There Is So Much To Be Thankful For

Thanksgiving Greetings to All of You! 

I hope everyone enjoyed their Thanksgiving Day! When Thanksgiving roles around, it always seems like a good time to reflect on life and remember what we have been blessed with and to be thankful for it. Thanksgiving Day always includes tons of yummy food, family, friends and simply spending time together enjoying life. This doesn't have to be limited to one day a year, but it is one of my favorite days during the year and it is a reminder to be thankful. It has proved to be true even on the other side of the world away from my family and friends. We are blessed in so many ways that we can only be thankful. Even amongst the trials and problems that we face throughout the year, how can we be anything but thankful. Those who are in America... sure, it has its problems, but you are blessed with freedoms that other countries wish they had. A couple include being able to worship God as you see fit. You are able to carry a Bible and not be persecuted. You have opportunities, which are a reality for you that are only in people's dreams in other parts of the world. Those of you who have gone to college/ in college, count yourself as blessed. There are many people who would love the chance to go to school, but instead they face having to take care of their parents and making money. That is for those who have parents. If you have people who love you that you call family, you are blessed more than words can describe. This is something we can take for granted until they are taken from us or you meet someone who doesn't have family who love them or be their support system. If you have one friend you know you can call in the middle of the night with a problem, you are blessed. If you have more than one, you are truly blessed. Being humans, we can fail each other because we aren't perfect, but there is One that never fails us. If you have a personal relationship with Him, you are one of the most blessed people. There is so much to be thankful for this year. I hope you found some time to sit down and count your blessings as God has bestowed them upon you. 

It was quite a different Thanksgiving than I've had before. It was different, but good. Many memories were made. We had the day off because it was Thanksgiving. It was really nice to have the day off, which meant I got to sleep in past 6:40! :) At 10:30 we went to an orphanage. It was a very somber, yet really good experience. It wasn't just any orphanage. It was an orphanage for handicap children. We took ice cream for Thanksgiving. They were so cute and loved the ice cream! You couldn't help but smile when you saw them holding an ice cream cone and smiling from ear to ear. Being on crutches I didn't get around and talk to the kids as much as I would have liked, but they gave me other opportunities. I was able to talk to some of the teachers there, which was interesting. I was also able to just take it all in and watch. It made me sad to see all of them and imagining what there lives might be like. There was one of the boys who was about 14 in a wheel chair. He was talking to me and he said that he and I were the same. I had crutches and he was in a wheelchair. It made me smile. He said that I should come to their school since I was on crutches. But then it made me sad. Yes, right now he and I are the same. I must use crutches to walk, but I know in a couple of months I won't have to use them any more. I'll be able to walk and function as a "normal" human being. However, he won't. None of them will. They will all be in their wheelchairs or walking on crutches for the rest of their lives. I can't imagine having to rely on people the way I do now for the rest of my life. Then I had to ask myself, "How come I am so blessed?" The accident could have been far worse than it was. I could have been paralyzed. I am thankful that I'm not and that I am healing, but I do know that I will never have the same outlook on life again. When I see someone who must use some sort of device to help them, I will not look at them in the same way.

After seeing the smiles of the children and handing out the ice cream, we headed back to school. As my dad said, "I'm sure Thanksgiving isn't in the top 10 holidays in Thailand." Well, he was right! But there was a restaurant that served the typical yummy Thanksgiving Dinner! For which I am also thankful!! In honor of Thanksgiving, we made Indian and Pilgrim hats to wear to dinner. It was a lot of fun! My art class for elementary school teachers came in handy! (Sangren would be proud... I think! :)) We took photos so you can see them! :)   

DINNER!!! YUMMINESS!!! 

A small child who thought we "interesting." hmmm....

Pilgrim or an Elf, you decide. :P

Miss Erika and Me... All smiles! 

Mom, what do you think of my art skills? :)

Nathansun... I'm not sure where he found the bird for the feathers!

The 3 of us the fourth party's hat didn't get finished... oops! Aren't we cute?

So you can see why the small child found us interesting! :) Now let's look at some photos of some people that pull off the hats better than we did! 

Surachai and Seng Moon... aren't they cute! 

Myula... who's a doll!

I had to put their photos second because they are way cuter!! :)

I figured I should end with a "normal" picture of Erika and me. :)

After dinner, we went and got massages. It was a delightful end to the day. Probably the best massage I've had in Thailand! I woke up sore, which is a good thing, right? 

I hope everyone enjoys the rest of their time with family and friends. 

I will be seeing all of you soon. I fly back on March 2nd! It's only a few months away! I can hardly believe it! I'm looking forward to seeing everyone! 

Until next time, sending lots of hugs and love from Thailand.

With a Thankful Heart,

Lainy

Looking Ahead...

Hey You Guys! 

I hope your weeks have gone smoothly and were full of God's blessings.  If time goes by for you as fast as it does for me, I bet you were struggling to get everything accomplished that you had planned for the week. 

This week has been a busy, but good week. Mr. Hambleton has been teaching a finance class that has lasted for the past two weeks. It went from 8-12. This provided the rest of us teachers with the mornings off, which was really nice. Sometimes too nice. I got in the habit of being able to sleep in. 8 AM class on Monday will be interesting. 

Teaching has been interesting lately. Something that still continues to surprise me is the students lack of motivation at times. It is a difficult thing with which to deal. Motivation isn't something that you can teach your students. You can only hope that they will develop this on their own. I'm sure parents think the same thing when they have children who aren't motivated. If I could change one thing at Legacy, I think it would be improved motivation on the students part. It is most difficult being as the majority of my students are older than me. You want to be able to treat them as adults, which they are, but sometimes you have to teach them as though they are children. There are difficulties in teaching wherever the teaching is being done, whether it be in Thailand, the States, Australia, or New Zealand. 

My Bible class has been a lot of fun. Since our break, their English has improved tremendously. It is fun seeing them understand the Bible stories and people we are talking about in class. I look back at the first week of class and how difficult it was to teach because they did not understand. They would look at me as though I was crazy. :) (Who knows maybe I am!) They cause me to look at the stories that I've known nearly my entire life in a different light, question things that I've not questioned in a while, and simply revel in how amazing God is. 

I asked you for your prayers last time I updated my blog, in regards to whether I should stay at Legacy again next year. Well, after seeking much counsel and prayer, I have decided to come back for another year. I am looking into the TESOL program at Payap International University. If all works out, I'll be able to get my Master's there. I may not, it depends a few different things. At this point, I have only committed for the 2009-2010 school year. I will keep all of you posted as to whether this changes. 

Well, I thinks that's all the news I have for now. I hope you have fabulous weekends!!! Look forward to hearing from you. 

Lots of Love and Hugs,

Lainy

 

Photos, PhotoS, PHOTOS!!

Hey Everyone! 

As you can tell by the title, this blog is mainly full of photos from our last journey. 

Erika and I were walking so fast that Nathan couldn't get a clear picture of us! 

This was right after we arrived in the Singapore airport.

MRT map...

Yet again. 

Waiting for the MRT. 

Waiting so we can get to our hostel. 

Walking to the hostel... Umm... maybe I was hobbling rather than walking.

Our hostel... it was sooo TINY, but did the job.

A pretty flower

At the zoo, they were kind enough to push me around in a wheelchair. I have sweet friends! 

Penguins for my penguin loving friends

Giant turtles... and tiny birds.

Kimono Dragon... this is for you Tyler H.

White tiger this is for you, Jessica A.

Monkeys are just adorable!

This one was interesting!!!

Parrot

The crowded MRT

I got the priority seat because I am handicapped amongst the crowded MRT.

I did appreciate it though because I stood a couple times and oh man was that difficult!

I was sleeping and Nathan tried to catch me sleeping to add to his collection of sleeping pictures of me. But HA! I woke up in time. :)

Erika and I in our Sabbath attire by the river.

Another picture of the gimp with a sign.

A view of the city

The whole gang... we were in a lift.

So what do you want to drink? Anything? That's what I thought! :)

This was a drink in Singapore. We thought it was amusing.

Chinatown, Singapore

We went to a butterfly farm and there was a butterfly that landed on my head. I felt special. 

So while we were in Malaysia we stopped at...

It was delicious! 

Inside the mall.

The Malaysian twin towers at night.

The bridge

Erika and I outside the twin towers.

Our ride for the day... hee...hee... 

This was one of those "Smile! You're in Malaysia" photos. 

I'm hitting my hands on my crutches because they were sore, but I wasn't ready to give in and get a cab yet.

Night view from the top of a radio tower. It was pretty neat! It made up for us not getting to go to the bridge in the twin towers.

The whole gang!! 

The yummy steak dinner that we ended our trip with. It was a bit pricy, but oh so worth it! 

Well, that's it in a nutshell. The photos are compliments of Nathan, Ben and a couple from Erika.

I hope your weeks are going well. We're half way through. This week is going by pretty quickly. Today marks 8 weeks from the day of my accident. I can hardly believe it's been that long.

Lots of Love and Hugs from Thailand,

Lainy

7 1/2 Weeks after that Unforgettable Day...

Sa Wa Dee Ka!

I promised an update on the leg and here it is. I went to the doctor today and he was very pleased with the range of motion of my ankle and foot. Thanks to all of you for your prayers this is getting better daily. The swelling has gone way down and my toes almost look normal. :) My foot and leg are still slightly swollen. The x-rays looked really good too. He said that he could see healing. He was mainly concerned with the large bone, but was really happy to see signs of healing. Everything is going along well. I was hoping to be off crutches after this appointment, but I am stuck with them for another 2 months. (Maybe less-- I definitely don't underestimate the power of prayer.) I have an appointment on January 25th on which he said that he thought I should be able to "throw away the crutches." We shall see. Please keep me in your prayers. I am putting weight on my foot and almost look normal when I am walking minus having the crutches of course. Some days it's hard to still have to walk on crutches and I want to throw them away now. :) But I know this is probably growing my patience and humility, which are always good lessons, right? (Good, but maybe not always fun.)

Now for a little bit of Thailand information... Loi Krathong is a light festival in Thailand. It ties into being Buddhist. Many things in Buddhism have to do with luck as does this festival. It lasts for two days. People light off fireworks, light krathongs (lanterns), light inscents and candles on a boat type thing, place money on it and send it down the river. It was a cultural experience to say the least. It was pretty to see all of the lights. There was also a parade. Some of the students, Aj. Deanne Howell, the Howell children and I went. I was interested for the cultural aspect of it. There were tons of people down by the river. People thought it was pretty funny seeing someone on crutches, but they were pretty nice about letting me through for which I was thankful. One of my students posed as a bodyguard as well. It was very helpful. She was really sweet to me not the others she was pushing and making them move. There were tons of fireworks and not the hyper-safe ones that you can get in California. People were throwing them, too. I was nervous being on crutches that someone might throw one and I wouldn't be able to move fast enough, but all was well. Miss Deanne got hit by a piece of a firecracker after it had gone out and some boys threw some and they landed next to us, but we were able to move away from it. It was interesting to see that's for sure. I found some photos from the internet to put on here so you can see what it looked like. I didn't take any myself due to the crutches. They make things a little more difficult. For more information on this festival, you can google Loi Krathong.

This is one of the boats that you can see on the river that sometimes have money in them. This is for good luck. They also put their sins on it to have them float away.

This is people lighting a kratong (paper lantern). They also put their sins on this to have them float away. It is also for good luck.

Many, many kratongs.

Interesting tidbit of info... this past week the king's sister passed away. In remembrance of her, everyone is supposed to wear black when they go out. (This past Thursday through Tuesday). The stores also  banned the selling of alcohol from the 14-16 because she is being cremated and her funeral is taking place. On top of that, all of the flags are at half mast. 

I think that's enough randomness for now. I hope this finds you well and that you have a fabulous week! :)

Much Love and Hugs,

Lainy