Week 3 (Day 19)

(Note: I'm going to switch from third person to first person in this blog. Who am I fooling anyways? We all know David isn't the blogging-type.)

We have been here almost 3 weeks now. We've made a lot of progress getting settled over the last week. God has been gracious in helping us get settled pretty quickly with transportation, driver's licenses, and housing. All this couldn't have been done so quickly without the help of the ZOE family and new friends we have met here.

• Transportation: After a grueling day for David and one of the missionaries who drove him around from dealership to dealership, we finally purchased a car. It's a Toyota Avanza. Most people purchase used cars, as new cars take a month to receive after purchase, but after looking fruitlessly all day for a used car, they took a chance at one last dealership that happened to have a new version of what we wanted and that was available for pickup within a week! Cars are more expensive here, and there is no financing, so you have to pay upfront for everything. We picked up the car a couple days ago, and are so, so thankful!!! The ZOE family has been wonderful to drive us around every day. We're relieved to be able to get out on our own. It's been difficult for the kids (especially Eli) to be couped up in the house, so we've been enjoying just running errands together and going out to eat. David's getting used to driving around on the left side of the road, in the right side of the car, after a few times of using the window wipers to signal. He's always been great with directions, so after studying the map, he's able to get around with no problem. I've only driven once in the neighborhood. I'm still scared to go onto the main road, but will have to do so soon.

It's a 6-seater:

• Bike: We also purchased a new bike where Ian can sit comfortably on the back while we pedal. Before we bought it, David asked me, "Can you ride a bike?" I scoffed, "Umm...yes! I grew up riding bikes." When we went to the bike store to test-ride the bikes, I realized just how long it's been since I've ridden a bike. I wiggled and weaved around, but eventually got the hang of it. Sadly, this has been the most fun Ian has had since moving to Thailand. He absolutely loves it, even though the ride to school is only 2 minutes. He loves it so much that, one day, when I showed up without it, he had his first meltdown. He said disappointedly, "Where the bike?" When I told him I couldn't bring it because I had to stroll Eli over too, he screamed at the top of his lungs, "I WANT THE BIKE!!!" And then he started bawling...all in front of the other parents and kids at pickup.

• Housing: We've also made a lot of progress with the house. David has been busy going out every day buying appliances and furniture for our new place. We plan to move in after our beds arrive next week.

Thai kitchen...no stove, oven, or dishwasher:

• Critters: Ian was excited to finally see the geckos who live with us. This pic is for my nephews who've been wanting to see them. They come out when it's dark and we've been gone for a while. I've been hearing stories from the other missionaries about accidentally stepping on them or having them fall on your head. I hope to avoid this fate. One of the other missionary's has a great post about geckos. Ian was also thrilled to go to a local restaurant where there were about 20 geckos hanging out on the walls and bugs flying about. We've been getting a few mosquito bites here and there, especially if we stand still in the evenings right outside our door. We've gotten in the habit of moving around and shaking before we walk into the house. There's that added fear with the mosquito bites of contracting dengue fever, which some people have gotten here. Speaking of critters, I just received an email from one of the other missionary families. Les is pictured below after he killed that snake on his front porch.

 

• Ian & Eli: Ian continues to love school, even being disappointed that he doesn't get to go on Saturdays. We're so thankful that his transition here has been so smooth thus far. Eli, on the other hand, continues to be a challenge every day. With a combination of all the changes and his current developmental stage of wanting to do everything himself, while not fully being able to do so and not having all the words to communicate, his tantrums begin from the moment he wakes up until he goes to sleep. Now with the car, we're hoping just getting him out in the mornings will help him get some of his energy out. We finally had a chance to let them play at this indoor play area at the local food court. It costs $1/kid for 30 minutes. It's great. I was hesitant at first because these are the kinds of places where the boys would always get sick, but seeing how much fun they had, it'll have to be a regular hangout.

Ian finally got his uniforms. I have to say, I feel bad seeing these kids run around in the heat in polo shorts and khaki shorts on the soccer field. They have PE tshirts and shorts, but they don't always wear them for all activities:

Playing in the play area:

• ZOE: I'm more and more encouraged by the ZOE family as the weeks go by. This past week, I was particularly strengthened thinking about how year after year, these missionaries commit another year beyond their initial commitments. I see their energy and efforts, and know that it is the Lord sustaining them each day. This encourages and challenges me to daily find my strength and sufficiency in Him.
• David: David will begin a Thai language class at a university beginning in November and will continue every other month as classes continue. On the off-months, he will orient himself at ZOE.
• Ester: I'm now 14 weeks and entering my 2nd trimester. Praise God for carrying me and baby through thus far. We got some referrals for a doctor and will see someone next week for a monthly prenatal appointment. Hopefully, these visits will help us decide soon where to deliver.

Here are some other pics from the last week or so:

Playing at the Lego exhibition at the local mall:

Church service:

Each home has one of these rubber black cauldrons outside their home. This is where we put the trash:

Saw this on the road and had to take a picture:

Red Mango:

Pizza hut...which we never ate back in the States, but it's kind of a comfort food here. That's something I'm getting used to. Back in the States, we tried somewhat to avoid processed foods and fast food, eat healthy foods, and just try to be "natural" whenever possible. But it's not always convenient, cheap, or even possible to do so right now. Regulations aren't as strict as they are in the States, so we're told to peel all produce. Water quality is not the best, so we drink filtered water, but still wash dishes and brush our teeth with the sink water. I'm learning to entrust ourselves and our health into our Maker's hands, and not in our own efforts, as He is in control every minute of the day. I'm finding much peace in that:

Thanks always for your thoughts and prayers. It's a great comfort to know we are not alone out here, but supported by you all. Check out ZOE's blog to see what's going on at the children's home: http://zoechildren.org/blog.

Week 2, Day 10

After about a week, the family seems to have adjusted to the time difference, for the most part. We're adjusting well and thankful every day for the Lord's provisions and the love and care of all who are around us. We certainly feel His hand guiding our steps and providing for our immediate and long-term needs.

One wonderful provision has been through our IBC church member Jeff Lee, who connected us via email with his former pastor in Chicago before we left the States. This pastor's family has been out in Chiang Mai for the past year. The first Korean couple we sovereignly met was when we dropped Eli off at the church nursery this past Sunday and introduced ourselves to the teacher that day. The teacher happened to be the wife of the pastor and said she knew of our coming and was waiting to meet us. Since then, they've been a great help connecting us to Korean resources, giving us helpful tips, and just driving us around.

Here are some updates:

• Weather: If you've been reading the news, two typhoons came through southeast Asia, bringing about some of the worst flooding here in Chiang Mai in decades. Our immediate area had minimal flooding in the streets, but overflow from the Ping River caused major flooding with over 200 deaths in Thailand. Please pray for those affected, that God would meet their physical and spiritual needs. 
• Transportation: With the help of one of the other missionary couples, we were able to obtain Thai driver's licenses! It would've been quite complicated on our own, as we had to first go to Immigration, then to the clinic to get a physical, then to the DMV. Normally, there's a 3-part driving test (colors, brake reaction, perception), but we only had to do the first part. David is still researching the best car for our needs, but we hope to purchase something next week. In the mean time, Ester is hoping to learn how to ride the songtheaow (taxi truck) to get around without a car.
• Housing: Praise God!!! Through the referral of the Korean pastor mentioned above, we found a home. At the end of October, we'll be moving into a 4-bedroom duplex. We'll be sharing the duplex with a Korean pastor and his wife. Hope they don't mind hearing our boys cry in the middle of the night. The home is unfurnished, so we'll need everything...literally. Like many Thai homes, it also doesn't come with an oven, so we hope a toaster oven will cut it. We're debating whether to purchase a dryer. It also doesn't come with a stove, so we'll have to get portable burners. Although there's a great grassy lawn, we're not sure if it's safe for the boys to play in because snakes and other pests can often be found hiding in the grass. (Side note: We're learning every day that the Korean community is truly a small world. We had a conversation today where the pastor we'll be living next to said, "Oh Master's Seminary. I knew a guy named Jin Soo Young." Happens to be IBC's very own Elder Andrew. =P)
• ZOE: This year, ZOE is trying something new, giving the new missionaries 5 1/2 months to study Thai before working full-time. David will take intensive language classes while teaching English to ZOE students once a week. In the mean time, Ester's been learning some basic phrases through this awesome Youtube Thai Learning site. She's wrapping up Lesson 1. =P
• Food: The wonderful thing about Thailand is that you can eat a meal for $1/person. Ester's been enjoying Japanese bento lunches for $1.60! You can't beat that. With reports of flooding coming in last week, we went to the market to stock up on food in case we couldn't get out and about. We continue to receive dinner meals daily from the ZOE family. What a help and blessing. We live right by the main road, which has all the major food stores needed. Big C is like a Walmart, Lotus is like a Target, Makro is like Costco, and Rimping is like Whole Foods. We frequent Big C most often. However, we were able to get some imported goods at Makro and Rimping. Ester was thrilled to find basic cooking ingredients for Japanese and Korean cooking. However, imported goods are more expensive. It's been nice to become more independent, cooking meals for ourselves. It's also been nice to have some tastes from home, without having to figure out what the boys will be willing to eat. Ester's been able to make mac 'n cheese for the boys (Ian's favorite!), daenjang jigae (Korean bean paste stew), salmon kimbap, and beef curry. We even got a referral to order kimchee from a local kimchee lady who delivers it to your door! (There happens to be a large Korean community in our neighborhood.) Beef is harder to come by. After looking for thinly sliced beef to make bulgogi, Ester came across what was called beef knuckle. After that meal didn't work out, she was able to find imported Japanese beef at Rimping. Now we know. Ester's also been on the hunt for some breakfast sausages, which isn't readily available. David found the last box at Rimping for $6!
• Church: This past Sunday, we visited Chiang Mai Christian Fellowship, which is where several of the ZOE missionaries attend. In fact, most of the congregation is made up of missionaries from all over the world. It was a great time of praise, teaching, and fellowship. What a blessing to attend church with our fellow ZOE missionaries. During praise time, it was overwhelming to be in a room full of families who've all left the comforts of their home and join together to lift our praises and hearts to and dependence upon our Lord. Sundays must truly be a time of encouragement, comfort, and joy. Another blessing was that Ian and Eli went right into their respective classes and enjoyed playing with toys and new friends. Eli had some tears at the beginning, but adjusted quickly. The teacher said he kept asking for more crackers. Ian said, "I was shy at first, but then I felt happy."
• Ian's Schooling: This week, Ian went in to school for a 45-minute kindergarten readiness test. He did great and is testing at a 5 1/2- to 6-year old level. Today, Ester had a meeting with the elementary principal and his kindergarten teacher. He will get to visit his class tomorrow and get a feel for a normal school day. Hopefully, he'll adjust to the classroom setting as well as he has been to everything else here in Thailand. He's doing exceptionally well, considering all the life changes. There are 11 other students in his class, coming from 6 different languages. What a neat experience for Ian to be exposed to children of all cultures. We're looking forward to this school year as we've heard great things about this Christian school. His school day runs from 7:40am-11:30am. This school year, there have been days that the school has been flooded out. We'll see how the rest of the season goes.
• Pregnancy: Ester is now 13 weeks, and is due for a monthly checkup at the end of the month. She got some good referrals for some doctors and hospitals, so we'll be checking these out in the next week or so. We're still praying about where to deliver, with the option to fly to Bangkok coming into the mix. We'll keep you posted.

Here are some pics...Ian's first mac 'n cheese in Thailand...how come I didn't know how easy it was to make from scratch?

One of the missionaries stopped by to drop off some chips and guacamole he bought from a local vendor. Yum!!!

Japanese cooking...soy sauce, light soy sauce, sake, and mirin...now if we can find some bonito flakes and kelp:

In addition to these treasures, Ester found sugar and sesame oil...now she's on the hunt for some dried anchovies:

God is good!

Day 4

Each night seems to be getting better. Last night was the first night Ester left the boys to sleep on their own. When she went to check on them at 1am, she found Eli sleeping on the floor, even though he has a queen sized mattress on the floor to sleep on. Eli slept from 9:30pm to 6:30am, and Ian slept from 9:30pm to 5am. Ester's been waking around 3am every morning, but this happened in the States because of pregnancy insomnia anyways. David woke at 4:30am.

David left this morning at 8am to attend a new missionary orientation. He was able to walk 5 minutes to a local restaurant where the meeting was being held. The great thing about ZOE is that all the missionary families try to live near each other, so we are within blocks of one another.

Ester ventured to do some laundry and take a walk around the neighborhood with the boys. After walking for about 15 minutes, she decided to come back home, as the humidity was pretty thick. Ian enjoyed seeing some birds, a dragonfly, stray dogs, and a black cat.

Tomorrow, David will complete his orientation and then all the missionary families will head up to ZOE for their regular Friday night meeting with the children and introduction of new missionaries. The ZOE facility is about an hour away in a more rural area in the mountains.

Here are some pics...this is Ester's attempt at toasting bread without a toaster...it worked. =)

The food deliveries have been awesome and plentiful, but Ester realized we don't have a microwave and have a hard time reheating leftovers for the next day. This worked:

This shouldn't be a problem at our new place, as we will be purchasing a microwave. =P

Here's Ian turning anything into fun and games...coins, my hair rubberband, and a receipt:

Walking around the neighborhood. We're in a secure community. This is at the entrance of the gate:

Our street:

Our home for now:

Doing the laundry:

Where the boys play:

A typical bathroom in an older home:

The boys' room...another thing we learned is that American fitted sheets don't always fit the mattresses. We were told to bring our own, as nice ones can be expensive here. Our twin and queen sets are just a tad small. Good thing we brought the flat sheets: 

Our room:

An extra room where we're storing luggage:

Sorry for this, but here's a pic of the gecko droppings if you're curious. Normally, there aren't this many, but the home was empty for a few months before we came, so...

Ok, time to rest...

We Made It!!!

After an emotional sendoff at the airport Saturday night, we took the 17-hour flight into Bangkok, and then had 2 hours to make our 1-hour flight into Chiangmai. Thanks to all our family and church family for making it out so late to the airport...babies, children, and unborn children, and all. I was thinking that Sunday morning nurseries and classes might be rough. When we were going through the final checkpoint, the guy asked us if all that noise was for us. We love you all and are going to miss everyone one of you very much.

The last week before we left was cuh-ray-zy! It was a difficult endeavor to pack our entire lives into bags and boxes, deciding what to take, what to store, and what to bring later. We packed until the last minute. Most of the missionaries out here have their belongings stored in their homes that have been rented out. So we just got rid of as much as we could. We ended up taking an extra few bags and paying the fees.

The flight itself went better than expected. Eli fell asleep within 40 minutes of the flight around midnight.

Every couple hours, he'd wake up crying from a stuffy nose, but for most of the flight, he was okay. Right at the end, he started to meltdown and cried the entire way down as we landed. Then he was just plain exhausted and inconsolable as we tried to make our next flight. Everyone stared at us as we stood there waiting for 30 minutes trying to get through customs with a loud, crying, screaming baby. Ian, on the other hand, was the perfect traveler and was excited the whole time and was without complaint. God is gracious. As we waited for our 12 bags at the baggage claim, we saw all the travelers get their bags and exit, while we ended up being the very last people to leave, as we waited for our car seat that we checked in at the gate.

We're 14 hours ahead here, so we arrived Monday morning and were warmly greeted by a crowd of ZOE missionary families. Right away, we were hit with the heat and humidity. That will take some getting used to. The Tang Family, whom we met during our visit last November, took all our bags into their car and drove us to our new temporary home, which also happened to be their home last year, and the only home we visited in November. We were pleasantly surprised with 3 gift baskets of food, snacks, cleaning supplies, and other items we'd need right away, provided by ZOE. The Tangs showed us around the home and got us settled in.

The ZOE family has been amazing. They promptly gave us a schedule of different people assigned to drive us around each day and provide us dinner at night. We're so impressed with the quality of people who work at ZOE, just the best of the best. We're humbled and excited to work alongside such generous, kind, Christ-loving people. We love hearing everyone's life stories and what brought them to work at ZOE. Apart from the founders, David is the only one coming from a full-time ministry background. All the other missionaries come from professional backgrounds...business, accounting, finance, government, engineering, education, law, etc.

Tuesday and Wednesday have been full of errands...shopping for more supplies, getting cell phones, setting up the internet, setting up a bank account, looking for a car, etc. We tried to pack 2 bags that we could work out of for the first month so we wouldn't have to open up all the bags, but before we left, we had to keep redistributing the weights so everything got mixed up. We ended up opening up all the luggage and repacking. The boys are happy to see their toys and have been happily playing and watching DVDs. Eli picked up some bad habits (whining and hitting) in the weeks before we left, in the chaos of the move and not being able to be consistent with training and discipline. He's not happy about us bearing down on him now. The boys are doing extremely well with the jetlag. We all try to stay up until at least 9pm, but have been waking up anywhere from 3am-5am. All to say, we're tired. But we are overwhelmed with thankfulness for making it here; for the support of our family, church, and friends; the love of the ZOE family; and simply God's goodness.

We'll be looking for a home and buying a car in the next week or so. Here are some things we learned so far about life in Thailand:

• Airport: The Bangkok airport is crazy big. Poor David had to trek from our first flight to our second flight carrying a car seat on his back, his backpack on his front, 2 laptops on his side, and a rolling carryon bag. I think we walked half a mile. We barely made our flight 2 hours later.
• Food: Food will be an adjustment for the boys as we'll have to find textures and tastes that they're willing to eat. So far, they seem to be good with chicken/rice dishes. It's been hard finding fiber sources for them, as we're used to eating avocados every day. We've been relying on grapes and apples. Milk tastes a little different here, and our hypersensitive Ian quickly noticed this. Thankfully, they're used to it now and drinking away. We are doing our best to avoid foods sources that may get us sick, eating lots of yogurt, and drinking lots of what would be called yakult in the States. So far, no bacterial sickness, but Eli complained of a tummy ache yesterday and had a looser stool, so we'll have to keep an eye on that. David and Ester have meds ready in case our tummies are not adjusting. 
• Driving: If you thought driving in LA was hairy, Thailand is no joke. Ester is wondering if she'll ever be able to drive here, as she'll be doing most of the driving because David can take a ZOE shuttle to work. Thus, we're looking for a home within 5 minutes of walking distance from Ian's school so she can avoid driving. And her record of not being at fault for 3 of her accidents in LA is no advantage here, as we were told that being a "farang" (foreigner), you will likely pay something regardless of who's at fault. And pedestrians don't have the right of way here. If you try to take it, they will mow you down.
• Critters: Thailand is full of all kinds of critters. We were told that we'll see geckos from time to time crawling along the walls in our homes, but we're to leave them be, as they eat up the other unwanted critters. However, we should pick up the droppings they leave around the house. Ian's job is to find the droppings before Eli does. One advantage is that we don't have to have artificial white noise for the boys because there is the natural white noise of frogs croaking, birds chirping, and other animals and bugs chiming together. We were also told to do the dishes right after meals, so as not to attract ants. David's happy about this one, as it's a pet peeve of his to leave dishes in the sink.
• Weather: The first day seemed the warmest and most humid. Every night, it's been raining hard, and then overcast or clears up during the day. Today, it rained during the day. This home has a fan and A/C in every room, so we try to stay in the same areas so we only have to run one A/C. In the evenings, we have the fans running all night.
• Conversions: Everything is in kg, celsius, 220 volts, and baht (instead of dollars) here. We're having to recalculate constantly to make sure we know what we're doing.
• Electronics: Most Thai homes don't have dryers (just washing machines) and a lot of the electronics that we Americans use. If you use too many at once, the power may go out. Being in this temporary home, we're not purchasing appliances just yet (toaster oven, microwave, dryer, etc.), so Ester's making the most of a simpler life. =) Without the internet, tv, and phones the first few days, it was nice to just enjoy one another rather than being distracted by everything else. And if we try to plug in something that is not designated as 110V-240V, then we can fry our electronic.

Here are some pics...happy on the airplane:

Carseats aren't required in Thailand:

This is a mom and her 2 kids covered in a tarp driving in the rain on a motorcyle:

Embracing Thai culture...sitting in the back of a truck:

These 2 guys are just hanging on the back of this songtheaow (taxi-type of truck):

All for now...thanks for your prayers!