James 5:7-8 Be patient, therefore, beloved, until the coming of the Lord. The farmer waits for the precious crop from the earth, being patient with it until it receives the early and the late rains. You also must be patient. Strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near
This scripture passage is a reminder that we all are on God’s time, not ours and that we need to sit back and enjoy the ride that He puts before for us. This would have been a great passage during our time in Bangkok when we were waiting on immigration stuff and having to change travel plans! But it is still a great reminder today, especially for me because I am not patient, particularly when it comes to planning the remaining portions of this trip. I can easily get overwhelmed, stressed, and overly focused on getting things done right now, rather than waiting until the time is right.
As for today, we taught at both schools and then came back to the house to finish some needed homework for our kids. While the kids were doing their homework we had a visit from other family members from Wat’s family. After homework was done, we all took the 15 minute walk, past the houses with open shops and stores on their bottom floors, to the temple where we teach English to the monks. Every evening they have a market at the temple where you can buy food, smoothies, and treats. We grabbed some food for the kids and a snack for Jeff and I, and started walking to the Nan River for the festival. We walked through the hundreds of vendors selling everything you can imagine: clothes, smoothies, food, toys, cosmetics, small creatures (hamsters, bunnies, mice and hedgehogs), etc. and purchased some traditional Thai skirts for me and some pants and shirts for the kids. The kids were desperate to get into the “hamster balls” again, so we were happy to oblige and pay the $3 for the opportunity to burn of energy for 15 minutes. Wat then took all of us to a Korean BBQ restaurant right on the Nan River and it was amazing. It was another wonderful day.
I would like to take a moment to share with you a description of where we are staying. Wat’s home is situated right on one of the two main streets running through the town and it is very busy; tons of cars and mopeds driving by at all hours of the day and night. He lives about 4 blocks from the Nan River, so it is no more than a 10 minute walk to the bridge. Now, I am not sure if this is common for Thailand or just this area, but the best way to describe the town would be that people have stores that are run out of the ground floor of their home. They open their doors in the morning and put all of their goods out to sell, but their store/shop is part of their home. A lot of the stores sell similar items, so it is difficult to know if or why one would be a better choice, so we opt for convenience. This town is so busy and yet it is still so small. If you walk about 1-2 miles and you are out of the town and into rice paddies and corn fields—everything is packed into a very small area as far as the shopping and business is concerned. Before coming to Thailand, I was told me that there is a 7-11 on just about every corner and they weren’t kidding. 7-11 seems to be the place in town to go and get basic sundries and snacks.
The people here, also, do not disappoint. They are so kind and loving. They are also enamoured with our children. I can’t even begin to count how many people just want to hug them and to tell them how beautiful and handsome are and/or take pictures of them. Anjali and David are starting to not enjoy this attention so much, but Lucia is all in and is soaking up all this attention. Probably a bit too much!
Until tomorrow….
Sara's Daily Scripture and Journal 