tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30790880458469852462024-03-06T01:13:53.911-06:00Mrs. G's BlogWe Gaudet's (Tom and Krinny) are now living in Thailand. We are sent by Metropolitan Baptist Church in Fort Worth, Texas. Our Pastor is Bro. James Turner. We have been Missionaries since 1978.Krinny Gaudethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07228277918472784887noreply@blogger.comBlogger63125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3079088045846985246.post-6383051637130592642013-10-23T07:48:00.000-05:002013-10-23T07:48:50.950-05:00Working on new videoLast week the team traveled down south a couple hundred miles to do an interview with a young man who was Buddhist and is now an Baptist pastor. His is a wonderful story of the Grace of God in the life of people. Kelly Billigsmeier is in charge of doing this video. She has been here 3 weeks tomorrow and has hit the ground running and is working hard every day. Her knowledge of the subject matter is so wonderful. She is teaching Tom and I things that will make our videos much better and easier. I can't tell you how good it is not to have to train a new comer, but to have someone come who is already skilled.<br />
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Tom and I set up the lighting and camera equipment today to film the opening of the video I am doing on Asim and Tina, our Pakistani translators who are now living in Texas. It took us 7 hours to set up to film <b><u>3 sentences</u></b>. Let me repeat that: <b><u>THREE SENTENCES!!!! </u></b>This happens when you are understaffed, under skilled, and old. Setting up is quite a chore. First we had to move all the furniture out of the living room, then move in the lights, camera, and a few props. It started to pour down rain, which likely would mean a power outage, but instead one of the computer power supplies went down and had to be taken to the repair shop. Anyway, three sentences later, the day is now over and tomorrow we will begin to record the narration for Asim and Tina's video. Both Tom and I will have to do the recording. I was hoping to have this done by the end of this week. Not likely. I am a master at under estimating how long something is going to take. It's not the things that I am actually working on that I underestimate the timing on, but how many interruptions will take place that will push back my work. I can figure out most of the time how long something will take, but when you work an hour here and an hour or two there, in between the many things that just "come up" that have to be dealt with, a one day job turns into a week.<br />
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Right now our house looks like a cyclone hit it. I can cook, clean house, do laundry and iron, or I can do video editing, but I can't do both... not any more. This week I worked on editing, therefore tomorrow I will wash, iron, and clean house. Another small glitch that pushes back the video production. Friday I will work on the narration. Yes, Friday. Unless...something comes up.Krinny Gaudethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07228277918472784887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3079088045846985246.post-30001791767372257922013-10-12T08:13:00.003-05:002013-10-12T08:21:20.589-05:00Wow. A year and a half since my last post! Now, that's Funny<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Wow, more than a
year and a half has gone by and nary a post from me. Ah well, I am still alive
and well on planet earth and have been busy. Right now we have a
new short term missionary with us having just arrived only 3 days ago. Her name
is Kelly Billigmeier, from one of our supporting churches in Maryland, and she
will be with us for several months working with everything involving video and
photography. We have several video projects that we would like to be able to
complete before we come home on furlough in early February 2014. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Right now Kelly
is the only American working with us. Carolyn Chambers, who was with us for 4
years had to leave us to return to the US to help take care of her Dad who
suffered a massive heart attack. She is greatly missed and was an incredible
help to us for the 4 years she was here. Our Thai office manager, Pookie,
started to college this year and is not in the office very much nowadays. For
several months it has been just the two Hmong men, Tom and me. In other words…we
are severely understaffed. We know that Kelly will be a great help to us and we
are so glad that she is here. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Tom’s birthday was
last week. He was 62. My birthday will be next week and I will be 61. I feel
each and every year. Tom and I are getting old and we can really feel it. My
philosophy of age goes like this. Zero - 39 = young. Forty - 69 = middle aged. Seventy
to the end = old. After 70 you are living on “borrowed time,” which means…OLD!
Our missionary mentor, Bro. Milton Martin, says “it’s not the years, it’s the
miles.” On my highway of life counting up the miles, tooling along, at some
point I was run over by a Mac truck. So, while maybe not chronologically old
yet, my miles have caught up with me and I am very tired. I am looking forward
to going back home to Texas, spending time with my church and my church family
and watching Duck Dynasty on HD TV. Priorities are very important. I will
probably eat crunchy Cheetos while watching the duck people. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Some weird things
cross my mind as I think of going home for several months. I don’t have any
decent winter clothes having lived in perpetual summer for the last 10 years. I
had a really nice purple sweater and a very nice long sleeved shirt, also
purple, but I traded those at a market in Africa 2 years ago for some very cool
African souvenirs. The thought of having to start wearing panty hose again is
also a rather unpleasant thought. Haven’t worn those for 10 years either. I
think <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I have a pair of “real”
shoes in Texas. Hope so, anyway. All I have here are Crocs, which are very
casual but comfortable. Casual attire is really the only thing worn here in
Thailand unless you go to some formal event and even then most people do not
really dress up in the way Americans would recognize. I’ve managed to live here
in Thailand for 10 years with only blue jean skirts and a few khaki denim
skirts. Oh, yes, I also have some shirts and blouses, in case you were
wondering. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">When I go home
this time, I am taking my good cookware. My pots and pans in Texas are sub-standard,
and I am always looking for my stuff that is here when I try to find a pot or
pan to make dinner there. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">In the meantime,
we have a lot of work to do. Hopefully I will post again within the next year.
Adios for now and maybe forever. I am finished making promises to write more
later. Maybe, maybe not. We’ll see.</span><span style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Krinny Gaudethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07228277918472784887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3079088045846985246.post-55061271731822931042012-01-27T10:40:00.001-06:002012-01-27T10:40:26.010-06:00In my last update, I said that I would write again in a few days or a week. What a liar I am. It has been almost one month, but time flies by so fast that I can miss whole days sometime. There was this movie I saw once with Richard Gere. He was a defense attorney defending some nutcase on the pretext that he (the nutcase) couldn't remember killing somebody because he "lost time." This is not exactly the same thing, because I know for a fact that if I had killed anybody I would remember. I have been working steadily for nearly 2 weeks learning a new computer program so that I will be up to speed when our new video equipment arrives here in Thailand. So, you see, it has been a concentrated time of doing the same thing every day. One day runs into the next and before you know it 2 weeks is "gone." However, if during that 2 week period I had actually killed anybody, it would have been out of the ordinary, and I would have remembered.<br />
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Moving on. It is now Friday night at 11:00 PM. Tom, Carolyn, Pook and I went out to our regular Friday after work evening meal. Pook had been listening to Tom and I talk about Korean food. We both hate it, but I hate it more than Tom does. He can actually eat some of it. I, on the other hand, can stomach very little of it. So Pook decided that she just <i>had </i>to have Korean food just to see what it was like for herself. There was a new Korean restaurant recently opened pretty close to us, so we opted to go there for our evening meal. Unfortunately, the food was very authentic. I chose a dish that I was familiar with (did I mention that we lived in Pusan, South Korea for 6 months?) Anyway we all ordered our food. Mine was beef soup and 765 tiny side dishes, just like they do it in Korea. Everybody else got a main dish and they also got 765 tiny side dishes that were different from our tiny side dishes. Washing dishes in a Korean restaurant must be a nightmare to die for. Everybody liked their main dish, but the side dishes were a real cultural extravaganza for Pook. Kimchie, which can only be described as a variety of weird veggies all soaked in vinegar until they are fermented, is kind of the Korean national dish. It comes in millions of varieties and I can barely tolerate any of them. I am not a vinegar person. But Pook is a very brave person who likes a challenge and likes to learn and try new things. So she tried everything that we had and we had about 9 kinds of Kimchie. As we were leaving the restaurant, I asked her if she enjoyed her cultural experience and she said that she did very much enjoy the experience. I asked her if she liked the food enough to eat it again. She said "No." I took this to mean that she did like the cultural experience of learning what Korean food actually tasted like, but she didn't like the food itself. On the way home in the car she mentioned that she didn't feel too well. Kinda like me the first time I ate Korean food. Tonight was the first time in 10 years that I have eaten Korean food and hopefully I won't have to eat it again for another 10. Next Friday night we have plans to eat Japanese. Pook likes raw fish and loves other Japanese food as well. I only like raw fish if it is cooked, preferably deep fried in nice light batter. I have trouble even <i>watching </i>people eat raw fish. I don't like the smell of raw fish either, so Friday night should be another interesting experience. I am going to sit as far away from Pook as I can, so that I do not see or smell the raw fish. When I walk past fresh, raw fish in the market, I have to hold my breath and hurry through before I have to breathe again. I must have had a really traumatic experience as a small child in the fish department to have these issues.<br />
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I talked to my daughter on the phone today. She lives in Lithuania. I was supposed to call her at Christmas. The last time I talked to her on the phone was December the 12, which is her birthday. I must have "lost time" somewhere in there. But they are all OK. If I don't hear from them, I know that everything is OK. If things are not going well, I hear immediately. Likewise, if I call her unexpectedly...like ever...she wonders if somebody died or is in the hospital.<br />
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Everybody is OK. Pray for us. Time is flying so fast that we are losing it. We need health and strength to do our jobs. The Lord is blessing our ministry here in Thailand and we are looking forward to some things coming together that have been in the works for awhile. We will let you know more about this as the time gets nearer and more finalized. In the meantime, I will write more later, maybe soon, or maybe not. Depends on if I find that time that I lost somewhere. <br />
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<br />Krinny Gaudethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07228277918472784887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3079088045846985246.post-12524295123841023902012-01-01T07:11:00.002-06:002012-01-02T08:44:23.265-06:002011 is GONE!!!Another year has flown by, we are all older and hopefully wiser, however...we are not any faster. The office here in Chiang Mai has been closed since Dec. 23 and will reopen again on Tuesday, Jan. 3rd.<br />
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Pook went home to LopBuri for Christmas with her family. Everybody else stayed here in town and rested and enjoyed cool weather. It is nice to wake up of natural causes. No alarm clock to jolt you into consciousness , just coasting awake as the sun filters through the window. Really nice.<br />
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As many of you may have noticed, the world did not come to an end at the dawning of 2012 like the Mayan calendar predicted. The Mayans practiced human sacrifice which proves that they didn't have their act together anyway, so why would anybody listen to them? So now, since the world didn't actually come to an end, it is time to plan for the year ahead. I was waiting till today to actually begin planning just in case, but now it is time to get it in gear. I only have 3 and a half hours to get 2012 mapped out. Here are my plans so far. Tomorrow morning I plan to get up, Lord willing.<br />
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The next part may take a little more time to sort out. However, the following day is Tuesday and the office opens back up which means back to the alarm clock jolting. We do not know what 2012 holds for any of us, but we can look back on 2011 and see God's hand of blessing and provision in our ministry and in our personal lives and in the lives of our family, friends, and co-workers.<br />
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Pook saw both of her parents accept Christ as Savior, Tom and my granddaughter, Kaylee, was saved in 2011. Thousands of Burmese Bibles went to their home. The illustrated Bible story book saw several new languages translated, one of which was Russian. The devil fought that Russian translation for all he was worth, but God had the last word and it was finally finished after almost a 3 year-long struggle to get it translated and proofread. Our Pakistani translators finally won their refugee status victory with the UNHCR, and are now on the fast track to relocation. They are growing spiritually by leaps and bounds and have real joy in the Lord. The persecution they have suffered in Pakistan is unfathomable to those of us who have never had to walk that path.<br />
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These victories were certainly not without struggles. The whole team here has been through the wringer with health issues, financial problems, and all the other things that satan throws in the path of those who are striving to serve God. But God has seen us through and we are looking ahead to 2012 with the anticipation that He will do the same again this year.<br />
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We do actually have a few plans for the upcoming year. We plan to expand our video ministry and are now purchasing the equipment to do this. This is a real step of faith, because the equipment to do this is not cheap. We are waiting on the Lord to see what and/or who He will send our way this year to help with this. We, of course, will always be striving to get the printed Word into countries where it is desperately needed. That project has been our life for over 33 years, and we are plowing forward with that, as we always have.<br />
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I will write more a little later, possibly this week or next. Until then I will answer a question that is asked me all the time by almost everybody. Everybody wants to know what we need and what they should pray for. I tell everybody the same thing. We need health, and strength to carry on, please pray for that. However, on the physical level I would like for you to pray for us to have a dependable vehicle. We have a van that is on its last leg and a car that goes into the auto shop yet again on Tuesday. Neither of these vehicles is dependable enough to leave town in, so we have to rent a vehicle every time we need a border run for visas or shipment of literature. So, please pray that the Lord would provide us with a good vehicle of His choosing that will meet the needs that we have.<br />
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Talk to y'all later on down the trail.Krinny Gaudethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07228277918472784887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3079088045846985246.post-22417084604990319562011-12-17T04:29:00.004-06:002011-12-17T06:08:17.631-06:00I Lost November SomewhereWow, November flew by so fast I nearly missed it. Actually I did miss it here on the blog, but I did have a wonderful Thanksgiving. I love Thanksgiving. It is my favorite holiday. No drama of gift buying, trying to figure out what people would like to have for Christmas. I have just made my life easy by simply giving money to all the people on my Christmas list. I figure it is a waste of time to give them stuff that they will return anyway after the holiday.<br /><br />For Thanksgiving Dinner here in Thailand, our office staff all got together along with a new missionary couple and had a pot luck. It was truly an international dinner. We had Hmong, Pakistani, Chin, Karen, Thai and American co-workers here for the meal. Turkey is too expensive here, so the guys grilled chicken outside on the grill. Pook made pumpkin pies from scratch. Her first time and they were great. She is practicing up now for Christmas dinner having made 2 pecan pies for her pastor's birthday. Wow, the pecan pies were even better than the pumpkin. She is going to make a cheesecake for the Christmas dessert and I am going to bake a chocolate cake.<br /><br />Last week was very special here. For the first time ever, Tom, Noah, Carolyn and I got to actually watch the small boat being loaded with 300 boxes of Burmese Bibles and 100 boxes of John and Romans. As the Bibles slowly crossed the river and landed on the other side, I couldn't help but think of Adoniram Judson and I wondered if perhaps he was watching from the portals of heaven as the Bible he translated is, after nearly 175 years, being put into print once again, having been abandoned by the Bible Societies for a new version. This old Judson text now has clear, and beautiful fonts and is being put into the hands of the Burmese speaking people that he labored and gave his life to reach. It was a very poignant moment, one which makes all the struggles that we go through here seem very small compared to what the early missionaries had to suffer to see the work go forward.<br /><br />Noah, is the man that proofread and got the old Judson Bible ready to reprint. He will be leaving us in just a few short days. We will never know until we get to Heaven just how much his three years with us accomplished. We so hate to see him leave us, but we know that God will use him wherever he ends up. Another thought crosses my mind, seeing the Bibles going across the river. The Bibles are going home and so is Noah. God bless you, Noah. We love you very much and will miss you greatly.Krinny Gaudethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07228277918472784887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3079088045846985246.post-64716375531883961862011-10-18T04:49:00.002-05:002011-10-18T05:21:05.987-05:00Flooding in ThailandThe rainy season is not over here and flooding is bad. Many of the cities in Thailand are under water and many people are displaced and living in deplorable circumstances. The crocodile farm in Lop Buri, where Pooks parents live was flooded and the crocs all escaped. She has photos of a big croc on somebody's doorstep looking into a house. Her folks do not have water in their house and they are OK, but many of the provinces are submerged. The elephant birthing center in Ayuttya is under water and the elephants are all living on top of the wall that surrounds the compound. The whole city of Ayuttya is uninhabitable. And there are many smaller communities in the same situation. Jeff and Theresa Lange are in Chiang Mai now because they were told to evacuate their place down in Bangkok. The water is still heading south and the people who are supposed to know this stuff say that it will reach Patun Thani, where we used to live and where the Langes still live, in a day or two. So they are basically stranded here until something changes. Pray for them, their belongings, and all of our former neighbors who did not leave because they had no place to go. For those of you have been here and know where these places are, Thommasat University is being evacuated. The road between here and Bangkok is under water in many places and some communities are completely cut off. Please pray for these people. It is hard to describe in a blog how bad it is for many people here in Thailand.<br /><br />The last 6 weeks since we have been back in Thailand have been normal. Normal...meaning we are busy as one arm paper hangers. Never a moment to stop and relax. Tom keeps telling me we can relax after we are dead. Somehow the humor of that statement is not hitting me just right. Tom and I have both had some health issues and have been to the doctor. We have been told that we are fat. Really!?!?! I hadn't noticed that!!! We have been told to exercise. I can't believe we are actually paying people to tell us these shocking things that we already know. To make a long story shorter, but not nearly short enough, we joined a swimming and fitness place. It is very cheap to join these kinds of things here in Thailand, so we bit the bullet and did it. We have been swimming several times and are feeling much worse than we did before we joined. Nevertheless, we are told that perseverance will do the trick. We are also changing our eating habits. It has been wonderful. Saturday, I threw up, Sunday I was wiped out, and I can't even remember yesterday at all. Today it is rainy and cold and I am not going swimming in the rain and cold. Pneumonia ya know, is not good. Tom is juicing green stuff (veggies) every day and drinking a lot of it. He is wondering why he has diarrhea. DUH! Why is diarrhea so easy to get but so hard to spell that you have to do a Google search? However, we are committed...not to an asylum yet, but to our eating and exercise campaign. Pray for us. Getting healthy is no easy job.Krinny Gaudethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07228277918472784887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3079088045846985246.post-62636730440067114222011-09-12T06:03:00.004-05:002011-09-12T06:39:33.419-05:00The First Month Back in ThailandTom and I are headed in to our 4th week being back in Thailand. Tom is just now getting back on his feet...literally...after a miserable time with gout that had him crippled and on crutches. He flew to Bangkok a few days ago to get another opinion about whether he actually had gout or osteoarthritis. Yes, it is gout, which is much better than needing a knee replacement which is what the doctor here told him. A second opinion is always the best way to go. He is up and around and feeling fine. Amazing.<br /><br />David Martin, from our home church in Fort Worth, arrived last night and is right now asleep on my couch having finally crashed from jet lag. He is only going to be here for 2 weeks, so I hope he gets over it quick. I know that when I travel to the US or back, it takes me at least that long to get my days and nights back in order. Ah, well, he is much younger than I am and he will probably recover much quicker. I hope so. He was able to bring over the things that we had to leave behind for lack of space in our luggage. He brought coffee, and chocolate, as gifts. Yaaay!!!<br /><br />We are sorry to see Alyssa leaving in just a few days. We were delayed twice getting back to Thailand, and we have not had near the amount of time with her that we would have liked. She is a really fine young woman, and she has an open invitation to come back any time. I certainly hope that another person comes over to take her place.<br /><br />I have finally gotten all the checking accounts balanced. No small feat considering I have 7 bank accounts here and 3 in America to keep straight. Financial accountability is very high on our priority list. We know where everybody's money goes almost to the dollar. It is a job that I really do not relish doing, but I realize how needful it is. Starting tomorrow, I will begin to clean up some of the files on the server and store them on drives that can be stored elsewhere in case of fire, flood or theft. I like this job much better, but it is tedious and very time consuming. We are once again without a full-time tech, but we are managing as best we can with our limited knowledge.<br /><br />This has been an incredible year for me. The trip to Africa and spending a good amount of time with our grandchildren was, of course, the highlight so far. I am also thankful that we were able to see some friends that we haven't seen in several years in a couple of our supporting churches. I got to see one of my most special girls that worked with us off and on for about 4 years. Susanna Domangue is not married with a wonderful husband and young son and another boy on the way soon. I miss her very much. Her Dad is the pastor of the Galilean Baptist Church in Houma, Louisiana. This church has been standing with us for over 30 years. It doesn't seem possible that time could go that fast. It was so good to see all the Galileans while we were in America.<br /><br />I wish that there were a few more hours in the day. I usually tire out before I can get done what I would like to, but I guess more hours would help, would it? What I need is more trength and stamina. Pray for me to that end. And pray for our staff. These are our current regular staff:<br /><br />Pook - Office manager<br />Noah - Burmese coordinator<br />Asim - Urdu translator<br />Klo - Karen translator<br />Jang Lang - Hmong translator<br />Kaw - Hmong translator<br />Carolyn - Foreign language coordinator<br /><br />We no longer have a video editor or a computer tech on staff. Please pray that God would raise somebody up to take over these jobs.<br /><br />Please pray for Alyssa as she travels back to Oak Harbor, Washington, that she would have a safe journey and that she would be able to share her thoughts and the things she learned here with her church.Krinny Gaudethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07228277918472784887noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3079088045846985246.post-86881058703741476292011-07-28T18:18:00.002-05:002011-07-28T18:21:45.001-05:00Returning to ThailandWe have finalized our tickets for Thailand unless, of course, we change them again! As of right now, we are heading back on the 6th of August. Tom is still in bad shape with gout in one of his feet, so hopefully he will be up and around very soon or we may truly have to postpone our trip back.<br /><br />The time home this time has been a wonderful time of seeing our daughter and taking her to Africa with us, seeing our son-in-law and grandkids and seeing some friends that we haven't seen for quite a few years. It's all been good except for the gout.<br /><br />We have several things that we have to do in preparation for our return as there always is, but it seems like everything hits the last week. It never fails. The summer here in Texas this year has been so exceptionally hot that we were not able to get much done outside. No matter how much we water the flowers, the heat is killing them anyway. The grass is crunchy from the drought and even breathing outside is difficult, almost like sticking your head in an oven. It is 10 to 15 degrees cooler in Thailand right now than it is here.<br /><br />Lisa and the grandkids are now back home in Lithuania. Brian will be here for another month or so finishing up some meetings before he heads back. Lisa had to go back to get the kids back in school when it starts. <br /><br />Going back to Thailand will be easier now that we know that our church is stable and our new pastor has his feet under him. It is so hard to leave friends behind, but I am so thankful for the internet. At least we can keep in touch in real time. The world is a much smaller place than it used to be.<br /><br />Please pray for Tom that this gout goes away soon. He has a lot to do and not much time to do it, or we may have to delay our return to Thailand a second time.Krinny Gaudethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07228277918472784887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3079088045846985246.post-69760961779357231002011-07-16T18:26:00.003-05:002011-07-16T18:57:33.759-05:00Just Us AgainBrian, Lisa, and all the grandkids left on Thursday morning about 10:00 AM. The house was way too quiet after all the activity of the last month. I was so lonely that I almost put the movie "Ice Age 3" into the player so it would sound like they were still here. They watched that movie at least once or twice a day while they were here and never got tired of watching it.<br /><br />During the month they were here, we all made a trip down to south Louisiana to visit the folks at Galilean Baptist Church in Houma. It had been quite a few years since Tom and I were there and many more than that since Lisa had been there. Susie Domangue was there to meet us. Her mom and Dad went all the way to Atlanta, GA to get her and haul her home for a couple of weeks so she could be there. It was a great blessing to see her and her family. It was hard for me to believe that I had not seen her in over 4 years. The old saying goes that "the days go by slowly, but the years go by quickly," and it seems that it is true. She and her husband Matthew Yaksh, have a little boy now named John who is 17 months old. I still have not gotten to meet Matthew, but he had to work and was not able to come to Houma. The time with the Galileans was so good, though and we enjoyed our time there so much. The next day we headed to Lake Charles to see Tom's family for the day and then we headed for Vidor, Texas, for Sunday morning services with Grace Baptist Church. Charles and Sarah Lott have been friends for many years and we were glad to get to see them again also, although the time was too short as it always is. Sunday night we were in a church in Humble, Texas, which is a church that took us on for support a little while ago, but one to which I had never visited. It was good to meet the folks there. This church also took Brian and Lisa on for support and we are so glad for that.<br /><br />Brian, Lisa and the kids were able to do a few fun things while they were in Texas and Louisiana on that short trip and the kids got acquainted again with the fact that they are Americans. All four of them have lived their whole lives in Lithuania and in many ways are more Lithuanian than American. The kids stayed in Arkansas for about 3 weeks with Mimi and Papa Joe, their other adopted grandparents, while Lisa went with Tom and me to Africa. Brian was busy up in Illinois getting them moved out of the parsonage and ready for their new pastor to move in. The men of the church and Brian did a lot of repair and remodeling work and Joe and Jessie Morrell (Mimi and Papa Joe) were a tremendous help in keeping the kids while he worked.<br /><br />As I am writing this Lisa and her family are on their way back to Illinois to their home church. Lisa and the kids leave for Lithuania the end of this month. Brian will leave the end of September. Lisa has to go back to get the kids in school. It was a wonderful time spent with Lisa in Africa and with the whole family for a month here in Texas. We will miss them very much. Two year gaps between seeing them is a very long time.<br /><br />Tom and I are still in negotiations for when we will be leaving to go back to Thailand. I will let you know when we are going back when I find out myself. Until then, please keep praying for us and let us hear from you. The best way is Skype or email.Krinny Gaudethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07228277918472784887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3079088045846985246.post-72482257203962984702011-07-14T16:20:00.004-05:002011-07-14T18:30:23.530-05:00Africa Part 3After leaving Krueger Park, the George Hammett family took us half-way to his dad's house and Sam Hammett picked us up and took us the rest of the way to Francisville, Botswana. The roads are very bad, but we saw many animals on the way up. There were many elephants, zebras, giraffes and monkeys.<br /><br />In Botswana, we accompanied Bro. Doug Hammett and his family to a Sunday service. They are meeting for the moment in a rented room. There were about15 people in attendance not counting all of us. It was a really good meeting and we enjoyed meeting the people very much. The African people that we met were all friendly and accepting of us. We loved being with them for the short time that we had.<br /><br />The next day we drove up to Victoria Falls. Tom and I had always wanted to see the place where David Livingston's heart is buried. As it turned out there is a monument on both sides of the Falls and I am still not sure which one is where his heart is buried. We stayed on the Zimbabwe side of the Falls. No other word can describe the place but awesome. Awesome is a very much overworked and overused word, so I do not use it much, but Victoria Falls is deserving of the word.<br /><br />There is so much mist from the falls that the whole area around it is a rain forest. There are literally hundreds of baboons and other monkeys that call this area home. Baboons can get very large and they basically own the paved walkways and they are in no way intimated by people. If you meet them on the trail, you will be the one to move out of the way. Their teeth are reeeally<br />long. Seeing them up so close was almost as intriguing as the Falls, but not quite.<br /><br />Africa was the trip of a lifetime and there are not enough words to describe the experience. The Lord made it possible and we will be eternally grateful for the privilege.Krinny Gaudethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07228277918472784887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3079088045846985246.post-12660301304095986072011-07-07T16:12:00.005-05:002011-07-07T17:10:00.783-05:00Africa Part 2Wow, this is why blogging is difficult for me. Since last post Tom and I have been traveling with our daughter, son-in-law and 4 grandkids. We were in 3 churches and it was a real joy to renew friendships with folks that we have not seen for many years. But before I go into that, I will finish up the account of our Africa trip.<br /><br />I can certainly tell you this...NO trip to a zoo will ever do much for me again. Seeing the animals on their own turf is a privilege that few experience and I will be forever grateful for the Lord's allowing us to enjoy it. We saw many, many elephants, zebra, giraffes, baboons and other monkeys, the lion, hippos, a couple of the major deadly snakes, but the snakes were not near us and I'm glad of that. We saw hundreds of Impala, and other large antelope, a few of them VERY large. We saw a bunch of warthogs which were very funny to watch. Other things included hyena, which was so close that we rolled the car window up. We are not Indiana Jones:) The Bushbabies were also cute and fun to watch.<br /><br />We saw the Civit Cat of coffee fame for the stout-hearted or stupid, whichever you prefer. I personally wouldn't pay $40 for a cup of coffee that the beans went through the intestines of a small cat and were then collected, hopefully WASHED!!!!...and then the coffee beans are ground and made into coffee. Foldgers coffee will work for me just fine and is only a few cents a cup if you brew your own at home.<br /><br />We went on a self safari, with Lisa driving our small rental car. We drove through a group of trees whose branches made a canape over the road. The trees were FULL of monkeys. They were running and jumping all around the car and were so thick that we rolled up the windows again because we were afraid they were going to jump into the car with us. It was getting dark and we could hear a lot of jungle noises, so we then left the windows up, because we are cowards and unfamiliar with the sounds we were hearing. When we got back to the camp the gate was closed and we were locked out. The guards must be familiar with idiot tourists though, because they were in the guard shack and let us back in with only minimal chewing out:)<br /><br />All in all, it was the trip of a lifetime and will probably never be repeated by Tom and I. We are so thankful to the George Hammett and the Doug Hammett families who made it all possible. Thank you folks for your hospitality and friendship.<br /><br />Part 3 will be Botswana and Victoria Falls, and the Baboons.Krinny Gaudethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07228277918472784887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3079088045846985246.post-21452124986136770642011-06-11T11:09:00.005-05:002011-06-11T11:55:57.603-05:00AFRICAWe were in gone for a total of16 days, from May 11 thru the 27th. It took one full day to get there and a day and a half to get home, leaving us 2 full weeks on the ground in Africa. We flew out of Dulles in Washington, DC. Our Daughter, Lisa, met us in DC and went with us on our trip. Her husband, Brian, volunteered to keep their 4 children ages 12 to 2, so that she could go with us. It is a blessing to have a good son-in-law.<br /><br />It was a straight flight with only one stop in Dakar, Senegal, West Africa, to refuel and take on some new passengers, but since we didn't get out of the airplane, I don't count it as a country I have been to. In my world, I have to actually get out of the airplane and out of the airport before I count it as a country I have visited.<br /><br />Dakar was about half way. Like I said it was a VERY long trip getting there and back. We landed in Johannesburg, South Africa, in the evening and were met by George Hammett. Then we set off on a 4 hour car trip up to the city where he and his family live called Tzeneen. Not sure of the spelling of this town. For the next week George and Kristin treated us like kings and were our tour guides, and hosts. We were able to go with George to one of his Studies and to meet several of the people he is working with in his city. It was great.<br /><br />These folks also took time out of their lives to take us to Krueger Park, which is a very large game reserve, about the size of the state of New Jersey. We took two jeep safaris, one morning and one evening, and one driving tour in our own vehicle. We saw every animal there was, with the exception of the cheetah and rhino. What we did see were scores of elephants, zebras, giraffe, monkeys, one full-mane male lion about 15 feet from our open sided vehicle :O That was a teeny bit hairy! He did not seem surprised to see us and stopped in the middle of the road to look at us. We were all speechless to see him and nobody moved or breathed until he mosied on off the road and into the bush. This was the first safari and it was in the early evening.<br /><br />More later, hopefully tomorrow. My grandson is trying to eat bugs. Gotta go!!Krinny Gaudethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07228277918472784887noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3079088045846985246.post-12067298866130142362011-06-08T11:04:00.005-05:002011-06-08T11:45:19.721-05:00Almost a Year AgoMy last blog post here was almost 1 year ago. A case of too much to do and too little time to do it. However, several folks have requested that I try harder and get the blog up and running again. No promises will be made, except that I will try in the time I have.<br /><br />We are in the United States for awhile at the moment, but we are now living in Chiang Mai, Thailand, having moved from Bangkok over a year ago. Tom and I as well as our whole team like this city much better. Although it has 3 and 1/2 million people, compared to Bangkok's over 13 million, it has a small town feel to it. There is nowhere in town that we can't get to in a matter of minutes rather than hours, as it was in Bangkok. We have better housing, amenities, but much more important than all of that, we have access to a large and varied ethnic community of folks who want to help with the translation projects that are always underway.<br /><br />Right now we have 7 paid staff, and 3 missionaries including Tom and I. In addition to these, we have short term helpers coming and going all of the time, much like it has always been. For all of of you who come to help, we thank you. For those of you who have stayed for the long haul we appreciate all of you more than you know. Many have come at their own expense, to take up the slack, putting their own lives on hold while working with us. God reward all of you according to His riches.<br /><br />As far as Tom and I are concerned, neither of us are getting any younger and various and sundry health problems keep popping up. Fortunately, health care in Thailand is excellent and inexpensive, so for that we are most thankful.<br /><br />Our 40th wedding anniversary was June the 4th. We were in Thailand, I sitting in my chair and Tom in the living room, when he told me that he wanted to go somewhere very special for our 40th. He asked me where I wanted to go. I gave it some thought, considering all the wonderful places we had visited over the years that I would love to return to, but I knew the one place that I had waited for 47 years to visit was the only place that would be "IT." I told him that I wanted to go to Africa! It was humorous in the fact of the dead silence that followed that statement. I guess the dollar signs were flashing in his head or he was in shock or something:) Anyway, he said, when his voice returned that is, "Let's start making plans." I said I wanted to go in the African winter, because I can't tolerate the heat well any more. Isn't it amazing that Africa was just heading into winter when our anniversary was rolling around? As I mentioned before, Tom and I both have health issues, but by the Grace of God alone, all of our ailments miraculously just halted for the 16 days that we were in Africa. There is no such thing as "luck." It was all planned and orchestrated by the hand of the One who is in control of it all. In the next few days, I will tell you about Africa and other blessings of the trip. I promise I will not procrastinate on this one.Krinny Gaudethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07228277918472784887noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3079088045846985246.post-19688597292574943102010-07-04T06:42:00.002-05:002010-07-04T08:13:02.267-05:00It's Been Long TimeHello Friends,<br /><br />It's been a very long time since I have updated this blog. Basically this should bring you up to date on us on everything that has happened since moving to Chiang Mai. We have lived here a little over 3 months. It has been a time of great progress in many ways.<br /><br />It took us quite a while to get settled in up here as far as living is concerned. We got the office up and running quickly and then we turned our attention to our living quarters. The office, and Tom and my house share one house. The house is divided perfectly for us to be able to share the one facility. It gives us the added security of living in the same place with all of the expensive computer and video equipment. It also makes going to work in the morning easy. Just walk across to the other side of the house. Hey, it works for me. The only room we share with the office is the kitchen, but it is working out very well. Everybody does their part keeping things put away and keeping it cleaned up.<br /><br />The ladies' dorm is another house right behind ours. We have steps going over the wall to keep from having to walk around the block to get to the office, so it is just steps away. The men's dorm is in a shop house down the road a little way. Noah, our Burmese translator, lives upstairs and we have literature stored downstairs. Later on, we may have to acquire another house for the men's dorm and turn the shop house into just storage, but for now this is working.<br /><br />A little over a month ago now, Tom had a major accident when he fell through a plate glass closet door. He cut his arm at the elbow very deeply and had to have two hospitalizations and one surgery to repair the damages to the nerves in his arm. He is still having trouble healing and is still in some pain, but should make a full recovery, but it will take several months to do so. Please continue to pray for him.<br /><br />Noah has finished re-typesetting the Burmese Bible and it is now ready for printing. This job took the better part of a year and Noah is ecstatic that it is now completed. He has now turned his attention to the many other projects in Burmese that are awaiting him. He is working hard and turning these translation jobs out as fast as he can.<br /><br />Carolyn and Pook are working on various projects and are both doing well. Carolyn has found a Chinese physician who is treating her for various health related problems and she is responding well to the treatments.<br /><br />We are looking forward to Jeff and Sarah Evans coming over the middle of August and also April Wilson from our home church in Fort Worth. We know that they will be a great asset as they have all proven themselves to be in the past. April will be working on video projects and the Evans family will be working on various computer related stuff and many other things as well.<br /><br />The <span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">"Good and Evil</span>" project is being worked on in several languages. We are struggling with the Russian translation of the book at the moment. There are many tribulations with the Russian language edition. Over the past many years, the devil has always fought particularly hard against anything in the Russian language and the G&E project is no exception. Please pray.<br /><br />Please pray for our country this 4th of July! It seems like the news from all over the world points to the Lord's soon return for His own. Amen! Even so come, Lord Jesus!!<br /><br />Hopefully things will settle down a little now and I will be able to keep up with this blog better and more often. Pray for me also. I am not getting any younger and I am definitely getting more tired by the day. I want to thank all of you who give and pray for this ministry and for Tom and I in particular. We appreciate it very much.Krinny Gaudethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07228277918472784887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3079088045846985246.post-18338437673506725292010-03-21T07:51:00.005-05:002010-03-22T04:36:32.900-05:00We Got Moved InTime 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 <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Chiang</span> 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 <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Chiang</span> Mai and checked into a hotel and waited for Tom, Noah and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Pook</span> 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 <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Internet</span> is running, however it is very slow and we will need to get another plan for faster download time.<br /><br />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.Krinny Gaudethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07228277918472784887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3079088045846985246.post-8183528070173447322010-03-08T02:01:00.003-06:002010-03-08T02:25:37.921-06:00Found HousingTom 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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.Krinny Gaudethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07228277918472784887noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3079088045846985246.post-56448432443935643212010-03-03T23:48:00.003-06:002010-03-04T00:18:23.498-06:00Headed to Chiang Mai for House HuntingI 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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.Krinny Gaudethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07228277918472784887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3079088045846985246.post-40840895871973529672010-03-03T04:20:00.002-06:002010-03-03T04:31:43.929-06:00Jet 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.Krinny Gaudethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07228277918472784887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3079088045846985246.post-73833535461926156542010-02-28T20:53:00.003-06:002010-02-28T21:44:24.099-06:00Back in BangkokWe made it back to Thailand safe and sound on Sunday night Bangkok time. We made it through customs, stopped by the grocery store, and still made it home by around 11:00 PM. By the time we found the essentials, and got settled down for the night it was around 12:30 AM. Both Tom and I were able to sleep all night without waking up and right now we are feeling good.<br /><br />Thanks to all of you who prayed as we traveled. We had a safe, uneventful flight, which is always a plus. No trouble getting through customs in Bangkok and hopefully we will have our days and nights turned back around in record time. Carolyn, however did not fare as well. She is fairly wrecked and exhausted. Please pray for her as this transitioning back and forth half way around the world usually takes a heavy toll on her immune system.<br /><br />The first thing I noticed upon arriving back was the poor air quality. All of us are having breathing difficulties, which is normal for Bangkok. We are now unpacking our totes...actually Tom is unpacking and I am sitting here blogging and drinking coffee. First things first, right? <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Pook</span> had the air conditioners turned on and the houses cleaned and that was a real blessing. Coming home to a clean, cool house is incredibly helpful to the tired mind and exhausted body.<br /><br />For those of you who may have forgotten, Bangkok time is exactly 13 hours ahead of Central Time right now since Texas is on Daylight Savings Time. So when it is 10:00 o'clock in the morning in Texas, it is 11:00 o'clock at night here. This is a gentle reminder to those of you who might try and call us. Three o'clock in your afternoon is not a good time for us. We will be sound asleep and grumpy if we answer the phone at that time.<br /><br />I will have to remember the same thing if I call my daughter in Lithuania. I am now 8 hours ahead of her and not 4 or 5 hours behind. She probably wouldn't appreciate a middle of the night call from me either.<br /><br />Please keep us in your prayers as we begin preparations for our move to the city of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Chiang</span> Mai. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Pook</span> has already done a lot of work here in packing up all of the books of which there are many. I will begin immediately packing and sorting <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">thru</span> the things we are taking and those that we will be giving away. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Pook</span> was helpful in not watering the plants, so they all died. Since I wasn't taking them with me anyway it worked out perfect. God is in the little things, too.<br /><br />Right now, as I sit here at my desk, it seems like we never left here 5 months ago. Our lives are truly like a vapor that appear for a little time and then pass away. Our days are flying by swiftly and there is much work left to do. Pray that our strength holds and that we are able to finish the job that the Lord gave us to do. To all of you that we left behind, we love you and we miss you. Leaving all of you is the hardest part of being here.Krinny Gaudethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07228277918472784887noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3079088045846985246.post-15127754129622965002010-02-22T09:16:00.003-06:002010-02-22T09:25:46.473-06:005 DAYSFor any of you who have packed up for a move overseas, you will understand this. I have hit a "stress crisis." I have 5 days left to finish packing, get the house in order, and get my head organized. Getting my head in order is the hard part. Everything else is easy. Saying goodbye to friends ranks fairly close to somebody dying. Sunday was hard, but Wednesday night will be harder. Pray for me that my physical strength will hold out and that Tom, Carolyn nor I get sick at the last minute.<br /><br />We want to thank all of you who are praying. I will try to post another update before we actually leave the country, but if not, church family, know that we love you and will miss you all very much. Thank you for all the prayers, love and support. We will be praying for all of you also.Krinny Gaudethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07228277918472784887noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3079088045846985246.post-71901635725505265832010-02-19T07:25:00.005-06:002010-02-19T07:51:58.882-06:00Last Meeting Before LeavingTom and I are headed to Temple, Texas for a missions Conference. This will be our last meeting before leaving the country on Saturday, Feb. 27<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">th</span>. We are looking forward to this meeting and for a time of fellowship with this great church.<br /><br />I have officially hit panic mode in the quest for leaving the country. I have all the big stuff done, but the little things are the things that drive you crazy. Making decisions about trivial things drives me crazy. Things like "Should I take this or that back with me this time or get it next time through." We are limited to 100 pounds of stuff each. That is 2 - 50 pound bags each. Two of those bags carry nothing but computers, cameras, hard drives, our office and paperwork. That leaves only one bag each for clothes and personal items. Personal items include all our vitamins and supplements that we take and that is usually quite a big chunk of space. As you may be able to discern, we have very little room for clothes.<br /><br />Another thing is getting the house ready to be "in storage." We have friends staying in the house for a little while and then it will be empty. Fortunately, we have folks to watch over it for us in our absence, but we still have to show people where everything is and what to do while the house is empty. Also, after we leave we have somebody clean the house because on leaving day there is not time to tidy up.<br /><br />Myra Noel, who has been house sitting for us the last few years is buying her own house. I am so excited for her. Right now the negotiations are going and we are praying that it is settled in the next few days. The house is beautiful and in perfect move-in ready state. Please pray with us that it passes all the inspections for FHA approval. If it passes inspections, she should close on it quickly.<br /><br />I will let you know in a few days how the meetings went. I hope to be able to post some good news shortly. Pray for this meeting, it could be crucial to the next steps in our ministry in Thailand. This church is heavily involved with us on several levels and we own them a great debt of thanks. Also you must remember that no work for Christ goes unchallenged by Satan. He is a relentless foe. Pray.Krinny Gaudethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07228277918472784887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3079088045846985246.post-59797724579920554812010-02-13T14:48:00.006-06:002010-02-13T15:35:43.515-06:00Snow in Texas...A PerspectiveI am writing this blog as I look out the window at the melting snow. It was an amazing winter for us to be in Texas. We haven't seen snow here for years and it was truly enjoyable. We got a little over 12 inches, which was a record for Fort Worth for snowfall in a single day. When we lived in Colorado, two or three feet of snow was normal, but depending on where you are located the definition of "normal" changes.<br /><br />And so it is with living in another country. What is normal here would be not only shocking somewhere else, but maybe even critically life threatening. When the cool season in Thailand hits the temperatures can drop to the high 60's and low 70's. Thai people wear heavy coats, even parkas in these temperatures. There have been a few instances of Thai people dying from exposure if rain mixes with 70 degree temperatures. Our Hmong brethren suffered in these conditions during the last cool season in the refugee camp. We struggled to get blankets and warm clothing to them in time for their "winter." Yes, perspective is everything. When Thai people are wearing coats, our team is in short sleeves and thankful for the cool.<br /><br />Right now it is exactly 2 weeks till we leave to go back to Thailand and one of the things that I really dread is the heat. Another thing that I am not looking forward to is packing up 2 apartments and our large office and getting ready to move. I don't like packing.<br /><br />However, I am very much looking forward to living in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Chiang</span> Mai. Every person who has ever been on our team like <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Chiang</span> Mai much better than Bangkok. Compared to Bangkok, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Chiang</span> Mai is a small town. If you can call a city of 3 million small. But compared to the 13 million people who live in Bangkok, it has a small town feel. Like I said...it all goes back to perspective.<br /><br />Neither Tom nor I were able to see any of our family members this trip home. Sometimes we just can't work things out for a myriad of reasons. We are hoping to return to the United States this summer. We have a wedding to attend and we hope to see our daughter and her family if they get to come home for their first furlough in more than 5 years. Hopefully we will be able to purchase a dependable vehicle and maybe then we will be able to see our extended family. Until then, we are thankful for email, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">facebook</span> and other means of communication that modern missionaries are privileged to have. The problems of today's missionaries compared to the problems that the missionaries of yesteryear faced...it's all a matter of perspective.Krinny Gaudethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07228277918472784887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3079088045846985246.post-7499444435033536812010-01-23T12:10:00.009-06:002010-01-23T17:07:37.408-06:00We Have ConfirmationWe 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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.Krinny Gaudethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07228277918472784887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3079088045846985246.post-53773067072368444602010-01-06T16:27:00.005-06:002010-01-06T18:02:15.511-06:002010 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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.Krinny Gaudethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07228277918472784887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3079088045846985246.post-92092920524145879922009-12-26T09:46:00.006-06:002009-12-26T10:55:06.339-06:00Heading for the New YearTom and I had a wonderful Christmas yesterday. We stayed home and did nothing except rest. It was very similar to Christmas Eve. We didn't do anything that day either. Tom is recovering from a broken rib that he received in a minor car accident the day before that. Me, I don't have to be told to rest. I can do it if I am left alone, so we didn't go anywhere or get involved in any frantic last shopping day before Christmas activities.<br /><br />Our grandkids did not get their Christmas package even though I mailed it on November 30th. Now I am just hoping that it gets there at all. <span style="font-style: italic;">There</span> being Lithuania in eastern Europe. Good thing they are used to having Christmas at odd times of the year. They have had Christmas in November in time past and also in January. If there is a time when all of us can get together, that is when we have Christmas. This year we decided to send actual gifts instead of money. Probably won't do this again. The cost of postage was almost as much as the cost of the gifts. Oh, well, you try different things and eventually sort out which works best.<br /><br />We had a white Christmas here in Fort Worth. The first one in 80 years, I'm told. It was nice to be able to stay inside and just look out and enjoy it without having to get out and drive. I really hate driving on slick roads. I got my share of that living in Denver, Colorado, for 10 years. I don't miss the snow. Once in a blue moon works fine for me, and if it happens to be on Christmas, that is a plus.<br /><br />Right now we are enjoying eggnog lattes that are much better than the ones Starbucks makes. Myra Noel gave us an espresso pot. The coffee is Blue Mountain Garoka from Papua New Guinea compliments of Ken and Velda Black. Ahhhh...the simple pleasures. Gotta get to Wal-Mart and grab a couple more quarts of eggnog before they are gone for another year.<br /><br />I am so glad that Al Gore invented the Internet. It is so good to receive texts and photos instantly when your family lives half way around the world. It is good to send greetings around the world at the speed of light to those you can't be near for the Holidays. We really have so much to be thankful for. No matter what happens with the economy, health care and everything else, just remember that the Lord Jesus is still in control, in charge and watching over us.<br /><br />Oh, yeah, and Al Gore didn't really invent the Internet, and I am not the Queen of England.Krinny Gaudethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07228277918472784887noreply@blogger.com0