Fundraising Update

Last night Liz and I and a bunch of awesome volunteers manned the merchandise tables at the Natalie Grant/Chondra Pierce concert at Spotswood. A portion of the profits (at least $500 dollars--that's $250 each--enough to cover half a month's living expenses) were designated for our Thailand team. We are very grateful for that contribution and are looking forward to how God is going to continue to use people to make our stay in Thailand possible.

We've been figuring out the logistics for sponsorships and one-time donors so support letters should be going out very soon (within the next week or so). If you are at all interested in what I am doing and would like a sponsor letter either e-mailed to your e-mail address or mailed to your home address, please send an e-mail to clairececil11@gmail.com with that information. I am hoping to get 30 individuals/couples or families to sponsor me for $15, $30, or $60 a month. Any additional money that comes in will be set aside for my plane ticket home (yes, I bought a one-way ticket to Bangkok).

BONUS: If you send me your home address, I will mail you a cool magnet that you can stick on your fridge to remind you to pray for us and visit our blogs to see what God is doing in Thailand.

IAD to BKK

The tickets are officially in our possession--no returns, no refunds (why would we want to return them?)

In less than three months time, Liz and I will be boarding the largest plane that either of us has ever ridden on (double decker!!) and making our way to Thailand fo' real.

I'm sitting where that orange number is and Liz will be directly to my right. Note where the stairs are located...I plan on trekking up and down those stairs as many times as I can so my blood doesn't clot.

We're departing Dulles (IAD) at 6:40 PM on Monday, June 11th and should arrive in Bangkok (BKK) on Wednesday, June 13th at 11:05 AM. That's a three day trip. Wow. Pray for me?

Supot

Last night Liz and I met up with our new Thai friend, Supot. He studied mechanical engineering in Bangkok but he's here in the US to learn (improve) his English. While he is learning English, Liz and I hope that we can simultaneously learn Thai--maybe not much but enough to help us transition better to life in Thailand.

"Where is the BSC?" An important question though Supot had never heard of the BSC before... (in Thai, you would say "BSC is where?")

The sounds that one needs to produce in order to make any sort of sense in Thai sound so similar to my American ears--upward intonation versus downward intonation can totally change the meaning. I was so glad that Supot was there to tell us when we made sense and when the sounds we were producing made no sense or meant something we never intended (say the word for "rice" the wrong way and you can potentially confuse a Thai person.)

"Gang ki-ow wan" is sweet green curry soup! We spent some time talking about food--how to order something, what types of foods you can order and the critical question for me which was what's for breakfast? I said cereal? Supot vigorously shook his head and said that mostly you eat rice and fried egg or some other meat that looks alarmingly similar to what's served for lunch and dinner too. Oh well. Giving up my favorite meal for a year will open up so many possibilities for new favorite meals.

If you can't tell, this artfully drawn picture is a food cart from which we'll eat many of our meals!

It was such a pleasure to meet Supot and for him to give up his time to meet with two strangers who are moving to Thailand in a few months. I really hope that God uses us in these weekly meetings with Supot and foreshadows what it's going to look like to have a relationship with Thai friends who don't know Jesus. Pray that we love him and ultimately point him towards Christ who is love.

Psalm 46

God is our refuge and strength,
always ready to help in times of trouble.
So we will not fear when earthquakes come
and the mountains crumble into the sea.
Let the oceans roar and foam.
Let the mountains tremble as the waters surge!

Interlude

A river brings joy to the city of our God,
the sacred home of the Most High.
God dwells in that city; it cannot be destroyed.
From the very break of day, God will protect it.
The nations are in chaos,
and their kingdoms crumble!
God’s voice thunders,
and the earth melts!
The LORD of Heaven’s Armies is here among us;
the God of Israel is our fortress.

Interlude

Come, see the glorious works of the LORD:
See how he brings destruction upon the world.
He causes wars to end throughout the earth.
He breaks the bow and snaps the spear;
he burns the shields with fire.

“Be still, and know that I am God!
I will be honored by every nation.
I will be honored throughout the world.”

The LORD of Heaven’s Armies is here among us;
the God of Israel is our fortress.

Interlude

Psalm 46 NLT

My "Twen-Thai Third" Birthday Celebration...

...was pretty amazing

Liz, my fellow missionary and friend, invited me over to her parent's house Saturday afternoon for some sort of party/celebration in honor of my 23rd birthday (which was February 24th). All I knew was dress swanky (Liz may have said "semi-formal" but I needed clarification on that front so she refined the definition to "swanky"--done.)

Here's the scene I encountered when I entered the kitchen:

Please note how no one is actually looking at me (Ellynn glanced my direction at first) when I entered except for Liz because they were working hard to put some of the world's most complicated recipes on the table! So while everyone was chopping, slicing, arranging, measuring, and sweating, I made a self-portrait out of cookie dough.

Here is the menu:

• Thai Spring Rolls--so authentic
• Red Curry Chicken
• Basil Chicken (love this one)
• Thai Iced Tea
• And one of my all time favs...Mango Sticky Rice!!
• And "bow-thai" cookies for dessert :)

I was so blessed by all the effort that went into this evening of Thai food, good friends followed by a birthday-themed Mafia game. I said it once that evening but I'll say it again,

Khob-kun-ka!!!

Photo Credit: Candice Roland (thank you!)