December 2012

I want to share the gift of Love and Hope to all my friends and family across the continents.  
At school we had a Christmas assembly, program and party for the students on Friday, December 21. Later we had a fun, music filled evening holiday celebration, complete with costumes, for the English and Thai teachers. 
Then the next day I was invited to share a service at a small village Christian Mission Church that has been in Sattahip, a naval base for the Thai navy, for 30 years.

The four elders, about my age, were among the founding members. The rustic church set in a rural countryside reminded me of many small Wisconsin country churches from my childhood. Somehow the Christmas story is the same regardless of language, even in Thai, although they did their best to translate some of it in English (for me, the guest).  

 As the children read their part of the story, I found myself teary eyed, filled with past memories of Christmas. The experience of exchanging gifts, happily unwrapping, sharing, singing, and feasting "pot-luck" style remains a highlight of the season and it seemed to be well embraced as three churches gathered together to celebrate the Birthday of the Christ Child.  The expressive singing of traditional Christmas Carols, both in English and Thai reminds one that music is truly Gods gift. 

The Christmas season of joy and happiness fills the air everywhere yet sadness also accompanies the bliss. We often see this in life as we experience deep valleys of depression and the ecstasy of glorious mountain highs.

As a teacher and parent, when the news reached Thailand of the tragedy at the elementary school in the United Stares, I was horrified. I could not imagine the anguish that would accompany an event like that happening in our school.  My deepest sympathy and prayers go to the families of the children.  I want to share this email as it is a reminder of the reason for the season and the light of the world.

Sandy Hook Elementary School

Twas' 11 days before Christmas, around 9:38

When 20 beautiful children stormed through Heaven's gate.

Their smiles were contagious, their laughter filled the air.

They could hardly believe all the beauty they saw there.

They were filled with such joy; they didn't know what to say.

They remembered nothing of what had happened earlier that day.

"Where are we?" asked a little girl, as quiet as a mouse.

"This is heaven" declared a small boy. 

"We're spending Christmas at God's house".

When what to their wondering eyes did appear,

But Jesus, their Savior, the children gathered near.

He looked at them and smiled, and they smiled just the same.

Then He opened His arms and He called them by name.

And in that moment was joy, that only Heaven can bring

Those children all flew into the arms of their King.

And as they lingered in the warmth of His embrace,

One small girl turned and looked at Jesus' face.

And as if He could read all the questions she had

He gently whispered to her, "I'll take care of Mom and Dad."

Then He looked down on Earth, at the world far below

He saw all of the hurt, the sorrow, and woe.

Then He closed His eyes and He outstretched His hand,

"Let My power and presence re-enter this land!

May this country be delivered from the hands of fools

"I'm taking back my nation. I'm taking back my schools! "

Then He and the children stood up without a sound.

 "Come now my children let me show you around. "

Excitement filled the space, some skipped and some ran.

All displaying enthusiasm that only a small child can.

And I heard Him proclaim as He walked out of sight,

"In the midst of this darkness, I AM STILL THE LIGHT."

Me and my walker with a few of the Kindergarten students that I teach

My broken hip bone has healed and I am able to walk with a cane. By the new year I will be almost back to normal.. I am so grateful for the magical healing powers of spirit, mind and body, so I share this prayer:

Ancient Mother of Healing and Life

Restore Balance and Harmony for Healing

Clear blocks and resume Life's powerful flow 

Open us to the gifts of Insight and Understanding

Help us Listen to the Truths Spoken by our Bodies

Heal our Hearts and Minds of Fear, that we may enter True Health. 

May you also enjoy good health and new beginnings in the year ahead. 

Joyous Holidays and Blessings from Thailand

THANKS-GIVING

 It is difficult to believe that this is my third Thanksgiving here in Thailand…

My first Thanksgiving here was spent on a 16 hour bus ride to a small village in Northeast Thailand where I would be teaching High School students.

The next ones were celebrated here in Ban Chang with the Foreign teachers and friends. This one has extra special meaning as I give thanks that I can walk again. I have taken my first steps after fractured femur neck surgery (broken hip). However I still need my walker and help going up and down stairs. Accepting help has left me ever so grateful and I try to remember that we didn’t learn to walk in one day… so “go slow and be patient” is my new mantra.

As my thoughts turn to Thanksgivings past, I reflect on many happy feasts at the house where I grew up, in the small town of Stoughton, Wisconsin. Thursday would start with singing at a special morning Thanksgiving service:

For the beauty of the earth,

For the glory of the skies;

For the love which from our birth,

Over and around us lies;

Lord of all, to Thee we raise

This, our hymn of grateful praise.

For the joy of human love,

Brother, sister, parent, child;

Friends on Earth and friends above,

For all gentle thoughts and mild;

Lord of all, to Thee we raise

This, our hymn of grateful praise.

After church the whole family would gather around the dining room table with the overflow “kids” table in the basement. Often there were more than twenty of us with aunts, uncles and cousins. Then the feasting began and continued until evening while some watched football on TV and others napped between meals. My favourite part was when we each would say what we were thankful for.

Thanksgiving is a holiday that has no meaning here in Thailand but as an American I will always celebrate and appreciate the meaning behind the day. I am especially thankful every year since my daughter was born on Thanksgiving Day. Sometimes I fondly call her my "Turkey” because in 1970 I was giving birth instead of eating turkey dinner.  Happy Birth-Day Carrie. 

So much to be thankful for; my health, the amazing love of family and friends, and the joy I receive from teaching in Thailand. 

I feel truly blessed and FULL of Thanks.” 

May those you love share a bountiful meal and relish many thankful moments.

May you enjoy vibrant health and may your lives overflow with abundance.

Love and Blessings from Thailand 

Femoral Neck Fracture

I think I am currently having both kinds of PAIN! Certainly one that hurts and I am definitely changing ... Long story made short: I slipped and fell outside of school during a heavy rain. I went to the hospital and had x-rays the same day with a “not broken” diagnosis (YEA). So I continued to teach another week in excruciating  pain, believing any day it would feel better.  While in fact it was getting worse ...

 the small bruise was growing, now black from my waist to my knee (unknown to me, I was bleeding internally from the fall). When I went back to the doctor for my follow-up appointment a week after the fall, he did a CT scan and confirmed that the right femoral neck was fractured, separated and displaced because I had continued to walk on it. A fractured femur neck is a fancy way to say "Broken Hip."

 His recommendation, IMMEDIATE surgery. So within a couple of hours I had two excellent orthopedic surgeons placing 3 six inch titanium screws into the broken bone. It was either that or a total hip replacement. Somehow the screws seemed a better option and they could do it with a spinal block. I guess you could say that I have been oficially “screwed” in Thailand! The Thai doctors and nurses were wonderful and I was home in three days. Now comes the long slow healing process. I cannot walk, or put weight on my leg for 6 weeks and maybe longer. Thank goodness for all my years of Yoga and the "tree pose" as I stand on my left leg and hop-hop with my walker. All my Thai friends and the teachers at school have been wonderful, bringing healthy food and welcome conversation.

Carrie was in Vietnam on a family vacation when It happened, but as soon as she got back to Hong Kong, she made plans to come to Thailand to help. I was actually supposed to go there for a visit as we had a two week term break from school.  I was extremely happy to see her and she was an immense help. However I did miss visiting my adorable grandsons but we had our morning coffee with them and a daily Skype call. 

I am so blessed and grateful that the operation went well and very thankful for all the healing love I feel from everyone. 

Namaste from Thailand

Back in Ban Chang

The trip to Hong Kong to see my family was wonderful. (The last time i was in Hong Kong was when we were stranded there during 9/11) I now have more beautiful memories and enjoyed seeing new, different and even more magnificent sights, an especially stunning one tucked away in a peaceful respite of the bustling city was HK Gardens with a misty view of the skyscrapers in the distance.

Back at school it was time for our annual upper class musical. This year it was “HAIRSPRAY” and the students has so much fun learning the songs and ’50-60’s style dancing, circa Dick Clarks American Bandstand. Even the fact that the lights went out on the closing night performance didn’t dampen their amazing spirits.

 In Thailand the schools love competitions, costumes and parades, And of course our school participated and won 2nd place overall out of 23 schools. Here are a few photos from the Kindergarten Sports Day  parade. Hot, hot, and the parade went down the street with cars coming and going on the other side while onlookers hug out of second story windows. Then the competition games began while we melted!

 After that it was time for me to do another REPS School assembly show with the little kids. Since it is the rainy season in Thailand and the students were learning the English names for colors we learned the song, “It’s a Rainbow.” Happily we colored rainbows for headbands, then we sang...

We have had lots of rain but so far, thankfully, no floods like last year.

Behind every rain storm there is a shining rainbow somewhere...enjoy!

Rain, Rainbows, Sunshine and Blessings from Thailand.

Birthday and Mothers Day

As an August Leo I became another year older in the Chinese year of the Dragon, which is also my sign. This year I happily celebrated my auspicious 6th round... a round is calculated as one every 12 years, so that makes me 72! The first celebration was in Hong Kong with daughter Carrie, John and grandsons Aidan and Taylor who turn 8 and 5 in September. Birthday parties are great fun, especially eating the yummy cake with family!

When I returned to teaching school in Thailand we celebrated Mothers Day, which is also the Queen’s Birthday, August 12th. The whole school participated in the all day program with each grade doing some kind of performance number which the parents enjoyed. I am not sure which part is the kids favourite. I wonder if it’s the singing and dancing or the elaborate costumes?

 

 

 Then I enjoyed yet another happy birthday dinner at the beach with my Thai friends on my real birthday. I feel so blessed to have the opportunity to live and work in Thailand where they value teachers and honour the elders.

 As Thailand celebrated and honoured their mothers, I now send my love to all mothers every where, to those who are with us and to those who have departed this life. Mothers truly are Gods gift as they give so much love, kindness, understanding and compassion. Thanks mom for birthing me and sacrificing so much for your family. I was truly blessed to have you for my mother. 
I know you can hear me as I say,   "I Love You."

Ten Thousand Buddhas

Thousands of candles can be lit from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never  decreases by being shared.   Buddha

Another Hong Kong Adventure...   

We were off to sightsee and a not to be missed on the list was the Temple of 10,000 Buddhas. What we did not know was that one could only get to the temples at the top of the hill by climbing the many shallow aged steps. We haphazardly counted them and there were over 400 on the way down which was easier than going uphill. That meant we climbed up and down lots of varied and uneven steps in blistering Hong Kong heat and humidity... YES it was worth it and we stopped for a nice vegetarian lunch at the top. We even tried to count the golden Buddhas but that was impossible as they were every where we looked.

 My favourite young Buddha with a rose bud and then a "posing" beautiful Buddha.
Taylor then tried his hands at posing too!
Almost to the top...

Thank goodness we made it to the top and had fun posing with the multi-armed Goddess. Hugs and Blessings from Thailand

Happy Hong Kong

With a week off the end of July for term break, I flew to Hong Kong to visit my grandsons and daughter as they had moved from Shanghai, China to Hong Kong on July 1st. Carrie met me at the airport and we took the high speed train into the city where they are living in a fantastic high rise that overlooks the HK Harbor. The next day we spent at a “locals” beach and enjoyed the warm sun, cool water and pleasant breezes, a nice contrast to the busy metropolis that the island is!

Then we were off to HK Disney World on the special Disney express subway train. The biggest difference I noticed upon entering the park was that all the people were holding up umbrellas, not for rain, but to keep the rays of the sun away from their skin.

A super special moment was when out of thousands of theme park visitors, Aidan and Taylor were chosen to be Cinderella’s princes on her once a day merry-go-round carousel ride. Talk about a dream date!




The rest of the rides were fun and exciting, especially Space Mountain. Of course “blue cotton candy” was a must for dessert after corn dogs on a stick and lemon aid... just like home! Then after waiting almost an hour, Taylor got an autograph from his favourite Toy Story character "Woody."

Exhausted but exhilarated and thankful to have spent a marvellous day with my family. I am so blessed!