Settling In – Lance & Ruth

Thankfully we have been able to buy some things online.

First, I have to say, it is HOT this month! I’m not one for all caps, but you have to understand the extremity of the situation. It was 106° the other day! (I’m also not one for a bunch of exclamation points but seriously, 106° deserves multiple exclamation points.) Although it was forecasted 107° for about 5 days in a row, I don’t think we ever hit that, so there’s a blessing. With all the humidity, we’re just waiting for the mold to sprout. Apparently April is the hottest month of the year in Thailand because of the tilt of the earth or whatever. However, I am used to snow on the ground in April (seriously, Pennsylvania had snow past April this year) and July is supposed be hot. So, besides the heat, my brain is rather confused.

We are in our home and out of the missionary guest house. That is not to say that we are moved in. Rather, our house looks like a giant tried to make a tossed salad out of all our belongings. Mostly we’ve been able to find things when we need them though, so we’re not getting too stressed out in the existing chaos. We shipped over many of our belongings from the last country. At the time we weren’t sure how many household items to ship but figured by the time we gave them away in our last country and then bought them new here, if and when we could find them, it was cheaper and more sensible to ship them. We are so glad God led us to that decision since nothing besides food and cleaning supplies can be bought here now because of COVID-19. Sadly our storage spaces were unable to fit in a box. There are ways to buy things online, but the learning curve to easily, effectively, and efficiently buying things in a new country is anything but expedient. So, the piles persist while we search for acceptable storage.

Although we have moved out of the missionary guest house, we have been allowed to return twice a week to continue leading music for the missionaries there Thursday evenings and Sunday mornings. Although they aren’t letting any other missionaries not already staying there to come on the premises (to use the pool, visit friends, etc.), since we are coming in a service capacity and had been living there before, they are able to give these reasons to their board and others for allowing us to come. It is great to be able to still see these friends we’ve made and all be encouraged through singing, sharing and prayer.

Easter egg hunt

While most in the developed world didn’t get to gather with others for Easter, we were uniquely and deeply blessed to be able to physically worship with other believers at the guest house. Singing about what God has done for us on the cross and the whole redemption story has always mad me cry at Easter, and this year was no exception. We sang, shared how God has touched us through Easter, sang a few more songs, shared and prayed some more, then ended with a closing song. It was a great Easter service. Even just walking into the room with “He is Risen, Celebrate the Savior” projected on the wall and feeling the hushed reverence of a sanctuary, despite the conference room setting, gave a feeling of joy and wonder that settled deep. It was all the more precious for knowing how unusual it was this year.

Along with worship, the kids were able to have an easter egg hunt in the obstacle course area and an easter basket for each family. A few days before Easter I “just happened” to unpack the box with my plastic easter eggs. Those, along with brown paper bags and some candy I had brought from the States, gave us a way to bless the kids in a way that couldn’t’ve happened otherwise. One family had only been on the field for 6 months before they had to evacuate from India to Thailand, so their kids were definitely used to a US-style celebration of Easter, so it was great to be able to give that to them. We finished the morning with a special lunch sitting altogether at one long table. One of the kids commented, “This reminds me of Thanksgiving!” which was a good way to describe the day spent with family in Christ.

Amanda, our homeschool teacher, hasn’t yet been able to come obviously. Also, the Thai government won’t extend her entry visa so possibly she’ll have to reapply along with all the fees, documents and hassle that goes with that. We were surprised at that since the Thai government has indefinitely extended all the visas of any type for expats already here in Thailand. Hopefully with many things starting to open up in Thailand she’ll be able to come at some point this year. Thailand has plans to open its borders for some countries but not the States yet because of their high number of cases of the virus.

Also, our Thai language classes have not yet started for various random reasons. They were supposed to start the 20th but first we didn’t have internet, then our teacher didn’t have internet, then her electricity went out, then – well, you get the picture. So, we’re hopeful our next class will indeed commence tomorrow. Next week we’re supposed to be able to start meeting in person, so barring the building arbitrarily exploding, I’m assuming we’ll at least be able to start by next week.

We are still so loving the green. (see my P.S. from last month’s post…)

– Ruth, for the Baker family.

Green