Tuesday, August 24, 2010

As time goes by...



John has been here for 2 1/2 weeks now, and we are having a blast! The picture of the two of us is from the day John saw the ocean for the first time. It was a perfect day. Thank you for praying for him while he was traveling to come here. He is settling in just fine.

It is hard to believe that in one week, I will be standing on United States soil... Kentucky's to be more

specific!


Wow, how my time here in Thailand has flown by. A lot of emotions rolling around inside me the closer I am to leaving this land that I have been calling home for over a year. Five months to be away sounds so long, and yet so short to be home with my family. I am looking forward to seeing as many people as I can while I'm back. I just

know that my time in America is going to be a time of refreshing and more growth. I am anticipating to see what God has next.


I enjoyed teaching English more than I could have imagined. I don't like to talk in front of crowds, so teaching sounded quite intimidating at first. I'm thankful for Brian and Mary Beth's encouragement when I almost backed out. If I had, I know now that I would have missed out on a lot. Such as children's smiling faces, nervous laughs, eyes brightening when they got a question right and the opportunity to share the Gospel with one of my fellow teachers. Being able to be used by God to verbally share the Truth with a Thai person for the very first time since I have arrived in Thailand was one of the most wonderful and beautifully, humbling experiences that I have ever had. I am so thankful to have been able to be used for His glory.


Another plus for now having some English teaching experience is being able to come up with a lesson in 10 minutes. John and I were asked to teach at a one day English Speaking Camp in a town called Pattalung about and hour and a half away. We were originally told that lessons were already prepared and would be waiting for us when we got there, but, that was not the case when we walked in. Oh well! God's grace is sufficient in every kind of situation no matter how big or small, right?! We quickly came up with two different lessons and ended up having so much fun! I think I would do it again in a heart-beat. And John, who has never taught English, did great! The kids loved him.


After the camp we, along with the person we were riding with, went to a nature reserve nearby. It was actually a big lake connected to the ocean, and it was beautiful. I wish I had the pictures to show you. It wasn't a lake like we are used to seeing in the States, but rather more like our natural wetlands. It was completely open space and there were so many water buffalo and birds! An experience I will never forget =)