Where am I?

Thai geography naming can be a bit confusing to learn, but it has a very organized structure which is very appealing to systems people like me.  It has a very hierarchical structure with the largest division being a province and the smallest division a village.  It looks like this:

Thai Word	Official transliteration	Translation	American Analogue
จังหวัด	Cangwat	Province	State
อำเภอ	Amphoe	District	County
ตำบล	Tambon	Sub-District	Town, Muncipality
หมู่บ้าน	Mooban	Village	Village, Subdivision
Mooban literally translates "house cluster" and is often shortened to just "Ban"

In Bangkok province, they use slightly different terminology, using เขต/Khet instead of Amphoe and แขวง/Kwaeng instead of Tambon.

This structure makes it very handy when you travel around Thailand.  Almost all of the villages have signs that give the name of the village, sub-district, district and province.  Because of this you know where you are and how you fit in the big picture.

Sign for the village of Ban Muang, Muang Yai sub-district,
Wiang Kaen district, Chiang Rai Province

This methodology also adds a sense of belonging--the village may be small, but it is also part of something bigger.

However, the challenge is writing addresses, as it will include the street number and name and all of the above elements.  This makes for very long addresses.

Points of confusion

It can get very confusing for outsiders, though.  The colloquial name used for a place may not actually match its legal name.  I remember searching for the city of Chiang Khong on Google maps many years ago.  Google would position the map in a rural area, no where near a town, certainly not over the town that I thought of as Chiang Khong.  And this is because there is no town named Chiang Khong.  Chiang Khong is the name of a district.  But people will often use the name of the district to refer to the place where the county offices are.

Our house is located close to the Wiang Kaen district office, so people might refer to it as "Wiang Kaen", but it is actually the village of Ban Muang in the sub-district of Muang Yai.  However, the main business district is on the other side of the Ngao River in the village of Lai Ngao in the sub-district of Lai Ngao.  So people might refer to either of those places as Wiang Kaen.

It doesn't help that a lot of names are used over and over again.  In our district of Wiang Kaen, there are two villages named "River Crossing", one each in adjoining sub-districts, and one of those sub-districts is also named, "River Crossing".  "Wiang" is also popular.  It is an old Thai term for a place that has a wall or moat around it.  "Wiang" is the actual name of the village commonly called Chiang Khong. It is helpful to know these things when you ask for directions, because locals will use the actual village names. (They will also use the names of businesses, not all of which have signs on them, so that may not actually be helpful.)

Where am I?

The good news is, though, that God is not confused by all of this.  He knows where we are, having a flawless, built-in GPS system that He has been using since He created this planet.  Not only does He know where we are, He knows how we fit in the big picture as well.

Many years ago in the history of Israel, a large number of the people had been removed from their home and brought to live in the Kingdom of Babylon.  They were confused.  They were in a new place and they did not know their way around.  They were lost.

But God knew where they were.  He was not confused.  He sent a message to these captives in exile by the hand of the prophet Jeremiah:

For I know the plans I have for you,” says the LORD. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. (Jeremiah 29:11 NLT)

God not only knew where they were on the planet, He knew where they were in history.  And it all fit into a plan that was much greater than the people in exile could imagine.

So the next time I find myself off the map, or perhaps just in a village where I can't read the signs because they are in another language, I take comfort in the fact that God knows where I am and how I fit in the grand scheme of things.

Puzzling

We used to put together a lot of jigsaw puzzles as children.  Typically we would do this at Christmastime.  Invariably, someone would get a puzzle for Christmas and then we would all work on it over Christmas break.

My earliest childhood memories involve jigsaw puzzles.  We had a set of children's jigsaw puzzles with Disney themes, and I remember about age 4 sitting on the purple rug in our living room assembling a "Lady and the Tramp" puzzle.

We've not done a lot of work on jigsaw puzzles as adults, but these past two months have been an exception.  When we were in Connecticut, we found a small one (300 pieces) at my sister's house, which had never been opened, to put together.

Then, when we were in Canada, I borrowed a few puzzles from a cousin.  The first one I did was particularly hard because all but 5 edge pieces (as well as two other pieces) were missing.

Hard to assemble with most edge pieces missing

We had three puzzles to work on, but after two (1000 pieces each), I was ready for a break.

Now that we're back in California, our hosts have opened up a puzzle that we are working on.

So why do I write all of this.

Right now, were are in the process of discerning what our next assignment, will be.  We don't know what it will be yet, but we are narrowing down the options.  It's all about finding the right fit for us.

There may be some options that are almost a fit for us, but not quite right--like the piece in the puzzle pictured below.

Not Quite the Right Fit

Last October, at a conference, someone spoke a word over us.  Without knowing our situation, she said, "You are in the right puzzle.  You fit in the puzzle you're in--you don't need to look for a different one."

When we first heard that, we were puzzled, to say the least.  It did not make sense to us at the time.  But it seems like now it is beginning to make more sense.

We are thankful as we go through this process of discernment that the Lord is faithful to guide us.

Show me the right path, O LORD;
     point out the road for me to follow.
Lead me by your truth and teach me,
     for you are the God who saves me.
All day long I put my hope in you.

Who are those who fear the LORD?
     He will show them the path they should choose.
They will live in prosperity,
     and their children will inherit the land.
The LORD is a friend to those who fear him.
     He teaches them his covenant.
Psalm 25:4, 5, 12-14

Bookends 2016

This is my review of the past year from the perspective of looking at photos from the first and last days of the year (or closest to that, if there were no photos on those days).

January 1st found us headed back home from Chiang Rai, where we had dropped off some folks who had come to visit us for a few days.  Following that we visited the Chiang Rai Flower Show and then took the back roads home.  The first stretch follows the Kok River northeast, and soon one finds himself riding along levees with the Kok River floodplain on one side and rices paddies off to the other. It is somewhat reminiscent of driving in the California Delta.

We stopped for coffee at Mana Coffee-a small restaurant/coffee shop just off the levee in Wiang Chai.  The coffee shop is is adjacent to a couple of fish ponds.  As I was admiring the flowers adjacent to the ponds, I noticed a minute spider on the head of this pink zinnia.  The body color of the spider matched the color of the flowerhead so nicely, I almost did not notice it.

The diversity of God's creatures is so amazing!



A year later we find ourselves in a different climate.  We are with Ingrid's family for a few weeks.  They live in the small town of Barrhead, Alberta.  The last time I was here, one day I walked most of the circumference of the town. There is a walking trail that goes around the town called the Blue Heron Walking Trail.  Some portions of the trail follow roads, other portions have an improved walking path.

I wanted to walk around the town again this time, but the weather wasn't so amenable, so I walked the east part of the town one afternoon and the west side on another.  It took just shy of two hours to make the walk around the west side--the town has grown a bit since the last time I was here.

When I walked the west side, the sky was overcast and dark.  I came to a part of the trail that follows the Paddle River and is on a boardwalk.  The snow on much of the Blue Heron Walking Trail was plowed, but they didn't try to get their small plow on the boardwalk, so it remained snowy.  I got to the boardwalk just as the sun was trying to break through the clouds for the first time that day.

The picture isn't framed quite like I wanted, but I had limited places to put my body on the boardwalk.  The Paddle River is in the recessed landscape between the trees on the right.




The year sandwiched between these two photos has been a very challenging one for me. Yet even though at times life seemed kind of gloomy, God has always made Himself known, like the sunlight breaking into the otherwise dim, gray landscape above.

For his invisible attributes, namely,his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. (Romans 1:20a ESV)

The Rough, Crooked Path

I've done a lot of traveling over the years by car, bicycle and by foot.  I've noticed there are two types of paths one encounters.

One kind pf path is straight, broad and smooth.  I like these kinds of paths because you can see far ahead to where you are going and how you will get there.  The going is easy. It's hard to get lost because the destination is always in view.  It’s hard to get tripped up because obstacles are few and usually easy to spot.




The other type of trail is the crooked, narrow and hilly one.  It is a more difficult route.  It is easy to get lost so one needs a guide, a GPS or a map and compass.  It is easy to get injured from the pitfalls.  Sometimes you're not even sure where the trail is.  And since you can't see your destination, you never have any idea how far away it is.



But there are some downsides to the straight, broad and smooth path.

In Thailand the roads are crooked and congested and one always has to be on alert for motorcycles that seem to appear out of nowhere and suddenly you are about to hit one.  I remember going back to North America for the first time, driving south on I-5 through Oregon.  I told Ingrid I needed a motorcycle to come out of nowhere and do something foolish to help keep me awake.

On the straight path one can easily get complacent.  Since everything seems straight and uniform, you might quit paying attention and wander off the trail or into some kind of danger.  Or if something unusual does come up, you might not be prepared.

These straight, smooth routes can be quite boring.  One might quit, just because there does not seem any point to keep going.  Or one might get distracted by something that seems more exciting off to the side and so never make it to the destination.  Like the wayward woman of Proverbs, "she does not ponder the path of life; her ways wander, and she does not know it." (Proverbs 5:6 ESV)

In the same manner, not everything is bad about the crooked, narrow, hilly trail.  You are forced to be alert.  There always seems to be something new to see, so it is much harder to get bored.  So while it may seem to take longer to get to your destination, you are may have more fun along the way.

Our journeys through life can be much the same as one of these two roads.  Sometimes we get tired of the obstacles and trying to find our way on the narrow, crooked  and hilly trail.  Sometimes we wish we had taken the straight, smooth trail.  But then we need to remember that not everyone who embarks on the straight smooth trail makes it to their destination.  Or maybe they make it to the destination and find out it's not where they really want to be.

So even if we find ourselves on a crooked, narrow, hilly path, if God is guiding us, we are okay.

As the Lord spoke to Isaiah, "And I will lead the blind in a way that they do not know, in paths that they have not known I will guide them. I will turn the darkness before them into light, the rough places into level ground. These are the things I do, and I do not forsake them."
Isaiah 42:16 (ESV)

If we're on the path God has chosen for us, even if there are obstacles, we need to stay the course.

Stay on the path that the LORD your God has commanded you to follow. Then you will live long and prosperous lives in the land you are about to enter and occupy. (Deuteronomy 5:33 NLT)

For in spite of the difficulties, this is where true joy and pleasure are found.

You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore. (Psalm 16:11 ESV)

Top 12 2016

This is my annual review of the past year, choosing a favorite photo from each month.  Though I confess that this year I included two in some months that included being in more than one country, so it actually comes out to "Top 15"

January

Pleasure Cruise



In January we brought together several leaders from Canada and Laos to share stories with each other and encourage one another.  My main job was logistics.  I was instructed to set up a fun outing on one day, so we arranged a boat ride for the group from the Changing Life Center to a restaurant in Chiang Khong.  While many of the folks from Laos have probably been on the river many times in their lives--even if just to cross to Thailand--this was different. There were 45 of us on the boat and we passed the two hour trip upstream singing and telling stories.  It was great to see the folks from Laos enjoying this once in a lifetime trip.  The return trip only took half the time, as we were going downstream.

February

Ngao River



The district we live in consists of the watershed for the Ngao River.  The river can be quite tame in the dry season but usually floods at least once in the rainy season.  In my bike riding I've explored many parts of this watershed.  This past year I tried a field road that I had not been on before.  The road eventually fords the Ngao River.  This is a quiet spot and sometimes I like to ride there just to detach myself from life's cares and concerns and enjoy God's presence.

March

Women's Conference



This past year, we held the first Khmu Women's Conference at the Changing Life Center that featured women speakers.  We had hoped to also have it planned by women, but that was not to be.  Ingrid was one of the presenters, and it was her first time sharing at a large group in Thailand.  So I captured this glimpse of her speaking.  One of our Khmu leaders, Pat, was translating for her.

March-Vietnam

A taste of Mexico



In March, I had to opportunity to travel to Hanoi to observe some training.  While I was there, I decided to visit a Mexican Restaurant that was near our hotel.  The hotel was not in a tourist area, so I was surprised to find a Mexican restaurant there.  The proprieter (In the red sweater) was happy to have someone to practice English with.  When I asked her why she opened a Mexican restaurant, she said that she once worked at a Mexican restaurant in the tourist area, but it was quite expensive.  She wanted to make Mexican food available to the common people.

I also chatted a bit with her husband, whose English was fairly good.  While I was explaining the kind of work I used to do, he responded using some technical words in English that not many Americans would even know. That's how I found out that he works for the Environmental Ministry.  Before I left, they wanted a picture with me.  So we grabbed the sombreros that were hanging from the walls as decor and put them on for this pose.  The food may not have been as authentic as what we find in California, but it was quite tasty. And the atmosphere was great.

For more pictures from Hanoi, view here.

April

Queen Sirikit Botanic Garden



In April, we ended up making a trip to Chiang Mai.  While we were there we took a few hours to visit the Queen Sirikit Botanic Garden.  The place was quite awesome, and I easily could have spent several days there.  Or maybe a few months.  It was hard to pick a photo from all the flowers I photographed there, but I especially liked this water lily, which seemed to glow like the sun.

May

Doi Pha Tang Park



About 30 kilometers from us (20 miles) is a mountain park called Doi Pha Tang.  While it is quite close, It takes over an hour to get there because of the steep, windy, narrow roads.  Every once in a while we like to go there just to enjoy the cool mountain air. When you make the short walk from the parking area to the crest of the mountain, you are standing on the border of Laos.  Looking down off the cliff, one can see the Mekong River making its way towards Louang Prabang, the ancient capital of Laos, and eventually out the South China Sea in Vietnam.

June

Butterfly



Not far from where we live is the ancient city of Wiang Kaen, which is now a forest.  There is a dirt road around this forest, where sometimes we go for walks.  One morning, the butterflies were particularly active.  While I never discovered the name for this particular butterfly, it seemed particularly pretty in its rather simple white, gray and black colors.

July

Voodo Lily



The voodoo lily plant is fairly common around our area, but I had never seen it flower.  Finally, while I was walking around the forest that was once the city of Wiang Kaen, I saw this unusual white flower spike. Upon approaching it, I noticed a strong and not particularly pleasing smell.  Apparently, the plant uses these strong odors to attract the flies that pollinate it. What an amazing creation of God.  For more about this plant, view here.


July-Laos

Tat Xai Waterfall



Towards the end of June, our visas were expiring.  It was necessary for us to leave Thailand to apply for a new visa. We decided that the least expensive option was to travel to Vientiane-the capital of Laos.  In order to time the expiry of our visas with our MINA plans, we stayed several days.  One day, we took an outing to Phu Khao Khouay National Park.  We drove about an hour then we boarded a small boat which took us up river.  Since it was rainy season, the rivers were running high and I noticed we were boating over the tops of some small trees.  (Most people make this trip in the dry season when they do less of the travel on water and more on foot.)

When we got to the base of some nasty rapids, we disembarked and a guide helped us find our way through an overgrown trail up to a waterfall.  It was quite pretty along the way, and at the top, the tour included a gourmet picnic lunch.  Fortunately, there was a picnic shelter, because at that point the rain had started to fall.  There was an impressive amount of water going over the falls and the water was brown with mud.  But it was a beautiful place to hang out and listen to the water crashing on the rocks below.  For more photos from this trip to Laos, view here.

August

Rice Paddy Reflections



Rice is the main crop grown in Thailand.  We grow both paddy rice and upland rice.  Where there is sufficient irrigation water, they may grow three crops a year of paddy rice.  Often, the farmers depend on rainfall even for the paddies.  Down the street from us is a creek bottom that they use to grow rice using primarily rain water, but also supplemented with water from the creek.  After one particularly heavy rainfall, the paddies were quite full and showing reflections of the hills and clouds.  Shortly after this, the fall rice crop was planted.

September

Skull Mountain



In September we were finally able to get away for a short break.  We went to one of our favorite places in Thailand, Sam Roi Yod (Three Hundred Peaks).  We like it because it has a mixture of ocean and mountains and parks, but it is not overdeveloped.

On one day we rented a scooter and drove up to Khao Kralok, which interprets "skull mountain".  It receives its name because the cave openings in the limestone hill give it the appearance of a skull.  There is a really nice beach there, that is quite popular.  But if you are brave enough to walk the rugged trail, you can walk over to the back side of the mountain where there is a nice, secluded beach.  We had it all to ourselves.

October

October Surprise



On a Sunday afternoon towards the end of October, we were getting our house ready in order to go on home assignment.  But before that we were leaving the following day for a week-long conference in Chiang Mai.  I was doing something in the back yard when I heard a motorcycle drive up.  To our surprise, it was Ching and June--two Hmong girls who had studied English with us and were now in their first year of university, Ching in Bangkok and June in Chiang Mai.

We were not at all expecting them as we thought they were away at school.  But they had come back for the weekend to attend a wedding and they didn't want to miss seeing us before we headed back to North America.

This visit was one of the highlights of our year--like having your kids travel a long ways to make a surprise visit.  Sometimes we wonder if our work has an impact on others.  The visit from these two young women showed that their relationship with us was more important than learning English.

November

Buntzen Lake



In early November we were in British Columbia.  One day, Ingrid's sister and her family took us on an outing to Buntzen Lake.  There was a trail running alongside the lake through the evergreen forest.  The humidity in this part of the world meant that everything was green with moss.  At one point, our nieces and nephew (who love to climb trees) found this small mossy tree beside the trail. In no time, they were up on its branches, and the bright colors of their clothing stood out like beacons in the dark, mossy forest.

December-New England

York Harbor



One of the things I like about New England is the rocky coastline that has lots of crannies in which there are sandy beaches.  One of such beach is at York Harbor.

We had awaken one morning in Montpelier, Vermont, to several inches of snow on the ground, with more rapidly accumulating.  We had planned on traveling almost due east to central Maine, but that would have meant driving in heavy snowfall the whole way, because we would be tracking the storm eastwards.  We opted instead to head southeast to southern Maine. It was my first time driving in snow in a many years.  Fortunately, the vehicle we had borrowed had all wheel drive with traction control, so we didn't slip and slide too much.  We arrived in York Harbor in mid-afternoon, just as the snow was ending.  Not much snow had fallen there, so before it got dark we went for a walk along the bluff trail.  As we were coming back to the Inn, the sun was going down in a way that made it seem the sky was on fire.  What an awesome end to a tiring day of driving.

December-Canada

Christmas Gathering



The latter half of December found us in Canada, staying with Ingrid's parents.  On Christmas day, we went to church, and came back to finish getting dinner ready.  Soon, family members started to arrive. It was nice to be surrounded by family members as we celebrated the birth of Jesus, even though we were two short as Christian was in the hospital and Karin was with him for the holiday.

What does Jesus Look Like To You?

Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.  This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."           Luke 2:11-14 (NIV)

Earlier this month, while we were in Connecticut, we went to the Abbey of Regina Laudis in
Bethlehem, Connecticut. It seemed appropriate to visit a village by that name during the Christmas season.

At the abbey, they have a Neapolitan crèche dating from the 18th century.  The crèche is interesting in that it tries to depict how the people of the time would respond to the birth of Jesus.  So there is a large village scene, with Mary and Joseph and baby Jesus and company in one part, while much of the rest of the village goes about their business.






Then, this past week, we had the opportunity to visit Reformed Church in Edmonton, Alberta.  Each year the church puts on a display of nativity scenes that people have collected from around the world.  There is a great variety in both the construction of the nativity scenes and how the characters are represented.






The baby Jesus ends up with various shades of skin tones.  While normally he is pictured laying in the manger on His back, some scenes depict him on his stomach.  One display has him in a canoe instead of a manger.



There are even some displays which use animals instead of people, and in these sets he may end up as a mouse or a moose.




One wonders why God chose to send Jesus at a time when technology was such that no one really knows what he looks like.  If God were to have sent him in this day and age, his birth would have been quickly recorded for all on social media.  But maybe it’s better that way.  With no photographs or realistic paintings to depict what Jesus looked like, we can focus more on other aspects of His life like his activities and teachings.  For in the end, it is not so critical as to what kind of facility the manger was in and exactly who and how many people were present.  The more important thing is, as depicted in the nativity scene at the Abbey, what are we going to do about it?

What are we going to do now that Jesus has come into the world?  What are we going to do about His teachings?  How will we respond?  Will be believe the testimony of the shepherds and angels?  Or will we just go about our lives as if nothing of consequence has happened?  Will we believe and obey?  Or we celebrate the season of materialistic indulgence that Christmas has become?

Thailand is not historically a Christian country.  Few people there could tell you what the real meaning of Christmas is.  Yet all the malls are full of Christmas carols and Christmas displays.  Christmas has become a money-making opportunity for merchants.  Unfortunately, this commercial Christmas is the first one many Thai people learn about.

It’s probably not much different in North America anymore.  There is Santa Claus and Christmas trees and reindeer, but I don’t think most children are learning the story of the first Christmas—the story of when God came to earth to show people what He is like.

It is up to us who believe in Jesus to celebrate Christmas like God did.  To go about humbly demonstrating the love of God to people who are desperately in need of it while telling them the good news that the Kingdom of God is here.  To focus less on stuff and more on the people around us.  To be less concerned with ourselves and more concerned with others.  For Jesus came not to accumulate things in this world but to lay down His life for others.

This, I think, would be the best Christmas present we could give away—and not just one day per year.

For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. Mark 10:45 (ESV)

Thanks+giving

Early last week in my Bible readings I came to Psalm 50.

Psalm 50:8 begins "I have no complaint about your sacrifices or the burnt offerings you constantly offer."

Then the next verse begins with that scary word:

BUT

But what?

I'll paraphrase the next verse this way:

"But I really don't need them because they are already mine."

God seems to be saying that it's great that the people were offering sacrifices but he didn't really need them.  Which seems a bit confusing, and that's where verse 14 adds some clarification:

Make thankfulness you sacrifice to God and keep the vows you made to the most high. (Psalm 50:14 NLT)

The Psalmist is trying to tell us that there is a wrong way to give.

If we think that everything we have belongs to us, and that WE are giving to God out of OUR stuff that we earned, be might have a bit of a bad attitude when we give it.  Paul alludes to this in 2 Corinthians 9:7 where he writes that we are to give cheerfully, not grudgingly.  When we give, it is out of recognition that everything we have is God's.  We then return a portion to God out of thanks for what He has given to us.

Offering and Thanksgiving are inextricably linked:

Thanks=Giving

(Maybe I'm getting a couple of holidays mixed up here.)

The Psalmist alludes to another kind of bad giving attitudes in verse 14: "keep the vows you made".

Some people make vows to God.  A vow goes something like this:

"You do this for me, I'll do this for You."

So if God comes through on His end of the deal, we then offer whatever it is we said we would offer.  It's a simple transaction.  But sometimes we might have an attitude problem.  We might be handing over payment with a bit of reluctance--not wanting to part with our hard earned stuff for what we have received, like maybe we resent having to pay so much for something.

"Bad attitude", the Psalmist writes.  What should our attitude be?

Make gratitude your attitude.

Give--and give thanks.

Many years ago I was working for an organization and one of the employees was helping me load my truck with supplies.  When we were done, I thanked him.

He then began to exclaim, "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" over and over again.

I told him I was confused, he had helped me load my truck, so why was he thanking me?  He replied, "Because you said, 'thank you.'"

I drove away in tears.  This man had worked many years for this Christian organization, but when it was time to get paid, it was just a transaction.  Payment for services rendered.  No sign of gratitude (at least not in a way that was meaningful to him).

I had to ask myself, "What is my attitude?  Do I have an attitude of gratitude?"

Let our giving be thanks and our thanks be giving.  It's easy to mouth the words, "Happy Thanksgiving."  It takes a bit more effort to show we are truly thankful.