tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-66463127248761490752024-03-06T12:09:43.720+07:00Life is Beautifulthe journey of God's faithfulness Natashahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10069883214773860511noreply@blogger.comBlogger113125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6646312724876149075.post-32874805277808489882012-01-23T14:11:00.003+07:002012-01-23T15:22:47.535+07:00Life is Beautiful, it's true.Life is Beautiful. My title says it all. I am at such a beautiful place in my life. I want for nothing. And better yet I'm receiving things that I didn't even know I wanted. The gifts, tangible and abstract are flowing freely my way. I am continually filled with such joy and excitement, I literally cannot contain it. I cannot smile big enough to express how I feel. I am so utterly overwhelmed by the love of God. I walk around like a giddy girl who is love with a permanent smile on my face.<br /><br />And yet at the same time I see and hear the stories of the broken hearted, the lost, the destitute. Those who have experienced such injustice and live life without the knowledge of the <span style="font-style: italic;font-size:130%;" >hope</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> </span>and <span style="font-style: italic;font-size:130%;" >love</span> of God. I am completely overwhelmed with their sadness and pain. I cry out and pray for them as if they were my own flesh and blood. And I start to see that this is how Father God feels.<br /><br />God has infused me with His love and I cannot help but lavish it on others and at the same time have compassion on those suffering. It's not just compassion, but empathy, I can feel their heart cry deep in my soul.<br /><br />To list all the blessings from God would take pages and pages and pages. Oh, how my soul sings how good He is. The Bible is true, for if we fully believe it in soul and mind, there is nothing to worry or fear. For we live in God's Kingdom and He has full ability to provide for our every need and loves to lavish His love on us.<br /><br />I have never had this many friends in my life at one time as I do now. Friends that know me, that love and care for me deeply. I turn to the left or to the right and there is someone whose got my back, who if I have a problem would drop everything and come immediately. To feel such great love not only from God but from all those around you is like nothing else.<br /><br />LOVE.<br /><br />Everything comes back to Love. LOVE is the greatest weapon and the greatest cure. The Bible says PERFECT LOVE casts out all fear. When you've experienced the perfect love of the Father... that's it, there's nothing else to worry about for you know He's always got your back and will carry you through whatever trial comes your way.Natashahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10069883214773860511noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6646312724876149075.post-37861088300382284632012-01-04T14:36:00.004+07:002012-01-04T14:40:36.980+07:00My Life.<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:lucida grande;">"I heard a call, '<span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Come follow</span>',<br /></span><span style="font-family:lucida grande;">That was all.<br /></span><span style="font-family:lucida grande;">Earth's joys grew dim,<br /></span><span style="font-family:lucida grande;">My soul went after Him,<br /></span><span style="font-family:lucida grande;">I rose and followed-<br /></span><span style="font-family:lucida grande;">That was all."</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:lucida grande;"> --unknown</span></span><br /></div>Natashahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10069883214773860511noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6646312724876149075.post-22339036501524636682011-12-07T15:50:00.000+07:002011-12-07T15:50:36.447+07:00The Lumineers - "Ho Hey"Loving this song right now. Heard it on a little tv show called Hart of Dixie, thanks CW.<br /><br /><iframe src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/AmZJUfcxrvc?fs=1" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" width="480"></iframe>Natashahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10069883214773860511noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6646312724876149075.post-36529178374522159962011-11-08T07:00:00.001+07:002011-11-08T07:02:28.067+07:00Module 5: check.The end of another class. They seem to go by so fast now. I can't believe Module 6 is next, which is the last module- after that there are 8 or so elective classes you can chose from to study.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9HbfwAZZSqjOPgY6Y_XN-z6ot9c9Qv7xC4XZQlEEPgAxnulCwJpzo439QgHxQrkUVes9xCim45qzMNx_ejy6NM0SwGgZy973VMP2hEFJ3_k7g-eFUPvXigf5W0-vI8tkt9b-dWyGUmfkD/s1600/IMG_2504.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9HbfwAZZSqjOPgY6Y_XN-z6ot9c9Qv7xC4XZQlEEPgAxnulCwJpzo439QgHxQrkUVes9xCim45qzMNx_ejy6NM0SwGgZy973VMP2hEFJ3_k7g-eFUPvXigf5W0-vI8tkt9b-dWyGUmfkD/s400/IMG_2504.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5671087776009674898" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:100%;">From left to right: Mr. Jung, a Korean pastor I've studied with for the past 3 months. Tony and Jay, my Korean buddies. Kozue, the Japanese girl who I've studied with for 3 months as well <span style="font-size:85%;">(I'm sure she looks familiar from past class photos)</span>. My cute teacher, who loves to laugh as much as I do <span style="font-size:78%;">(especially at my classmates failed attempts to read properly :)</span>. And Selina, the 16yr Chinese girl- who honestly already speaks fluent Thai having lived here for years growing up. She spoke good English too, so I finally had someone in class to joke with and ask for translation when needed. It was fabulous. Strangely enough she lives in the building next to mine <span style="font-size:85%;">(of all the ones in the city, right?). <span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;">Her mom studied Module 1 at the same time, so we would all ride the bus together to school. She reminded me of the little sister I never had. ;)<br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><br />Hope Module 6 can compete with this class....I've got high hopes.</span><br /></span></span></span>Natashahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10069883214773860511noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6646312724876149075.post-20448008422328049022011-11-07T11:00:00.001+07:002011-11-07T11:04:12.310+07:00Mom comes to BangkokMy mom came out mid-October for 9 weeks or so to visit the family, especially the grand kids- Skype just doesn't do justice when it comes to children.<br /><br />She was able to spend a full week with me before heading down south to my brother's. I had school everyday and homework, but we were able to fit in some shopping days for sure! We checked out the new mall that just opened near my school and house- it is amazing, so extravagant! We ate at some delicious restaurants and of course saw a couple movies in the plush theaters of Bangkok.<br /><br />It was real good for my mom to understand where I live, how I go to school, where I shop for groceries, etc. Now that she has lived it and can picture, there's no more worry. My life, although extremely different, is very safe.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Mom's arrival: 1 suitcase for me, 1 for my brother, & 1 car seat for the grand kid<br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr8TKwkQhR3Ci500mgS26Jhy6Ztx8PMdMgVWB4ThdtsvEynNNUWEyPrTuHIUv0KmFHALHkuyqsMHHiCoaSkBuTfSP6ft04Jqdf6ZVaI93ylUYstUBLBBMA9DTwmX4QbXEqo7H-tDJvJrwn/s1600/IMG_2501.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr8TKwkQhR3Ci500mgS26Jhy6Ztx8PMdMgVWB4ThdtsvEynNNUWEyPrTuHIUv0KmFHALHkuyqsMHHiCoaSkBuTfSP6ft04Jqdf6ZVaI93ylUYstUBLBBMA9DTwmX4QbXEqo7H-tDJvJrwn/s400/IMG_2501.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5671093574583040754" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">At my church sitting with my Thai friends that God has blessed me with. They practice their English and I Thai- my mom was able to understand half the conversation. ;)<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhusxqduR_bHrUXFxqczzl0dqiudI7NgKSYtr8CC6UwrmviXKL9EX0nYBETj_CxTpSbUZ7lCniXX34A6t0YmUS9WNnPI4G5nrWwSehlZY1Gg0rPzKfWtoNGh-_NY8ROHrOUbN17Vkc9XFvL/s1600/SAM_8053.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhusxqduR_bHrUXFxqczzl0dqiudI7NgKSYtr8CC6UwrmviXKL9EX0nYBETj_CxTpSbUZ7lCniXX34A6t0YmUS9WNnPI4G5nrWwSehlZY1Gg0rPzKfWtoNGh-_NY8ROHrOUbN17Vkc9XFvL/s400/SAM_8053.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5671167991049021746" border="0" /></a><br />I wanted Mom to experience all forms of public transportation in Bangkok, so we took the river boat taxi along the canals of the city. Bangkok is called the Venice of the East.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-voDO-3GRDjjDQRNIGrMfiAikXpIIzOOvleh24nPNmiW_-eTqePMmEEo36_JrKSHfiZ6h3FtHkOGJmBHOSxA1Swcn6bK0JQuAkQQNK-3doxfQ07Bk7cEJhcUkdzVAkT7GE7SFDYTsIXRR/s1600/P1030241.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-voDO-3GRDjjDQRNIGrMfiAikXpIIzOOvleh24nPNmiW_-eTqePMmEEo36_JrKSHfiZ6h3FtHkOGJmBHOSxA1Swcn6bK0JQuAkQQNK-3doxfQ07Bk7cEJhcUkdzVAkT7GE7SFDYTsIXRR/s400/P1030241.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5671093601343591170" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoUCNSbJtSwqNw52K2EpSBRUtJMAaZkS0UcmPtSSeVsC-Y_SmNx-YOWJ2CyLSM1aMj2FfdnrjEjWwtaL4tPkalByNXWJ0EiyyKnXNI3t8Cmbd2kvZSe5N1QgD_QbMgnZWsF_-lMAkarb_i/s1600/P1030240.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoUCNSbJtSwqNw52K2EpSBRUtJMAaZkS0UcmPtSSeVsC-Y_SmNx-YOWJ2CyLSM1aMj2FfdnrjEjWwtaL4tPkalByNXWJ0EiyyKnXNI3t8Cmbd2kvZSe5N1QgD_QbMgnZWsF_-lMAkarb_i/s400/P1030240.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5671093583745071858" border="0" /></a><br />We went to my friend, Celeste's, coffee shop who helps lady-boys<br />and enjoyed some delicious cupcakes and coffees.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpfzCW_32yX16FCw1bu7fMEBCz24P9CSQa1SiMtsxe17iu0xZSN5309QGkN6itOO6dHhDz5p54pXQtXzT_qSrHCt1o1ICrEGG74GkGShzBEkLh3zsH-hMv6KhpdclgJaPIUy8Q4oiQRMTK/s1600/P1030297.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpfzCW_32yX16FCw1bu7fMEBCz24P9CSQa1SiMtsxe17iu0xZSN5309QGkN6itOO6dHhDz5p54pXQtXzT_qSrHCt1o1ICrEGG74GkGShzBEkLh3zsH-hMv6KhpdclgJaPIUy8Q4oiQRMTK/s400/P1030297.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5671165409703677602" border="0" /></a><br />We went to Lumpini Park, which is like the Central Park of Bangkok.<br />Such a nice escape, even in the midst of the big city.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNjmKHAA-pIX1IlPkSc0h-KNhbL17QjuLppxHLxnLPcT4biGYmNad7YrUkOTbGGbtBxxHjLn3vjXbnhWppgabtO8-98d-t9DFfSWrb39txoamTKFe7dmSoEQQGcJMYct7t8JvzdUH2ys38/s1600/P1030279.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNjmKHAA-pIX1IlPkSc0h-KNhbL17QjuLppxHLxnLPcT4biGYmNad7YrUkOTbGGbtBxxHjLn3vjXbnhWppgabtO8-98d-t9DFfSWrb39txoamTKFe7dmSoEQQGcJMYct7t8JvzdUH2ys38/s400/P1030279.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5671100418156946290" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0vEon5OWBBg-b81KkJVMSq1YMKT8klGmkrhC5p3lxGTBozR8SeWnrEkcoTWqB4u0TRGQRs2c-eMaQw9OcOo4H7Q6UgW-S7aimcfAsXfcdusqlLFHpk3GPVVGZiOuk6qb-uG2bDBHPaaXp/s1600/P1030282.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0vEon5OWBBg-b81KkJVMSq1YMKT8klGmkrhC5p3lxGTBozR8SeWnrEkcoTWqB4u0TRGQRs2c-eMaQw9OcOo4H7Q6UgW-S7aimcfAsXfcdusqlLFHpk3GPVVGZiOuk6qb-uG2bDBHPaaXp/s400/P1030282.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5671100430767527986" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisd-V-cFOteDqjRm5pdvl4iySQucUk4ED8KdoyKYhpPj_YiDSX_HFqPhnpgCwW8a5u0Av79EQoRxoKYJ2m32rOQLErRmWMwEGTaYS5viIp4N6htE5xIo6cOBWj9zsHkqSs4kaEgjhdLcmK/s1600/P1030283.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisd-V-cFOteDqjRm5pdvl4iySQucUk4ED8KdoyKYhpPj_YiDSX_HFqPhnpgCwW8a5u0Av79EQoRxoKYJ2m32rOQLErRmWMwEGTaYS5viIp4N6htE5xIo6cOBWj9zsHkqSs4kaEgjhdLcmK/s400/P1030283.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5671165426717529634" border="0" /></a><br />We found a great restaurant at the top of the new mall with the booths shaped liked little cabanas overlooking the city and river. It was beautiful! <span style="font-size:85%;"><br />You can see the sky train to my left and my school is in one of those high-rise buildings</span><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6ARQoV379fbIJFQL5xsRIJ6n-_YUOSGf19mW80ug57mVvW9dgSUNSp-jSmckPTXPRLG3F2nqeH9NbAUOuNlrAN0e8dd4CUfCfnsX4ibLFjIBp5zWPdklrBXu6gNofpNrJ5txFJATOn9GP/s1600/P1030256.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6ARQoV379fbIJFQL5xsRIJ6n-_YUOSGf19mW80ug57mVvW9dgSUNSp-jSmckPTXPRLG3F2nqeH9NbAUOuNlrAN0e8dd4CUfCfnsX4ibLFjIBp5zWPdklrBXu6gNofpNrJ5txFJATOn9GP/s400/P1030256.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5671093618084637634" border="0" /></a>Thai Ice Tea- part of every Thai diet<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk_2dsvGFnn463pAkHMRrmLlDShyJMn42KarCDy73ivy3KxU89F7GJVZegqF7gy9HR0Z0Q4_-7GIe-2776_rXHXppOrtJlFCqp6uXtrN_7JQJGHM66YN5gVZ4kro5NNFiX-9gKtpPcXqE0/s1600/P1030259.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk_2dsvGFnn463pAkHMRrmLlDShyJMn42KarCDy73ivy3KxU89F7GJVZegqF7gy9HR0Z0Q4_-7GIe-2776_rXHXppOrtJlFCqp6uXtrN_7JQJGHM66YN5gVZ4kro5NNFiX-9gKtpPcXqE0/s400/P1030259.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5671100382100763106" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj73QYldXK9bhKjXYWTGSZvgiif2KylY9ZH2I1dfapVhFV-YDTHIaIQSI6ApMg8x-mEwMGD6I8MYiVJKZO-r-ecDqNyZ8JHP8Vi-CxpHvylWU9NeCxpvTzl3p7UpDb9SyXgN9aYvH088Ls2/s1600/P1030262.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj73QYldXK9bhKjXYWTGSZvgiif2KylY9ZH2I1dfapVhFV-YDTHIaIQSI6ApMg8x-mEwMGD6I8MYiVJKZO-r-ecDqNyZ8JHP8Vi-CxpHvylWU9NeCxpvTzl3p7UpDb9SyXgN9aYvH088Ls2/s400/P1030262.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5671100393412620754" border="0" /></a><br />Great fun to finally share this part of my life with my mom.<br /></div>Natashahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10069883214773860511noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6646312724876149075.post-47721276251920475332011-11-06T09:31:00.000+07:002011-11-06T09:31:13.272+07:00ClassmatesThis past month of studying at school as been fun. Module 5 is different from all the others, I feel more grown up. Now we're like in late elementary school. We have mastered how to read and write, so now we get to read stories about Thai culture. We learned about Thai fruit, the big weekend market, the temples, the canals that run through the city like Venice, and of course the elephants of Thailand. I love learning about other cultures and customs, so I really enjoyed it. The teacher speaks Thai the whole time, so my vocab and understanding has greatly increased.<br /><br />Also during this module I made good friends with a group of Korean guys. Pretty hilarious. I studied with 2 of them in the past and this module I studied with the other 2- not knowing at first they are all buddies from South Korea. They are studying Thai because they are tour guides in Korea and have lots of Thai clients. We usually ate lunch together after class- introducing me to delicious Korean food, becoming one of my top favorites now. Each week I crave Korean food at least one day a week. One day they picked Subway to go eat at <span style="font-size:85%;">(I think because of me: American=sandwiches)</span>. I ordered my sandwich and quickly realized, they had never been to Subway before- had no clue how to order the sandwich. It was pretty funny, but they did say it was delicious!<br /><br />They hardly speak English, so Thai is our communal language, which helps us all practice more. They are really sweet guys that looked after me like a little sister. It was funny to see me surrounded by these 4 Korean guys all speaking Korean, but it was nice to have that community. I know so much now about Korean culture (considering most of my classmates are always Korean) I really want to visit. It looks so beautiful, with four seasons and all, maybe now I'll have some places to stay when I visit. :)<br /><br />Occasionally we would go bowling or play pool- they do that often- making them quite superior, which makes playing with me not too fun I'm sure.<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">At the bowling alley. These guys play 3-4 days a week,<br />at least 4 hours each time....ridiculous.<br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7Be8Pk8lcUf1UIPDe5PwCnYHdgcxS4cUQ4ychJG-uHi3xKLdKdNr82dJAD4wIlv8QqQB3APg5Ge4UgZO0TKNiXK0_NwzzOHH92f6SWAKeQDzgpebULO5XiaiHoe6NcinpVTZ_EEXMcqMn/s1600/IMG_2500.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7Be8Pk8lcUf1UIPDe5PwCnYHdgcxS4cUQ4ychJG-uHi3xKLdKdNr82dJAD4wIlv8QqQB3APg5Ge4UgZO0TKNiXK0_NwzzOHH92f6SWAKeQDzgpebULO5XiaiHoe6NcinpVTZ_EEXMcqMn/s400/IMG_2500.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5671080735583757266" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_W0JnP_Kgr90mo2c_XrFc7xfgvjMzKNYaol42DaCmvNWkV9Kv5DWrx-JH-rMrPJAlSBSDdaWj7U5zhjkwPOjqTCz1E9tLtiQ10hyphenhyphenSekwy6Hj5aYdND-BuxXmqlTomNwlIUlHNxeuv1VRy/s1600/IMG_2495.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_W0JnP_Kgr90mo2c_XrFc7xfgvjMzKNYaol42DaCmvNWkV9Kv5DWrx-JH-rMrPJAlSBSDdaWj7U5zhjkwPOjqTCz1E9tLtiQ10hyphenhyphenSekwy6Hj5aYdND-BuxXmqlTomNwlIUlHNxeuv1VRy/s400/IMG_2495.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5671080169694390498" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Kozue and I, we've studied together these last 3 months.<br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4arbGIo5qsxVwnXjUsSbZ1UdsHu9ghDjhmX70o_wSYcG1kdr_oq-rjbPswt8ixSm4sAfbLdRw1m-j6feuQ7erzi_9641XN0XhHaTVUhUjwHKRwQqwrm8M_iuIWBYEKZ1JDTBT13zIJitv/s1600/IMG_2498.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4arbGIo5qsxVwnXjUsSbZ1UdsHu9ghDjhmX70o_wSYcG1kdr_oq-rjbPswt8ixSm4sAfbLdRw1m-j6feuQ7erzi_9641XN0XhHaTVUhUjwHKRwQqwrm8M_iuIWBYEKZ1JDTBT13zIJitv/s400/IMG_2498.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5671080184414223586" border="0" /></a><br />My friend Tea. We get along real well. He comes from a Christian home, his mom is a pastor in Korea, so he's able to understand that aspect of my life more than the others. We make each laugh a lot as we try to figure out this Thai language and use it properly. I checked out his Korean church (45min. long) and he came and checked out mine (3 hrs long)...I think I got the better trade off! ;)<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwP3VCwuv3t7RP87hKbS3xgfIghKYT-CmZGxwlv1JODtRwJ_MW3lyeBDEB_jBaQNZdXkRBGGjhMnZ0VANI5EttiWYjn0iTm1B3mAQKXeDH1QEGWzUR3JMZOjdbkyQELHLbEXDYjqrcl33-/s1600/2011-10-17+12.17.28.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwP3VCwuv3t7RP87hKbS3xgfIghKYT-CmZGxwlv1JODtRwJ_MW3lyeBDEB_jBaQNZdXkRBGGjhMnZ0VANI5EttiWYjn0iTm1B3mAQKXeDH1QEGWzUR3JMZOjdbkyQELHLbEXDYjqrcl33-/s400/2011-10-17+12.17.28.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5671080741515256370" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">I love watching good pool players, it amazes me. These boys are<br />huge competitors, every aspect of life is turned into some sort of competition.<br />And rock, paper, scissors is used to solve any decision- it really is too funny.<br /></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYarK7QeGH2hcxIbDneuVgWEvzrB36UGhFQpIxLe5Re3hR-f901tvyBQojzhNPrbtjk4eI6MxlXVOVTwXjs-6IaFYwQgRBxOx-a1GRtV-37DulhX2UwL5UKT3-dInDYsxuqSw-assAVAUo/s1600/2011-10-18+14.38.25.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYarK7QeGH2hcxIbDneuVgWEvzrB36UGhFQpIxLe5Re3hR-f901tvyBQojzhNPrbtjk4eI6MxlXVOVTwXjs-6IaFYwQgRBxOx-a1GRtV-37DulhX2UwL5UKT3-dInDYsxuqSw-assAVAUo/s400/2011-10-18+14.38.25.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5671080160379101810" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4arbGIo5qsxVwnXjUsSbZ1UdsHu9ghDjhmX70o_wSYcG1kdr_oq-rjbPswt8ixSm4sAfbLdRw1m-j6feuQ7erzi_9641XN0XhHaTVUhUjwHKRwQqwrm8M_iuIWBYEKZ1JDTBT13zIJitv/s1600/IMG_2498.JPG"><br /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWCDfFqzi5gtfgqhT-v8TskwdFFdybtGv1Xuhbva297NpBE3hN5glJvEeMlK4ajZcpwvO9efz1IPyVgfVSeeX0XAWlQBa5awxfdYukkBuCIFYvhdmZEq-w2hRBq-FEgNUysZk-orX-34F-/s1600/2011-10-18+14.35.24.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWCDfFqzi5gtfgqhT-v8TskwdFFdybtGv1Xuhbva297NpBE3hN5glJvEeMlK4ajZcpwvO9efz1IPyVgfVSeeX0XAWlQBa5awxfdYukkBuCIFYvhdmZEq-w2hRBq-FEgNUysZk-orX-34F-/s400/2011-10-18+14.35.24.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5671078405424743762" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqU-JT1Sm5_1lEOd_g0tX2ulGSLT5nrEhx5KP59xIZwgtdwIR2LByKd79Dh0dCo43CTVdbZokQWUoLsWaU1ufRoCpHza2TRnjuFEJMUdGHK8lp2PU68fLSUPoG_-tHvjcbyZiVIHdReFJV/s1600/2011-10-18+14.35.03.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqU-JT1Sm5_1lEOd_g0tX2ulGSLT5nrEhx5KP59xIZwgtdwIR2LByKd79Dh0dCo43CTVdbZokQWUoLsWaU1ufRoCpHza2TRnjuFEJMUdGHK8lp2PU68fLSUPoG_-tHvjcbyZiVIHdReFJV/s400/2011-10-18+14.35.03.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5671078397586525490" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh80AwT_b7QC3tSIkQu-j8cTg6OpT5gt0uWGbS3rlruc5CuT5ZqrPL72JZNSTh9QBTT_4qO_WZlJ1NfIFA2LzsSI3YoGBvc1P6MURl6FX3_59KLNzIFWEX8VTjsgm0cNaparsKcHO3bRk92/s1600/2011-10-18+14.36.59.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh80AwT_b7QC3tSIkQu-j8cTg6OpT5gt0uWGbS3rlruc5CuT5ZqrPL72JZNSTh9QBTT_4qO_WZlJ1NfIFA2LzsSI3YoGBvc1P6MURl6FX3_59KLNzIFWEX8VTjsgm0cNaparsKcHO3bRk92/s400/2011-10-18+14.36.59.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5671078424802670642" border="0" /></a><br />This has been a fun month, but sadly like all seasons there comes an end. 2 of them have left back to Korea. Oh, the ebbs and flows of life....I wonder what's next.Natashahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10069883214773860511noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6646312724876149075.post-22099081181458236602011-11-05T09:13:00.000+07:002011-11-05T09:43:36.242+07:00GirlfriendsMy friends and I were able to all meet up and have a ladies night. They are all such a blessing in my life. Living in this big city with out them would make it so much harder. I love how God is always faithful to provide.<br /><br />We tried a new restaurant we found good reviews on located right on the river. It was beautiful, quaint, and right across from one of the famous temples. Sunset was beautiful followed by the lights reflecting on the water.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Wat Arun<br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi4BPgJKUTVegJOSu7_69_ymrW039jaWnKJp0uqHaza9jGJvXINQkKZihd6mAw2-UkAAsjpLQ-J_2T_uKVUnfn5Q2it9bQ_GApSUvbZvuHIMqypFovOxdUoTCuy91tgo2HHox3H2FMH4X-/s1600/IMG_2467.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi4BPgJKUTVegJOSu7_69_ymrW039jaWnKJp0uqHaza9jGJvXINQkKZihd6mAw2-UkAAsjpLQ-J_2T_uKVUnfn5Q2it9bQ_GApSUvbZvuHIMqypFovOxdUoTCuy91tgo2HHox3H2FMH4X-/s400/IMG_2467.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5671082857582790082" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRfLDQzgbi6ynIEkQGKOsBprE63Jf7KxyVSkzQXF01_f0DZnNgXv32Do6TXHAlRur0MD2ZoWNFE_Ggaz3XvI881oZ3WHF0kKv6enm5vXXUGwH6Grjf3Yvrp889tgIooGzD1kyEDXAg-1Wk/s1600/IMG_2478.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRfLDQzgbi6ynIEkQGKOsBprE63Jf7KxyVSkzQXF01_f0DZnNgXv32Do6TXHAlRur0MD2ZoWNFE_Ggaz3XvI881oZ3WHF0kKv6enm5vXXUGwH6Grjf3Yvrp889tgIooGzD1kyEDXAg-1Wk/s400/IMG_2478.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5671084590721528706" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Celeste and I<br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoMy_UyQQW5kC9XCBgOnXBtIAmSKZCX_Qw-xJw1iix09mcAqR01NsB3x7MyHjd9ggnhcm_MotuVoG_2Avh7oj1f3h2ZxYSsP50hi96AiRlY3dKbmrhIOrRJZU4toviqncIm5KEEwkNQ_pK/s1600/IMG_2471_2.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 290px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoMy_UyQQW5kC9XCBgOnXBtIAmSKZCX_Qw-xJw1iix09mcAqR01NsB3x7MyHjd9ggnhcm_MotuVoG_2Avh7oj1f3h2ZxYSsP50hi96AiRlY3dKbmrhIOrRJZU4toviqncIm5KEEwkNQ_pK/s400/IMG_2471_2.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5671082902577747970" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Sandy and Emily, on the right, I've known since I moved here- they work for Night Light and Bethany on the left just moved out here for at least a year to help with Celeste's ministry to lady-boys. Bethany studies at my same language school, so now I have an American buddy I can speak English with on the breaks-- such a nice change. I'm realizing how necessary it is to communicate with someone in your own language- not being able to can be really exhausting.<br /></div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhafapNTaqM0lw-ELEC0ezegplZtRL6IB5oNQch9gKugEWDO5AejoXlQxnMOQ8fhvLBe6r2-J5_splRvWSSkaisQdWSBcDhOS3LGtBcknDY8ovWx1Nn0QfwB25Oa230OanhKkauTYWbfodv/s1600/IMG_2469.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhafapNTaqM0lw-ELEC0ezegplZtRL6IB5oNQch9gKugEWDO5AejoXlQxnMOQ8fhvLBe6r2-J5_splRvWSSkaisQdWSBcDhOS3LGtBcknDY8ovWx1Nn0QfwB25Oa230OanhKkauTYWbfodv/s400/IMG_2469.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5671082867636226626" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">The rest of the crew. Sarah Beth on the left, I met for the first time and we discovered we have very similar hearts for ministry in Thailand- very similar- we're curious to see how God will connect the dots. Natasha on the end in stripes works for World Vision and has been seen on CNN reporting during the flood crisis. Then there's Natalya on the right, my Colombian fire-cracker friend- she is so Latin- full of emotion and expression and speaks the best street Thai slang around. She is amazing and constantly has me smiling. So in our group we have me: Natasha, the other Natasha, and Natalya. Let's just say we're all trying to adjust- never being friends with same named people- it's an adjustment. ^_^<br /></div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiReaQr4Xln2zwKHdpt_YOETKVYlmvIHeoAGdKabasw-UY21Uf6VOBErlfhud1F81g7lFWdAcE126xEI-4SJfAjJ7kcU9ZyM5k8WxVpKWROiBdPGtszFLusbfvvf2Whwl_ydM5ejZQkgGm/s1600/IMG_2470.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiReaQr4Xln2zwKHdpt_YOETKVYlmvIHeoAGdKabasw-UY21Uf6VOBErlfhud1F81g7lFWdAcE126xEI-4SJfAjJ7kcU9ZyM5k8WxVpKWROiBdPGtszFLusbfvvf2Whwl_ydM5ejZQkgGm/s400/IMG_2470.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5671082884276009490" border="0" /></a><br />After dinner we checked out the night flower market in China town. It was really fun and really pretty. Those bunches of roses were about $1. If only I lived closer. I would buy one everyday.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmIzPJQ7okd4X5ofNlmztptzTc_lqVLBahFvI6HKFTI6Qvr8j_NWU9DLV7BmtrV2KZGI7b4x6hiVO4g4MnURjUItOBA4JIxsKqfmPunupit6swZCMuarFEe0NjJ2vDG_JInrx_fiATbnvu/s1600/IMG_2485.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmIzPJQ7okd4X5ofNlmztptzTc_lqVLBahFvI6HKFTI6Qvr8j_NWU9DLV7BmtrV2KZGI7b4x6hiVO4g4MnURjUItOBA4JIxsKqfmPunupit6swZCMuarFEe0NjJ2vDG_JInrx_fiATbnvu/s400/IMG_2485.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5671084613513051602" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicVZyJqgMXd6o22-VKjDU1Ds70Epauyp0qxVFS20_3Kp9kpXpIpjzo6QL8XQk5UrlLztxebWt3uWwPhX17xOUqp-hLuT_yAVJh2SpCpSuuTaCLiT-w60UAssPaP31eVTKxlFCqdVVyKVOR/s1600/IMG_2484.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicVZyJqgMXd6o22-VKjDU1Ds70Epauyp0qxVFS20_3Kp9kpXpIpjzo6QL8XQk5UrlLztxebWt3uWwPhX17xOUqp-hLuT_yAVJh2SpCpSuuTaCLiT-w60UAssPaP31eVTKxlFCqdVVyKVOR/s400/IMG_2484.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5671084599705352242" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">We finished the evening at this funky little place<br />listening to this amazing jazz band<br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqNmMGK0BvFBmv0fGq3iNYOGylrZdv64-9-hzVYkMcnoyT8ORRx-8geF5VqtLbm5b754ExoF0ZX-tH8BJvwhR85Po_qRFgrX-_REBmeqW5J2XIw0BHedaJeD6PCwvahXm2JcuSAAmIBki8/s1600/IMG_2489.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqNmMGK0BvFBmv0fGq3iNYOGylrZdv64-9-hzVYkMcnoyT8ORRx-8geF5VqtLbm5b754ExoF0ZX-tH8BJvwhR85Po_qRFgrX-_REBmeqW5J2XIw0BHedaJeD6PCwvahXm2JcuSAAmIBki8/s400/IMG_2489.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5671086115192677186" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">The Thai lady was incredible- her singing voice was amazing- she sounded like<br />Zooey Deschanel (<span style="font-size:85%;">from Elf and 500 days of Summer</span>). Then when she spoke,<br />she totally sounded Thai with her Asian accent, it was adorable.<br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht_hDBlH-UxxIKWlAUfJu4bz455AV7hVOWl3XG8Vmmkfz5fvzE5_Vaed4tmM6HR_J8lOyS9xQ8KsfK3_eSmW4DkiaV-DYqy_cXqGRVHheX20oP-f9pKwFCYgPFtr7pziYMDO3j-4e2K7ba/s1600/IMG_2490.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht_hDBlH-UxxIKWlAUfJu4bz455AV7hVOWl3XG8Vmmkfz5fvzE5_Vaed4tmM6HR_J8lOyS9xQ8KsfK3_eSmW4DkiaV-DYqy_cXqGRVHheX20oP-f9pKwFCYgPFtr7pziYMDO3j-4e2K7ba/s400/IMG_2490.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5671086124703409474" border="0" /></a>Natashahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10069883214773860511noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6646312724876149075.post-43280383071240903862011-11-04T15:39:00.004+07:002011-11-04T16:47:22.035+07:00School CelebrationIt's time for a little catch-up, sorry for the delayed posting.....<br /><br />My Thai language school recently had their 10 yr anniversary of being open. They had a big celebration for all the students to come and take part in. As with Buddhist tradition they brought in many monks to saying blessings over the teachers and the building. It was interesting to see....but I'll admit it lasted quite a while. At least I was able to make some new friends who were in some Modules below me, while we waited for the ceremony to finish so we could enjoy all the delicious food.<br /><br />Interestingly enough I was sitting with a group of Korean guys<span style="font-size:78%;"> (actually this isn't very interesting considering they make up about 75% of my school ^_^)</span> chatting and getting to know each other. Also on the couch was a Thai lady, over-hearing our conversation. I told the guys I'm a missionary and go to church. The Thai lady quickly perked up asking what church I go to. Wouldn't you know it, we go to the same church!?! She is the girlfriend of a Austrian man studying at my school (that's why she was at the party). Somehow she's never seen me, I don't say that in an egotistical way as in everyone should know me. But you can't miss me at church. There's only 2 other white females and I'm the only tall, long blonde haired one....so I'm just saying.<br /><br />She speaks decent English and we planned to meet at church the next week. We met and sat by each other and had lunch after together. The next week her boyfriend came too. I love being able to chat with Thais at church and get some practice. That has been a fun God connection.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">All the teachers inside with the monks with the students watching<br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjijhZFp78ou4LWL-2JYGn-eJx_Dh-4TxaJ3XiKrvj7oZ-xG78sb-1PLDOeZXE4kUjPEK_4fiz7C31WqAzeR6v5vDYa-bxUWBQRM6C23-LlKgmVYVnXWPVqWsYogh7FttjAwT30vWims2lv/s1600/IMG_2455.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjijhZFp78ou4LWL-2JYGn-eJx_Dh-4TxaJ3XiKrvj7oZ-xG78sb-1PLDOeZXE4kUjPEK_4fiz7C31WqAzeR6v5vDYa-bxUWBQRM6C23-LlKgmVYVnXWPVqWsYogh7FttjAwT30vWims2lv/s400/IMG_2455.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5671062885014183282" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">some of our classrooms have amazing views of the city, it is the<br />best when you get a classroom with a window.<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6ZZxOTECqahOMuqqQRDXObRhYmoOz8j-m7HCB0MFPKBHpxzJgMTMYEWKA1zuoOCNwfz9RhfZrql-Lxp29fOcwd0006AWqaoGXCiROWtIGa5zI9CBTQxS2x9tba-NEVjRlasDMJt2DigcF/s1600/IMG_2458.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6ZZxOTECqahOMuqqQRDXObRhYmoOz8j-m7HCB0MFPKBHpxzJgMTMYEWKA1zuoOCNwfz9RhfZrql-Lxp29fOcwd0006AWqaoGXCiROWtIGa5zI9CBTQxS2x9tba-NEVjRlasDMJt2DigcF/s400/IMG_2458.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5671062895312049282" border="0" /></a>all the yummy food and desserts<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmo3ApVfoloiSvR9l6HEgc9C5TGETP5GnClsxWM9iQd0SzneonCcoZKrl7T-Dil8NJHin6o7jt8UtBEcVVSPEs8aKXY3FKemV8hnz3bE9ymBCrEFAqDAwninbqwlrEJcf5eylAh89pZ2lb/s1600/IMG_2461.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmo3ApVfoloiSvR9l6HEgc9C5TGETP5GnClsxWM9iQd0SzneonCcoZKrl7T-Dil8NJHin6o7jt8UtBEcVVSPEs8aKXY3FKemV8hnz3bE9ymBCrEFAqDAwninbqwlrEJcf5eylAh89pZ2lb/s400/IMG_2461.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5671065711945179058" border="0" /></a><br />With my Module 4 teacher<br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicJwaBsKtlMl11sVgSHmF4Mh6PNXnF13heeD6XjK3N_kTZ5J3bJvOfM-qYdcSJjE0UkYsVFeLjCWcXQjsZS4MM7OqtmqVNxgTp0BKBYD-tJPAsoVCQK4lIi8d18sRdLWZaDJ5Xs1ZxtizM/s1600/IMG_2460.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicJwaBsKtlMl11sVgSHmF4Mh6PNXnF13heeD6XjK3N_kTZ5J3bJvOfM-qYdcSJjE0UkYsVFeLjCWcXQjsZS4MM7OqtmqVNxgTp0BKBYD-tJPAsoVCQK4lIi8d18sRdLWZaDJ5Xs1ZxtizM/s400/IMG_2460.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5671062915937550962" border="0" /></a><br />Module 4 at school was all about reading and writing and learning all the special rules. It required a lot of work and lots of hours on homework. I would go to school for 4 hours and then do at least 3 hours on homework each night! Ugh! But the more you put into it, the more you get back, so nothing is wasted. ^^<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9_5lzMgoELgADBYNZIAA_ravPtotDvtrnx38nZYDDZPHcxnMraKTVMXLjy8h5D_hcSCumQXK9a9rAPV6YqQkpgu8YzGh6J7KwE-3Z6eGlGUR6fZiFWV4WEfH8nQWVq4D-F5FS7b4i39a0/s1600/IMG_2493_2.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 284px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9_5lzMgoELgADBYNZIAA_ravPtotDvtrnx38nZYDDZPHcxnMraKTVMXLjy8h5D_hcSCumQXK9a9rAPV6YqQkpgu8YzGh6J7KwE-3Z6eGlGUR6fZiFWV4WEfH8nQWVq4D-F5FS7b4i39a0/s400/IMG_2493_2.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5671065718847650034" border="0" /></a>Last day of class. We started with 9 students, but ended with 4 (2 Korean men and my Japanese friend) it is a hard module that requires lots of time. I really should take 'first day of school' pictures and 'last day' just to compare.Natashahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10069883214773860511noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6646312724876149075.post-24503848855710222372011-11-01T19:35:00.000+07:002011-11-01T19:35:11.644+07:00This is DisciplingA cute and interesting clip of walking out the Christian life.<br /><br /><iframe src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Wgg2KYdMpqc?fs=1" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" width="480"></iframe>Natashahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10069883214773860511noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6646312724876149075.post-47449250263615500262011-10-19T19:45:00.001+07:002011-10-24T13:07:40.621+07:00For all the single ladies:This is powerful, it speaks for its self.<br /><br /><br /><iframe src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/ZuraJpB0OJg?fs=1" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="344" width="459"></iframe>Natashahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10069883214773860511noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6646312724876149075.post-86886821164820201952011-09-21T17:09:00.000+07:002011-09-21T17:09:02.596+07:00Behind the ScenesHere's a behind-the-scenes video of the photo shoot for NightLight that I was in.<br /><br />The video's really good, I'm impressed!<br /><br />Enjoy!<br /><br /><iframe src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/qEBVMejnL24?fs=1" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" width="480"></iframe>Natashahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10069883214773860511noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6646312724876149075.post-16149727659922394662011-09-18T16:14:00.009+07:002011-09-18T17:21:38.547+07:00MalaysiaLast weekend I had the honor of meeting my home pastors in Malaysia for a conference. I had never been to Malaysia, besides the numerous border runs which really don't count, so I was excited. My home church is the International Church of Las Vegas and the head pastor, Paul Goulet, as well as the Executive Pastor, Pasqual were the two that came out. I lived in Pasqual's home with his family for the year I did the School of Ministry at ICLV. So it was a wonderful reunion with the spiritual fathers of my life.<br /><br />The Malaysian church was so loving, welcoming, and such a blessing to spend time with. Pastor Paul taught on the Prophetic and Healing. We saw many people healed, not only physically but especially emotionally. I was apart of the ministry team praying for everyone after each of the sessions. There were 8 sessions total, so come Sunday I was feeling exhausted, but also so filled up by the presence of God.<br /><br />It was such a blessing to be able to spend one-on-one time with my pastors. I was able to share what's going on in Thailand and receive good vision and strategy from them. It was the total refreshing my soul needed to reconnect and be empowered to keep pressing on. I'm excited to meet up with them whenever they come to Asia and minister with them- I'm so thankful that door is open now and relationship has deepened. <br /><br />We all had a really good time with the leaders of the Malaysian church and I feel so connected with them even only after a few days. They completely adopted me and welcomed me. It is nice to know I have another church family that is closer than the states (only a 2hr. plane ride away). Sometimes you can get real cheap tickets to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, so visiting is definitely doable. I'm excited to see how God will continue to connect us and to see where the relationship goes.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">At lunch with my spiritual fathers<br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKqbM31k9XLzNyxWFi5CTx3Y4qaPFE8QP9CkdzNIi0hq3fb2zwfxVU2GAXheQeFAf1aLMXb1_mCWzna0TnDJaVxuGd8JIWLcJ-Nqlbe64ZGdfttp4edu4FKtWvueKZo71vaDSNvptdg1mi/s1600/IMG_2432.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKqbM31k9XLzNyxWFi5CTx3Y4qaPFE8QP9CkdzNIi0hq3fb2zwfxVU2GAXheQeFAf1aLMXb1_mCWzna0TnDJaVxuGd8JIWLcJ-Nqlbe64ZGdfttp4edu4FKtWvueKZo71vaDSNvptdg1mi/s400/IMG_2432.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5653629918722596914" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"> At the church<br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6C9pTHpo29YymZ3PwV701WvCqyw6XVRRTD_2eQNx1sLhyphenhyphenRxsXCjQNRShSFKeqQ-4doVeKtgnMa87Nthdc9LdwuypemSP8zyi-0wqsHu-uBbA-uk3lPXVlCHueDdJmhuiOk3dNPKMvzsDW/s1600/329297_10150301256148598_557193597_8039861_2038425126_o.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 250px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6C9pTHpo29YymZ3PwV701WvCqyw6XVRRTD_2eQNx1sLhyphenhyphenRxsXCjQNRShSFKeqQ-4doVeKtgnMa87Nthdc9LdwuypemSP8zyi-0wqsHu-uBbA-uk3lPXVlCHueDdJmhuiOk3dNPKMvzsDW/s400/329297_10150301256148598_557193597_8039861_2038425126_o.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5653630538041447314" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Pastor Paul declaring God's word and truth over the Malaysians<br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXNamotyQkoNWdqvfRsGqopWALLUjkb5whm4DUgtPXfwA-Pao4lNsVs47I626hZRT2YLUccvD1H96g7re_NvmbxiuoKzcjeOlreKgpNj8zqjFJarvbYvj3o6FHMkyrTinXvWObuhwyhsLD/s1600/340772_10150301271993598_557193597_8039990_192223200_o.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 250px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXNamotyQkoNWdqvfRsGqopWALLUjkb5whm4DUgtPXfwA-Pao4lNsVs47I626hZRT2YLUccvD1H96g7re_NvmbxiuoKzcjeOlreKgpNj8zqjFJarvbYvj3o6FHMkyrTinXvWObuhwyhsLD/s400/340772_10150301271993598_557193597_8039990_192223200_o.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5653629941182296706" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"> so many calling out to God and seeking His face.<br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjRtFmL4dRsgTZS9llxOwydS6XgHI-kr6DZ2t1f9Ha0iaTaaZRzE9GhPfTAmnfK6XbY5cXDSQ-JvN24SITyuI7PYwxJHSp5h0IfALTAg4ZXZxZKef_ZOfI8ANpYcmquapmmKiPcpLI1WnA/s1600/325492_10150301247348598_557193597_8039790_1156592154_o.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 250px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjRtFmL4dRsgTZS9llxOwydS6XgHI-kr6DZ2t1f9Ha0iaTaaZRzE9GhPfTAmnfK6XbY5cXDSQ-JvN24SITyuI7PYwxJHSp5h0IfALTAg4ZXZxZKef_ZOfI8ANpYcmquapmmKiPcpLI1WnA/s400/325492_10150301247348598_557193597_8039790_1156592154_o.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5653630766936298722" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">so beautiful<br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFyPC21vqUEuPFVVCwfcd8N4NWNcPYTbeqM7oJxkxJJUSwaTj335cnlW-l_ZZ8iChhTDi918Bc6OVniGttLXRCA1MucW4qy2NvtPUdpcJ2cOPqY701100TGmTqzfQFtHzm1e6ERaAbBgXB/s1600/330248_10150301247123598_557193597_8039787_343523737_o.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 250px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFyPC21vqUEuPFVVCwfcd8N4NWNcPYTbeqM7oJxkxJJUSwaTj335cnlW-l_ZZ8iChhTDi918Bc6OVniGttLXRCA1MucW4qy2NvtPUdpcJ2cOPqY701100TGmTqzfQFtHzm1e6ERaAbBgXB/s400/330248_10150301247123598_557193597_8039787_343523737_o.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5653630343327151890" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg81OQbWLsh2NvNC_Dr9bKiL_1Rp55evYF2SbqYdN9Vbfw8P9kVZPFkDYAra_b_iTef0xZlBM8Wpy7u03nZbA03jIzXeC09Waf4-BzH48cIg8srBfFII9LjNL_nGIVrscdpQwX7VzrrOBH2/s1600/325564_10150301245213598_557193597_8039768_1849005226_o.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 250px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg81OQbWLsh2NvNC_Dr9bKiL_1Rp55evYF2SbqYdN9Vbfw8P9kVZPFkDYAra_b_iTef0xZlBM8Wpy7u03nZbA03jIzXeC09Waf4-BzH48cIg8srBfFII9LjNL_nGIVrscdpQwX7VzrrOBH2/s400/325564_10150301245213598_557193597_8039768_1849005226_o.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5653630554130129026" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6NuFjkZciXw3Fw9xW33IAh95J_FGGoJVIzGm8oDRfMsy74PVHnTPCuFC6pMsCmWEGFOgG76DDT6dx3H-fJgtNX5CIVEPVNKm2H1XNRPkXh8M4sajTUPw1V8FfDHiOePDO0DguGkn7yTAm/s1600/338148_10150301241598598_557193597_8039730_1630452739_o.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 250px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6NuFjkZciXw3Fw9xW33IAh95J_FGGoJVIzGm8oDRfMsy74PVHnTPCuFC6pMsCmWEGFOgG76DDT6dx3H-fJgtNX5CIVEPVNKm2H1XNRPkXh8M4sajTUPw1V8FfDHiOePDO0DguGkn7yTAm/s400/338148_10150301241598598_557193597_8039730_1630452739_o.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5653630336197726674" border="0" /></a><br />A couple of the Pastors and amazing women of God at the church<br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTepS-qXp595xIWx-jHvCbaDOeN55GUEE5ISr2eWq3XYr2hhTV2EKvQaSSK685MBN-08Jn25GAyk1UBXK_oICO67g7Zxptb8ZyWGabYdRAmB5TVADRM13hGYhXaN6Q7Jg7rwZCM18NAB61/s1600/322616_10150301253923598_557193597_8039840_1047890828_o.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 250px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTepS-qXp595xIWx-jHvCbaDOeN55GUEE5ISr2eWq3XYr2hhTV2EKvQaSSK685MBN-08Jn25GAyk1UBXK_oICO67g7Zxptb8ZyWGabYdRAmB5TVADRM13hGYhXaN6Q7Jg7rwZCM18NAB61/s400/322616_10150301253923598_557193597_8039840_1047890828_o.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5653630772156740258" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">it's so wonderful to be used by God and allow Him to<br /> touch His children here on earth<br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2dmF7CGZCxZytUgSjq8oDNVSrYKqqW7G05JhrlBNW5l6prwArqwv0ijlydtghJ6_8SGNOGMMrT4H1LT8Ax1CtE4RBUF-9KpVE4vhRM21G2H8taVBfbk1F5p7PFqEqfiypDMfRRLVkQU_d/s1600/339527_10150302336033598_557193597_8047706_1747147440_o.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 250px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2dmF7CGZCxZytUgSjq8oDNVSrYKqqW7G05JhrlBNW5l6prwArqwv0ijlydtghJ6_8SGNOGMMrT4H1LT8Ax1CtE4RBUF-9KpVE4vhRM21G2H8taVBfbk1F5p7PFqEqfiypDMfRRLVkQU_d/s400/339527_10150302336033598_557193597_8047706_1747147440_o.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5653630334564388226" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6p5IPeAphggPNlPaKNH1d5b9xUvzaBu49usV98ShdxkBPpORQL5fxnLfKKvyT4WoN3ySw5WtEK_V7ZjyLdpIn6yN3qvINPgMy_yrMZguwvjtzRDpw-1kf0DzSIT8ePjH-c_9PiUZU-gt0/s1600/325595_10150302331408598_557193597_8047665_1228084802_o.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 250px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6p5IPeAphggPNlPaKNH1d5b9xUvzaBu49usV98ShdxkBPpORQL5fxnLfKKvyT4WoN3ySw5WtEK_V7ZjyLdpIn6yN3qvINPgMy_yrMZguwvjtzRDpw-1kf0DzSIT8ePjH-c_9PiUZU-gt0/s400/325595_10150302331408598_557193597_8047665_1228084802_o.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5653630549523052274" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2Tr22y178hl-SIo2D1e5cQXUQljmz5nUnqAmxSHdOxXgn4xC-pcncDqLmM4vmDtG2xR-HxBrDu1HfSSwQd7LiWX7hDLSgJy1s6wUotu27i5ELzV50xoCf7R4nCSQWDWB6D2sl-ainjntj/s1600/289332_10150301229978598_557193597_8039619_1143688470_o.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 250px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2Tr22y178hl-SIo2D1e5cQXUQljmz5nUnqAmxSHdOxXgn4xC-pcncDqLmM4vmDtG2xR-HxBrDu1HfSSwQd7LiWX7hDLSgJy1s6wUotu27i5ELzV50xoCf7R4nCSQWDWB6D2sl-ainjntj/s400/289332_10150301229978598_557193597_8039619_1143688470_o.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5653632124399413778" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">At dinner after a session with a really fun group of believers.<br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHj7_FmW57-phHnmbm7BM8eVU4Jx_sKDUI7RIqQDw9-60lzJ6gtHNuQaP7IJzPlR1n25t2lXgy5-yQgxB4W9x7G8Y1hbMcsqGT4HSuafHOVaJUqLO8jXyJYvjE0xm-fy8wI4G3wIraCv6F/s1600/IMG_2447.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 265px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHj7_FmW57-phHnmbm7BM8eVU4Jx_sKDUI7RIqQDw9-60lzJ6gtHNuQaP7IJzPlR1n25t2lXgy5-yQgxB4W9x7G8Y1hbMcsqGT4HSuafHOVaJUqLO8jXyJYvjE0xm-fy8wI4G3wIraCv6F/s400/IMG_2447.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5653629329122473922" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Pastor Paul decided we should celebrate my June birthday that evening....I loved it!<br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-Sc1mrO7jVIhGYYbL2CN3_k5rg64pw52Hd5eBMudhBv7oFsx78XPn8vut9ZWI-ZeOoKIJjAWXdTTqwZL98CAocbN0qExPDF8mScynR7ROxs96L_Aodzbnt5FrQxtB7DcCF3WKFi663GbT/s1600/IMG_2451.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-Sc1mrO7jVIhGYYbL2CN3_k5rg64pw52Hd5eBMudhBv7oFsx78XPn8vut9ZWI-ZeOoKIJjAWXdTTqwZL98CAocbN0qExPDF8mScynR7ROxs96L_Aodzbnt5FrQxtB7DcCF3WKFi663GbT/s400/IMG_2451.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5653629317849062082" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">The last evening we got to go downtown and experience Chinatown<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3rIuKsnCxjOGtKCF2SlmY62kp4XP1a30VSfjxYmq0tEHBJTvyH6zUC_Vn19BcSVvQZiOWHjQUoQpKlj8gjQYmLEtqvBPMlS-_BUuqjsrGnUFJ_O8fA6Dpwqf4DFXk9tsluyYNNEyOLIuu/s1600/IMG_2453.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3rIuKsnCxjOGtKCF2SlmY62kp4XP1a30VSfjxYmq0tEHBJTvyH6zUC_Vn19BcSVvQZiOWHjQUoQpKlj8gjQYmLEtqvBPMlS-_BUuqjsrGnUFJ_O8fA6Dpwqf4DFXk9tsluyYNNEyOLIuu/s400/IMG_2453.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5653629317236246194" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVR2NSPntgsXZGK2EI65VkdEyaRWXjqPECHfYm5pXOYeEnD1ytn5uaABdCLw2G2pLggSLDo0TAifwD53xT-xhl7CHy8YinvwkWcirCKwIbe9d99atrrc5kBvM8ek8NjLcfVJct7BjjskeV/s1600/318840_2388728434846_1149879853_2961524_989052490_n.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 298px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVR2NSPntgsXZGK2EI65VkdEyaRWXjqPECHfYm5pXOYeEnD1ytn5uaABdCLw2G2pLggSLDo0TAifwD53xT-xhl7CHy8YinvwkWcirCKwIbe9d99atrrc5kBvM8ek8NjLcfVJct7BjjskeV/s400/318840_2388728434846_1149879853_2961524_989052490_n.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5653630773076354994" border="0" /></a><br />I stayed with one of the pastors who had 2 adorable children that I will<br />definitely miss. This little one called me her 'real life Barbie'.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo0IL2bsU5ERhvW6GDCCZh2ALmHdBh2ebz4des9rA3ecB5rNJ86Ob_ORolCikgw3aUdPES_OnjIvZ0Fd-SkjUIJpAcRDtQ9KSJ164zdO04_Lhb_nEFSINcyyfAyMIVRZx12Flfik-uEySy/s1600/IMG_2434.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 381px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo0IL2bsU5ERhvW6GDCCZh2ALmHdBh2ebz4des9rA3ecB5rNJ86Ob_ORolCikgw3aUdPES_OnjIvZ0Fd-SkjUIJpAcRDtQ9KSJ164zdO04_Lhb_nEFSINcyyfAyMIVRZx12Flfik-uEySy/s400/IMG_2434.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5653629906009337890" border="0" /></a><br />This little guy quickly became known as my boyfriend, following<br />me around everywhere! I loved it! How cute is he, seriously!<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjclWvdAfYmi1MvVuaqqmz3Z_PADa1zLnmgNL_vUuURp7S3c1wwZqz7XyxeeWScrni3GRsEJ9diE2-AIBdrc0v0XMFZ3tkQZ9ExgX6c-ISbH0nBG76Y5Cp_UBOFP1EiJfFkV28eZTsTl8FM/s1600/312758_10150360530207597_513372596_10333879_386715556_n.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjclWvdAfYmi1MvVuaqqmz3Z_PADa1zLnmgNL_vUuURp7S3c1wwZqz7XyxeeWScrni3GRsEJ9diE2-AIBdrc0v0XMFZ3tkQZ9ExgX6c-ISbH0nBG76Y5Cp_UBOFP1EiJfFkV28eZTsTl8FM/s400/312758_10150360530207597_513372596_10333879_386715556_n.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5653631985388505778" border="0" /></a><br /></div>Natashahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10069883214773860511noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6646312724876149075.post-28320140340478159332011-09-15T15:35:00.000+07:002011-09-15T15:35:15.370+07:00Love Looks Like SomethingHow would the world be if we all stopped and helped one person. Stop for the one. Change is possible. A nation can be saved. Heidi Baker gives a powerful word:<br /><br /><iframe src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/mO8FFI6pJJA?fs=1" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" width="480"></iframe>Natashahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10069883214773860511noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6646312724876149075.post-26965275446871637722011-09-07T14:58:00.001+07:002011-09-07T22:35:48.386+07:00Modeling with a CauseOne of my good friends, Emily, here in Bangkok works for <a href="http://nightlightinternational.com/">NightLight</a>, which is an international organization committed to addressing the complex issues surrounding trafficking and prostitution by catalyzing individual and community transformation. NightLight’s vision is to offer intervention to sexually exploited women and children, to enable them to discover their dignity, and to provide a program of holistic transformation, empowering them to live and work in their community. <span class="text_exposed_show">What this organization has been able to do is incredible. Last I heard they have 90 women who have left working in bars and are a part of NightLight.</span><br /><br /><br />Emily asked me if I'd like to model some of the jewelry that the women make through NightLight Design which provides an economic alternative for women who previously had no hope of freedom from their circumstan<span class="text_exposed_show">ces. When people purchase the products they are securing the freedom of women who have been exploited or were at risk of exploitation in the bars of Bangkok, Thailand. So naturally I said of course! How fun is that?!?!<br /><br />After school one day I went over to NightLight and one of the talented ladies did my hair. She braided it all around like a shell, it was so incredible. She did such an amazing job, I thought 'I know who I'm calling when I'm getting married!'. Then I got my makeup done as well. I was feeling pretty spoiled! It was wonderful.<br /><br /></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTZj4j7zFmVsi2psF4y_8UNpPHzZKHfZoeGjUeJr5bT2GiWqgxfjKznMGaMcEieBHLsy7fFLVhHr4FmMN4B5kz-CTbKJdMs8WPBpYXRd2tAayIxYr-90kYukPkmqhJigYqWHbzm9t6B1gs/s1600/IMG_2385.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 335px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTZj4j7zFmVsi2psF4y_8UNpPHzZKHfZoeGjUeJr5bT2GiWqgxfjKznMGaMcEieBHLsy7fFLVhHr4FmMN4B5kz-CTbKJdMs8WPBpYXRd2tAayIxYr-90kYukPkmqhJigYqWHbzm9t6B1gs/s400/IMG_2385.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5648047090643480850" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRbaX-S94BQBARO2vIWgvOJzpJwb9btvR6gbG8LhHFhscftAygUOzm6_aF6Q8VaLEjFXq5Bm5Ne0ZAqBupOoUjgO4X5J9CxVHpR3SKo2mkPB6lkQ2bR2VN7Q9f1z4ramGiNVOkq7UD7OGz/s1600/IMG_2334.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 318px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRbaX-S94BQBARO2vIWgvOJzpJwb9btvR6gbG8LhHFhscftAygUOzm6_aF6Q8VaLEjFXq5Bm5Ne0ZAqBupOoUjgO4X5J9CxVHpR3SKo2mkPB6lkQ2bR2VN7Q9f1z4ramGiNVOkq7UD7OGz/s400/IMG_2334.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5648047088180487074" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUN77qMel4cCZWy0md3X6boobELje1oAhS1PzbPbSCFIsxdOCXbrRLH-koVPQpG5rd6ZEAl2_NTo7UWOQY2Ytkhz_PUI3N-Op2dg3drdkCDMln1ixJZbj1U4MxmDWnHYAYmLZCCsaKOZ2O/s1600/IMG_2388.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 350px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUN77qMel4cCZWy0md3X6boobELje1oAhS1PzbPbSCFIsxdOCXbrRLH-koVPQpG5rd6ZEAl2_NTo7UWOQY2Ytkhz_PUI3N-Op2dg3drdkCDMln1ixJZbj1U4MxmDWnHYAYmLZCCsaKOZ2O/s400/IMG_2388.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5648047101003569938" border="0" /></a><br /><span class="text_exposed_show"><br />We headed out to the streets of Bangkok for the photo shoot. It was such a sight! We had the talented Lucia taking the photos, her assistant holding the reflector and keeping track of the jewelry, a camera guy documenting all of it, and Emily and I as the models. We just set everything on the street and started posing while all the cars and motorbikes slowly drove past. We produced quite a crowd of on lookers including teenage boys with their cell phone cameras and older men trying to get their own shot... I'm pretty sure they thought we were actually famous. It's was too funny.<br /><br />I'd have to say modeling is a lot harder than it looks. I was trying to put to practice all the things I've learned from watching numerous marathons of America's Next Top Model. Coming up with poses every couple seconds takes skill I'd say. But when else can you take yourself that seriously and strike a fierce pose? I loved it.<br /><br /></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbh2rYjHFOl5dHiPSKvqDbunZ5FU1_Q6OxLv_eBXzvbCzCPGbhXFFwg-sMKg-JaMBhy9DldsGiKQw6nDlqaOHQKSBcu_FE5YTMbxzMYJh3Q5GQ_PTNIHSFWHZS5xzZ-pfjcqnlN-DFOVo5/s1600/IMG_2331.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbh2rYjHFOl5dHiPSKvqDbunZ5FU1_Q6OxLv_eBXzvbCzCPGbhXFFwg-sMKg-JaMBhy9DldsGiKQw6nDlqaOHQKSBcu_FE5YTMbxzMYJh3Q5GQ_PTNIHSFWHZS5xzZ-pfjcqnlN-DFOVo5/s400/IMG_2331.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5648052804680363458" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5UF-J-zAp8e0nGsHpHQS6mRfP_q1ZqG7SrjE2Vrq9QnWDTEAWD2mnz8eixcoOBR8NB0p0ZM8gf5Dk4CmIMvV9vb57JoNrStefxbtgaK8sPL9rNpZBOrDENXbAmb0HnowOlGM1Uk82SToK/s1600/IMG_2333_2.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5UF-J-zAp8e0nGsHpHQS6mRfP_q1ZqG7SrjE2Vrq9QnWDTEAWD2mnz8eixcoOBR8NB0p0ZM8gf5Dk4CmIMvV9vb57JoNrStefxbtgaK8sPL9rNpZBOrDENXbAmb0HnowOlGM1Uk82SToK/s400/IMG_2333_2.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5648052813275272722" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUHCE-8x_Wz314Y3Kvka3rTtxyzwbmJKltVZId8Ko7iRAM2NjXe8WpbAyfrYvWl8KBSInDZ0w8yaKd2iscEIA4vHP_MxeA40n-Z62k9JAuBZIICkp2NCWh8JV64xTM2Km_onrzu4EVgEMF/s1600/IMG_2341.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUHCE-8x_Wz314Y3Kvka3rTtxyzwbmJKltVZId8Ko7iRAM2NjXe8WpbAyfrYvWl8KBSInDZ0w8yaKd2iscEIA4vHP_MxeA40n-Z62k9JAuBZIICkp2NCWh8JV64xTM2Km_onrzu4EVgEMF/s400/IMG_2341.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5648052816421605714" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiznHXLpbiA6PoGhZLFq5Vuo5VkYJjD7Zg-TQrfcvYNWfZo4XxKkkZBrTACgZ4yaEw3II475vZ5BHE3vUjynKVVFHvtIyfrDwqdCiR1QRqzvM0XaijYFYFGyt-CfcgVE-ZakjzPp-hwaM3j/s1600/IMG_2343.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiznHXLpbiA6PoGhZLFq5Vuo5VkYJjD7Zg-TQrfcvYNWfZo4XxKkkZBrTACgZ4yaEw3II475vZ5BHE3vUjynKVVFHvtIyfrDwqdCiR1QRqzvM0XaijYFYFGyt-CfcgVE-ZakjzPp-hwaM3j/s400/IMG_2343.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5648052865954731202" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKegwXCgvBVRNepGJU_IEumOjLVm-SDuQC1o00kvOzEkmPiy9s38uT2dG956IAzpHKj6WJ9HOOCpAjXL1vdgaBYcKisvtzNn0YenbfPnnLhh4IYMOCjFMYZcA4poHUuo_IXbN86rRyK3Vv/s1600/IMG_2346.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKegwXCgvBVRNepGJU_IEumOjLVm-SDuQC1o00kvOzEkmPiy9s38uT2dG956IAzpHKj6WJ9HOOCpAjXL1vdgaBYcKisvtzNn0YenbfPnnLhh4IYMOCjFMYZcA4poHUuo_IXbN86rRyK3Vv/s400/IMG_2346.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5648054121473162386" border="0" /></a><br /><span class="text_exposed_show">We taxied over to one of the biggest slums in Bangkok and took some shots on the railroad and with these cool older trucks. We definitely got some attention there! After 6 hours, I was exhausted- it was an incredibly hot day. I thought 'no wonder models always have a fan blowing on them- I sure would have loved one!<br /><br /></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHLYZBddMmCtgejKYaDrj50s5i8qN5ZdDzta9e2JALgmVQKwx78pfVO_PuqrrFsEBLd-PtMz0w0BFY4YEpLOpkzvw6ICYA-XxDLuvX3K_37NPEajn9bs1cmjDo9ALok3-kX5XIrzJuLF_8/s1600/IMG_2348.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHLYZBddMmCtgejKYaDrj50s5i8qN5ZdDzta9e2JALgmVQKwx78pfVO_PuqrrFsEBLd-PtMz0w0BFY4YEpLOpkzvw6ICYA-XxDLuvX3K_37NPEajn9bs1cmjDo9ALok3-kX5XIrzJuLF_8/s400/IMG_2348.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5648054125421938866" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtboUAFxQH2QsVFqbcJ8nqEK9OMIJA5V9Wz-zzn5o0Qla-8zTKrP-vH-SZUU_9An0Kpg0tzDy3bqlpKicBDq-qTHDl9iffC-uJdokHXJFD0IBzQ07iKGh6x2a4S4gs6X8BVs0u8DvXDJ1j/s1600/IMG_2353.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtboUAFxQH2QsVFqbcJ8nqEK9OMIJA5V9Wz-zzn5o0Qla-8zTKrP-vH-SZUU_9An0Kpg0tzDy3bqlpKicBDq-qTHDl9iffC-uJdokHXJFD0IBzQ07iKGh6x2a4S4gs6X8BVs0u8DvXDJ1j/s400/IMG_2353.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5648054130546963602" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZlZMn8kPCxA2lQAJFH9zxIuLsd3nGjUj4Cg68abF8_2jY7S3if1XtHE6287R01o09qP2Yo-jv8Ojg71v0JDguBFnWabl7VJH35S1qNcyJhD72MTKpSX8CPjBG0NbCF0GFQmBV2NRIkl-Y/s1600/IMG_2354.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZlZMn8kPCxA2lQAJFH9zxIuLsd3nGjUj4Cg68abF8_2jY7S3if1XtHE6287R01o09qP2Yo-jv8Ojg71v0JDguBFnWabl7VJH35S1qNcyJhD72MTKpSX8CPjBG0NbCF0GFQmBV2NRIkl-Y/s400/IMG_2354.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5648054140161792530" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAheU4L-biWU8fTHbf4nqrgpZJGrx0rufqsV_149Is2v9WJPx5K1eCY9us0Vipy9v14clVQ4Pf3EMxJpONCO4dlV8fYEi3n6gmr3jr4eiT6Ho1eMSK7LecEpru80KoZQQ4zR1wCmwMt1GA/s1600/IMG_2361.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAheU4L-biWU8fTHbf4nqrgpZJGrx0rufqsV_149Is2v9WJPx5K1eCY9us0Vipy9v14clVQ4Pf3EMxJpONCO4dlV8fYEi3n6gmr3jr4eiT6Ho1eMSK7LecEpru80KoZQQ4zR1wCmwMt1GA/s400/IMG_2361.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5648055449060705666" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXTXXjkRJ4N-H_lluOnYXW66mdf9zRq2ifP0PE7t-Aa9P2Ev1Myk6WCxsuG9hYkOCAbmzGNuL1KLUELJ0-zX8vgENSa1kQWNKZow59MxODqyMtKmETC63sp2FVJgHz0eo37GYK5BRrICIV/s1600/IMG_2363.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXTXXjkRJ4N-H_lluOnYXW66mdf9zRq2ifP0PE7t-Aa9P2Ev1Myk6WCxsuG9hYkOCAbmzGNuL1KLUELJ0-zX8vgENSa1kQWNKZow59MxODqyMtKmETC63sp2FVJgHz0eo37GYK5BRrICIV/s400/IMG_2363.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5648055458716306338" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqtJRP2fjZB6CoDvcPy4kwFxJsyOSDvWQo2AyoYIQIkMnX_IhgEpkFOX68TcF2WujonURPy_GSIvICz-GopOFJo9XgJkJFZ5MqN6Y4ueB9FXQgNEtj_XT184CADdjxFWLXowkDaNJjvz6F/s1600/IMG_2368.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqtJRP2fjZB6CoDvcPy4kwFxJsyOSDvWQo2AyoYIQIkMnX_IhgEpkFOX68TcF2WujonURPy_GSIvICz-GopOFJo9XgJkJFZ5MqN6Y4ueB9FXQgNEtj_XT184CADdjxFWLXowkDaNJjvz6F/s400/IMG_2368.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5648055464347470210" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPshfN64qpfjkgoNx_jlMfaDqn17yeZdJ4pJ3HgDcRq2LvDZZ_SfT0NGRNdExgdG7bnhCU1mgZJPXfwk0m7xaH8gAE9Bp8_0MYiQpSwjq2Px3rxt7rlcEynBcbAVOnDtaWNTUNKMhVuB2b/s1600/IMG_2365.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPshfN64qpfjkgoNx_jlMfaDqn17yeZdJ4pJ3HgDcRq2LvDZZ_SfT0NGRNdExgdG7bnhCU1mgZJPXfwk0m7xaH8gAE9Bp8_0MYiQpSwjq2Px3rxt7rlcEynBcbAVOnDtaWNTUNKMhVuB2b/s400/IMG_2365.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5648055461040230146" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq6uAu39a_ul-MlL8aq7ht59IFaxh6acDnCJ1QuXgew1LO-AZzcr2yuQX2Qy4KpIIZWDaBMGMZ4TlkxTB8K5jkAyPzLCs41B-Omlw_8aj_tsGageFvVHcFCf8iAko58OF4iX6PFLvK4p4Q/s1600/IMG_2369.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq6uAu39a_ul-MlL8aq7ht59IFaxh6acDnCJ1QuXgew1LO-AZzcr2yuQX2Qy4KpIIZWDaBMGMZ4TlkxTB8K5jkAyPzLCs41B-Omlw_8aj_tsGageFvVHcFCf8iAko58OF4iX6PFLvK4p4Q/s400/IMG_2369.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5648056363329331474" border="0" /></a><br /><span class="text_exposed_show">It was a great experience I'll always remember. I feel honored and privileged.<br /><br /></span><span class="text_exposed_show">So go check out their <a href="http://nightlightinternational.com/">website</a> and support these incredible Thai women. You'll see my familiar face when you do. The jewelry is beautiful, trust me!<br /><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOqW7Q5VtFS4p9cySgqV7CMQSkw0YsjB_ZFIPkPhK5qQlbeOCZjpLoxGl1mQPkGvFYx3WVCLiIpZqpeOJDD0F0Jwhgx722EDlYvTk0svh_dCxP7ELZ7lm-IAJv0lKUum8XQR7d82Rmsnzc/s1600/332303_216383475082082_181894418530988_557147_911168_o.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 286px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOqW7Q5VtFS4p9cySgqV7CMQSkw0YsjB_ZFIPkPhK5qQlbeOCZjpLoxGl1mQPkGvFYx3WVCLiIpZqpeOJDD0F0Jwhgx722EDlYvTk0svh_dCxP7ELZ7lm-IAJv0lKUum8XQR7d82Rmsnzc/s400/332303_216383475082082_181894418530988_557147_911168_o.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5648056498220878786" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHlhGMXHEw0lrBSW0Wbwm3dSzLsc9NTF6CbrVWchyphenhyphenWDPqyeilAozcih5j-20W9njF7wUA_7MmnoBn71LyjSvF1bIPFc5okgSX6aUYwGBW0QI6DZ9Z61mSwWCeExO-7GP7mNhw-r4fuEA_l/s1600/298498_215107078543055_181894418530988_553575_7336271_n.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 232px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHlhGMXHEw0lrBSW0Wbwm3dSzLsc9NTF6CbrVWchyphenhyphenWDPqyeilAozcih5j-20W9njF7wUA_7MmnoBn71LyjSvF1bIPFc5okgSX6aUYwGBW0QI6DZ9Z61mSwWCeExO-7GP7mNhw-r4fuEA_l/s400/298498_215107078543055_181894418530988_553575_7336271_n.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5648056492587904658" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:78%;">(photos from the actual photographer)</span><br /><br /></div>After a few days of enjoying my beautiful hair, I released the braids, and had an 80's flashback.<br /><span class="text_exposed_show"><br /></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLq9mQ3eQjTQLl02rlXZjWSfveUjzPVfaOrrYRVOQmZ6KnwNesu03Mk1T6rIMZ-nOg-GELN2aqmmgioEpOFMVFVYYcr6PH8WplgJoKoQOKZ3SAFbSMXTjg9fP27L2ZdrJG6Al8ZfCsqCaY/s1600/IMG_2413.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 241px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLq9mQ3eQjTQLl02rlXZjWSfveUjzPVfaOrrYRVOQmZ6KnwNesu03Mk1T6rIMZ-nOg-GELN2aqmmgioEpOFMVFVYYcr6PH8WplgJoKoQOKZ3SAFbSMXTjg9fP27L2ZdrJG6Al8ZfCsqCaY/s400/IMG_2413.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5648056369558127698" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXjdaccYAC2s1B_S4qb3A0X8lRXDGBs2lINswtvblK1Jdyj-TJL0TcpmbCYL-tdsxCaQC4eAIkYV5StxKpmj9R8WZuLYjTSR3rlCkKasW2MEKsRHBZOuubApbQ5c0ETZdldNn9HUDMg-zN/s1600/IMG_2415_2.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 342px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXjdaccYAC2s1B_S4qb3A0X8lRXDGBs2lINswtvblK1Jdyj-TJL0TcpmbCYL-tdsxCaQC4eAIkYV5StxKpmj9R8WZuLYjTSR3rlCkKasW2MEKsRHBZOuubApbQ5c0ETZdldNn9HUDMg-zN/s400/IMG_2415_2.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5648056370589512786" border="0" /></a><br />My favorite tv show is Felicity. I definitely felt like I was channeling Keri Russel. ^^Natashahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10069883214773860511noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6646312724876149075.post-46798571386270215292011-09-03T13:36:00.005+07:002011-09-03T14:57:17.784+07:00Module 3 Set Leew!<span style="font-size:85%;">(set leew means finished already in thai)</span>
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<br />I'm moving on and moving up. This past week I finished Module 3 at language school, which involved learning to read and write. And with that came lots of homework. Everyday we were given words that are spelled with exceptions and basically took a spelling test everyday. Thank goodness I have a pretty good memory and the free time it takes to memorize.
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<br />I feel so blessed that God has given me this season to really focus on the language and culture of Thailand. To not have to also be running a full-time ministry. To not have 'management' wondering what I'm doing everyday and how the 'numbers' are coming. Gosh, what a blessing. But this is the IRIS Ministries DNA, as Heidi Baker's always saying, Go Low and Go Slow. The idea is to build relationships, establish connections, let people know what you're about, and when they have a need they know who to turn to. We should never want to come in with our 'white man' way of doing things, but observe the culture, and see how to adapt to it and give God full access to move.
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<br />I feel like a full-time student. Class 4 hours a day with at least 3 hours of homework to follow. But I love it. I love reading Thai, it's like decoding a secret message- I always loved those as a kid. The more I apply myself the more return I get, it's a great motivator and reward system.
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<br />My Module 3 consisted of 6 South Korean men and 1 Japanese lady. The Koreans are seriously taking over....it's a little crazy. It makes me want to learn Korean because they're always talking amongst themselves leaving me and the Japanese lady silent and bored. There were 2 Korean guys my age that were really witty and sarcastic (even in Thai) that made the class lots of fun and full of laughs. I will definitely be missing them in the months to come.
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<br />It's amazing after 3 months how well we all can speak, really. I am blown away by the schooling system. I hung out with one of my classmates for coffee, dinner, and a movie. And we were able to chat for hours, literally, all in Thai all about ourselves, our family, life, interests, hopes.....everything. We may not say it properly but the point is conveyed.
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<br />This Korean guy's mom is a pastor in Korea at a spirit-filled church; he's grown up in the church and knows God, although he is obviously not walking with God at the moment <span style="font-size:78%;">(but claims to attend church every Sunday)</span>. Our conversations got me thinking, how amazing it is that people can immediately connect and have a communal foundation when both believe and know God. There's an immediate understanding and acceptance, that's hopefully full of grace, mercy, and love, creating an instant deeper friendship. It just blows my mind. This is how the body of Christ is to work; no matter our nation or background, we're all family. We all have a real, personal relationship with God- our Papa- making us literally brothers and sisters cheering each other on. I so love how God designed the Body of Christ.
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<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXh7XSlDz-gWXN6O9rGo0BVzwNYChncB_WsZAJgFM8bDZOMDmz8kG5w9QlRYV7AemNWWjymkiQGQzQBacElb9RyRY9DaWX0Cl-2SPoft0nPuVuQfcSVl6ZRmcS8kzMpQ9ON2VK_Ga6sQpD/s1600/IMG_2416.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXh7XSlDz-gWXN6O9rGo0BVzwNYChncB_WsZAJgFM8bDZOMDmz8kG5w9QlRYV7AemNWWjymkiQGQzQBacElb9RyRY9DaWX0Cl-2SPoft0nPuVuQfcSVl6ZRmcS8kzMpQ9ON2VK_Ga6sQpD/s400/IMG_2416.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5648028111367502914" border="0" /></a>My class. Although 3 guys dropped out the last week for visa issues and what not. That's how it always seems to be, by the end about 40% have dropped out....because it is pretty overwhelming and full-on. <span style="font-size:85%;">(my teacher's in the middle)</span>
<br />Natashahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10069883214773860511noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6646312724876149075.post-61760813976011982562011-08-29T16:33:00.005+07:002011-08-30T06:53:28.013+07:00Emotions in BangkokI never really shared about returning to Bangkok, so here it goes. At first I was quite apprehensive. My first couple months in Bangkok were quite the roller coaster. The first month was all exciting and new and almost like the 'honeymoon' stage. Setting up home, nesting, watching God provide, and meeting all new people and family. Then month 2 set in and the routine....and the reality of my situation. Along with that came loneliness, gosh, I realized yet once again how important community is for the human soul. We all need it- attention, fellowship, an awareness of our existence from others. There were days where I didn't have an actual conversation with someone...let alone in my natural tongue. This is an immediate recipe for the drying of the soul. And somehow in these times we know God's presence will fill us and make us whole but it's often the last thing we try. I love how the Bible calls us sheep. Sheep are the dumbest animals, literally. And that's what God calls us, because we run from the thing we KNOW will make us better. Why is that? So to say it lightly, that was a rough month.
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<br />Next my friends came and I got a break and fellowship for 6 weeks and spent some time with family and with my adorable nieces. Nothing makes my heart smile more than little kids, so it was the perfect refreshment for my soul. The return to Bangkok was kinda looming over me. Anxiety, fear, apprehension... I can not return to that last season-- I just can't. So I prepared my mind, soul, and heart for the battle I was about to enter.
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<br />When I returned, my sweet little landladies were the first to greet me right out of the taxi with great big smiles. They knew my return date and were just waiting for me, with my mail in hand. They wanted to hear all about it. The security guard was smiling and more than willing to help carry my luggage upstairs for me. It was like coming home to family, honestly. Out on my street the next day, I ran into some neighbors who I met at church--- more community, more family-- wondering where I've been and <span style="font-style: italic;">how</span> I've been. <span style="font-size:130%;">I'm not alone.
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<br />I started the next Module (#3) at language school and met all new people. Things seemed to be on the right track, a healthy start. But within a matter of days I felt the fear, insecurity, and anxiety rising back up. It was overwhelming, all-consuming, and so <span style="font-weight: bold;">not me</span>. I don't usually have fear, definitely not to this level, so I knew Satan was up to something. My stomach was in absolute knots, I could hardly eat for a week... <span style="font-size:78%;">(lost some healthy weight, thanks satan :)</span> I thought, no way this is happening. Not again. Not on my watch. I'm wiser this time and fully know when the devil is attacking me and I'm not going to take it. <span style="font-size:130%;">For if God is with me, who can be against me? No weapon formed against me shall prosper. </span> <span style="font-style: italic;font-size:100%;" >I clung to that with dear life.
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<br />So I pressed in. I sought the Presence at every spare moment. I prayed without ceasing. The fear came at school- a near panic attack- but with the lovely gift of tongues I was able to dispel it. I could not <span style="font-weight: bold;">move </span>with out God. I clothed myself in the armor of God daily (Eph. 6:10-18) and took communion daily. <span style="font-style: italic;">And you know what?!? </span>
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<br />It worked.</span>
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<br />My peace is back. My confidence is back. I feel strong and empowered. My excitement for what God is going to do with my obedience here has fully returned. There is absolutely no more fear. For perfect Love (Jesus) casts out all fear. (1Jn. 4:18)
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<br />God's word is true. When we call out to Him, He <span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">will</span></span> come. He <span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">is</span></span> the author of Peace. He freely gives us what we need. He <span style="font-size:130%;">wants</span> to protect us, to fill us; for us to be healthy and whole. He wants to be our perfect Daddy, our all-loving, unconditional Father. And all we have to do is run to Him. Collapse in His arms. Pour our heart out to Him. And just <span style="font-size:130%;">LET</span> Him love us. It's so simple, and yet our human minds complicate it and we act like sheep.
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<br />I have been given everything I need to combat the devil. So I have nothing to worry or fear. And if anything, the devil's attacks just confirms I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be or he wouldn't be trying to paralyze me. Experience has made me wiser and the testimony of God's provision makes me further unconquerable because Revelation 12:11 says, "And they overcame him (Satan) by the blood of the Lamb, and by the <span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >word of their testimony</span>; and they loved not their lives unto the death".
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<br />And this whole pressing in for God and His Presence makes for a pretty sweet season with the Lord. This is what we were made for, for constant communion with the Lord. We were made specifically to be in relationship with God. Why does it usually take a battle or trial to make us press in? I pray I never stop pressing, especially when life is sabaay sabaay <span style="font-size:85%;">(thai for good and comfortable)</span>. I want to finish this race strong. I will finish strong.
<br />Natashahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10069883214773860511noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6646312724876149075.post-85474214969885176382011-08-29T16:07:00.003+07:002011-08-29T16:33:18.182+07:00One more in the Kingdom.I have very exciting news to my last blog post. One of the girls from my brother's university whose been so eager to learn about the Lord has continued to come to the church group and ask more and more about Jesus. My brother just shared with me that for the past couple weeks she's been asking about when you know you're ready to accept Jesus as your Savior and what that looks like with family, life, etc. He just kept telling her, you'll know when you're ready- no pressure. And so last week at church, she said she was ready and wanted to pray with my sister-in-law!
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<br />So they prayed and there were lots of emotions and tears and she said as she was inviting Jesus to be Lord of her life she had a vision of God and He was holding her and with her. <span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">How special is that!</span></span> She started hearing about God maybe 6 weeks ago and now she fully believes in Him and receives visions and feelings from God. She has learned to communicate and have relationship with our Father God in heaven-- there is absolutely nothing more beautiful than that!
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<br />All Glory be to God, another soul will live for eternity in heaven. Gosh, I love that so much.
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<br />I feel so so honored to be able to live here- overseas- and have my daily focus/job as just loving on people and allowing them to feel God's great love for them. And through that, I get to see people encounter God, encounter His love, His <span style="font-weight: bold;">great great </span>love for them and to give them purpose and hope for their life. There is no other place I'd rather be and nothing else I'd rather be doing.
<br />Natashahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10069883214773860511noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6646312724876149075.post-80379042641053203542011-08-13T13:50:00.004+07:002011-08-13T14:55:16.899+07:00God's GoodnessThe last two weeks at my brother's were amazing. God is truly moving right now and I got to see first hand God reveal Himself to His beautiful children.
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<br />One week my brother, his wife, and some short-term visitors went around the University, where he volunteers and has a small Christian group meeting already, they passed out flyers and invited many students to come to a 'Fun day with English speakers'. Shortly after, a group of students showed up, expressing they had received similar flyers from them in the past but really felt <span style="font-size:130%;">an urgency</span> to finally check it out this time. They had a great time and returned the next week. My brother continued to share with them of how God loves His children and loves to reveal Himself to them through healing their bodily pains. One of the Thai girls had been having pain in her knees and could feel the pain. So my brother and others prayed for her healing. Immediately after the prayer <span style="font-weight: bold;">the pain went away completely.</span> She was in awe about what God had done for her. This stirred the faith in the fellow students who were seeing the power of God for the first time.
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<br />The next week they came again, and I had the privilege of being there. When the girl came she said that her pain in her knees was still gone and she was still so happy and surprised. We explained what it meant to sing songs and worship Jesus and that when we worship we expect to hear from God either through a picture, a feeling, or words. After worship we went around and shared what we received from God. Some girls felt 'light' or 'heat', some felt really peaceful, and one boy actually saw <span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >a man in a white robe</span> come to him and pick him up in his hand and shield him from a dangerous path ahead. <span style="font-size:85%;"> </span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:78%;" >*what?!*</span> When it was translated for me, I think my <span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >jaw dropped open</span><span style="font-weight: bold;">.</span> I was in such wonder and amazement of my God. These students know nothing of Jesus or the Bible and at this point we've told them very little and yet during worship Jesus revealed Himself to him. How special is that.
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<br />We read some scripture verses about the miracles Jesus performed and shared more testimonies of how much God loves to heal our physical ailments. Afterwards we took prayer requests from everyone and prayed. But we didn't do the usual quick prayer where you spout off each others problems to the Lord while sitting in a circle and say Amen. We took time for each one. We would all surround the one and lay hands on the one being prayed over. So here we are with 5 new people completely new to this whole laying on of hands and praying to Father God about our needs, praying for each other, praying for their friends. <span style="font-size:130%;">And the thing is they're not praying these timid, quiet prayers, they're not.</span> There's such assurance in their voice and they all step up to pray, not one takes the back seat and just observes. It was the most beautiful thing.
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<br />One of the girls had been having pain in her foot and she couldn't rotate it very well. So we had these new girls lay hands on her foot and command the pain to leave and for complete healing to come in Jesus name. The first time they prayed it improved a little but not completely, so we had them pray again. Afterwards we asked her to test it out, walk around, what can you do now that you couldn't before? She starts testing it and this shock and amazement comes over her face and you can tell she's thinking: <span style="font-weight: bold;">*What?! Is the pain really gone? Can I really move my foot like I couldn't before?*</span> And the girls who prayed are in just as much shock and awe. I thank Jesus that I had the privilege of seeing these girls and guys see the power of God and experience His love for them for the very first time. It totally builds my faith up as much as it does theirs. And it causes me to fall more deeply in love with my Savior, the lover of my soul.
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<br />Two of the girls are just eating up everything they can about Jesus, asking endless questions. Wondering if God still loves them even though they aren't Christians and how it all works, and about the Father's love. They tell us the following week that when they went back to their dorm, the wrist of one of the girls was really hurting. So she turned to her friend and said, pray for my wrist. So she did and the pain completely left immediately. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Can you believe it?!</span> These girls are living examples of what it means to have <span style="font-size:130%;">child-like faith.</span> They're fully believing what they hear and have complete faith to back it up and do it themselves. There's such boldness and sweetness to them; they are so hungry. I am so honored to see the start of their journey with the Lord and I pray the seeds that have been planted will go down deep and there's nothing the enemy can do to uproot them.
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<br />It's amazing how God can respond when we take all familiarity we have with God, the Bible, and Christianity and throw it out the window. When we just take the Bible for what it says and believe it, simply because it says so, and that <span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >God is God and He is GOOD.</span>
<br />Natashahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10069883214773860511noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6646312724876149075.post-43227380034740680832011-07-21T09:50:00.010+07:002011-07-23T10:51:01.793+07:00Summer Vacation.Quite a lot has happened since my last post, I can't believe it's been so long. <span style="font-size:78%;">*sorry!*</span><br /><br />First off, I finished Module 2 at language school the beginning of June. That module wasn't too bad, just a continuation of Module 1- learning more words and sentence structure. I went to school in the afternoon versus the morning like mod. 1 and I noticed that it's definitely a different crowd between the two. The afternoon is filled with moms, housewives, and business men; while the morning is more younger, single, unattached people which means they're more eager to make friends and hang out after school. So for my next module I've decided it's best for me to study in the morning although leaving the house by 7:15am everyday wears on me.<br /><br />In June two of my great friends I met in Mozambique came out to visit me for about a month. It was so special to have them come all this way and to spend time together. We traveled all around Thailand, hitting all the major hot spots. We went up north to Chiang Mai and did some trekking, in which you hike up the mountain and stay at a hill tribe camp and ride elephants and ride on a bamboo raft down the river. Then we traveled down to my brothers and partook in his ministry with the kids and at the schools. And we finished our trip with relaxing on the beach at the beautiful island of Ko Phi Phi. While there we did various snorkeling and island hopping tours. The water is crystal clear, blue/green, and the view is breathtaking. Ko Phi Phi is definitely the most beautiful place I've seen in Thailand. We were so blessed because it is 'low season' right now so places to stay and the tours are extremely cheap, but usually with 'low season' comes the rain, hence why it's called low season. Even with all the forecasts saying rain and thunder storms we were blessed with 5 solid days of clear skies and sun, allowing us to do all we wanted to do. It was incredible! The day we left it poured rain for most the day. So not only were we able to stay at places and do things for a third of the normal price, but we also had incredible weather. Thank you God!<br /><br />I also celebrated my 26th birthday in June. We had fun together and had lots of delicious food. Last year we were all together to celebrate it in Mozambique and this year in Thailand--we'll see what next year brings. :)<br /><br />It was so fun to have the girls here and to now have those memories. Now I am staying at my brothers until Module 3 starts in August. I will have been away from my little apartment a whole month, so I'm hoping everything will be safe and fine when I return. It is so nice and comfortable to be at my brother's. It feels like home. It feels like I don't have to worry or stress about anything, like I can fully relax and let go. Being all alone in Bangkok comes with the added stress of just surviving.<br /><br />My 2 little nieces are absolutely adorable. I am soaking up every minute with them, it's going to be hard to say goodbye. Lalita is talking a lot now and talking some Thai. At first it sounds like jibberish baby talk but then I realize no she's actually speaking Thai. As her mama teaches her new Thai words I am right there with her learning and practicing the tones.<br /><br />I have 2 more weeks of vacation and then it's back to school full-time and fully networking and preparing for Iris Thailand.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Lauren, me, and Elais<br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiECGAc77dajzzG0vgPgVJ_3HmaWXCTYep4BlfrAKhQ0NVhkUEzY8B1b6a7zo2m3PNwMrY_DMGDZ4HCoe29ba7F6ISynUi-mYbU5WlrTKfHJfaB9cbdyUFizD8ZrwYaXKZjdqniITeHczRS/s1600/IMG_1785.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiECGAc77dajzzG0vgPgVJ_3HmaWXCTYep4BlfrAKhQ0NVhkUEzY8B1b6a7zo2m3PNwMrY_DMGDZ4HCoe29ba7F6ISynUi-mYbU5WlrTKfHJfaB9cbdyUFizD8ZrwYaXKZjdqniITeHczRS/s400/IMG_1785.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5632368177824610754" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">elephant trek<br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5GpH6lCFZdQ7mZJER3Hw1y36jC-lNSjKAHf-2Dxq58Hsh7pqsgAIdDmFxfrhREcdLtHvY2kYBaqpBWcou_QxzWvCTUGCV86mOAGk_3j5VwL2ocNotVYm7lStU7Stm_NujZosXq0nnw5OG/s1600/DSCN0158.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5GpH6lCFZdQ7mZJER3Hw1y36jC-lNSjKAHf-2Dxq58Hsh7pqsgAIdDmFxfrhREcdLtHvY2kYBaqpBWcou_QxzWvCTUGCV86mOAGk_3j5VwL2ocNotVYm7lStU7Stm_NujZosXq0nnw5OG/s400/DSCN0158.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5632368174862485970" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQW-8UqbHjfpmwurqeYmMLqoW5P-zUSuAxdeH6s-RBcqyUWjAkniwGhpPbd4BZTPchX7HGqtO-zKRB6KKmj-qJaN0usukRKiP2bkS5mJlYu45vIZOeaxXlNl8nCkYMckwL0Tzvw7Nfo5CC/s1600/P1010422.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQW-8UqbHjfpmwurqeYmMLqoW5P-zUSuAxdeH6s-RBcqyUWjAkniwGhpPbd4BZTPchX7HGqtO-zKRB6KKmj-qJaN0usukRKiP2bkS5mJlYu45vIZOeaxXlNl8nCkYMckwL0Tzvw7Nfo5CC/s400/P1010422.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5632368184382065106" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">hiking up to the hill tribe<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGwH78tIcaP_hO5_rLh3ltADMTTyRu5isOFpuzy0a2LXnRaQTthtuK19wtTEW67KFD2NkRP03KTxO70GtUx6aPG_4_eCCz6IS03EIfa-cLxl9uFw13qjxsWKgMNPrMjDJGqPXALtJmkBbH/s1600/P1010457.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGwH78tIcaP_hO5_rLh3ltADMTTyRu5isOFpuzy0a2LXnRaQTthtuK19wtTEW67KFD2NkRP03KTxO70GtUx6aPG_4_eCCz6IS03EIfa-cLxl9uFw13qjxsWKgMNPrMjDJGqPXALtJmkBbH/s400/P1010457.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5632372801905988834" border="0" /></a><br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_SYxS7H5Z077YXw9g_I3MEKrcKSp552RSHNI2h74KWbZwuJ7VDYyiK8W7oDxPEikHtp4zJxbfoIeypg54iJU2jXmZYjUZYbqBlQZidfzYvQQM_sCHHK_hwNK_tm7RZdxbSgqNQ4SrSZAx/s1600/IMG_1855.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_SYxS7H5Z077YXw9g_I3MEKrcKSp552RSHNI2h74KWbZwuJ7VDYyiK8W7oDxPEikHtp4zJxbfoIeypg54iJU2jXmZYjUZYbqBlQZidfzYvQQM_sCHHK_hwNK_tm7RZdxbSgqNQ4SrSZAx/s400/IMG_1855.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5632372814439412898" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFgzpS3cg8HSN7VXTh4f3dVACE0AYV0t26wcNpJRgsb4pOWV0h-6S2dmNdyyYNmYO-537MslYloeUzLD7BG-6EAJSM5tXTDFdltw85gcrYpOzT9Q-KBe5Ub8-c6UaCjPH0fZsFvm1f2eE2/s1600/IMG_1885.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFgzpS3cg8HSN7VXTh4f3dVACE0AYV0t26wcNpJRgsb4pOWV0h-6S2dmNdyyYNmYO-537MslYloeUzLD7BG-6EAJSM5tXTDFdltw85gcrYpOzT9Q-KBe5Ub8-c6UaCjPH0fZsFvm1f2eE2/s400/IMG_1885.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5632372807888111842" border="0" /></a><br />our trek included us plus 3 Irish guys, we all had a great time<br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4IACajhohUf4oLT0pJ1y3vyhlCe_nCuAZ1PKx64eQPWGEQZyUTJYH52FGpDL7f8QQWHBfYtdx4Wr6JDjs43MY0u5NYjDPz3daEXhbp3OEb3cYtXU8XRsrtvd259oVlQYTLr752s5mKj-Z/s1600/P1010479.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4IACajhohUf4oLT0pJ1y3vyhlCe_nCuAZ1PKx64eQPWGEQZyUTJYH52FGpDL7f8QQWHBfYtdx4Wr6JDjs43MY0u5NYjDPz3daEXhbp3OEb3cYtXU8XRsrtvd259oVlQYTLr752s5mKj-Z/s400/P1010479.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5632375798852716306" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">birthday fun<br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-cX0TdnHT6xUxVxy7Uf7NehBMg3N0HD1aBj5Viu_0uAKO1WdvN8iVUkKcHn_0g0rQ04egwmaXQBO5Ggfr0xigsbugnIpccrUGyt2m4S3WO6a0KR9s6NY_bzUL6Z19isCWs3kVR79U0eAF/s1600/P1010565.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-cX0TdnHT6xUxVxy7Uf7NehBMg3N0HD1aBj5Viu_0uAKO1WdvN8iVUkKcHn_0g0rQ04egwmaXQBO5Ggfr0xigsbugnIpccrUGyt2m4S3WO6a0KR9s6NY_bzUL6Z19isCWs3kVR79U0eAF/s400/P1010565.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5632375803824630194" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">traveling down south to my brothers. I brought some Krispy Kreme donuts<br />from Bangkok for his birthday gift. He was so surprised!<br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtPhvuwa0zwL5K_2W7Q0AmvSvfLdnbpW3PI1oc7sqRfrJ4WkwyRktxzvv8ny6DeXJpbiulLs3og64yMS_5FGujcqbp_7OtTmeAesHuEyWVp1-EgUgHJu3nrVBY9DMsDW6N4cNVqjAxq6rn/s1600/P1010572.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtPhvuwa0zwL5K_2W7Q0AmvSvfLdnbpW3PI1oc7sqRfrJ4WkwyRktxzvv8ny6DeXJpbiulLs3og64yMS_5FGujcqbp_7OtTmeAesHuEyWVp1-EgUgHJu3nrVBY9DMsDW6N4cNVqjAxq6rn/s400/P1010572.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5632381468668415282" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">face painting the kids at the fishing village where we do church. They love it!<br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSMSN4_0MiFqKt_tUAN0T9GU1UGs4Id14XCOa5ITjeL3FZrbqA35v7ksKyZkXXxP5DV-KfcOYJwAy8E7K7Apz1s_gST-V1IqK4Mst-BTe6-3JbrZGWDINt52lsj6HODVoSkA_gitmFC4kA/s1600/267578_10150314187653899_553563898_9168041_5518811_n.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 298px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSMSN4_0MiFqKt_tUAN0T9GU1UGs4Id14XCOa5ITjeL3FZrbqA35v7ksKyZkXXxP5DV-KfcOYJwAy8E7K7Apz1s_gST-V1IqK4Mst-BTe6-3JbrZGWDINt52lsj6HODVoSkA_gitmFC4kA/s400/267578_10150314187653899_553563898_9168041_5518811_n.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5632375794814248274" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Ko Phi Phi!<br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuL-mXOWEhj22fhnN2dduInfyrXgOcZFuEeDKoXc1KB6tM9nDVHMUoZNQ82OWokMdikZzpxJg141Slqd8glbFP74kDDY2R1xp2TziGdPvfak994utSkUwMGPy9VCfSbXlpOr8srzrqLjkS/s1600/P1010717.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuL-mXOWEhj22fhnN2dduInfyrXgOcZFuEeDKoXc1KB6tM9nDVHMUoZNQ82OWokMdikZzpxJg141Slqd8glbFP74kDDY2R1xp2TziGdPvfak994utSkUwMGPy9VCfSbXlpOr8srzrqLjkS/s400/P1010717.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5632381482458617858" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVy1k2lQNC7o5Ttgo6tJfJR9RT1sQDXQcgslsOgBPJAtudI2kJ8dELEDmYFbx4cHojsu3Cp3XgBNhfjac-5aDXEPbj1gVD68INLhHCxKXKkPT2Dm9nCL5vGSveAJT88gk45AznUbF1HhOs/s1600/P1010660.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVy1k2lQNC7o5Ttgo6tJfJR9RT1sQDXQcgslsOgBPJAtudI2kJ8dELEDmYFbx4cHojsu3Cp3XgBNhfjac-5aDXEPbj1gVD68INLhHCxKXKkPT2Dm9nCL5vGSveAJT88gk45AznUbF1HhOs/s400/P1010660.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5632381473398487394" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaOBeEh1ydAE45I-vEIbjGdVRGJbvOX-VUQbOEfei-oSFM2NbOKQzKwujDtwSb6FG3pi9rLTsUnCqAqo4Y5v8WF68A-p_cW0pA2F3fr3VVkJb4a4Tj5BUDRFDFrZF63U6AUXekZoQ3WkBJ/s1600/IMG_2088.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaOBeEh1ydAE45I-vEIbjGdVRGJbvOX-VUQbOEfei-oSFM2NbOKQzKwujDtwSb6FG3pi9rLTsUnCqAqo4Y5v8WF68A-p_cW0pA2F3fr3VVkJb4a4Tj5BUDRFDFrZF63U6AUXekZoQ3WkBJ/s400/IMG_2088.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5632377866988711026" border="0" /></a>Maya Bay, where the film, The Beach, was made.<br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi53bedFIFYlmaHS5q6Og8PMOVb3SqTR-yfTdZ-QsaIda0VU2333wurwJjT7QxcWB_a4onhGcqrg5NX-hJPOYS9YiM-rpc9-s24t4l8bYIOz6-U57DMKqXJk-rgu422amn3mxbAuO5SccIE/s1600/IMG_2200.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi53bedFIFYlmaHS5q6Og8PMOVb3SqTR-yfTdZ-QsaIda0VU2333wurwJjT7QxcWB_a4onhGcqrg5NX-hJPOYS9YiM-rpc9-s24t4l8bYIOz6-U57DMKqXJk-rgu422amn3mxbAuO5SccIE/s400/IMG_2200.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5632377873164521330" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Our beach bungalow. Perfection.<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOr6jdcucoW0RAkHNz0hsmsEH-hL6jZ_0khbkQhSNIOqLghhrzPJ8f8KvOX0A3ccoEXE4EA7TEn2H6hmVxE_vLTeLbKTQMhI8hDeMeoiIZYzSHYyfjfoMx1xTEQSKkIusoRrAfckcLvTzw/s1600/P1010736.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOr6jdcucoW0RAkHNz0hsmsEH-hL6jZ_0khbkQhSNIOqLghhrzPJ8f8KvOX0A3ccoEXE4EA7TEn2H6hmVxE_vLTeLbKTQMhI8hDeMeoiIZYzSHYyfjfoMx1xTEQSKkIusoRrAfckcLvTzw/s400/P1010736.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5632381487234469346" border="0" /></a><br />We woke up to the sound of the waves every morning, incredible!<br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgajm9undS0mP3MM-E3ooqxdOB6WBP3JigsGW7gZZoDN_oB6HYvejJAJxUJb1R5puRWHhycPtg-boUiDM3P4Q8dtpelLzztorNoIQwgIIk4QS6FOF6rgsbRJtuGi2QZWe66mKIGnR-HTzle/s1600/IMG_2271.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgajm9undS0mP3MM-E3ooqxdOB6WBP3JigsGW7gZZoDN_oB6HYvejJAJxUJb1R5puRWHhycPtg-boUiDM3P4Q8dtpelLzztorNoIQwgIIk4QS6FOF6rgsbRJtuGi2QZWe66mKIGnR-HTzle/s400/IMG_2271.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5632377877727324946" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Lalita enjoying her finger paints<br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxPYgMySmAq8RG_mu7AX4aV1BBYLutUdyxi4KFsqfz9m_jHvR0vmgcbB6KhMbwxLnl_90KMI9al79KmKUI8EENJYunYv2_d3Inomb7KvedXlGyUK4w2uP57KcPWxkVwnf0P-ogMa3Xd0mh/s1600/270348_10150314198658899_553563898_9168116_7910017_n.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxPYgMySmAq8RG_mu7AX4aV1BBYLutUdyxi4KFsqfz9m_jHvR0vmgcbB6KhMbwxLnl_90KMI9al79KmKUI8EENJYunYv2_d3Inomb7KvedXlGyUK4w2uP57KcPWxkVwnf0P-ogMa3Xd0mh/s400/270348_10150314198658899_553563898_9168116_7910017_n.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5632386828741439010" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Kayla enjoying her first taste of baby food!<br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw54x3Tvr-FedW-7nPFjw1u2_8uOhxJlpsp7yA1XB1jTxSggFmXSEytXxAN4P1TbGfotGrAb9CY9x_O1uzIFdXyC2raThiQDfYidDazDsu88BMJgwDSCu9q8OL0Lrn-8k2S6gHAwM9-pEC/s1600/284593_10150314198093899_553563898_9168111_2474193_n.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw54x3Tvr-FedW-7nPFjw1u2_8uOhxJlpsp7yA1XB1jTxSggFmXSEytXxAN4P1TbGfotGrAb9CY9x_O1uzIFdXyC2raThiQDfYidDazDsu88BMJgwDSCu9q8OL0Lrn-8k2S6gHAwM9-pEC/s400/284593_10150314198093899_553563898_9168111_2474193_n.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5632386831468528002" border="0" /></a>Natashahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10069883214773860511noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6646312724876149075.post-21230159379591434752011-05-12T08:24:00.001+07:002011-05-20T09:03:16.227+07:00My prayerGod, I see the poor on the street begging. Everyday, I pass by the man who squats in the corner with out forearms, holding a cup with his elbows asking for money. In the evenings as I walk the streets I see the woman sitting on the dirty street with her toddler son in her lap. He's not a normal kid with joy and energy, he lays there lifeless, sad, bored. What kind of life is that God? What am I supposed to do with that? I hate to just walk by, but what do I do? To the man with no arms, I want to give him food but I think, how would he eat it? What is easiest for him to eat? Those questions alone inhibit me from responding, thus far.<br /><br />God where is the justice in that. Why was I born where I was and they are born there. I grew up with opportunity, family, love, hope. That toddler only knows the street, his mother's lap, and the sounds of thousands of footsteps walking past him everyday. What kind of life is that? Where is Your justice God? Oh, how I weep for the broken, for the hopeless, how I desperately wish they knew You. Knew Your love, peace, joy, and hope that flows so endlessly and freely from Your throne. God use me. Let me be Your hands and feet to them. Teach me how to respond, teach me to hear Your voice, over that voice that fears man saying, 'what would people think'.<br /><br />Why was I given so much more? Let me not be selfish, let me pour out and give back all that You've given me. Let me not judge those who don't know You and live selfishly for themselves. Give me Your grace and wisdom, and continue to break my heart for the things that breaks Yours.Natashahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10069883214773860511noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6646312724876149075.post-81881953537524573242011-05-06T19:38:00.006+07:002011-05-06T20:26:19.293+07:00Module 1: Complete.Today was the last day of Module 1 at language school. I plan to do all 6 Modules plus 4 electives. I have had a very enjoyable first month, filled with so many many laughs; having a good healthy laugh everyday has been so good for my soul especially adjusting to living alone. We learned to ask questions like what did you do today, yesterday, after school; where did you go and why; what did you eat--to name a few. So everyday we would practice asking and answering these types of questions. We all knew everything about one another- what we did each hour of the day- nothing was private. The teacher loves to ask what you ate, how much you ate (1 plate, 2 plates) and then proceeds to comment on your weight whether you ate too much and need to diet, or no wonder you're so skinny... it is pretty hilarious, yet also some what uncomfortable...do I laugh at this? If you say you bought something the follow up question is how much did you pay? <span style="font-size:85%;">(classic Thai style- you are asked this about everything....then typically told, 'Oui, too much!')</span> Going through this while setting up home was quite the experience, there were many times I did not want to answer and tried to get away with, 'I forget' <span style="font-size:85%;">(with a smile and bat of the eyes)</span>. Weight/appearance and money are never off limits with Thais.<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipnF91SH5kmyytsW96eNMATZtoAkdcnr3xcs8NXDX0KOq305B3ZXnDMesbyHGdcW-Dw5Vcs1cgYzcwSbv2bo9tdzEE37NxoimaksWhSz3Gwdt5hgrPEr2d3APpB3bpK5lNDHTdKWoam3xa/s1600/IMG_1474.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipnF91SH5kmyytsW96eNMATZtoAkdcnr3xcs8NXDX0KOq305B3ZXnDMesbyHGdcW-Dw5Vcs1cgYzcwSbv2bo9tdzEE37NxoimaksWhSz3Gwdt5hgrPEr2d3APpB3bpK5lNDHTdKWoam3xa/s400/IMG_1474.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5603587337288371666" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">(I had to sneak these shots during class)<br /></span></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd0geaJ8pNND_dW7E0l9BeQ6ems_vOH_i38CKrZsYlh1MhyG1i1AUFT4c0hmivOSL_kmXgvnGnHYY3TzLQfGparXiEsgLIZUaltng5_Gv-28XDdhLFC_IGOZ9lL3UiBJVsUbSHhX0cJ8oy/s1600/IMG_1475.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd0geaJ8pNND_dW7E0l9BeQ6ems_vOH_i38CKrZsYlh1MhyG1i1AUFT4c0hmivOSL_kmXgvnGnHYY3TzLQfGparXiEsgLIZUaltng5_Gv-28XDdhLFC_IGOZ9lL3UiBJVsUbSHhX0cJ8oy/s400/IMG_1475.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5603587343220450658" border="0" /></a><br />For the last day we had a little food party. We planned to just bring little snacks and chips from 7-eleven or something. Then the Korean lady in my class had delivered 3 huge platters of Korean food- everyone was stunned and shocked and our contributions suddenly seemed minuscule. I wasn't shocked much, this woman is a giver. She lives one block away from me, random I know, and taxis everyday to school. I asked her on week 2 if I could taxi with her and split the cab instead of taking a bus and sky train in the heat to get to school. She said of course! but would refuse to take any money, since she goes anyway. So I have been getting a free taxi aircon ride to school everyday, can we say Thank you Jesus! I will be sad not to study with her next module, but not merely for that reason.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:85%;">all Koreans plus me... we had a Russian, but she quit.<br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuFVLn57JhpFhnFJ-fNhHndrGgSj-DdJipaNbD3hVNWZHZErvUx6Kf_X6o6szO7T9VSjHyjzDw2x930i8cwADlkAsGhdImhmUm6y8fIvRmBGLurPvAmapdUlcAWxHXfp8uuCcJ83BtSksB/s1600/IMG_1547.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuFVLn57JhpFhnFJ-fNhHndrGgSj-DdJipaNbD3hVNWZHZErvUx6Kf_X6o6szO7T9VSjHyjzDw2x930i8cwADlkAsGhdImhmUm6y8fIvRmBGLurPvAmapdUlcAWxHXfp8uuCcJ83BtSksB/s400/IMG_1547.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5603587351698424930" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">Teacher's in the blue and pink polo<br /></span></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtrtT_Ihafhdohfr1O3TF9Qv_bGhY5YRRk9aayJTcIR5VQjV2MujnxgItMsABnklPc3peS6hSgjSozHDQpQFXKqYb0pe8bmlmfhxs6JT7OaVLhIc7rAhZkuorN9wwad3s2yI4DsCRjrNqP/s1600/IMG_1548.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtrtT_Ihafhdohfr1O3TF9Qv_bGhY5YRRk9aayJTcIR5VQjV2MujnxgItMsABnklPc3peS6hSgjSozHDQpQFXKqYb0pe8bmlmfhxs6JT7OaVLhIc7rAhZkuorN9wwad3s2yI4DsCRjrNqP/s400/IMG_1548.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5603587355396394546" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi12fT6xRF8CHGDTyjkqQUjg5eQDZmuCqHld3ImKLNijJb5n7shTZ5UYGgKtbOxsST8qb5P5Bo6w1fNaherNirkaGdBv6JRSZekw5I_KiWwQh1hpyy9Ra_cEarU-QVpwK-NnC78wHWKaXTu/s1600/IMG_1549.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi12fT6xRF8CHGDTyjkqQUjg5eQDZmuCqHld3ImKLNijJb5n7shTZ5UYGgKtbOxsST8qb5P5Bo6w1fNaherNirkaGdBv6JRSZekw5I_KiWwQh1hpyy9Ra_cEarU-QVpwK-NnC78wHWKaXTu/s400/IMG_1549.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5603589199411543794" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieCmikJhemXXTR2Rpf111W4j7DGYrSEejTQq5uibYi1emEYcHAudrPIjW0e9lKGMteGQAZlrsrTRAdhgJ5QMQ45qPQICVJD5zTXy_CU3tP-4nSfXe097-srzkscZUrPKI2d21ROTO2Y0iz/s1600/IMG_1551.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieCmikJhemXXTR2Rpf111W4j7DGYrSEejTQq5uibYi1emEYcHAudrPIjW0e9lKGMteGQAZlrsrTRAdhgJ5QMQ45qPQICVJD5zTXy_CU3tP-4nSfXe097-srzkscZUrPKI2d21ROTO2Y0iz/s400/IMG_1551.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5603589208053406178" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">not sure exactly what this was...but it was sooo yummy, I lost count how many I had.<br /></span></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaa2GM48-xcOLFKAB6vU81sKk3f4BHFTcg1VQnFdY5wNQB7gdG10GpAxuDLtgTKr70SXDT-jI2_FmyVRyPDOu-gK59EE9VZW2qLLap1QF_ATJ-zhg9nYCzMug86psdcL8393f317yvw2n7/s1600/IMG_1550.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaa2GM48-xcOLFKAB6vU81sKk3f4BHFTcg1VQnFdY5wNQB7gdG10GpAxuDLtgTKr70SXDT-jI2_FmyVRyPDOu-gK59EE9VZW2qLLap1QF_ATJ-zhg9nYCzMug86psdcL8393f317yvw2n7/s400/IMG_1550.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5603589204774050418" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY3aZkiPwabuzX5u2x3d5rmLqNNnZpSTzrEy00RgqsH9ZmzXqaYoiEnhoYnMTuFt-xYcKugNcrN3kStZUF8x5jl1FEdsQXEicsGZitb6-UPXVAoz4wfWH3mUFtjlp70tT8GnGIgC9ioldw/s1600/IMG_1552.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY3aZkiPwabuzX5u2x3d5rmLqNNnZpSTzrEy00RgqsH9ZmzXqaYoiEnhoYnMTuFt-xYcKugNcrN3kStZUF8x5jl1FEdsQXEicsGZitb6-UPXVAoz4wfWH3mUFtjlp70tT8GnGIgC9ioldw/s400/IMG_1552.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5603589216190178242" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg03xjkVC7xPTMhJAyOTwWd8dXn8Tc65_fd4JKSmo3dPdJ3ensTIU3Rmm68KlJWA-THZxA6yReVPMCqGJ56iE-UqhIPQMhPcpoWR4PtT19CtQgh_oJXM7iIQ6sRNeSvf2y7UNfzPwe9jKdl/s1600/IMG_1553.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg03xjkVC7xPTMhJAyOTwWd8dXn8Tc65_fd4JKSmo3dPdJ3ensTIU3Rmm68KlJWA-THZxA6yReVPMCqGJ56iE-UqhIPQMhPcpoWR4PtT19CtQgh_oJXM7iIQ6sRNeSvf2y7UNfzPwe9jKdl/s400/IMG_1553.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5603590813235923682" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">sushi, chocolate cake, meat, and mango--yum, yum, yum.</span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqtFCrhl_V2u2IW6eHR2HvWALJUo7BkaJvo1Hxctj7_gnschTLs2scRDCNCmiH_3FyDfm1VyJktLCkFbnGjGM2LzfqzU-_zl4Wkvjc4K7DTwRPHMGLvoKHdviCzXILYCP9QJi2xDdpUpec/s1600/IMG_1554.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqtFCrhl_V2u2IW6eHR2HvWALJUo7BkaJvo1Hxctj7_gnschTLs2scRDCNCmiH_3FyDfm1VyJktLCkFbnGjGM2LzfqzU-_zl4Wkvjc4K7DTwRPHMGLvoKHdviCzXILYCP9QJi2xDdpUpec/s400/IMG_1554.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5603590814344683298" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRwAE8ZkUL2OB2T_mYYppxicEFnufmeFF9SyL-3x2ZTw1Vtru77vwjEFWtBAubn7F-KE7wpQmuswNTxSA93P8R6Kr2uBLzM9qitmpIiOPDgrbIckusUgdln4Q6cFsnG5z6jjtbxrXwSamB/s1600/IMG_1555.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRwAE8ZkUL2OB2T_mYYppxicEFnufmeFF9SyL-3x2ZTw1Vtru77vwjEFWtBAubn7F-KE7wpQmuswNTxSA93P8R6Kr2uBLzM9qitmpIiOPDgrbIckusUgdln4Q6cFsnG5z6jjtbxrXwSamB/s400/IMG_1555.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5603590826382662306" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: left;">Module 2 begins Monday...I'm excited for the new classmates I'll meet; I just hope they're as cool as these- the bar's been set high.<br /><br /></div></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEzmGRUygzyn3hUbI93-MhnWrP5klxXeaOiXZWlqlsavxBpjrk5jY6qbrEagbnzhCjqE-GEiKWYt8YFqv2hucgKsiwluN4ynFCLs6urmXsZffzZHpuN5bdXZU6-zL43bILpMTCss-gOfmD/s1600/IMG_1556.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 206px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEzmGRUygzyn3hUbI93-MhnWrP5klxXeaOiXZWlqlsavxBpjrk5jY6qbrEagbnzhCjqE-GEiKWYt8YFqv2hucgKsiwluN4ynFCLs6urmXsZffzZHpuN5bdXZU6-zL43bILpMTCss-gOfmD/s400/IMG_1556.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5603590829607218562" border="0" /></a>Natashahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10069883214773860511noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6646312724876149075.post-21386744061000926472011-04-25T19:30:00.003+07:002011-04-25T19:50:58.853+07:00Radical Raging Love<div style="text-align: center; font-family: courier new;"><span style="font-family: verdana;font-size:130%;" >Radical raging love flows like liquid fire filling the darkness with hope and light melting the ice, breaking the chains and calling forth a new generation to extreme living, dying to self and the world, living new energy of passion bursting forth to love the ugly to beauty and uncover the hidden treasures from the dust of the earth His Kingdom within reach, within us, wanting to be let out as we step out of the comfort into the tension of the unseen untouched being more real than the tangible visible, until faith creates the world dreamed for into the physical reality around us.</span><br /></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial;font-size:85%;" >These are not my words, but come from a fellow Iris Missionary couple who are completely living out the power of the Gospel and seeing many lives miraculously healed and transformed all by the power and love of Jesus. They literally travel across the world bringing the power of Christ to every person they meet. They were here with the team in Bangkok, then went to India, Japan, Nepal, and up north; then will head to Australia, Indonesia, and Mozambique. In the fall they will trek through Central and South America targeting the lowest, most unreached, and darkest places and bringing the light of Jesus Christ. Then finally moving to Micronesia. Please check out <a href="http://kingsquestministries.blogspot.com/">their blog</a> if you want to be blown away by what God can do, and is doing all across the world through willing, laid-down lives.</span>Natashahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10069883214773860511noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6646312724876149075.post-33079772396075924602011-04-24T20:30:00.000+07:002011-04-24T20:33:19.019+07:00The GospelHappy Easter Everyone! I hope you have a fabulous day with friends and family, remembering what our precious Jesus did for us and how He conquered death. Forever taking the keys of death from Satan and ushering us into a personal relationship with God, our good good Papa, and living in eternity with Him in the most perfect joy and peace beyond imagination.<br /><br />Today I went to church at <a href="http://www.newsongbangkok.net/">New Song</a>. We enjoyed breakfast/brunch together which included: spaghetti, boiled eggs, Cha Siu Bao (pork buns), and Shu Mai....<span style="font-size:85%;">very interesting and random, but yummy, I guess that's what happens at an international church.</span> They passed out red flowers to everyone and we were told to drop the red petals as we walked around the city through out our day, covering the city with Jesus' blood- it was really cool. Then we had dessert- all home made. It was delicious and amazing, paired with great fellowship.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOLnlx1LMnWELXfTmRBeoqTNlOlWzqH7V05AJx_SWdNuQJ_1Ym9VJbYQT6Uh19UqVkv_gEhSg1nzc-dzChJMYxkWa8X3IyBn9KQxRzi5lRJC71kDrv4Sw-pab13hXtc_B9xhAGGx-cc6e0/s1600/IMG_1501.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOLnlx1LMnWELXfTmRBeoqTNlOlWzqH7V05AJx_SWdNuQJ_1Ym9VJbYQT6Uh19UqVkv_gEhSg1nzc-dzChJMYxkWa8X3IyBn9KQxRzi5lRJC71kDrv4Sw-pab13hXtc_B9xhAGGx-cc6e0/s400/IMG_1501.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5599129519682561506" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNixLBUDBUfKkbpHFjJIzA3NY_2ou78Wh8E-MyDG0o-cnpZxQG17Hm_0cYoK3nCj6e7rluIN9KQG2csfad7EGYUGQoqOZ-qNp6jGiL-ttJXJ33SejI-0zcMtfI3KshTXn60mx3EsEXpIoP/s1600/IMG_1505.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNixLBUDBUfKkbpHFjJIzA3NY_2ou78Wh8E-MyDG0o-cnpZxQG17Hm_0cYoK3nCj6e7rluIN9KQG2csfad7EGYUGQoqOZ-qNp6jGiL-ttJXJ33SejI-0zcMtfI3KshTXn60mx3EsEXpIoP/s400/IMG_1505.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5599129523161187570" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Here's a moving video clip of a simple break down of the Gospel and what Jesus did for us when He died on the cross.<br /><br /><iframe src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/nPIOkdNL-QQ?fs=1" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="295" width="480"></iframe>Natashahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10069883214773860511noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6646312724876149075.post-83283162197916133312011-04-24T14:19:00.002+07:002011-04-24T14:29:52.893+07:00Suck Seed ห่วยขั้นเทพ<div style="text-align: left;">Last Sunday was my last day of freedom before the busy week begun. I had a great New Year holiday which included 9 days off from school. I needed to celebrate the end somehow. I've been wanting to see this Thai movie, Suck Seed, since I'd see previews with my Iris team. I decided tonight would be the night. I left at dusk, enjoying the beautiful sunset while elevated at the sky train, looking out over the city. When I arrived- 3 min early- I was still the first one, so I had freedom to snap some shots. In Thailand you pick out what seat you want to sit in when you buy your ticket...similar to our concerts in the states. It's nice because they show about 35min of previews every time, so you can show up quite late and still get your perfect seat.<br /><br />The movie was in Thai with English subtitles and really really funny! It's about relationships, love, music, and succeeding (or suck seeding ;). I was able to pick up some Thai words as well, hearing them repeated a bunch and translated in the subtitles. Overall, it was a great end to the fabulous holiday. At my sky train stop I bought some mango and sticky rice and taxi-motorbiked home. I spoiled myself, and loved it!<br /><br /></div><iframe src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/7E2jFjEJpTU?fs=1" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="295" width="480"></iframe><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">sadly no subtitles on the preview, but you can hear the language I will soon be fluent in :)</span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgITL4jKsynqDmsZ4gMyc9D_UU-RjM6UM56yUS45ZdKe5FOwHV84XFHVVIAthw_oMo2zBzIS267ckWUoS_x9f4aUfv7NYr9FrchmWIioiQSmcwgYe5Qpemwb8TR4bmDHSn_Ovp3hEJJ6Hfr/s1600/IMG_1470.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgITL4jKsynqDmsZ4gMyc9D_UU-RjM6UM56yUS45ZdKe5FOwHV84XFHVVIAthw_oMo2zBzIS267ckWUoS_x9f4aUfv7NYr9FrchmWIioiQSmcwgYe5Qpemwb8TR4bmDHSn_Ovp3hEJJ6Hfr/s400/IMG_1470.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5599044525082828322" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTpjyOLWKWe0_n8fFc_r3xmSwHAD0ym9yLf8WAbFJkstLF3s4r_qXjqzzp7jmWBMBP38ogG3Ndm-1o0GrkWNorGvT39w4xZRiQKyRKz8zlTCV1yNcFrgZs_nNHsAH741FRxcglLYF4jmWA/s1600/IMG_1471.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTpjyOLWKWe0_n8fFc_r3xmSwHAD0ym9yLf8WAbFJkstLF3s4r_qXjqzzp7jmWBMBP38ogG3Ndm-1o0GrkWNorGvT39w4xZRiQKyRKz8zlTCV1yNcFrgZs_nNHsAH741FRxcglLYF4jmWA/s400/IMG_1471.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5599044526991013058" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2ng2fFL6IijzcoqvtKzD42i6Orp_ikSfPbg3tWvqyzumdMR0i-flIl7MXcgONo18vbB_loM2g2iz0Cf4JRJue5CUb8nD5jHTJdGpcA_Q4CzDcEw2X9k_YhVePvQ9FXXPVOAWn_M6zENCm/s1600/IMG_1472.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2ng2fFL6IijzcoqvtKzD42i6Orp_ikSfPbg3tWvqyzumdMR0i-flIl7MXcgONo18vbB_loM2g2iz0Cf4JRJue5CUb8nD5jHTJdGpcA_Q4CzDcEw2X9k_YhVePvQ9FXXPVOAWn_M6zENCm/s400/IMG_1472.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5599044538262915778" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOXuRpqKXbxtrLzSQ1dgVPTMQC7aK_6XPXTgANREGxzhWWW7cYcoN7S__BxfF46S723vEX-4xe6Sp2B8RtnP1rlPlokcEPXusJANHC0DEy9Cnef3W2m9v4yF4ExPPBmfmTa3Qi159EBHzP/s1600/IMG_1473.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOXuRpqKXbxtrLzSQ1dgVPTMQC7aK_6XPXTgANREGxzhWWW7cYcoN7S__BxfF46S723vEX-4xe6Sp2B8RtnP1rlPlokcEPXusJANHC0DEy9Cnef3W2m9v4yF4ExPPBmfmTa3Qi159EBHzP/s400/IMG_1473.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5599044541668559026" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuBCAKYClVVuWOiip8OCs1-hnVJc1EBfAIAgwbxfylOl5ekp6j26ANaKi_1BRgYCbE6OAGRUF2ScVu0wNWO6rpUAAs3tSB5ylBWTQ4F_qxl6PaceOQkhDMSRGXEIDb_nbXNVzBuy-Y5jdc/s1600/0_32174_friendseat_Kaoniaomamuang.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 242px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuBCAKYClVVuWOiip8OCs1-hnVJc1EBfAIAgwbxfylOl5ekp6j26ANaKi_1BRgYCbE6OAGRUF2ScVu0wNWO6rpUAAs3tSB5ylBWTQ4F_qxl6PaceOQkhDMSRGXEIDb_nbXNVzBuy-Y5jdc/s400/0_32174_friendseat_Kaoniaomamuang.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5599045788272876994" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">my favorite thai dessert, now it's mango season so there's a plethora of it!</span><br /></div>Natashahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10069883214773860511noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6646312724876149075.post-74963433555697742322011-04-23T13:21:00.004+07:002011-04-23T13:57:53.717+07:00CommunityLast Friday was the end of Songkran and I had fabulous holiday with great girls in the city. When the Iris team was here we connected with a girl, Malena, who has started a home for trafficked Cambodian children. She lives in Bangkok and told me she usually gets brunch with a group of gals in the city each week and I should definitely join them. When I was at my friends house for the bbq for Songkran the girls started talking about the brunch date on Friday with Malena. I realized, these girls who I've been hanging out with, are the girls Malena was talking about!!! Of all the million people in Bangkok, these are them. Wow.<br /><br />So we met for brunch Friday and shared about our weeks and what's going on. Each one of us has own our ministry in the city, so it is good to hear what God is doing and how to encourage and pray for one another. Afterwords we went to Celeste's home to hang out and enjoy the new year. We played the board game Ticket to Ride. If you have not heard of or played before, definitely check it out. It's different, simple, fun, and not too long of a commitment- like Monopoly or Risk- but definitely ranks up there among the classics. My brother got the American version for Christmas so I was familiar with it, but my friend had the European version which is a little trickier. Then we ordered pizza from an actual brick oven cooking Italian restuarant and watched the movie, Salt. Celeste has a white Lab puppy who bounces of the walls and eats EVERYTHING! She is tons of fun and reminds me completely of the movie Marley and Me.<br /><br />As we were playing the game, I looked around and could not believe it. I have only been in the city for less than 3 weeks and here I am surround by friends and community, hanging out on a Friday night. I felt so blessed and completely taken care of by my good Papa God in heaven.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:85%;">Brunch with the girls <span style="font-size:78%;">(left to right)</span>: me, Sandy, Janie, Emily, Malena, and Celeste<br /></span></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5Eg1dgjB8ASIJLLzL8DIvPNzEQn_N83brks8cNmBMb31r5RVJoUbBToPlVGIxG844tWYzVORgdkX3xD_YWDvY6nNqsryHAuPb1JFuN65vPoVIr00IjFuciEbALKzlDomqLxeECDcqa7RB/s1600/IMG_1463.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5Eg1dgjB8ASIJLLzL8DIvPNzEQn_N83brks8cNmBMb31r5RVJoUbBToPlVGIxG844tWYzVORgdkX3xD_YWDvY6nNqsryHAuPb1JFuN65vPoVIr00IjFuciEbALKzlDomqLxeECDcqa7RB/s400/IMG_1463.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5598667932589044514" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:85%;">Ticket to Ride<br /></span></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHJ30GGx5yfff94uqlXsHhPsS0e-GFv1rznueG6oyEX_1_rihbcKoI0qJt8MjEyOAMT9aycuxmpmR53-GcEL2Jo99xScGcwsmWAtvM9qvBq8xQJ515Lf4BJfsW4MTpKBB275ETVWWtza8I/s1600/IMG_1464.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHJ30GGx5yfff94uqlXsHhPsS0e-GFv1rznueG6oyEX_1_rihbcKoI0qJt8MjEyOAMT9aycuxmpmR53-GcEL2Jo99xScGcwsmWAtvM9qvBq8xQJ515Lf4BJfsW4MTpKBB275ETVWWtza8I/s400/IMG_1464.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5598667938349252770" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxhhFJzMlJa8DBg62XhbonQSAOOn4loYj7gWlqCXJ7yv5raS3iHvqGprXpD9QeDFgnyvR9yQWiQ9zgTKP8vCyDqtfp0znjltj_KUTJNcDqJdj5U5vi-mg_1UOjZpEEo7LG5bwEQu-U4WUm/s1600/IMG_1465.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxhhFJzMlJa8DBg62XhbonQSAOOn4loYj7gWlqCXJ7yv5raS3iHvqGprXpD9QeDFgnyvR9yQWiQ9zgTKP8vCyDqtfp0znjltj_KUTJNcDqJdj5U5vi-mg_1UOjZpEEo7LG5bwEQu-U4WUm/s400/IMG_1465.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5598667941663402322" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqsfhWom3NpPYvZ0aoHKJO-n1wjQqFgI8xUW-48gjn5FKmQVrzlbkl-T4LOhC-8oc6bPhs9yhusIEo7VZ3omU4Qnhxd0XAP1evhxCSDyozLEprCfD5Gf4DrcMzHI3kT8Q15hexg7nGqidl/s1600/IMG_1467.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqsfhWom3NpPYvZ0aoHKJO-n1wjQqFgI8xUW-48gjn5FKmQVrzlbkl-T4LOhC-8oc6bPhs9yhusIEo7VZ3omU4Qnhxd0XAP1evhxCSDyozLEprCfD5Gf4DrcMzHI3kT8Q15hexg7nGqidl/s400/IMG_1467.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5598667945283224978" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:85%;">I have never seen the sky train this empty...it's definitely Songkran!<br /></span></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM1s-heSAwNKiaqcMVv58MdRwvPMQUoCkmCu5s0TkmIiDGTkJrGrD04w3zRycxRInFMpFI7iBFBzYq_5NJTnXscwo-bLvct0NChUrzd2x-Gj4IzOdDL1LYgbhRqpGp6H_ltXWhLK5_iz0B/s1600/IMG_1456.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM1s-heSAwNKiaqcMVv58MdRwvPMQUoCkmCu5s0TkmIiDGTkJrGrD04w3zRycxRInFMpFI7iBFBzYq_5NJTnXscwo-bLvct0NChUrzd2x-Gj4IzOdDL1LYgbhRqpGp6H_ltXWhLK5_iz0B/s400/IMG_1456.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5598665759358108338" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:85%;">my neighbors having fun playing Songkran (taken from the safety of my balcony)</span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil0FK6b7MWU-9M9pDzICD970BHirnUFLhy8UCbkFLfFqZ6yMRsuS3F1VWSdCDpUF7QYKSlTmDU5Mp1oGqCxxQ6Uvfivb66hoLKRe8eQkFSyhoYN85WQjyQ58x48NXFumBlCHMCAj83FeJQ/s1600/IMG_1457.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 390px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil0FK6b7MWU-9M9pDzICD970BHirnUFLhy8UCbkFLfFqZ6yMRsuS3F1VWSdCDpUF7QYKSlTmDU5Mp1oGqCxxQ6Uvfivb66hoLKRe8eQkFSyhoYN85WQjyQ58x48NXFumBlCHMCAj83FeJQ/s400/IMG_1457.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5598665768170398578" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">they were attacking every car and person that came through....and loving it!</span><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLixLKm_xgFHDh2rfzmL6Zeh4asrUR6PRlVoB_4newwNeWt4EoTu32rJTB6foyqLhHsC5y40jl57-c8jrHAIB5TG-ztaVm7Bhb2_rgNa_gN8jpIpKP9kce0YXrc7GdWEtp8rQ3wdKe71Nf/s1600/IMG_1460.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLixLKm_xgFHDh2rfzmL6Zeh4asrUR6PRlVoB_4newwNeWt4EoTu32rJTB6foyqLhHsC5y40jl57-c8jrHAIB5TG-ztaVm7Bhb2_rgNa_gN8jpIpKP9kce0YXrc7GdWEtp8rQ3wdKe71Nf/s400/IMG_1460.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5598665774896378674" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">these little girls would hide behind pilars and trees to shoot people</span><br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHMuhed3JXiN37CLtTAff3QfVM05OCiw90ixdSjlTMbHuW9zZ6FKQJ2QYeDQGun_fDX0ejw48MBuCepg16yTj8Nz9KqfWitgeAKBqYVwfOmcf1SflewEvxJ5rfGbP7WHImitBZVBHopuC7/s1600/IMG_1462.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 242px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHMuhed3JXiN37CLtTAff3QfVM05OCiw90ixdSjlTMbHuW9zZ6FKQJ2QYeDQGun_fDX0ejw48MBuCepg16yTj8Nz9KqfWitgeAKBqYVwfOmcf1SflewEvxJ5rfGbP7WHImitBZVBHopuC7/s400/IMG_1462.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5598665781755790226" border="0" /></a>Natashahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10069883214773860511noreply@blogger.com0