At conference

We thought we wouldn't have an internet connection here at the spartan Wangtarn Resort, but this year we have acquired a large number of new computer guys and they were determined to get us an internet connection out here. As a result, we have wireless out here in the country. It's pretty slow, even for us, but it works. The childcare team here from America can't believe anything could be so slow and pretty well think it's useless.

Conference is both a fun time & a stressful time. I usually have quite a lot to prepare for and I sometimes find the crowd a bit much, but on the other hand, there is a family feeling here and lots of quality time with friends. Here is a picture of game night.

Gabe loves conference very much. We have a childcare team that comes regularly to our conference from a church in the States. They love coming and we love them too. They have cared for Gabe three times now and they are one of the highlights of his year. Here is a conversation from this morning:

Me: Gabe, what's this drawing you did?

Gabe: That's Jesus healing the panthers.

Me: The panthers?

Gabe: Or maybe the leopards.

Me: When did Jesus heal the leopards?

Gabe: I saw it in the play they did this morning.

Me: Did they have leopards in the play?

Gabe: No, they didn't look like leopards because they had leprosy and their skin came off.

Though he has only been out of school for a week, and he played with someone nearly every day during that week, more kids is always good news for him. When playing outside gets boring and he's had too much sun, he can go to the meeting hall where this photo was taken. The few toys there are lame and old, but with so many other kids, it hardly matters.

We had a great service this morning where our speaker talked about filling water pots in preparation for Jesus' miracles (from the water into wine story). He talked about the hard work of daily living cross-culturally as the hauling water. To be honest, I don't always feel like daily living is that hard, but it was an appropriate sermon for one of our members. A girl who teaches at the school was moving out to a village near the resort in an attempt to be a light to the community and also get a chance to learn Thai a bit better. It is an unusual move for a teacher; most of the teachers like to have their summers to rest. I and a few others went out to the house where she will stay to pray for her and the house and the other members of the household. As we pulled up, Gabe said to the teacher, "Why would you want to live here?" Even he could see that her new living situation would be a significant step down in comfort.

One aspect of the visit to the village gave me a new insight. This teacher and another teacher who came to pray are the most diligent of all the teachers I know in Thai studies. However, I could easily see that in spite of all their efforts, they still have a hard time conversing in Thai. It gave me new compassion for Eric's struggles in Thai. I see now that it must be very difficult to find the energy to study when you have such a demanding job. As I said above, I don't always find living here to be so stressful, but I have had the time and space to learn the language and culture, a luxury Eric and his fellow teachers don't have. I would hope that if we do another term, Eric could have some time for this.