I miss my tools !!

"If you want something done right ..."
After having my truck worked on by a recommended mechanic, it began to make grinding noises. Great !
So I began the pursuit of "doing it myself". (105, with 100+ humidity)
After driving around (on my trusty motorbike) for 1/2 a day, I was able to locate a hydraulic jack and some jack stands.



As I was working on the truck, I was startled to see a "little person" (neighbor kid) who had crawled under the truck to get a better look. Not good for my heart. Ha.
I was wondering why a camera wielding Sydney was laughing.




"I think it's broken..."
Here is my little helper giving advice. (he likes to practice his english on me).
What would I have done without him ?

Happy Thai New Year!!

The way to celebrate the Thai New Year is a full city water fight. Our family and some friends went down to the center of town to experience “Songkran”, the Thai New Year. There are parades during the day and fireworks at night. The most fun is to fill big garbage cans with water and then purchase big blocks of ice to make the water freezing cold. Then with smaller buckets or dippers (plastic sauce pans), take aim and throw. There were people lining the streets and riding in the back of trucks just looking for the poor person who wasn’t quite wet enough. The only rules are: 1. no throwing water on elderly people and 2. no throwing water on food vendors. There is a moat around the center of the city . The key is to have buckets with ropes tied on them to throw in the moat and fill up your garbage cans. It also looks like “Hawaiian Days”. Every one wears bright colored floral shirts and leis. The whole idea was started many years ago when people would pour cups of water on you giving you “a blessing”.

Cultural Adaptations

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So I'm on my way to the market on my motorbike, when I feel a wet sensation on my back (caused by squirt gun wielding passengers in a passing truck)... OK, no problem (I give them a "whatever" token smile). Then BAM !, I get a big bucket of water thrown in my face by some giggling teens on the side of the road (they get no smile this time). After composing myself (remember, I'm on a motor bike) about 20 yards later I get soaked again, this time with several repeated buckets.
Then it dawned on me... "SongKran" (Thai New Year celebration) is this weekend. We were warned that the way they celebrate it is by throwing, squirting, dumping... water on anyone that passes by. (it's kind of like a forced baptism thing).

How interesting, I was just doing some study on Cultural shock and adaptation. (guess why, yeah, we are in the middle of it !).
Check out this quote (from the Perspectives reader, pg.374) Culture shock "is the shock in discovering that all the cultural patterns we have learned are now meaningless. We know less about living here than the children, and we must begin again to learn the elementary things of life... Culture shock really sets in when we realize that this now is going to be our life and home"

So, while I was making great strides in trying to understand the complex "rules of the road" - an Oxymoron here - (rules / road)... a brand new "learning opportunity presented itself to me.

After some "contextualized" soul searching and a quick prayer, the long ride home became less and less offensive to me. My wet clothes actually felt pretty good in the heat of the day. I even stopped and took some pictures and joked with a couple waterlogged groups... and laughed with them.

Pray for us as we open-mindedly observe, learn, accept and ADAPT to this very different culture to which we have been called to be lights.

Still wet but smiling, Russ.

Syd's big 50 !!

Here are some pictures of Sydneys birthday celebration which happened while we were at a conference in So. Thailand.
We surprised Sydney by decorating the room, and she blew out a candle on her birthday "candy bar".

We are out of town

We will be out of town from March 29 thru April 7th.(Yes, 1 day after Syd's big 50th).
We are in Southern Thailand attending am Area Conference for our organization.
It has been wonderful getting to know everyone in our business from all over South East Asia. Lots of learning, planning, and personal nourishment. Good stuff !
As you can tell I found intertnet.
More later, Russ.


I put in a couple of pictures of last years Mexico trip in honor of it going on this week. We really are missing not being there this year. !!