clean up.

Week 20.

Since we returned to Rangsit, we have had lots of work to do, as anticipated.  Each morning, Beth, Bank, Michal Ruth, and I all meet at Grapevine to clean. 

Our activities include (but are not limited to): scrubbing grout with toothbrushes, washing dishes, sweeping, mopping, scrubbing the walls, dragging out old moldy things, buying new things to replace the moldy things, wiping off the moldy things that are not destroyed, discovering wildlife in Grapevine (fish, snakes, baby mice, huge lizards...), scrubbing some more, scraping, painting, washing windows, tracking the mouse/rat (we are undecided) that is STILL living in our kitchen, moving things, organizing things, scrubbing even more things...

But it is all worth it.  Because somewhere in between all of that, we get lunch from our very own yisiphaa baht (literally, 25 baht)-- the best Thai food restaurant in Thailand.

My two favorite shots so far:

clean up.

Surprisingly, it hasn't even occurred to me to be annoyed that we have to clean all of this up.  I am so thankful that all of us come every day with a positive and willing attitude.  We usually play Christmas tunes and laugh and talk while we are working.  Lots of inside jokes are being formed...  It kinda feels like CCF Spring Break to me, only there are a lot less people.  And we all know how I love CCF Spring Break.... :)

after the storm.

Week 19.

So, I finally got to go back to my apartment after almost 8 weeks of being a flood refugee.  There were ups and downs during the flood, but now it is all over and I once again have a job to focus my energies on.  The first part of my job:  clean up.  The second part: planning.  The third:  working hard til the semester is over.  It will be a challenge, for sure, but I am excited to see what God is going to make of it.

What God does best is transformation.  From night to day.  Darkness to light.  Death to life.  Evil to good.  I am waiting to see what he is going to do with us after the storm that has passed.

For now, though, there is lots of damage to clean up.  Here are a couple pics I took on campus.  Bikes and motorbikes left behind are rusted beyond use.  Sandbags, trash and dirt litter the ground in all directions.

after the storm.

And after the storm,
I run and run as the rains come
And I look up, I look up,
on my knees and out of luck,
I look up.

Night has always pushed up day
You must know life to see decay
But I won't rot, I won't rot
Not this mind and not this heart,
I won't rot.

And I took you by the hand
And we stood tall,
And remembered our own land,
What we lived for.

And there will come a time, you'll see, with no more tears.
And love will not break your heart, but dismiss your fears.
Get over your hill and see what you find there,
With grace in your heart and flowers in your hair. Lyrics by Mumford and Sons. 

red light.

Week 18.

Although I have wasted a lot of time as a refugee these past eight weeks, I was prompted a few weeks ago by a friend to do something a little more meaningful with my time.  So, I decided to volunteer at a ministry here in Bangkok called NightLight which reaches out to women working the red light district.  In order to make money, these women dance naked at night clubs and are rented for the night by foreign men.  I suppose you could call it a 'choice' for some of the women-- the ones who believe, or who have been taught to believe, that there is no other option.  But the reality for a great number of women is that they did not choose this vocation, nor do they have the ability to pick up and leave at any time.  They are modern day slaves.  Their time is not their own.  They are bought and sold like any other good or service.

I plan to blog much more about this and about what I have come to know about the modern day global slave trade.

But for my present purposes, I have a photo for you.  I took it on my second night of outreach in the bars.  The bright neon signs are blinding, paradoxically acting as a veil to cover the darkness lurking just behind the doors they are situated above.  Mind-numbing bass beats bump out of every doorway.  It is an environment where darkness is disguised as red light.

red light.

And yes, that is a Christmas tree.

tat' it up.

Week 17.

The best part of being a refugee is the frequency with which it allows me to see my dear friend Dana.  Not only do I get learn more about her ministry in Pattaya and grow in friendship with her, but she also takes me along to do some really cool things.  Like venturing off to a small tattoo shop just off the beach, to pay a special visit to a talented Thai artist named Mark.  Don't worry, Mark speaks English.

I had the privilege of being with Dana and her friend Collyn as they endured a few painful minutes which will now serve as a permanent reminder of who they are in Christ.  On Dana, the Greek word μαθητής (ma-thay-tes), or, 'disciple.'  On Collyn, the traditional Thai script ลูกสาวที่รัก which means 'beloved daughter.'  Both of which turned out awesomely.  And both of which are beautiful identifiers-- a small mark of Truth on each of their bodies.

Inked.

Of course I took the opportunity to take some photos.  I was trying to make it art-- to capture the scene from my own point of view in a way that others can relate to.  My friend Eric Pitts has posted some shots of tattooing which have inspired me, but he is way cooler and way more talented than I am.

shock.

Week 16.

So, last week was similar to the three weeks before that.  I am still a refugee, and do not have a ton of things to keep me occupied.  I wound up walking around Bangkok a few of the days, taking pictures here and there.  Exploring my surroundings and whatnot.  And here is my favorite shot from the week....

shock.  Border effect from fotoflexer.com.

Bam.  And there is a dog pooping in the picture.  I love it.  It feels like art to me.  It's like, if I were a beat box poet who wrote a piece about walking the streets of Bangkok, this photo would be the visual representation of that piece.  There is the obvious stuff, like trash, a stray dog, grafitti... but there is also darkness and light, death and life.  This is less than a ten-minute walk from the largest shopping mall in Southeast Asia.  I would say that "shock" is about right.

sorry.

Week 15.

Sorry.  I guess I didn't do anything photo-worthy this week.  I must admit, I was not surprised as I looked through my pictures that I did not take one shot this whole week.  You should not be surprised either, based on how I spent my time.

Sleeping.

Eating.

Watched the entire 3rd season of Lost.

Read the whole book Blue Like Jazz.

Countless hours of Facebook creeping on every single one of my high school friends.

Yes, I'd say that this week was better left un-documented.  Life can get pretty boring as a refugee at times.  This is what I meant when I blogged about having too much time on my hands.  Let's just pretend that this week didn't happen....

floating.

Week 14.

So, I went to Chiang Mai to see my lawyer, and while I was there, my new friend Melissa took me with her to a Buddhist festival called Loy Khratong, or, "festival of lights."  I have already blogged about this, so I will not go into much detail here.  Basically, there are these awesome floating lanterns-- thousands of them.  Like a Disney movie.  It was beautiful.

Then I went back to Bangkok.  Then a few days later I went to Pattaya to visit Dana and Austin.  We wound up visiting a floating market, which was really just more of a dock with a few little boat vendors tied up here and there, but the majority of the market was permanently built in.  So that was kind of a let-down.  I was envisioning us in our own canoe, weaving around some crazy canal or something.  I guess it was still fun though.  I tried to take a few good pictures, but I guess I am just not very good at this photography thing...  My favorite one was of a fake rooster with the phrase "new year" in Thai written below it.  I liked it because it was totally random, not like a general theme in the decor or anything...

I think it is pretty cool that my week began with floating lanterns, then ended at a floating market.  And so, I will give thanks to the Lord and call this blog photo: "floating."

our honeymoon... only, not.

Week 13.

After the trek, we headed down south to Phuket to visit my friend Enjoy.  She let us stay with her, and she also drove us around in her friend's car all day to give us a private, local-led tour of the island.  We visited a temple, an elephant camp, various beaches, and a lookout point for sunset.  It was a wonderful day, but by the end of it, we were all pretty tired.  We only spent one day in Phuket, then headed to Krabi (grah-bee).

In Krabi, we stayed at a nice hotel with a beautiful balcony view of the ocean, a luxurious pool, and very comfortable beds.  We spent a few days on the main land laying by the beach or the pool, taking walks up and down the vendor-lined road in the evenings.  We also spent one day on an island called Railay just off-shore.  The beach was not as exciting as the trek-- or, at least, not in the same way.  We kept joking that we should have been on a honey moon because there was absolutely nothing to do except soak up the sun on the beach... which was exactly what we were looking for.  It was so relaxing to have no schedule, no rules, no place to be... I took great pleasure in just breathing in and out, noticing the absence of city smog.

As you can imagine, I had a lot more time to take photos than on the trek.  Here are some of my favorites.  I hope that you can smell the salt water, feel the heat of the sun, taste the freshness of the air, and hear the gentle breaking of the waves.....

trekkin' it up.

Week 12.

So, we went on a vacation.  It was the only week that Dana and I were going to have off of work at the same time during our stay in Thailand, so we decided to explore.  First, we set off for the hills in the North near Chiang Mai.  We stayed with a lady there named Lisa who used to be a missionary in Senegal with the Mashburns', and Dana just so happened to have met her while Lisa was on furlough in the states.  They exchanged contact info, and whaddaya know, we had a comfortable, air conditioned, home-y, free place to stay!  That alone was enough of a vacation for us.  :)

But alas, we could not just stay holed up in Lisa's comfy house, we were there to explore!  So we went to a sweet night market (my favorite of any market I've been too!), and we left the next morning for a two-day trek.  Our guide's name was "Jungle Jimmy" who told us that he learned English solely from movies and songs... which was not too unbelievable, given his tendency to laugh after anything he said, as if it were the punchline to some joke we were supposed to know.

The trek was hard.  But super legit.  I absolutely loved stomping around through the jungle, ducking under downed trees, climbing over huge rocks, sliding down muddy slopes, crossing rivers on bamboo bridges-- if there was a bridge at all, all the while clinging to our bamboo staff for dear life, without which we surely would have never made it to the top.  Most of the time you couldn't even make out the trail and there was a continual drizzle, as if we were marching through a cloud.  I was intense, but oh-so-fun!

It was also great fun to experience it with people from all walks of life, from all around the world.  There were three ladies from South Africa (who tooootally had no idea what they were signing up for), two girls and a guy from Ireland, the funniest foreign person I've ever met-- "Crown"--from Korea, a young American couple, a lady from Germany, an artist from Spain, Jungle Jimmy... and me and Dana.  A strange bunch, for sure, but we laughed nearly the whole way.  The greatest comic relief came from Crown, who was asking everyone socially inappropriate questions, and also named himself our "platoon leader." [You would have loved him, Aubrey!]  After spending the night at a hilltribe, we trekked back down, stopping to visit a waterfall, then white-water rafting back to the camp.  I think this trek may be my favorite thing I have done in Thailand so far.

The scenery was BEAUTIFUL.  I felt like I was in a movie.  Unfortunately, though, it was raining most of the time and we were moving so fast that I barely got to take any pictures.  The ones I did take are blurry from moisture and movement.  If the circumstances had been different, this would have been an awesome opportunity to try to enhance my photography skillz.

So, without further ado, my favorite shot from the trek....

entitled: "what trail?"  We had just come from the waterfall where my camera got so moist that the lens didn't open all the way.  I like what it did for the picture, though.  :)

the calm.

Week 11.

I think of the first few weeks of October as the calm before the storm... and by storm I mean flood.  The semester was winding down, students were finishing exams, Cody and Kimmmiey were about to leave, Dana and I were about to go on vacation, and we were all excited to prepare for the next semester.  We knew that there was flooding elsewhere in the country, but we were ignorant of the way that it was about to change everything.

"bird's eye" and "blue Codes"   Taken with my iPhone.

These are familiar scenes to me.  I took the photo of the birds while I was waiting to meet up with Kimmmiey for lunch on campus.  As we walked around later that day, we commented on how the khlongs (canals on campus) were filled higher than we had ever seen them.  I took the photo of Cody on our way back from an evening at the art museum with Jub.  I remember that on the drive, we commented on how the roads, which do flood from time to time, were more flooded than we had driven through before.

We knew there was flooding.... somewhere else.  And as long as it was somewhere else, there was no reason not to be calm.  No reason not to feed the birds or go to the art museum.  No reason to think that soon, both of the places I took these photos would be under feet of water.... that they would still be underwater.

I have no idea what Cody was listening to, but I think that this song would fit the week perfectly.

fishys.

Week 10.

On Thursday evening, my friend Aom invited me to go feed the fish with her, then accompany her to the night market on campus.  I had never fed the fish before (I did not even know there was a pond on campus), I do love night market, and Aom is a lot of fun to hang out with, so I happily agreed.  Around finals time, a lot of students feed the fish as a way to "earn merit" based on the idea of karma.  If they do something nice for the fish, they will do better on their exam.  Or at least, that is they idea anyway.  For Aom, I think she was feeding the fish more out of tradition.

It turned out to be so much fun!  Aom and I sat on the edge of the bridge and threw pieces of bread out onto the water.  At first, there were little fish, then the big fish caught on, then soon there was mass of huge fish bubbling over each other to snag the bread.  I love wildlife, so it was great fun for me.  Normally, the water is much lower than the bridge, but there is some insane flooding in Thailand right now, so it was high enough for our toes to skim the top of the water.  Behind us, the sun was setting gloriously, casting very clean looking orange light over the whole park.

people.

29 bus.

Week 9.

This is the 29 bus.  I can catch it across the street from my apartment building (which is called Hor Sit).  It will take me to Future Park, Mo Chit BTS station, Victory Monument, or anywhere else in between, as long as I press the little buzzer indicating I am ready to get off.  This is one of the many forms of transportation that I take on a daily basis.  This bus is not very crowded, but I am still surrounded by people.  People coming, people going, people with their own lives and opinions and problems and families.  So. Many. People.  And we are all just trying to see.... because that's what we were created to do.

Lately, I have been thinking a lot about the deeper meaning of my actions (my most recent blog post talks about this).  That my life is so short and fleeting..... how do I make any of it count?  How do any of us make any of it count?

Well, for one thing, I think people count for something.  All of these people.  And it matters how I treat them, how I think of them, what my posture is towards them... even on a short bus ride like this.  We are all in this together.  And each of us matters just as equally as the next.

thien beach.

Week 8.  I guess you could say I kept myself busy.  I...

Went to Chinatown with Austin Roberts.  It was kind of a lame.. just like any other market, except harder to navigate (if that is possible).  But it was good to spend the day with a friend, and the boat ride was nice.  And I rode a tuk tuk (a three-wheeled open-air taxi) for the first time.

Got a syphilis test for my visa.  Thai hospitals are much more legit than I imagined.  Don't worry, it came back negative.  ;)

Read the entire book: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.

Thoroughly enjoyed/made a fool of myself at Grapevine's 1st semi-annual Talent Night, in which I performed an interpretive dance to Pocahontas' own  "Colors of the Wind."  Un-rehearsed, mind you.  Unless you count all those times I danced around my living room to this song during college....

Won an Uno tournament at language school.

And got a sunburn.  But, the sunburn was well worth it, because I was with DANA Bruxvoort at the BEACH on an ISLAND!!!!!!!!!  It was a beautiful and much needed time to be filled with joy again. :)

And the photo of the week?  The island, of course.

Thien Beach.  On Koh Lam (Coral Island) off the coast of Pattaya, Thailand.

light.

Week 7.

Chiang Rak.  The road I live on.  At sunset on a (surprisingly) NOT rainy day.  Taken with my iPhone.

I didnt take very many pictures last week.  In fact, the four pictures I took of this sunset on my phone are all I have to document that I actually existed last week.  ....Okay, maybe there are other forms of documentation.  Moral of the story, I was busy.  On Thursday, we had a flashmob on campus to promote a talent night event we have coming up.  I was in the flashmob, so I dont have any pictures.  I was busy finishing up language school until Friday, then Saturday I went to Chinatown with Austin.  Dont get too excited-- Chinatown kinda sucked.  It was just like any other market, but not really as cool.  The coolest part of the day was the boat ride, which I have already done/taken pictures of.

I do like the sunset picture, though.  I love this kind of light.  The blinding, warm kind that makes everything glow.  The clouds look like something Aubrey Balk would paint.  And anything that reminds me of Aubrey is well worth a week's blog post. :)

Some verses on light:
John 1:5  "The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not overcome it."
Genesis 1:3-4  "And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness."
Romans 13:12  "The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light." 

Chiang Mai

Week 6.

This past weekend, I took a trip to the popular city of Chiang Mai in Northern Thailand with my friends.  Chaing Mai is known for its peaceful city beat, beautiful mountains, and cooler weather.  It is a city teeming with culture and beauty.  There is a modern urban population with lively markets, public transport and fancy hotels, but nestled in the mountains, there are also people who still live an older, simpler way of life.  Blanketed by ever-morphing, misty clouds, the mountain communities are quiet and still.  It was hard to believe that I was still in the same country.

It was a great weekend.  We visited some hot springs that spew out water at about 220 degrees Fahrenheit year round.  We stuck our feet into the hottest part of the stream allowed.  It was so relaxing.  We went to a night bazaar/market, which was much more enjoyable than the weekend markets of Bangkok, and we stayed at a nice hotel with air conditioning and a hot shower.  We visited a mountaintop temple and a quiet mountain community with beautiful gardens at the top of the mountain.  We also went to an elephant sanctuary, but it had just closed.  Luckily, there were some elephants who just so happened to be walking down the road (getting off work I suppose...).  And, one of the best parts, we got to ride a sleeper train there and back.  They don't move very quickly, but you can open the windows to let the fresh air in... a much appreciated feature after breathing in the pollution of Bangkok for six weeks.  I read the entire first Harry Potter book on the way there.  :)

the perch.      If I ever own a coffee shop, it will be called The Perch and it will have live chicken mascots.  These guys are my favorite.  This picture makes me laugh every time I see it, so, I decided to choose it as my actual 'picture of the week.'  I love it.  :)

I also decided to make a collage since there were so many awesome pictures from the weekend.  The one of the rice field was taken from the train, 4 were taken at the temple (wat), one from the hot springs, one from the mountain village, and my favorite one I took of the elephant.  :)

beginning of journey.

Week 5.

Since I started language school three weeks ago, I have not spent much time on Thammasat's camups.  Its a shame because I really enjoy the campus.  It is tropical and peaceful and clean.  There are huge lizards that walk all over the place.  The corridors and walkways quietly echo the laughter of students riding by on their cruiser bikes.  College life for Thai students seems to be a bit more slow-paced than for American students (well, Truman students at least).  At most times of the day, it is a relaxing place.

On Tuesday, I took a trip to the campus post office to mail a letter.  As I walked quietly through the campus, I was thinking and praying about humility.  Loving others, serving them, honoring them, becoming nothing before God, letting Him be ALL.  ...whew...  Hard stuff.  The main question on my heart:  "how, God?...  how am I supposed to remain steadfast in righteousness?..." 

Then I walked past a large, open, covered courtyard-type area with painted picnic tables.  There are many of these outdoor seating/eating/gathering areas all over Thammasat.  Every year, each new class of freshman in each faculty (major/school of study) paints over the table of the class that just graduated.  It makes for a very colorful campus. :)  One of the tables caught my eye...

Beginning.  [taken with my iPhone]

 

So, the English is not so good...  but you get the coolness of it, right?  God's answer to my "how" question... "Well, it's a journey.  But dont worry, my grace is sufficient for you."  The painting reminded me of the David Crowder song "How He Loves."  "If his grace is an ocean, we're all sinking..."

God's love is not always gentle.  And the journey of faith is not always smooth-sailing.  Sometimes it is quite tumultuous... like hurricane-tossed waves, crashing onto land, bending trees over backwards.  It is violently beautiful.  But the good news is that the winds are winds of mercy, and the rain that pours down is the rain of grace.

I am reminded of Jesus' words:  "Do not let your hearts be troubled.  Trust in God; trust also in me."  John 14:21

first 4 weeks.

God's plan.

Week 1.  Sitting at a table on Thammasat University's campus, I absentmindedly removed my rings while lost in thought, surveying the tropical campus around me.  I looked down at the ring in my hand and was flooded with thankfulness and astonishment at what I saw there:  Thailand.  It was a moment when I knew that I was exactly where God wanted me... in His hands, following His plan and His purpose.

Victory Monument.

Week 2.  Victory Monument-- a downtown transportation hub in Bangkok.  Surrounding the 'round about there are hundreds of roadside stands.  You can get anything you need here: fresh fruit, fried food of any kind, clothes, shoes, McDonalds, rice, suction-cup toothbrush holders, jewelry, coffee... and most importantly for me, a ride back to Rang Sit where I live.

a helping hand.

Week 3.  As I walked from one language school to the next on a bright [read: hot] afternoon, I just couldn't resist taking this picture.  At first I walked by them, then turned around and came back.  There was a man standing at the bottom of the stairs who looked at me like I was crazy.... but I didnt care because its not like I will ever see him again.  What I like most about this picture is the situation.  I took this picture in a very wealthy section of town, right outside the some of the fanciest, biggest malls in the world.  This woman and her children (you can tell by the clothes) are definitely from the lower class.  When I look at this picture, I wonder what their stories are... how they live, what the children's lives will be like....

feedin time.

Week 4.  If you know me, you know how I love animals.  And communicating with them.  :)  These guys were great.  They made me smile.  At least, until I walked a little further down the street and saw a dead body lying in between some railroad tracks.  There were police all around. People yelling, pointing, taking pictures...  I was just walking along, taking pictures of pigeons.  And a man died.  Sh*t just got real... real, real.  The rest of my walk back to the van at Victory Monument was filled with prayers for the city of Bangkok.  There is darkness all around...

dedication.

This blog was created for and dedicated to my two lovely friends, Aubrey Balk and Meegan Hand.  Life is an adventure and we have decided to document that adventure together via photography.  So, each week, I will be posting at least one photo with a short description.  Meegan and Aubrey are also supposed to be taking at least one picture a week as well.  I am no good at photography, but it is an artform I have always admired.  My camera: a Panasonic Lumix TZ4.  I will try to select photos for the blog that I think capture my perspective.  I will also try my hand at photo-editing, which I know nothing about.  Ideas and advice are welcomed. :)  Enjoy!