We have confirmed tickets to go back to Thailand, leaving Texas February 27 and arriving Bangkok February 28th. It has been a wonderful furlough and a restful time for us, but now we feel the pull to head back and prepare for our move to the northern Thai city of Chiang Mai. All of our team look forward with pleasure to living in this new city. We don't look forward to the move because it will be massive, and we will probably be "out of commission" for a couple of weeks while we move and set up our offices and living quarters in our new location.
Tom and I both need housing on one level. Stairs are too much for us now and Tom has learned the hard way that they are dangerous. He still has a large knot in the flesh of his upper leg that may take a couple of years to heal according to the doctor. We need housing and offices close together like they are in Bangkok. This means walking distance. Please pray with us that we find just the right place to house our staff, our offices and ourselves.
We have just over a month to get all of our business in the U.S. taken care of. It will take most of the time remaining to finish the repairs on our house and shed as well as getting all of our paperwork and banking, etc. taken care of. I still have not had the opportunity to see my family because of transportation snafus. The van that we borrowed was totalled by a little old lady in a big caddy who ran a red light, but I plan to make my way to east Texas in a week or so, in a rental car. I sure hope that works out.
April Wilson just completed a very short video for us that will be on our website soon. Also Myra Noel is in the process of buying her own house. I am so excited for her. I only wish I could be here to help her get moved in. If she does it really fast maybe I can. We go to look at some houses with the realtor today. Hope she finds her dream house in the next couple of weeks. Also Sue Domangue Yaksh just gave birth to their first child yesterday. For those of you who may not know, these three ladies have served as short-term missionaries with us, for varying periods of time in several different countries. They have all been a great help and blessing to us many times over.
We plan to return to the U.S. in the summer to attend Nat Williams and Anne Hammond's wedding. We are hoping that our daughter and her family will be home on furlough at that time also, but they do not know for sure if they will be able to afford to come at that time. So things are iffy. They usually are. More later.
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
2010 Has Arrived!!!
The holidays are officially over. My grandkids finally got their gifts and only about 10 days after Christmas. Thank you to those of you who were praying that it would get there. What should have taken 10 days actually took 38. So much for mailing early.
I really like January. It is the month that the days start getting longer and the nights shorter. I like long days and lots of light. I would not like to live in a place like Alaska where in the winter months the sun comes up just in time to start back down. I have SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder), and it causes me to run into walls if I don't get enough sunlight. The first time I had it, I thought I had an inner ear infection, but the doctor who was familiar with SAD, diagnosed it quickly and told me to buy a sunlamp and use it for 10 minutes a day. Voila!! I was cured. At the time I was working in a building with no windows. I went to work before sun up and did not get home until after sundown. Some people get depressed, but with me it was a balance issue. I would head through a door and hit my right shoulder on the door frame. I was disoriented and dizzy, but the light therapy cured it in just a matter of days and now I recognize it and head outside for the cure rather than sitting under the sunlamp.
I want to thank all of you who sent cards and gifts. They are much appreciated. We have sent out thank you cards, but invariably somebody gets missed, so please accept our thanks via this blog, if your written card does not arrive.
Two or three weeks ago an elderly grandma ran a red light and totalled our van. Alas, master, for it was borrowed! Tom suffered a broken rib, but was otherwise unhurt. The lady and her small grandson were not hurt. The unfortunate part, other than Tom's rib, was the fact that the van was worth a lot more than the blue-book value. It was immaculately maintained, and had been promised to another missionary after we were done with it. I feel really bad about it. The man who loaned it to us gave us the best car we ever owned several years ago. He has been a blessing to us and others many times over. He paid for the rental on 2 of our storage facilities in Thailand for a year. Pray that the Lord will bless him for what he does for missions and missionaries.
On New Year's Eve, we made a mad dash to Temple, Texas, to see friend, mentor, and missionary Milton Martin. He had a life- threatening heart arrhythmia that he had had for over a week. The doctors said that he needed to have a shock treatment to put it back in sync. They had to do some blood tests and it was found that he had leukemia. To say the least, it did not look good, and we were all quite concerned. However, the shock therapy worked and by the time he was back in his room at the hospital, he already looked 100% better. The doctors also said that the preliminary tests indicated that the type of leukemia that he has is non-aggressive and that he can live for years with it. For these things we are most thankful. All holidays come and go, but Thanksgiving never ends. It is my favorite holiday, because if celebrated properly it is everyday of the year.
I really like January. It is the month that the days start getting longer and the nights shorter. I like long days and lots of light. I would not like to live in a place like Alaska where in the winter months the sun comes up just in time to start back down. I have SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder), and it causes me to run into walls if I don't get enough sunlight. The first time I had it, I thought I had an inner ear infection, but the doctor who was familiar with SAD, diagnosed it quickly and told me to buy a sunlamp and use it for 10 minutes a day. Voila!! I was cured. At the time I was working in a building with no windows. I went to work before sun up and did not get home until after sundown. Some people get depressed, but with me it was a balance issue. I would head through a door and hit my right shoulder on the door frame. I was disoriented and dizzy, but the light therapy cured it in just a matter of days and now I recognize it and head outside for the cure rather than sitting under the sunlamp.
I want to thank all of you who sent cards and gifts. They are much appreciated. We have sent out thank you cards, but invariably somebody gets missed, so please accept our thanks via this blog, if your written card does not arrive.
Two or three weeks ago an elderly grandma ran a red light and totalled our van. Alas, master, for it was borrowed! Tom suffered a broken rib, but was otherwise unhurt. The lady and her small grandson were not hurt. The unfortunate part, other than Tom's rib, was the fact that the van was worth a lot more than the blue-book value. It was immaculately maintained, and had been promised to another missionary after we were done with it. I feel really bad about it. The man who loaned it to us gave us the best car we ever owned several years ago. He has been a blessing to us and others many times over. He paid for the rental on 2 of our storage facilities in Thailand for a year. Pray that the Lord will bless him for what he does for missions and missionaries.
On New Year's Eve, we made a mad dash to Temple, Texas, to see friend, mentor, and missionary Milton Martin. He had a life- threatening heart arrhythmia that he had had for over a week. The doctors said that he needed to have a shock treatment to put it back in sync. They had to do some blood tests and it was found that he had leukemia. To say the least, it did not look good, and we were all quite concerned. However, the shock therapy worked and by the time he was back in his room at the hospital, he already looked 100% better. The doctors also said that the preliminary tests indicated that the type of leukemia that he has is non-aggressive and that he can live for years with it. For these things we are most thankful. All holidays come and go, but Thanksgiving never ends. It is my favorite holiday, because if celebrated properly it is everyday of the year.
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