Amazingly Well

…in case you were wondering.

We are unbelievably amazed at how well Lance’s Chiang Mai, Thailand trip went! Seriously, it couldn’t have gone better. When was the last time we had a blog post like that?! The goals in going were to interview and choose a language school for us, start processing our visas through the school, find a language school for Amanda with a light class schedule that still provides a visa, get her visa application started, visit multiple churches to make connections and see what assistance they could offer, view rental housing with the hopes of at least seeing what was viable if not choosing one, and check out housing options for Amanda. All of that was accomplished and more – it’s amazing what can be done in one week on the right side of the world compared to months of work from the other side. By God’s grace, Lance didn’t spend a week doing a lot but unable to get anything done.

​After the first 24 hours of being over there, Lance told me that even if he had only had that one day it was worth it to come over. He had multiple meetings with a few of our friends and learned so much about the tenor of the different sections of town, the more affordable areas to live, where the schools were in relation to those areas, which schools/churches functioned in which ways, and a thousand other intangibles that aren’t discovered through an email or webpage. 

So many things were solved in conjunction with or because of other things that I’m going to have a hard time relating everything as it happened without being excessively wordy – so I’ll skip that (your welcome) and jump to the results. After multiple recommendations that led to multiple interviews, Lance found a language school that we’re rather excited about and started the visa application for us through them. He found another school for Amanda that requires a surprisingly small amount of class time/week and started her visa paperwork. He connected with a pastor at one of the churches he visited who offered to assist us in finding a roommate for Amanda. The owner of a realty company that was recommended to us cleared his schedule to show Lance places when he heard our story and Lance’s hope of finding a place to rent before the end of the week. That was such a blessing because from that Lance was indeed able to rent us a place that we don’t need to start payments on until we actually get there in March. From the pictures he sent it looks perfect, including an extra room on the ground floor for homeschooling. You might think it would be rather stressful for a wife to have her husband rent a place sight-unseen by said wife, but I was surprisingly unconcerned (for the most part) and from what I can tell he did a marvelous job. Apparently, necessity is also the mother of trust, not just invention – that and knowing someone for 22 years. The realty company was created specifically to help expats who don’t know Thai or the legalities of renting in Thailand, and consequently was a huge asset for us. Not only do they help you and the landlord (who often also doesn’t know the legalities of renting in Thailand) solve everything that needs done, they continue to be a liaison for the renter in regards to helping them pay bills, navigating any repairs that need done, and multiple other things that require the use of Thai before we know it. 

While in Thailand, Lance stayed with a family that we were blessed to meet and encourage while living in our last host country. Jenny use to live in the city we lived in and we walked with her while she was going through a hard time. Jack and Jonathan are her boys and Lance looks forward to being involved with them since they now live in Chiang Mai. 

Our plan is to leave mid-March and we’re hoping to book tickets as soon as we have definite word about the status of our visas from the Thai government. Pray for us as we prepare to go and as we sort out all the slew of details associated. Pray also for us, especially our kids, as we say good-bye and transition to Asia again. Simultaneously sad and exciting. 

As always,
– Ruth, for the Baker family.