I Can't Believe it's Already Been a Month!

OH NO! I'm already 4 days late. Sorry about that! I really am trying to be disciplined about writing a blog every week but these past few days have been absolutely crazy. I don't even know where to begin..

My super cute class! 

Tomorrow is the last day of my afternoon classes. It's definitely a bitter sweet thing to finish a session. It's exciting to see how far my students have come in the few weeks that I've spent with them. Considering the fact that I had never met any of my students 3 weeks ago, it's neat to see our friendships develop after such a short time; and the sweet, shy, and absolutely silent students from the first day seem like completely different people now. For their sake, I pray that they will continue to study at Santisuk so they will hear more about Jesus and His power. The most exciting conversation I've had with my classes this session happened a few days ago. I walked into the classroom and the first thing they asked me was, "Teacher, where do you think humans come from? Do you think we come from the monkey?" I quickly began to share that I think God created everything--the earth, sun, monkeys, and humans, but he made humans special--we do not come from monkeys. They then continued by asking..."So what do you think came first, the chicken or the egg?" It was exciting to share a little bit about what I believe with them and they were open to share what they believe as well.

I know I mentioned the possibility of taking a Thai class next month. I was really excited about it. I wasn't sure if it would happen or not, but I found out on Friday that they need me to teach at the other school (in Lad Krabang) next month. At first I was extremely disappointed. I was really looking forward to taking the class and learning Thai, but the more I've thought about it, the more I am realizing that I don't have the perfect plan. I thought back to last year when I was planning on going to college, but God had other plans for me, so he used my knee injury to change those plans. I was so sad and confused, but eventually I realized that God wanted me here, in Thailand--and I know now that His plan is so much better than my plan was. So regarding this situation, I slowly began to realize that if God could do that then, He is going to continue guiding me in His perfect plan. Sometime next week I'll be moving to the other location. Please pray for me about that. I love it there, but it's definitely a different atmosphere and change of pace.

Yes...they're crazy.

Please remember Santisuk English School in your prayers. Wonderful things are happening here and people are turning their lives to Jesus. Almost every day I will walk by a room where somebody is being mentored. It's completely normal for someone to grab their Bible and ask me to explain something to them. Tonight I was talking to my roommate about growing up in church. She mentioned something about being impressed that somebody had the Lord's Prayer memorized...I realized that for someone who has grown up in the church, the Lord's Prayer, and other things like that are completely normal. Everyone knows John 3:16 and Psalm 23, but the people here are completely starting from scratch. That is something that I have never thought of before. I know that I have definitely taken for granted growing up in a Christian home--and I think that most people who have grown up in the church would agree with me. It made me thankful for my family but also excited that these people are learning and have a serious desire to learn.

Thank you all so much! I would love to hear from you, so please feel free to email me or comment on this post. Thanks again for your prayers and support.

-Bethany

The one word that comes to my mind when I think about the fact that I'm in Thailand is: contentment. I am so thankful to be here. The other day I was walking home from school and I hit me for the 456,705,340,340 time that I'm in Thailand. Sometimes I feel the need to pinch myself just to make sure that I'm really here. I feel such a peace being here. On top of the great people and incredible ministry, I know that this is where I'm supposed to be and I wouldn't change it for the world.

This week has been extremely busy and I'm really looking forward to the weekend. Last week I was asked to help with the English 4 Kids program that Santisuk English school runs. So yesterday, on top of teaching my 3 normal classes, I have an extra hour of teaching a room full of 5th graders. I was really struggling with it for a while. Adding that class changes the whole layout of my day. I joked with my roommate, Gaan, that she could hit me every time I complained about it....and last night in my devotions the theme of what I read just happened to be about complaining. I'm thinking that's not a coincidence. But as of today, I'm enjoying the kids and I'm thankful that I can help.

Last Saturday I went to the market with my friend Nan. I have been to many markets in Thailand and this one was no different, but seeing the big slabs of meat hanging from the ceiling was just a reminder that I'm not in America. Later that evening I had the privilege to assist in making a Thai meal. We made Green Curry.

I am attempting to learn the Thai alphabet...If you don't know, the Thai alphabet is completely different from English. There are 44 consonants and 32 vowels...that makes 76 characters in their alphabet. Thanks to Gaan, I have "mastered" the first 10. We'll see how it goes.

Tonight I saw one of my closest students from when I was in Thailand in the spring. She came to the school just to see me and she brought me two books on learning Thai. She is so sweet and it was soooo exciting to see her again.

Lastly, please remember to keep me in your prayers. I have a very heavy schedule and I want to do the very best that I can. Also, please pray for my students that they would see the light of Jesus through the classes they are taking and that they would come to know Him as their personal Savior. Tonight in my Level 1 class we began to read the story about Jesus feeding the 5,000. The curriculum is set up so that only part of a story is read everyday. Today we read about Jesus asking Philip where to buy bread. Philip responded by saying that they would never have enough money to buy food for 5,000 people. That was the end of the first part of the story, and the students had to answer questions about it. One of the questions was this, "What do you think will happen next?" Two of the women both agreed and thought that Jesus would use his own money to buy bread for everyone. But one of the other women spoke up and said, "I think that Jesus is going to use his miraculous power to provide the bread for everyone". Immediately everyone in the room began to laugh as if her suggestion was a childish response....little do they know how true her statement is. They will find out on Monday!

Thanks again for your prayers! They are greatly appreciated

-Bethany

Classes!

A week has flown by and I'm still so thankful and excited to be here. One one of the responsibilities I was looking forward to was helping new American teachers adjust to Thailand. On Friday, a new group of teachers came and I was able to help give them the tour of the area. I showed them the school, where to eat, the mall, and other important places along the way. It is so exciting for me to tell people about the culture and country that I love so much (p.s. if any of you come, I would LOVVEEEE to show you around as well--and there's always a need for American teachers!). I also helped with their cultural orientation meeting. This meeting consists of some major cultural differences. It's exciting for me to see how quickly I was able to jump right back in to this ministry and country.

On top of teaching, I've been trying to think about different ways I can be plugged in with this church and ministry. Music ministry is definitely an area I have been apart of in the past, and I'm excited about that being a way I can help here as well. On Sunday night I helped lead worship for the Sunday night English service and I've already been asked to lead worship on Christmas Eve. This year will be Peace Fellowship Church's first Christmas Eve service. In Thailand, Christmas is just another work day, not even a holiday. I am also planning to start a "choir" and teach people to sing parts. A lot of people are really looking forward to that and they keep asking me when practices are going to start. Lastly, I've been seriously considering teaching a music class. This would more than likely be open only for the people who attend the church. There are many people who can play basic chords, but there are only a few who can read music. I'm not sure how that class will look, but I'm excited to see how the Lord uses my previous experience with music and worship ministry to help out the people here. 

Yesterday was the start of my first classes. When I was in Thailand before, every session I had a 7 am class, and I'm not really a  morning person, but I had to be. But this time, I was really looking forward to seeing what my schedule was going to be. For this month, I was given a 4-6pm and 7-9pm class. This schedule is so different than before, but I'm really excited about the change. I was really excited to begin and it feels like I never stopped teaching. I was given a Pre 1 and Level 1 class. Usually the Thai teachers are the only ones to teach pre 1 because in that level, the students' English is still extremely poor. I had taught pre 1 before, but at the beginning of my first class, I immediately saw that my students were really struggling to understand me. I was speaking very slowly and doing everything I could, but they just didn't seen to understand. It got a little better as the class went on, but I know it will be more of a struggle to teach that class. Please pray that my students would understand what I'm teaching them and that we would be able to enjoy the class together. My level 1 class was fantastic. Their English is so good. We had so much fun and I can already tell that I'm going to love them! 

Lastly, I'm seriously considering taking a Thai class next month. It will begin on October 25 and finish on November 21. The class is from 8 am-12pm and it's at an international school nearby. Because I would be required to study and practice my Thai a lot, I would not be teaching next month. Everyone seems to think that is the best option. I'm so excited about that, because I feel more of an urgency now to learn Thai than I did last time. 

Thank you all so much for your prayers and support! Please continue to remember me in your prayers.

-Bethany

P.S. October 3 is my Mom's birthday, so if you see her, don't forget to wish her a Happy Birthday! :)

Also, I've been working on learning this Thai worship Song. My roommate, Gaan has been translating the meeting and helping me learn it in Thai. If you want to hear it, here's the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DFyK6WU10Co The meaning is basically that we don't know what will happen tomorrow and we may experience bad things or good things. But the one thing we can be sure of is that God is in control and He will direct us and He has the best in mind for us and don't have to be afraid to face the future because we have God helping us.