Four Moms, Two Friends, and Fish at a Floating Market

Woah...it's been a while.  But now that you know my schedule (maybe...I go to prison MR and to English class at Prathunam TWFS).  I think I'll abandon a rigid replay of the day by day, but I'll definitely keep you up with the highlights!  This also may mean that I actually think of titles for these posts...maybe...

So, Thursday I went to a different prison with Mark and Charlotte.  This art class is only about 6 students but they've been taking the class for a few years now and are oil painting.  Then they sell the paintings.  Most if not all of them are Christians.  I got to talk to the leader of the group, Boy (a pretty common nickname actually), just about random stuff.  He's getting out in a few months, so they're talking about that transition and what it will mean for the other guys.  

Update:  The class Charlotte teaches on Monday and Friday mornings in the maximum security prison is made up of the big dogs, the drug lords with long sentences.  I think they said there are about 33 of them in the building, so I don't how many take the class, but since this Friday was the last class, they did an invitation and 19 of them responded!  How amazing is that?!  Definitely be praying for them.

Friday evening I went to the Friday Night Life program and was the only native English speaker in the group.  It was a lot of fun though.  Afterward, this older lady told me I did a very good job and that she had a gift for me.  She gave me a coin that was made to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the king's ascension to the throne.  That was really great!  I told you these people are nice!  After that a few of us went out to eat and that was a lot of fun too.

Saturday was one of the best days so far!  After the morning English class, six of the students took me out to eat!  Here's the class:

We went to the floating market, but I didn't actually get to see any of the market wah wah....but maybe another time.  We rode the bus to get there.  And this lady, Ote, said that they all would be my moms while I'm here :)  So I call her Mom Ote, she is so nice and we all had so much fun.

We ate this whole roasted fish and several other dishes.  They wouldn't let me pay....again, they are so nice!  They ask if I like Thai food and I say yes.  Then they ask if I like spicy food and I say, "a little spicy."  Then they tell me which sauces are spicy.  I went to try one any way and someone stopped me and said, "You cannot eat."...She was probably right.

This is me in front of the market.  The restaurant was on a boat, but the market is not right there next to it.

This is Joe whom I told you about.  Keep praying for him.

Oh, and some random guy behind us I didn't mean to get in the picture, oh well.

Here is me with all my moms! (except Lek, second from left, she's not old enough :)

Here is a stand at the market that sold orchids....lots and lots of orchids...less than 50 cents a bundle!  

Today I went to New Vision Church again and before I went up I saw Chuan, a guy I met the week before at Friday Night Life.  I think he was supposed to have a class or something (the church is on the fifth floor (or really the fourth floor because the ground floor doesn't count) or the BSC), but I said I was going to church upstairs.  So he came with me.  I know he's a Buddhist because he said so and because he always will wai a spirit house when he passes one.  This is common.  The wai is the traditional Thai greeting in which one places his/her hands together in front of the face and bows from the neck.  Usually Buddhist wai the spirit houses or statues as they pass, but anyway, Chuan came to church this morning.  I don't know how long he's been taking classes at the BSC, but this was the first time he's come to church.  Pray for him.

After church they serve lunch, but as one girl said, "It was not delicious."  So I went out to eat with her (I think her name is Bet) and a guy, Mon, both of whom I met today.  I had Pad Thai for the first time since I've been here!  It was really good too.  Then we went to see the new Terminator movie (in English with Thai subtitles).  After the previews a screen comes on that says, "Please pay respect to the king."  So everyone stands and they play a slideshow of pictures from his life.  It was actually really cool.  The Thai people love the king!  It is illegal to say anything bad about the monarchy, but you can still tell the respect is genuine.  They really love him.  Also, because his picture is on all money, you can't step on a coin to stop it from rolling.  Anyway, I had a really good time with them too.  Bet has been a Christian for 10 years now, but Mon is a Buddhist.  Pray for both of them.

Well, that was a long update, but a lot has happened.  Things are going really well.  I'm getting comfortable with everything and beginning to relax!  Thanks for reading!

First Pictures!

And now the moment you've all been waiting for...PICTURES!!!

Maybe not very good ones, but pictures nonetheless.  Enjoy!

This is the road I'm staying on...in one of the rare moments with no traffic.

I pass this everyday on the way to Prathunam Center.  Luckily I don't have to cross it.

This is one of many little shrines.  I'll show a picture of a spirit house later, but this is different.  There is a little statue of the god Ganesh inside.

I do have to walk through this, however.  Pretty much every sidewalk wider than three feet is full of stalls like this.

SarahFae:  How about this one?  This is one of the begger children I see every so often.  There are several beggers in the city.  I'll talk more about them later.

This is the front of Prathunam Center, where I help with an English class four days a week.  Right after I took this picture is when a nice lady came up and welcomed me to Thailand!

This is the class most days. The lady on the far left is the one who just became a Christian, and the lady next to her is the one who so kindly informed me of the interesting linguistics of shampoo.

Here's what I had for lunch at Big C!  Called Thai Style Noodles, I have no idea what's in it besides chicken, noodles, peanuts, onions, and about a dozen other things.  Not bad though.

Webster?!!!  Yeah, apparently they have a campus in Bangkok.  Who knew?

This is me riding a songtoa.  Unfortunately I didn't get a picture of the songtao, but hopefully my expression accurately reflects my feelings toward them...I was VERY excited...apparently.

Well, there you have it.  Some pictures of what I've done so far.  I'll have more as soon as I can!  Thanks for reading!

Days 10-11

I do have creative titles for these things don't I....and now I've set a pattern so I doubt I will be able to disturb it.

Sunday was relatively uneventful.  I went to New Vision Baptist Church (I was a little late, but so were some other people...).  I had to fill out a guest card and wear this bright orange tag that said 'visitor' in three languages.  Some of the songs I knew in English, but the whole service was in Thai...but they had headphones with a translator!...but they were broken...So I sat quietly and and prayed, or thought about whatever else came to mind.  At the end of the service, they were calling people's names and they stood up, the camera came to them, and people clapped.  Then I realized these were visitors and I was going to be next.  Sure enough, the guy speaking says something in Thai then, "Timothy Chapman from First Baptist Church Salem."  O geeze!  So I stood and bowed politely.

I had lunch there after the service and sat by John, one of the directors (sort of) of the Baptist Student Center and we discussed some ways I'll be helping there.  (He has a six year old son named Timothy, btw.)  Then he took me to the office where I helped Joe and Jeanie finish packing.  Told you it was uneventful.  After we got back I went to Starbucks where I still had no luck posting pictures on here.  Luckily, there is wireless internet at the office, so I'm planning on taking my computer there tomorrow and get this picture thing going!

Monday I went back with Mark and Charlotte to the same prison.  The prisons are interesting.  After going through two gates, you have to go through a metal detector, then get frisked (twice Monday as it turned out) then go through about three more gates before getting to the buildings where the prisoners are.  Usually by the time we leave, they are taking out the trash so it's a test to see just how long you can hold your breath!  The showers are right behind the room where we have art class in the afternoon.  Jesse said as soon as we leave it's a mad dash to get a shower!

Pray for the African guys in the morning Bible study, pray especially for freedom from bitterness and hope in the future.  Many of them really want to learn more, but their opportunities are limited.  In the afternoon I went to the art class and gave a short devotional.  Pray that God would give me words to say if I continue doing that.  I got to talk to Jesse some more and he seems to be doing really well all things considered.  Of course, keep praying for him too.

I hate to give any hope, but maybe pictures tomorrow!

Days 8-9

Friday meant another day at prison (at, not in so to speak).  I rode a motorcycle taxi (yikes!  but cheap!) to the SkyTrain to the subway and met two new guys who work in the prison ministry.  We went back to the same one I went to Monday and did pretty much the same thing.  I went with a man named Gary for the morning and he led a Bible study.  He's in Thailand for eight months (I think) with a group called Bible Study Fellowship which pretty much just tries to start Bible studies.  I was in a different building, but this also was a group of mostly Nigerian men.  Many of them have been saved after being in prison.

After lunch there (which included squid, yay.), I went to Charlotte's art class.  I gave a little devotional thing, but then got to talk to Jesse just for a few minutes.  I don't know when it happened, I asked him and he didn't know when it became "a conscious decision," but he had decided to baptized.  How awesome!  Charlotte said, "yeah, he's come back to the Lord."  Can you imagine God using imprisonment in Thailand to bring an American prodigal to Himself?!  That is some amazing love he has, indeed, that he'd go to those lengths.

Then Friday night I went to Friday Night Life, an English program at the BSC.  I was there early, though, and got to talk to one of the teachers there.  Ms. Lorena is 88 years old and has been in Bangkok teaching English only since 2002.  She loves it here, really considers it home.  She said she returned to San Diego for five months a little while ago and didn't like it; she missed Bangkok.  "I just have so many friends here," she said.  She also talked about her "kids," a group of Thais she used to have over to house and cook for, they could practice their English and she would teach Bible stories.  That is so amazing how she's invested in their lives like that.

(Gayla and Sheri:  guess who was at English Corner?  That history man who wore you out last year!  lol.  He talked to me for a while, but luckily not too long.  Thought you would like to know he's still around!)

Saturday I went to Prathunam again for an English class.  This weekend class is mostly different students, most of which know a little more English than those during the week.    After class, many of the students stayed and talked for a little while and discussed going out to eat next Saturday after class.  That will be awesome!  I can't wait!!!  I also got to meet Joe.  Joe is a 28 year old Thai engineer.  He speaks pretty good English too.  We went out to eat and to Starbucks after class.  As we were walking there he asked me why I came to Thailand, etc.  So there I was walking down a busy street in Bangkok (in the blazing hot weather of course) telling this man a mini-testimony.  It was pretty cool actually.  I'm really looking forward to getting to know him.  He said flat-out, "I'm Buddhist,"  but he's been to church a few times and he takes classes at the BSC.  Definitely be praying for him and for me as I get to know him.

Day 7

So...I have spent the last three days trying to locate free internet so I could upload pictures, and I still haven't been able to find any. (It even costs at Starbucksf!! What is the world coming to?!!) So, if a picture is worth a thousand words, I guess I'll just have to use that many to tell you about my day.

I went to Prathunam Center again this morning for English class. Prathunam Center is at least five stories tall and is mostly stalls of souvenir vendors. There are also massage places, and like usual, someone sits outside trying to get you to come in by saying, "Hello, massaaaage?" I went to the front to take a picture (sorry for the tease) and this nice Thai lady came up and asked where I was from, how long I was going to be here, etc and welcomed me to Thailand. It really is the "Land of Smiles!" And hospitality to boot!

I did my five minute English thing. I think I talked about directions (left, right, and the cardinal directions). In the middle of the class, one of the ladies asked what my name means. David (the teacher) said he didn't know. She said, "In Thailand, Timothy is shampoo." Great....Hi, my name is shampoo. Your country is beautiful....

I had lunch at the Thai food court again and then Dairy Queen! Then I went to see if I could find the Well all by myself (ride on a songtao included). I did it! There aren't as many Westerners in that part of the city, and apparently those who are don't ride the songtaos much because people tend to look at me like, "What is he doing on here?" O well, it was worth it.

In the evening, I went to the Baptist Student Center to help with the English Conversation Corner. Though I had my reservations (conversations aren't always my strong suit), it ended up being a really good time. I got to talk to three university students who were my age and several other people. They asked a lot of questions and it was fun just getting to talk to them. (I think at some point someone was trying to set me up with their daughter; and that's happened again! yikes!) I look forward to doing this again.

Days 5-6

Well Yesterday was the first day I had rice for two meals in the same day, but I have a feeling it won't be the last. . .

In the morning, I went to Pratunam Center to help with an English class. The class runs at least five times a week and most of the people either have shops there or work in the area. The classes are designed to teach "English through entertainment" so there's singing and interaction and whatnot. The students run on Thai time so they just show up whenever...never at 10:30 when the class is scheduled to start :) There are about 8 students and the class is pre-Basic level, so much of is is in Thai and I just sit and listen. I will be doing a five minute time at the beginning of each class in which only English is allowed. Pray for me in that. I basically just have to talk about whatever for five minutes and hope some of it is understandable!

I ate lunch at Big C (basically another shopping center with small stores and a grocery store); there's a Thai food court upstairs. Luckily I had been to a similar one last year so I knew how it worked! You have to go to a counter and put money on a card. Then you get whatever you want from the food court and they take the value off the card (then you can get the balance off the card when you're done). There weren't many Westerners up there, so I could help but think of myself, "Look at the stupid American running around trying to figure this out." Luckily I also could laugh at that thought!

I went back to the office after that and did some work there. Later, Joe took me to the Well (I'll tell you more about that later) so I would know how to get there when I have to lead a couple that are coming from the States to work there in July. It is a little farther off the main ways I've traveled, so it's a good thing. We rode the SkyTrain (an elevated train, go figure) to the end then walked a ways until we got on a songtao. A songtao is basically a covered pickup truck with seats in the back. It was awesome!! By far the coolest and most unique mode of transportation thus far. And it only cost 6 baht (that's about 20 cents) for as far as you need to go!

Today looked much the same except that instead of going to the well I went to a discipleship class at Pratunam Center. One woman who is in the English class I go to in the morning just became a Christian about three months ago and so has been coming to this class. Another man from the English class came tonight for the first time. That is great news; pray that he will find truth in Jesus through these classes! And pray for that woman that her faith will grow like crazy!

I know, I promised pictures soon, but I'll just have to renew that promise...maybe next time!

Days 1-4

Sorry...it's been a while.

Saturday I went to the weekend market with Jeanie and another missionary, Martha. This market was huge and amazing. You could get everything from bathtowels to live fish to Thai antiques to pet cats. I didn't see any Siamese fighting fish or Siamese cats...maybe they made those names up. (FYI Thailand was called Siam until 1939.) I'll have to go back there sometime; they had some different stuff than the markets we went to last year. Which reminds me of something. The first thing Ms. Jeanie said to me when I got in the van from the airport Friday morning was, "Suck it up, Timothy, and come on back!" I'd waited so long to hear that again! lol Thought you'd enjoy that all you who went last year.

Sunday morning we went to church at Calvary Baptist Church. They have an international service in English (which felt very much like any service here). They also have services in Thai, Burmese, and Nepalese. After the service we had lunch in the fellowship hall. Most Thai churches here serve lunch after the Sunday service. It was a good time. I got to meet the pastor and some of the Thai members.

This morning (Monday) I went with a street preacher, Henry to a prison. He lead a Bible study/service with about 18 Africans in the prison. Most of them from Nigeria. That was a really cool experience. They sang hymns so loud! Can you imagine being in a prison on another continent, unable to understand the language, and still singing hymns at the top of your lungs? It was simply amazing. In the afternoon I went with Mark and Charlotte, the leaders of the prison ministry, to one of Charlotte's art classes. She teaches six classes a week in various prisons. There were about 20 students in the class, two of which were Americans: Ben from New Jersey and Jesse from Buffalo, NY.

Jesse had an interesting story. His father is a pastor and he grew up in church, even went to a Christian college for a year, but, as he explained, he chose to rebel against his strict upbringing and chose his own path. That path has lead to being arrested in Thailand for selling drugs and sentenced to 27 years in prison. He was so positive though, in spite of it all. Pray for him. Pray that God will use American missionaries in a prison half way around the world to lead Jesse to Himself. Pray for me too, that God will use me in the prisons to do his will; that I will speak what he has me to speak and do what he has me to do.

Thanks for reading, hopefully pictures are coming soon, but we'll see! Keep the comments coming :)

I made it!

It may be always sunny in Philadelphia, but it was certainly rainy in Bangkok. And I thought the rainy season didn't start for another month. (Incorrect belief about Thailand #1) I arrived in Bangkok this morning around 10:30 local time (conviently 10:30pm Thursday CDT) and Joe and Jeanie met me there and took me back to their house where I'll be staying for about three weeks. Joe and Jeanie are currently the volunteer coordinators for Bangkok, and since I'm the only volunteer coming this summer, I guess I am all there is to coordinate! Well, I'm sure they do other stuff too....

Jeanie cooked lunch, then I unpacked, then we went to a grocery store (like every big grocery store here it's kinda like a super Walmart with a food court (Dairy Queen, KFC, and Starbucks included!) and other random stores). I think I can remember how to get there from their house. This will be an important skill when I'm house sitting for them while they're in Turkey visiting their daughter. But today was certainly information overload. Luckily I don't have to function much on my own until Monday. Tomorrow I'm going to the weekend market and probably learning a million other new things!

One Flight Down

I couldn't find free wifi in LAX, but here's the post I wrote anyway:

Well, “’The time has come,’ the Walrus said.”  So, having my new camera purchased (thanks Dad!), my hair cut, and my bags packed (early this morning, of course), Mom, Dad, Elizabeth, and I left this morning to meet Sarah for Lunch in Edwardsville before heading to good ole Lambert Int’l.  What could have been a better last lunch than LaFonda?!  This first flight, to Los Angeles, left at 5:00pm (CDT) and I, remembering the wisdom of “don’t sleep on the first flight; save it for the next,” promptly fell asleep before the plane was at 32,000 feet.

I didn’t sleep well or long, however, so after a while just sitting there, bored, I finally cracked the volume Thailand: A Short History, which proved surprisingly readable and sufficiently stimulating for my historio-philic intellect.  Arriving at LAX at 7:00pm local time (9:00 CDT), I was hungry.  So, considering the variety of ethnic food choices available, I decided on McDonald’s, taking the last opportunity and deciding not to push my palate before necessity asked it of me.  Up next:  a 14 hour midnight flight to Hong Kong!