Just a day on the farm...

I remember a day several years ago when we were visiting with some church members who raised chickens to show at the Eastern New Mexico State Fair. (They could potentially read this posting so I won't say anything about how funny those particular chickens looked with the feathers on the top of their head resembling an inexpensive whisk broom!!! ) They took us out to the chicken coop and proudly showed us the nests, filled with all their prized flock. I was watching some of the chickens as they were strutting around in the dirt, using their talons to poke around the clods, looking for something to eat. I vividly remember us talking about the marks the chickens made in the dirt as they 'scratched around.'

Funny thing is that a lot of the letters we are learning to write as we learn the Thai alphabet look a lot like some of those chicken markings! Many of the Thai letters are actually kinda' fun to draw. They are very fluid and cursive in style. The hard part is that there are a lot of exceptions to the rules and then there are exceptions to the exceptions, and, in one case, an exception to an exception to an exception! Go figure...

We have been blessed with a number of beautiful new friends. Several have stepped forward and volunteered to help us in any way they can to help us try to master the language. I've included a couple of pics of our some of our special friends. The first of is Ta. She works at the Baptist Student Center and is one of our main language tutors. We attend Friday Night Live each week at the BSC to make friends with young Thai students and encourage them with their English language learning. (And, if you're wondering...yes, we do enjoy talking to people in a language we can understand!!!) She is a precious young woman with a vibrant faith and love for the Lord.

The next picture is of Nittaya Chang. We worked with her extensively in 2005 when we spent time teaching at the Seminary in Bangkok. She and her family have become very dear friends to Kay and me. The first time we attended the church they started, there were about 12 people. Here is the picture of the church taken during the Christmas celebration. Look at the growth! How exciting it is to be blessed by the Lord in such a beautiful way.











We're in the picture above. See if you can find us...kind of a 'Where's Waldo?' challenge.)

Here's a picture of our current class. We have students in the class from Portugal, Mexico, Japan, Russia, Korea, Boston, California, and the Land of Enchantment. It is quite an eclectic group. We will be finishing our current module this week and will have to prayerfully make some decisions about the next one - whether to move on or take this one again, in that it is so difficult. So we would appreciate your prayer support in this endeavor. Otherwise, life for us is fairly mundane. Go to school, come home, study, go to bed and get up the next morning and get ready to go to school again. But, please know, we are so truly blessed to be where we are and are thankful to all who support us through their giving to the Cooperative Program and the Lottie Moon Christmas offering. Your love and support make all this possible. Bless you for your encouragement and prayerful.