Thanksgiving Part 2

I'm thankful for peace.
I'm thankful for the opportunity to be in this place.
I'm thankful that God gave me a second chance.
I'm thankful that God gave me a third chance.
And a fourth chance.. and on and on..
I'm thankful for my family, who loves me even from far away.
I'm thankful for my friends in the US who have continued to support me even from far away.
I'm thankful for my friends here who have become my family.
I'm thankful for my new job because it provides me with an income.
I'm thankful for my new job because it is going to stretch me in ways I never imagined.
I'm thankful for the countless opportunities to show Christ to people through my actions and speech.
I'm so so thankful for all the hurt and pain that I've experienced because it has caused me to re-examine what is important in my life.
I'm thankful for all the hurt and pain that I've experienced because it has pushed me toward the Comforter and Healer of these pains.
I am thankful that God has delivered me from unhealthy relationships, that he has opened doors, that he has slammed doors shut.
I'm thankful that He knows so much better than I do.
I'm thankful for reminders that I am a frail human being and that I don't know everything (even though that some times sucks).
I am incredibly blessed in whatever circumstance because I have an intimate relationship with my Jesus who loves me. It is the most beautiful thing in the universe.. and there are a lot of beautiful things in the universe. My Jesus tops them all.

Thanksgiving.

I had so many things to say, so many things to list out that I was thankful for. And then I saw a post on Facebook. He's engaged. The one who promised me forever and then broke my heart. And I can't think of anything else right now. I've forgotten everything except this. I'll update soon. When I can gather my thoughts again.

Prospects

So the flood waters are receding! And my area has remained dry the entire time! Thank you, God! Not only that, but it is possible that I will have a job soon. Yesterday, my friend told me about a possible part-time kindergarten position at his sister school. I would be paid 16,000 baht a month for 10 hours a week, Monday/Wednesday/Friday. I would finish by 1 pm every day, so technically I could continue to work at Santisuk in the evenings. The school may even be able to help me with getting a work permit and visa. That would be an incredible blessing. They would want me to stick it through to the end of the term, which is in March. Not too shabby. I think it'd be a good way to ease myself into everything. The only issue is that the job is only available if the person they offered it to turns it down. It's up in the air. Today I sent my resume to the person in charge of it and she said she would contact me soon to discuss it further. I don't know if that means the other girl turned it down, but be in prayer with me! I've been asking God to make it very clear where he wants me, and this could be a VERY specific answer to prayer!

Oh yea, and did I mention I would be starting next week? Yikes. Pray pray pray!

Hand Cramps

Sawatdee ka! I've begun Thai lessons with a friend. He is teaching 3 of us foreigners the alphabet so that we will be able to read and write. (I have another friend who is teaching me conversation.) We started our little class on Tuesday. He photocopied every page of a child's book. And everyday (for 3 days now), we get together and go over the characters and the sounds that they make. He assigns us a few characters to practice as homework. And by few, I mean the first day we had 8. I didn't finish after spending an hour and a half on them. The second day he assigned 16. Realizing that it took way more time than I thought, I began the homework earlier the third day. I spent over 5 hours tracing these letters and only got 3/4 of the way through. I have never in my life spent this much concentrated time on homework. My hand was hurting. I have calluses on my fingers from gripping my pen so tightly. Thursday, we were assigned the remaining 20 characters, but luckily we won't meet again until Monday night, so I can spread out the work load. I think I'm getting it quicker now (either that or we're passed the difficult characters), because yesterday I got through 6 characters in a little over an hour. Thursday, it took me 30 minutes to do one. But you know what? All the time and the hand cramps are worth it. My letters are so pretty and they come pretty effortlessly. I'm going to have great penmanship. It's just too bad that the rest of the Thais don't write so legibly.. Oh well. I'll let you know how Thai is going next time I update.

In other news, I've heard that maybe the water won't come to Bangkapi after all. There has been word that the situation is getting better and that it's starting to drain to the sea. But I've also heard that it's getting closer. So we just have to wait and see, but I feel like maybe it won't come after all.

A lot of this week was spent trying to figure out my plans for what's ahead. I currently have no paid position, and no where is hiring, so that means getting a year long visa right now is not an option. After much thought and prayer and seeking counsel from a bajillion folks, something felt right. If all goes according to plan (we still have to check with immigration to see if it's possible), I will be getting a 30-day extension on my visa in Bangkok. That will get me through til right after Christmas. At that point, I will take a bus to Laos, where I will apply for another 2 month tourist visa. I was told this is pretty cost efficient and it will only take a day or two. And then when I do locate a job and have to change visas, I will have to fly out of the country, so at that point I will be able to visit my uncle. I say I need to check with immigration because there was some debate about how much time I could extend my visa for. One person said only 7 days, which is ridiculous and would thus put a damper on my plans. However, if what I read online is correct, that 7-day extension applies to those who come in without a visa and remain for 30 days. I'm hoping it is true that a 60-day tourist visa can be extended for 30 days. Pray with me that this is the case!


That's it for now. I have to get ready for the day.. since it is after 3pm now.. :)
Tracy

Still on Hold.

Again, yesterday they said we'd have 3 days before the floods hit us. This is kinda like that boy who cried wolf thing. I'm sick of it. But I guess it really is coming this time. I live on Ladprao soi 111 and I guess the waters have reached Ladprao soi 60. I've agreed to go with the director and other missionary. The plan is to relocate to Sukhumvit Road, downtown area of Bangkok, the heart of the city that the government is trying hardest to protect. She says to have a bag packed and she'll call me and we'll go stay at a hotel there and be free to move around in that area for a while. If it floods there, we'll head to the airport and fly to Phuket. I'd really just like to go to Phuket though..

In other news, I have my first official Thai lesson tonight. We don't really know what we're doing, so we'll see how that goes. I'm just excited to spend time with my friend and to learn a little bit more of the language.

That's it. Pray for the country to know how to deal with all this, for the government and the people. Pray for the health of those now living in contaminated water and for those who've chosen to evacuate. Pray that we at the church and school have wisdom in knowing how to provide for ourselves and each other. Pray that God remains our strength.

Free Time

Hi! I don't have much to say since last time I wrote. We're still dry in my area, and it doesn't look like it'll ever be flooded. Santisuk has pushed back its start date to the 29th of November. That would give me over a month of free time. Boring. So I've decided to go ahead and get my resume together so that I can send it out and maybe get a job before then. I've just decided to go for it. Other than that, nothing has really been happening around here. I've been hanging out a lot, and that's been fun, but nothing super exciting. That's about it on my end. If anything comes up, I'll let you know!