Home Alone

It's been  almost two weeks back to work from the Christmas break and what a change of pace it has been! Mike has been putting in 10-12 hour days getting things organized for the two teams that are here, one from Chile and one from Kona Hawaii. As he has not gone through the discipleship training school that they are a part of before, it has been a steep learning curve for him to figure out how everything works. And Rob, the base leader, has been away speaking at a school in Chiang Mai for the week so Mike and the team have largely had to figure it out as they went along. I have a feeling that is par for the course for missionaries!

Over the weekend we had the opportunity to take the Chile team to the flower show. Unlike last time, the kids carnival type area was open which the boys were told we could check out at the end of the flower show. And they had a little 3 year buddy, Sadudee, to run around to flower show with this time which they really enjoyed. Mike had to take the team back but the boys and I hit the rides section to pick out one ride the boys would like to try before we went home. Of course they chose bouncy castle world. I paid for them to have 20 minutes of fun running around the different areas of inflatable fun. Isaac and Oscar particularly enjoyed the big bouncy slide. I'm sure you can see why.

It seems as though our being from Raincouver has finally rubbed off. January - April is the dry season  in Chiang Rai and I have heard that it may rain once or twice for the whole 4 months. We have had about a week and a half of cool temperatures and lots and lots of rain. While we are used to rain to go on for days on end, I have never experienced the dampness that it leaves behind as we have here. The moisture just hangs in the air and clings to everything. If you are campers, think of the feeling when you wake up in the morning after a night of rain and get out of your damp tent and sit in your damp camp chairs. Everything is a bit wet. The floors are damp, the couch is damp, the cereal boxes are damp, and when you climb into bed at the end of the day the sheets are, wait for it, damp. However,

there are at least a couple benefits to all this rain and moisture.

1. You can discover play dough that has been left out for more than 24 hours in it original condition, no need to throw out dried out play dough rocks.

2. It makes seeds grow into flowers and vegetables quite quickly. Last week before the rain started we planted some flowers, corn, and tomatoes. We had to water them the first day but the rain took care of the rest. It didn't take long for the plants to start poking up out of the soil.

 3. Puddle jumping.

Mike is currently on his way home from Chiang Mai after being there for yesterday and today. As I knew that I would be home alone with the boys for two days with no vehicle and a forecast of more rain, I thought it would be a good idea to take them to something fun on Wednesday. We piled into the truck and headed for the mall. On the top floor they have a big play area with slides and a ball pit, and lots of fun things to keep them busy for 45 minutes. The boys loved it!

Thankfully, while still cloudy, yesterday was rain free so the boys and I did some exploring around the village that we live in, Nang Lae. It's a quiet little village with rice paddy-fields, banana trees, and pineapple plants all around. Nang Lae is known in Thailand to have the worlds best pineapples!The low plants are pineapples with banana trees behind them. Isaac did the whole village walk with the magna-doodle, carefully mapping out our route.

 We discovered an abandoned truck canopy which was now inhabited by chickens.

 We met a neighbour who enthusiastically gave each boy a big hug!

Oscar here is saying hello to you all "sawadee cup"!

 Homeschooling has been going much better since we started the curriculum at the beginning of last week. We were studying M is for moon and did a lesson on moon shapes with oreos.

 A is for apple, and so we did a craft today making an apple tree.

 We then spent some time talking about the fruit of the spirit; love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self control.  After reading the list, Isaac piped up and said "I bet self-control and patience are the hardest". Such wisdom from a little guy. Sadly I shortly after gave a lesson on the fruit of the spirit, I lost my temper with Isaac when the boys' usual shenanigans got to be too much for me to take. I apologized to Isaac and pointed out the fruit of the spirit I was lacking in; patience, self-control, and kindness. I asked him to forgive me and told him how we need to keep asking Jesus to help us. He of course forgave me and was soon playing with hot wheels.

Thankfully this afternoon the sun came back out and I was able to hang our bedding in the sun and went for popsicles with the boys.

Earlier this week for the first time since Christmas break there was a post office run. The boys were so excited to see the pile of letters addressed to us! We of course miss everyone at home so much, but have not yet come down with bad homesickness. However, when I opened a letter and pulled out a family Christmas photo and stared into the face of my dear friend, I shed big tears and felt an ache for home that I haven't yet felt. We are so thankful for facetime and email and good old snail mail to stay connected with you all at home and it makes the distance between us seem not as great.

Goodnight for now, Mike just got home!