Thanksgivingggg

Well thanksgiving has come and gone here in thailand, and if you weren’t watching verrry carefully for it, you probably missed it.  when i woke up thursday, there was no macy’s parade, no smell of a turkey roasting in the oven, and no football conversation at all.  in fact, i got up at six, hopped on the bus, then the skytrain, and went to school just like i do everyday.  (i did however trace my hand on the dry-erase board to make a turkey, and encouraged my teacher to do the same).  needless to say, my thanksgiving was a very different experience this year.  but that is OKAY!  we talked at my training this summer about certain things we would be giving up to go overseas, and this was one of them.  while i missed spending time with my family,  knowing that im where the Lord wants me definitely makes it worth it.

With that being said, i did get to enjoy a really sweet buffet at a restaurant called “Bourbon St.” which was run by farangs.  Basically, they had every meat known to man, and it was all you could eat.  Roasted Turkey, deep fried turkey, prime rib, pork ribs, fried shrimp, etc…  it was ridiculously delicious and ridiculously filling.  the only bad part was no leftovers!

As Christmas approaches, i ask that you pray for this nation.  99% of people have no idea what the true meaning is, and i hope that in our relationships here we’ll be able to use this time of the year as a gateway to sharing the gospel.

In the spirit of thanksgiving, i just wanted to say how thankful i am for all of you back home who read this blog, pray for me, and/or support me financially.  You are such a blessing, and i could not be here without you.  Thank you allowing me to be here, serving our heavenly Father.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Nate

Daily Life

Well now that im finally getting in the groove of “work” here, let me give you guys a little breakdown of a day/week in Bangkok for me.  (also im planning a video that will give you a visual of my commute every day, but it may be awhile..)

My day starts at 6:00 am. which is early. just so you know.  After a freezing cold shower (we don’t have hotwater, and for 9 months out of the year we don’t need it), i try to choke down some coffee and spend some time in prayer before heading off to school.  I usually get out of the house at about 7.15 and walk a little ways to the bus stop where i hop on bus 29 and spend 12 baht for a 30 minute ride to the BTS station (the skytrain).  After another 30 minutes or so i get off at the Nana stop where my language school is located.  During my commute alone, i see thousands every day, who have not heard the gospel of Jesus Christ.  Please pray for these people, the passengers, the bus drivers, the lady who collects my 12 baht, etc…

When i arrive at school i greet the headmaster with a wai and a Sawatdii Khrap, and after dropping off my bags go to a little coffee shop next door.  The lady in the coffee shop (like any good barista) knows me by name and by drink.  Pray for her as well.

After 3 hours of learning to phuut PhassaThay with Khruu Bongkut, I head back to the BTS.  On the way back though, the different stalls have been set up with people selling all kinds of things from touristy t-shirts to fake watches to prescription medication.  Pray for these people, their world is dark and they need to hear the gospel.

On Mondays and Tuesdays after school, i have been going out to a church near another university in a section of town called Khlong Luang.  There are about 10-15 students we meet with, most of which are believers and some of which are not.  The believers in the group have really taken ownership, and although we come to provide assistance, they really  are doing a better job than we farangs ever could at encouraging the non-believers to join in.  Pray for these non-believers that they would see the glory of the Lord on display in their friends lives as well as ours.  Also pray specifically that more guys would be raised up to join this group.  As of right now, there is only one guy (Bond) in the group that comes regularly.  He is a new believer but is growing weekly by leaps and bounds and asks extremely insightful questions.  Pray that the Lord would continue to grow him and fashion him into a leader.

On Thursdays, I meet with Ronnie and Lonnie (two team members) for accountability and a Bible study. Pray that this will be a great time of encouragement for all of us, and really help to grow us all spiritually.

On the other nights of the week, im hanging out with students from Covenant Church and students at Kasetsart University which is right across the street from my neighborhood.  These students have quickly become some very good friends, and its exciting to see how God will use these relationships over the next couple of years to grow these students as well as myself.

Well besides church on Sunday mornings and badminton every Sunday night, thats pretty much how my days and weeks look.  please, if you have the time, pick out one of these prayer requests and begin praying for them as well as me daily.  Hope everyone has a happy thanksgiving!  i will be enjoying an enormous buffet with a teammate complete with a deep-fried turkey, so don’t worry about me!

Love,

Natee

whats up america?!

so i’ve been in bangkok now for over a month and this are starting to pick up like crazy.  starting with SPORTS WEEKEND.  over the last couple of weekends Covenant Church (one of our partners here in BKK) has been holding these olympic style games (last weekend ping pong, this weekend bowling, next weekend badminton, and after that i think basketball).  most of the farangs (foreigners..strangely enough it also means guava. weird) are all on the yellow team, which led to our demise in ping pong and most assuredly badminton next week.  can’t wait for basketball!

Starting tomorrow, i will be introduced to another partner church at Klong Luang.  Our team has been working with these students, training them in discipleship, and tomorrow will be the first time to be together in over a month.  i’m excited to meet new students and start getting to know some of the people i’ll be working with these next two years!

School is still going full speed ahead, and just like the bus in the keanu reeves/sandra bullock movie, is showing no signs of slowing down.  my brain is continually being stretched into shapes i didn’t know existed (as is my mouth) and although it hasn’t been too difficult so far, i also know that pretty soon we won’t just be ordering imaginary food in class anymore, but actually saying sentances. (GASP!)  but this is exactly what i have to learn to do if i want to share the gospel with the thais… so bring it on!

please pray for me this week as the workload increases, im earning my support now! thank you so much for all the support you have and will continue to provide, i wouldn’t be here without you.

love,nate

Adjustment(s)

Well its hard to break down every day and tell you everything thats been going on here. A whole lot, and a whole lot of nothing at the same time. I’ve started language school (its a BEAST) and got pretty sick last week for a couple days. (whether or not these two things are linked remains to be seen) ANYWAYSSS here are a list of things that i am beginning to adjust to, and things that i am still having a difficult time with. ENJOY!

I am adjusting to the fact that for the next two years i will not be able to be the most talkative person in the room (this is a GOOD thing). I am adjusting to public transportation (Buses, Taxis, Motosais, Oh My!).  i am adjusting to sundays without football (Muay Thai is just as enjoyable if not more).  I am adjusting to all the stares on the street (seriously everywhere i go…its like they’ve never seen a white person before).  i am adjusting to the fact that people are always around our house (in fact im thriving!)

Things im still having a hard time getting a handle on:  The fact that Thais put ketchup on their pizza. (SAY WHAT??!)  Mattresses over here are hard as a rock for real, every morning is a backache.  The rules to card games over here are extremely bizarre (weirder than albania).

Thats about it, so far by the grace of God, i haven’t gotten extremely homesick, or had any major incidents (other than losing a debit card; add that to the still needing to adjust list..atms are crazy!).  PLease pray for me as these next few weeks the business really gets cranked up. i miss you guys! stay sweet.

love,Nate

busy busy busy

Here in Bangkok, things have really been picking up.  For the first couple weeks i didn’t have much to do, which was a good thing, because i needed some adjustment time, but starting very soon things are going to be going full swing.

For starters our team spent the last 2 days with our Regional Director, Rich Jackson, and worked on our strategic plan for 2010.  It was a lonnnnng couple of days, but it was very exciting to see the way He is moving in the hearts of my team members, and in many of the Thai leaders around the city.  The team (excluding me and the Wills’ who just arrived) will be headed to Perimeter church in Atlanta for 10 days to hear about discipleship strategies and continue developing partnerships that will aid us heading into the next year.

In addition to these meetings, i am getting ready for language school which will begin Tuesday, November 3rd.  I am so excited to begin learning how i can communicate with the Thais!  The lack of communication has definitely been the most difficult thing about being here.  Ya’ll know how much i like to talk! haha.

Please be in prayer for the team headed to Atlanta, that this time will be frutiful.  Also please be praying for the Wills who are trying to find a house to live in (they are cramped into a small apartment!)  they have found a great house, but are currently in negotiations with the landlord.  Please pray that He will bless their patience, and will make this place affordable for their family.

For me, please pray that i will continue to build relationships here, i have met some good friends, and am looking forward to Kasetsart University’s classes starting back up in a week.  This will bring many more opportunities for relationships and conversation!

Thank you all for your prayers, continue checking my website http://web.me.com/nateinthailand for pictures and video updates.  Also my monthly newsletter will be out in a few days!

Nate

Let the sanuk begin

the last couple days have been much more fun thanks to the return of one of my roommates, Dang. Yesterday he and i along with a girl named Bun (which means apple) went to one of Bangkok’s many malls to enjoy some air conditioning among other things.  We ended up seeing a Thai movie while we were there.  It was a movie called “Love on the Skytrain” or something, and was actually really funny despite being insanely long.  like.. Lord of the Rings long.  crazy.  after the movie i took them to a japanese restaurant called “Fuji” because it was Dang’s 23rd birthday.  Thai’s don’t do much for birthdays, so it was cool to see him enjoy some really good sushi.

One thing that you can really be praying for me for is energy.  I don’t know if its still me trying to get over the effects of jet-lag or just the intense sun, but my energy is sapped anytime i go out during the day.  Pray that i will get used to whatever it is that is making me so tired.

Language school will be starting in a couple of weeks, which will be nice because right now my entire vocabulary consists of about 10-15 words that i still can’t really tell if im even saying correctly.

Thanks for your prayers, i miss you guys, but i’m loving my new home. let me know if you have any questions about whats going on here!

Nateee