burn out

"Blessed are the feet of those who bring good news" Romans 10:15

My heart has been a bit heavy with this topic lately.  It is that time of year (the end of school) that many missionaries come and go.  We have had conversations with several who have shared in honesty- that the road has been too rough lately.  I just read recently that 80% of missionaries "burn out".  They are often in situations that are stressful... not a little bit stressful- but REALLY stressful. The attrition rate for our work, is one of the highest of any.  The challenges in communicating cross culturally are often viewed as just part of the daily life but are realistically major life stressors. There is a constant cloud hanging over missionaries that they are in a foreign place that does not feel like home and the pressure just doesn't go away. When missionaries take the Holmes Stress Test, their score is often in the 'high risk' category, just because of all the changes.

Intimacy is what struggling missionaries need most.  They need to feel understood and not live in isolation.  We have seen that the newer missionaries do not have as much community right where they live because of social media.  The community of support that used to be real touchable face to face conversations has been replaced with the internet and other devices.

God does not want us to be miserable so if we take care of ourselves, we have more to give. I  read that burnout is "trying to give what I do not posses, resulting in a state of emptiness."

In building a ministry or work that will last after we leave, it will be so much more sustainable if we replicate ourselves, rather than do all the work ourselves. That balance is so hard to find and the pressure is always there.

Lord, help us and our co-workers  not to try and do ministry in our own power, but remember that it is your work. Help us to be intentional about down time with vacations, retreats, family time and release the pressure to be busy constantly. Remind us to be honest with friends in sharing our struggles and burdens, before it's too late. Most important of all, may we keep our daily time in your Word and prayer a top priority of every day. Use us to encourage those that are struggling and need a listening ear.

boil stone

This is a very random post, but I just need to share about this great discovery of mine.  It is called a "boil stone" and I wish I would have known about it like 40 years ago when I started cooking.  All those years of noodles, rice, potatoes, etc. boiling over onto the stove could have been prevented. It was always a challenge to get the fire high enough to boil but not boil over.  Well, now with this new discovery, I just drop this little stone into the pot, and it NEVER boils over anymore.

I'd like to tell you where to get one, but I just found this at a little kitchen store in Dysart, Iowa last year.  Wasn't sure of it when I bought it, but it was so worth the experiment.  If you see one- buy it!  It will change your life- ha!

And speaking of kitchens and randomness, tonight we had the most 'fusion' meal ever.  Deer meat from our freezer that Mike shot last year in providing for our family/- somtam from northeastern Thailand made by Lamai/-  chips with guac,salsa, ranch/-  baked potatoes/-  coleslaw/-  rambutan or gnaw/-  etc.  Cooking and eating together like this in our fusion world with life long friends makes for one very delicious and fun evening together!

wknd of business & pleasure

Life seems to be busy and moving at jet speed lately with little time for blogging.  The Foltz family of six leave tomorrow for a two month summer furlough and it is a lot of work getting a family ready for that trip.  We know all so well.  We are enjoying extra time with grand kids before we say good-bye.

Last weekend we celebrated our 38th wedding anniversary in Bangkok.  It started out as a weekend of business in Bangkok- but ended up being more on the pleasure side. Mike had meetings and we had some other appointments, but the meetings got postponed after we had already gotten the non refundable air tickets.  With our anniversary coming up, we decided to go ahead and do the best we could to enjoy a weekend in the big city.

It started out by surprising Asia at her AP art show.  She is  from our home church in Waterloo and since they live in Bangkok, we do not get to see them as often as we'd like. She graduates this year and is moving on to college in the USA. She is developing into a very gifted artist as you can see.

The next day we finally got to meet the team that is here this summer from Univ. of Arkansas.  We have been emailing with Linda and planning this trip for a year, and it was so good to finally meet the team.  They worked with our Rangsit campus ministry in Bangkok last week and saw seven students pray to receive Christ with them and our Thai staff.

That evening it was time for  a Waterloo/Bangkok reunion.  It is so fun to have three families from our Waterloo church in Thailand together.

Since Bangkok is so big generating hours in traffic and our appointments were all around town, we packed light and moved hotels each night. From Sukumvit to BangNa to Sathorn, we enjoyed great restaurants in each part of the city.  The Roast Cafe is one of my all time favorites and we actually hit up two different ones.

Saturday was the wedding of two of our TCCC staff, Phai and Jing Reed.  We are so happy to see two of our staff working together decide to serve God together with their lives in marriage.

Their wedding was uniquely beautiful.  One of the students in the ministry created the aisle with a canopy of chandeliers.  I never got a photo of her ceremony bouquet, but it was made from jewels. This back drop was so beauteous, too.

Our staff all like to attend each others weddings, so it is always a great time for us to reunite together.

Then it was off in the traffic to another meal in the big city to celebrate our upcoming anniversary again! We recommend the Kitchen Table.  It will not disappoint you.

On Sunday, Mike flew to the south to do some work with the Moken ministry and I flew back up to Chiang Mai.  Before departing, we walked around the renowned Lumpini Park which was across the street.

On a Sunday afternoon, it is crowded with a lot of activity and entertainment.

This park is definitely uniquely Thai, like this outdated exercise gym/equipment center in the middle of the park.

Mike returned to Chiang Mai for our actual anniversary, and we enjoyed the evening with Jon and Marisa.  Sort of like a "double date" with your kids. We tried out the new David's Kitchen, and it was a perfect place to celebrate a special occasion. The service and food were very impressive.

Happy 38th to the love of my life. We did enough celebrating this year to last us till next. 

3rd grade Wednesday's

What fun it has been for me these past 6 weeks to spend every Wednesday in Summer's 3rd grade classroom helping her teacher. She has an extra large class and when her aid had to take off early, I decided to help out and get some extra time with a granddaughter. I've enjoyed getting back in the classroom and simply making myself available however I can help.

It has been insightful for me to enter this part of Summer's world.  Last week all the parents (and grandparents) were invited to come hear them give their home country reports. We got to go to Collin's last year, too. Summer did a great job.

They were encouraged to bring a favorite snack from their home area.  Summer was so excited to share these 'Peanut Butter Swirl Bars' which she says are "amazing".

We continually feel so blessed to have some of our grand kids here and to be able to come to their school activities.

With her proud dad and mom, too!

Summer's teacher, Miss Blair, is such a gifted teacher.  I love to be in the classroom with her and just observe her style of teaching.  She makes the lessons so interesting, that I often feel like I want to come to her 3rd grade class and study all over again. Summer has been blessed to learn from her this year.

GIS is such a great school and our grandkids are so privileged to get an education there.  The setting looking out over the mountain is beautiful.  That is summer with her 3rd grade girlfriends at recess posing for me.

The school is continually in need of new teachers as the staff come and go every year. If any of you educators are interested in coming over for a year or two or twenty- I am pretty sure it would be an experience you'd never regret.  Have a look at their webpage here and see if any of their needs are something that pricks your spirit of adventure  and willingness to have an impact on missionary kids. Look at this link of positions still open next year and we will  welcome you here with open arms.

another grand-baby on the way!

In case you missed it on other forms of social media..... the news is out...... we are going to be grandparents again!

Ruby Kay is  going to be a big sister and is holding a picture of her little brother or sister.

That will make grandbaby #8 for us- due November 15th.

With Bethany due on September 12th, these cousins will be close in age again (about 9 weeks apart) just like Ellie Faye and Ruby Kay who are 6 weeks apart.

Congratulations to Ben, Jen, and Ruby Kay!  And thanks for blessing us over and over again!

"I am responsible for my impact on the world whether I acknowledge it or not." (by somebody but can't remember who)

The heat has been especially hard this year and I have done my share of complaining.  Day after day of temps over 100F (feels like 330F) seem to be harder to cope with the older I get.  Then I read these verses this morn in my QT. Paul says, "I have learned the secret of being content in any or every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or want..... (or whether living in cool temperatures or sultry hot ones.) Philippians 4: 12-13.  Hmmmmm- I really want this attribute to be true of me, even when we start the sweating as soon as we wake up.

I will say pulling into our driveway and seeing my petunias enjoying the heat always brings a smile to my heart.  They brighten up my return everyday.

Another encouraging passage  was:

 Psalm 37:23-24, 

"The Lord makes firm the steps of the one who delights in Him,

 though he may stumble, he will not fall for the Lord upholds him with His hand." 

The Best Yes

If you are a "people pleaser"- than this book is for you! Lysa Terkeurst hit home over and over with me while reading her book. She talks about a universal condition called "the disease to please". The book gives practical tips about making wise decisions in the midst of endless demands in our everyday life.

When I say yes to something, there is less of me for something else, so I need to make sure my yes is worth the less. I felt this relates best to most of us in our family relationships.  Especially parents with small children.  Everything that I add to my life (time, effort, energy,etc.) means that it is taking time away from something else. So when we have to make a difficult decision to tell someone "no", we could visualize our family, and realize that we are actually saying "yes" to them.  Because saying yes all the time won't make me wonder woman, it will only make me a worn out woman.

I have noticed too that different cultures and communities have different views on busyness.  Some attach high values to it and other's place a higher value on balance and rest.  Have you ever been relaxing at your home, but when someone stops by, you feel like  you need to seem more productive? I have.  Some communities can make you feel like the busier you are, the more you will be admired or considered important. The older I get, the less I feel this pressure. I am learning more  that today's choices become tomorrow's circumstances.

I could say more about this book, but I think you get the point.  If you struggle with saying "no" and feel a little overwhelmed, worn out, and have too many commitments, that this book is definitely worth your time.

Another great summary of the book would be:

"STOP THE GLORIFICATION OF BUSY" 

Now I need to go get busy and get something done.  Ha ha! 

Rough Day!

There are so many things that I love about Thailand, if I started counting the list would go on and on. I also have a list of things that I struggle with here.  Yesterday was a hard day.  One of those days when it seemed that the difficulties of living in a tropical country out weighed the positives. Everyday is not a "bed of roses"- there were more thorns than roses in my day yesterday.

• It began with an invasion of ants the night before.  The rains have started to come and this time of year, the ants come out of their nests. We even pay for an exterminator service to treat the house monthly, but this time of year - the ants work extra time to get me in a tizzy.  Trails throughout the kitchen, office, and storage room had me so frustrated.  I turn into a manic investigator to find their nests.  Just ask Mike.  I've been doing this for years and have my routine down.  I take a  flashlight to follow their trail and then when I find their hole,  a can of spray is my weapon  to blast them with poison. Mike had found some precious imported American cereal in a store and stocked up on it since it was a good price and they had found those boxes and invaded them much to my displeasure. They are such tiny little bugs.  Why do they bring out so much wrath in me? 

• By the time I was so exasperated with finding more and more trails yesterday morning in different rooms, the heat became the next annoying reminder.  It has been well over 100F most every day the last few weeks, but with the humidity the "feels like" is in the 110+ ranges.   By the time I finish doing anything with much effort; I am one sweaty, sticky, overheated irritated woman.  The heat is definitely one of the biggest adjustments for us mid-westerners.

• In my attempt to get the ants under control, I decided to empty out my food cupboard completely, wipe it all down with a strong cleaner and reorganize it.  That led to another disappointment of finding what the tropics does if you don't eat food quick enough. Weevils in some of the food and humidity issues in other foods  brought out some more momentary resentments.

• Just as I was finishing up my cleaning project and went out the back door, I found the above centipede in our laundry area.  By then, I decided to let Mike know of my frustrations, and decided a ruler would help him to see the size.  Although, I'm pretty sure he shriveled up after I stabbed him, because my initial report was at least 10 inches. :)

The day before, we had met with a group of visiting college students from Iowa,  taking a study abroad class.  They had asked us to share about our experiences of living in another culture and one of their questions was "What things are difficult for you?'  At the time ( it was a better day), we just shared about communicating difficulties with another language, and cultural misunderstandings and differences. Obviously, just one day later, I could have really given them an earful.  Good thing I didn't! Instead, I will just "vent" here with you, my understanding and hopefully sympathetic readers. It is good for you to know that missionary life is not always easy!  Little things can become HUGE things, especially when they hit all at once.  Some nights this verse is my encouragement and hope, as the heat makes me fall asleep totally exhausted...... "His compassion's never fail, they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness." Lamentations 3: 23  He has indeed been faithful and dependable, even through the bugs, heat, language and trials.

Patio Makeover....finally!

before .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .  after

We moved in this house almost 18 years ago.  It has a patio that's been a great place for parties over the years.  We had more outside cook-outs and parties than I could ever begin to count.  One example; our Christmas eve tradition was  to invite a few friends over, make your own shish-ka-bobs, and we grilled them  here.  It had a bench that wound around two sides.

One of the first years, Mike cut up a big PVC pipe in halves and we had a  24 foot long ice cream banana split sundae for the church youth group to enjoy on it.

The challenging part was getting all the ice cream served  fast enough (dealing with the tropical heat) for them to be able to put on the toppings and eat at the same time!  That was a fun party indeed!

I liked the space but have wanted to re-do it for years.  Those white spindle supports really needed to go and..... those black tiles!!!

They were so hot! When they got wet from rain or spills,  they were dangerously slippery. Did I say yet-.....that I was sooooo ready for a change?  We just had a hard time deciding what style to go with and coordinating our schedules with the men who would do it for us.

The slippery-ness of those tiles, though, did make for a great place to play (as our girls called it) "slip and slide".  We'd give our daughters a little soap and a hose and they slid around with squeals and laughter, having so much fun.  Once we decided it was time to renovate, the grand kids came over for one last nostalgic  "slip and slide".

  

Oh yeah.... mud play is fun for most  kids after some water play, every now and then, right? 

Once we finally found some workers and agreed on the dates, I was so ready (oops, I already said that) and had to take one last "before" photo.

The loud obnoxious sound of the hammering and demolition was a wonderful sound.

To me it was a beautiful mess!

When they started pouring the cement in the specific dimensions, I had given them- the real progress was being made. First was the support legs.

Then the seats and counter top.

It was so fun to watch the progress and document though photos.

We are very pleased with the final result, especially after they added the coat of sealer over the cement. 

It's been so miserably hot, that as eager as we are to invite some friends over and put it to use- it's just been too hot this month.

Eventually the patio chairs and tables will come out but with the two levels, one for sitting and the other for a counter top, it is ready to go "as is" for smaller groups. 

Now, with one job down, the next one is to get the roof tiles painted and the outside painted- but who knows when that will be?  Tropical rains turn things black and depreciate paint faster then we would like. 

I cannot express how grateful and thankful we are for God's provision through this home these past 18 years.  It is oozing with family memories, but just a bit big now for us as empty nester's. The thought of down-sizing is something I have avoided, but I know the day will need to come soon. Especially since our kids can't come home to visit very often. For now, I just want to enjoy and be grateful for each day we still live in it.