CCCS Thailand Days 2-3

Family and Friends,
I am staying at nice apartment on the third floor of the Concordia Gospel Ministries building in Bangkok. It is divided into three sections. On the bottom layer there is a lobby in the center that goes to the rear of the building. There are two small classrooms for teaching English which are used by Robin and Ar. Ar and her husband Joe, run the CGM center. The office is on the side of Ar's class room and the kitchen extends beyond Robin's classroom. Each section has a stairway that goes all the way up to the third floor, so that there are three stairways in the center, one from the kitchen, one from the office and one from the lobby. It is 18 steps from the front of the lobby to the rear and 7 steps across the lobby. I hope that you can understand that it is quite small, but the high ceilings and big windows make it seem larger. The dimensions are the same for each section. On the second floor, there is the worship area for Journey Into Light church. This is where we had our seminars two years ago. This extends over the section for the lobby and Robin's teaching rooms and the kitchen area. Over the office and Ar's area is the office for the Lutheran Heritage Foundation. This is the group that translates Christian reading material into Thai.
The third floor has two apartments, each with the same dimensions as the lobby. One is Robin's apartment, one I am using. I am not sure but think there is one more apartment that can be reached from the stairway from the kitchen. I don't want to be nosy so I'm not going to explore. There is a small courtyard off the kitchen where you can wash dishes or cook outside. Clothing can also be dried here as nobody has a clothes dryer.

The apartment where I am staying has a bedroom that overlooks the parking lot. There are windows and doors that go out to a small balcony. robin warned me not to open the doors without looking for snakes. Even though it is the third floor, one time years ago, python had been found on the balcony! It is hot and humid, but I have an air conditioner in the bedroom. There is a very large bed, desk, easy chair, TV wardrobe with dresser, and fan.
It is very comfortable.

There is a table, washing machine, Microwave, ironing board, refrigerator, etc. for me to use. There is also a sink and some dishes.

The bathroom is very unusual. The toilet is right in the middle of the shower area. I suppose that you could clean the potty while you shower! You have to remember to move the toilet paper so that it doesn't get wet when you shower. The hot water heater only heats water for the shower. You turn it on a minute before your shower and it heats quickly.

Saturday, I awoke and took my time getting stuff settled and unpacked. I ate a breakfast bar from Robin and then came down to join her in her classes. She allowed me to take some time telling who I was. I gave each of the students, a cross that had been made by Unity school in East St. Louis. I showed the kids photos of the Unity kids and told them that they had been praying for them during the trouble undergone by the Thai government at the end of May. It was great fun to be able to tell them about the kids I teach. I sang the Shrinking Song for them. They colored some crosses for me to take back to Unity School.

In all, I was able to take part in five classes, three for Robin and two for Ar. I especially enjoyed working with the little children and the pretty girls that were excited to hear that I had a handsome 15 year old son at home!

After class, Robin and I went shopping to two big shopping centers. The closer one is called Big C. It is like a super Wal-mart and shopping mall put together. I bought a new blouse, tank top and pair of shorts for about $18. I also bought some bananas and bottled water and some kleenex. Robin bought some ingredients for a Mexican style supper and we went to her room to eat and watch a movie. I was falling asleep during the movie, but she kept rewinding it so that I could watch the whole thing. It was called, "While You Were Sleeping," I guess I took the title too literally.

I was able to talk to my sweet heart for a little bit which made me have sweet dreams.

I awoke on Sunday moring very refreshed. I straightened my room and took a shower. I also had time to pray my usual Sunday morning prayers for all of the pastors, schools, family and friends. I ate another breakfast bar and some bananas.

Bible class was held in Ar's English classroom. It was lead by Dennis, who is the husband of Boom, the director of the Thai Lutheran hour office. It was a great study on Matthew 8 the healing of the Centurian's servant. There were about a dozen people there. Dennis speaks English so it was translated into Thai by Pastor Sompong, who also translated two years ago for Tim and me.

Then we had Sunday School, there were two kids, the grandson of Pastor Sompong and another girl. They also colored some crosses for me to take home to Unity School. I went upstairs to worship. My friend, Dang, who had picked my up from the airport, translated for me. It was great to have a liturgy that I could follow. It was a communion service and everyone went to the front of the church and made a circle for communion. It was good to see people that I remembered from 2 years ago.

There was supposed to be a potluck, but plans changed at the last minute. some had brought food, so the pastor's wife went to get some more cooked rice and we had lunch. Robin had made a cake with strawberries on top. It was very good.

After lunch, Pastor Sompong and his wife and a friend of theirs took me to the river where we caught a boat tour. On the way, we saw lots of venders selling wonderful things, turtles, sunglasses, jewelry, food, and so on. The boat held about 50 people with about 20 visible life jackets. To embark and disembark, you simply step over the side of the boat. I was glad that I didn't loose my shoes in the river. There were two stops, both where you could buy special Thai sweets, candy and cookies. Both places had areas where you could watch them make the special treats. Pastor's wife bought some candy that looked like little fruits but was made from soybeans. They tasted sweet.

Pastor Sompong explained that there were many temples beside the river so that people could bring offerings to the monks more easily. In the United States you see many steeples with crosses, here you see many spires of temples.

It was cloudy and soon the clouds opened up. On the boats they put down the plastic sides from roof. At first I thought, leave them open, it would be great to get a little wet. Then it poured. The two young men who walked on the narrow sides of the boat to put down the clear plastic sides were drenched. I was thankful that their bare feet stayed firm and they did not slide over board.

When we got back to Pastor's truck, there were about two inches of water in the truck bed. We emptied it and then returned back to the CGM center where I have been working on this email ever since. Poor Robin just returned from the dentist, Imagine a Sunday 5:30 pm appointment. and said that her root canal went quite well.

I better sign off. More tomorrow.
Thanks for all of your prayers.
Dawn