'Jonathan makes an entry' or 'fording the mighty road?'

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Onto Thailand tip #8
This is an incredibly modest country. Even though there’s an invisible cancer of prostitution and sexual immorality, for the most part, it stays invisible. So, how does this affect us as missionaries? If the general Thai populous is modest, then we as missionaries and representatives of Christianity must be even more modest. This is all about the ladies. Girls, no tight shirts. Period. Even if it is just close fitting, loose is best. Shorts must be at least at the knee, calf length is better. After people watching at the local mall and then the Wal-Mart type store, I saw that this ‘extreme’ modesty really is the norm here. Girls wore loose polo-ish shirts and long shorts. Even the stunning ones. I would say one in fifty had on a tight shirt or short skirt. It was amazing. So remember, loose is good, tight is not.

And finally, a full entry from Jonathan. Enjoy!

A day in the life at the Boy’s Home:
These guys are really well trained and very respectful. Most of them wake up around 5:30 am and start certain chores around the house, (and singing. That’s how I know they’re up). They often have group singing and devotions at 6, breakfast at 6:30 and the high schoolers leave for school at 7. Bible school students often lift weights and exercise at 7, eat at 7:30, do chores at 8 and start class at 9.

After a full day at school (arriving home at 5 pm), they eat around 6, do their laundry, homework and have a little fun, but in no particular order. They do their own laundry, by hand in big buckets of cold water. They even bathe in cold water! One night, I wandered up onto a somewhat secluded roof to find out where all the water pouring past our windows was coming from. About six of them were out on this patio running the hose fully open. Two were washing clothes; some were bathing, most wearing speedos, others in boxers. The culture is very modest but this group of guys has lived like brothers for years.
We’ve come home at 9:30 several times to find them in the meeting room working on homework. Many times we’ve joined them to help with their English studies. Things get quiet around 10 and then the whole process starts again the next morning at 5:30.


I’m experiencing some culture shock, having been raised in the desert; I hate to see water running down the sidewalk. But this is a tropical plain, and the water table seems to be 12 feet down! This house has its own well and the nearby Ping River is flooding its banks right now. Speaking of the water levels, please pray for Chiang Mai. They’ve been sandbagging all week. And that leads me nicely to the next section.

Tuesday, Kelley and I rode the scooter into town. (We have rented a Honda 125 for 5 weeks for $75!) What an adventure! We left at 5pm hoping to get back before dark. In a car, with a driver who knows the roads the trip should take about 15 minutes. We took a route we’ve only seen twice because it seemed direct; never mind that we didn’t know it very well. We headed north and jogged left at a Y. As we approached the river we came to some vacant lots and remembered hearing “This is usually a day market crowded with cart and venders.” That day it was under a foot of water and no one was around.
This time the lots were still underwater, but the market had moved to the road! Scooters could still make it through the crowd but I doubt a car could. It was just like all the pictures we’ve seen of a crowded marketplace in Asia. Meat venders had some innovative little spinning machines for keeping the flies off their merchandise. After riding at a pedestrian’s pace for 5 minutes, we left the bazaar and came to the bridge over the Mae Nam Ping. The brown water came up within 3 feet of the bridge! (We are not in any danger at all from this. Breathe easy, Mom. I had to pick the most extreme picture I've taken so far. You understand.)

Apparently the river floods every year, but has gotten worse in recent years. It’s regular and expected, so I don’t know how much it threatens human life, but it sure makes a mess of things and breeds mosquitoes. (The soccer field at the Girls’ Home is a swamp right now.) So we rode North for a while following the river and found we were not the only ones taking pictures of the swollen flow. Thais were also shooting down from bridges. Sandbag teams were still working to keep the streets from flooding. That was desperately needed. Several times, we held our feet up as high as we could and the bike waded through knee deep streets. We didn’t see any cars going through. Only scooters were fording the floods. It made me wonder is the cars knew something I didn’t...

This road put us out on a 6 lane highway with a median and no U-Turns. Of course we were headed the wrong way, and ended up riding all the way around Chiang Mai. At 6pm, we arrived at the night bazaar, finished our business and returned home a different way with a new set of adventures; more flooded, one-way streets not taking us where we wanted to go. I turned down a little soy (alley) hoping to make 3 left turns and come out on the proper one-way highway. However, it turned out to be a dead end driveway guarded by a ferocious poodle. The scooter could barely outrun it as it snapped at Kelley’s sandaled feet! It chased us until an old lady called it off. Finding no other way to get onto the highway we wanted, we jumped up the curb, and rode on the sidewalk until we were at speed and could safely hop down onto the roadway. Thankfully, there was no traffic that night, and traffic laws here seem to be pretty loose. We arrived home after dark, but well before our next appointment.
One more note about their Zoe kids’ chores: they work without being nagged! I wouldn’t understand the words if they were being nagged, but you can usually tell from the tone and context. These kids (I’ve seen it at the Girls’ Home also) clean up after themselves, sweep floors, wipe down tables after every meal... It’s amazing! Carol Hart showed us the chore rotation they have in place which is posted on a wall. Everyone’s job changes every week or two. I’ve never seen a house of any size run so smoothly! I’ve never heard any arguing or complaining. I’m sure much of this is the general Asian respect for others, but I also see great leadership here at Zoe Children’s Homes.

English classes are going very well. I haven’t had any lesson plans bomb yet. The students are very motivated and eager, and that makes teaching a joy! I’m teaching vocabulary through praise tunes in English. Anyway, they already know some of the tunes in Thai.
Please pray that God will continue to bless my efforts learning the Thai language. I had been overwhelmed about learning it when I came, but the Thais have been so helpful and gracious, it’s been easier than I expected. They seem thrilled to see a farang (foreigner from the west) trying and their smiles make the process fun. I am learning vocabulary, but I can’t really put together a sentence yet.