Wijit's Baptism

Sorry that there has been a long break since the last post.  We have been busy teaching and enjoying the holiday season.  Kara's sister, Carissa, came to visit.  The last weeks have been spent showing her a glimpse of our life in Chiang Mai.  We are back with some exciting news.  Our friend, Wijit, decided to dedicate his life to Christ!  We could write a long post about his life, but I think you would rather hear it from him.  Here is a video we filmed of Wijit talking about his life and his decision to follow Christ.  The I hope y'all enjoy the video and are encouraged by his story.

wijits movie for the blog from Ben Wilde on Vimeo.

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Thanksgiving number 2

We are lucky enough to celebrate Thanksgiving four times.  Our second Thanksgiving celebration was at the church with the children from Gethsemene home.  We ate chicken, green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, and pumpkin pie.  After we were finished eating, Ben gave a talk about the first Thanksgiving and customs Americans partake in on Thanksgiving.  Next, the students helped us put on a skit to further explain the first Thanksgiving. I read a script and the students acted out what I said. They were so creative and so funny.  Our hearts are happy and our stomachs are full.

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Thanksgiving-Thai style

This morning we woke up early and went to a Lahu village Thanksgiving with our friends from Gethsemane home.  When Americans say Thanksgiving, they think of the holiday celebrating their first successful harvest with the Indians.  This "Thanksgiving" is to thank God for the crops they have collected.  They also use it as a way to tell the other people in the village about God.  We drove about two hours outside of Chiang Mai to a beautiful village in the hills.  The road was quite bumpy, and we weren't sure if the truck would make it over some of the bridges.  Once we got there, we walked up a huge hill and arrived at the village.  We went to the church and listened to a sermon and songs sang by different groups.  Afterwards, we walked down the hill to about 30 tables set up for a feast.  On every table there were drinks, rice rolled in bannana leaves and fresh vegetables.  As soon as we sat down people started carrying huge trays of food over and placed them on the table.  We ate so fast because the food was so delicious.  It was a feast like we have never seen before. We are having 3 more Thanksgiving celebrations this week.  Bring on the holiday season!

The church was beautifully decorated for Thanksgiving.

A view of our table before the food was placed on it.  We used the bannana leaves as plates- easy cleanup and environmentally friendly!

Some of the delicious food.

Lahu clothing is so beautiful and bright.

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Mae Caem

This past week was full of teaching English.  English is such a funny language.  I find myself learning new rules as I teach.  We also traveled to our friend Na's village.  Na's family made us Karen (Karen is a hill tribe of Thailand) food, and we made them tortillas.  We ate lots of sticky rice that was grown on their farm.  Na's family showered us with mountain delicacies.  We ate grilled corn, grilled bananas, and sticky rice with sesame for snacks.

This is Na

Here is Ben pounding the sticky rice to make it into a paste.

Here is one of Na's pigs.

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Salsa and Tortillas

I have been in a video making mood today and decided to cut together some footage from the first time that we made tortillas.  One thing that's hard to come by here is Mexican food, so we decided to make it ourselves.  Since this video was recorded, we have probably made tortillas and salsa about 10 times. It's comfort food and its easy.  Enjoy.... We sure did.

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Doi Inthanon

On Sunday, we visited a Thai National Park called Doi Inthanon.  We went to the highest point in Thailand and saw some pretty cool waterfalls.  Please enjoy this video I made to remember our trip.

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Birthday Party!

     Last night we attended a four year old's birthday party.  The lucky girl was Champoo, the daughter of the cleaning lady here at the Zone.  The party was at her house which happens to be in a Habitat for Humanity neighborhood.  We have worked with Habitat for Humanity in America, and it was so cool to see how the work they are doing in Thailand is benefiting people we love here.  We drove to the party after Gethsemane Home and proceeded to worship, eat (they made spaghetti for everyone because they knew we liked it- Thais are so generous and thoughtful), and then shower her with presents.  Kara bought her a full set of princess gear.  Then, they cut down a full stock of sugarcane, chopped it into take home lengths, and sent us on our way with a snack for later.  We are so exited that we got to attend, and admire her parents for including worship and prayer over her as part of her party.

Here is Champoo with her family and friends from the neighborhood.

Princess Champoo

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We found the cutest cake at Big C. 

All the kids playing with bubbles that Champoo received for her Birthday.  The kid in the Spider-man costume is hilarious.  You know a kid has personality when he shows up to a party wearing a Spider-man costume.  

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What not to eat

Kara and I spent yesterday in bed recovering from food poisoning.  Luckily, Monday was our day off.  The story behind our poisoning is pretty exciting.  We were on our way to 7-11 when we ran into a guy named Riit.  Riit was a student at Payap and graduated about 5 years ago.  He then moved to San Antonio to attend San Antonio College and then graduate school at UTSA.  Since we had the connection of living in San Antonio, we talked for about an hour and got to know him better.  We found out that he has a sister named New who is going to attend Payap next year.  We invited them both to cell group. After cell group, New signed up for a weekly English lesson. We all talked about going out to eat diner one night that weekend.  We ended up going to watch the soccer game at a restaurant.  We sat outside and hung out and watched the game and ate some pretty good tasting food.  Little did we know, but that cashew chicken was TOXIC! And that leads us to yesterday, one of the sickest days I have ever had.  At least we know that our sickness was the result of our efforts to bring people into The Zone.  Here is a picture of New and her friends that she brought to her lesson.

Ben Wilde

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The last 2 weeks

First of all, sorry for our absence.  We have been super busy these last two weeks since we got back from Pai.  I will attempt to catch you up on our lives in this post.  We have past the one month mark here in Thailand and things just keep getting better.  Here are some photos that we took during our first two weeks in Thailand.

Kara at the waterfall on Doi Suthep

Under an umbrella canopy

Ben at Payap University

At the Big C ( walmart)

Birthday party for Wi

Pai was a lovely town.  We spent Sep 10-16 there.  Our main purpose for going to Pai was to teach English to the court staff of about 15 people.  We taught in the evenings from about 4-8.  We also stayed in a resort with them so that we could hang out and talk after hours.  We toured the beautiful mountain town during the mornings on the motorcycle furnished by the court.  Here are some pictures of our time in Pai.

The container viewpoint

Ben in a container

Mor pang waterfall

Mor pang waterfall

A geyser.... They sell eggs at roadside stands nearby and people stick them into the water in baskets connected to sticks to hard boil them.  Try that at Yellowstone!

After we returned from Pai, we came back to Chiang Mai on the most curvy road I have ever traveled.  We settled into our routine of teaching English, Visiting the Gethsemane Children Home and hanging out with students.  

There was major development that occurred shortly after we returned to Pai.  We learned to make tortillas!  It's really not hard.... just some flour, salt, garlic, and oil.  We are having a great time eating some true Mexican food.  

This is chaampoo helping us make tortillas.  She is the daughter of the cleaning lady at the zone.

This week, we went to Gethsemane on Monday to help them pour some concrete for an entrance gate that they are going to install.  

I hope to visit Gethsemane more often to help out with construction and maintenance projects.  

Until next time,

Ben Wilde 

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Week 2

Hello all,

We are currently on our way to Pai, Thailand to teach English.  We will be the honored guest speakers at a 30 hour English course for the district court staff of this tiny thai town.  This van ride has given us an opportunity to reflect on our last week.

Last Monday, we took our day off and used it for a date night.  Kara and I went to eat at "Tex Mex", a little Mexican resturaunt right here in Chiang Mai that actually serves us cuisine resembling Dallas Mexican food.  We are still looking for that pot of gold that makes food like we had in San Antonio. After dinner we walked around the market near the resturaunt. Then we called it a night.

Tuesday was a typical day without any extra activities.  We teach English on most days from 3-6.

Wednesday, we taught English at the zone as usual, and then went to the Gethsrmene Children's Home to teach and sing songs with the kids.

Thursday, we bought a motorcycle!

Friday, we had cell group and ate some amazing kaow soy.  It's a red curry soup with noodles and topped with crunchy stringy things.  

Saturday, we relaxed in the morning, and then went to eat homemade Chinese food and study the bible.  

Sunday we had worship, taught an English class, got a massage, played volleyball at the international school, and finally watched White House Down at the church. Also, I learned to order my food "piset", which means "extra".  This new word has helped me to get the Texas sized portions I'm used to when we go out to eat.

Yesterday, we took our new motorcycle to the mountains.  We went to see a waterfall and then drove up and down a sweet mountain road, stopping at overlooks along the way.  It was a very nice ride that I hope to make often.  

And now, we are in a van on the road to Pai.  This road is rumored to have 709 curves before arriving in Pai, but I don't plan on counting.  

Until next time,

Ben Wilde

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Our First Week

Our first week has been full of adventure. We have both been under the weather this week. Prayers to get better and to stay healthy are greatly appreciated. Sunday night we went to Walking Street. Walking street is a big market that happens every Sunday. They sell everything from handmade jewelry to fried bugs. Out of the group that was going, only Ben could "drive." Using his optimism he Is richly blessed with, he rose to the opportunity. No left side of the road, stick shift obstacle was going to stop him.

On Tuesday we went to an orphanage to love on some babies. This particular orphanage only holds newborns to 5 year olds. We had so much fun playing with the kids and holding the babies. I  (Kara) held a baby named Da. Da's parents tried to have her aborted, but she survived. Da is a testament to God's will. God's will wins over abortion.

On Wednesday we went to another orphanage. This orphanage has older kids (5-18). Here at Gethsemane home we taught the students English and worshiped with them. We sang songs like father Abraham and Blue Skies and Rainbows. I was in charge of teaching the older kids English. I taught possessive adjective and pronouns, a topic I'm not sure I understood before I taught the lesson.   We will be going here every week to tech English and sing songs with the kids. Can't wait for next week!

On Thursday and Friday we taught English. Every Friday we have Cell group at the church.  We eat together, sing songs and them someone shares a lesson with the church. This Sunday Ben shared about his walk with Christ.

Saturday, we had a mugata party to celebrate the work of the church secretary Bon. He is moving on to a new job so there was a great party in his honor.

Bon's mugata party

Yesterday we had church service at the zone and then we had a church service at the Leprosy home.  We meet lots of people that are missing legs and fingers because of leprosy. One lady that I talked to has had leprosy for over 30 years. She came to love at the leprosy home 30 years ago and that's when she came to know Christ. In the hometown that she moved from no one was a Christian and she had never heard about God. Her story reminds me that God is in control. He makes good out of even the worst situations.

  

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The Old Gang

Just wanted to send a shout out to last years AFC Thailand team and to encourage anyone who is still at A&M to take one of these trips if you get the chance.  I was able to go on two and these trips dramatically changed the course of my life to this point.  Kara and I took the second trip together and it was the during that trip that I realized that I wanted to marry her.  I saw her servant heart and compassion for others and tons of other great things and knew she was the one for me.  Now that we are graduated and married, we have come back to this place to continue where we left off.  God placed an opportunity in my life one Sunday afternoon.  I took it and I am so glad that I did because if I hadn't, this awesome chain of events might not have started.   So ya, shout out to the previous AFC teams and we both cant wait to see next years group in Chiang Mai.

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Eating at EatDrink Coffee

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Payap University

Welcome to Payap University.

Taken from their website:

"Payap University, established in 1974, is a private institution founded by the Church of Christ in Thailand. Payap is a founding member of the Association of Private Higher Education Institutions in Thailand, and an active member of the Association of Christian Universities and Colleges in Asia, as well as the Association of Southeast Asian Institutions of Higher Learning."

Kara and I woke up early this morning (from jet lag) and took a walk around campus.  Here are some photos we took and some images we found on the Internet that can help familiarize you with the area. As our primary ministry is to reach students at this university, we want to know as much about this place as we can.  Right now it feels like freshman year all over again.  So many places to discover and people to meet.  

Typical campus building 

Chapel

Ben and a dog

Chapel

Flowers on campus

More flowers

Campus Map

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