Extra, Extra - Read All About It!

Meet Candice Christensen

2009-04-02T02:10:00.000-07:00

Candice is the newest member of ABWE's Thailand Team. She is here short-term for 5 months (March thru July). She is spending the first 2 months in Bangkok visiting the different ministries here. After that she is moving with Lesa Morgan to Chiang Rai for the remainder of her time to work at the Akha Orphange and English center.

Candice is 19 years old and from a small town just outside of Boise, Idaho. She comes from a loving and supportive Christian family. Her father is a police officer and her mother is a pre-school teacher. Candice is the second of 4 sisters. Her older sister is married, but still lives close to home. Her younger sisters are 14 and 9 years of age.

Candice has had a burden towards missions for as long as she can remember. In fact, when she was a little girl, she said she would go anywhere in the world except for Cambodia. Lo and behold, God placed her right next door to it here in Thailand. She came here to get some "hands on" missions experience, and to see where she feels God might lead her in the future.

2008-10-01T02:06:00.000-07:00

Things have been going very well. My parents came and spent some time with me here. I just said good-bye to them 2 weeks ago. After which, I had visiting missionaries from India come for another week.
Coming up next is a week long English camp put on by the Filipino missionaries here. There are 25 classes ranging from 1st grade through adults. They are expecting about 150 people attending besides staff. I will be teaching Anna and Drew while we are there, but Diane and Dave will be teaching and leading games.

God has been so faithful these past few months as He has led me through all the changes that have been going on. He IS the eye in the storm, the calm resting place, and that still small voice that is always there when I am ready to listen. He has showed me over and over again how He cares about even the smallest details that somehow seem to worry me the most. Thank you all for your prayers for me. I have certainly felt them, and they are much appreciated.

In His Name,
Bethany

Urgent Prayer

2008-08-24T04:34:00.000-07:00

Dave and Diane Ford, the family I am now working with, just took their daughter Alyssa to college this summer. She is a freshman at Johnson Bible College near Knoxville, TN. After Soccer practice this past Friday, Alyssa, another female student, and two male students went to get something to eat when they were involved in an accident that caused the car to flip. Alyssa was in the back seat with her seatbelt on as was the other girl who is currently in a drug-induced coma. The driver of the car had cuts and bruises while the other fellow broke both wrists. Both Holly and Josh Ford (big sister and brother) are with Alyssa. Alyssa is in the ICU of the University of Tennessee Memorial Center. The doctor says she has lacerations to the spleen and it is bleeding. They are monitoring her very closely in the event that surgery is needed. Her lungs are bruised and might have a small hole letting air out. She has shoulder fractures and 2 fractures to her pelvis. She also has a very large head bruise but no brain damage. The doctor has assured the Fords that Alyssa will heal but will be very sore for a while. They will be keeping her in the hospital for at least 5 days (barring surgery being necessary) with full recovery taking about 6 weeks.

Please pray not only for Alyssa, but also her family here Bangkok. At this point they are not planning on returning home, as they have several family members already there taking care of her. However, in the event that she does need surgery, her mom will head back to the states to be with her. It has been extremely hard for the family having to watch/hear from a distance, but they are trusting in God for what is best for them and their daughter.

My New Home!!

2008-07-12T04:33:00.000-07:00

Thank you all for you prayers and emails of support. I have finally moved into my new apartment! I was able to find a partially furnished apartment for much less than I had anticipated. I finished ordering furniture today. Hopefully it will arrive at least close to when it is supposed to. For those of you that are wondering - Here is my new mailing and residence address.

The Parkland 10/508
1211/92 Moo 12 Bangna-Trad K.M, 4.5 Rd.,
Bangna, Bangna, Bangkok, 10260 Thailand

Yes, you do need both of the "Bangna's " in there at the end. One is the sub-district and one is the district. They just happen to be the same in my area.

Thanks again for all of your prayers!!

In His Love and by His Grace,
Bethany

Prayer Request

2008-07-06T04:31:00.000-07:00

I have had something very unexpected come up. The new family I will be working with (Dave and Diane Ford) live on the other side of Bangkok. The travel time is not that bad, but I added up some figures the other day and the travel costs are WAY too expensive. So I have to move. Because of the new location, I will no longer have a room mate. I looked for apartments for the first time today. The last place I looked - God opened a door. I have found a single bedroom, partially furnished apartment a motorcycle taxi away from the Ford's home. The rent is cheap and the apartment is in a huge complex that is not only cheap, but has a small store, food, and laundry facilities. I am going back tomorrow to measure and hopefully sign papers.

Please pray that all the details work out smoothly. I do need an odd lease (7 months). Hopefully they will be willing to work with me. I also was, unfortunately, unable to find a fully furnished apartment. Please pray that I am able to find everything I need for a reasonable price, and that all the unexpected costs of this move will come together.

Thank you all for your prayers.

Good Morning, Vietnam!!

2008-06-10T03:42:00.000-07:00

Vietnam was certainly an adventure for me. I really managed to cram a lot of experiences into 6 short days. Several of them I hadn't even planned on. I arrived into Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) late Sunday night. Monday I spent 8 hrs on a bus traveling out to one of the provinces. 5 hrs into the bus ride I got sick - not fun - do not try this at home! Needless to say I crashed that night and most of the next day. The rest of the week I spent mostly in the province. I had a chance to spend a day at a remote fishing village and have some great Vietnamese dishes with fresh caught seafood.

Thursday night I took a night train back to Ho Chi Minh City. I spent the day shopping at markets before heading home that night. It was a fabulous trip and an amazing experience. God really used that time to refresh my Spirit and to draw me closer to Him.

Going to Prison

2008-05-26T04:06:00.000-07:00

Once a week I have started visiting a women's prison in Bangkok. I go with a group of people made up of Fillipino missionaries, retired Americans, Singaporeans, and there missionaries from the States. Diane Ford goes with me as well. The prisoners that I meet with are from all over the world. The women in this prison are mostly there due to various drug charges. I meet with some of the English speaking girls. So far I have had a chance to speak with women from South Africa, Taiwan, Nepal, Nigeria, and the Philippines (to name a few). Most of the women I talk to are already Christians. All have them have either been saved or turned their lives around in prison. We go and talk with them for an hour a week to encourage them, find out what their physical needs are, contact friends and family, do Bible studies, and counseling. One week we could be talking about what the Bible says on sexual immorality, and the next week we talk about our favourite foods. Many of these women have been in the prison for several years already, and they have an indefinite span of time left. They have family and children back in their home country. Some of the women had children after arriving in the prison and have had to send their kids home. Their faith, however, is stronger then of anyone I have ever met. My purpose in going is to try and be of some encouragement to them, but I always leave there feeling encouraged.

Please pray for these women when you think of them. That their faith would remain strong and that they would continue to trust in the Lord.

Thank You, Bethany

The Ford Family

2008-05-17T04:40:00.000-07:00

Dave and Diane Ford have been here in Thailand for 3 1/2 yrs now. They are currently in their 1st term with ABWE. Dave is currently working with an orphanage up in Chiang Rai, and Diane is going to language school. They have 6 children - 2 of which are currently living here with them. Their eldest 2 kids are married. The oldest (Kara) has 2 children, their other married child (Josh) is graduating from Moody Bible this year. Their 3rd child (Holly) is currently attending Moody Bible as well. Their daughter Alyssa just went back to the states as a freshman at Johnson Bible in Tennessee.

Their 2 youngest children are my students. Anna (age 11) and Drew (age 9). Anna is in 6th grade. She loves animals, cooking, baking, playing with friends, and listening to music. Drew is in 4th grade. He loves swimming, any kind of electronic games, science experiments, and running around with his best friend - Danny. They are both doing great in school. The entire family has made me feel so comfortable and so at home these past 2 months. It is such a joy working with them.

Myanmar (Burma) Crisis

2008-05-10T09:43:00.000-07:00

As I have gotten some concerned emails from some of you - I wanted to share with you all that Thailand did not feel any ill effects due to the cyclone in Myanmar, with the exception of rains in the North. We are all safe and sound here. Myanmar, however, is desperately hurting. We are still anxiously waiting to hear from some of the National believers.

For more up to date information regarding that you can go to ABWE's Home Page and click on the article "Cyclone Hits Myanmar." It will take you to the latest news, as well as information on how to donate to their relief fund. I thank you for all of your prayers, and I ask that you will continue to pray for the people of Myanmar.

In Him,
Bethany

Personal Update

2008-04-05T09:32:00.000-07:00

Things are going really well here. Yes, the heat is definitely getting turned up on us, but we are surviving. We have had several rain storms in the last few days, so that has helped drop the temperature significantly, temporarily at least. I have had the opportunity since I have been here to travel to many different parts of Thailand. I have found the country absolutely beautiful here from the mountains to the beaches along the sea. The people everywhere are absolutely fantastic. I praise the Lord for this incredible opportunity to see a whole other part of His world. It has been an amazing journey of faith and I have found it so awesome to see living proof that he does indeed have the whole world in His hands!

"Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing psalms." - James 5:13

In Christ Alone,
Bethany

Sawang Daen Din

2008-03-24T20:20:00.000-07:00

We are back and we are all officially exhausted! It was a fabulous week.
The Caynors, Lesa, myself, and 2 other missionaries we have met here flew up to Sawang Daen Din for a week. Our team mates, Don and Gail Craft, have been ministering in Northeastern Thailand for over 20 years and have several well established ministries there. They were hosting a week long English and Bible day camp and needed extra hands. We had a wonderful time! It was great to see yet another part of Thailand and to have a chance to personally see more into what Thai culture is. We had a blast with the kids! On an average day we had about 40 kids attend, and we had more than 60 different kids visit throughout the week! While no one actually made the decision to accept the Lord while we were there, we had several that asked numerous questions. We have since found out that a few of those kids have now accepted Christ. This camp also gave Don and Gail a chance to share in 2 new villages that they had not previously received an open response.
It was so hard to say “Good-bye” at the end of the week. Especially when we didn’t fully know how much they understood or believed, but that is where I have to trust that God has each of their little hearts in His hands. I ask that you help to remember these precious kids in prayer.

- I have already posted 2 albums of pictures and a slide show at the top of the page.

Blessings to you all,
Bethany

Coming Soon

2008-03-14T17:49:00.000-07:00

Well, I've only been back home a week and already we are getting ready to leave again. This week has gone by fast. Last Friday all of the team that lives here in Bangkok met at a restaurant to celebrate my birthday with me. We had a good time just hanging out and fellowshipping with each other. For us all being in the same city, it is not very often that we get a chance to all get together. It was a great evening!

This Sunday the Caynors, Lesa and I, and Deanna are all flying up to Northeastern Thailand - Sawang Daen Din (See Map) to run a day camp of free English and Bible. Our team-mates, Don and Gail Craft, have been missionaries in Thailand for over 28 years. They are currently the only members of ABWE's Thailand team that lives outside of Bangkok. They put on this day camp every summer (the summer months in Thailand are March-April) At one of our previous team meetings they asked if we knew of any people that would be willing to come up and help for a week. We all volunteered. Lesa, Lisa, and Deanna will be teaching the English classes, Rick is leading part of the Bible, and the rest of us are helping wherever we can. We will be up there for a full week, and will be flying back into Bangkok late that Saturday night. I'll write again when I get back.

In His Love -

I'm Legal!!!

2008-03-05T17:36:00.000-08:00

What a title huh?? Well, I can now legally stay in Thailand another 3 months before I need to re-new my visa again. And...I am now 21. It has been quite a week and it is only Wednesday. Our flight to Chiang Rai both there and back was smooth and uneventful. We got to Chiang Rai by lunch time and were met at the airport by the Fillipino missionaries that we were going to stay with. They had just built a church. Right next to it they had built a house and a guest house. Lesa and I stayed in the guest house. The entire trip the missionaries there just loved on us and encouraged us so much.

The next day they took us sight-seeing to the Golden Triangle. It is the place where the borders of Thailand, Cambodia, and Laos all meet. On a clear day you can even see the mountains of China. From there they took me to the border of Myanmar. One of their English students that is currently living with them crossed the border with me. She is the same age as I am and speaks pretty good English. We had a lot of fun together. Once we crossed the border, we wandered around a market that was right on the border for about a half an hour. We crossed back into Thailand and headed back to Chiang Rai. We spent a good part of the evening hearing all about the ministries that our hosts are currently running. The growth up there has been amazing! We are so excited with what the Lord is doing there. Their new church is beautiful and provided straight from the Lord. Lesa and I flew out the next morning - early. (Which was today) Tomorrow Alice, one of our team-mates, is taking me out to lunch for my birthday. Hope you all at home are doing well.

Love & Blessings,
Bethany

My Week

2008-02-29T17:32:00.000-08:00

The Caynor's have had friends visiting all week so I have had a week "off" so to speak. I started off the week by going to the Egyptian Embassy for a fellow ABWE missionary in another country. She is planning her vacation and Bangkok has the nearest Emabassy where she can apply for an Egyptian tourist visa. I went down and picked up the application form and mailed to her. Sometime in April I am expecting her to send the filled out form back to me as well as her passport so I can take it to the Embassy so they can process her visa. I treated myself to lunch at subway and then found the latest English copy of TIME magazine. (I don't know why I bother to look for American news - everywhere I look all there is is the latest on the Presidential race)

One of the missionaries with City on a Hill that is still doing his Pre-field work just got engaged this past Thanksgiving. His fiance is already in Thailand working with a different agency. Her name is Deanna and she has been working with a ministry that ministers to the girls that are caught up in the sex trade. The ministry offers the girls a non-threatening place to come get help and to start to build a new life. The girls often start coming to the centers to learn free English. About 6 weeks ago our team was finally able to get in touch with Deanna. (she was in the states for a few months until Jan-Feb) She is such a wonderful girl. We have all been so blessed to get to know her. She and her fiance will be a great addition to our team! Anyway, last night. I was able to see a part of their ministry. I really liked what I saw and, Lord willing, I may become more involved with that ministry in the future.
Tonight, we are all going to a Fillipino wedding. I was invited, but I don't know either the bride or the groom. All the Thai pastors will be there, however, as well as many of our Fillipino friends. So it should be fun. Tomorrow is our Quarterly Team Meeting, and it will run all day. This coming Monday Lesa and I are flying up to Chiang Rai(See Map) for 3 days so I can cross the border and re-new my visa. I will write again when I get back from Chiang Rai.

Happy Leap Year!

Visa Run

2008-02-18T23:24:00.000-08:00

Hey Everyone,

I don't know if I have mentioned this before or not, but part of the conditions on my year-visa is that I have to renew it every 3 mo. by going out of the country and coming back in. I don't need to stay out for a certain amount of time, I can just leave and then turn around and come back. I will need to renew it again by March 4. Lesa and I are planning to go up to northern Thailand to Chang Rai (see map). We will stay there for a few day with a couple of missionaries in the area. The missionaries will help me cross the border and back again. We should also have enough time to visit their mission and do a little sight-seeing. I would appreciate you prayers for our flight there and back as well as the prevention of any unforseen complications.

Thanks,
Bethany

Answer to Prayer

2008-02-05T09:19:00.000-08:00

Wow! I can't belive we are approaching our 5 month mark. At times it feels like I have only been here 5 seconds. At other times it feels like I have been here for 5 years - haha. I think I have pretty much gotten over the initial culture shock, but the missionaries that were already here tell me it never completely goes away. Instead you have periodic "culture days." You know, those days where you can't seem to communicate with anybody, you can't find anything, and you come home at the end of the day frustrated and tired. Wait a minute - I had days like that in the States. What's up with that?! Oh well, I guess when you look at the over all picture, some things are the same everywhere we go (we just get to use fancier names for it overseas)

These past few weeks I have been asking for prayer regarding wisdom on the taking on of additional ministries. Wisdom pertaining to "what kinds?" of ministry and "how much?". During the recent conference we attended, God dropped something in my lap. One of the other missionary families on our team is in need of a homeschool teacher. Their 2 youngest children will not be returning to the school that they are currently at. While the parents are not in language school, they are both actively involved with other ministries, and do not have enough time to do all the teaching themselves. Their son will be going into 4th grade and their daughter will be going into 6th grade.

I do not as yet know when we will be starting to work together (these kids will start the next school year sometime this summer), but in the mean time I will be working with them on the logistics of my working with 2 families. The Caynor's for some time now have also talked about letting their kids have more freedom as they are growing up and do not need much constant "care/teaching" as they are capable of doing almost all their schoolwork on their own, and they are even looking at the possibilities of enrolling Ricky in a school next year so he will have the chance to participate in sports and other extra curricular activities. So my time spent during the week with their kids will most likely shift quite a bit.

Both families are very excited about this next school year, as am I. Who knows what the next few months will bring? God is starting to open the doors for many new and exciting posibilities for all of us. Please continue to uphold us in your prayers as well as this most recent developement. As always please pray that we seek out God's wisdom and guidance as our goal remains to serve Him the best way we can and make the most of where He has placed us.

In Him,

Bethany

Party!!

2008-01-18T08:55:00.000-08:00

Just a quick note - Last night we all went to a joint birthday party for a few of the missionaries here whose birthdays are in January. One of our fellow team-mates was celebrating his 60th. The party was held at one of our missionary partner's home. Barbeque, curry, tacos, and ice cream cake with a lot of time to fellowship, and the traditional "coin toss" filled out the evening.

The party was a whole lot of fun. All of the Thai pastors that we work with were there as well as most of the PABWE (Phillippine Assoc. of Baptists...) missionaries that work in and around Bangkok.

Hope you are all having a good week. You are all continually in my thoughts and prayers.

In His Love,

Bethany

IndoChina Conference

2008-01-11T08:31:00.000-08:00

This past week we attended a regional mission's conference that was held in Trat, Thailand (see map). We had a total of 18 missionaries plus MK's coming in from 5 different coutries, including ours. It was held at a resort that was right on the Bay of Thailand. The conference was over 4 days and our key speaker was Jim Ruff from the ABWE home office - He and his wife Jan were missionaries to Japan for over 20 years before coming off the field to work full time at the home office.

The Conference was great! Jim & Jan Ruff are such encouraging people!! Jim spoke on Asian Theologies and the elements of good missionary field teams. Excellent. We had the whole resort to ourselves, so our off times were very relaxing. I really hope we can have another one next year. It was so nice to get to know some of our other missionaries around the world and hear what God is doing there.

Love to you all,

Bethany

Happy Holidays

2008-01-03T06:35:00.000-08:00

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and New Year's with your friends and families. For me it was a wonderful time to celebrate in the Joy of the Season with my new friends and brothers and sisters in Christ. Although it was very tough being away from you all.

We had a 3 week break over the holidays. The week before Christmas we were able to take in a few Christmas concerts (including the Messiah) and some of the Thai church's Christmas outreach programs.

Christmas Eve - Lesa and I had dinner with some of the Fillipino missionaries and their friends and family (most of whom we already knew). We spent Christmas Day cooking, watching Christmas movies, and talking to our families at home.

The day after Christmas we hosted a birthday party for one of the Thai's. They brought the party - we supplied the venue. It was all our Thai friends from Bang Khen Baptist Church. We had a blast!! Games, food, testimony time, and lots of great fellowship and laughter.

New Year's was spent at a picnic hosted by a Thai family from our church. Later, Lesa and I watched the fireworks from our roof.

That's all for now. Many blessings to you all, this 2008. I look forward to talking to you again soon,

Love in Christ,

Bethany

Thank You

2007-12-21T09:31:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to thank all of you that have been sending me cards, letters, emails, and packages. They have been a great encouragement to me. The Lord always sees to it that I get each note just when I need it the most. Your words and gifts are greatly appreciated. Each one has made me feel that much closer to all of you. As you can see by the picture they serve as a constant reminder of your thoughts and prayers. I feel so blessed to be a part of such a large and loving family.

Love & Blessings to you all,

Bethany

Kanchanaburi

2007-12-20T09:46:00.000-08:00

2 weekends ago Lesa, Lisa, Kristin, and I went with some of the members of Bang Khen Baptist Church(the church Lesa and I are now attending) to a town called Kanchanaburi. The town was about a 5 hour drive West of Bangkok (see map) Bang Khen has a church plant there, and we went to help them put on their Christmas service. We went up early Saturday morning and stopped for breakfast and lunch along the way. We also got to stop and sight-see a little bit at the River Kwai. After we got to Kanchanaburi that afternoon we went on visitations to the people in the community...encouraging them and inviting them to the service the next day. We stayed the night at one of the believers homes. She cooked dinner for all of us and then we went caroling. We sang along in English :) The next morning at church we had a gift exchange with the members (we had brought all the gifts with us) We sang some songs and then the kids were dismissed to their own program while the adults all had a sermon on the Christmas story with the gospel woven through it. Afterward we all ate lunch and then headed back home. It was such an awesome weekend! It was a great opportunity to see how the Thai people live outside of Bangkok and to have a chance to get to know some of the believers from Bang Khen better. It was hard to leave that afternoon. I know I will be going back again before I leave. Please keep the church in Kanchanaburi in your prayers. For its continued growth and a full-time Thai Pastor to lead it.

In His Love,
Bethany

PS-I already have some pics from the wkend posted

Photos

2007-12-19T10:11:00.000-08:00

Hey Y'all,

I finally posted pics from my trip to Phuket (poo-ket) Enjoy !

Answered Prayer

2007-12-17T01:45:00.000-08:00

Thank you for praying for my trip to Cambodia. My "visa run" went VERY well. I got on the bus I needed at 6am and arrived at the border before 9am. I then got stamped out of Thailand, and purchased a Cambodian visa. I was stamped into Cambodia and met some of ABWE's partnering missionaries once I was across the border. The took me back to their house where they showed me their facilities and fed me a wonderful lunch of Cambodian food. After we had a chance to visit, they took me back to the border. I got out of Cambodia and back into Thailand with no problems, in fact my visa costs were less than I expected. Praise the Lord, I was blessed with wonderful people on my bus back to Bangkok that were more than willing to take care of me all the way home. I will not have to do that again for at least another 3 months. Hopefully if we can get some paper work worked out before my next 3 months are up I will not have to keep making these visa runs. I would appreciate it if you would keep this in your prayers.

In His Love,

Bethany

Prayer Request

2007-12-05T21:00:00.000-08:00

I unexpectedly have to go to Cambodia tomorrow for a visa run. I will be leaving by 5am and If all goes well I will be back home by 4pm. (in time for a nice long nap) I am taking a direct bus ride to the border, where I will officially leave Thailand and enter Cambodia just long enough to complete all of the paper work so that I can come back. I will hopefully be meeting some missionaries at the border, but other than that I will be making the trip by myself. The trip is perfectly safe, but all of the paper work is a little intimidating. Please pray that it all goes smoothly and that I make all of my connections going and coming.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2007-11-20T18:36:00.000-08:00

Sorry I haven't posted anything in a while. I have been a little under the weather lately. It certainly hasn't been from cold weather though. The temperature is staying around the mid-80's. Whew, and it is already the middle of November! Some of you have been asking what they do here in Thailand to celebrate Thanksgiving. The Thai people do not traditionally celebrate this holiday, as it is an American one. However, several of the Thai Christians have started recognizing the day as a day to give thanks to God. The words for "Thanksgiving Day" in Thai literally mean "the day we thank God." That really hit me this year, for that is what Thanksgiving is supposed to be all about. I am ashamed to say that most years I get so caught up in "what we are going to eat" and "who is coming for dinner" that I forget the beauty of having (in most cases) a whole weekend off of work to focus on all that God has done for me. What a blessing! I challenge you (and myself) this Thanksgiving among all the hustle and bustle of friends and family to take some extra time with the Lord and thank Him once more for all that He has done for you and around you. God is actively at work in our lives, in our churches, and in our world - yesterday, today, and tomorrow. Sometimes I let the fact that we literally owe Christ our lives not have such a direct impact on my daily life. May God have all the glory this holiday season!

In Him,
Bethany

Timewise

2007-11-05T23:40:00.000-08:00

Just a little note for those of you that are curious. The time here in Thailand does not change for Daylight Savings time. For the next 6 months I will be 1 additional hour away.

Home Again, Home Again...

2007-11-04T21:27:00.000-08:00

Well, I am back in Bangkok safe and sound. I had a wonderful trip! The first 2 days were spent in Khao Lak (cow-lack) which is where ABWE had a shelter for the tsunami victims. They determined to have a service every Sunday at the center whether or not anyone showed up. They still have services every Sunday as well as ESL outreaches to the community. They now have some land that they are planning to use to build a larger center/church. It was such a blessing to be able to worship with them. I love meeting more and more of my spiritual family. I hope that I will have the chance to go back and visit again during my time here.

The rest of last week was spent at a resort on the Karon Beach in Phuket. Missionaries from all over Asia were treated to a 3 day/3 nt stay by the Christian Hospitality Network. After the retreat, our team here in Thailand had their quarterly meeting. We flew home the next day, and Lesa and I took one of her missionary friends that we met up with at the retreat around Bangkok. It has been a very busy week! The mtg. went well and the retreat was such a blessing. I feel refreshed, somewhat in my right mind :), and ready to face what God has planned for me this next week.

I hope to talk to you more soon,

Bethany

Hitting the Road Again

2007-10-26T02:32:00.000-07:00

I am headed to Phuket next week to spend some time at the tsunami center and at the beach. Phuket is located in the southern tip of Thailand. Our team mtg is also being held there at the end of the week. I am looking foreward to a change in pace. I know school only began 3 wks ago for all of us, but I feel the need to take some time and process all that has happened these past 5 wks (have I been here 5 wks already?!) I am actually flying out tomorrow with another missionary couple, and then the Caynor's and Lesa Morgan will be coming down in time for the team meeting. I am then coming back to Bangkok early on Nov 2nd. with the couple I am flying down with. The Caynor's and Lesa however, are not coming back until later that day. That is when they will be doing their sight-seeing. We are all getting a little confused with the who's and what's flying in/out when and where. See what I mean - it's contagious! Ah, well. Will be sure to post more soon. If you are so confused now that all you want is to know exactly where I will be at, I posted a map of the country over by my photos. That might help give you a better idea of where I am headed (it did me!!)

Love to you all,
Bethany

Welcome!

2007-10-21T01:42:00.000-07:00

Sawaa Dee Kaa (Hello),
Welcome to my new blog. I hope this site will allow me to keep in better contact with all of you. I just posted my first pictures yesterday. I hope you will enjoy seeing them and what some of my life is like here.
Mon & Tues are inservice days for the teachers at the language school, so I will not be teaching Kristin and Ricky those two days. Instead, on Mon, Lesa Morgan and I are planning on going downtown to get the last couple things we need for our appt. (a home phone & printer) On Tues we are hoping to invite one of the missionary couples over for dinner. Gotta go for now.
Talk to you later,
Bethany

Mailing Info

2007-10-04T02:23:00.000-07:00

I just thought I would post a quick note with this link. Several of you have asked me how long it takes to send mail/packages here. I found this online today. It is a direct link to the official website for the US Postal Service. Just open the link and click on "Calculate Postage" and select the country of destination. It will walk you through a few steps, and then it will tell you how long and how much. I hope this helps to answer some of your questions about the mail.
http://ircalc.usps.gov/

Talk to you all soon,
Bethany

I Have an Address

2007-10-03T02:16:00.000-07:00

I can't begin to thank you for all the encouragement you have been to me. It has been a tremendous blessing to hear from so many of you, and I know that I am in all of your prayers. Praise the Lord! Things are going very well. Lesa Morgan and I moved in about 10 days ago and have finally settled into our new appt. Since then we have literally shopped 'till we dropped. I never thought I would say this, but I honestly don't care if I see the inside of a store again for weeks! God blessed us richly however, with providing everything we needed and more for a reasonable price, right down to the silverware and trash baskets. Lesa and I agreed that our appt is starting to look and feel like "home." This past weekend we were able to have our phone and internet hooked up at our appt. We are grateful for the increase in our ease to communicate with our friends and family. The Caynor's moved into their house this past Saturday. They are having their furniture delivered over this next week, and are very excited to finally be able to start unpacking. Today the Caynor's and Lesa Morgan are registering at the language school. School should start for all of us by the end of this week or the begining of next.I would appreciate your prayers this next week as the Caynor's finish settling in and have to deal with things from late deliveries to opening new bank accounts to installing air conditioners - not to mention getting ready to learn a whole new language. Pray for Lesa Morgan that the language studies will go well for her as well. Pray also for Ricky, Kristin, and I as we start school together that we would form a special bond as we adapt to life here, work on the language, and grow in Christ together.

In His Love,
Bethany

I've Arrived!

2007-09-16T02:12:00.000-07:00

Thank you all for your prayers this past week. The time has just flown by (both figuratively & literally) The flight over went as smooth as could be. The connection was made without any gliches, and we even got into Bangkok early. We have all spent the last few days getting over jet lag and looking for places to live. We still have a ways to go getting over jet lag, but I am happy to report that we have all found a place to live! The Caynors have found a nice 4 bdrm town-house that is just perfect for them, and Lesa Morgan and I found a very nice 2 bdrm appt not a 5 min walk away. God has been so good to us! This week we are all working on buying the necessities for our houses and having them cleaned. Lesa Morgan and I hope to move in this coming Friday (that's thurs. for you). The Caynors will probably not be moving in for at least another week. Please pray that all the arrangements that need to be made this coming week go smoothly and that we will be able to start building relationships with the people we are working with.

In His Love,

Bethany