Keeping up with the Joneses

So, how was Thailand?

2010-11-09T19:34:00.000-05:00

So, how was Thailand?

As can be expected, I get this question all the time: "So, how was Thailand?" And here's the problem, I give terrible and inconsistent answers. Time to remedy that. This is my working answer for how I viewed my time in Thailand.

First, during my time in Thailand I grew in my relationship with God. I learned about being open and honest with God. I was really influenced in this area by three things. Primarily I am thankful to my pastor, Dave, who encouraged me and pointed me towards some books about spiritual growth. Second were two books, PAPA Prayer by Larry Crabb and Emotionally Healthy Spirituality by Peter Scazzero. These books pointed me to some thought patterns and practices that have stayed with me—mainly dealing with how to be honest with God in our prayers. Third was reacquiring the art of journaling. Journaling allowed me to contemplate and process the chaos around me. My journal was a place of honesty and exploration, which had been missing for me since my time in college. Sadly, I've already lost my discipline in this area, I should make some effort to bring it back (again).

Second, my time in Thailand was filled with many difficulties. If it could go wrong, it mostly did. Susan became pregnant in the first month we were there, which was planned. What was not planned was the impact this would make on us physically, emotionally, and in ministry. Physically Susan was wrecked. She spent months in bed. There were literally days where she did not leave the bed. The physical drain led to emotional drain. I was not planning on having to take care of an extremely sick wife while trying to establish a new ministry. On the weekend before our first major youth retreat, Susan had to go to the hospital (she was dehydrated). We were very concerned about her health and worried about a miscarriage as well. I cancelled the retreat, and took care of my wife. No doubt it was the right decision, but it was a small blow to establishing our ministry. The other blows came in the fact that Susan could not really help with the small groups. I have grown dependent on her in ministry, and not having her around was like not having my right hand. Our girls groups were led by a great volunteer, but she had no real experience. I felt like I threw her into the deep end, and it was not really fair. Thus our small groups struggled most of the time we were there as well. This pattern only continued to spiral down as we continued through the year.

Third, the random catch all. So many things happened while we were in Thailand I need somewhere to at least mention them. Having Levi in Thailand was awesome, but Levi usually gets his own little talk anyways. Besides—he got a great birth story out of it, which Susan has written up elsewhere. Some small things we loved were: having a maid, the incredible food, and riding a motorcycle. Some big things include: Levi's birth, our awesome small group, and growth in parts of our ministry. All of these elements have huge stories behind them, but there is only so much time that you get when people ask you about your time in another country.

Well, there it is. How was my time in Thailand? It was a mixed bag. We grew in many ways (not least of which is family size!). There were many trials, but I know God was faithful to us during our time there and in our return home. I have no doubts about us going there, nor any doubts about us returning. And we are now very hopeful about our future and have a really unique experience in our past.

Limbo Land

2010-10-27T17:14:00.000-04:00

Right now my son and I have something in common. We're in limbo. For Levi, he wants to walk, but does not quite have the skills. It has been very exciting to see him begin to crawl lately. Mostly because his mobility means that I do not have to walk him around the house in order to entertain him. He is more content being placed on the floor and crawling around some. His favorite objects to crawl to are the Wii balance board, the mesh trash can, and (oddly) his infant car seat (it must be some form of Stockholm Syndrome). So Levi has a dream (walking) and his reality (no walking, but he can crawl). He's kind of in limbo between his current situation and his next "big step."

(I think Levi looks smart in this picture!)

For me the limbo is a little more difficult. We finished up our time in Thailand, and I hoped to find a job fairly quickly back here in the states. But that has not been so forthcoming. So, no job. But the real next thing on the list is going to school again to pursue a PhD. I've started applying to schools this last month. I took my GRE at the beginning of October, and did pretty well. But school will not begin until July or August (maybe a little earlier if I have to take a language course). So I have my dream (school) and I have my reality (no job). And it just feels like I'm chilling in limbo with Levi. Hope he walks sooner than I get into school!

5 and 5

2010-08-17T20:28:00.000-04:00

Five things I miss about Thailand.

Maid. The laundry, the dishes, the sweeping, the cleaning, and the cooking. Having a maid was the best. Now I feel like I'm just washing clothes all the time. Na was fantastic, and she loved Levi. She also made killer Thai food.

Food. More specifically the restaurants, and the fact that nearly everyone delivered. I really miss the River Tree House and Beirut (a Lebanese restaurant).

Job. The days lately have been a little boring and rather repetitive here without a job. One thing about having a job is that it keeps you busy and can offer a good challenge.

Motorcycle. I enjoyed scooting around on that thing. Thinking of getting a motorcycle here, but I have to take a $200 class to get a license first. Waiting on that until we have some steady income =)

Small group. The friends we made in our small group were the best part of our time in Thailand by far. I miss their fellowship and the wonderful food we had every Tuesday evening.

Five things I enjoy about being Home.

Food. Ok, I know I rave about Thai food, but I do enjoy all the options here in the good ole' USA. From fast food options (Yo Quiero Taco Bell!) to frozen dinners. It's sad, but we had a hard time making dinner ourselves in Thailand. Here I enjoy grabbing a frozen skillet and eating yummy food for just a few bucks. So here's some of what we have eaten since we got home: Bojangles, Chick-Fil-A, Zaxby's, McDonalds (we had that one Thailand), Taco Bell, Wendy's, Krystal, etc. etc.

Levi. Since I don't have a job, Susan and I get to hang out with Levi all day. This kid is definitely a two person job, so it is nice that I get to help take care of Levi during the days and nights. It can be frustrating, but it would be worse if it was just Susan (or just me!).

DVR. How did I ever live without DVR before? Susan and I are loving the option to record a show during its original air time and watch it whenever we want, and skip commercials. USA shows like 8 hours of NCIS every Wednesday. It is one of Susan's favorite shows and it takes about a week to watch through them all, but it is great to be able to record and watch during our downtime. Also, we are enjoying Hulu and actually getting USA for all of their original programming (our favorite shows on TV right now are Psych, Burn Notice, and Covert Affairs).

Walks. As Levi has started settling into a schedule, we have started taking a nightly walk during his final hour of the day. It has been great quality time.

Library. How great is it to have access to a lot of books that I can borrow for a few weeks at a time. In Elkins our library was only a little larger than our apartments. Palm Coast has a pretty good library, and we have enjoyed taking advantage of it. I've already read 7 books, and am about to finish my 8^th. I don't even know how many Susan has finished.

Skillz Update

2010-08-16T19:57:00.001-04:00

So what new skills has Levi conjured up in the past few weeks? Let me count the ways.

Drooling skills. Better than spit up, Levi's drooling skills have been on the rise lately. Basically this translates into water water everywhere.

Scooting skills. Not walking, not crawling, but there has been some serious scooting along on the back going on around here.

Babbling skills. The baby babble has become more prevalent, no clear specific noises as of yet, but soon.

Dancing skills. Levi loves to be stood up in front of the mirror and show off his moves. It makes him laugh even when he's in a bad mood.

Other facts:

Levi currently loves hearing us sing the Alphabet Song. I'm not kidding. And don't think of singing the musically identical but lyrically different "Twinkle, Twinkle." He knows the difference and won't settle for anything less than A to Z. I know my ABCs, do you?

Bumbo time. We're also making sure that Levi is getting some time in the baby bumbo. It keeps him in an upright sitting position. He seems to like it, and gets stronger every day.

Sleeping time. Levi is finally getting some solid sleep during the night time. Not all the way through the night, but he's getting a more consistent 5 hours for the first set, and 3 ½ to 4 for the second set.

Relocation and Meanderings

2010-07-29T23:03:00.000-04:00

I know that the last few months have seen a dearth of updates from the Jones family. So I have one thing to say—babies suck up time like no other. And then they spit it up. Leaving you no time AND a mess to clean up.

But I'm back. And right now I have no job, so maybe we will get some time to post some thoughts and musings a little more often than never. So what have we been up to for the past few months? A lot!

First, we did survive the political instability in Thailand. Keep praying for Thailand. There is more to the situation there than a quick fix the government has put together. And just because the news does not report on it any more does not mean that it is not bubbling under the surface. We left Thailand on June 30^th and arrived stateside on June 30^th (not a typo). It was one loooooooooooooooooooong day. Our travel day was around 36+ hours. Levi did great. Susan and I struggled. And may I just say here—Chicago O'Hare is the worst airport I have ever been in, period. They blew it in customer relations, in general courtesy (except the nice guy at the tram station), in convenience in traveling to immigration and customs. We apparently parked as far away as it was possible to park from where we needed to go. It was a really long walk and we were really, really tired. And I think they trashed our baggage, because it was fine when we checked it at customs. It was not fine when we picked it up in Jacksonville. I'm just saying, not many options for who to blame there.

Second, we are now living in Florida with my parents. They graciously gave up the master bedroom and we have a mini-suite for our portion of the Jones clan. It is working out well so far.

Third, we went on vacation with Susan's family. That was great. We went to Black Mountain, NC. We rented a huge house, had magnificent views, and checked out some of the local artistry on a few shopping trips to the area. We even went to a free concert one night. I'd promise more updates on the vacation but I cannot guarantee that I'll actually think of something fun to write about.

Finally, Susan and I celebrated our 6^th wedding anniversary. Of course, we were on the tail end of our family vacation and never got to really celebrate this year. We did visit numerous friends on the way back home. We went to Cullowhee, NC to visit the Burnetts. Greg has been one of my best friends since kindergarten. How awesome is that? Very awesome. We spent time with them. Greg and Beth live with Greg's parents right now. So YAY for grown married people living with their parents! Sure it is a little odd, but I'm not the only one doing it right now, so that makes me feel better. Then we went to Columbia, SC and visited our friends the Byers. Rick and Jennifer and their daughter Krista have been our friends since our CIU days. We met in a board game store. We have bonded ever since.

So lots happening and I have plenty more interesting thoughts, but this is just a catching us all up for now. And if you made it this far you deserve a small reward. So here's a video that I made for our wedding anniversary this year. Make sure to switch to the Hi-Res, it looks so much better. Hope you enjoy it if you haven't already seen it!

The Game Changer

2010-05-20T01:44:00.000-04:00

A confession. Last night was the first night I have felt uneasy at my home in Thailand. I know that I keep reassuring my friends and family at home that everything is safe, and it is, but yesterday seemed like a game changer. The government troops dispersed the remnant of the Red Shirts from their improvised compound. As this happened, and Red Shirt leaders turned themselves over to the police, the crowd was unwilling to part. The protesters became rioters. And I think that is what happens when you bring in thousands of people for an indefinite siege. The crowd that remained was dedicated. They bought into everything the Red Shirt leaders were saying. And so I can imagine how under the stress of the last few months, the fatigue and frustration, and suddenly the surrender, they did not want to give up. They did not want to give in to the powers that they thought they could defeat. And so they started burning everything in sight downtown. I read at the Bangkok Post (a decent news source that has good updates on their main page) at least 34 buildings were attacked and burned (not necessarily all the way down, but enough to do damage). One of them was Central World, which is what I think of as the flagship for Thailand's economic dreams. And as the day went on, the looting and rioting has moved. As it spreads, I am more and more concerned. And for once my rest was uneasy because for the first time since all of this mess started I could envision a situation where things were not safe at my house anymore, and that concerned me.

(Armored Personnel Carrier breaking through protester barricade)

But let me temper that a little bit. Things are safe in Nichada Thani right now. Let me make that clear. We have guards. Lots of guards. Not armed, but I am sure if there is a problem, we would have plenty of time and warning to get to a safer location. Also, we are far removed from the city's center. We live about 30 minutes from the area downtown that is being heavily affected (like where Central World is at). Further, this situation is a Thai crisis, they are not targeting foreigners. Susan and I joke about movie previews that are outside of our demographic—"we are not the target audience!" I'd say the same is true during these protests.

Please pray for peace in Thailand. You can read previous posts of mine that talk about how we came to this situation. After nearly 2 months of prolonged unrest it is clear that there is a deep divide in Thailand between economic classes, which seems to also be an urban/rural issue. I acknowledge the plight of the poor and rural who have placed their faith in the Red Shirts to bring about change. However, I feel that with the actions of yesterday show that the Red Shirts were not just a peaceful protest group. I think they already showed this before in earlier clashes with the police. Bu in my mind they damaged their argument further when they started rioting. That's not to say the government has been wholly in the right through this entire event either. I'm not really sure. I think this "crackdown" was the only thing the government could do, and I am frankly surprised they did not do it before now, but that does not make it any less sad or any more right.

(Downtown Bangkok, lots of smoke as buildings were set on fire)

What needs to happen now is for these two sides to broker a cease-fire (of both guns and buildings), have an outside mediator broker a path to a peaceful and democratic resolution. The deep division between Bangkok and the rest of the country is a problem that will not be solved easily, but is necessary if Thailand wants to recover and move forwards together as a nation. Pray for a peaceful resolution to Thailand's political crisis.

Levi’s Skills

2010-04-21T11:03:00.001-04:00

At three weeks old, you expect your kid to have a few skills. Here's my list of awesome skills that Levi has mastered.

Crying skills. Not happy with his diaper? Cry. Hungry? Cry. Cold? Cry. Tired and cranky? Cry. Cry. Cry. This guy has his method of communication down pat. He lets me know something's up when things are not quite right. He has mad crying skills.

Adorable skills. Babies are supposed to be cute. I think the reason might be because they are completely dependent on their parents. So they look cute to ensure that their parents take care of them. Levi has got cute down to a science. And most of the time, he's not even doing anything. Just sitting there, looking adorable. Some of the best moments are his sneezes, hiccups, and grunts. Sooooooo adorable. Way to go little guy.

Pooping skills. What list of baby skills would be complete without a little pooping action? Every few hours our little guy makes a mess in his diapers. What is great is right now those messes are pretty small. Not much coming out. Enough to be a little gross, but not so much to scare mom and dad away. I know they will get worse, and I think that is part of the plan. Right now Levi's got me thinking: "This is not so bad, what is everyone complaining about?" And one day he'll drop the hammer. And I'll know what everyone is complaining about. Like a video game that teaches you the basics before ratcheting up the difficulty, Levi has pooping skills that didn't scare me away before I could handle the expert level of dirty diaper changing.

Escape artist skills. No matter how well I wrap Levi, he wriggles his way out of his swaddling in 1.4 seconds flat. He likes his arms flailing, and his legs kicking. Seriously, do all kids have this ability? Because I see a little Houdini in the making if he continues to develop and adapt these skills in the future. Handcuffs will be like bracelets and straightjackets are something he wears in order to look stylish.

Sleeping Like a Baby?

2010-04-06T08:54:00.002-04:00

You know what a funny saying is? Sleeping like a baby. I did not realize it until I stayed in a room with my sleeping baby. Sleeping like a baby is a double edged sword. Sure, they can sleep through almost anything. I mean, really our little guy sleeps a TON, and through almost any noise that is going on around him. It is seriously impressive. So sleeping like a baby—good.

On the other hand, have you ever considered that a baby wakes up every few hours and cries until he is fed? For a baby, that might be alright, but we adults hurt when we have to wake up every 3 hours (or 2 hours, or 1 hour!). It messes us up. We need that continuous sleep to feel truly refreshed. And wouldn't it be odd if when we woke up we cried until we were fed? It might help people understand why I'm so grumpy in the morning, but other than that a little scary. So sleeping like a baby—bad.

So that's why I think the phrase sleeping like a baby is so funny. What kind of baby are you sleeping like?

Levi Joshua Jones

2010-04-05T12:54:00.000-04:00

Born on April 1, this baby is no joke! Here is Susan's account (with a little editing from Patrick)

So, it's Thursday morning and I'm getting ready to go to an indoor market/mall type place with Patrick and Josh and Allison (friends who were visiting).

First thing that happened at 9:00 am was my water broke. However, I didn't realize that that was what happened. Ignorance is bliss! I thought I'd just peed my pants. Ignorance is embarrassment. So, I changed and grabbed a handful of pads - juuust in case.
We left a bit after 11:00 am and drove to downtown Bangkok. Went to eat at our favorite restaurant - yay for a great last meal! Went from Point A (Beirut - Lebanese restaurant) to Point B (MBK - Thai mall/market).

Second thing: There we walked around for about three hours. I visited the bathroom multiple times, feeling foolish every time! Towards the end of our time there, I became concerned enough to call the hospital. Unfortunately the doctor wasn't there and either there wasn't anyone better to talk to or she didn't understand when I asked to speak to someone who spoke better English. All that to say that she said to call back on Friday. Soooo, okay.

Third thing: We left for home around 3:30 pm and that is when I began to notice that my stomach/back wasn't feeling very well every once in a while. Ignorance is bliss! By the time we got home I was experiencing pain every ten minutes or so. Ignorance is ignorance! Around the time we got home my curious mind went to work and I looked up bladder control problems and pregnancy on the computer. Nothing really sounded like what I was experiencing and then I had my strongest stomach pain yet and figured I should be looking up what a contraction feels like. Now, that sounded about right!! They were coming a little more frequently by this point and I was feeling them stronger.

Fourth thing: I finally decided to be smart and call my friend Allayne, who used to be an OB nurse. After talking on the phone briefly with her, she came over. This was around 5:00 pm. She watched me go through a few contractions (In my mind, this is when they became contractions) and told me "Go to the hospital .... now." So, we (read Patrick) hurriedly packed some stuff in a bag - it all happened so early, we didn't even have that important chore done. At 5:30, our friends Chris and Ro, who were coming for dinner, arrived and we told them sorry! but we're having a baby. They were a little angry (juuust kidding) and helped us get out the door and closed up the house for us.
So, we were on the road around 5:50. Now, normally it takes about 30-45 minutes to get to the hospital. Ro, told us to start timing the contractions, so Josh and Allison were put in charge of that chore (yeah, they were totally awesome and came with us - I'm afraid I scared them out of their minds but they were incredibly helpful and supportive. Probably kept Patrick from going crazy).

Fifth thing: driving to the hospital. Like I said, we took off around 5:50. The first part of the trip went fine - Patrick speeding like a maniac. FYI: Bangkok's traffic at rush hour sucks. Contractions were at about five minutes apart and lasting 30 seconds. Then we hit the exit ramp for the hospital. Around 6:15ish. Contractions were about 2 and a half minutes apart and lasting about 45 seconds. I was quickly progressing to screaming from moaning. 20 minutes later - AAARRRRGGGGHHHH - we were still on the ramp and Patrick was driving like a jerk - going in the wrong lanes, honking the horn like crazy. Allison had run down from the top of the ramp to tell the police officer in charge of traffic at the bottom that someone in a car was having a baby and could he move the line - like NOW. He did his best and I wish I'd heard more of Allison's side of the story - I'm sure that was hilarious. She doesn't speak Thai, he didn't speak English, I'm sure, well... just try and imagine that. I wish someone could have video taped that. Well, we got through - around 6:30. By then, contractions were 1 minute apart and lasting for 1 minute. I was screaming bloody murder every time. No stoic silences or ladylike gentility for me. Poor Patrick and Josh and Allison and anyone else who was within a mile radius. Patrick drove us right up to the emergency entrance and they put me on a gurney and wheeled me straight up to a delivery room. Josh and Allison (told you they were awesome) parked the car - having never driven on the wrong side of the car or road and having to reverse into a spot. However, at that point, I couldn't have cared less. 7:00 ish. Their car parking adventure is a great story as well, perhaps we will post it sometime.

Sixth thing: in the midst of my screaming, they asked if I wanted an epidural (thank goodness this was one thing we had talked about) and Patrick told them YES! I can't believe they gave it to me that late, but I thank God they did!! I don't know how the anesthesiologist did it - put the needle in between contractions, with me shaking from holding pain in and screaming and thrashing at other times and a feeew seconds of relief every minute or two. So, epi in - great - "you should feel a lot better in five minutes." A few contractions later - "do you feel any numbness?" no "any tingling in your legs?" no "your feet?" no. They gave me another. a few minutes later...no, no, no still. Another...no, no, no. "Uh..we don't think we want to give her another shot because it could affect her strength during delivery and there are other possible side effects. A few minutes later, I was finally able to answer yes to the feet!! However, that has nothing to do with the pain I'm still going through. They did give me another and I felt the tingling move up to my thighs. Still not very helpful, if you ask me. One last shot that I'm sure was okayed by Dr. Nopadol (our OB/GYN) and I finally felt some relief. PRAISE THE LOOOORD!!! 8:00. 8:10, I can feel some pain again in my contractions and with each one, it's a little stronger. What the heck is wrong with meeee?!?!? But, I was definitely noooot getting another shot.

Seventh thing: 8:15 - push! Four contractions later, 8:30 pm on the nose, welcome to the world Levi Joshua Jones!!

Here's some pics:

Baby Levi.

Us and Dr. Nopadol

The Awesome Altmanshofers

One Happy Mom

One Happy Dad

Top 10 Movies

2010-03-20T12:11:00.000-04:00

I LOVE movies. My favorite part about a movie is seeing something magical for the first time. There are a lot of good movies out there, the great ones are a little more rare. Here's my top 10, in no particular order. I think Up maybe my favorite movie of all time right now (dethroning the previously reigning champ Braveheart), but I'll need a little more time to be sure. I'll include a little commentary for kicks and giggles.

Up—This movie made me cry in the first 10 minutes. I laughed and cheered through the rest of it. Incredible story telling. Unique characters. Amazing quotes. (Hello, my name is Russell...) (Squirrel!) And tons of heart. A nearly flawless movie.

Braveheart—Mel Gibson is phenomenal as William Wallace. Love, action, intrigue, betrayal, and the fight for something greater than yourself. Epic. Freeeeeeeeeedom!

The Matrix—Best shooting scene in a movie ever. The action alone would make this movie rank high, but this movie has more. It has a great story, makes you think, and reinvented martial arts cinematography.

Spy Game—This movie did not make a big box office splash, but I love watching it. It relaxes me. There is a great story line. Robert Redford is an awesome CIA recruiter. I consider this a comfort movie of choice.

Memento—Watching this movie the first time blew my mind. The way the story is told is brilliant (in 5 minute increments starting at the end and working backwards). The pace is quick. And Guy Pierce is completely compelling in this role.

Unbreakable—I love M. Night Shymalan. Unbreakable was not a huge blockbuster success, but I loved it. Every little moment is telling a story--from the train ride at the beginning to the climatic moment at the end. Bruce Willis and Samuel L. Jackson are great in their roles.

Princess Mononoke—Ahhh, Princess Mononoke. This movie changed my life by introducing me to Mayo Hiyazaki. He is a visionary animation director in Japan. I even named my cat after the main character (no, not Princess Mononoke), Prince Ashitaka. He is one tough dude. And so was the character. The movie drags a little in the second half, but is still like nothing you have ever seen before.

The Village—Another M. Night movie. It is too bad this movie was marketed as a horror-like movie. It is not, it is a love story. And as soon as you realize that, you might get actually appreciate the beauty of this strange tale.

Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers—Clearly the LOTR trilogy is epic. This is my favorite of the movies, even though it departs from the book in a few serious ways. The battle of Helmsdeep, with the Orcs getting pumped up before they attack, is one of my favorite scenes of all time.

The Empire Strikes Back—The darkest of the original Star Wars trilogy. I used to like Return of the Jedi the most, but have slowly changed to Empire. Especially after they nixed the jub-jub song at the end of Jedi. I just like how everything goes wrong for our heroes, but there is still hope in the horizon. Fantastic.

A few honorable mentions:
Hero (starring Jet Li)
Almost Famous
Howl's Moving Castle
Vertigo
Ocean's 11

Donate Blood, or not…

2010-03-15T11:10:00.000-04:00

Thus far the protests I wrote about last week have been peaceful. I have read that an estimated 100,000 protesters have shown up. Far short of the goal for 1 million, but this is not a number to scoff at either. The protest leaders are demanding that the current government dissolve and hold new elections. Their demands were rejected today.

This is where the weird part comes. The protest leaders are planning to collect 2,000 pints of blood from the movement (1 million cubic centimeters) and then spreading the collected blood on Government House (I think this is the like the Parliament building). That just seems weird to me. I'm glad things are going peaceful, but collected blood to smear on the political buildings is a step in a bizarre direction. Then again blood is red, and they are known as the Red Shirts. Maybe it makes sense. Maybe.

Upcoming events in Thailand

2010-03-11T05:55:00.003-05:00

I do not know how February disappeared, but it did. Sorry about not writing, but I'll try to make this post interesting (and hopefully not scary!).

So there is some civil unrest in Bangkok. And before you start worrying, we should be perfectly safe. But I want to tell you about what is going on around here as best as I can. My generalizations are broad and might be unfair. Sorry about that, but I do not understand all the intricacies of the political items I want to tell you about.

Where to start?

In 2001, Thaksin Shinawatra was elected as Prime Minister of Thailand. He was very popular and won an unprecedented second election. However, in 2006 he was deposed by a (bloodless) military coup. In the midst of this ousting were charges of corruption charges including some argument over some very large tax-free deals he made. Thaksin is very popular, but also very polarizing in Thai politics. His supporters are called "Red Shirts." And they have been very active since Thaksin was deposed. In April of 2009 they led some protests that became minor riots. Here is where I generalize unfairly because I do not entirely get the political dynamics. The Red Shirt movement is comprised primarily of the rural population of Thailand (i.e. everyone not in Bangkok). If you think of the country, Bangkok is the metropolitan elite. Bangkok loves the monarchy, and is totally fine with ruling from the top down. The rest of the country is at odds with these ideals. The majority of Thailand is more populist. They love their king, but I think they expect the ruling to be more about the good of the common people, not the ruling elite. Sometimes Red Shirts have been characterized as anti-monarchist. I do not know if that is a fair assessment or not.

So how does how does all of this tie together? Why the unrest now? Well remember those corruption charges and the tax-free deals? Well the government froze Thaksin's Thai assets and set up a trial to decide what to do with these funds. A few weeks ago the court ruled to seize half of the 2.4 billion (USD) that they froze. Thaksin lost half of his fortune, but is still a very rich man. And now he is rallying the people. He hopes to topple the current government (who wouldn't for 1.2 billion dollars?), and reestablish himself as the Prime Minister I guess.

This weekend he is busing in thousands (he hopes for 1 million) of protesters into Bangkok. No one knows what to expect. Peaceful protest? Riots? Violence? The news papers seem to be fueling an atmosphere of fear (to sell papers). There have been a few bomb threats. A grenade attack. And a cache of weapons stolen from the south and supposedly on their way to Bangkok.

So why am I not worried? Because Bangkok is a huge place, and while there are some protest locations kind of near us, I have no doubt we are completely safe. But as a precaution I'm still not going downtown this weekend (not that I do much anyways). Furthermore, I do not believe anything will really happen. But that does not mean there is not potential for craziness.

Pray for Thailand this weekend. Who knows what will happen. We'll let you know how it all goes down. If you want to read more about the situation, check out www.bangkokpost.com or www.thaivisa.com for news about Thailand.

Ahhh the internet

2010-02-08T10:39:00.001-05:00

So a few days ago the internet in our house went out. I let it sit there for a day and it comes back on. Sweet, good deal. Then, on some very important days to be connected to the rest of the world, it goes out again. I let it sit, but nothing happens. Hmmm, I'm thinking the problem will actually require me to get someone to help us out. I realize one thing, it seems that the problem is not with my router, but with the phone line.

I ask the landlady (sort of, too long to explain) to send over her handyman. So here is where I tell you about a difference in American and Thai handyman thinking.

I think the problem is the phone company. Jerks. I grab the phone bills to prove I've paid for the last month, etc.

Thai handyman comes in, realizes it's the phone line and proceeds to my bathroom (which is where all the wiring in my house seem to converge). Opens up the hatch, and starts messing with the wires. A few cuts here, a few twists of the wires there, and 15 minutes later our internet is up and running. That's 1 for the Thai handyman. 0 for the dumb American. Actually, our Thai handyman has helped us through multiple problems with our internet, and I'm really thankful that he is so knowledgeable.

I would love to send a picture of the wiring in my house, but I'm afraid of two things: 1. That if I open the hatch I'll lose my internet again. Maybe forever. 2. That the wiring might be illegal. Although, to be fair, a lot of wiring in Thailand looks pretty sketchy to these American eyes. There are bundles of wires all over the place outside. Just hanging out. Often you can reach up and touch the wiring. Crazy, but true. I'll see if I can take a picture or two for everyone to see by next week. If I have the internet!

Top 10 Crazy Jobs I Dream About Doing

2010-01-27T10:41:00.000-05:00

Here are 10 jobs I day dream about having. Enjoy.

CIA Agent. Pros: You know why. Cons: Killing, lying, etc.
Crab Fisherman. Like on Deadliest Catch. Pros: Money! Cons: 20 hour work days, on a boat, in the freezing cold.
Airplane Pilot. Pros: Flying!!!! Cons: Stress, Jet Lag.
Video Game Programmer. Pros: Making Video Games! Cons: Math.
Safari Guide. Pros: Adventure. Cons: Tourists.
Science Fiction Writer. Pros: Being published. Cons: Grammar.
Movie Star. Pros: Money. Cons: Paparazzi.
Astronaut. Pros: Space. Cons: 3 gs during liftoff.
Ninja Pirate. Pros: Plundering by stealth. Cons: Scurvy.
Superhero. Pros: Awesome powers. Cons: I'd probably have to fall in a vat of toxic waste to get powers.

There you have it folks. 10 crazy jobs I dream about having, but am sure I will never be.

Two Weeks Later…

2010-01-25T10:02:00.000-05:00

So I haven't written anything for two weeks. What the heck is wrong with me? Well, the first week was just laziness. Well, laziness coupled with the drive to finish "The Patrick Challenge." Then last week was crazy insane. In the past two weeks we have kicked off our small groups for our High School, Middle School, and our Adult small group. Good stuff, glad to have that started.

This last weekend, I had a unique experience: I judged a speech competition. It was fun. I wanted to get more involved at the school, so this was one way to get involved at the school and to help the school out as well. I judged the impromptu speakers. They literally walk in the room, open an envelope with a popular phrase (or quote) and a single abstract word. They choose one of the two, have one minute, and begin making a 3-5 minute speech. Crazy! It is really incredible when they do it well. It is a little depressing when they struggle through it. I saw about 50/50.

So how are your New Year's resolutions coming along? Mine are sucking it up. I think I've made some small tweaks, but no life overhaul is happening. And it's still January. Or (more optimistically) it's still January!

Susan is doing well with the pregnancy. She's had a few days where she's been a little sick, but for the most part is doing pretty well. We are able to get out and about some more than we had been. This last Friday we went to Chatuchak Market (one of the world's largest outdoor markets). We picked up some art work for the house, saw some cute baby stuff, and also purchased some decorative pillows. We are slowly making this house a little more ours.

Well, that is what's going on with us.
Bonus for reading: Here's a picture of our small group!

Muttering on Monday

2010-01-11T08:38:00.002-05:00

Do you ever find yourself daydreaming about having a different career? What do you imagine yourself doing? Me, I often daydream about being a CIA agent (or at least the FBI).

If you know me here's what you would say here: What?!?

Yeah, I often think about being a undercover agent in the CIA. I mean those guys have crazy jobs. I wonder if I have the stuff to do it. I'll admit, I usually think about it after watching Burn Notice (one of the best shows ever! Michael Westen rocks!). Or movies like Spy Game or James Bond (Daniel Craig is one tough Bond!). Or more recently by reading the Jason Bourne trilogy. While I was reading The Bourne Ultimatum I literally had dreams about being a spy.

And as awesome as I think those guys are, I always come back to the fact that I could never be a spy. Never. And I reach that conclusion because of this one small thing: I don't think I could kill someone. Or make decisions that actively lead to someone's death. I am also a bad liar. I probably laugh too much. And I think that in order to be successful I would have to accept my orders unquestioningly from the guy above me (who knows so much more than I do). I do not think my conscience could handle that if it came down to life and death. And while I am grateful for their service to my country, I would prefer to live in a world where they were not used (or necessary).

I guess that's why I'm a pastor instead. Because as much as I daydream about being in the CIA, I think that what I do is infinitely more important. Because (without being too cheesy) it is not just lives, but eternal lives that are at stake. And in my opinion that battle is the most important one.

Alright, enough of that, back to dreaming about being a spy. And blowing things up.

Top 10 Reasons I like TV in Thailand

2010-01-08T10:54:00.000-05:00

Living in Thailand, there are only a few stations Susan and I watch. Some things I love about our limited viewing.

Blurred Cigarettes. Thai TV blurs a cigarette that someone is actually smoking. The best part, it is only when the cigarette is in their mouths that the cigarette is blurred. It's fantastic. The blur comes and goes if someone keeps putting the cigarette in their mouth and taking it out.
Blurred Guns. Even better is the fact that Thai TV blurs guns that are aimed at someone. If the gun is just hanging out, it's fine. If it can do damage, it is blurred. Usually the gun has to be pointed at someone's head. The blurring comes and goes just like with the cigarettes, but it is even funnier when it is a gun.
No adult content. Even notorious channels like Cinemax have no adult content whatsoever here in Thailand. I think this is a nice change from the garbage that often comes with otherwise great premium channels.
Lin Ping. Who, you may ask? Lin Ping, the panda. Still haven't heard of her? Well, she has her own channel here in Thailand. No joke. Channel 18 is a dedicated 24 hour channel that you can watch this panda eat, sleep, poop, or just hang out. Most of the time Lin Ping sleeps. How do I know? I watch occasionally.
International News. Unlike in the States, CNN here is about international news. The reporters usually sound British too. Which is odd, because if I wanted to watch British reporters I could just watch BBC News. In either case, it is cool to see news with an international flair instead of obsessing over American concerns.
Commercial-less breaks. On AXN, one of the stations we often watch, the commercial breaks are only used half of the time. Which means the show ends 10 minutes early, and they throw the rest of the commercial time during this time. I see this as 10 free minutes of TV. I usually watch the History channel for those 10 minutes (or some Lin-Ping!).
Encore time slots. Because of the limited programming, most of the TV programs here have multiple show times. If I miss my show on Monday at 9 pm, I can catch it Tuesday at 5 pm. This can cut both ways, but it usually works to our advantage.
English. I am actually really thankful that there are shows available in English. One station, AXN, actually carries primetime major network programs. For instance So You Think You Can Dance (to answer your question Liz), CSI (all variations), 24, and Chuck--to name a few. I know American TV is some of the best in the world (we really value entertainment), but I wasn't exactly sure it would be available outside of the US. But it is. So there.
DVDs. With many hours of lame TV, Susan and I have often opted for watching DVDs instead. We actually prefer to watch many series all in one go. You do not have to wait week to week to resolve that cliffhanger. Instead you get instant resolution. And a TV show is actually only 40 minutes when you take out the commercial breaks. So we can watch more in less time. Awesome.
Reading. I know this is terrible, but one of my favorite parts about not having great options for TV, means that I have time to read. Lots and lots of time. That's the best part of TV in Thailand.

And for your viewing pleasure, here's a little Lin Ping. And let me tell you, this video is compelling TV when it comes to watching a panda.

Tuesday Observations

2010-01-05T08:23:00.001-05:00

So it's Tuesday night, and you know what that means—I'm watching 3 hours of So You Think You Can Dance. This makes a great time for writing.

Susan and I have been just chilling for the last week. Not much really going on around here during the holiday break. Susan did not even stay up for the New Year. I celebrated by myself. Oddly enough I saw the countdown twice. I watched it on one channel (10. 9. 8. 7. 6. 5. 4. 3. 2. 1. Happy New Year! Yes, they said Happy New Year) then I switched to another and caught the countdown again. Oh, in case you wanted to say it, Happy New Year in Thai (for guys) is Sawatdee Pee Mei Khrap. Which sounds like "So what the pee my crap?" Yeah, it's funny every time. For ladies it is Sawatdee Pee Mei Kha ("So what the pee my kah"). There's your cultural learning for the day.

I am already behind in my New Year's resolutions. I think I have to eat 20 apples tomorrow to catch up. And translate a lot of Greek. But I'm not discouraged. I see my resolutions as something that I have a whole year to fulfill. If it all averages out in the end, I'm good to go. Maybe you're doing better than I am on your resolutions. I sure hope so.

I thought I had more words for tonight, but I'm kind of drawing a blank. I want to say hello to all of our friends out there. We miss all of you. Now where are those apples at?

Top 10 Fiction Books

2010-01-02T00:52:00.003-05:00

Here are my top 10 Fiction Books of all time as of January 2010. This is my best attempt to narrow my list down to just my favorites and figuring out just what my top 10 would be. I'm sure it will change over time. For instance--3 of the top 10 I read in the last 2 years. Heck, I probably forgot some of my favorite books already. But now I have a place to start. To get into the top 10, you have to displace one of the top 10. Let the battle begin.

And now, in no particular order (it was hard enough making a top 10, much less actually ordering it!):

Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card. One of the most original sci-fi books I have ever read. I love books about child prodigies, and Ender is an incredible one. A must read.
The Road by Cormac McCarthy. This book was amazing. I started reading it and could not put it down. I read through the night to finish it. Intense, gritty, and filled with hope. Check out my full review here.
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens. A classic, and one of my favorites. I love the story of love and redemption in it.
The Tale of Desperaux by Kate DiCamillo. I love Kate DiCamillo. Despereaux is amazing. I think I cry at the end of every DiCamillo book I have ever read. Desperaux was no exception.
The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss. This book rocked my world. I devoured every page. It is fantasy at its finest. It also has a child prodigy.
The Plague by Albert Camus. The Plague haunts me when it finishes.
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. Bradbury is a master. Fahrenheit grabbed my attention and held it all the way through to the end.
Fitzpatrick's War by Theodore Judson. Incredible story about a future history. Great characters. Parallels the story of Alexander the Great.
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling. One of my favorite series of all times, and this book is my favorite about Harry (a child prodigy).
Dune by Frank Herbert. Dune is a sci-fi classic, a must read with intricate characters, unique plot, and powerful ideas.

Honorable Mentions. Any of these deserve to be in the top 10 I just do not know what to cut to put them there:

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling. I love the conclusion to this series. I was left very satisfied and with a sense of closure to a fantastic series.

Graceling by Kristin Cashore. Check out my Patrick's Challenge review here. Great story with great twists.

World War Z by Max Brooks. A story told in journalistic nuggets about the zombie invasion. "If you read one book about zombies, this should be it." (So says my brother-in-law Ben who I told to read this book, he doesn't particularly care for zombies, but liked this book)

The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart. Great clean story about child prodigies who are sent on adventures. Very fun.

Ender's Shadow by Orson Scott Card. Ender's Shadow is a great follow up to Ender's Game. It is the same story told through the eyes of a different character. Revealing and unique.

Tuesday Mutterings

2009-12-29T08:53:00.000-05:00

I know I'm supposed to write on Monday, but that just did not happen. So I am hanging out tonight with Susan. We're watching So You Think You Can Dance (season 4). We've been enjoying it. What's funny is that we watch the original episode, and immediately after they have the results show. It makes for 3 hours of dancing, which is too much for me, but it makes Susan happy, so there. Susan is chilling, but the baby is active. I put my hand on the bump and felt that little guy kicking or punching or head-butting away. Maybe he was head-banging. It was pretty fun.

We had a good Christmas. It is different when you are not celebrating with your family. But we had an enjoyable day. I went to a Christmas Eve candlelight service. Susan was not feeling very well, so she stayed home. The next day we spent time at two different homes, had great food, watched movies, hung out, and played some Settlers.

Speaking of Settlers, Susan and I have been breaking out the games lately. We've played a lot of 2 player games (Jambo--the most popular right now, Lost Cities, St. Petersburg, Scrabble, Java, Caylus, Mr. Jack). But I've also been lucky enough to play some games with friends here. I've played a few rounds of Settlers (one which was possibly the worst game of my life, I ended with a mere 3 points…you start with 2, the goal is 10), a game of Tigris and Euphrates (which I don't even own!!!), and Citadels, and Torres. Yeah, I've been enjoying the gaming lately.

I was able to preach last week, I think it went well. I spoke about David and Mephibosheth. We are going through the life of David, and we are almost done.

So that's what has been going on with the Joneses lately. This week is quiet because everyone is away on vacation. Apparently a lot of people go to the US for the holiday season. Crazy.

Merry Christmas

2009-12-24T22:30:00.002-05:00

I know the most famous Christmas passage is Luke 2. But today I want to share about my favorite Christmas passage. John 1: 1-18. I love to think about this passage as the story of Christmas. Jesus was with the Father, and then he came into this world. One of my favorite parts is verse 14, "the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us." I think this verse perfectly captures the whole concept of Christmas. Jesus with us. Jesus coming to live as one of us. I understand the appeal of the Matthew and Luke passages. They are concrete. We can make a Christmas pageant out of them. They have the manger, shepherds, animals, angels, and kings. We get the picture of a king being born with all the pageantry, only it is all turned on its head because Jesus was born in a manger in the middle of nowhere.

But I love the abstract and grandiose picture that John gives us in his gospel. I feel like Christmas is so much bigger in John. There are huge concepts here, it is a cosmic event, and I can barely get my head around it. Of course I must confess that I have always loved how John writes. He has such simple words, but those words have such a depth of meaning. In John instead of shepherds and angels we get the Word, the beginning, life, light, darkness, glory, grace, and truth. And check this out—we don't just get the birth of Jesus, but we get the whole idea of US being born of God. "To those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—children not born of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God." When was the last time you thought of Christmas as your birthday? Because Christmas is the day that the God made it possible for us to truly be called his children. Children who are born of God, just like Jesus was on that first Christmas morning.

That's why I love John's Christmas story. It is so deep and beautiful and different. And it reminds me that some things cannot be tamed, like the true meaning of Christmas, because they are bigger than we ever imagined. So here it is for your reading pleasure—John 1:1-18. Merry Christmas!

John 1:1-18

¹In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ²He was with God in the beginning.

³Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. ⁴In him was life, and that life was the light of men. ⁵The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.

⁶There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John. ⁷He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe. ⁸He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. ⁹The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world.

¹⁰He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. ¹¹He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. ¹²Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— ¹³children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God.

¹⁴The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

¹⁵John testifies concerning him. He cries out, saying, "This was he of whom I said, 'He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.' " ¹⁶From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another. ¹⁷For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. ¹⁸No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father's side, has made him known.

10 New Year’s Resolutions

2009-12-24T01:08:00.000-05:00

It's almost that time of the year when we make (and break) New Year's resolutions. So for 2010 I have 10 resolutions.

50 lbs lost.
10 fingernails not bitten.
20 non-fiction books read.
100 blog posts for "Keeping up…"
1 verse translated from Greek NT a day.
1 Bible verse memorized a week.
1 apple a day (keeps the doctors away).
Love more.
Give more.
Enjoy more.

What are your resolutions for 2010?

It's going to be a...

2009-12-22T06:34:00.002-05:00

Went to the doctor's office today for our 21 week check-up. We had our ultrasound and found out we are having a boy!!! Woohoo! We were hoping for a boy because in our extended families no one has had a boy yet. Actually the count right now is 5 girls (and 1 on the way) to 0 boys. Well now there's one boy on the way. Here's a picture of the baby (the head--round bump on the left, you can see eye socket, nose, and mouth. And the torso--round bump on the right).

Order out of Chaos

2009-12-21T09:07:00.001-05:00

I've been thinking. I am terrible at keeping regular updates on this blog. I stink. So I will be working on that. Consider it one of my New Year's resolutions. And I have a plan. Because I can say "I'll do better" or I can actually come up with a game plan to help myself do better. So I have a game plan. I'm going to have more regular posts. Monday will be "Monday Musings". Wednesday will be a "Top 10" list day. Saturday will be a "Cultural Learning" day. I figured this way I'll actually write about things in a timely manner, add a little structure, and keep my writings a little more focused. Let's see how it works, eh? So consider this the first Monday Musings with your host, Patrick! Hope you enjoy it.

Today we have some musings by Susan about our trip to Malaysia to get our visas.

We returned safely from Malaysia last night and I am getting caught up on emails this morning.

We left on Tuesday - safe trip and arrived at the hotel tired. We did manage to walk to a restaurant just down the street. I wasn't very hungry (I never am after traveling) but Patrick enjoyed his Indian curry and chicken.
Wednesday morning, we went to the Thai consulate to drop off our paperwork. Then we had the rest of the day to ourselves. We walked around Penang and visited a Thai Buddhist temple. It was so very interesting. You could buy incense (joss sticks) at the front and then stick them in different prayer pots around the temple asking for different things (Wealth, Peace, etc). So sad to watch. After that, we kept walking to a mall (all in all, we had a nice little hike that morning) and found a Chili's there! Patrick was pretty ecstatic. =) We enjoyed lunch and then took a taxi, tired from all that walking, back to our hotel. That afternoon, I took a nap then we played some games (Jambo, Caylus) then ate dinner at the hotel restaurant. I had a yummy Caesar salad. I've re-discovered how much I like salads during my pregnancy. I have one almost every day. We tried to swim in the pool only to realize it was freezing cold, so went back to our room and relaxed for the rest of the evening.

Thursday, in the morning, we went to the Penang Museum. It was very interesting to learn a bit more of the history of Penang and Malaysia. Apparently, when the British took control there was supposed to be a signed treaty stipulating the conditions of their rule, but that never materialized. We need to research that a bit more. While there, I just drooped. Lost all energy. We'd been planning on visiting a few other historical sites, but that plan was nixed in favor of returning to the hotel for a much appreciated rest. Oh well, next visit we'll do more. In the afternoon, we went back to the consulate and picked up our visas - yay! We played more games in our hotel room the rest of that day and ate again at the hotel restaurant. We went to the pool again and Patrick took a swim. I sat for just a few minutes in the hot tub - no bubbles. Half the time I stood, so my belly was out of the heat. Other than that, it was like a very short bath without the bathing. =)
Friday, we had nothing to do until our flight at 5:30. So, we packed up our stuff and went back to the mall where we hit up a Toys-R-Us and a bookstore. Didn't buy anything, but it was fun to look. And then, because I wanted a light lunch (i.e. salad), we ate at Chili's again. Then back to the hotel to check out by 1. We hung out in the lobby til 2:30 then took a taxi to the airport. Safe trip back. Hour and a half flight. Buuut, there was horrible traffic in Bangkok, so our drive from the airport to the house (usually 45 minutes or so) took almost 2 hours! Bleh, but we made it.
So, probably much more than you ever wanted to know about our trip, but there you go.

The Reclining Buddha (Very famous in Penang)

The Reclining Susan (Not so famous in Penang)

Habitat for Humanity

2009-12-20T03:26:00.010-05:00

On December 4-7, I took a group of 16 High School students to Korat, Thailand, about 2 hours from Bangkok. In that weekend we built a house. How incredible is that? We started with 6 concrete poles in the ground, and a foundation poured around the outside wall. And for the next 2 ½ days those students worked hard. We mixed concrete (by hand, no machines for this trip!). We laid block. More concrete. And more block. And more block. We stood on scaffolding to lay even more block. Some of the guys also dug a hole. They were very proud of this fact. "So, what did you do today?" "WE DUG A HOLE!" Good stuff. The next day the diggers dug three more small holes and put in more concrete poles. The first two days were basically the same—holes, concrete, block. The last day we were only around for half the day. We leveled the ground the night before, and started pouring concrete for the floor. So more mixing of concrete (a little easier since it was more liquid like than for the blocks). Bucket lines were formed, and we dumped concrete onto the floor. It took about 2 ½ hours.

During our evenings we went to a local mall, ate, and hung out a little. The second night I played Citadels with some students. They loved it and insisted on playing again on the bus ride home. That was my highlight of the week. It was a good time to connect with kids. Once we got home, I compiled some of the pictures and created a slide show with animoto (animoto.com). Here it is for your viewing pleasure…hope you enjoy.

Triple Thanksgiving

2009-12-10T10:44:00.000-05:00

I know it is a little late, but better late than never I always say.

Thanksgiving was odd for us this year. It was our first one outside of the States, and there were certainly some quirks involved. For starters, we celebrated three times! The first was on the Sunday before Thanksgiving and it was with our small group. This was probably my favorite celebration. We hung out on Sunday afternoon. We ate and talked. I played some video games with the kids. Then a rousing game of Bocce was played, but I was merely a spectator. Overall a good afternoon.

(Susan and Kristen were partners. They did not win, but they looked good doing it.)

(Most of the small group played Bocce. Good times.)

Our second Thanksgiving was on Tuesday at the C&MA Guest House in Bangkok. The food was fantastic, but we just ate—no extra fun and games. There was some excitement for the Jones clan though. For starters, I drove to the Guest House. Not too far away, but I still do not drive much in Bangkok. So that was fun. But when we arrived, as soon as I parked, the engine started smoking. That's not so fun. So after lunch we took the car to a repair shop and left it. Some hose connected to the power steering was busted and had to be replaced. We took the taxi home. I retrieved the car a few days later. On the up side, we did get to hang out with our friend Stef May, which is always fun.

(Stef and Susan, Tuesday is wear pink day in Thailand. Seriously.)

Our third Thanksgiving was on the Saturday following the actual Thanksgiving. It was primarily a Thanksgiving for the GES teachers (a Christian school here in Bangkok, many of the teachers come to CCC). It was held by a family in the church. This celebration had the best dessert by far. Lots of selection, lots of quality. Good friends and conversations. Some people played some video games, but I was not amongst that crowd this time around.
The following pictures are what happen when you hand a camera to a middle school student and say have fun...

(Susan's mouth. Weird.)

(Some others who came to this party. It's fun to take pictures of their cups instead of real people.)

(Just me.)

So three Thanksgivings, but none on the actual Thanksgiving day. I guess that is part of living overseas where US holidays are not necessarily observed. It was definitely a strange feeling. I think Thanksgiving has been one of my favorite holidays in the States because it gives us a day to reflect and think about how God has worked in our lives for the past year. And there are so many things that Susan and I have been thankful for this year: a unique job, a pregnancy, and drawing closer to God. That's what I call a triple Thanksgiving.

Be Real: Church Retreat 2009

2009-11-24T08:38:00.000-05:00

November 14-17, 2009. Susan and I were on another adventure. Actually, this was one of the first time's Susan has been out in order to have fun since the pregnancy started making her feel terrible. Our weekend started on Friday afternoon at the church. We boarded the bus and were on our way. Due to lack of foresight by the bus driver, it took us almost 20 minutes to leave Nichada Thani (the subdivision we live in here). It should not have taken that long, but that's part of the joy of mass transit.

We arrived at the resort late, so everyone ran off to the first session. During the evening sessions at the retreat (and thus, this session), I was hanging out with the middle school students. Friday night we played Mafia. It did not go over as well as I had hoped. Lots of cheating and failure to listen to instructions. Ah, the joy of being a youth pastor.

(Some middle school students)

Saturday was great. We woke up, had breakfast, and I was the presenter for the morning session. For the weekend our theme was based on the book The PAPA Prayer by Larry Crabb, a book about relational prayer (read my review of it here). I spoke about how our perceptions of God affect our prayer life. We looked at the wrong ways we perceive God and then used the vision of Jesus in Revelation 1 as one image of God that is clearly presented in the Bible.

Saturday was to be a free day, but I had a paintball engagement with the High School youth from 3-5. Susan came along (but did not paintball with us). We had a lot of fun. I got hit a lot, but also personally took the flag in one game. Good times. We are still working on relationships with these students, and paintball was a great way to break some of the ice.

(We take paintball VERY seriously)

(One shot hit my mask, and splattered through the vents, leaving this mark on my face)

Saturday night, back with Middle School. We watched Night at the Museum 2. The DVD player was not set up correctly, we had about 15 minutes of technical difficulty, and the sound was never right through the whole night. Kids talked, walked around, ordered fries and billed it to their parents room, and were basically annoying most of the night. Aaargh. But I survived, and enjoyed a round of San Juan with some friends before heading off to bed.

Sunday morning Dave spoke, we had communion, ate lunch and made our way back home. The bus ride seemed like an eternity on the ride home. I'm not sure why. I was exhausted by the time we got home in the afternoon.

I really enjoyed the retreat. The best part was Susan was able to out and about. So all the cool people I've met, she finally got to meet and hang out with. We were really able to connect to some GES teachers (a Christian school here in Bangkok), which is great because they are really close to our age and have similar interests. And as we all know, Susan is my better half, so people enjoyed laughing at how we interact in conversations the whole weekend.

(Susan and Kwan)

That's all for today. Up soon--Triple Thanksgiving Celebration!

Hands on Bangkok

2009-11-23T06:32:00.001-05:00

The last few weekends have been chaotic to say the least. I've been meaning to write, but have been so exhausted on Mondays (my day off), I have not really gotten around to writing up our stories. So for the next few days I'll be writing updates from the month of November..

First up: Hands on Bangkok. November 5-7, 2009. This event begins with a middle school student lock-in. Lots of fun ensued. First up: Capture the flag at the soccer fields of the International School of Bangkok (ISB). We ordered tons of pizza (of which we had tons left over the next day). Then we had a few rounds of sardines (a kind of reverse hide-and-go-seek, where one person hides, and everyone who finds them joins in the hiding). The first round of sardines was a little rough—the finders shouted that they discovered the person hiding, and the round was over super quick. But no fear, they caught on when we clarified some of the rules (Hide WITH the hidden person!). We finished up the evening watching Monsters vs. Aliens (pretty fun movie, the best is Stephen Colbert voicing the President of the USA). By the time the movie ended at around 2am, 90% of the kids were asleep already. I stayed up until around 3:30am. That floor was freaking hard, and I'm not as adaptable to rock hard floors as I once was. The next morning we ate breakfast brought in by parents. Then we headed off to The Rainbow House to complete our weekend event. The Rainbow House is an orphanage here in Bangkok. This orphanage specifically takes care of handicapped orphans (both physically and mentally). This was definitely the highlight of the weekend. We outnumbered the orphans, but it was really cool to see these middle school students working with the orphans. We played games, hung out with, and held these precious children of God.

I know lock-ins are the bane of many a youth pastor's existence. I actually like them. And this event was even better because of the trip to the orphanage. I would definitely recommend having a service our outreach project attached to a lock-in event. It does make for a longer second day (usually my day for recovery). However, if you make the kids sleep a little at night and actually have a positive event the next day, the rewards are better than just having a fun overnight event. This is the same pattern we used for 30 Hour Famine in the States. If you can, take an extra-extra day off, because this kind of weekend can be very draining. And what lock-in is complete without some damage to church property? Thankfully it was minimal, just a wall-sconce hit by a pillow. Not too bad!
Here's a few pics:

To finish up, I'll try to add a fun video about lock-ins that Susan and I saw premiered at a National Youth Worker's Conference. Tomorrow you'll hear about our Church Retreat. Fun times.

Breaking Out

2009-10-29T11:02:00.002-04:00

When you live in a foreign country you have to adjust. It is the small things that change where you are from just a place that you live to a place that is your home. For us, adjusting to Bangkok is taking time. With Susan so sick from the pregnancy we have not been able to go out and about Bangkok very much. And without a reason to travel far, I have not driven much outside of our immediate community.

So today we took one small step for acclimatization. I drove us to the hospital for our baby check up (we had the Senior Pastor's wife, Maryanne, navigate for us. Thanks Maryanne!). I know that does not seem earth shattering, but when I got home, and I realized, "Hey, I can do this!" that was huge. Honestly, it made me feel just a little more connected to this country. I've been on the highway. I've driven to a specific location downtown. I can get there again. It's not much, but it made me feel like I'm a little more home than I was before.

(A cool picture of the highway in downtown Bangkok)

I've been thinking a lot lately about what some of those other little things might be that could help me feel like I am actually home instead of feeling like I'm waiting out a siege before I can breathe fresh air again. Because I want Bangkok to feel like home. I want this to be a place that I feel settled. And I'm getting glimpses (not full pictures, just glimpses) of being able to live here for many years.

Sometimes getting to that next level just takes one small step. Today it was driving my car to the hospital. What will tomorrow bring?

(Bumrungrad Hospital—where we are having our baby)

Adventures in Malaysia

2009-10-26T08:51:00.000-04:00

Last week Susan and I had to make a trip to Penang, Malaysia in order to get new visas. While this is a fairly standard trip in this part of the world, it was still our first time making a visa run. And it was not as smooth as we hoped.

First, I must tell you that there are a number of types of visas you can get in Thailand. There is your standard tourist visa (30-60 days). The visa we are actually waiting to get is a one year visa. But the one year visa for us was not ready yet, so we were going to apply for the 60 day tourist visa.

On the way to the airport on Wednesday, I got a call saying that maybe my one year visa was ready. I'd get an email later that evening. The airport and plane ride were alright. Susan was getting a little tired by the end, but she was a real trooper in the midst of it all.

That night we found out our one year visa was not ready, but maybe by noon the next day it would be.

Unfortunately the consulate only accepts visas from 9-12 in the morning. No applications are accepted in the afternoon. So Thursday, we waited until noon, found out our one year visa was not ready (still), and it might not be for a few more days. We would have to get the 60 day visa as originally planned. We made a quick trip to the consulate just in case they accepted applications in the afternoon. They don't.

So Friday morning we go to the consulate. We also get the best taxi driver in the world. His name is Raja. We don't have a copy of some paperwork, so Raja takes us to a copy place and back to the consulate. We drop of our paperwork, and are told we can pick it up at 3:30pm. Our plane leaves at 5, and the airport is about 45-60 minutes away. I begin to panic. I don't think we are going to make it. I beg the consulate worker to let us pick it up earlier. He tells me to plan better. I try to explain about the waiting from the day before, but he won't hear it. I tell him about my airplane leaving at 5. He is barely moved. Then he begrudgingly says "Maybe, maybe it will be ready by 3:15." Thanks.

So, our taxi driver says he will pick us up at 2:30 to go to the consulate and then the airport. We like him, so we accept. He arrives promptly at 2:30, and we are at the consulate by 2:45. They don't like that I am early. We wait. The guard actually asked if our visa was ready a few times (he wouldn't let me into the consulate area, but at least he asked).

At 3, the consulate worker asks me if I have a copy of my airline ticket. I give him the receipt. He comes out 5 minutes later.

I think he is going to yell at me because he starts off—"This is the first and last time!..." And then he tells me to plan better, next time he will not give our visas to us early. I was a little scared because I thought he was going to tell me this is the first and last time I can apply for a visa! But you know what? I got the visas when I wanted them, so there you have it. Sure I got yelled at, and given a stern look, but I still walked away a little after 3 with my 60 day tourist visa.

So by 3:05 we are heading to the airport. It still might be tight, but I'm thinking maybe we'll actually make it. This is where I find out that Raja is more than just a nice taxi driver (which he was), but that he is an AWESOME taxi driver. We are at the airport in 30 minutes. He was cutting through traffic like a knife through butter. He dodged and weaved and got us to the airport in about half the time it took for us to get to our hotel (which is really near the consulate). I felt safe the whole time, nothing insane, but there was a determination in his driving. I kept Raja's card. If anyone is in Penang and needs an awesome taxi driver, I'll gladly give you his number.

We get checked in at the airport, and then we started waiting. Our flight was delayed. No need for all the drama and rushing. We had nearly an hour delay. So Susan and I just get to chill. Which is nice, because the other time I had a stressful day going to the airport I had to run through the Atlanta airport just to get to the plane on time. This was way better than that experience!

The moral of the story, apply for your visas with plenty of time to spare.

The irony of the story? Susan and I will have to repeat the experience when my one year visa becomes available. Joy.

Random Thoughts

2009-09-28T06:20:00.000-04:00

In case you missed the news, Susan is pregnant! A little Jones baby is on their way, early May is the due date.
This has been a difficult week, but we had a great weekend! Susan was able to go to church (first time in a few weeks). She had strength and was coherent through most of the day, woo-hoo! Sadly, today has not been a repeat of yesterday. Back to the ick for Susan (sorry babe).
Some thoughts about babies:

I was wondering if our baby, who is only 1.16cm( ½ inch), can cause this much havoc at its current size, what kind of havoc will it be causing when it is 5ft? or 6ft tall?
The OB said our baby was about 50% head right now. My thought is, what if we always kept those proportions? What if I was 50% noggin right now? Would I have a body that was 3 feet, and then a head that was 3 feet? Or would I have a body that was a little over 5 feet and a head that was a little over 5 feet? And what would that look like? We'd probably attack each other with head-butts all the time. Or maybe we would have additional mental powers because our brains would be so large. I would like to be telepathic. That would be cool. I wonder if my baby is telepathic right now? With a head like that it just might be! And then I thought about an example of what we would look like. One of my heroes--Strong Bad.

Some thoughts about Thailand:

I'm loving the motorcycle. I like to take the long way to the supermarket or to work occasionally just to feel the wind in my face.
I'm loving thai food. Green curry is awesome. Red curry is awesome. Their seafood is, yeah you guessed it, awesome.
Surreal experience of the week: hiring a maid. Maids are a standard in this community. I have never considered myself "rich" enough to afford one, but I'm excited to have one here. And as strange as having a maid seems to me, we really need one right now. Since I'm working and Susan's puking, someone has to help us keep the house clean.

Some thoughts on God:

I have had some tough days in the last few weeks. I'm experiencing all kinds of pressures. But in the midst of the storm, God is calling me to draw closer to him. So I have. In my mind's eye I see myself cuddling up on God's lap and letting him know what's going on in my life. He lets me cry, but he also makes me smile.
So what's been different? I'm doing what the pastor ordered. Getting into my Bible. I just spend a few minutes reading and thinking about who God is. I've also spent a lot more time opening my journal and writing in it. Making my thoughts and feelings become concrete is very therapeutic to me. So I have given myself the time to write and think that I know is so healthy for me.
In the midst of all of this, my friend Rick Byers reminded me of something that I have often taught on and believe with my whole heart: God works through our weaknesses. If I am able to do it all by myself, I will quickly find that I do not need God in my life. So in the midst of my bad days, I realize that God has me where I need to be, relying on Him to bring me through this day. If only this lesson did not require me to actually be weak!!!!

Up next:

No huge plans for the week. Hoping for a good week.

Boy Scouts and Thailand

2009-09-21T09:24:00.002-04:00

When I was in college, my junior and senior years, I worked at for the Boy Scouts as a chaplain. I was getting my first dose of ministry. It was not particularly difficult, but I did have some unique challenges. Believe it or not my main job as chaplain was not the Sunday service or the Chaplain's Aide program. It wasn't even praying daily for our meals (although I did all of these things). My main job was to keep kids who were freaking out about being away from home from leaving on Monday or Tuesday.

The scout week started on Sunday afternoon. Troops checked in, ate a quick bite of grub, and came to my chapel service. On Sunday almost everyone is excited to be there. But come Monday morning, a few of the kids start to crack. They have never been away from mom and dad for this long. They are hours away from home. They do not have many close friends in the Boy Scout troop. And suddenly home is a much better option than Boy Scout camp. Mom's loving embrace is better than shooting that shotgun for the first time. Dad's voice is more soothing than basket-weaving. And the desire to return home becomes a health problem. It had a simple diagnosis though, it's called home sickness.

So my task was to get a scout to stick it out Monday (come on, it's the first real day, give it a chance). Monday nights were the worst. So I would talk to the kids. I usually just had to calm them down. A scout who is far away from his family will get himself so worked up that he can't even eat. It was crazy. So I'd chat about the awesome video games they had, or what kind of fishing pole they used, or what kind of model rocket they were building. It was a band-aid to a deeper problem. But if I talked them through Monday night, and I did not let them call home (that was a sure fire way to see them leave), I could usually talk them through Tuesday night. By Wednesday I almost never had to talk to a scout. Wednesday was my target because I knew if they were good through Wednesday, they were good through Saturday. No problem. They adjusted, got over their fears, and began to have fun at scout camp. I know some of them just sucked it up and still did not like camp, but a kid who made it to Wednesday wanted to stay.

You are probably asking yourself: "What the heck does Patrick being a chaplain at a Boy Scout camp over 5 years ago have to do with Thailand?" And it's a valid question. And the answer is easy.

Right now I feel like that scout who was freaking out on Monday morning. Susan and I have been in Thailand for 6 weeks and the excitement and wonder of moving to a new place has been replaced with a heavy realization that we are not at home anymore. Everything is different. We left the safety of a church that loved us (and that we loved!), relative proximity to family, and the comfort of our native culture. And it is just dawning on me (I'll let Susan speak for herself) that we are here in Thailand. And it is proving stressful and hard. I am having to re-learn ministry. Why does seminary not prepare you for this kind of stuff? This church is nothing like our previous church. That is not a judgment on either church, they are simply different, not better or worse. But I only knew the one and now I have to learn the other.

And if my life right now is a parallel to those days at camp, then there is good news. In my whole time at camp I can only recall ever "losing" 2 or 3 scouts before Wednesday. Maybe a few left quietly, but if I talked to 2-3 a week and we had camp for 12 weeks a summer, and I served for 2 summers (24 weeks), I'd say I did pretty darn well. The odds are definitely in my favor.

Here is where I am. It's Monday night at camp, and I need to make it to Wednesday. I know that if I make it to Wednesday I'll stay through Saturday. No sweat. I'll love this new place. I'll love this unique experience. Really I have a once in a lifetime opportunity that I believe is God's calling on my life. But I'm freaking out a little, and I kind of wish I had a chaplain here to talk me through the rough times. And then I thought about this verse:

John 16:5-7 "Now I am going to him who sent me, yet none of you asks me, 'Where are you going?' Because I have said these things, you are filled with grief. But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you."

And I'm just guessing that as far as a counselor goes, The Holy Spirit is a lot better at his job than I was at mine. Wednesday here I come.

-patrick

A Touristy Weekend

2009-08-31T09:55:00.003-04:00

Unbelievably, Susan and I have been in Thailand for over a month now! The time is flying by so quickly. And in that time, we really have not been able to see a lot of Bangkok and its many intrigues. So this weekend, we got together with some old and new friends and did some sightseeing in downtown Bangkok.

Our two main stops were the Royal Grand Palace and the Reclining Buddha. I think this trip, more than anything we've encountered so far, really opened my eyes to how spiritually blind this country truly is. Being a youth pastor, the first people I met here were church people. It was almost enough to make me forget that Thailand is reportedly around 95% Buddhist, and less than 1% Christian.

So as we wandered around to these different locations, the facts continued to smack us in the face. Buddha images were everywhere. On the streets you could buy charms with gods on them for $1-2 that you would wear around your neck. (Once again, you should visit our friend Stef May's blog, she had a great post about the gods you could buy on the street. We were right there with her as we thought about this on the streets of Bangkok).

But it was not all serious talks. We actually joked around and had a really great time seeing the sights of Bangkok. There are some incredible sights to see in the Royal Palace and around the city.

There was also ice cream and a movie at the end of the day. So who can complain about that?

Here's some pictures to let you see a little of what we saw.

Here we are in a Tuk-Tuk. These things are designed for maybe 3 people. We ended up with 5 (the four here: Susan, Patrick, Stef May, and our new friend Casey-- Kwan, the church secretary and person who makes the office work, was taking the picture).
The following picture is of the reclining Buddha. This Buddha is HUGE!!! This is not our best picture of it, but gives the best perspective I think. At 46 meters long and 15 meters high, the size of this Buddha was simply shocking. You could not prepare yourself for how big it was.

As you walk into the shrine with the Reclining Buddha you here this "tink, tink, tink" sound. Like rain on a tin roof. I had no idea what it was, until we got to the other side and saw this line of metal pots. I think there are 108. People buy a jar full of 108 sattang (like a penny). And they put one into each pot. This supports the monks at this temple. It is also said to be good luck. To me, it was a little heart breaking to literally hear people give money to spread Buddhism.
At the Royal Palace, the statues behind us are guardians of this structure. In the museum I think I read they were also referred to as demons. Interesting to look at. Terrifying to think about all the implications behind their role.
Notice also the skirt Susan is wearing and the pants I am wearing. We had to make a deposit to borrow these clothes while we were in the Grand Palace area. We were both wearing shorts to start the day off with, but that's not appropriate dress in the Royal Palace (and many temples).
So that was our Saturday trip to Bangkok. It was very interesting and actually a lot of fun. I am so glad we got to see some more of Thailand and remember that our little subdivision of ex-pats is really unique in this city. There is so much more that I want to see, and this little weekend getaway simply fueled that desire. As we explore, we'll let you know what we see!

The Horns of a Dilemma

2009-08-27T02:15:00.003-04:00

Just a fun post for today.

So I went to Starbucks this morning for some breakfast (since it's practically on the way to my office and I had no food at home). Oh the chocolate chip goodness of a chocolate chocolate chip muffin. I'm sure that's not healthy, but oh so yummy.

But I also purchased a mocha frappachino. Now the mocha frap has one great characteristic--it's cold. And in Thailand (which is hot) that's good. But here's the dilemma I discovered this morning.

1. I can drink(do you drink a milkshake like product? I suppose so...) my mocha frap slowly and enjoy it as I meander down the road. But the down side is it quickly turns to straight liquid, and is no longer the thickness that I enjoy. Apparently these drinks melt quickly in Thailand's heat (and in my rather warm hands).

2. I can drink my mocha frap quickly and enjoy the milkshake like consistency that I have come to depend upon. The problem with this method is that it freezes the brain. So yummy, yet so deadly.

So I guess the question is--What would Jesus do? Anybody know? I can almost see Jesus using the mocha frap dilemma as a teaching point to stick the religious leaders of today. Or maybe if you don't know how Jesus would react to a cold delicious modern drink that creates a great dilemma, how would YOU solve my dilemma? I'm taking suggestions.

(The delicious dilemma)

A Busy Week

2009-08-24T00:23:00.002-04:00

What a crazy week we just had. And it was supposed to be a calmer week. We are still adjusting to life here in Thailand, so that's a part of it. We had our first get to know you meetings with the youth. Lots of games, laughing, and food. We had a pool party at the Church for new Baptisms. And I learned how to drive a manual motorcycle. Yeah, it was packed out. Here's a few pictures for your enjoyment.

Dave and Maryanne are great. He's the senior pastor here. They are very fun and have been extremely helpful in our adjustment to life in Thailand.

Hard at work? Not really at the time of this picture. But the greater irony is that the book on my desk there is called "Do Hard Things: A Teenage Rebellion Against Low Expectations" by Alex and Brett Harris. Perhaps I should take the book's suggestion to heart.

One of the way coolest experiences here in Thailand has been going to the movies. We've only been once, but check it out--For 1200 baht (100 baht= about $3 US ) about $33 US dollars, Susan and I got to sit in these comfy recliners, had popcorn, a soda, a coffee or tea, and a fruity drink. Oh yeah, and the theater was the same size screen, but only had about 50 seats in it. Totally awesome! We actually were the only ones in the theater that day, so it was like watching our own personal screening. Not too shabby! And we got to stand for the king's anthem which plays at the beginning of every movie. So great.

Guess what? Chicken butt! That's what we have been told this delicious meat is that Susan ate. I don't believe it, but it has come from many reliable sources that indeed Susan ate chicken butt. And it was good! (Tastes like chicken........ butt?!?)

I have a few individual stories I'm going to add through this week. Once again, we are so slack. My new goal. 2 posts a week. One midweek, and one on Monday. If you follow Susan on facebook, you'll have seen most of our pictures (she's doing awesome on uploading them). SO the pictures here are like a best of, or pics that we wanted to explain more. See you soon!
-patrick

Lost in translation...

2009-08-16T08:14:00.004-04:00

After just a few weeks in Thailand, it's clear that the hardest language in the world to master is not Thai, but English. One small example is in this picture below. "There is the delicious in the quality." Clearly something is not making it through the translation process. I'm like the next guy, I want the delicious, but I'm not sure where "the quality" is actually located. This is a pretty typical experienc here in Thailand, all kinds of phrases strung together in interesting ways. There are more nefarious examples as well, but I wouldn't dare scandalize the public masses with them!

Susan on a motorscooter. Just plain awesome. Sadly, Susan hated driving it. I'd compare it to a fish swimming out of water. Lots of flailing, not so much going.

Surprisingly, Patrick on a motorbike is like a fish finding water for the first time. I always grew up thinking I would HATE a motorbike. I was dead wrong. This has been about the greatest thing to happen to me in Thailand. I might even get a motorcycle when (if?) we return to the States. I just plain love it.

Below is our friend Stef. (She has a blog at stefmay.wordpress.com) She's here as a missionary with the C&MA. She wants to help prevent girls from entering the sex trade. I respect her a lot. With that intro, you'd think she's real serious, but we pretty much goofed off the whole time she visited. Stef and Susan couldn't take a serious picture to save their lives. Susan is literally waving her fists at ME in this picture (not you, don't worry! I know she looks fierce.) This is my favorite picture from the 10 or so I took.

More great updates to come. We did so much this week, that I'm already falling behind in writing about cool experiences we've had. Just wait 'til you hear about our movie watching experience (it will blow your mind!). SO, more to come soon.

First things first....

2009-08-09T20:46:00.001-04:00

I know, it's already been too long since our last post. We've been a touch busy (not so busy we couldn't add some pictures to our blog though) and a bit lazy.
First up, an offering of a few pictures of our house. More can be seen on Susan's facebook. If you want to be our facebook friends, look us up. And if you need help with that, leave a comment. We'll get you added.

Here's the living room area. We watch TV in here. And I'm sitting there right now. But on the small couch, not the big one.

Then we have this nice dining room right off of the kitchen. This table is just begging to have some games played on it! So we played some Balloon Cup the other day. Susan won.

This is a pool that we can walk to from our living room (3rd floor). Its pretty nice. We also have a smaller one just outside of our house that's a little more private. 2 pools less than 30 seconds away, not too bad.

This is a very common sight in our house. It is actually 7 stories high! But each flight of stairs is only a half flight. This is a picture from the 3rd floor living room. The first flight of stairs leads to the 4th floor (with 2 guest rooms). The second flight leads to the 5th floor (the master bedroom). Going down 5 flights of stairs to answer the door is a little ridiculous, but I'll live. And my calf muscles will be awesome!

Just a few fun firsts in Thailand:

Coke in a bag. This was at a market called Chatachuck (I have no idea what the real spelling is). I've never had coke in a bag, Susan had in Mexico. The bags have handles, so they're easy to hold. Very nice touch.

So double parking is totally legitimate in Thailand. Everyone just leaves their cars in neutral and you push them out of the way. I thought Dave was joking when he told me the first time. He wasn't. We are really pushing this car to get our car out of the parking spot. Maryanne is the third person in the picture. She's the senior pastor's wife. She's been super helpful in getting us around.

I've got a few more firsts up my sleeve, but this is a good start. Hope you enjoyed! We'll update again a little sooner this time.

So what the crap?

2009-08-04T03:24:00.004-04:00

Ok, first off for all of our adoring fans who think crap is a bad word, let me re-educate you.
So one of the first phrases we have learned here is the greeting (and farewell, sorta like Aloha in Hawaii I think).

This is what I hear: "Sowhatthecrap" which is essentially what hello sounds like. The actual phrase is "Sawatdee khrap" At least when men say it. The phrase is "Sawatdee kaa" when women say it.

But it gets better.

Men, many times when we finish a statement we get to say "Khrap". Which is like a throaty "crap". Wow, that phrase sounds terrible. A throaty crap? Really? Did I just write that? Anways, back to my narrative. So men finish a lot of sentences with the word khrap. How cool is that? I think it signifies the end of a sentence or statement, but I'm not really sure. I'm still in the process of learning.

Dave, the senior pastor here, likes to add the word khrap to the end of everything. He even makes up mixed language phrases. So when he says goodbye, he often says "Adios crap!" Yeah, good times crap.

So, maybe you should ask yourself--so what the crap?

Atlanta almost made me miss my plane to Thailand

2009-07-30T06:30:00.000-04:00

Greetings one and all.

So, this is it. THE way to hear about what the Jones clan is up to in Thailand. So without further ado here's a travel report (with more to come in the next few days)...

27 July 2009 (Yeah, they do dates differently when you leave America).
Our day started off nice and easy. Susan and I woke up at 8 am. Showered, ate breakfast, and finished the last little itty bit of packing. Rob (Susan's dad) showed up promptly at 9:45 am to load the truck up for our trip to the airport. He was also our driver for the day. Thanks Rob! And that's when the "fun" began. Our flight departs at 2:20 p.m. The drive is supposed to be about an hour. We plan to be there before 12 (11:30 or so was our ETA).

10 am--The truck is packed, but I see no reason to rush out the door. We enjoy a nice conversation with Rob and Jen (my sister-in-law) before we leave.

(Picture of our luggage. We each had 2 checked bags and 2 carry-on. We also shipped 4 boxes of books. And that's all!)

10:30 am--The truck does not start. Thankfully Rob knows why. There is a loose battery cable that Josh (Josh Bailey, my brother-in-law who owns the truck we were riding in) told Rob about THAT morning. Rob had been driving it for a week and didn't know about the problem. But thankfully Josh told him about it, and problem fixed fairly quickly. We leave the house by 10:45 am. Only 15 minutes behind schedule.

(Still in good spirits)

11:15 am--We are cruising through Atlanta and are through the middle of town when suddenly all lanes of traffic stop. No problem, we left early for just this reason.

12 pm--Still in traffic. Really? What's the deal? Oh, they shut down I-85? That's nice of them. Everyone has to get onto I-20. Which does not lead directly to the airport. We have to figure out a way to get to the airport. A few frantic calls to our relatives gets us directions (thanks Josh!). We can take I-20 West and get onto I-285 South and then to the airport. Ok, I can handle this. I'm freaking out because I'm running late, but I can handle this. Stop and go traffic starts going once we get on I-20 West.

12:30 pm-- We're on I-285 going South when I see the first forboding sign. "Accident on shoulder of road at exit something or rather." Oh, that's great! We cruise along for a few more miles before it becomes clear--2 lanes of this 4 lane highway are shut down because of this small accident. Time is flying by, but traffic is crawling. I'm freaking out. I'm glad Rob was driving. By the way--the accident is about 1/2 mile from our exit. So lame.

1 pm-- We make it to the airport. Sure, it looks like I have plenty of time, but after we check-in (a fairly quick process) and make it through security (not so quick) and get on the tram to our terminal (fairly quick) they are already making a final boarding call for the flight (it's about 1:30 by the time we get this far). I still have not eaten, so I run to McDonalds, wait semi-patiently for lunch, and literally run to the gate and board the plane. It is 1:45 when I sit down. My heart is racing and I'm tired of freaking out. HOLY CRAP I'M MOVING TO THAILAND!! And I almost missed the plane!!!! Thank you God for being in control of everything, even if it makes me uncomfortable in the process.

2:10 pm-- Our plane begins to taxi and takes off right on time at 2:20 pm.

28 July 2009--The rest of our trip is fairly uneventful. 13 hours in the air. A brief layover in Tokyo. And it's off to Thailand!

(In the Tokyo Airport)

Another 6 hours to Bangkok. We arrive a little early actually. I've had 3 hours of sleep during the 24 hour trip. I'm "a little tired." But still pressing on. Susan is about the same.
It is now 11:50 pm Bangkok time (11 hours ahead of EST)

We are met at the airport by some people from the church. They are super friendly, have flower arrangements for us, and after just a few moments we drive to our new home about 45 minutes away. We spend a few minutes talking to our new friends. They leave so we (and they) can go to bed. Susan and I spend the next 45 minutes saying "Holy Crap! We're in Thailand!" "I know, can you believe it? I know, can you believe it?" (Check out this Homestar for the inside joke reference).

(Susan with some of our books that we're sent over)

Tomorrow we'll write up a little about the house and post pictures of it as well.

Ok, that's probably enough for one day. I'll try to add some pictures and post this tale for you right now. Keep coming back for more adventures from Patrick and Susan in Thailand!
-patrick