Friday, October 31, 2008

I'm registered

I officially registered today for the Chiang Mai Half-Marathon (www.chiangmaimarathon.com). I'm actually in the 4th week of training. But I had a few bumps the past 2 weeks. The first week of training went fine. The following week I got sick and missed 3 runs. I took my gear on the trip last week...ready to run. But while visiting the waterfalls I slipped on a rock and smacked my big toe. It took half my toenail off (sorry for the icky details). I ended up going to the hospital that night because it was so painful and I was worried about infection knowing there wouldn't be a hospital on the island. The doctor told me not to get it wet for 5 days (ha!) He gave me a local antibiotic and a regular antibiotic to prevent infection. I was hesitant for the regular antibiotic, I hate taking them. But since I was absolutely going to get wet, I thought I should take it. So that put me out of running for another week.

But I'm back on schedule and feeling motigated!!!

Monday, October 27, 2008

BKK D.C. 2008

The DC was great! The sign-language interpreting went the smoothest ever. We even had 3 new elders involved. We only have 2 brothers in the group so having the other 3 was a HUGE help. I actually had a fun part to interpret. I was the witness girl at school who is tempted by the cute boy. Unfortunately the boy's part was interpreted by a sister. But it got the point across.

The highlight of the convention was having 3 deaf baptized. They are the first deaf to be baptized since our group began. It was thrilling to be a part of!


Then Sunday I went to the English session. It was so much fun seeing everyone! On Saturday G and A came over with C. It was so fun hanging out with them. C has grown so much since I saw him last. He calls me "Auntie Julie" with his Aussie accent. It's the cutest thing! Unfortunately I didn't get any photos of C. Sorry. But I'm heading up to Chiang Mai in Dec so I'll be sure to get some then.

So, here's a few details of the DC:
Peak Attendance:
Thai - 1889
English - 320
Japanese - 200
Deaf - 20

Number Baptized:
Thai - 33
English - 3
Japanese - 2
Deaf - 3

There were 3 other conventions held in Thailand previous to this one in Bkk. In the South there were 377, up north there were 916 and in the northeast there were 883. Total attendance of all 4 conventions was 4065. Total baptized 82! One of the older missionary sisters was interviewed and mentioned how in 1963 there were only 300 JWs in Thailand. This past service year the peak was 2826. So to have nearly double that at the conventions was amazing!

There are more photos of our trip south and the DC on my Picasa Web Album. Just click on the photos on the top right to get to the site.

Thursday, October 23, 2008

Back to Bkk

After a long day of traveling we're back in Bangkok. Hard to imagine we woke up on a remote island this morning. We traveled on 6 different modes of transportation all in one day. First we took a speed boat from the island to the pier. Then a song-tao (truck with a covered bed lined with benches) into the nearest town. Then a mini-van to Hat Yai. We had a few hours to kill in Hat Yai. Then took motor bike taxis to where we would take a taxi to the airport. And finally the flight back to Bkk. Sigh.

We have our District Convention this weekend. J and I both have assignments interpreting tomorrow and Saturday. Then Sunday we'll go to the English session. It's always fun to meet up with my pals around Thailand. Saturday evening I'm hanging with G and A from Chiang Mai. I'll be sure to get some photos of them. Those of you who have visited will be excited to see photos of C, he's almost 4!

By the way, the island was great! The Porn Resort was closed so we ended up staying at the Andaman Resort (www.andamanresortkohlipe.com). It ended up raining some (dang monsoons) but we still had a really great time. I got some great photos! I'll try to post them on Monday.

Sunday, October 19, 2008

Trang

It's been a fun weekend in Trang. One thing I love about coming here is riding around with K on the back of her motorbike making RVs. However, I've never visited during the rainy season before. On our way back to her house yesterday afternoon, it started to rain. We pulled over to put rain jackets on but then it started raining even harder. So we decided to wait it out for a bit under some shelter. After about 45 minutes of continuous hard rain, we thought we may as well head back even though it hadn't let up at all. We got pretty wet! Fortunately we were on our way back instead of to another RV. I must say, though, riding on a motor bike in the rain is a pretty cool sensation!

The meeting went well today. J had a song, K interpreted the talk and I read half the WT. There was 1 deaf lady that attended. Even days they don't have a deaf person come, they still interpret the meeting for practice. The sisters down here work really hard!

After the meeting the cong went on an outing to see some waterfalls. There are only 24 publishers here in Trang and about 15 people went. After having lunch and waiting out a quick rain shower, we climbed some rocks on steep banks and followed the rocks into the water. Most everyone, including the older sisters and young kids (2 yr olds!) got in the water. J and some others braved the rain and, getting a head start, climbed up the river to where the highest waterfall was. I say "climbed" because you literally have to climb the rocks in the river up towards where the waterfall begins. K and I tried to catch up with them but only got as far as their shoes. It was a great time!

So tomorrow morning we're off to the beach! Yipee! Here's where we're staying: http://www.pornresortkohlipe.com/ Awful name, I know. But porn is actually said "pawn" and it means "blessing". I'm sure we'll have a blessed time.

Thursday, October 16, 2008

To blog or not to blog...

I chose to blog. I've always enjoyed writing and find it to be a kind of outlet. So I'll be letting myself out on a more public level now. Although I'm hoping my blog address doesn't get passed around (hint;)hint). I like the idea of my friends reading this but I'm hoping to keep it on the down low.

Since you, the reader, are likely a friend and not a stranger, there's no need for me to write my life story and how I ended up in Bkk. You already know. I'm just still doing my thing..teaching kids, preaching, more teaching, etc. You know all that's involved in the lives of us JWs.

I am heading down south tomorrow. J and I are going to visit K in Trang. We'll be there for the weekend and then on to an island called Koh Lipe. I'm sure I'll get some great photos! The coolest thing we did the other time I went to this particular island was kayak around the entire island. We stopped along the way to snorkel...it was amazing! I'm hoping we'll get to do that again. Here is a photo taken the last time I was there. The land in the background is a different island. Amazing water to snorkel in, hey!

So, to my invited guests...I hope this helps us stay more connected and gives you an idea of what things are like here. To strangers...c'mon, it's boring if you don't know me. So just move on.