This'll be a short one. I just thought I'd share some thoughts and experiences as they come to my mind. I guess you could call this a free-writing exercise.
First of all, big news that I'm sure NONE of you know about. *Ahem* Go back and read that first sentence again, but this time read it with a sarcastic tone. --Moving on-- We have a new president! It has been interesting observing from a more removed area all the happenings in America. We don't have TV (praise the Lord), so all of our event-following has had to be via the internet. It was quite exciting coming to school on Wednesday and watching as the polls started to close and the votes counted. Change. In light of end time events, any change is very exciting. Please understand that I'm not speculating that Obama will be the last president before Jesus comes, but every day we come closer and closer. I tried to teach my students the other day the word "anxious." When I think about the end times (which I've been doing more and more lately), I would have to say anxious is the best word to describe my feelings. Excitement, fear, motivation, nervousness-- all these things make me want to tell people about the good news of Jesus more.
I have been studying my Bible a lot more, and while I can't say that I know everything, I can say that I've learned a lot from my study and reading. It's amazing what some good study can do for your spiritual life. I'm getting a bigger picture of God's awesome plan. I have for the first time in my life started reading some of Ellen White's writings. I was never interested in reading them earlier, because I didn't like the way many people used her writings. I think about that now, and that's a little bit silly. People use the Bible in bad ways too, but I still read it. So, I gave her a chance. Wow, Wow, Wow!!! I would *highly* recommend reading some of her writings.
Steps to Christ is amazing! If you are a new Christian or not one at all, read that one first. I have recently started reading the "Conflict of the Ages" series. I'm in the middle of
Patriarchs and Prophets as well as The Great Controversy. The way this woman writes, you'd wonder how anyone could beat other people over the head with her writings. I urge you. If you have been turned off from her because of other people, just try her writings out-- from a fellow skeptic turned believer. Of course, always measure her writings (as well as anyone else's--Adventist or not) against the Bible. Just because writings may be popular does not mean they are right.
Speaking of the end of times, the end of our time here is only 6 weeks away. Wow! And speaking of anxiety, I am anxious to come home. We've changed a lot since coming here, and I don't know how I am going to handle returning to a strange culture. I am absolutely thrilled to see all of you, but at the same time I'm scared out of my mind. Expectations are a curious thing. And I am out of time. Off to my next class. Please pray for us as we finish our time and ministry here. I will post a blog soon of some of the things I've learned since coming.
Blessings!
~M
Summer and I started a new English Branch Sabbath School on Sabbath afternoons with another English teacher, Jarun. It's in the village youth center-- quite a nice little building! They even have white boards, and that is very exciting! Granted, I did write on that board with a permanent marker, but after only a little panicking and thinking they will never let us come back to use their building again, I colored over the permanent marker with dry erase marker.... and erased. Crisis aborted.
Last week was Sports Day(s). Sunday and Monday were filled with students on four teams parading, performing, demonstrating and sporting it up. They competed in the parade floats, cheering, 100 m sprinting, football, basketball, volleyball, tekra, ping pong, chairball, and badminton. Here was the most impressive float (team yellow) with their entourage leading. Quite good, don't you think? Tuesday was "Rest Day." (Much needed for us teachers who had a 3-day weekend)
Two students performed a well choreographed Muay Thai (Thai Boxing) demonstration. For obvious reasons, there was no actual fighting in the Sports Day games. This one was performed more like a dance than an actual fight.
Our Thanksgiving setup was simple and very beautiful! Not all the food is on the table in this picture (but we did have a lot of it!). It was nice to have an outdoor Thanksgiving. We shared many texts about God's abundant blessings before Supper and prayed, then we shared what we were all thankful for after supper. We even had pumpkin pie. It was very nice.
Loi Kratong is a lights festival celebrated as a Buddhist Holiday. It is very beautiful. In Chiang Mai, there were gads of people lighting off fireworks, sending up paper balloons into the sky, watching the parade, and eating food. There were also small "boats" of flowers and such that were sent off into the river with incense sticks or candles. The festivities were very fun.... and beautiful.... and slightly dangerous-- dodging bottle rockets as they whizzed toward your head. The sheer volume of balloons that were sent into the air was such a sight to see. It's too bad our camera couldn't capture it.
