This is the Way

 (Note to Reader: This is another in our series of “River Crossings” blogs, written while we were in Thailand (2009 – 2011). Enjoy!)


Well, it’s been a week! We were “promoted” to Thai language level two and on Monday new classes began with the same “let’s kill em’!” breakneck speed the teachers seem to enjoy. We have new teachers, new rooms and a few new classmates who seem to be barely out of diapers. At least it’s clear that their brain cells are half the age of mine. I, on the other hand, vacillate between     being on top of the game and dragging along behind with      no idea what’s happening. Neither of us have actually cried yet (Tony DID decide to quit one hour but then had  tremendous success the next). It’s definitely a ‘day by day’ experience.

Some of you expressed concerns last week about our blog, saying we should come home and just quit trying so hard. Part of us says, “Yeah; why are we killing ourselves, when we could probably take early retirement and start  living the dream back Down Under with the soon-to-arrive grandkid?” But then we think, “wait a minute; life is ALWAYS a challenge, one way or the other.” At least    in this situation we get to choose our method of torture!    Oh, but there’s more! Last week Tony and I did a bad thing    and popped into a little Japanese worship service that  meets in a hotel around the corner. We’re supposed to be attending Thai church to further our language, but hey, everybody needs a break, eh? It was so wonderful, and maybe really a ‘God Thing’ as well. It so happens, their pastor is old and sick and back in Japan for quite a while. The church was just wondering what they would do, and were praying about it when we stepped in the door. There were a few awkward moments as they thought we had come to the wrong place, but then when Tony stood and introduced us in Japanese, mentioning that we had served in Japan for 20 years, and pastored a small church there, we saw the personification of that great Aussie word: “Gobsmackered.”

Well, talk about an instant feeling of being loved (OK OK, I know it’s the ‘warm body’ syndrome, but anyway) by Tuesday they had had a meeting and called Tony as pastor! ha. So sweet, really. Anyway, we’ve explained that our number one “job” at present is the Thai language, but today when we visited again (shhhh) I saw Tony taking mental notes of guitar pickup amps and members’ names, etc. etc. Who knows what God is providing for us to do! Don’t misunderstand: we still have our eyes on that back porch and rocking chair, but wouldn’t it be great if we could see a real live Japanese church come about before we pack it in?

We’ve also settled on our fashion attire for the flooded street. (See last week’s blog post if you don’t know what I’m talking about) I really didn’t get freaked till Tony used the word “Sewer”… anyway, we decided on two heavy duty garbage bags each (Tony will be responsible  for carrying these at all times since HE said the word “sewer!”) We deliberated about ONE bag each and just doing the gunny sack hop all the way home but at our age and with the unevenness of the street, we’d probably end up nose diving into the... sewer. All is well, and we’re ready for the next deluge. We’ve been lucky this week, only one ‘flooding episode’.

We hear good things from you about your lives and challenges. Keep up the good work and we’ll try to do the same.

Tony and Marsha




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