enough, Beth had a farang make cream cheese icing for the cake. It was wonderful. 555555

Aim has been a friend of mine for several years. I met him the first time I came to Chiangrai in 2003 and we've kept in touch ever since. Beth and I became friends when I arrived in Chiangrai last Aug. I had the privilege of being a candle lighter in their wedding. They were the first Christian and farang/Thai wedding in Nan (Aim's hometown) so they created quite a stir. :) Enjoy the pictures :).

In other news this week, my students and I are getting together for supper tomorrow night. It will be a good time to hang out with them. This is the last term I will be able to teach them, and it is actually winding down to an end. I will give them their final exam next week. They will finish thier term here about a month and a half early because they must prepare to go to China in the beginning of September as well as prepare their internships after they are finished with their term of study in China. They are really busy right now, but we're all happy to have a chance to party and hang out before they go. Please pray for this as I am planning on sharing about Christ with them.

To enhance your knowledge of Thailand, and make it easier to read my posts, I'm including a glossary of common Thai words that I use on a regular basis and sometimes forget to translate :).

1) farang: white person/foreigner
2) 55555 : hahahaha (the Thai word for 5 is "ha", so I have used this as slang for several years and sometimes it slips)

More to come soon :). May God bless you and keep you always. Thank you for everything you've done.