December Newsletter

November Newsletter 2007

October Newsletter

A Hospital Visit

It has been a while since my last update, evidence of how busy life has become for me. These past few weeks I have tried new foods, met new friends and of course learned new words in Thai. As of now I have lived in Thailand for three months and the verdict…I am still in love with Thailand! I can’t wait to get up each morning just to see what adventure the new day will bring. Although it seems that since I arrived I have been sick more than I have been well, I know it is all a part of my body adjusting to this new place.

So, I guess the biggest news this month has been about me being admitted into the hospital for a couple days with a staph infection. I never thought my obsession for running would put me in the hospital, but this time it did. Here’s the story. I went running Monday morning and strangely my shoe, was rubbing on the back of my heal which was never a problem before. So rather than stop and get a band-aid, I did what any one else would do, I just ran through the pain. By the time I finished my run, my heel was pretty sore and a little bloody, but nothing a bit of peroxide wouldn’t fix. So, I showered, put on flip flops and was off for my day. Tuesday morning was the same routine only it hurt a whole lot more. I hobbled around all morning but didn’t think much of it. By noon on Tuesday, I told the lady I was working with that I didn’t feel quite right, that I felt dizzy and was not sure wrong. She suggested that I should go lay down, which I did. About an hour later when she came to check on me, I could hardly move and was running a high fever. All I wanted was to go home and go to bed, so I had someone drive me home. By Tuesday night, the swelling on my foot had greatly increased and was much more infected. I tended to the wound with peroxide and a band- aid, but still wasn’t convinced that was the cause of the nausea and fever. After a long night, finally morning came and I was so sick that I could hardly go up and down the stairs. I showed my foot to my roommates and we all agreed that I need to go to the doctor. They called one of our “mom’s” here, Mrs. G., to come and get me. When she looked at my foot, her reaction was less than encouraging and she rushed me to the hospital. After the doctor had poked at my foot for a while he told me, “Take these pills and get some rest.” Since both my roommates were at work, Mrs. P had me stay and rest at here house that afternoon. After a two hour nap, I managed to walk down her stairs and pale and frail said, “Mrs. P, I think it is worse.” With one look at my foot, which was now taking on a purplish tone, she said, “Oh honey, it is!” She rushed me over to the office of a Doctor with our company. He looked at my foot and was very concerned, he called another doctor with our company and they decided that I would meet him, Doctor G, in the ER in 30 minutes.

My hospital uniform

This is where the story gets interesting and if you have a weak stomach, you may not want to continue reading. Mrs. P said she would drop me off at the ER door and go park then meet up with me. As I walked up to the ER, I noticed the waiting room was outside in the heat and humidity. Amongst the people waiting their turn was a little dog napping at their feet. Since I didn’t really understand the procedure, I decided to hobble right in to the ER. As soon as I did, they brought a bed over told me to lay on it, which I did. When I realized they were going to wheel me to the back, I sat up and said, “I need to see doctor G!” Thinking I was speaking of one of their doctors, they answered, “Yes, doctor Grace.” I said, “No, no, wait, I want to see Doctor G!” They continued to wheel me down the hall and parked me in the back where I was surrounded by probably eight Thai doctors and nurses. I was thinking to myself, “Great they are going to cut off my foot here and now without Mrs. P. or Doctor G. Finally Doctor G walked around the corner, looked at my foot, had a surgeon look at it and decided to cut and drain the infection. With a quivering lip I said, “Ok,” while I looked around for comfort from Mrs. P, who was still nowhere to be seen. She phoned me and asked how to get where I was and because I couldn’t really explain, she asked if I could come out front and meet her. Since my foot was in the process of being sterilized by five Thai nurses, I couldn’t really see a way out. Mrs. P finally found her way to me and stood by my side holding my hand. They prepared all their tools, wheeled over a huge metal tray with a grate on the top that looked similar to a grill, and placed my foot on it. I was thinking to myself,”How much are they planning on draining from me, because that thing is pretty big?” I grabbed Mrs. P’s hand as I saw them pull out a 6” curved needle. They stuck the needle directly in the infection and without waiting for the numbness to kick in, immediately started cutting my foot, and pushing out the infection. The pain was so intense I was unable to let out a scream or even move. I gripped onto Mrs. P’s hand with my teeth clinched and my body shaking. If given the opportunity to think about what they were going to do to me, I probably would have run right out of that ER, but this all happed within 20 minutes of me walking in the door. Finally they brought me up to my room where I would be on IV antibiotics and fluids for 2 days.

Brooke thought she wanted to look

I am so thankful to Mrs. P. Even though she almost passed-out herself, she never left my side that entire day. My roommates met up with me that afternoon and bless their hearts, stayed with me in the hospital all night, both sleeping on the world’s smallest bed. I am not sure how they did it, but I am so glad they did because I really needed them there. This has been an event to remember, I earned a reputation with the nurses there for being fearful of needles. But all in all my Thailand hospital experience was a good one I give them two thumbs up. Now the hard part begins…taking a break from running long enough for my foot to heal.

Tip for the week: Things grow rapidly in a warm humid climate, that’s just the way it is.

View from my hospital window. My roommates are great!

A Run For The Border (and I don't mean Taco Bell)

I must start this new blog before I forget any detail!!! This past weekend my roommate, Staci, and I went on a border run. For those of you that are not familiar with this term, a border run is not the same as taking a run for the border, it is simply crossing over the border outside of Thailand. We have to leave Thailand every 90 days in order to renew our visas. This border run trip took us to Myanmar. We decided to pay a driver to take us since it would be easier and probably cheaper in the long run. Staci told the driver the places we would like to stop on the way in order for us to see everything between Chiang Mai and Myanmar.

Our first stop was a Buddhist temple. I am not sure what material it was made of, but the entire thing was white with glistening edges that reflected the sunlight. It was quite beautiful, yet the symbolic meaning gives a person mixed emotions about its beauty. At the base of the temple there were sculpted hands reaching out of the dirt in agony. They were symbolizing the souls in hell. Some of the hands were holding a bowl that you could drop money into and buy the souls out of hell. The Buddhists believe if you pray for these souls while crossing the bridge into the temple, then you can pray them out of hell. To me the signs were obvious, the emptiness and eeriness that lingered outside the Buddhist temple, along with the hands reaching from hell, made me want to stop the people as they made their way into the temple to pray to their false god and look them in the eyes and say, “Don’t you see what is before you?”

Our next stop was not near as compelling or depressing. It was a sort of monkey haven where you get to feed monkeys. I must say, for days before this trip, going to see the monkeys was all I could think of. I couldn’t wait to hold the little guys, feed them peanuts and convince Staci to let me bring one home with me. As we drove up to the place, monkeys were everywhere. They were on cars, on the gate…all over. I guess I was expecting more of a zoo like atmosphere where they would be caged in monkeys, but these were just out in the wild. I could hardly contain myself; I was eager and ready to get out of the car and go pick out my monkey. They wandered all over the grounds, waiting for the next tourist to buy a bucket of peanuts. As soon as I got the bucket in my hands, I was overwhelmingly surrounded by monkeys. They tried to reach in the basket, they wiped their poopy hands all over my pants, they tried to climb up my leg to get to the basket, and then they started fighting each other for the peanuts. All this happened within about 30 seconds of me getting the basket of peanuts. I quickly passed the basket off to Joe, another guy who came with us, and said, “Here, I don’t like this.” I spent the rest of the stop taking pictures and trying to avoid the monkeys at all costs. I think Staci was a bit disappointed at my lack of enthusiasm. So much for my dreams of owning a pet monkey.

This stop also had a cave, which was accompanied by an enormous stone staircase that led into it. We decided to venture in with only one flashlight for 5 people. The cave went back really far and was completely pitch black, and we decided that one flashlight was clearly not enough for all of us to see. We were slipping and sliding around on the muddy wet ground as we passed the random statues of Buddha that were placed throughout the cave. Sometimes it was startling as we stared off into the distance trying to decipher the glistening golden face of Buddha. We all made it through the cave safe and sound with only a little mud on our feet, until I was walking out of the cave and slipped on the muddy rocks landing right on my rear. I managed to save my camera, although I busted my butt and got completely covered in mud. I was so angry at myself, because I knew that, being this early in the day, it was going to be a long rest of the afternoon in muddy pants. There was nothing I could do but laugh at myself, along with the rest of my friends.
Finally we made it to the border of Myanmar. Those of you, who know me, know that sometimes it is hard for me to contain my excitement. Walking across the border into another country is about as exciting as it gets and I wanted to take in every detail and savor the moment. However, it was difficult to do over the snickers of the Thai’s who were behind me laughing at my dirty rear end. I don’t understand enough Thai to know what they were saying, but by the looks of it, they probably though I had just climbed down off a mountain somewhere on my journey to the border. I took comfort in knowing I would probably not see any of them ever again. Between the two borders we saw children begging for money. Staci told us that if you give any one of them money, you will be swarmed by children, so we should just keep walking. As hard as it was to do, I just kept walking, while talking pictures of their little faces. On the way back into Thailand, after getting our passports stamped, there was one little boy who continued to follow us, asking us for money. Staci looked around for any other children. She didn’t see any so she slipped him a few baht (Thai money). Within moments we were surrounded by children asking for money. I am not sure where they came from, but it was pretty incredible. We emptied our wallets of change for the children, which neither of us minded, plus it made them feel more obligated to pose for pictures.

After crossing the border, we found me some new pants. Although they were unlike anything I have ever owned. They are called fisherman pants and rather than a zipper and button, they fold in the front, tie and then fold again over the knot. I looked like a total hippie, but blended in well with the rest of the people in Thailand.
Our next stop was crossing the border in to Laos. This was probably the most exciting part of the day since it required a boat ride. As we headed to our rickety boat, they handed us life jackets, which to me seemed odd, since I had not seen one safety precaution since I arrived here in Thailand. I said to the others, “Lifejackets, they don’t even wear helmets or seatbelts, why require lifejackets…and why is mine wet?” It didn’t take long in the boat for me to appreciate the fact that I had the lifejacket on. It was a very fast, very bumpy ride in that tiny, little, pointy wooden boat. Once arriving in Laos we experienced some great cultural things, such as rattlesnake whiskey (just looked, didn’t touch). We saw great little handmade items, but probably the highlight of it all was the little children. I asked a few if I could take their picture, so they posed for me. After I took the pictures, I showed them the picture on my camera. They were so excited and just pointed and laughed at their picture. I asked them if they would like to try and take a picture. Mind you, this entire conversation is me speaking very slowly in English and doing a lot of pointing. One little boy was so excited when I slipped the camera over his head to take a picture of me and the other children. It didn’t take long before I was once again surrounded by children laughing and hollering who knows what to each other. Each one of them took their turn trying to take a picture, and then we would show the picture to the entire group. They were adorable!

Finally, it was time to head back home. It was a three hour trip and I had drunk way too much water all day trying to stay hydrated. Our driver, I am sure was tired of me asking to stop for a bathroom, not to mention we were about four hours behind the schedule which he had planned for the day. It was such a memorable day for me, I will never forget my first border run, my first time to feed monkeys, my first pair of fisherman pants, my first time to see Myanmar and Laos, yet probably not my first or last time to fall in the mud though.

Orphans

I donʼt even know where to begin this post. This week has been filled with both blessed and trying moments. I ask every day for my Father to open my eyes to his direction for my life. Once again I find myself at a loss for words, trying to describe my Father's work here. Itʼs amazing. It's simply His hand holding on to His children.

All my life I have dreamed of holding the hands of little orphans who crave the touch and love they know so little. This week I had a chance to visit an orphanage here in town. Within moments of stepping out of the car, I was surrounded by children. Each one of them was full of smiles, each wanted to be picked up and held. I kneeled down to them as they grabbed onto my neck. One little girl in particular was in the process of getting dressed before I got there and still hadnʼt put on her little shirt. I took it out of her hands, put it on her, and buttoned all the buttons that werenʼt missing. The entire time she looked at my face, she smiled with such content. One of the workers there said they needed to stretch their legs and walk, and that I should not pick them up no matter how much they asked. I was able to take these little two-year-olds for a walk around the orphanage and to the playground. Not only were my hands full of little Thai baby hands, my arms were full as they clung to me, my legs were full as they held onto my pants, and my heart was full of heavy thoughts, because I knew I had to leave them.

This same day I met a lady who runs another orphanage for babies who were too sick in the regular orphanages and were not getting the attention they need. These are babies who were dying from simple infections such as pneumonia and diarrhea. If she does not take these babies in, they die from minor illnesses. It was at her orphanage that I was introduced to her beautiful, and now perfect and strong children. I asked if she would let me volunteer and she said she would love the extra help. I am so thrilled at this opportunity, and my supervisor has given me the thumbs up as long as it doesnʼt hinder my language study. I assured him that, if anything, it would be good for me because it would be a kind of outlet from study, as well as a chance to practice Thai with the helpers at her orphanage.

On this same day that I was so blessed, I was also the most overwhelmed. This was also the day that I met a young orphan girl who is struggling to learn English and Thai at the same time. Because of her background, she had been unable to read and write. She is now 14, but approximately a year ago, a family in the States chose to adopt her. Her life was going to change dramatically, she was going to live with a loving family, learn to read and write in school , and get the proper care she needed. Nine months after uprooting and moving the United States, the orphanage received a letter from an anonymous writer. This letter caused them to take her from her new family and place her back in the orphanage in Thailand. Devastated, she was forced to move back to the place she thought she had escaped. Last week, a couple looking for a young girl her age asked to meet her, brought her into their home, showed her to her room, and asked if she would like to come and live with them. The home was picture-perfect. Everything was beautiful, and without hesitation she agreed for them to adopt her. The day I met her was the day she was supposed to begin her new life with them. However, the couple had called the day before and decided they were not interested in adopting her. So, rather than being taken her to her new home, she had to be told that she would be staying at the orphanage. It was one of the saddest things I have ever witnessed. I got to spend some time with her on this day, and she taught me Thai words while I taught her English words. She had a picture Bible with her, so I asked if I could read her one of the stories. I picked the story of Esther and told her how my Father was with Esther, even when she was in a place she didnʼt want to be.. I told her how He made her strong. I donʼt thing this will be the end of our relationship - I hope this will just be the beginning. Her story has broken my heart, but she blessed me with her company and constant smile, even after facing devastating news. Lift her up when you talk to our Father, ask for her heart to be comforted, and that she will be able to see a future filled with hope, and not the despair of her past.

Finding Him Here

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I can’t believe it’s already been a month since I arrived here in Thailand . Each day continues to be an adventure. I am starting to learn my way around the city - well, at least to the grocery story and my office. Language learning has proven to be challenging, but completely necessary. I can’t thank you all enough for all your thoughts, it is truly all His doing getting me to this point in my life. I will continue to follow the adventure He has planned for me.

In the past month I have tried lots of new things, some I will only try one time, some I will learn to live with, and others I consider the perks of the job. Food is always one of the things people ask me about: “are you eating?”, “do they serve dog and cat?”…Yes I am eating, and well in fact. I have eaten some strange things that I know to stay away from, but not dog or cat. One of the things I have added to my book of what not to eat again is a salmon sandwich. The menu said smoked salmon sandwich and I thought, "Well that sounds healthy and refreshing." I am not sure what they smoked it with, but it definitely wasn’t heat. Wouldn’t you know I just decided to go ahead and bite into it despite the smell and look of it. Yes, it was raw and yes, I did gag.

My motto is usually that I will try anything once, but in Asia all rules go out the window. In the markets they have all kinds of cool things such as fresh fruit, fresh flowers, cloths, handcrafted items, and “fresh” meat. It became a realization that the people don’t waste anything here when I saw the pigs heads displayed on the meat table, along with ears, hoofs and testicles. The most disturbing part was the head. Not sure how they cook it or eat it, not sure I even care. That was one of those things that went straight to the top of the list not to try.

The smell here is unlike anything I have ever experienced. And for those of you that have traveled to Asian countries, you know what I am talking about. I am told it isn’t as bad here as most Asian cities, but at times it is definitely noticeable. There are places in the market where the streets are wet and dirty with who knows what. Sometimes puddles of blood can be seen from the freshly cut meat. Most toilets are “squatty potties” (not sure if that is the official term or not). But the idea is you squat over it rather then sit on it. Sounds pretty sanitary, but add the fact that there is no TP but rather a nozzle to hose off with and a bucket of water with a cup to flush, and this makes for a very slippery damp area to do your business. I have mastered "number one" in these toilets, but I just hope I don’t ever have a moment when I have to do the other in there. Needless to say, wearing your flip flops out on this ground can make your feet feel pretty tainted. I know it’s bad when my Chru (teacher), who took me out for the day yesterday, washed her feet in my bathroom when she brought me back home. When she left she told me to be sure and wash my feet and hands. Which I was going to do anyway since I had had a small accident on my foot earlier in the “squatty potty.” Ok, so I have almost mastered it.

So for those of you who were going to come and visit me and now are having second thoughts, let me share the best things about this place that far outweigh any of the other things I don’t quite understand. First of all, Thai food is amazing…although because it is lower in fat than American food, it might leave you longing for something more, that's why there is always room for a fresh fruit smoothy. The portions are good-sized, though, and most of the time you can eat for less than a dollar. Truly, the expensive part is getting here, but once you’re here you can eat and buy things for very cheap. Another thing I love about this place is the people and how friendly and welcoming they are to “farang” foreigners. In the states we can sometimes get annoyed by tourists, not here though. They won’t bat an eye at cutting you off in traffic, but will be smiling ear to ear while doing so.

I experienced an amazing church service this past Sunday. I went to church with my Thai teacher, who attends a non-denominational church. The sermon was preached in Thai with an English translator. The worship was unlike anything I have experienced before. I will do my best to paint a picture of the service, but it won’t be near to what living it was. Imagine probably 50 or more Thai people lifting their hands, jumping up and down to every song, singing with real passion and joy, holding back nothing. Despite the heat in the room and being surrounded by people…they were free, free from a darkness few of us truly understand. With their hearts they cry out to their Father, all in unison like a choir of Thai voices in their native language, singing “every breath that I take, every moment I’m awake, have your way in me.” Tears were brought to my eyes because I could see He is here, too. Even though there is a dark blanket covering the lands…there are small holes of light so that when you stand in the midst, you feel totally surrounded by His presence. Far above the food, the travel, the new experiences, the smells, the people, the beauty, stands my Father, who called me to this place, from this place…and I am in love with the people.

Please remember when you talk to the Father:
Lift up the people that the truth would be seen here.
That I would stay focused on my relationship with my Father.
That the language would start to become clearer to me.
For His direction to be clear to me daily.

Be lifted today my dear friends. I miss you all so very much and think of you often.

Final Days