Engagement pictures and other news

This past Saturday, Arm and I went with some friends from church and took engagement pictures. It was a lot of fun and the cameras just kept snapping! We ended up with about 500 pictures. I was shocked! It didn't feel like that. Arm and I were just enjoying ourselves and they had 2 cameras. Two hours later. . . BAAM 500 pictures. However, now we have A LOT to choose from. Here are some of our favorites :D.






Jan also went to a Christian Korean camp this past weekend, so she didn't come to church, but she had fun hanging out with more Christians. She told me today that she would see me on Sunday. Praise God she is still coming! Please keep her in your prayers.





Another exciting thing is my brother and his family are coming this weekend. They'll only be here for about 4 days, but I'm so excited to see them again! It's always nice to see family and friends when living on the other side of the world. Please pray they'll have a safe trip and no hiccups along the way.





The term is winding down and all of my students are getting tired. Please pray they (and I) will have enough steam to get to the end of the term at the end of February. Teaching, wedding planning, premarital counseling, going to and helping at church, as well as enjoying being engaged is starting to make a very full schedule. Please pray that God will continue to give Arm and I enough energy for every day and the wisdom to know what to plan and what to leave for another day because it all can't get finished in one day.





God has truely been wonderful in all the wedding planning. We've been busy, but things are continually coming together quite nicely and my mom has been great through skype dates, e-mails, and collecting things in the states. Please pray for continual communication as well as my mom as she's planning on coming a month before the wedding. YEAH!!!!!





Thank you all for your continual prayers and support. I truely covet them more and more everyday. May you continue to grow in the grace and love of our Lord Jesus Christ!!!!!

You know you live in Bangkok when. . . .

Hi! Things are going well in Bangkok so far, but we've hit a cold spell. What is a cold spell in Bangkok you ask? 57-62 degrees farenheit. I'm sure you're all throwing up your hands thinking "COLD?", yet, remember many places don't have hot water (thankfully I do) and there are tile floors everywhere (which are great in hot season), no indoor heat, and plenty of wind. Mix that with not expecting it to be cold and wearing light sweaters and having cold drinks easily at your disposale, but hot ones are a little harder to find. Also, the temperature will go well above 100 in a couple of months. Feeling sorry for me yet? Didn't think so. haha. Worth a shot, right?

Please continue praying for Jan. She has told me several times she's very confused, but she never verbalizes what she's confused about. She's talked with me a little about being Buddhist and Christian as well as the ramifications becoming Christian may have on her family. I'm sure there is more going on in her head than she's telling me. She has said she will come to church next week. Sadly, she has a class in the morning, so she can't get to church until the "official" church is over. However, it's really good that she comes and just hangs out. Relationships are VERY important in Thailand and she's spending time with me and other Thai girls at church. Arm and I are planning on going to her cousin's Buddhist wedding in a few weeks. While there will be a few things we're not allowed to do, we feel it's important we go so that her mom will get to meet us and see that if her daughter does become Christian, it doesn't mean she can't attend family ceremonies. It is normal for Thai Christians to attend Buddhist weddings, funerals, etc. and not participate in the religious aspects of it.

Thank you all for your prayers and support. It's very important and I feel truly blessed.

2009 has come!!!!

New Year's is a much bigger deal in Thailand than it is in America. My theory on this is that Thais aren't tired from Thanksgiving and Christmas, so they're ready to party! After mid-terms week, I got another week off. Traditionally, Thais go to visit their parents and other family members during New Years, so Arm and I followed suite and went to his hometown for 3 days. What did we do? Eat, sit in the house and talk or watch television, clean the fish tank, ride around rice fields on a motorcycle, and visit family members. We ate mu-ga-tat, which is an amazing Thai BBQ. Basically, you buy and cut up a lot of raw meat and vegetables and then you cook the meat as you eat it. It's honestly a lot of fun and perfectly safe if you do it yourself. Going to restaurants is usually fine too.

It was a nice time to spend with his family and just relax from the big city. We didn't take any pictures from New Year's, however, I do have pictures from other trips to his hometown that I'll include in this post.

Please pray for continued discipline in my work as it is the middle of the term and it is the tiring part of the term. I have to stay up on all my classes and make sure I cover everything and get all of their grades in on time. Also pray for Jan (the student who came to church last week). She said she would come back this week, but she never came. Her family might have gone on a trip for New Year's or something else could have happened. Pray she will come back. I will probably see her tomorrow.

Enjoy the pictures and may God bless you in the new year!!!