Prunee Wan Gert Khon Khray!?!?!?

It has became a familiar refrain each day this visit---"whose birthday is it going to be...next week, in 8 days, in 5 days...and finally...TOMORROW"!!! And each day he hurled himself at me as fast as his little legs could carry him, leaping up at the last for a big hug!! YOURS, I would say as we laughed!!! I don't think I have ever known ANYONE as excited about their birthday as this precious boy...and everyday this exchange has been the highlight of my day. Well, yesterday the big day came, and as the cakes came out and the singing started and the presents were unwrapped, it was clear that the day had lived up to his expectations and more!! From the moment he hit the ground off the school bus, the refrain of "happy birthday...happy birthday" sung over and over in a not too bad voice, but sounding a bit like "Happy Birday" ----rang out across the property. He giggled with glee at the sight of his cake, and each present elicited an exuberant WOW...Dii, Kap!! (wow, that's good!!). At the end of it all, he shared and compared his presents with all the other late-Sept/Early Oct birthday boys (4 in all ranging age from 9-13), and I am pretty sure has already started the countdown to next year---his 10th!

But it was that evening before that I think I will hold in my heart forever. After our hug, and our shared anticipation of what "tomorrow" would bring, I said, hey, let's stop for a moment and pray with thanksgiving for your birthday and your life. "Okay, Kop!!" And we did---me with a hand on either side of his upturned face---thank you Lord so much for this boy, for his life, for the joy that you put deep within him and that bubbles out at every turn... I began, and as we prayed together, I realized again how life often gets boiled down to these kind of moments when all else strips away---all the cares and hurdles and bumps in life that seem so insurmountable and are in fact temporal---and we take a moment to simply say thanks for a most precious gift. As we finished, I opened up my eyes to look into those radiantly happy brown eyes---and felt again that peace that passes all human understanding. Happy Birthday dear boy---happy birthday!

Boonmii and Sompong

Can I take your picture for my blog??!! Sure!!! And here they are---gorgeous, no?!?!

My favorite Lanna style!

This is one of the buildings of a wonderful small resort here called the Juniper Tree. This particular building is very Lanna Thai---so-called because this part of Thailand used to be known as the Lanna Kingdom, and the architecture has a distinctive look. This building is made from teak, and has the two distinctive pieces at the top, called "Gallay". I love this look. One year, before Christmas, we were having a grand time putting together a gingerbread house with the older girls. We had a box kit, and tons of candies from here and abroad---and were fashioning quite the winter time scene. Still, when we were all done, something just did not look right. After staring at our Gingerbread "Baan' for sometime it struck me. I reached across the table, and grabbed two of those old banana candies---you know, the semi-soft ones that taste kind of like penicillin? Taking one in each hand, and turning them out like parantheses, I stuck them to the tip of the roof of the gingerbread house to make a "Gallay"!!! The girls cheered and declared the project to be all finished!

Wanee Buddy maa, chai mai kop!?!?!?

That was the question that greeted me last Friday from one of our older boys. Today, our buddy comes, right? The buddy he was referring too is a whole troop of buddies---young people from Grace International School, one of the International schools here in Chiang Mai, who volunteer their own time throughout the school year to establish relationship with our kids, visit them regularly and share a special experience together!! The program began several years ago as the brainchild of the Agape Home head nurse, who had children in GIS. She wanted to develop an experience for our Agape kids that would be similar to Big Brothers/Sisters in the states. What has blossomed is a wonderful relationship building program for our kids that provides fun, nurture and lasting memories! The Grace students are wonderful and commit not only to the time to come out to Agape and for special outings with the kids, but also to extra prep time before the program begins. One family who are dear friends of mine have both their children participating as mentors---and I know they never miss, giving up many other opportunities to be faithful to their time at Agape! Very inspiring...

Happy Birthday Pa Boonmii!!

Wednesday night I had a real treat--an invitation to my friends, Sompong and Boonmii's home for Boonmii's birthday celebration! He turned 46. Sompong and Boonmii both work at Agape, she as head of the laundry (a 24/7 operation as you can imagine!), and he as handyman/electrician/all-around helper! Sompong and Boonmii are dear friends of mine...they helped me in so many ways when I lived here---including Sompong's role as my personal Thai tutor! She loves to have a good long chat, and many an hour we would sit in my home and she would share a story, or we would talk about our faith. She loved asking me about my life in the US and my family---and I loved hearing her talk about how she and Boonmii met and decided to marry. Sompong would speak extra slow for me, and then would describe things, or give me the information in a variety of different ways, to be sure I understood. I learned so much from her----vocabulary, proper expression, tones---it was great! Boonmii, not the talker of the family, would sit with us too, typically nodding along, laughing at all the funny bits, and adding emphasis as needed! My foster boys LOVED him, and would squeal with joy whenever "Pa Boonmii" arrived! Off they would charge with him giving chase, and lots of hugs and tickles too.

It is such a special treat to be invited to a Thai person's home. Kindness and hospitality are almost national traits, and when you are a guest, you are treated with great care and love. On Wednesday, there were about 40 of us together to celebrate with Boonmii, many co-workers from the orphanage, and other family and friends. As you can imagine, the food was wonderful---a special treat called "Khanom Gin"---different kinds of rice noodles with a "spaghetti-like" sauce poured over the top. There was a fish-flavored sauce, and a meat sauce---and Sompong kindly made a special separate batch for me that lacked some of the ingredients that are delicacies here, but might well not agree with my delicate Western stomach! She also made sure that my batch, while certainly spicy, was not to the level that would strip the enamel from my teeth!!! We all had a great time, cooing over their new grandchild, laughing and enjoying each others company and wishing our friend the best of birthdays.

The Ping River and Doi Suthep

The Ping River is kind of like the Mississippi River of Thailand! It starts in the mountains in Northern Thailand, and flows down to Bangkok and out to sea. It was the primary mode of transport for people, armies, goods, etc, between Bangkok and the Northern kingdoms. It still factors into daily life up and down its banks---for fishing, tourism, etc, but the advent of roads, and airplanes means that it is no longer a primary way to move people and commerce!

Doi (Thai word for mountain) Suthep is the highest peak above Chiang Mai---in the photo here you can also make out the huge temple that overlooks the city. In the last photo you can see a wall of rain moving across the sky from left to right, a not uncommon site during the afternoon in rainy season!

Saw was dee Holiday Inn!!

I decided to try something a bit different this trip, and start out by staying at a local hotel for a few days for a bit of a vacation. The hotel I chose is located on the Chiang-Mai Lamphun Road---so named because it is the road that connects Chiang Mai and Lamphun! This road is tree-lined, with massive trees that grow together at the top creating a bit of a canopy. They were planted originally to shade the head of the Kings' daughters as they traveled between the two cities, in days of old. Modern intrusions like traffic, smog, roads built over root systems and other indignities have damaged some of the trees requiring their removal. However, thanks to efforts to preserve the remaining trees, you can still see the elegant canopy and imagine what it must have been like to be transported, probably by elephant, in luxury. It has always been a favorite sight of mine, and one I used to see almost daily, living in a neighborhood called Sunpaliang and driving this road to get into the city. About half-way between my old neighborhood and the city sits a huge, multistory hotel. When I first came to Chiang Mai, it was a Weston, then it became a Sheraton, and now it is a Holiday Inn. It has always boasted a wonderful brunch, the one treat of the hotel that I would occasionally get to enjoy when I lived here. However, I always wanted to stay here---it looked so pretty, and inviting...but was out of reach on my volunteer "wage"! So, this stay is something of a long wish fulfilled...and I have to say the old hotel is living up to my expectations in grand style!! I have a room on the 24th floor, with a view of the winding, rain swollen and rich chocolate-colored Ping River winding its way across the landscape. Today I have enjoyed the breakfast buffet, the Dimsum buffet, and tomorrow it is brunch joined by dear friends! The pool is just as nice as I always imagined, and there is a Thai-massage in my near future. Bliss! Who knows, maybe I'll even venture outside after brunch?!?!

Mae Patty Duu!!!

Remember when you were a kid and you would yell at the top of your lungs...."Hey mom...LOOK!!!" That's what I heard over and over again yesterday, my first day back at Agape. "Duuu" is the Thai word for "look"....at the speed running cartwheel I can do, at the HUGE beetle that is clutching my hand with its curled talons, at my shirt, at how tall I am, at the sewing project I am working on, at my braces, at my birthday cake, at...at...at...!!! What fun! The kids are always full of stories and were talking at me about a mile a minute, testing my sleep addled brain as I struggled to keep up with the rapid-fire Thai. I love every second of it...especially when all of a sudden there is a hand in mine, or a head on my shoulder, or four of the little ones all trying to sit in my lap at the same time. I already feel 10 years younger and so blessed to be here! There are 80 children and young people at Agape now--our biggest census yet. There are several new babies in the nursery, and they will be such fun to get to know. I do his without thinking about the inevitable goodbye in a couple of weeks, savoring each moment for what it is--grateful for the privilege of being part of their lives.

Away we go!!

Dear Friends-tomorrow marks my 14th trip (give or take one or more!) to Chiang Mai, Thailand! I remember the first half dozen or so times taking this trip---so exciting to think about the long flight, the transits through Tokyo, Taipei and other exotic locales, managing the Bangkok Airport and the luggage all the way---it always felt like such an adventure! These days, I must admit that while I so look forward to getting there, the trip over is kind of a drudge! The airplane seats are uncomfortable (understatement!), the food is okay, but not too interesting, going through the extra security check in Tokyo is more than a little annoying after 12 hours in flight---with nearly 8 more to go---yuck!! Why do it? Well, for me this is like going home. When I am there, it is like home to me and unfortunately, the only way to get there is by putting in lots of airplane time. Still in all, I am incredibly blessed and fortunate to get to go at all---so, the bags are packed, the books, ipod, and assorted distractions are packed, and I am more-or-less ready to go. I am glad to have you come along on this journey too. Who knows, I may just enjoy the flight yet!

Back home in the USA

Sawasdee Bii Mai!

Dancing Shrimp!

I LOVE Thai food, especially in Thailand! However, there have been a few local delicacies that I have refused to sample. One notable dish is called "Goong Dan", which translates to "Dancing Shrimp". This dish is comprised of a type of shrimp that are small, almost larvae-like in appearance, with really LONG antenna. They are served alive, mixed in a bowl with some of the hottest and most sour spices imaginable! You shake the bowl, and pull off the lid, and the shrimp jump (hence the name "Dance"!), presumably because of the spices. You then scoop some up, along with the spice, and with a bit of rice, and pop the whole thing in your mouth. Well, after much cajoling by my fellow diners, I dared to give it a try! The hardest part for me is always the antenna---they just feel so wierd! However, I have to say that this was one of the spiciest things I have ever eaten in my life---and I only managed to swallow it all with the help of a large gulp of Pepsi at the end!!

Green Papaya, Aloha Shirts and other fun things!

Centipedes and leaches and slugs oh my!

It's almost always late at night when you are tired and just trying to get through the teeth brushing and get to bed when you see them. For me it was last night, and what looked like either a centipede (bad), leach (also bad), or slug (the least bad of the three bads!) that was struggling mightily to squeeze through a drain in the floor and get me! Centipede, you might be thinking...how bad can that be?! Plenty I say for they grow here to near epic proportions (I once saw one that was a foot long), have a coat of armour like scales (a throw-back from some dinosaur era) making them nearly impossible to squish without some tool to help, and about a million tentacles that will latch on to you and inject you with a painful venom that requires a trip to the hospital for an anti-venom shot---ouch!! I did what I have often done in the past---sprayed it back into the drain with a water hose, shut off the light and slammed the door behind me exiting stage right.

Oh, then there is the snakes, spiders and lizards...but that is a story for another day!!

A hundred aloha shirts!

It is almost Songkhran---the Thai New Year celebration that occurs in mid-April each year. It is a nice touch that it comes in the hottest season of the year, as the tradition is to "play" water---short hand for "look out, you will have water dumped on, sprayed at, and generally thrown at you for the entirety of the daylight hours!! In years past, the Thai would dress in traditional costume, and with a bowl of jasmine-scented water, and a lei of flowers, they would seek out their elders, approach on bended knee, present them with a deeply respectful Wai, and offer their elders apologies for any wrongs committed during the previous year, and then both offer and recieve a blessing in return. While that surely continues to this day, the holiday has also become an excuse for what I call the biggest water fight in the world!! Moreover, the more traditional Thai dress has been replaced in large measure (or at least supplemented by) crazy Aloha shirts, making the sight quite colorful too. Today, in anticipation of the weeks' festivities (out in our area the local villagers will begin to "play" water this weekend), we piled some of the older kids into the van, and bought about 60 aloha shirts in all sizes and colors---to make sure we have enough for every child to get suited up!! I will actually be here for the first official day of the holiday (Monday), and am looking forward to seeing the fun once again. I promise to post some photos, although it is one of those events that really must be seen to be believed!

By the way, next week marks the beginning of the year 2552 in the Thai calendar--cool, huh?!?!

Scenes from a Tuesday!

What a nice day today---a bit of basketball with the boys, some work (finally got that proposal I have been working on finished!), time for some cute snaps of summer haircut time, and lots of hugs from dear friends, old and young alike. All-in-all a good day! Now if we could just get some relief from the horrible haze of pollution that is hanging over the Chiang Mai valley like a shroud. It is particularly bad these last few days, and blots out the view of the mountain as well as the sun. Not unlike a thermal blanket in winter, it also holds the heat in overnight, and renders the atmosphere pretty stifling.

A few more photos!

A couple more pictures for you all...

Excavating treasures!

There is a third floor at the Agape Home. It was not called for in the original plans, but due to improvements in the roof line, and the pitch, there it was, a third floor space. We made the decision early on then to put in steel beams and reinforce the area, and even put in a cement floor in the BIG middle section. Our hope was one day to turn this space into something useful, but from the beginning it has instead provided a little-known luxury in Thai homes---useful storage space. That being said, what began as an orderly storing of clothes, toys, equipment, files...whatever, whatever...labled and placed on rows of steel shelving...over time has turned into a HUGE mess!! That is not to say that there have never been attempts to keep it clean over the years, but you know how it goes..out of sight, out of mind!!

This week, that has changed. It changed because of a wonderful opportunity to see the potential start of something we have been dreaming about since our kids have been getting older---a chance for them to learn useful skills that will help them find jobs and successful futures. So, after several days of hard work, the third floor is clean, the stored items have been sorted and the important stuff kept and shifted to the roof spaces over the two wings of the home, and as of yesterday, freshly painted and now air conditioned. Next week a few of our eldest girls will begin work on a sewing project on new machines provided for this purpose, and will have the chance (during their hot season break from school) to try thier hand at filling orders for small sewn pieces, and getting them ready to ship to another organization doing charitable work all over the world. If all goes well on the trial run, t-shirts could be next...we'll see!!

As for excavated treasures, one of the boxes unearthed had my name on it, and contained all sorts of photos from my early years here at Agape. I had thought these lost (seems my photos, at least most of them and their were LOTS!) got lost in my leaving, and the ultimate disarray of the third floor! So, being reunited with one box worth was a treasure indeed!! As for the rest, who knows...they could still turn up. If not? Well no matter for the images are written on my heart forever!

"When what to my wondering eyes did appear..."

Loud laughter---from that place inside that laughter springs when something really touches you...that's what I heard first. "What's so funny?", I thought as I looked up trying to see...as the same laugh then burst out of me. There he was...a tiny little reindeer with his big shiny red nose leading the way, streaking across the front lawn as fast as his tiny legs could pump the pedals of his shiny red and yellow bike!! What a sight for sure, and one not only out of season, but out of place in this land of lush green and waving palm trees a LONG way from the North pole. Must have been practicing for his big night next December...

Miracle Pillow for Beautiful Dreams!!

Imagine my surprise when walking through the Chiang Mai super-store called "Carrefour" I came upon a sign advertising the "Miracle Pillow". Intrigued, I looked into the bin and saw stacks of vacuum-packed large, flat objects with a picture of someone enjoying a deep sleep on the cover. This is a pillow, I thought to myself...No, it can't be! picking one up for closer inspection, I began to read the fine print on the heavy plastic casing..."The Anatomic Pillow in Hygenic Vacuum-Packing. The anatomic of the Airlof Line is the pillow for Everybody. In fact its correct thickness and softness with Fascinating Unlimited. Its have been specially studied in order to fit always to the form of your head."

They had me at "Fascinating Unlimited"!! Unable to resist, I took my soon to be prize pillow to the checkout counter and paid the 190 Baht price. Pillow in hand, I drove home to see if it truly was "Fascinating Unlimited"! After I cut the bag open, and pulled the vacuum-packed pillow out, I carefully followed the directions to "shake it energetically at the ends exposed to air...", and waited for it to "...instantly take shape." Voila!! There it was, a beautiful firm, yet "springy" pillow that gently fit to the form of my head! Finally, a product that lives up to its name!!

You never know here what might catch your eye, and give you a good chuckle. The tortured English on this pillow bag reminded me of my favorite bakery where they faithfully promise to "Sample first slice for you!" Of course, it also reminds me of just how shocking my Thai likely sounds to the ears of native speakers! I would do very well to leave the Thai sign making to the experts!

Graduation Day

Last week, three of our oldest girls at Agape Home graduated from primary school (the compulsory portion of their education) to the Thai system of high school---a great achievement indeed! This means that they are one step closer to being able to choose to study further (one wants to go on to study computers and IT), and to graduating to the promise of a good job and a future with possibilities that we all dream of at their age. I am so proud of them. All are excellent students, well thought of by their teachers and friends. Given the odds against them based on the circumstances of their early lives, their maturity, grace and success is all the more stunning. The same day, 5 of our young boys graduated from the Thai version of elementary school to what we would know as middle school, or junior high. In a few years, they will join their "older sisters" as success stories in the educational system. I hope there will be many more to follow. We hear a lot about metrics these days---what a wonderful thing to be greeted with the news of this particular "metric of success"!!

Safe and sound!

Well, certainly safe...I do not know how sound one can be after 36 hours of travel, crossing the international date line, and walking into a blast furnace! I am up and talking though, so that is a good sign! I will write more later, but just wanted to say a quick hi from the other side of the globe!

I can’t believe it’s snowing again!

In two days I will board a plane that will take me to the other side of the globe---and to the other side of the “climate”!!  From the chilly, damp, blustery end of a Minnesota winter (or, beginning of a Minnesota spring), to the sultry, hot humid summer of Northern Thailand, it should prove to be an interesting adjustment!  It will be a little like stepping into a blast furnace!  I haven’t experienced Thailand during the “hot season” in four years and I find that I am just a little unnerved at the prospect.  The HOT sun, the HOT breeze, the HOT pavement underfoot, the inevitable HOT downpour at some point during the day (the rain really is warm!), are all to be anticipated with a healthy mix of fear and respect.  Like surviving the sub-zero Minnesota climate in the winter, surviving hot season in Thailand is just as much a “badge of honor”!  Wish me luck!

Time to start writing again---my next trip to Agape Home departs March 28th. I will be updating this blog during my travels and hope you might join me! Please don't forget to post a comment or two along the way. I enjoy hearing from you as well!