Our Winter

When my in-laws came to visit last month, our family got to experience winter for the first time in two years. Philip arranged for us to spend a few days on Thailand's highest mountain. Though claiming to be part of the Himalayan Mountain Range, Doi Inthanon's 2,565 meters (8,415 feet) hardly qualify it as daunting peak and do not allow it to claim any snow. However, it is high enough to be cool and for the air to be clean and crisp in January.

As we packed for the trip, the kids were so excited to see flannel pajamas (no footies, though), stocking caps, and coats. I am out of practice dressing toddlers in long sleeves, and Simeon has no experience, so our trying on session was a bit hilarious. He didn't know what to think of all those clothes! He actually had a fever while I was having the girls try things on, and he put on a knit cap and didn't want to take it off. Well, we managed to find plenty of clothes for the middle girls and sufficient for the rest of us. Grandmom brought some extras for Eris and Simeon which help round out their wardrobes. I am a sweatshirt girl and had brought too many with me (I had worn one once before this trip) and had to choose which to bring.

We took the night train up to Chiang Mai, managing to get some sleep, despite having to add cars around 3 am. If you've never been on a train while it is adding cars, the rough jerking back and forth with sudden stops as the train rams into the new cars makes for a rude awakening. Eris thought the train was having trouble getting started. Somehow, the other children managed to sleep through it. Upon arrival at Chiang Mai, we could feel the change in the weather. It wasn't terrible cold, but it was very comfortable to wear long sleeves. To the kids, who can't remember Indiana weather, it was excitingly chilly. Simeon did not understand the purpose of his coat and was very upset at Mommy making him wear it, even though his arms were cold.

 

Thai maps are notoriously un-detailed, rarely to scale, and at least half the time North is not at the top. It turned out that the cabin we had booked was 30 minutes from the National Park Headquarters and any sort of food. Despite the inconvenience, it was lovely to have so much space to ourselves. The girls said we had a huge front lawn. When we arrived, the grassy area was being watered. Again not realizing it was cold, Simeon decided he wanted to play in the sprinklers. We managed to steer him away before he got too wet.

Our home for our mountain sojourn was a one room 15 bed cabin - no heat, bathroom outside with no hot water. We were happy to have the extra blankets on the unused beds when the first night it got down to 3 degrees Celsius (37 degrees Fahrenheit). The six of us kept each other warm on a row of mattress lined up together. In the morning, we did our first bundling up. Takes a bit longer to dress four children in pants, long sleeve shirts, coats, hats, socks and shoes than the usual shorts, shirt, and sandals. We didn't even have to worry about snowsuits, boots, and mittens. Our cabin was in a valley, but when we got out in the open, the wind was brisk. Simeon kept saying, "Cold!" I think he really learned that the word could be used for something other than ice.

One of the afternoons, we had gotten pretty warm hiking in the sun, so we decided to brave playing in the creek by our cabin. When I asked Simeon if he wanted to play in the water, he immediately stripped all his clothes off and ran up to the sprinklers that were on again. We finally convinced him to go with us to the stream. Hollis and Meriel lasted for about one jump in a deep pool. Simeon splashed a few times before climbing up into my arms and clinging to me. I asked him if he wanted to get clothes on, and he shook his head. Again, he didn't understand that his shivering and purple lips would be comforted by clothes. Grandmom came to the rescue to take him back to the cabin and get warmed up.

Eris and I became the cold feet creek walkers. I explained to her about getting her feet numb: walking in the water for as long as possible, then briefly stepping out when the ache became unbearable, then back in the water again. We splashed and meandered along the way, avoiding the deepest pools. After a bit, we noticed that the water was running faster. Eris said that she thought the next "waterfall" (she called the little cascades waterfalls) was going to be a bigger drop. We carefully picked our way to the top of a lovely cataract, about 20 feet high. After enjoying the view, we headed home to warm our feet and relate our adventure.

At Doi Inthanon, we enjoyed hiking, seeing many waterfalls, seeing and hearing birds. Since it was the dry season after a rainy season drought, much of the foliage was brown, it was still beautiful. In the evenings, we just relaxed together. At night, the stars were more numerous than we had seen for a long time. And we enjoyed winter.

Ironically, shortly after we returned home, Bangkok experience a cold spell. Temperatures down to 15 degrees C (59 F) and not warming up much in the day. We kept out the warm clothes, shivered in the shower, waited until afternoon to wash dishes, and snuggled under the quilt at night with the fan OFF.  We did not, however, close the windows. Our winter was doubled from 3 days to 6 days.

Unexpected

God knows my needs before I ask Him. He knows what is best for me and has a plan for providing. He has provided for us so many times, in so many ways, that I expect Him to continue to do so. In my experience, He enjoys providing in unexpected ways.

The house we are currently living in is for sale. While we have an agreement with our landlord that we can stay here for a few month while we look for a new place, it could be sold out from under us at any time. It has been for sale for 10 months and no one has been seriously interested. This house and yard have been an amazing blessing to us but not without cost. We knew that finances were going to be tighter than ever this year, so we were wondering how God was going to provide for our needs.

About a month ago, our pastor approached us with the offer of a two bedroom house that he and his wife own. He said we could live in it rent free. On the day that we were to go see the house, we drove passed the part of the city where the house was supposed to be and kept driving right out of Bangkok. The pastor noticed our bewildered looks and laughed, "I just realized that we are taking you to a house that is not even in Bangkok Province!" He had done some thinking and praying, spoken with the assistant pastor, and realized that the other house would not work for us but another house might.

The church had been given two townhouses in Ayutthaya Province, 45 minutes from Bangkok. A team of people have merged and renovated the houses and started outreach there. They plan to teach English, hold special events, and gradually build relationships with those in the area. Some day, church service will be held there. Right now, the first floor is set up for church event and the second and third floor are empty. The pastor and the church plant team asked us if we would live in the top two floors, build relationships with those in the neighborhood, help teach English, in short, be the "on site" Christians for the new church plant.

To put it mildly, this was unexpected! God providing for our needs in a way that furthers His church and strengthens our relationship with our church family here. This was not a step we wanted to take in haste, but in our praying and continued discussion with each other and the church, it has become evident that this is His plan for us.

As our current lease ends April 1, we plan to move at the end of March. We have much to do to prepare for this move, but it will be our first non-international move since Philip and I have been married, so it should be easy, right? We are excited about God's plans as we learn to embrace and expect the unexpected.

2016: A Year of Joy and Peace

This past year has been a year of changes and growth for me. Last year, I wrote about improving my fiddling. It has been fun to actually be able to play some tunes. I was blessed to be able to play the kids to sleep on Christmas Eve with soft Christmas Carols and wake them up Christmas morning with "We Wish You a Merry Christmas!" I am excited to continue to learn with a book I received for Christmas.

However, the biggest changes have been in my heart and desires. Thailand has finally become my "home," and God has softened my heart to give me a real love for the Thai people and passionate desire to share Jesus in this dark place. Being part of Immanuel Baptist Church, a community a believers who actively share the light of Christ, has greatly helped me in this. We have been able to teach Sunday School, participate in a shanty community children's ministry, and give a Christ centered Christmas party for children our neighborhood. God is faithful to make us into who He would have us be; I am excited for this year in which He will continue this work.

This year begins with many unknowns. We are unsure of where will live when our lease runs out at the end of March. God may provide a way for us to continue in our home; we have some other possibilities we are praying about as well. God will clearly show us His will. We are unsure of whether Philip will continue to be funded by his home institution. God will provide for our financial needs; we just don't know how. Philip hopes to finish his dissertation within the next year to year-and-a-half. This means applying for jobs and many big unknowns to contemplate. As all these (and more) have been running through my mind lately, the Lord has clearly laid on my heart the words "Joy and Peace." This was confirmed by my remembering a verse recently posted on Facebook by a good friend; then I noticed the same verse in the elevator at church.

God's promise to me for 2016:

The God of Hope will fill me with all JOY and PEACE as I trust in Him, so that I will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13 (Personalized adaptions in italics.)

Here's to a year of joy and peace and even more fiddle tunes.