A Thankful Heart

I am currently sitting in lobby of Santisuk School. I know it has been a long time since I have written, so I figured that now is a good time to update everyone. I have so many stories of exciting things going on here--both at Santisuk School and personally in my life. I have learned quite a few things this month.

One of the many things I have learned is that it's not my life's calling to be a trip planner. Last week, I planned a trip to the beach with my students and some other teachers and students at the school. I wasn't exactly sure how to get to the beach because every time I have gone in the past, someone else took care of the details, but this time I was in charge. I invited a lot of people--and in Thailand, you have to know that if people say that they will "maybe" come, that means absolutely not...they're usually just too shy to say that to your face. Well, most of the people I invited said "maybe", and only four or five said they were coming for sure. Anyways, I ended up hiring a van and a driver to take us to the beach and we could have a max of 15 people. The day of the trip arrived and people began to show up. To my excitement/amazement/horror, 19 people came...that means that four people didn't have seats on the van........oh gosh. How could I tell an excited student that there wasn't enough room in the van??? Eventually we found a different way for the extra students to get there.

When we arrived at the beach, over half of the students "forgot" to bring a swimsuit or change of clothes...how can someone forget a swimsuit to go to the beach?! I just don't get it. As a result, he majority of the students chose not to swim, even though the water was absolutely beautiful. One of the students that came with us, Pang, was one of the people who didn't bring a change of clothes. I had never met her before that day, and she was extremely shy. I  tried to talk with her, but it was very difficult because her English skills are extremely low, so communication was next to impossible. I asked her if she wanted to swim and she told me that she didn't bring a change of clothes...I didn't want her to miss out, so I gave her my change of clothes to wear. Throughout the day I spent a lot of time with her, trying to communicate, and we would just laugh at not understanding each other. I think she's about 20 years old. The day ended and she went home. Just last night I saw her at the church service at Santisuk and she told me that she just became a Christian on Saturday! Thank the Lord! How exciting! In that moment, I realized that everything I am doing here in Thailand is completely worth it. People are hearing about Jesus, giving their life to Him, and growing in him, and I have the privilege to be apart of it.

In my last post, I asked you all to pray about some of our upcoming events. Well, they are both past and both of them were a success. The English Camp at the high school went so well. I was in charge of the music department. I taught the students some fun songs and we all had a great time being crazy together. Overall, there were about 230 students who attended the camp that day! Yesterday we had our Friendship Sunday (the first one in Lad Krabang). I think about 15 students came and we all ate together and just enjoyed each other's company. I think it went really well. Thank you for your prayers.

There are many things going on here this week. First of all, this is our last week of classes for this session. Classes end on Wednesday and afterward we're having a big pizza party. Since we are reading the story of Joseph in the class, the last two days I will show the class the Joseph movie. I really hope the students enjoy it. Also, Thursday is Thanksgiving! Wow, time has gone sooooo fast. Even in Thailand, and Thanksgiving is an American holiday, I have the opportunity to spend Thanksgiving with over 20 Americans! We are going to eat at a buffet at a really nice hotel. I definitely have many things to be thankful for this year.

Please continue to remember me and Santisuk in your prayers. Pray that the school would grow, that people would accept Jesus as their Savior, and that when people do become Christians that they would be committed and devoted followers. Also, please pray for me about my future at Santisuk. As time continues to go by, I can't help but think about my plans next year. The idea of leaving this place already breaks my heart. Please pray that I would have direction and peace, and that God's will for me would be my greatest focus.

Thank you again. You are all great!

-Bethany

Month 2, Lad Krabang

It has been a really long time since I have written. I apologize for that, but I do have an excuse. I haven't had easy access to wifi for the past two weeks, so with my busy schedule and no wifi in my room, it has been pretty much impossible to update my blog. But, I have wifi now, so I can write as much as I want. 

The last few weeks have been really busy and have gone by very quickly. Last Saturday I moved to Lad Krabang to teach at the second Santisuk English School. It was interesting to pack and move all of my things from the first location to my new location. In Lad Krabang I have a new roommate. Her name is Jodeé and she is from South Africa. I met her in June when I was here the first time but I didn't know her very well. She is very sweet and it has been really nice being here with her. 

My second session began on Monday. This session is much different than last session because I am teaching only one class and I am taking a Thai class. At first I didn't think I would be able to study Thai  right away, but everything worked out for me to take the class this month. There are 4 other people taking the class. One of the 4 is Jodeé and the other three are Filipinos that live in Thailand. My teacher's name is Pim. She is 20 years old and an English major at a local University. Her English is okay, but she isn't fluent. This is her first time to teach and it's exciting to see her learn as a teacher and for us to learn as students. I have survived 4 days of class and I'm really excited to learn more! Please pray that I would learn quickly.

I'm only teaching one class this month, so compared to last month, I'm really enjoying the break. I'm teaching an Advanced Conversation class. This is basically a class that students will take after they have completed all the other levels. To take this class, the students should be close to fluent, so the class is like 2 hours of talking to each other. I am really enjoying that class as well.

At SES Lad Krabang, we have some upcoming events that could really use some prayer. First of all, on November 22, we are doing an English Day camp at the Local High School. There will be over 25 Foreign teachers and 8 or 9 Thai helpers. We will play games, sing songs, and spend time with the high school students. Over 200 students are signed up to come, so please pray that this event will go smoothly and that people would hear about and be interested in studying at Santisuk so they can hear about Jesus. Also, on November 24 we are having our first ever "Friendship Sunday". This is basically a normal church service that we really encourage our students to come to. After the service we will eat together and play games and hang out. We have over 50 students studying this month, so please pray that many of them would come for this Sunday. 

Thank you so much for your prayers. I really appreciate it. I am doing great. I'm still so thankful to be here. I am thoroughly enjoying my time with my students and friends here. Please continue to pray for me, my work here, and my potential future with this ministry. 

-Bethany