receding waters and more rain

How is that for a confusing  flood report update?  It's been a good and hard last 24 hours.  The water kept rising throughout the day yesterday and last night. This is the street at least knee deep into our neighborhood.

Mike came in last night and some how it was just more comforting to watch the climbing water levels together with him.  Last night we moved furniture off of our lowest level of the house and were ready in case it came in today.  Looking out our front door cleared of furniture.

Our whole yard and patio's are under water;  it came right to our door steps- but never came in.  Thank you so much for your prayers that held it at that level.  The next one is looking out our living room door.

Our front yard.

Our swing set gives you an indication of the depth. I'm pretty sure this would still be fun for our grandbabies.

Water did get in our outside guestroom, but since we have no guests right now it's OK.  I do not look forward to the clean up of the grime and smells  that come with flooding.

We continuously find living creatures everywhere that are also looking for dry ground.  Like this discovery right out our window.  If anybody needs some fishing worms, just give us a call.

Many of our friends have had water in their home, so I'm trying to prepare myself to be thankful (in all things) even if it does still come in. As of now, the water is receding.  I have seen it go down a few inches this afternoon, but at the same time I hear thunder outside and it is raining again.  Predictions are another storm coming in. Listening to rain outside is not a good sound right now.  Thankful- but still on guard!

Still Rising

Flood update for today is....
There was flooding throughout the night- but it was not to our street yet this morning.  On my way to class I had to turn around and find different routes as the streets around our house were flooded and closed.  Here is one of the " I need to turn around streets" just near our home.

On my way home after school, I had to drive through some pretty deep water on other streets which confirmed to me that the water was still rising.  Ever since I got home, this afternoon, I am watching it rise higher and higher around our home and it is coming closer and closer to our doors now. Here are the three streets bordering our house, but it has risen quite abit even since these photos.

The side street next to our lot

The street behind our house

The street in front of our house

Some of our friends have it alot worse than us.  Paul and Judi are real flooded inside their home and our house girl Phin, lives near the river so her house is full of water.    

This is a photo that someone else took of the main intersection closest to our house to go into town.

This has got to be one of the funniest pictures I've seen, taken by Chris and Boom.  These guys are not going to let a little water stop them from enjoying their game time.

One of the creepiest parts of the flooding is the way it brings out all the creatures that live in the ground.  Our neighbor just told me that he saw a snake on our back patio where we do our laundry.  I will try not to think about that.  We have not had cockroaches at this house for years.  You do not have to read any further if you have a queasy stomach, because the following pictures may gross you out.   These roaches keep multiplying and I finally decided that if I have to see them in real life-- I'd like to share a photo of them with you.

Tonight Mike is coming in for just an overnight stay before he was scheduled to leave again.  It will bring me much comfort to have him here for a bit. More rains and storms are coming. More prayers are appreciated. 

Still singin'...."I can do all things...."

Here's an updated picture today from downtown that someone else took because I sure don't want to go down there.  It is heading our way, tonight as I go to sleep.  I got 20 sandbags around our doors, thanks to my very kind Thai neighbors.  While walking around the house though I almost stepped on a very large snake who slithered under one of our patio tiles.  I am not happy about that at all!  I'd rather end his life- than wonder where he will show up next. More updates tomorrow!

Flood Warnings

Today the city of Chiang Mai is flooding.  It has already hit the downtown area which is next to the river and is supposedly on it's way to our outlying area.  Bad timing for us as Mike is in Bangkok in some very important meetings this week with our TCCC leadership team.  As I mentioned before it has been raining non-stop  this past month, but it wasn't until the dam's north of us hit their max and they had to release them a bit today. 

I just went out to look for sand and ended up turning around and coming home.  Traffic is horrible and people are sandbagging everywhere. I am thankful that we are friends with some of our Thai neighbors and they are looking out for me.  They just ordered 100 bags of sand to be delivered and told me to get what I need for our home. They are not sure when it will arrive, though.

These pictures were from the last major flood that we had here which was Jenny's senior year of high school.  It was one of those years where I had to be in the USA putting girls in college and Mike came back to put Jenny in school here. That year it flooded our whole outside yard area and came into the first level of our home.  I was so glad that I was not here, because the water is such yucky and stinky sewer water - let alone for it to be inside our home.

The morning that I took Mike to the airport this week, I came home to find this broken awning off the side of our guest room. I do not like Mike to be gone when this kind of stuff happens.  I have to keep singing that kid's song."I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength."  It is hard enough to go through floods and inconveniences, but add to it trying to figure it out in Thai while listening to the Thai radio and talking with the neighbors is even more challenging.

Forecast is for more storms and rains tonight and tomorrow!  I appreciate your prayers for me to know how to prepare our home for the floods and to experience God's peace in  the midst of the storm.

The Balance Beam

Woa, this is convicting to me!  Lord, help me not to hug that balance beam!

If only I had known

We have heard some very sad news concerning our neighbor in the lot next to us.  The lot had been empty for 11 years and then in 2009 a Japanese business man built a new home and moved in beside us.  We had a hard time communicating as he spoke Japanese, but was learning Thai a little bit. We always smiled and greeted each other and passed a few food items over the fence but that was about all.  When we went to the states this summer, he was fine.  When we returned, he was gone and we found out that he had just been diagnosed with stage 4 cancer and went to his home country- never to return.  We never got a chance to tell him of God's love and plan for him.  If we had known, he would be entering eternity so soon, would we have acted differently?  It makes me think about how many more people that we intersect lives with each day; that could find out tomorrow their life on earth is limited to a few weeks also.

Psalm 90:12, "Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom."

Ranong Kid's Home

We just got this updated picture of the children at the Kid's home in Ranong. As you can see, the home has continued to grow and this school year they are caring for 16 children.  The home could actually have so many more kids in it, but the problem is finances.  The children on the islands have  many needs and are not cared for.  Somsak and Uan have such big and compassionate hearts for the children and every few weeks they call Mike telling him that there is another child that needs to come into the home.  Sometimes it is because the parents have died or other times it is just that they know the children are not being cared for.  As of now, they live month by month for their finances, so Mike has had to tell them that we simply do not have the finances. We still have a few boat motors and tools from the rebuilding days  that we are trying to sell to help them with the financial needs to care for the children.

Honestly, it is a hard decision right now to know if we should continue on meeting the needs of these precious children at the Ranong Kid's home - or if we will need to send them back to their islands.   We have seen these children grow in every area of their lives, physically, spiritually, socially and academically and they really want to continue living at the home, so they can continue their education.  Thanks for praying for donors so that the kid's home can continue on raising these 16 kids.

Monsoon Season

I am so ready for this year’s rainy season to end. It has been raining every single day for weeks. Everything feels so damp and sticky. Our yard has puddles of standing water in it. Even our furniture inside gets white fuzzies on it.

There is one good thing about rainy season though, when you live in a touristy town. No one wants to stay at a resort, when it rains most all day long. The hotels need to keep in business, so they bring their prices down very low, to get through this time of year.

Mike and I needed to have some focused time to discuss some financial decisions and our family budget. Because opposites attract, we decided in order to make our discussions more delightful, :) it may be nice to benefit from one of the local resorts low season packets. There are so many resorts in the mountains around us, that it was hard to choose which one.

We have been thrilled with the one we decided on.  It's had some funny quirks, (the door won't lock shut, hot/cold water issues, safe is broken, bathroom smells like a cat, etc.) but overall as you can see it is quite luxurious.

It has rained off and on throughout our stay, but the rain/sun combo displayed a full rainbow out our window soon after checking in.

Our balcony where I have spent most of my time, reading, talking with Mike, listening to birds singing, insects chirping and just being still.

Mike's view of the mountains from the desk.

The surrounding area all around  has alot of flower farms and organic vegetable farms.

Goofy me- enjoying a different world.  Thank- you God for rainy season in Thailand, so that we can afford and enjoy a  place like this.

Rew, Ting, Yuu, and Ploy

Mike and I finished interviewing the campus staff at our first location,  Payap University. It was a good time listening to them share their visions, dreams, and hopes for serving God with TCCC. We also got insight on what things they enjoy about our staff life and what things they would change if they could. In Thai culture the children are  expected to help the parents financially after they get jobs and we are being reminded of how our staff feel very  obligated to help their families.  We are trying to find ways that they can help their parents and be a testimony with their lives to their home relatives.  We feel so privileged to work together with these committed and loving Thai staff.  Just hearing them share their hearts is an encouragement to us. Moving on to campus #2 next week.

Thanks for the Oatmeal, Uncle Paul

Dear Uncle Paul  is concerned about my high cholesterol and brought me a huge concoction of oats to help bring it down the natural way along with this fancy canister!  I'm working on it along with the olive oil and vinegar but not every day as he ordered.  Let me tell you - it's not easy- but I'm trying!

Deeply sorry, too!

Just looking for some new music and movies today,  but...

1)
Dear Pandora Visitor,
We are deeply, deeply sorry to say that due to licensing constraints, we can no longer allow access to Pandora for listeners located outside of the U.S. We will continue to work diligently to realize the vision of a truly global Pandora, but for the time being we are required to restrict its use. We are very sad to have to do this, but there is no other alternative.

2)
Sorry, Netflix is not available in your country... yet

3)
Sorry, currently our video library can only be watched from within the United States.

etc., etc., etc.

Language School

So what does it look like when a 50 year old lady goes back to college?  Here you go:

I just finished my first month module and have actually been surprised at how much I have enjoyed studying.  In the past it was a pressure on me while trying to juggle other things with my time. I had sort of given up in my attitude. This time I am more focused.  I love reading Thai again.  It also helps that it has been alot of review  causing me to feel on top of it so far, but I'm not sure how long that will last.  I do know that my attitude is very different now.

Our class was an  interesting mix of students. Two other girls from China, and 9 men from Turkey, Holland, USA, France, New Caledonia, and Vietnam. Yesterday I was invited out with the girls to one of their homes.  It was fun to spend time with them outside of class and talk about our lives together. We will all be together again next month.

This school takes a break after each module, so I have this week off.  In my typical fashion, I have a long list of projects to tackle this week. I know it is impossible accomplish them all- so now I need to prioritize them. Looking forward to my kind of week, checking things off my lists!    

tender sighs and lullabies

Our last Sunday in Arkansas, someone at Jon and Marisa's  church took this photo of Nathan sleeping on Mike's shoulder and sent it to us. I treasure it now! It portrays our attempt to  take in and savor every last minute with baby Nathan. He has already changed since we left him 6 weeks ago.

We are so thankful for skype. Every few weeks, they can get the kids in front of their computer and talk with us.  Last night we talked with each of them:

Collin tried to think of what we could get him for his upcoming birthday- but just could not think of anything but a pocket knife.  7 years old? I don't think so!

Summer had alot of stories to tell us about things that have happened to her lately.  Loved the way she kept saying, "Nina, I have one more thing to tell you."

Hayley shared with us more about her dream to be a bird when she grows up so she can fly.

Nathan just sat there showing us how good he is at sitting up by himself now!

We miss them alot- but cannot even imagine how it was for our parents back when we had no skype and would be gone for three years at a time! Back then, even phonecalls were too expensive and  we were just so thankful to receive letters in the mail- that took 2-3 weeks to get to us.

How true was Proverbs 25:25; "Like cold water to a weary soul is good news from a distant land."

The land of cru

Campus Crusade for Christ in the USA is becoming CRU in 2012 as we have mentioned before.  It really will not affect us here in Thailand, the name change is for the USA.  Many countries have already changed their name to make it more culturally appropriate. We actually have a Thai name here or use TCCC.

Last week, spending time on Chiang Rai Rajabhat University campus, it was so fun to see the CRU signs all over their campus.  We felt ahead of the times with our USA staff.

We went to the CRU food center...

...and bought CRU notebooks, a CRU hat and CRU t-shirt souvenirs at the CRU book center.

....and visited the CRU sport complex.  We were in the land of CRU  everywhere we went.

We are in total agreement with the name change.  Our only sadness was just a few people who tried to find fault in the name change initially.  The purpose was not to take Christ out of the name but Crusade and Campus. Although our name for the last 60 years is well respected in Christian ministry and missions, the word “Crusade” now carries negative associations and the word “Campus” actually hinders people who are not students from engaging in our broad range of ministries. Be assured that our vision and mission have not changed, only our name.  The name was actually beginning to limit our effectiveness. We are still committed to give every person around the world an opportunity to hear the gospel and a chance to say yes to Jesus.  That is why they are changing the name.



The most common question that I have been asked by friend is: " but what does cru mean?"  Our answer: " A caring community passionate about connecting people to Jesus Christ."  

Although, we are working in a country that is not changing the name - we are American staff from the country who is becoming CRU- so we may just have to make use of all those CRU signs for some fun pictures in the future!

Remedy for the Activity Addiction of this Age

Isaiah 30:15

In repentance and rest you will be saved,

In quietness and trust is your strength! 

Trail Mix

I've been seeing some comments on Facebook about how wonderful those seasonal fall Pumpkin Spice Latte's are.  Sort of wondered what the chances were of them serving them in Thailand, so peeked my head in a Thailand Starbucks today to ask. Wishful thinking on my part!  Their response. "We no have Pumpkin Sa-pice Latte in Thailand." Oh well, the coffee still smelled really good in there.

Also been craving some of the yummy trail mixes that we bought in Colorado this summer.  Thai's not being big fans of trail mixes, I decided I may try to make some myself.  To my delight, a new baking store in our area had a big selection of trail mix ingredients and I turned out some pretty good homemade trail mix tonight. 

I just counted 8 different high energy ingredients in my new snack.  Should be good brain power for my break times at language school, eh? Hope it makes my brain extra smart this week.

Something about me (possibly that Iowa farm girl up bringing), makes me have a curious interest in how things grow.  I appreciate very much  the hard work that farmers invest in planting, weeding, grooming, and harvesting thier produce.  This weekend, brought me joy to explore some new crops.

Oi's village is home to the Doi Tung coffee plantations. When she was young the farmers in the area made thier money off of growing opium.  In the past ten years, the King's mother started the Doi Tung project to give the farmers other alternatives. It has developed into a good sized industry for the farmers in that area.  You can read about the Doi Tung project here.  

Coffee,coffee,coffee!

Machine separating the different types of beans.

Gotta love those free samples!

Cucumber fields were all around that area too.

They were abundant.

The peppers were not really an industry as many Thai's grow their own, just for their own cooking and lay them in the sun to dry.

Orchids growing so easily and beautifully in front of many homes. The tropics seem to make everything flourish especially during this  rainy season time of year.  Not so sure that is always a good thing, when it comes to keeping our lawn looking nice.   

Visiting Oi and her home town

Oi has been on staff with TCCC now for 21 years.  She joined our staff just four years after we moved to Thailand, so we have worked together for a long time and we  have visited her at her different assignments.  She has become concerned about her families home near Chiang Rai and feels a responsibility to help her mom with it.  Because of Mike's experience with building here, she wanted Mike to visit and help her figure out if they can repair this one- or if they should just tear it down and start over. Mike surveyed the house and the land and the verdict is still out there on what her family will do. Mike and the family need some more time to research the options.



A lady living in the house right now was selling these snacks in front of the street for her income. Some of them she makes herself and others, she buys and sells.  We helped her industry by buying dried fried bananas and puffed rice treats.

They also make their own handmade stick brooms and sell them.

We drove around her Grandma's neighborhood to visit some of her relatives. They were so happy to see Oi and have us visit.

This auntie was 85 years old and smiled the whole time we visited.

I have always known Oi as a woman of prayer and as usual, she wanted to pray for each person that we visited.

When we got back to the training center, we got to see the facility being used one of the first times as a small training was taking place on this Saturday afternoon. It was great to catch up with Pyson and Sompit  and all the ministry activities that they are involved in around the Chiang Rai area. Both campuses have students involved in Bible Studies  and the church in Chiang Rai is growing.  It was a great visit and we were encouraged just to be with them.