Visiting Friends

On a recent trip to visit the A family in another part of the country, we had a wonderful time of fun and relaxation. Sweet friends, great fun, and GOOD TIMES!!!

Having Fun with the A kids!!!

In the market!!!

Part of our trip was on a train. I got the middle bunk!!!

Beautiful scenery!!!

Amazing Waterfalls!!

Spot For Dinner

During a recent trip to visit some friends in South EA, we ran upon an unusual site at a supermarket. Spot was not being invited to dinner. Spot was going to BE dinner. It's all part of the adventure!!!

Mammaw Sleeping

For those of you from the south, you recognize the term, "Mammaw." For others of you, it's what we might call the mother of our father or mother. While in SE Asia a few months ago, Matilda and I were taking a Tuk Tuk to see the city. Part of the ride included the driver stopping at some "tourist traps" (oops), I mean "tourist attractions" for 10 minutes to look. If we stayed for 10 minutes and looked, he received a free gas coupon. We obliged him so he might get some free gas. We went into this nice jewelry store. Immediately, as soon as we walked in, I noticed this little Asian Mammaw sleeping away in a chair. While I thought it was amusing, I continued on into the store to look around. Of course, Matilda and I walked into the store saying, "This is crazy, I'm not buying anything here." Yet, we left with both of us purchasing a new ring. Couldn't stand it! While waiting for my ring to be sized, the store staff seated us in the front of the store with a beverage to enjoy while waiting. Sleeping Mammaw was so close that I had to snap this picture. No one was even paying any attention to her and she was just sleeping away. With my warped sense of humor, I had to post this and let you see what I found so incredibly funny. The world was just going on and she was enjoying her snooze. Whenever I'm feeling a little blue, I can always look at this picture and get a chuckle. Hope you enjoy it as much as I have.

The Seat on the Chair Goes Round-and-Round

While strolling through one of our favorite places to shop, Katie was looking for some hand weights. Matilda and I saw a couple of seats in this sports shop, so we decided to take a load off our feet. My chair was quite strange as the seat was totally disconnected from the chair itself. I sat down and after a few minutes saw that there was an ON/OFF switch. Being curious, I decided to turn it on. I was expecting some soothing massage and yet I received something totally different. The seat began to move in a very fast circular motion taking my lower body round-and-round. I felt like I was doing a hula dance on high speed. I couldn't get it to turn off. Finally after a period of time, I was able to switch it off and stop doing the hula. Matilda and I laughed so hard that we were crying. The Asians that were watching just looked at us with somber faces with not even a faint smile. They must have thought, "What in the world are those crazy Americans lauging at?" As I have said before, you never know what a day holds at "The Crossroad."

Blessed By The Son In The Sun

A few pics to show some of my adventure during the month of February in Southeast Asia. Had a great time eating at many western restaurants, shopping, going to an aquarium, watching an American movie in English, riding an elephant, drinking from a fresh coconut, getting attacked by pigeons (read in the post below), walking on the beach, swimming, renewing friendships, and being blessed by a group from AK as they came to minister to us. I heard many encouraging testimonies of what Father is doing all around East Asia. We also had the privilege of being ministered to by the musical duo of Shane and Shane. They do one M trip a year and they chose to come and minister to us. We were blessed by their worshipful songs and their presence. I came away refreshed, renewed, and challenged to come back to my city with a new fervor in sharing the Son. Enjoy the pics!

Riding an Elephant!!!

Me and My New Friend!!!

Enjoying Hard Rock Cafe'!!!

Lovin' the Coconuts!!!

Attacked By Pigeons

Going to another country does not exempt me from having dumb things happen. While in Southeast Asia, Matilda and I were going to a museum. As we were lost, we began looking for a place with directions. We found this little map on the side of a building and were looking to find the way to the museum. A lady approached with a TON of pigeons around her. She proceeded to walk over to us and the pigeons followed. She crammed three bags of pigeon seed (I'm assuming) into my hand and three into Matilda's. She said to throw the seed out for the birds. Well, Matilda was the smart one and threw all of her bags down and ran like crazy. I, on the other hand, was a little slower in understanding that the pigeons would attack. Before I knew it, I was surrounded by pigeons. They were under my feet, flying around me and one even landed on my hand. The pigeon proceeded to scratch me as I tried to fling it off (imagine that). I was trying to throw the seed out, but just dropped the rest that I had and ran away from them. Then, the woman follows us and tells us that we owe her for the pigeon seed. We refused the charge due to the circumstances and the fact that she never told us of her intention. Later, as we drove by in a taxi, another clueless foreigner was having the same argument. The moral of the story is: "Don't take pigeon seed from strangers."

Back to the 80's

I never thought I would have to come to Asia to experience the art of Karaoke. Well, I have been smitten. Give me my own microphone with music and words and watch out! Wilberta, Matilda, and I went to Karaoke with Sophie and her husband Wayne. You can rent a room with a couple of couches, tables, a TV, a Karaoke computer (for lack of a better term), and two microphones. Renting the room also included snacks: sodas, dried figs, peas, peanuts, and an unidentified substance that I did not venture to place in my mouth. We spent about three and a half hours singing, laughing, and building relationships with our new friends.

We all chose some songs to sing and kind of mixed the Mandarin and English up a bit. I felt like I had slipped back into the 80's for a short time as we found many songs from this era. It is amazing how long time can pass since hearing a song, but once it starts playing, the words come right back. I chose a few like, "My Girl," "Beat It," "Billie Jean," and "Copacabana." It was quite amusing to say the least. The videos that went along with it were varied with some being the original artists singing and some were of Chinese singers performing the songs. Who would have ever thought that Karaoke and friendship would go together so well.

As I am growing to love my new friends, I long for them to know the greatest Friend they could ever have. Hoping they will one day be among the multitudes that will surround the throne and sing to the One who is truly worthy of our praise.

Post Wedding Activities

Following my teacher's recent wedding, my classmates and I were invited to stay for a traditional program. I was expecting some type of traditional dress, dance, and song. Well, that's not what I experienced. We were with the bride and groom when four of the groom's friends came into the room. One was carrying an empty two-liter bottle. Another carried some type of cord doubled over. And, still yet another picked up a house shoe close by. While laughing, they placed the bride and groom at two opposite ends of a coffee table. They made the groom sit backwards in a chair. They then proceeded to place a cigarette in his mouth and light it. They gave the bride several glasses of water. The object of this activity was for her to spit the water out across the length of the coffee table and try to put out the lit cigarette that was hanging out of her husband's mouth. If she failed, they would then hit the groom with the empty two-liter bottle, house shoe, and cord as punishment. Needless to say, water was everywhere, everyone was laughing, and the cigarette was not put out until it had almost gone out on its own. Can't say that I have ever experienced this game before, but it was quite amusing. Not sure if this would go over in the States as a wedding game, but they sure enjoyed it here. I was able to capture the moment with this picture as the bride was in mid-spit and the groom awaited the coming water. Everyday is an adventure here. You just never know what you will experience. Not sure that I will ever use this game after my own wedding, but glad I had the opportunity to see someone else participate in the fun activity and know what to expect if a two-liter bottle begins flying around following the ceremony.

Do Band-Aids Really Make Everything All Better?

I attended my teacher's wedding a week ago today and was looking forward to my first chance at seeing all of the different cultural aspects. I had also been asked to give some wedding wishes to the bride and groom. As many of you know, I usually have things happen to me that make me feel like I am in a movie or something. I often wonder, "Do other people have things like this happen to them?" Our classes were to meet at our classroom building (a 15 minute walk) and then walk to the wedding (a 20 minute walk) together with another teacher. Well, the heels that I have aren't made for walking. Here, everybody is always carrying a bag of some type. So, I got the bright idea that I would wear my tennis shoes with my skirt and change once I got to the hotel. Women in New York do it, right? So, I took my heels in a bag. Well, I went to the classroom building and waited for my classmates to arrive. As stupid as I felt, I was much more comfortable than I would have been if I would have been wearing the heels. As we began walking towards the wedding, a friend yelled at me to come back to where she was. She told me that I had a huge hole in the back of my hose. This was no runner, my friends, but a full-fledged hole with runners going in different directions. And it just so happened that it was right at my calf. No way to even try to hide it. Well, I walked in the back of the group all of the way to the wedding. Tennis shoes, hole, and all. Then we got there and the bride and groom were in the lobby and immediately wanted to take our picture. I tried to hide my feet so the tennis shoes would not be in the picture. Then, I ran and hid so I could put on my heels. We went upstairs to the bathroom and tried to decide what to do with the hole. I had brought a Band-aid for my feet in case I got blisters. So my mind went to the fact that I had a Band-Aid that I could use. My friend helped me pull the hole together and I put a flesh-colored Band-Aid over the hole. No, I can't believe I did it either. Don't ask me why I didn't just take off the hose. After the whole tennis shoe, hole in the hose, and the fact that in a matter of minutes I would be standing in front of a room full of Asians, I was a little flustered. Thank goodness the tables were close together and the area where I was to make my short speech was not a horrible distance in front of the tables themselves. I wondered if they all thought. "Is this some new American style?" So, if you start seeing people wearing flesh colored Band-Aids over their hose on the back of one of their legs, it started here first. Band-Aids may not make everything all better, but they sure can help pull some things together.

Did I say, "Super-Size the Veggies?"

While preparing for dinner, I had to purchase some vegetables. I did not ask for the super-sized carrots or onions, they just came that way. This is the biggest carrot and onion I have ever seen in my life. It is unbelievable how big some of their fruit and vegetables are in my city. They grow them big in these parts. Are veggies this big in Texas? We used the carrot and onion in dinner preparation. My guests enjoyed the food and we had great conversation afterward. As we read from the Book and discussed its application, I was reminded of how BIG our Father is. He is Big everywhere, not just in these parts or even in Texas. He has the whole world in His hands and He sustains it all. May my guests realize how wide, how long, how high, and how deep is the love of the one and only "Big" G that has made them and has a plan for their lives.