a different style Christmas season

After spending more than a month cumulatively in the country of Thailand, it's still hard to wrap my mind around understanding this culture. We found that it's been an easier adjustment than India but this culture seems more reserved, wanting to please so therefore they mask issues to bring comfort to the farangs (foreigners/westerners) or to avoid confrontation. Emotions seem suppressed in this culture which can cause major problems if they build up. We've been warned that if you see 2 Thais yelling at each other, get away because they have lost it and could do something pretty drastic.

After our short visit to Cambodia, we returned to the progressive, international city of Bangkok to pick up Richmond who joined us for most of December. I'm not sure if Richmond realized what he was getting himself into by joining the Deifell sisters in this unique adventure but he fared well with the idiosyncrasies of our travel system & communication. He said that my personality hasn't changed too much but he did notice a few things: my budget-consciousness has driven many of my decisions which can be limiting (am I really trusting in God's provisions?), my spiritual walk has been nurtured which is expected when being introduced to so many incredible members of this family of faith, and I'm learning how to really be, something I'm not so good at in my WNC world of work, school, etc.

We've been busy traveling all over southern Thailand for the last 3+ weeks but I want to keep this post from developing into a novel so I'll try to focus on some highlights. We have been so blessed by our Bangkok hosts (Amy, Kip, Elise-2, & Selah-3+months Baggett... Amy is the sister to Ruth Ann Somerville) who have allowed us to keep this as a hub for our SE Asia travels... even when they are in the States for Christmas.

Our first stop south was in Lam Thap, a village outside of Krabi where we were hosted by Radt Yaithong, her wonderful family, & short-term missionary, Trevor Lee (from LA). This YWAM ministry reaches many rural Thais through prayer ministry, English lessons, house-church, and relational ministries. We felt the Spirit moving in some incredible ways, especially when praying with some of Radt's neighbors.

After a short trip out to the extreme tourist destination of the Phi Phi Islands with Trevor, we traveled up the coast to Khao Lak to visit with Step Ahead, another YWAM affiliated ministry. Khao Lak survived the hardest hit of the Tsunami 3 years ago, with over 4,000 casualties. This ministry facilitate some effective empowerment projects including English classes, a mushroom project, orchid project, 4 preschools, & possibly a eco-tourism project in the near future. We prayed thanksgiving for this incredible staff (Benz, Bree, etc.) and appreciated our amazing host, Paul McKnight. A big highlight was participating in the Step Ahead Christmas party... helping us with the challenge of getting into the season in the midst of a tropical climate & Buddhist culture.

For my 34 birthday (I still can't believe it!) we checked out the Similan Islands... beautiful, quieter (than Phi Phi) islands although still a tourist trap (especially with expense)... something we're not too keen on. But that experience prepared us to fully appreciate our last Thai beach experience off the coast of the Satun province. We had an amazing time with a family in this SW province. Their ministry is relational involving English classes & After-school, fishing projects, & even constructions projects. They put us to work teaching English classes & even Richmond got conned into teaching during his 'vacation' by leading an art lesson. This family is gifted with humor along side Biblical perspectives and an incredible amount of patience. They brought us out to Koh Bulon Don, an island not touched by tourism that houses a community of 60 families. This is the type of experience we'd been praying for... unique, quiet, authentic, and community.

We spent a couple days (including 1/2 of Christmas day) with Paul McKnight's parents in Hat Yai, Barry & Rowena. They have years & years of experience as missionaries in Thailand, most recently affiliated with World Outreach, so their stories were fascinating. They also have huge hearts and, Rowena especially, nurtured us just as our mother would... an answer to prayer to be able to spend this special celebration with such extraordinary people. Part of the celebration involved a Christmas Fair put on by their church where hundreds of people showed up for games (led by some Kiwi missionaries), performances, food, lantern-lighting, and telling the real reason for this holiday. We found out that most Thai think that Christmas is the western New Year celebration, therefore Richmond & I heard "O Come All Ye Faithful" at the airport this morning (28th) while we were saying our goodbyes.

We give thanks & praise for all these incredible missionaries that God opened the door to. We originally thought our ministry contacts in the south were lacking but it's not about quantity, it's about quality. We're now headed north into Laos and again our ministry contacts seem lacking but we'll see what God does. Keep us in your prayers for this popular travel time of year, meeting the people God wants us to meet, strength & rejuvenation at our 1/2 way mark, and for the 3 moles I just got removed to be checked for skin cancer... a reminder of my heavenly citizenship.