Christmas and Ya's Birthday

Christmas in Thailand is always an experience. I always get really homesick around the holidays, I miss my family and long to spend Christmas day with them. Unfortunately finances make that impossible so over the past few years, I've created my own Christmas traditions.

Every year on Christmas Eve a group from church goes caroling. Caroling is a very different experience in Thailand and consists of lots of plans and lots of food. People from church sign up to host the carolers and the group goes from house to house. After they sing, they are invited in and fed a lot of food, spending 30 minutes to 2 hours at each house. This year I got the last slot of the night and the carolers were supposed to show up at midnight. Aon, Ya and myself prepared food and drinks and sat down to watch movies while waiting. Midnight came and went. 1am, 2am, finally at 2:30am the carolers showed up. They sang, ate, hung out and finally went home before 4am. I decided that I am way too old for middle of the night parties! But over all, it was great fun!


After the carolers left, Aon, Ya and myself decided to go ahead and open our gifts to each other so that we could sleep late in the morning. Guess what? I bought Aon a new watch, Aon bought Ya a new watch and Ya bought me a new watch. It was pretty funny!


This was Isaac when we finally went to bed after 4am. Isn't he cute?!


One of the best parts about Christmas day is that it is also Ya's birthday. This year we celebrated with a group of friends at Paul and Donna's house. We had Christmas dinner and a birthday cake for Ya. But the best part was just hanging out with my Thailand family and enjoying the holiday. Here's a few photos from the evening:
Ya with her birthday cake.

Me with Gary and Evelyn, a very inspiring missionary couple in their 90s.

The PMI Gang: Donna, me, Ya, Aon, Paul.

My Thai family: Dakhota, me, Ya and Aon.

Mae Toh Outreach

On December 18th we headed out to Mae Toh for our annual outreach at the kid's home/church there. It was a great day of ministry and fun and I'm already looking forward to next year! We gave away 500 pairs of shoes and lots of snacks. Rather than write more, I think I'll just share some of my favorite photos of the day. :)

Faith Village Outeach

Faith Village was started about 20 years ago by a Christian couple, David and Paula. Paula is American and David is half Thai, half Burmese. David comes from a Burmese people group called the Shan and he had a heart and a calling to save more Shan people. Unfortunately the Shan people have been in a desperate situation for a long time and many of them were fleeing to Thailand to escape persecution. Thousands of children were being captured in Burma and forced to become child soldiers and David aimed to rescue them. It started with seven boys and has since grown into what we now call Faith Village, a home and church in Thaton, Thailand.

As a ministry we visit Faith Village (FV) every three weeks to spend time with the kids, teach the adults and pour ourselves into the people there. It has become something that I look forward to and every time I go, it feels a little more like home.

On December 10-11, the PMI team (myself, Aon, Ya, Paul and Donna) drove the 3 hours to Faith Village for our annual Christmas outreach, bringing with us an American team of 9 people. We also brought 500 pairs of Crocs and snacks to hand out to the children.

Our first outreach was to a brick village near FV. Years ago some Shan people escaped into Thailand but were not able to get jobs because they are illegal. So they started their own brick factory which has since grown and now provides jobs and housing for many refugees. We sang songs with the kids, shared the gospel and gave away the shoes and snacks to the kids. It was a lot of fun and I loved seeing how they made the bricks. I took some great photos but unfortunately all my photos were deleted when my computer crashed a few weeks ago. :(

Our second outreach was to a village in the midst of hundreds of orange groves. Most of the people had never heard about Jesus before and they had definitely never had any foreigners visit. There was a little building where we set up to share the gospel and give away the gifts. As soon as we showed up, we were mobbed by hundreds of people who were so excited that we were there. They filled the building, there were people hanging in the windows and there were tons sitting outside. It was crazy and chaotic but I couldn't stop smiling the whole time. It is so amazing to share the gospel with people for the very first time!

Our last outreach was back at FV where one more time we shared the gospel and gave out gifts. Overall it was a great weekend and God was moving! Here is a video of the weekend that the team took followed by a couple photos that Aon took:

Shoe drop from Sarah Dale Simpkins on Vimeo.

Happy Father's Day/Birthday

Today is the King of Thailand's 83rd birthday. In honor of His Majesty, I give you the king's anthem.

Interesting fact: Father's Day and Mother's Day in Thailand always fall on the reigning King and Queen's birthdays.

Happy Father's Day to all the dad's out there!

And Happy Birthday to HM the King! :)

Christmas Wish Lists

A few people have been asking for Christmas Wish Lists from Aon, Ya and myself and we got super duper excited at the thought of having Christmas gifts this year! However, we didn't expect it to be quite so hard to figure out what to ask for. :| So I've put together this list which ranges from really expensive (dreaming big) to not at all expensive (dreaming realistically). I'll be adding to it as we think of things so if you don't see something that you want to send, check back later or just surprise us! :)

Jen’s Wish List

iPad

Kindle

iTunes Gift Cards

Pants, size 14

Shirts, size L

Books (Fantasy/SciFi/anything!!)

TOMS shoes, size 7, any color

Aon’s Wish List

iPod Touch

Levi’s, size 29/29

Pants, size 2/4

Shirts, size S

Silver jewelry

Ya’s Wish List

Crocs *Crocband Flat, size 7, color black

Sewing Machine

Recipe Books

Craft Books (sewing, beading, etc.)

Pants, size 4/6

Shirts, size S/M

General Things for all 3 of us:

Money towards a beach trip that we hope to take next year (the girls have never been)

Snacks (granola bars, trail mix, anything)

Toothpaste (Aquafresh, Mentadent refills)

Melatonin

Benedryl

Vitamins

Ibuprofen

If you've made it this far, let me tell you a little about us in case you want to free lance in your gift giving. :)

Aon is 33 and very down to earth. You wouldn't know it upon first meeting her but she loves fashion; pretty clothes, jewelry, etc. She likes to take pictures and see the beauty in the things around her that most people might not mention. Aon is our teacher, preacher and friend.

Ya is 32 and crafty. She can fix pretty much anything that is broken and enjoys doing it. She loves to bake and her baked goods are amazingly delicious!! She enjoys sewing and dreams of one day owning a sewing machine. Ya and my mom would get along great! Ya is our dreamer with a smile that lights up a room.

I'm assuming that you already know me if you are reading this. But if not:

Jen is 31 and a bit of a book nerd. She's a homebody who is content as long as there are books and friends nearby. She loves technology and thinks the internet is a God-send! Jen loves to write and take photos and even more, she loves when her photos make others smile. Jen is our documenter, recording our lives as we go, on film and in print.

If you would like to send Christmas gift to these wonderful (and very poor) girls, they can be sent to:

178/236 Moo 7, WCL

T.Nong Kway, A. Hang Dong

Chiang Mai, 50230

Thailand

Any questions? :)

Cultural Differences

My latest e-newsletter.


I’ve been thinking about cultural differences a lot lately. Whether the culture we are a part of is the country we live in, our age group or the color of our skin, it defines who we are. I live in a country where the color of my skin causes me to stand out and daily I am referred to as a “farang”, meaning foreigner. I am constantly receiving comments about how white my skin is, how blue my eyes are and how light my hair is. Needless to say, it’s impossible for me to forget that I am living in a culture that is not my own.

My closest friends are two Thai girls named Aon and Ya who are around my age. We work together, live together and hang out together. We’ve gotten to know each other so well over the years that we tend to talk the same, act the same and finish each other’s sentences. We’ve even developed our own form of Tainglish (half English, half Thai) language. Because we are so close, I often forget that we are actually from very different cultures.

The other day there was a story on the news about a sixteen year old girl in America who ran away from home. Ya asked me why the girl would run away from a good home, what she was thinking. I said “You know how it is when you are sixteen and you have no responsibilities but think you know everything. You rarely think of anyone but yourself.” At this both Aon and Ya stared at me in confusion and I remembered again that we are from different cultures, different worlds.

The girls grew up in farming towns in Southern Thailand. They finished school at age twelve and both moved alone to Bangkok at the age of thirteen to work. They got positions in homes where they cleaned, cooked, took care of children and the elderly and did pretty much anything else they were told. They worked seven days a week and made about $20 a month, all of which was sent home to their families. Families that they didn’t see for a year or two at a time. By the age of eighteen, they were making about $35 a month and by the age of twenty-five, they were making about $65 a month. I once asked them as kids what they dreamed about being when they grew up. It broke my heart to learn that they didn’t dream of anything because once they were old enough to think about their future, they already knew they were being sent away to support their families.

When I was thirteen the biggest decision I had to make was what outfit would make me look the coolest at school. I didn’t even have a job until after I graduated high school. We grew up in completely different worlds, different cultures.

A large percentage of the world grows up like Aon and Ya did. Kids all over the world are being sent to work at incredibly young ages because their families are too poor to keep them in school. I can’t help but be incredibly thankful for the childhood I had, for the things my parents gave me. I don’t write this because I feel sorry for Aon and Ya. I’m thankful for the experiences that they had because it made them who they are today, my best friends. I write this because I think that sometimes we need to think outside of our own culture, we need to re-evaluate our priorities and remember what is truly important in our lives. What is important to you?

Hidden Beauty

I've been sorting through my photos lately and thought I'd post a few from my trip to Mae Sot last month. These are from the trash dump we visited, where people are literally living on and in the trash. Their circumstances were horrible but their smiles were beautiful!!

Sneeze

This video is hilarious! I just had to share it because it made us (Aon, Ya, me) laugh so hard. Watch the mom...

Focus, Week 6

I couldn't decide on 2 or 3 this week... :)

Focus, Week 5

Memory... is the diary that we all carry about with us. ~Oscar Wilde

This is the story of how I became friends with Charissa. :)

In the summer of 1993 I was 14 years old and attending my first year of high school summer camp. I'd been going to Heavenly Hills Christian Camp every summer since I was 5 years old but this year was going to be different because I was finally a high schooler. Which of course meant that I was completely grown up and knew everything that I would ever need to know. (ha!) For some reason, my older sister wasn't at camp that summer but one of her best friends was and I spent the whole week hanging out with DeeDee, who was a senior. DeeDee made me feel older, cooler and not quite as awkward as I knew I was. She also introduced me to a boy named Jason who was 16 and really cute. One night after the camp fire, we were all hanging out talking and Jason held my hand and asked me to attend the banquet with him at the end of the week. For any of you who was ever a 14 year old girl, you know that having the attention of a 16 year old boy makes you feel like you are on top of the world. Friday night rolled around and DeeDee helped me get dressed up and ready to go and I felt like a grown up, at least 16. :) We were sitting at the table eating dinner and the next table over was full of girls that I didn't know. They kept throwing things at me, mostly bread but one of them even threw a fork at me. I was totally confused about why they were doing this but tried to just ignore them and not be embarrassed by it. Still I couldn't figure out what I had done to make them not like me when they didn't even know me. All in all though, the night was fun. I talked to Jason a couple times after camp that summer, but nothing serious ever happened because after all, I was only 14. I do remember that he called me one night the following October, I remember because it was the night before my surgery which was a major event in my life. He told me not to be nervous because everything would turn out fine and I think that was the last time I ever spoke to him. But I'm getting off course, this post is about Charissa after all!

About a month after camp, I got a phone call from a girl who told me her name was Charissa and she knew me from camp. She called to tell me that she was sorry. She was sitting at the table next to mine at the banquet and it was her and her friends that were throwing things at me. She told me that the previous summer one of them had liked Jason (I don't remember if it was her or one of her friends) and the reason they threw stuff at me was because they were jealous. She said she was very sorry and asked if we could be friends.

I remember hanging up from that phone call and thinking she was pretty amazing for being brave enough to call and apologize. And I remember thinking that I definitely wanted to be friends with her, even though I still wasn't even sure what she looked like.

Charissa and I are still friends, 17 years later. We haven't seen each other since college but we keep in touch over email and I still consider her a great friend. And every time I think about how our friendship started, I can't help but admire her. I don't know what led to her making that phone call but she taught me a valuable lesson that day and I'm so glad that we are still friends. I hope that if I ever do someone wrong, I will be as brave as she was.

There was another time that she called me and I remember every word of our conversation (it was very short). She asked me how I was and when I told her I was fine, she said, "Are you sure?" I told her I was fine and she hesitated for a moment and then asked again, "Are you sure?" At that point, our phone call got disconnected and I couldn't call her back. But the thing was, I wasn't fine. My grandpa had died and moments before the phone rang, I had just found out and was sobbing. After that call, I decided that I was going to be more honest when people asked me how I was and to this day I still try.

I'm not sure why but I've been thinking about Charissa a lot lately. Over the years we hung out in and outside of camp until college when we both moved away. I'd love to hang out again sometime but in the meantime, thank you Charissa for the valuable lessons you taught me. I still admire you, 17 years later. :)

"Growth is the only evidence of life." John Henry Newman, 1864

I've been suffering from insomnia lately, most nights not sleeping until 4 or 5am. That leaves a lot of time for lying in bed thinking, sometimes too much time considering I tend to over analyze things. Last night (this morning) I was thinking about change, a subject that could potentially lead to many more sleepless nights!

This has been a year of change for me. Last August I was still working at The Centre, but I was praying every day for God to release me. I didn't want to be there and I admit, I had a bad attitude. My heart wasn't in the ministry and I was confused about why I was in Thailand and what God wanted me to do. In September I left The Centre and continued to seek out what God wanted me to do. I was even more confused because suddenly I was without a primary ministry but I knew that God wanted me to stay in Thailand. In October I contacted Todd and Julie about volunteering for PMI (Powers Ministries International) while I had free time. In November I was planning outreaches and feeling passionate about ministry for the first time in a long time. December brought trips to villages, meeting people who I found I could easily love and knowing that PMI was a good fit for me. By January I was officially full time with PMI, having been asked by Todd and Julie to join their ministry. February was our Women's Conference which was a huge learning curve for me with all the details that go into planning such a huge event. March, April and May saw me traveling around the states, trying to raise support and learning that for the most part, America is poor. I learned that trusting God is hard for me but hugely important. In June and July I was back in Thailand learning to trust more, learning to pray, teach, love, listen and learning so many things that wouldn't fit in this post.

Last year at this time, I had lost my heart for people and wasn't sure where to find it. This year, I've found my heart again. I'm loving on kids and in return receiving love. I'm helping save children who have been sold into the sex trade time and time again and they are teaching me to truly love God. I am helping orphanages and churches, teaching leadership and ministry. I am training and debriefing missionaries. And in return God is teaching me, training me every single day. I am learning that when I am willing, God works miracles every single day. So every day I wake up and decide to be willing and follow God that day.

I hope that this changing, learning and growing never ends. I'm not saying that it is always fun, but the end result is always worth it. I thank God for this year of change and I can't wait to see where this next year leads me!

Thank you God!!

Focus, Week 4

Focus, Week 3

Focus, Week 2

Focus, Week 1

"When words become unclear, I shall focus with photographs. When images become inadequate, I shall be content with silence." Ansel Adams

I recently started year 2 of my 365 project and I'm going to attempt to post two or three favorites from each week on here. Enjoy! :)

http://365project.org/jleeper/year2

Why Wai?

The other night Aon, Ya and I were talking about how confusing it can be to speak two languages. I mentioned to them that sometimes they speak English without realizing it and they pointed out to me that sometimes I speak Thai without realizing it. It is a strange thing when you brain starts thinking in two languages and you no longer automatically differentiate between the two. At this point I told them a story that occurred last Sunday at church and they could not stop laughing at me. Before I tell you the story though, I have to teach you a bit about the "wai."

The wai occurs when you put your two hand together in front of your chest like the photo below.

The wai occurs when greeting someone, saying goodbye or thank you and to show respect. Thais don't shake hands or kiss on the cheek or any of the other western traditions, we wai. And there are many different forms of it, depending on the amount of respect you want to show. Overall, it is an important part of life and is done repeatedly every day.

Even Ronald McDonald does it.

It is such a normal part of life that the wai along with the head bow comes just as easily as smiling. Lately I've been having trouble speaking all in English or all in Thai. And as I mentioned earlier, sometimes I think I'm speaking in English but it is coming out in Thai. This confusion is now spreading to my wais...

On Sunday I walked into church and on my way to sit down, I passed a Thai friend and a few steps later, I passed an American friend. Passing the Thai friend, I waved and said "hello." Passing the American friend, I did the wai and said "sa wat dee ka." I stood there for a moment in confusion then continued on to my chair with both friends laughing at me as I went. Of course, Aon and Ya thought this was hilarious when I shared it with them and they laughed for quite a while.

I'm still just shaking my head and wondering if the confusion ever ends... :)

Let Them Hear

I have no words to offer, they simply get in the way.
When I try to explain You, there's nothing sacred left to say.
You are who You are, and You always will be.
So here is my prayer:

Let them hear You through me, and let Your words be mine.
Let them see that Your love is the reason I'm inspired,
And when given the choice, may they recognize Your voice.
Let them hear You through me, O Lord.

I don't have all the answers, all I know is what You've shown.
And I'm longing for the moment when You make Your mystery known.
But 'till then, I will be, what You've called me to be.
So again, hear my prayer:

Let them hear You through me, and let Your words be mine.
Let them see that Your love is the reason I'm inspired.
And when given the choice, may they recognize Your voice.
Let them hear You through me.

May I always know that words are not enough.

Let them hear You through me, and let Your words be mine.
Let them see that Your love is the reason I'm inspired.
And when given the choice, may they recognize Your voice.
Let them hear You through me, O Lord.

Let them hear You through me.

~~~~~~~~

"Let The Hear" by Ginny Owens

Isaac, the Pug

Meet Isaac, the newest (short term) member of Ban Jen:

Isaac will staying with us for the next six months and has already made himself quite at home. Isn't he cute?