Purses from Thailand

For all of you early Christmas shoppers, there's a high possibility I'll be receiving a big box of purses from Thailand arriving soon. You will LOVE them. They are made by our handicraft ministry providing employment for women from the slum community that we love. Prices range from $4 to $20+. They will be at the One-Stop Christmas Shop at Trinity Church in Asheville on November 21 from 10am-4pm. And if you won't be there but want some, I could put you on my list. If you bought these awesome purses, you would be giving back instead of just getting! And they are made by some of my bestest of friends on the other side of the world. What better reasons to buy these! We also have a small amount of handmade cards and sunglass cloth cases too!

Notice for Future Potlucks...

Let the missionaries not go first in line. I was in line first today with another missionary from France. It was a potato bar with soup and a salad sort. I almost put my soup on my potato! The missionary beside me laughed, and excused me to the group by saying, "It's understandable, they don't have anything like this in Thailand!...." And I added, "Or in France!"

Ok, yes, I should know the difference between the potato bar and soup. But having just got back in the country can make my normally hilarious behavior excusable in some crowds. :)

New Typing Lessons

I have been practicing my new typing skills lately. With just a few buttons, I added a new language to my laptop's keyboard. Now, I can switch between typing in English and Thai. If I have a print-out beside me of which Thai letters go to which keys, I can practice typing. Because there are 44 letters, each key has two letters on it, so the shift key is used a lot. Now I can communicate with all my friends in Thailand who don't speak English very well. Sometimes if I wake up early, I can even catch them on Facebook chat.

News Tidbits from our Thai Church

I enjoy receiving news tidbits from Thailand and passing them on to you. Nat (pictured above) publicly professed her faith in Christ three weeks ago in front of our church there and became a member! Woohoo! She is a college student who lives in the Youth with a Mission dormitory. Nat regularly helps our worship band at church and is part of our Christian club at the neighborhood university. Praise God!

This morning I chatted with Pat, our present intern pastor at our Thai church, on Facebook chat. He is currently also working on his Master of Divinity at the local bible college. He shared with me that our church is growing significantly with many people excited to learn about the Bible. Pat still loves preaching and leading small groups during the week.

Please keep our church in your prayers. (If you pray on Saturday nights, it'll be the time of worship service on Sunday mornings in Thailand.)

Fear of Dogs

While running today, I decided to explore my new neighborhood since I've finally stood still for at least a week and a half. As I ran around a new street, this dog was in his yard and came running toward me. Melanie of two years ago would have kept running, said hi to the dog, and went on her merry way. Melanie of today stopped, stood still, and tried to look not afraid. I have been conditioned.

If you don't remember my stories, Thailand has MANY stray street dogs. You cannot jog down the street. (Even if you did, you would look wierd. Everyone uses the parks.) One day there, I tried to run in my teammates' neighborhood, thinking that would be better. Two dogs saw me as a threat and started running after me barking ferociously and biting at my heels. I had to stop running completely not to be seen as a threat. And quite a few dogs in Mahathai were scary too. So, now I have a healthy fear of dogs. (Ok, maybe a little unhealthy.)

Cultural Insight: For those of you desiring to know, stray dogs exist all over Bangkok on the roads because of the Thai people's belief in Karma. That dog, they believe, used to be person. He did something wrong in his last life and reincarnated as a dog. If the people treat these dogs badly, their bad Karma might make them reincarnate as something worse than a human in their next life. Therefore, the dogs are left on the streets to fend for themselves.

Behind on the Slang

Today I was talking with two different friends when they used a slang word that I didn't know, "cougar." I had to ask what it meant! A cougar is like an older woman going for a guy half her age. I then tried to use it in a sentence and they both looked at me and started laughing. I felt like my mother when she tries to use the word "cool." It just doesn't sound right coming out of her mouth (no offense, Mom). I'm behind on the times having been in Thailand. It's not like the fifth graders using words I didn't know. These are people my age!

Flooding in Thailand!

The intersection a block from my old house. How can the motorcycles even drive??
Gives new meaning for using the bus stop seats while waiting for the next bus.
Transportation was rough. The far right truck is public transportation.
My team loading 100 bags up around my team leader's house to keep back the flooding. The furniture was already on cement blocks.

While I've been absent from blog writing for the last month, a lot has been happening in Thailand. Two to three feet of rain came down on our little neighborhood on the perimeter of Bangkok! Schools were cancelled. Transportation was tough. In the Mahathai community, at least one family moved into the community center because they could no longer live in their home. The rain has stopped, but it left lots of devastation. Please pray for God to be evident through His church at work in the community during this tough time.

Missionaries on the field, Tim Mills and Mary Randolph, are thanked for the photos.