Update!

Mackenzie, Emma and I ride the school's van to school. I love it because I spend the time talking and playing with the kids and also trying to read Thai signs. Here are some pictures from the most recent van ride:

He is such a sweetie!

He decided to take a picture

With his mom!

This girl is so loveable! On our first day Mackenzie and I met her she came over and gave us both a biiig hug. She is very friendly.

With her mom! I love this picture. I was able to take pictures of some of the kids with their moms when we dropped them off after school. I think this one really shows her personality!

This woman had a dog and a cat in her basket on her bike. Mackenzie and I were amazed. I wish I could've gotten a better picture of her.

These are just a few of the kids. There are 30 students total. There is so much about them I want to tell you, but I'm also struggling with what I should not say in order to protect them and their identities (also the reason I didn't tell you their names--rest assured, they have names and I do know them, but most importantly so does God.)

We have been so busy these past few days. Mackenzie and I have gotten to work on lots of projects. The most recent/time consuming has been cataloguing the library.

It is such a blessing for these kids to have a library. There is a lady who has overtaken the library renovation project. She's really taken it upon herself to get books donated and has raised the funds needed in order to get new windows in and repainting the walls, etc. She was telling me about how it is really difficult to find Thai children's books, because reading is not really encouraged in Thailand. It is seen as a selfish thing, because when you read, it is an individualistic thing, so you are by yourself rather than in a community of people. As a result, many people in Thailand never learn to read. They know what road signs are, but it is not a pursuit. So there really aren't very many Thai children's books, and to buy them right out from a bookstore, they are very expensive. The librarian told me a book could cost the equivalent of a days wages. There aren't really libraries (as far as I know) except for at schools. SO--our English book collection outways our Thai book collection, but it is okay. It is a decent collection. And we *have* books for the kids to read! It is great. They are looking into another cataloguing system--the one we are using now is rather inefficient. There are some volunteers who are in the area who might take on that task sometime soon.

On another note, Mackenzie, Emma and I decided to go for a walk the other day near our neighborhood. We found lots of food resteraunts and vendors!
(DAD--tell Tanner he would be fine in Thailand, chicken *cough*rat*cough* on a stick is a common thing.)

Bananas taste so much better here.

Some commmon sights:

er....poinsettas (Mom and Dad, will you tell Grandma K.?)

errrrrr......water buffalo?

plants grow even out of rocks here. Everything wants to grow.

Roosters! They just sort of...run around here.

Also! Here's a fun story. The nice couple who invited me to go up the mountain. When we got back from our walk, we were passing by their house and they were home! We got to chatting and they invited us in for dinner :) NOW we'll be having dinner with them every Wednesday. Also, this weekend, we're going to go with them to Lampang, which is south of Chiang Mai about an hour and a half. It'll be a fun adventure! We're going to meet her whole amily. That's what we could gather anyway :). I am grateful for their hospitality and our new friendship. Please pray for us that we would have an opportunity to share the gospel with them, and pray for them to understand us and for God to do the rest. I don't know what they believe, I am guessing they are Buddhist.

Okay, I think that's all for today. God Bless you all! Pray for our neighbors, the school kids and also for one of our teachers (Brittany) she is sick!

THAILAND

Oh what a whirlwind of the past two days!

The weather is beautiful here. A little cold, actually, in the mornings--not what we were expecting at all. We are going to go buy jackets!! Soon though it'll be too hot to handle.

I am loving every minute. Yesterday we made a logo (which I'll tell you more about later) AND I took pictures. There are some Canadians who are in the area for 60 days, and they have been VERY helpful so far. Yesterday they addedd sod to our playground.

All in one day! It was amazing. We got to help them a bit toward the end. They are really very nice men, I am glad to have met them.

Mackenzie and I have also been working on helping to organize the library. This year the library grew by maybe about 75%? So there is a lot to be done.

The Canadians (Tony and Henry) as well as two others who joined them today are building us new shelves that will be under the windows, around the whole room. It is going to be very nice. We are also going to be painting the library soon--any ideas? We're thinking: bright colors.

Gotta go! Please pray for the students and the school. The students are so fun and lovable. I have stories I want to share soon. Also, on a personal note, my left ankle hurts :( and has hurt for awhile. Please pray for it.

Gotta go, I want to elaborate, but the van is about to leave!
GOD BLESS!
Amber

Pass it On fundraising campaign

The first day at school!

We got right to work, Mackenzie and I helped make a logo for their new fundraising campaign. You can read about it here: Pass it on Campaign and see the logo we made! We really tag teamed it, it was a lot of fun.

Here were our logo ideas, and the finished product:

I would also ask you to prayerfully consider being a part of the Pass it On campaign. They have been struggling financially and are praying for a broader range of supporters. Your contribution will really go a long ways. This school is on the right track, I am very impressed with everything so far. I will tell more about the school when I have some more time, but they are strong Christians dedicated to helping these kids and sharing the love of Christ! You can read more about them on their website--especially watch the videos, they are great (the one on the Pass-it-on campaign page is super).

We have a lot of the agenda for tomorrow, including a brochure and beginning the textbook project. Will keep you updated!

Here is a picture of all of the teachers and Mackenzie and I:

the 4th day!

Today has been very exciting.

I..woke up at 5:30 am (because I went to bed at 9pm) but it was really very nice, I had some time to myself to worship God. Once it was light out (around 7), I went for a run. There is this house I ran by yesterday where the woman was eager to speak English, and today when I was passing by I stopped. She suggested to me that I come over once a week and practice Thai, and she can practice English! This is great, exactly what I had been hoping God would provide. I am excited, I can't wait. We'll meet (I think) on Wednesday night. She invited Mackenzie and I to go up the mountains with her and her husband (who is a police man..I feel like I need to specify that this is safe ;)!! I immediately agreed, (I always jump too quickly) -- but tomorrow is the first day at the school, SO I wrote a letter to her telling her that we would love to join her NEXT time. Going to the mountains is pulling me. Just waiting for the right opportunity. Here is my funny letter:

It took me about 1 1/2 hours. It probably doesn't translate well, but, I did it all by myself!!

Mackenzie and I took a long walk today around our neighborhood. Met some neighbors.It was fun.

This is our new neighbor. She just kept talking and talking and talking, we had no idea what she was saying. Ha.

Bamboo trees!! Couldn't believe this!

We ALSO ventured out into the great unknown by ourselves, took a song-teow down to the coffee shop we were at the other day for internet.

Having dinner with Joel and Marvel tonight, school starts tomorrow. Will send prayer requests soon when we have specifics, please still pray for us!

-Amber

Sa-wat-di-kaa!!

Hello, from Thailand :)

We have arrived safely and are pretty much over our jetlag. A large part of that is because we slept like babies on the long plane. The only reason we could is because somehow our tickets were upgraded to prestige class, which means our seats laid all the way down. (THANK YOU GOD.)

I have to type quickly, my battery is going to die soon--we don't have internet at our house yet, just FYI.

The flight was great. We made a friend named Pat, and we all had 12 hour layovers in Korea, so we all went into Seoul and had some real Korean food--it was fun, and COLD (it's their winter, we weren't prepared...at all) but had a good time. we had to lug our carry-ons along with us--but it was worth it. Pat is a genuine good guy. He has some great dreams, I hope they come true. He is not a Christian, please pray for him.

Pat!

In the market

Korean Barbaque!

We went to a palace. Kenzie seems happy right? In reality, shes just really cold ;) (but happy).

At the palace

The guards! (watch it!)

We arrived at our house at about 11 pm friday night, our house is marvelous. It is way more than I expected. It's large, we all have our own room, air-con, kitchen, living room--it is really great. I feel spoiled.

Kenzie's room

Uhhh--for those of you who were at that prayer meeting in Seward, can I just say, WHOAH? This was hanging in Mackenzie's room when we got there.

Our roomate is wonderful! Her name is Emma. She is from England, and has a cool accent. We all went grocery shopping yesterday, and cooked our first meal together (spaghetti).

I'm sorry, I want to elaborate, but I'm running out of time!

We go to the school on TUESDAY> I can't wait. Hoping to meet Bob--the guy in charge of the documentary.

Pray for us.

Just one word about the past 3 weeks:

GRATITUDE.

I'm leaving (on a jet plane [really])

Flying out today. Next update: from Thailand!

What a weekend! God is so good. Thank you EVERYONE for your prayers, I am so blessed to have so many communities of people praying for me (Emmaus, Chrysalis, Manna, Bread of Life, friends, family...). Time inevitably continues, I just finished packing 10 minutes ago (and for the next 2 hours..uh, what did I forget? ;) ) and will be leaving for Omaha shortly, whether or not I have all the loose ends tied up (I am close.) So in the frenzy of leaving and going someplace new, and no providential time to *stop* and *pray* I am feeling His presence with me in all things. Prayer is so powerful, and with such a full weekend of it, I know beyond a doubt that Mackenzie and I are protected. I feel like God has His arm wrapped through mine. Looking forward to walk in obedience to God, want to share Jesus and be a blessing.

So, this is quick, I've gotta run. Please, continue your prayers. They are being felt.

Love, Amber