Homecoming

We had our expectations set really low. We were returning to our home in Phon Phisai after being away just over a year. We had only planned to be away three months, so we really had not prepared the house for an extended stay away. In fact, we really had not prepared well for being away even three months because Ingrid had a fall resulting in a short hospital stay and a concussion less than two weeks before we left. Because of our hasty preparations, our living room was a jumble of a bunch of things that would normally be kept outside.

We would not have been surprised if my guitar had been rendered unusable by termites and mold...if the mattress was no longer fit to sleep in...if our printer/copier would not work...if ants would have invaded and nested in our washing machine as they did our previous home assignment...or if mold made it necessary to throw away clothing or furniture. Already six months ago, we had been told that the sun had been eating away at the cover over our truck, so we figured the roof would be permanently disfigured by lizard poop.

To add to all this, we were not sure what restrictions might be placed on us due to travel from an area with active COVID transmission to an area with no active cases. Would we even be able to go out and buy groceries?

Because of all these uncertainties, we were prepared for the worst.

We asked a couple from our church if they could at least sweep out the house so we could have a place to set down our luggage when we arrived.

When the taxi brought us to our door, we were almost afraid to step into the house. But when we did, we were amazed. Our friends had not only swept the floors, they had moved some furniture around to make space and cleared the cobwebs. It was a great homecoming, even if no one was there to meet us!

Front of Our House

Actually, we didn't want to meet with anyone until we had been cleared with public health officials. It was 1:30 pm when we arrived and we had a lot to do. The first priority was getting the washing machine running because there would be a lot of things to launder over the next few days. It appeared to be working. Then I turned the printer / copier on and was happy to see that the print heads had not clogged, so I was able to make copies of documents the landlord needed. Then I put some air in the bicycle tires and went to the public health office. After looking at my documents from the hospital that managed our quarantine, he said:

Live life as normal.

Implied with this was the new normal of minor general restrictions in this area due to COVID. Still, we were happy we would not have to quarantine as it would make life easier. So next stop was the bank to take care of some business there. While at the bank I get a call from Ingrid that something was wrong with the washing machine. Getting home, I checked the washer and found the drain had plugged with some kind of gray sludge. Upon flushing the system, we discovered that some kind of wasp had built nests the outside of the tub—the part you can't see—and running the machine knocked all the mud from the nests off. They must have liked all the small holes in the side of the washer drum.

It was nice that there was not as much mold as we were expecting. It probably helped that we left in dry season so everything was dry when we covered them. This meant that our bed was usable (we had covered it with plastic), we just put on some clean sheets. My guitar was not all covered with mold, as had happened on previous occasions, and the strings were still shiny. The car covers had tears and were no longer water repellent, but they were generally intact.

But the termites had moved in. The hollow door to our bedroom was even more hollow and now even the door frame was hollow. The termites had started building a nest onto the door. There was still some of the nest left, even though our friends had apparently knocked a big chunk off.

Termite Nest and Damage to Door

We walked to the grocery store that is 1/2 km away and bought a few basic groceries and then had dinner at KFC because it was conveniently located in the same building. After going back home and doing a few more things we looked up at the clock and were happy to see it was only 7:15 pm. Wait—wasn't it 7:15 the last time we checked? So after changing the clock battery, we went to bed exhausted at 9:30. It was cool enough that we didn't need the A/C, and we were happy to have the fresh air flowing in the windows bringing in the comforting night sounds of the frogs and crickets.

Day Two - Tuesday

I walked to the bus station and took a van to Nong Khai. I hired a tuktuk driver to first go to the insurance company to start up our expired vehicle insurance. The company had moved their office, but the driver used the same company and knew the new location. But there, even though the office appeared to be open as the steel roll up doors were up, the door was locked and no one was present. So the driver took me to a broker across from the motor vehicle department. After about 1/2 hour getting all that in order, we next went across the street to the Department of Land Transport (called DLT instead of DMV) and I paid the taxes and renewed registration on the car. The truck is older and needs to be inspected first. Leaving there, we went to the immigration office where I checked in our arrival to the area and filed some papers. From there I went back home and was amazed to get back just after noon.

Ingrid had continued the task of cleaning while I was away—and also making lunch, which was really appreciated by the time I got back.

After lunch it was time to try to get the vehicles running. I found out that charging the batteries was not enough, they would both need to be replaced—but that would be a task for the next day. Meanwhile, there was still lots of cleaning to do.

Day Three - Wednesday

We began the morning by taking a walk down to the river, then coming back through town, stopping at a bank along the way to pick up some cash, which I'm needing a lot of these days. We pass through the fresh market and visit O and Nang, the couple that had swept out our house. They give us a report about the church as we visited with them for a bit, buying a a fresh tilapia from them for dinner. Leaving the market, we find a fruit vendor selling sweet, ripe mangoes.

Mekong View From Our Morning Walk

My main task for the day is to get the vehicles running. So I hop on my bike and pedal down to the bus station and find a tutktuk. I have the driver follow me to the house and I load the batteries for both vehicles on the back, I ask him to take me to a battery shop, so he brings me to one downtown. I buy two new batteries and they load them on the tuktuk. Then we head back with a store employee following us on a motorcycle. Right before we get to our house, we notice our neighbor in the street. He is watching a fat cobra that is in the road, apparently flushed out by another neighbor's dog. Back at the house, the battery store employee put the batteries in the vehicles and they both start up easily—though I have to turn the truck engine over slowly a few times to get the oil back up into the engine. However the truck will not go into gear—the linkage appears to be frozen. Need to do some research on that.

In the afternoon, we finally unpack our suitcases, while continuing to do other cleaning. Later in the day we take the car out to visit Tha and Nok's family. We pass one of their sons on his bicycle and he follows us back, Their dog recognizes our car is all excited when he sees it approach. We find Nok in the field behind the house picking tobacco with her daughter hanging out with her. Tha is doing house construction in the next village, so we don't get to see him. We visit for a few minutes, then head back home, stopping at Big C. This time we have a car so we can buy a few more groceries.

Then it's more cleaning till bedtime.

Day Four - Thursday

After a morning walk, I go look at the truck. Even after some research, the task seems beyond what I want to spend time on. So I drive to a garage we usually take our vehicles to and describe my challenge. They send two people to follow me back in a pickup. (Gotta love this small-town life.) They have a tow bar in the back in case they need it. One of the guys is an expert with Toyota trucks. I show him the problem, he then gets in the driver seat and using a trick of trying to change gears while the starter is turning, gets the transmission unstuck in just a few minutes. Because the truck has been sitting for a year, they take the truck back to the shop to change the engine and transmission oil and check it over. Just after they leave, I remember that right before we went back to North America last year, the shop had put up an official vehicle inspection station. So after lunch on our way to get some coffee, we bring the vehicle papers to the garage and ask them to do the inspection as well so that we can renew the registration. We also ask them to change out the cabin air filter—which turns out to be a very wise thing to do.

We then go to our favorite coffee shop, Cake Lamoon. It is fairly quiet as school has not let out yet. A group of three school-age girls are in there, awaiting a special treat they ordered, otherwise, we have the main room to ourselves. We sip coffee and do some reading on our computers. Then we head back home for a bit. About 4:30, I bicycle over to the garage to check on the truck. Turns out a rat had gotten into the area of the A/C filter behind the glove box and, after munching on the filter and some insurance documents, died there. They would keep the truck another day to take care of that.

I decide to take the back way home and along the way I notice a bright orange bastard teak tree blooming in the middle of some fields about 1/2 km away. I know of a field road that goes generally in that direction, so I head that way as far as I can on the bike and walk across the dry rice paddies the remaining distance to the tree. After taking some pictures, I head back home.

Bastard Teak Tree

One of our afternoon tasks had been to get the living room set up. We have some rattan furniture which needs major cleaning and oiling. The cushions had been kept under plastic and were in pretty good shape. Apparently, one of the geckos thought so, too, as there was a pocket of hatched eggs between two of the cushions.

Gecko Eggs on Pillow Cushion

In the evening, we contact a high school girl we know who lives at the beginning of our street. She and her dad helped look after our plants while we were gone. We invite them to come over for a visit now that we have a place for them to sit, and we give her a thank you gift. They brought us a strawberry plant in a big pot that even had strawberries starting to form.

Strawberry Plant Gift from Markus and Samantha

Day Five - Friday

I go for a short walk in the morning to enjoy the scenery of the rice paddies and to check out some house construction in the neighborhood. Power company trucks are busy on the highway at the end of our street—they are running new lines. When I get back to the house, I find the power is off. That means no vacuuming and no fans. The day is spent continuing with cleaning operations as well as pulling out some weed trees that have sprouted in the past year. At three o'clock we go to a coffee shop down by the Mekong River, not so much because we want coffee but to enjoy the A/C for an hour. By the time we get back home, the power is back on. Ingrid finishes vacuuming the last window screen and I bicycle to the garage to pick up the truck. Fortunately, there haven't been any police checkpoints at the next intersection like they used to, as I won't have my new registration sticker until tomorrow.

Rice Paddies Near Our House

Day Six - Saturday

Yesterday I was under the delusion that we were almost done cleaning. But there were more screens to vacuum and wash. And there were some more moldy items found that need to be either cleaned or disposed of. The car interiors needed vacuuming and more cleaning. (Still a little rat residue on the front floor mat of the truck. Found a gecko mummy in the back of car, but fortunately the stink had long since cooked out of it.) By the time we were done with all that, our vacuum needed a good cleaning as well.

At one point the landlord comes by and I show him the termite eaten door and frame. He comes by later with someone who will replace it, probably with steel. Sink your mandibles in that, termites!

Eventually I take a drive to pick up the truck registration papers and then go get 4 jugs of water, since they did not come and deliver yet following my call yesterday. Still left to do yet: get some new tires for the truck and go to the baking supply store in Nong Khai for some specialty items. But no rush on those. Tomorrow is our sabbath celebration and I'm ready for a day of rest.

About 5:30 pm, we drive over to see if Nang and O are home from the market yet. Pla, their daughter, comes to the door and is excited to see us. We visit a couple minutes at their house, then walk over to the church building. We sit and chat there for over an hour. During that time, Somdy also calls on Messenger so we chat with him as well.

On the way home, we swing by Big C to pick up some decorations for the birthday cake Ingrid made for Nok to serve at church tomorrow.

Birthday Cake

Since it's late, we pick up something for dinner as well. It is after eight when we get home. It's life in Thailand, no real schedule, life revolves around relationships. There is a sense of normalcy in our "routine". It's beginning to feel like home again.

Our Desert Rose Waited For Us to
Get Home Before Blooming

Thank you, Lord for bringing us back home safely. For travels on taxis and planes and rental cars. For surviving being stuck in a room for two weeks of quarantine. For friends who welcome us back. For helpful tuktuk drivers. For energy and strength to get so much done this week. For the pleasures of small-town life where mechanics make house calls. For sweet, ripe mangoes. For my beautiful, hard-working, adventurous wife who has been my faithful travel companion for the past 37 years.

Top Twelve 2018

It's time for my look back at the old year through pictures.  Picking out a dozen, or baker's dozen of pictures from a few thousand is a fun way to reminisce about the past year.  Pictures are not necessarily chosen for photographic quality but for special memories they evoke.

January - Red Lotus Lake

November through January is the best period to travel around Thailand.  The air is cooler and the smoke from all the burning usually has not built up much yet.  One of the travel bloggers in Thailand had posted pictures of a place in Isaan where there were lots of water lilies.  We did some research and found that the place is called Red Lotus Lake and is about a 2-1/2 hour drive from our house in the next province to the south. We didn't know much about the lake or what to expect, we just took off to investigate.

We arrived at the lake about 11 am.  We found out that it was almost too late in the day, as soon the water lilies would close up for the heat of the afternoon.  Nonetheless, we hired a boat and joined the myriad of people who were out on the lake,  It was really amazing to see all of the pink water lilies.  We ended up going back about a month later when we had some people visiting us.

If you're ever in Thailand between Mid-December through February, this place is worth a visit.  Perhaps a nice Valentine's date.

February - Baptisms

For those in the business of church planting, one of the greatest activities one can have is baptisms.    We've had several baptismal ceremonies since coming here, but this one was a bit special because of the testimony of one of the people getting baptized.  Her story is one about how God is already doing a work and that we just join Him in what He is already doing.  You can read more about that here.

March - Torch Ginger

In March we had the opportunity to take one of our church members to some training in Chiang Mai.  The training was called "Multiplying Disciples" and we enjoyed having our friend meet some of the many others in Thailand in a situation similar to his.

The training was at a place in the mountains with nice landscaping throughout.  As is my usual practice, I like to get up early and go for walks and enjoy the wonders of God's creation.  I found a little used path and was pleased to discover a small grove of torch gingers that had been planted.  The blooms on these plants can be quite spectacular.

The ginger family is one of my favorites because of the diversity of styles of flowers.  I just wish I had a place to plant them all!

April - Team Hope

One of the parts of my job that I enjoy is being a catalyst.  I don't necessarily have to do everything myself, but I can help facilitate bringing people together who can help each other.  In April, we were pleased to bring a team from the Hope Center in Chachoengsao up to Phon Phisai to do some training.  These are people we know well from having worked there in the past.  This group of mostly young people came up to give training in various things.

One type of training they gave was guitar and music.  Boat is a young man who studied music at university.  While I sometimes have difficulty getting the young people in our church (mostly female) to come practice music, Boat, being young and single, had no problem getting them to come.

They even remembered some of the stuff he taught after he left!

May - Phu Phrabat Historical Park

It was our day off, and we were looking for a new place to explore.  We made plans to go to a park a few hours drive to the south, but due to road construction, we lost a lot of time in the city of Udon Thani.  So we changed plans and decided to head to Phu Phrabat Historical Park.

We had been to the park before, which is mostly known for its interesting rock formations.  There are also lots of trails, and we decided to try some we had not been on before.  There had been some early wet season rains, and things were a lot greener than during our previous visit during dry season.  We hardly saw anyone on  the trails that we followed.

Phu Phrabat Park, being an historical park, is not under the Forestry Department, but is under the Ministry of Arts and Culture.  They have a bit of a different take on things.  While most parks tend towards rustic, this one has the fanciest restroom I have seen in Thailand that even has piped in classical music!

June - Rice Planting

One day I decided to try a bike route I had not been on before.  This trip took me to the next district north called Rattanawapi and a village called Nam Pe.  It was the beginning of wet season, which means it was time to plant rice.  Most people start their rice plants in nurseries and then transplant out.  Here I passed and area where they were gathering up the seedlings to be brought to the paddies where they would transplant them.  Young rice plants have a intensely bright green color, which doesn't always capture well in photographs.

July - Mango Baron

Sometimes we see things and, at first glance, aren't sure what to think.  Is it a plant or an animal? If an animal, what kind is it?

Turns out that this particular creature is a caterpillar that favors mango trees.  It is covered with lots of fine hairs which, if touched, can be quite painful.  Or so I've read.  I wasn't really wanting to test that theory because I've had run-ins with venomous caterpillars before and I am quite amazed at how much pain a tiny little hair can cause.  While venomous, the mango baron caterpillar is at least pretty to look at.

August - Boat Race Practice

One thing we like to do when we have the opportunity is to go for an evening walk along the Mekong River.  It is only one kilometer to the river from our house.  During the rainy season, if there are breaks in the clouds, the sunsets can be quite spectacular.

On this particular day, we happened upon the boat racing team practicing.  They have long-boat races every year in October during the Naga festival at the end of Buddhist lent.  It's a lot of work to paddle these boats, but I'm even more impressed at the coach who balances himself on the very narrow tail of the boat.  I may not be able to paddle a boat very well,  but I can sooner do that than stand in the coaches place.

September (Thailand) - Phon Phisai Flooding

Wet season was extra wet this year.  There is an area north of our house that does not drain very well when the Mekong River is running very high—and this year it was the highest it has been in at least 10 years.  So we had a very big puddle—about 1 kilometer wide and two kilometers long.  The puddle came up to the edge of the property we live on, and onto our road just a little bit.  Other places did not fare so well.

I would bicycle through the puddles if they weren't too deep, but it's not so much fun if my foot goes under water with every turn of the crank.  The house in this photo (to the right of the tree near the middle), actually had a boat tied to its stairway.  At least the owners were smart enough to have a house on stilts.

September (Europe) - Brienzersee

I'm cheating and adding a second photo from September from our trip to Europe.  I had the opportunity to attend a men's conference in Switzerland along with another of our missionaries from SE Asia.  My wife and I went a week early to celebrate our 35th anniversary.  Picking only one picture from that trip was quite a challenge.

We didn't know much about the area we were going to and we were looking for an affordable place to stay near Interlocken.  We found a small village nearby named Ringgenberg whose better years were behind it.  As for us, we enjoyed the nice quiet atmosphere of the town.  We stayed at the Hotel Bären (Bear), whose host was quite friendly and helpful. There was even a small grocery/bakery across the street from our hotel where we could get nice breads, cheese and chocolate (the essentials of life).

Ringgenberg is on the northwest shore of Lake Brienz (Brienzersee).  One evening we walked up to an old castle turned Protestant Church overlooking the lake.  We had the place to ourselves.  It was so quiet and clean.  The blue-green color of the lake was amazing.

We had initially only booked two nights in Ringgenberg, because we did not know what it would be like.  We ended up staying four nights.

October - Sam Roi Yod

Each year, all of us MB missionaries from Thailand gather for a time of resting, connecting and encouraging one another.  The place we meet varies from year to year.  This year, the organizers decided to go to Sam Roi Yod, which happens to be one of our favorite places in Thailand.  We were quite happy with that.

My usual habit when in Sam Roi Yod it to go for a morning walk and watch the sunrise from the beach. On this particular day, the tide was out and the wind was still so there was actually nice reflections from the shallow water on the shore.  And the clouds were amazing as well.  Probably the most awesome sunrise I have seen from the beach.  Sam Roi Yod certainly did not disappoint.

November - Phu Tawk

In November we had a visit from a second cousin whom we'd not met before.  Patricia stayed with us for a few weeks.  One day we took her to visit Phu Tawk, an interesting mountain in nearby Bueng Kan province.  It was our second time there—our first being during rainy season when the skies were cloudy and the humidity oppressive.  This time was quite different.

Phu Tawk is considered a sacred site and the monks have constructed seven levels of walkways on the mountain, a couple of which are tacked onto the side of the cliff.  This is not a great place to visit if you are afraid of heights.  Or if you don't like stairs.  There is an unbelievable amount of stairs to get to the top.

But for us it is worth the climb and the occasional dizziness from the drop-offs.  The views are awesome.

December - Nong Khai Aquarium

December 5th is the birthday of the previous king of Thailand and is regarded as Father's Day.  Since the kids have off from school, we asked if anyone wanted to go to the aquarium in Nong Khai.  Several were free and went with us.

The aquarium is on the Nong Khai campus of Khon Kaen University.  There are basically two categories of fish here—endangered fish species (both salt and fresh water) and fish that are endemic to the Mekong River and adjoining  waterways.

There is one big tank with a glass tunnel that you walk from top to bottom.  In the big tank are several  Mekong Catfish—the largest species of freshwater fish in the world.  (The world's biggest freshwater fish was caught in the Mekong River near Chiang Khong about 15 years ago.  It was about 9 feet long and weighed 646 pounds.  Imagine the fish fry you could have with that!)

It was fun to see the delight in the eyes of the young people as they marveled at the awesome creatures that our God thought to create.

A Drop in the Bucket

Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.  James 1:4 (NIV)

These days, the skies at the Changing Life Center are not only filled with the smoke from all of the fields being burned at this time of year, there is also a lot of dust.

The dust is associated with the lining of the banks of the Mekong River with rocks on the outside of the bends in the river.  This is to keep the riverbanks from washing into the river, which was eating into the banks up to several feet a year.

It is easy to understand why.  The Mekong River is the largest river in southeast Asia.  It originates in the mountains of the Tibetan region of China.  By the time it gets to the Changing Life Center, it already has a couple of thousand kilometers behind it!  The banks at the Changing Life Center are more than 50 feet above the water level.

It is a gargantuan task.  These large trucks come down the road, laden with huge boulders.  It looks like a lot of rock.

But then they dump the rock in a huge stock pile, and the pile of rock is so large, one hardly notices the difference that it makes that this load of rock has made.

Eventually the rocks in the stock pile make it down to the river, were they are dumped and then scooped into the river with an excavator.  The rocks seem to disappear without making any difference at all.  And then you look at all that has been done and all that remains to be done and one wonders how the task will ever be completed and at the expense of how many mountains that have to be removed in order to get enough rock to complete the task.

Yet steadily, day after day, the work goes on until the task is done.  One only need to look at the parts that are completed to know that it is possible.

This process reminds me of the task of learning the Thai language.  We keep studying Thai, yet it seems like we are hardly getting anywhere.  When we listen to someone speak, sometimes we catch so little we wonder what difference all of that studying has made.  After three years it seems like we have made so little progress.  (I think if I had made as much effort studying the Haitian language when we lived in Haiti, I would have spoken it better than the natives.)

But like the putting the riprap along the Mekong River, there are signs that progress is being made.  We just have to look back at the part that is completed now and then, and not just at what remains to be done, to see that this is the case.  And then we need to persevere at the task of learning the language. And perhaps we will live here long enough to see the task completed.

A partially loaded truck (they don't fill them when moving them from the stockpile to the river)

One of the many stockpiles

The backhoe taking the rock from the truck

The not so large excavator