Don't Panic
Can I just say that all my dreams are coming true? That this assignment is even better than I imagined? Would you believe me??
That doesn't mean I haven't freaked out a few times.
At assembly, I got overwhelmed and cried. I'm just surrounded by people who are doing so much more than me that I began to question if I should even be here. That maybe im not capable enough. There's so much to learn!! I think my expectations of myself were a liiiiiittle too high? :) I've since gotten a fresh perspective. So what if I don't know what i'm doing yet? I'm trying. I'm learning a bit more each day. It will come in time. Don't panic.
I'm helping teach some of the brothers and sisters english and the other night I taught them some important words: stressed out and overwhelmed! It happens to all of us from time to time. Someone disappears for a day or two and the next time we see them we ask, Are you ok? Because of the language barrier they just say, "I'm tired". But that doesn't really explain it. After I taught them what overwhelmed meant, one brother started nodding and saying "Yes, yes that's me!!" It just feels good to be understood. Now we can explain ourselves a little more to each other and be in a better position to help each out when we need to :)
So now it's great! I just have to strike the right balance. There's obviously plenty to do in the ministry and in the congregation. There's also all kinds of studying that needs to be done. Then too, having enough to do socially here is not a problem. The problem is learning when you have to say no! We go out to eat together all the time and over to each others houses, or the beach...There's just never a shortage of things to do or people to see. I have two Bible students in Thai already that are asking excellent questions and studying ahead...I just can't communicate with them yet! After going on a call like that, it makes me want to go home and study Thai for hours. But there's not always time for that. So i'm learning to pace myself. It's good to really work hard at something for Jehovah though. You have an amazing sense of satisfaction and accomplishment afterwards. I thought I would have so much extra time here because I wouldn't have TV, or work but... I was wrong! Ah well, it's good. We're never bored :)
Last Saturday it was quite hot in service and most everyone just went home and went to bed after lunch. I'm not used to having the sun suck the life out of me. It's weird, when I get that hot I can't think straight, I feel weak. I just kind of shuffle along and smile at people while saying my little presentation and handing them a tract. It was in the midst of this heat induced stupor that I turned a corner and saw a cow with horns running at me. Making angry cow noises. You may doubt that cows can make angry noises, but I assure you, they can. I wasn't really sure if I was hallucinating or not until my friend Natasha grabbed me and said "I think we need to run!" So we ran and hid behind a cement telephone pole (hey, at least it was something) but the cow crossed the street and kept coming for us. I looked over at an elder on the other side of the street for suggestions but he was just watching the whole thing in shock. Well, just when it looked like things were about to get personal, the cow swerved a bit and decided to pass us by, followed by a man with a lasso who was yelling at it to stop. So, it wasn't trying to kill us I guess. We took a break after that.
That evening, we had Amy's Bible study over for dinner and made her spaghetti. She and her children couldn't figure out how to eat it! I felt bad. I thought, this is how Japanese people feel when they see me try to use chopsticks... But the evening was a success. I was drawing with her daughter afterwards and she drew a sky with a sun and clouds and a little person hovering over everything. Then she giggled and pointed to the person and said "Prayahowa" which is Jehovah's name in Thai. How cute is that? It struck me what a privilege it is to help make someone aware of their creator and what his name is.
At our english pioneer meeting for the country we had 144 in attendance. I heard that 5 years ago they only had 40. Impressive growth! So, some points from our assembly weekend!
How valuable is our personal study? Well when it comes to crunch time, like if we have to give a witness to an important official, what will the holy spirit be able to draw on? Only what we put in. The brother reminded us, "The holy sprit is a helper, don't make it a worker!"
This one was good for me. For a person with a bad attitude, nothing seems right. When you learn a new skill, you must first have the positive attitude that you CAN do it. In that frame of mind, you can acquire the new skill. I have since applied that to driving my bike :) and pretty much doing everything else here as well.
To keep us humble: The truth elevates our life, it does not elevate us.
Wanna guess what year the slave started encouraging us to start doorstep studies? 1937. And it was with phonographs! Silly me for thinking doorstep studies were a more recent development. We sure have come a long way though.
Another beautiful point I learned: It's not our love that gets us to the door. It's Jehovah's love. It should be readily apparent to the individual that Jehovah loves them so much that he sent us to them. How awesome is that? We're there to help them see how much Jehovah loves them. I want to keep that close to my heart when i'm in the ministry.
Thailand is often referred to as the land of smiles. Our Circuit Overseer told us that in this land of smiles, none of them compare to ours because ours come from a different place, from within. They come from our spirituality. And when we smile, people can tell the difference.
The other day I complemented a Thai sister about how well she spoke english and she began to make all the usual apologies about how she really was terrible at it, needed to learn more, etc. Then she said, "I'm really mad at Nimrod. This is all his fault."
So true. The next time i'm frustrated with studying the language or not being able to express myself, you know who's taking the blame.
We have some pretty brazen little geckos in our house. At first they kept to the walls and tried to stay out of our way, but now...
I baked a loaf of bread the other night and left it out to cool on the shelf. When I came back, it was dark and I went to pick up the bread which normally does not wiggle when I touch it. This time was different. I screamed and dropped whatever was wiggling. The whatever it was landed on my foot where it proceeded to wiggle some more. I screamed again and decided it was time to get out of the kitchen. Since then, he has been in the trashcan and flown out when we take the lid off. He has hidden in the fruit bowl, just waiting to spring. There are literally leaping lizards in my life. Every time I walk in the kitchen, I look around nervously. Where is he today?? We did a family worship where we read out of the insight books about how baal means owner. So we decided it was time to name our little friend. He is now Baal of the Shadows. And he is everywhere.
That's all for now! I'm having a great time and looking forward to each new experience!
That doesn't mean I haven't freaked out a few times.
At assembly, I got overwhelmed and cried. I'm just surrounded by people who are doing so much more than me that I began to question if I should even be here. That maybe im not capable enough. There's so much to learn!! I think my expectations of myself were a liiiiiittle too high? :) I've since gotten a fresh perspective. So what if I don't know what i'm doing yet? I'm trying. I'm learning a bit more each day. It will come in time. Don't panic.
I'm helping teach some of the brothers and sisters english and the other night I taught them some important words: stressed out and overwhelmed! It happens to all of us from time to time. Someone disappears for a day or two and the next time we see them we ask, Are you ok? Because of the language barrier they just say, "I'm tired". But that doesn't really explain it. After I taught them what overwhelmed meant, one brother started nodding and saying "Yes, yes that's me!!" It just feels good to be understood. Now we can explain ourselves a little more to each other and be in a better position to help each out when we need to :)
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| Studying at a floating market! |
Last Saturday it was quite hot in service and most everyone just went home and went to bed after lunch. I'm not used to having the sun suck the life out of me. It's weird, when I get that hot I can't think straight, I feel weak. I just kind of shuffle along and smile at people while saying my little presentation and handing them a tract. It was in the midst of this heat induced stupor that I turned a corner and saw a cow with horns running at me. Making angry cow noises. You may doubt that cows can make angry noises, but I assure you, they can. I wasn't really sure if I was hallucinating or not until my friend Natasha grabbed me and said "I think we need to run!" So we ran and hid behind a cement telephone pole (hey, at least it was something) but the cow crossed the street and kept coming for us. I looked over at an elder on the other side of the street for suggestions but he was just watching the whole thing in shock. Well, just when it looked like things were about to get personal, the cow swerved a bit and decided to pass us by, followed by a man with a lasso who was yelling at it to stop. So, it wasn't trying to kill us I guess. We took a break after that.
That evening, we had Amy's Bible study over for dinner and made her spaghetti. She and her children couldn't figure out how to eat it! I felt bad. I thought, this is how Japanese people feel when they see me try to use chopsticks... But the evening was a success. I was drawing with her daughter afterwards and she drew a sky with a sun and clouds and a little person hovering over everything. Then she giggled and pointed to the person and said "Prayahowa" which is Jehovah's name in Thai. How cute is that? It struck me what a privilege it is to help make someone aware of their creator and what his name is.
 |
| I found the place where they keep all the single sisters. And so many are here from Australia! It felt more like we went to an assembly in Australia than one in Thailand. |
How valuable is our personal study? Well when it comes to crunch time, like if we have to give a witness to an important official, what will the holy spirit be able to draw on? Only what we put in. The brother reminded us, "The holy sprit is a helper, don't make it a worker!"
This one was good for me. For a person with a bad attitude, nothing seems right. When you learn a new skill, you must first have the positive attitude that you CAN do it. In that frame of mind, you can acquire the new skill. I have since applied that to driving my bike :) and pretty much doing everything else here as well.
 |
| Joanna, a young lady who says things like, "Oh and give my regards to Lexi!" Honest. |
Wanna guess what year the slave started encouraging us to start doorstep studies? 1937. And it was with phonographs! Silly me for thinking doorstep studies were a more recent development. We sure have come a long way though.
Another beautiful point I learned: It's not our love that gets us to the door. It's Jehovah's love. It should be readily apparent to the individual that Jehovah loves them so much that he sent us to them. How awesome is that? We're there to help them see how much Jehovah loves them. I want to keep that close to my heart when i'm in the ministry.
Thailand is often referred to as the land of smiles. Our Circuit Overseer told us that in this land of smiles, none of them compare to ours because ours come from a different place, from within. They come from our spirituality. And when we smile, people can tell the difference.
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| The missionary couple assigned to Bangkok. |
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| His parents got baptized at our assembly along with 3 others. |
We have some pretty brazen little geckos in our house. At first they kept to the walls and tried to stay out of our way, but now...
I baked a loaf of bread the other night and left it out to cool on the shelf. When I came back, it was dark and I went to pick up the bread which normally does not wiggle when I touch it. This time was different. I screamed and dropped whatever was wiggling. The whatever it was landed on my foot where it proceeded to wiggle some more. I screamed again and decided it was time to get out of the kitchen. Since then, he has been in the trashcan and flown out when we take the lid off. He has hidden in the fruit bowl, just waiting to spring. There are literally leaping lizards in my life. Every time I walk in the kitchen, I look around nervously. Where is he today?? We did a family worship where we read out of the insight books about how baal means owner. So we decided it was time to name our little friend. He is now Baal of the Shadows. And he is everywhere.
That's all for now! I'm having a great time and looking forward to each new experience!
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