Foot-fingers

I love teaching English.

It's a good reminder that Thai isn't the only difficult language to learn.  

There's a lot of pretty tricky concepts in English too.
The other day in class we were comparing some onomatopoeic words that imitate the sounds that animals make. 

Did you know, that onomatopoeias are not the same across all languages?

Or does it?

It made me giggle to hear just how different some of the animal noises actually were between Thai and English, and not only that, sounds in stories like "knock, knock" aren't the same either!  

Sorry, but I just find that so fascinating.

As someone who often mixes up sayings and words, I had to smile the other day.  When I pointed to a flashcard which had toes on it and asked what they were, my student replied "foot- fingers". 

And you know what?  That actually makes sense to me!  Why are they called toes anyway? Haha.

Okay... and now for a quick ZOE update:

• Special guest: The American Ambassador, Kristie Kenney came to visit ZOE on Wednesday.

• Australian comedian Ben Price made this wonderful video to create awareness about ZOE's work.

• Praise God for Narara Valley Baptist Church and the vision of 11 year old Emily! Choosing ZOE as their charity of choice and pictured here at Walk 2Bfree in Gosford with ZOE Board Member, Tammy Cross.

• We recently had a ZOE Staff Bowling Day.  Have you seen the photos yet?

• And (pictured below) this wonderful short term just left last weekend.  They were a lot of fun!

I hope you're having a great weekend.

We have special guests coming from Australia this week.  I can't wait to tell you more about them soon.

Take care.

Update on Spencer's Elbow

Last post we asked:
*Please pray with us for Spencer's arm to heal properly.  The doctor  will x-ray the elbow on Tuesday night and let us know whether it is healing correctly or whether a pin needs to be surgically inserted (we are believing this won't be necessary).  It's been very difficult to keep him from jumping and running around in his usual manner!!

Well praise God!  The x-ray on Tuesday showed that the bone is healing really nicely.  Spencer had the full plaster cast put on to which he lay there cracking jokes and amusing the medical staff (a pleasant change to a week ago).
He'll have another x-ray this Tuesday and will probably need the plaster on for another three weeks.  Thanks so much for your prayers.  God is good!

Then Wednesday morning I was back up at the hospital waiting to see a different doctor.  Poor Tobi got food poisoning on the weekend and was showing very slow signs of any improvement.  After seeing a wonderful doctor who prescribed him just the right medications, he was a different boy within 24 hours.  And was back at school on Thursday.

As you can see here, by Friday night, both boys were back in the game, full of energy and taking each other on in a semi-friendly game of soccer.  
It's so nice to have them both able to run around again.

Oh and lastly, during Chapel on Friday at the school/ preschool Eliana and Spencer attend (the preschoolers, Grade 1 and 2 get together each Friday morning for half an hour or so) Spencer won the Star Student Award!  He was so chuffed and I think I may've even wiped a tiny little tear from one eye.

Dear Diary...

Friday September 7th: It's 9:30pm and I am waiting patiently for Dave to get home from ZOE.  
My sister, Mel, and friend Andrea Stickland are flying in tonight for a week here and I'm going to pick them up from the airport at 10:40pm... yippee!

Saturday September 8th: It was so great to pick up the girls last night.  Had to laugh at the computer keyboard poking out of Andy's hand luggage.  So thankful for her bringing over another computer for ZOE. Looking forward to the week ahead.

Sunday September 9th: An early start and off to the elephant camp today.  It's Mel and Andy's first time to ride an elephant.  After hanging around waiting for their return, we learned that the elephant trainer (riding in front of them) had fallen off his elephant and then their rider had taken them off-course to spread the news! Poor man. 
This was a really fun morning and relaxing afternoon.

Monday September 10th: Off to work at ZOE today.  I love my job teaching English and spending more time getting to know the staff and house parents.  
I had a big shock tonight (literally) as I went to make myself a coffee and got a massive electric shock from our coffee machine causing me to jump back and spill the jug of milk all over the kitchen cupboards and floor.  Felt quite achey after that and took myself off to bed rather early.

Tuesday September 11th: Going to pick up Mel and Andy after their dental appointment today but not before cruising around on the motorbike to drop the little ones at school and preschool.  We managed to fit 4 of us on the bike this morning! (after I'd taken this photo).

I spent a wonderful relaxing morning with Mel and Andy getting a pedicure which Andy gave me as a birthday present.  Very relaxing- thanks Andy.
Off to the barbecue restaurant tonight where you cook your own meat on a blazing hot plate in the middle of your table.

Wednesday September 12th: After watching the kids so carefully at the barbecue restaurant last night (the hot plates are very dangerous to be around) we let the 3 children have a quick play on the small playground after dinner only to have Spencer run back to the table screaming and holding his arm.  Considering the screaming had not subsided by the time we got to the car, we decided a trip to the hospital might be necessary.  After an hour or so of examinations and x-rays, it was confirmed that Spencer had fractured his elbow.

Well, I won't be going into ZOE today.  Spencer has been very subdued and is still in a fair amount of pain.  We will go back for another check up next Tuesday when the swelling has gone down and to have the full plaster cast put on.  Until then, he'll need to stay home and take it easy (hmmm that's going to be hard for him).
Spencer and I did manage a quick trip up to preschool this afternoon to say goodbye to Nong Iy his friend who is being adopted into a French family and living in Switzerland.

Thursday September 13th:  I decided that since Spencer was feeling a little more active today Mel, Andy and I would head off to the Safari park with him.  Upon arriving we were amazed to see a baby giraffe that had JUST been born!  It was still being licked down by its mother and all wobbly on its legs- so beautiful.  Unfortunately I didn't have my camera with me.

Friday September 14th: Just hanging with my little man today.  He's been a good helper as we've driven here, there and everywhere running errands today.  He is getting lots of attention and sympathy from the Thai people while we've been out, noticing his green elephant sling and sore arm.

Tonight we head in to ZOE with Mel and Andrea for church.  It's their last night here.  
After church, we drive them back to their hotel stopping to get them one last banana roti!

Saturday September 15th:  Parting is never fun but we all held it together whilst waving off two very special people and feeling thankful for the time they had with us.
Off home for a nanny nap as we're back out at ZOE tonight for a yummy barbecue dinner.

Sunday September 16th: It's so amazing to think that it was seven years ago that our precious son Tobiah was born.  It was a bit of a stressful birth- ending in an emergency caesar but we thank God for his safe arrival and every day that we have him in our lives.  

Happy Birthday Tobi!

*Please pray with us for Spencer's arm to heal properly.  The doctor  will x-ray the elbow on Tuesday night and let us know whether it is healing correctly or whether a pin needs to be surgically inserted (we are believing this won't be necessary).  It's been very difficult to keep him from jumping and running around in his usual manner!!

Just Two Weeks Ago...

Last night Dave and I had a little chuckle together as we made school lunches and cleaned up from dinner at how just two weeks ago we'd come and looked through this house and now we were well and truly at home here and living in it.
We smiled as we reminisced at how we'd liked it in its primitive, unkept, half finished state but how in just 10 or so days, the landlord had cleaned it all up, installed a kitchen, had it painted, put down a lawn ... and we'd moved in.  It still amazes me!
Well, the transition went well and we are all enjoying the new surroundings.  
Apparently the garbage gets collected at 2am here... well it happened that way last night anyway- Dave heard noises and looked out our window to see our bin being emptied by someone!! Hahahaha.
Our children are enjoying having other kids in the street to play with and already, on the first day here, Eliana ditched her training wheels to ride Tobi's old two-wheeler and keep up the pace with her brother and our landlord's two children.  

Serving up food seems to be about the only enticement to get our children to actually come indoors since we've moved.  
The excitement of playing outside either on their bikes, soccer or imaginary games with the used packing boxes has made it very easy to get all the unpacking done and keep the house reasonably tidy.
We have met several of our neighbors now and everyone seems very friendly as well as a little bit intrigued.  One lady brought her friend over tonight just to stop and watch our "farang" family (foreigners are called farangs).
David definitely wins the award for 'Most Popular Parent' this week.  Our decision to rent a motorbike for him has definitely made him much more appealing. 

Let's just say that the bike is by far the most-preferred mode of transport where the Cross kids are concerned! (Even in the rain!)

On the work front, we have just welcomed a new field worker to the ZOE family.  Elizabeth has just joined the team and we look forward to getting to know her more over the coming months.

A short-term team from America arrives tonight.  
Dave is currently napping on the couch before heading off to greet their flight at 10:50pm.
And my added role of teaching English as part of the home-schooling program for the children (at ZOE) unable to attend regular school has been super fun!  
I love being able to teach on a regular basis again but in such a different context.  
I am also enjoying getting to help some of the ZOE parents, rostered on to assist in translating, who desire to improve their English skills too.
Lastly, please pray for our Child Rescue Team.  
They are dealing with so many important cases right now and need to be covered in prayer.  
Please ask God to give them the wisdom they need in making crucial decisions, for break throughs and especially for the victims still waiting to be rescued.  
It's been a busy and exciting couple of weeks.  We thank you so much for being a part of our lives... I'm excited to see what the next two weeks have in store!!! 

Out of Control (Part 2) And Loving It!

A post about how letting God take control was THE BEST decision EVER!

Well, you may have read my last post entitled, Out of Control where I was sharing about my struggles with trusting the steering wheel of my life wholeheartedly to God and more specifically with the search for a new house.

And I asked you to pray, "for God's wisdom with our decision making over the coming weeks and months... to be trusting in Him and not being lead by our own thoughts".

To get three houses to the stage of actually making appointments to see them (and liking them) was an effort in itself, and when all three of those promising situations ended with three massive big STOP signs, I must admit, it was hard not to let disappointment and wanting to change the outcome myself creep in.

But I didn't.

I took my own advice and just kept trusting that God had something better for our family and that it would be all become clear in His timing and not mine- anyone else ever been there?

And so, I stopped waiting for the phone to ring with agents who had said they'd call and never did, or landlords saying that we could have the house rather than that other people who’d offered more money than us (even though we’d got in first) or that the people who'd quickly rented the house before we could make our decision had just changed their minds... but it just didn't happen that way.

So then last Tuesday I found out about a house (in the area we'd hoped for) that had just come on the rental market.  We went to look at it that night and besides the small yard being a complete mess, it had no kitchen, no curtains and was about half the size of the house we currently live in, I LOVED IT!  

I was even heard saying out loud that I was happy to pay the advertised amount per month (to Dave's distress).  Dave on the other hand was hoping for a cheaper price but the agent assured us that the owner would definitely not negotiate on price because once the house was all fixed up with a kitchen installed, curtains etc that they were going to put the rental price up higher!  

Well, thankfully, Dave agreed that we should still proceed with the necessary steps to renting the house.  And that was when the fun began...

About thirty minutes after saying to the agent that we wanted to move ahead, she called us back and told us that the owner would lower the rental amount and it was the exact amount that Dave and I had privately discussed that we’d “ideally” like to pay!!

The next time we went to look at the house, the owner wanted to meet us there.  Long story cut short, here’s what transpired:

• We found out that the house owners are a lovely couple who live in the street and have two kids, Eli and Tobi’s ages.
• The owners are putting in a gas stove top (no oven though), a new refrigerator and some cupboards.
• The owners also said they’d put hot water in the kitchen (something I have not had for over two and a half years…) This was when I started to feel REALLY SPOILT.
• The owners are also getting the small yard area cleaned up and putting lawn down.  They had some large tree stumps removed and now it’s big enough to put our kid’s swing set there (we’d told our children that we couldn’t take their swings to our new house and they’d been brainstorming who they could give them to).
• The owner was about to order curtains and gave me the fabric samples and told me that I COULD CHOOSE to make sure that I liked them- what?
• The ZOE missionaries offered to come and help us move (this Saturday…) Did I mention that just 11 days after calling up about this house we are moving in?? How quick was that? But then we decided to just get a quote from a removal company incase- just to see how much it would be (we’d been told by many people it was really expensive) and the quote came back really reasonable!
• Then… now get this… someone put the money into our bank account to pay for the moving company!!   How good is God, right?

Now just to finish off this post about our whirlwind of a week.  You might think that I’d be feeling slightly stressed out about packing our house up in 11 days total, however, I am just feeling so remarkably blessed right now.  Seriously, it’s all good.

And the funny thing is that all week Dave and I have been reflecting on just how God’s plans for us are so much better than the plans we make for ourselves.  How He knew all along what we needed and how He wanted to orchestrate these events to show us His amazing love.

And then tonight, Dave’s phone starts ringing and it’s the owner of the first house we'd look at (a house shop we really wanted to rent) … that we thought we had agreed to, until someone else came in and offered more money than us and he decided to rent it to them…

And he tells Dave that the deal with the other person has fallen through and that the house is available again now and asked did we want it.

And we got to see… the comparison between what we would’ve chosen and settled for and God’s wonderful, amazing alternative!

And we both looked at each other just knowing how good it felt being out of control and knowing that the One who knows us better than we know ourselves always has a GREAT plan for us.

Out of Control

I'm sorry, I know I haven't written much since being back.  But in all honesty some times, some days, some weeks... there really doesn't appear to be a lot that seems "news worthy" amongst the ordinary.
Oh, but our kids did begin their new school year this week.
That was exciting.
Tobi began Grade 2, Eliana Grade 1 and Spencer continued back at his preschool program.
Both Tobi and Eli's teachers are at the beginning of their careers, taking my memories back all of about 11 years ago when I first entered the teaching profession.  It's so wonderful to see their fresh ideas and enthusiasm.  I'm really excited for the year ahead.

Some of you may know from our visit to Australia, that we were coming back to begin the process of house hunting... {and that's another whole blog post right there}

People move houses for different reasons: for work, to be closer to family, to live near a particular school, for a view of the sea, to obtain a more peaceful life style or because they outgrew their house.

But one of the reasons that we are looking to move house is because we are comfortable.
We love the house we current rent.  It was a blessing to find it and it is just such a wonderful place to live.  We live opposite Tobi's school.  It has been a safe and enjoyable experience.  No complaints {seriously}.

And strangely, through all of that, there is a part of us that yearns for more of the uncomfortable too.  To rely on God more.  To have to speak more Thai to be understood.  To be able to reach out to neighbors outside of our comfort zone and to take the next step of immersing ourselves more into life here in Thailand.

There's a small part of all this that really excites me because firstly, I kinda like change and secondly, I know from past experiences where we've had to rely heavily upon God being in control (and not our own clever planning or systems) that He totally came through.
But honestly, for the most part, it scares me.  I know my Thai is not that good {yet}.  I know that I haven't probably been very hospitable to my English-speaking neighbors, and I know that relying on God {wholeheartedly} and being totally out of control is not really an easy task.

I read this passage recently about giving God control (like handing over the steering wheel):

I don't have a problem having God in the driver's seat when the road is straight and there are no other cars around, but throw in few curves, a couple sets of traffic lights, and some traffic, and suddenly I am  no longer a silent passenger:
"How come we're stopping here?"
"We should have turned right back there!"
"The freeway is faster."
And sadly, many times I ask God to get out of the drivers seat completely. And since He is the God of free will, He hands me a road map and sends me off to navigate the road He created.

So I drive. I make wrong turns, I get lost, I break the law and sometimes I even cause accidents. Yet I won't let the One that knows the road from start to finish navigate and I won't let the One with the perfect driving record drive.

I don't know about you, but I'm getting tired of making wrong turns. I'm tired of driving through life so stressed out about the road ahead that I can't enjoy the section of road in front of me. Basically, I'm tired of driving, but the solution requires a decision that's not easy. It means I have to turn the wheel over.

To turn over the wheel to someone else all comes down to an issue of trust. God has proven over and over again in both the Bible and my own life, that He can be trusted and that He's far more capable than I of navigating through the roads of this life.

So if you're someone who prays, please ask for God's wisdom with our decision making over the coming weeks and months.  We want to be trusting in Him and not being lead by our own thoughts.
We have no time frame yet either, it could happen tomorrow or months from now, so any prayers for a settledness (especially for the kids) amongst the process of seeking and searching would also be greatly appreciated.

And my hope for you also is that whatever that 'thing' is that you hold so tight, that you be able to hand it Him this week.  To experience being out of control, but seeing how the "One who knows the road from start to finish" comes through for you.

An Answered Prayer

I remember listening to the school counselor explain how every time he’s moved to a different international school, students always ask one question early in the opening conversation and that is, “How long are you here for?”

I can see now after living here for over two years how insecure thoughts like, I’m not going to trust you/ spend time with you/ invest in you or let you in to my life can easily arise when defenses go up and worries creep in that someone might only 'share life' with us temporarily.

It’s hard to love and open your heart to someone who you know won’t be around for very long.

And there lies one of the challenges of living in a transient community.

I prayed a pray a while ago {okay many prayers} for some more friends.

I have a lot of friends in Australia- like really really good ones.  But those friendships have developed over many years.

Some of my friends I have known since primary school and it didn’t take me long to figure out that you don’t just “make” friends like that overnight.

And so, last August, just as my lovely friend Jessica was heading back to the States for two months, God sent me another friend.  

In walked Kaylee Wolf all fresh faced and bubbly from sunny California and I was so thankful when we instantly got along.

 There was just one catch… she was only staying for one year!

And it would have been easy to keep her at arms length.

To protect my heart.

Knowing that in August 2012, this friend that I’d made would be leaving.

But instead I chose to enjoy.

To be grateful.

To laugh.

To share.

To open up.

To risk the heartache of saying ‘see you later’, not ever knowing if or when “later” would ever be.

And selfishly I don’t want her to go.

But I know that she’s listening to God.  And I know she will always follow what He tells her to do.  Just like when she packed up and left home to come to Thailand.

And above all else I’m so glad that she opened up her heart and her life to me.   I feel privileged to have met her.

And, oh, so very grateful for the richness of her friendship over the past 12 months.

I’ll never forget…

When she came to keep me company while Dave was staying in a village and our conversations at 3am quickly turned to muffled screams as we tried to fend off the biggest cockroach we’d both ever seen.

How she became my 6am walking partner for many months protecting me from stray dogs by carrying pepper spray on a key chain.

Her teaching me how to make chai yen (Thai cold tea) and spoiling our family with her delectable chocolate chip cookies that she’d baked.

Her shared love of coffee and shopping and planning parties.

Our trip to Bangkok.  For the adventure it was and the emotional challenge we both faced after visiting the slum.

The bible study we took at the local café and the discussions we had around the topic.

Swimming, bowling, teaching English together, the driving lessons, having a pedicure, eating rotis, sharing Thanksgiving recipes and the funny times we had out and about in Chiangmai getting lost and mostly-

Sharing a lot of laughs!!

I’ll always remember Kaylee as a real girly-girl.  She fitted in perfectly at Eliana’s Fancy Nancy party.  She LOVES flowers, glitter, bling, dressing up, painting her nails and all things sparkly.

Thanks Kaylee.  It’s been so great having you in my life- worth it even just to have you close by for a year and you were most definitely an answer to my prayer!

You’ll be missed. x