Wednesday, April 12, 2006

pom (dichan) poot tai mai dai

Here we are, one month until graduation and I thought it necessary to begin to layout what would be happening in the months/years to come. So I'm going to contribute this blog entry to the country of Thailand...Chiang-Mai, Thailand to be more specific.

As many of you know, Brooke just found out that she will for sure be spending the next two years (August 2006 - May 2008) in Chaing-Mai as a missionary teaching special education at Grace International School.

These are some of the children that Brooke will be teaching playing outdoors on the Grace International campus.

So in this entry, for Brookie's sake, I thought I'd educate our readers on the wonders of Thailand, and include some picture along the way so we can see what she'll be seeing in a few short months.

Thailand covers an area about twice the size of Wyoming. The climate there is tropical with a warm southwest monsoon from May to September and a cool northeast monsoon from November to March. The terrain includes a central plain, the Khorat plateau in the east, and mountains in other regions.

More than 64.2 million people live in Thailand. Thai is their primary language, while English is considered the secondary language of the elite. Religions practiced in Thailand are: Buddhism (95%), Islam (4%), with Christianity, Hinduism, and other beliefs practiced by a little more than 1% of the population.


This last picture is mostly for Brooke. I know that she loves those kiddos, so here's to Brookie and her upcoming adventures in a new land. WE LOVE YOU SO SO MUCH and are so excited to hear about the Lord using you in such a new, fun place.

~js

8 comments:

D.O. said...

good job Jess... I agree... I think we'll miss Brookie.

Anonymous said...

Well done Jess... so educational. It made me even more excited for our Brookie, but also a little teary. Which seems to be the trend these days.

I love y'all dearly. (our little family)

Anonymous said...

ok.... so the tears just seem to come pretty easily these days..... and once again they came. i'm gonna miss "our little family" like crazy! but, those kids are SOOO cute. i can't contain myself. i can't wait to be there, meet new friends, teach kids, learn thai (so i can actually understand the title of this entry), and tell each of you all about it.... and then maybe one day you can come to visit me!!!! i mean, did you see that amazing tropical picture??? i say you drop by on your way to the olympics in 2008 (china is just up the road). thanks js for such a lovely entry that touched my lil heart.

Anonymous said...

Your faith astounds me Brooke. Selfishly I will miss you so much, but I am so excited for you. I can't wait to see how the Lord moves through your kids and you over the next two years. I love you doesn't seem strong enough to tell you how much you mean to me.

Anonymous said...

"How do I live without you? I want to know. I do I breathe without you if you ever go? How do I ever ever survive???" -Sing it like LeAnn!!!

Brookie,
I suppose you MUST go, but I don't know what to do without you! Ditto everything Steph said! Without getting tooo sappy (and teary---yes, teary), you have to know how much these last 3 years of living with you has meant to me! I love you so much and will miss you like the grass misses the sun on a cloudy day (but probably more than that!)!!!! I'm excited to watch the Lord move through you (and your emails!!)!!!!!

Anonymous said...

I followed the link from Hayley's profile only to find an entry on a place very near and dear to my heart. I love Thailand. Last summer I volunteered at Wat Mai Yai Morn day care in Thonburi. Poot Thai nit noi. :) Just learn to say Ron Ka! (It's hot!) Enjoy Chiang Mai; it's a fun little city! Take a cooking class or two while you're there. Look up the Masters cooking class.

Many in Thailand do not know who Jesus is, but they are really open to listening to you speak about Him. The people in Thailand find people way more important than time so you will find them the friendliest people ever! Everything is super cheap there. A small thing that means a lot to some people there is to buy them a Pepsi or Sprite. It can be a lot of money to them and nothing to you.

If you get a chance, go visit the island of Koh Phi Phi and volunteer with the tsunami aid volunteer group HI Phi Phi. It's one the places in Thailand that is primarily Muslim. You seriously meet EVERYONE on the island; when I went there was only 1 native who knew Jesus.

I'll stop rambling on someone else's blog, but I love Thailand and am so excited for your trip. Thank you, Brooke, for being a faithful harvester. May God bless you!

Anonymous said...

By the way, it would be dichan for you... Pom is what boys say. :)

Anonymous said...

Hi! Just wondering if Brooke is going with the IMB. If she'll be in Virginia for Orientation May-July then my husband and I will be there too! We'll be going to Southeast Asia but not to the "buddy block." Check out our blog and leave a post...
http://anthonyandsharon.blogspot.com
~Sharon