Fun at the school....

We sure have lots of fun at the school where we teach english to two classes of kindergarten kids.

 

Sometimes it seems lots of hugs and attention is more important than trying to learn the words.

 

The kids are doing really well though and especially like to sing. I use a CD player and we sing along with some lesson songs that reinforce the words we are learing that day.

 

 

 

 

Before class chatting with "grandpa".

 

 

 

 

This week we bought a couple cases of tangerines and shared them with the classes. It was a real delight to all of them. They each had at least six or more to eat. 

 

 

 

 

 

Enjoying the treat!

 



Christmas celebration

Christmas celebration Thai style.

 

These adorable girls along with several others did some special Thai dances for our Christmas celebration this past Sunday. It was a fun day of honoring our Lord and having great fellowship together singing and sharing.

 

Ellie's Lip Balm ...

 

My Granddaughter Ellie (with a little help from her mother) is now making and selling lip balm.

I purchased an assortment to use as gifts for some of our friends here.

 

But I also have tried some myself and must say it is really nice.

 

There are lots of different flavors to choose from but if you have something different in mind...

I am sure they can mix up a new flavor for you.

 

 

 

 

 

If you are interested let me know and I will give you a contact number.

 

 

Fun with friends

We recently met a young couple and have enjoyed getting to know them. We took them to the Day Safari and had a lot of fun. I will only share the swan pictures this time as they were really close to edge of the pond and it was cool to watch them.

 

 

Near the entrance gate.

Posing for a picture :)

Watching me carefully.

Food & Culture Festival

The food festival was a crowded place to be and there was a huge assortment of different food items you could buy. We had already eaten so just sampled a little bit as we looked around. The tables were all set in the middle area and the food stalls completely circled the area around them. There was also some cultural dance and singing going on too. Was fun to see.

 

smells so wonderful...

Oh, if only you could smell this rose I picked this morning...wonderful is all I can say!!!

 

 

 

It is Well with my Soul

Praise the Lord!

Travels to the Northeast...

Our trip to the Northeast of Thailand and Laos border was a very special time for us and the team.

We were able to distribute several radios we took with us and share the TWR ministry with several ladies.

 

The back of truck loaded with radios.

Sharing about the use of various media in the ministry of TWR.

Some of the Laos listeners of our broadcasts that were attending the training.  

More special ladies from Laos.

 

The group of mostly Laotian ladies.

 

Happy with their new radios.

 

Saying thank you.

A very grateful young lady getting a radio.

A walk along the Mekong River...Laos is just across the river.

 

Budhist nuns sitting by a Monavie shop...I was surprised to see this shop along our walking route.

 

Barbecued chicken leg for breakfast.

 

Near a water reservoir.

Visting family members of our team on the way home.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tree results.....

The remains of the very tall tree between houses...I do miss the shade it gave in the afternoon but I know it will grow quickly again.

The two very old mango trees in front by our gate...now we don't have to bend down when going under them:)

More mango trees beside the house...trimmed back so no branches are near the roof and also lots of dead limbs cut off. These trees were full of the big nasty red ants and I felt sorry for the men cutting as they were all over them as they worked. Hopefully we have less ants now too.

I can't remember the name of this tree but it grows so fast, every year it is cut way back. It produces a small fruit that is rather sour but the birds eat most of them anyway.

The rose apple tree...I do miss the full brances and leaves but I know it will fill out soon too and probably be loaded in the spring with beautiful pink blossoms and then apples.

The rainy season is here so it will be interesting to see how things grow again.

Tree Cutting Day

We had some major tree cutting going on in our yard today. Two guys spent 11 hours trimming and nearly cutting down whole trees in our yard. They worked on 9 large trees but the one pictured below was the challenge and took nearly 3 hours to remove all the branches. It will grow again but for now it looks rather bare. It stands between our house and the neighbor so each branch cut needed to be roped and lowered down.

 

 

 This guy was like a monkey climbing up and down and hanging from the branches as he used his machete to cut the branches.

As you can see most of the tree is coming down.

 Taking a pose for us with his machete in hand. This is now the top of the tree...but in less than a year it will tower above the house again.

Next came the mango trees and we have five of those they trimmed up.

 



The only tools they used to cut with...I was amazed as I watched them all day.

 

It was dark when they finished cleaning up all the brances so maybe I will get some after pictures tomorrow to show you. I am totally wore out from just watching these guys and their hard work all day. I can only imagine how tired they must be.

Watching butterflies

It has been interesting to watch a variety of insects enjoy the mango when they fall from the tree.

This is really a pretty butterfly.

Dragon Fruit across the fence

Dragon Fruit to enjoy across our fence.

Several weeks ago I noticed a fruit forming and waited patiently to see if it would mature....

This past week it had turned red and was ready to eat.

 I left it almost too long and it had started to split a little at the top but it was still delicious.