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.