Time has flown by and we have been very busy. On Monday, March 1st, Tom, Carolyn and I arrived back in Bangkok from the United States. We immediately began packing up our belongings for the move up to the northern city of Chiang Mai. Once again we were caught off guard by how much stuff and junk we have collected over the last 5 years. Much of it was left to us by other missionaries who came and went, some was purchased by us for some use for which it was no longer needed, and then some of it was stuff that we just really wanted to keep even though it had no real needed purpose. It took us just a little over 2 weeks to get it all packed and ready to ship. The last thing they took out of the house was the air conditioners. They took them out in the morning and that afternoon Carolyn and I flew up to Chiang Mai and checked into a hotel and waited for Tom, Noah and Pook to finish up in Bangkok. Although the landlady told us a price and said everything would be finished by the time we got here, when we arrived, nothing had been done. There was no security bars on the doors, the air conditioners were not all installed, and we will have to replace the toilet in one of the bathrooms because of a leak in the tank. We have been the better part of the last week getting all of these things taken care of. Most of the laundry is caught up and Noah and Tom will start setting up the office tomorrow and as soon as we have more electrical outlets installed, we will set up all the computers. The big server made the trip fine and is up and running as well as all of the laptops. The Internet is running, however it is very slow and we will need to get another plan for faster download time.
Even with all the delays, we are very happy to be up here and are looking forward to living here. By the end of the week, we should be almost up to speed. Thank you for all of the prayers that have gone up on our behalf. We appreciate them all very much.
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Monday, March 8, 2010
Found Housing
Tom flew to Chiang Mai on Wednesday and scouted out areas of town for us to live in. On Thursday afternoon I joined him, and we began looking at houses in the areas he had chosen. These places had to be located in accessible areas so that our workers can travel there without problems, so basically they had to be on the main public transportation routes. One area was really nice, but had a problem with flooding. One area was new and looked good, but it was too far off the main roads. Actually there were many places that were suitable for Tom and I because we have a vehicle, but our workers do not. A friend of ours found some houses in an area that is suitable both for us and for everybody else and we were able to rent two houses very close to each other in the same neighborhood. Actually our back walls touch, so we are very close.
Tom and I will live in half of one house and the other half will be our ministry offices. The house is completely divided so that our part will be completely separate from the office area. The ladies will share another house that has 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. Both houses are single storey, so we won't have to do stairs anymore. And, praise the Lord, both kitchens are actually inside the houses and not out on the back porch. All in all and for the time being, we feel that this set up will work for us well. We are all excited to be moving up to Chiang Mai. It is a much smaller and easier city to live in. It has only 3 and 1/2 million people compared to Bangkok's 13 million. By comparison, it has almost a small town feel to it. It is also cooler up there and the air quality is much better.
We have already hired our first staff member. She is a Burmese lady who will be working with Noah on all things Burmese. She starts to work with us as soon as we get up there and get the office set up.
In Chiang Mai, we will have access to people who speak many regional languages, which is the reason for the move up there in the first place. The fact that it is a much nicer city is a wonderful added blessing.
Tom and I will live in half of one house and the other half will be our ministry offices. The house is completely divided so that our part will be completely separate from the office area. The ladies will share another house that has 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. Both houses are single storey, so we won't have to do stairs anymore. And, praise the Lord, both kitchens are actually inside the houses and not out on the back porch. All in all and for the time being, we feel that this set up will work for us well. We are all excited to be moving up to Chiang Mai. It is a much smaller and easier city to live in. It has only 3 and 1/2 million people compared to Bangkok's 13 million. By comparison, it has almost a small town feel to it. It is also cooler up there and the air quality is much better.
We have already hired our first staff member. She is a Burmese lady who will be working with Noah on all things Burmese. She starts to work with us as soon as we get up there and get the office set up.
In Chiang Mai, we will have access to people who speak many regional languages, which is the reason for the move up there in the first place. The fact that it is a much nicer city is a wonderful added blessing.
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Headed to Chiang Mai for House Hunting
I am feeling pretty good today so far. I went to bed last night at 6 PM and slept till midnight then was awake from midnight to 4 AM, but went back to sleep and slept till 8 AM, so all in all I got plenty of sleep but just had a gap between. Carolyn is not much better than she was when we got back, so please pray for her. She still is not sleeping more than a few hours a night and that is not good.
I am heading up to Chiang Mai in a couple of hours to join Tom. We will be looking for housing for ourselves, our staff and for an office. Please pray that we are able to find what we need. We need the housing and office space to be fairly close together so that travel will not be too far. Tom, Carolyn and I need single storey places and we need the office to be ground level also. There are a lot of places available, but cost is always an issue. We need something that will meet our needs that we can afford. Finding places that will meet our needs are no problem, but they are not cheap. Chiang Mai is the ex-pat capitol of Thailand and housing prices are higher there.
We were able to get some packing done yesterday and that will pay off soon. It is amazing how much stuff people accumulate in 5 years. There are at least 20 boxes of just books. They really take up a lot of space, but Tom and I aren't able to get a compromise on what we are getting rid of. He won't get rid of any of his and I'm sure not getting rid of any of mine, so up to Chiang Mai they will go. If either one of us did the book pitching, I would throw 50% of his away and he would throw 99% of mine away. Some things even married people don't share. We know better than to try to dispose of each other's books. World War III would ensue. Keep the peace, pack the books, that's our Motto.
You probably won't hear from me till I get back from Chiang Mai. I am not taking my computer. It is too heavy, but I may be able to use Tom's for emergency correspondence. Carolyn and Pook will be here to hold down the fort while we are gone. I do not know when we will be back but it could be a couple of weeks. God bless and thanks for praying.
I am heading up to Chiang Mai in a couple of hours to join Tom. We will be looking for housing for ourselves, our staff and for an office. Please pray that we are able to find what we need. We need the housing and office space to be fairly close together so that travel will not be too far. Tom, Carolyn and I need single storey places and we need the office to be ground level also. There are a lot of places available, but cost is always an issue. We need something that will meet our needs that we can afford. Finding places that will meet our needs are no problem, but they are not cheap. Chiang Mai is the ex-pat capitol of Thailand and housing prices are higher there.
We were able to get some packing done yesterday and that will pay off soon. It is amazing how much stuff people accumulate in 5 years. There are at least 20 boxes of just books. They really take up a lot of space, but Tom and I aren't able to get a compromise on what we are getting rid of. He won't get rid of any of his and I'm sure not getting rid of any of mine, so up to Chiang Mai they will go. If either one of us did the book pitching, I would throw 50% of his away and he would throw 99% of mine away. Some things even married people don't share. We know better than to try to dispose of each other's books. World War III would ensue. Keep the peace, pack the books, that's our Motto.
You probably won't hear from me till I get back from Chiang Mai. I am not taking my computer. It is too heavy, but I may be able to use Tom's for emergency correspondence. Carolyn and Pook will be here to hold down the fort while we are gone. I do not know when we will be back but it could be a couple of weeks. God bless and thanks for praying.
Jet Lag is Real!!! And I have it.
Today is March 3rd. I am barely functional as I write this at 5:20 P.M. I have been awake since 1:00 A.M. and I am about to crash and burn. Tom woke up at 3 A.M. and we both got up and had breakfast at 4:00 A.M. This is what happens when we fly half-way around the world in one day. We went from winter to summer and from day to night and our bodies are screaming "What day is it? What time is it? The older we get the longer it takes to get our days and nights turned back around. The first day back I slept for 20 hours. I thought that would fix me right up and I would be OK, but voila, it didn't work. So now i AM WRITING THIS blog and pushing wrong keys and spelling things wrong and am in an almost stupor trying to stay awake just a little longer, so I can go to bed and sleep all night and wake up in the morning. It is very hard to type with your nose on the keyboard, so I am not correting any more speling errors. Just raad it and try ti figure it out. I have to go to bed, ever if it isnt dark outsied yet. Good night.
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