Blessings and Lessons

Being here in Chiang Mai I have learned so much.  Not only about what it's like to live in another culture so different from ours, but to depend on God MORE for all of my needs.  I had a tremendous blessing yesterday that I want to share. 

I think I mentioned before that school starts three days after I return home.  That means that I have to purchase my books while still here in Thailand.  Now, if you've taken any college classes you're aware of how expensive that can be.  Seems like my textbooks this quarter are more expensive too. It appeared at first glance that this money would have to come out of my Thailand fund and that would be cutting things pretty close. Granted, I know that there are those who would have helped me if I needed it, but I just prayed about it.  A few hours later I went to check my bank account and I saw a pending deposit for around the same amount that I need for my textbooks! I was expecting that money to come but had completely forgotten about it. Praise the Lord! I L.O.V.E. when he answers prayers like that.  So immediate and so direct.  It was a practical lesson for me in God's provision. 

Since being here I've often asked myself, why didn't I do this sooner? I feel like I've wasted so much time when I could have been doing SO much more!  I really want to encourage each of you to consider where you're at in your life right now.  The Lord has different plans for different people, the important matter is whether or not you are wasting precious time or if you are USING it!  Especially for us single people. I think this is the time of our lives that the Lord can really use us in ways that he cannot use married people.  So I ask you to please ponder this question: in five years time will I have regrets? Or will I feel like I filled every single moment that the Lord gave me with service for Him?  Recently I've asked myself these questions and it's really eye-opening. Especially as I look on the past several years of my life. I don't want to look back in five years and be wondering what I COULD have done. I would love to look back and say "Look at everything that the Lord allowed me to do because I was willing to be used."

Just sharing my heart today. Any comments?

Motorcycle Ridin'

The market that we go to daily is very close to our house.  So close that it's very easy to just jump on a motorcycle for a quick ride there and back. So easy and very tempting. :-) Before I came here I had never been on a motorcycle before so this has been quite enjoyable for me.  Here are some pics from just one of our many outings. :-)

One of the spirit houses going into our village.

Heading into the village.

Scary! LOL

A Fun Day!

Yup....it's rainy season here in Thailand. And while it hasn't rained much since I've been here today the season reared its head.  But.....I love it!  Pookie rolls her eyes as I get giddy with excitement at the heavy rain and the thunder. LOL!  This morning was nice and relaxing.  Slept in and did some things around the house before heading to the other side of Chiang Mai, the older part of the town.  We had a late lunch at a little German restaurant before heading to some bookstores and coffee at Starbucks.  Keep in mind, it's raining......and as brilliant as we are we forgot umbrellas. :-) After much hesitation we dashed through the rain and it was actually a lot of fun!  We made it to Starbucks and I had to laugh as I walked in because it was FULL or farangs (foreigners).  Not one Thai person except the people who work there....oh and Pookie, but she doesn't count. hehe :-)  We took a lot of silly pictures and people must have thought we were strange, but I don't care.

Then we headed to Duke's for dinner.  A wonderful, scrumptuos American restaurant.  I had BBQ ribs (I'm beginning to drool again) and Pookie had some sort of garlic chicken pizza.  We have carrot cake waiting that we brought home but I am still too full to eat it. I want to savor every bite of course.

It was SUCH a fun day!  Here are some of the fun pics from today.


Walking in the rain....

Pookie trying to look unhappy as I drag her around in the rain. hahaa

Trying to make it look like an old picture where we don't smile but I couldn't seem to do it. LOL

Thailand Update & Pictures

So I haven't really said a lot on here about how my time has been here so far in Chiang Mai.  I think I've adjusted pretty well.  My sleep schedule is about normal and I am very glad. I have to fight the urge to get up at 6am to chat with family is friends because I know the sleep is needed.  I have been eating Thai food pretty much the whole time I have been here and I don't think my stomach is very happy about that.  It's just now starting to hit me so tonight I cooked my own meal.  The Thai food tastes very good it's just so different from what I'm used to.  Tonight I made spaghetti with salad and rolls.  The spaghetti was out of a can (hey I'm just cookin for me and I didn't feel like making a huge pot. LOL) and I have to say it wasn't the greatest.  Still trying to figure out what brands are good without paying and arm and a leg for imported stuff.  But it was a needed change for my digestive system.  In the states I was not really fond of Thai food but I have learned to like it here.  Good thing, huh? :-)

I've enjoyed working in the office and I've spent my time there working on the Good and Evil project.  The Good and Evil book is like a comic book illustrating the gospel starting from Genesis.  It's been a great evangelistic tool over the years and it's now being translated into MANY different languages.  So far, I've worked a little bit in Russian, Tagalog, Catalan, and Kyrgyz. Not translating of course, just putting the translation into the format of the comic.  Very fun to do!

I've also started teaching an English class at the church.  This past Sunday was my first time and it wasn't that great.  1) I didn't really know what I was doing. 2) The program wasn't really working so I had to use something else.  3) I didn't have any time to prepare a lesson so I was pretty much winging it.  Through all of this I had a good time getting to know the students. This next time should be much better.

I've attended two services at Wiangping Baptist Church with Pookie, my roommate and office manager.  Even though I have no idea what they are saying, it's been a huge blessing to me! The people are so sweet and the fellowship is enjoyable.  Last night I was able to play the piano for the service and I thoroughly enjoyed that.  I'm glad music is universal.  You don't have to know another language for that.

Speaking of language and the lack of knowledge :-)  Pookie started teaching me Thai tonight.  Whew! Not very easy to pronounce some of those things. LOL but at the end there was more laughing than anything. hahaha good times.  I look forward to attempting to use some of these words and phrases in the days to come.  We'll see!!

Well now I will post some pictures.  Enjoy!

Gracie Lange with Mulan

Working on the Good and Evil project. (Pardon the shiny face. LOL)

Cute little gecko outside the house. It's hard to tell how tiny it was by this picture but it was so cute!

The Girls House

Wiangping Baptist Church

Beautiful Plumeria Flowers

Another beautiful (mystery?) flower.

My new favorite drink.  It's like a white tea with fruit. YUM!

Thailand Pictures 2

Heading to the market to grab some dinner...

 There is sooooo much to see at the market! Lots of fresh vegetables, fruits, and meat.

 Waiting for some delicious Rotee but the lady never showed up.

 So we went somewhere else. 

 Pookie was urging me to take pictures.....so I did! hehe

 They have very many 7-Elevens.  A little different from ours though.

 More of the market.  It goes on for quite a ways.

 Delicious Thai dinner of chicken and sticky rice with sweet chili sauce.  Cost: 38 baht= $1.25~

 Delicious Rotee!!  Mmm.....I want more. LOL

Thailand Pictures

I'll be posting pictures on here periodically.  Here are the first few...


My room...

 Flowers outside my back window.  Lovely tropical flowers!

 My first Thai coffee.  Mmmmm....so delicious!

 Mulan, Pookie's dog. Hahaha she's such a funny little pooch and loves to nibble on people's toes.

More pictures to come later!

In Chiang Mai

So here I am.  Running on adrenaline or something. Not really sure. But just updating you that I have made it here to Chiang Mai safely with only the loss of one bag.  I don't seem to understand how one bag could be lost when I have the other here with me.  I'll be picking it up tomorrow.

All the flights went smoothly and the airline was very accomodating when I needed to rush off the plane to my next gate.  I'll be posting more later but for now I need some sleep. :-)

Countdown: 2 days

I feel like there is SO much I want to blog about, but time does not allow. So I will make this brief but add some fun pictures. :-)  Yesterday we had a graduation for our Bible Training Institute here at Bible Baptist Church.  Two people graduated: My good friend Carolyn and one of our preachers in training, Chris. It was a wonderful night of celebration as we celebrated their accomplishment.  It was also a send-off for yours truly.  I gave a testimony about what the Lord's been doing in my life and I sang a special.  It was a time of mixed feelings: I was sad to say goodbye to everyone for a time but excited at what the Lord has ahead for me.

The Waldrons came over the mountains for graduation and the whole family (plus dogs!) stayed at our house.  It was SUCH a fun time! Deborah also stayed the night and kept us laughing. hahaha good times.  We didn't get much sleep last night but we kind of saw that coming.

I am fading now so I will close this out with some pictures.  Tomorrow is my last full day before I leave and I am serious when I say it's FULL! Soooo much going on tomorrow. But it will all be wonderful. :-) Enjoy the pictures!

Countdown: Six Days

Here it is, Thursday.  I leave next Wednesday.  Am I feeling like time has flown by? Definitely. I feel like I barely have time to catch my breath after finishing up school.  It's amazing how the moments fill up.  I have all these things I want to do before leave, people I want to spend time with.  I'm having to realize that I can't do EVERYTHING one. last. time.  It's just not possible.  BUT I will do all that I am able to.

School is officially over for the quarter, as of today.  I had finished finals and such, but today I had my last class period.  There is such a feeling of accomplishment when you've finished a quarter.  I am beginning to love that feeling.  In fact, I still love school! Is that weird, or what? haha. I get an amazing sense of satisfaction from increasing my knowledge in new subjects.  I always considered myself terrible at public speaking.  I now have the skills to speak in public and to do it well!!  Who knew?! I now look at art differently, and have a better understanding of the history of western civilization over the past 250 years. I have also explored compositions by Mendelssohn, Debussy, Bach, and Chopin.  While it may seem overwhelming and frustrating at times, I always remind myself of what I am gaining and it renews my vigour. :-) 

On a different note, I have really enjoyed getting in a bunch of last minute get togethers with friends.  On Tuesday this week, a group of friends and I went to Friday Harbor to have lunch and to do some window shopping.  I had SUCH a fun time!!  I feel so blessed to have so many good friends.  I can't even begin to explain to you what a blessing it's been to me the past several years to have these friends that have the same goals in life, that have the same desires.  Looking forward to having lunch with Linnea tomorrow then with Mom on Saturday. :-)

Piano Duet

Spring Recital

Tonight was my Spring Quarter Recital at Skagit Valley College. I have to say that I felt SO much more at ease since I had one recital under my belt. I knew what to expect and that helped. I also felt more confident in my song which made a difference. I absolutely LOVE this song! Not only is it a great song but it's really fun to play. :-)

So school is just about done. I have two classes to attend, but no assignments, no exams. YAY! Now my mind can really get in gear for leaving for Thailand next week. Yup you read that right. NEXT WEEK! 8 days to be exact. Time certainly flies...