gideon's new haircut

it was actually suhee who wanted me to give him a mohawk.

noodle house

this will be my last blog about thailand. in a rural part of chonburi province stands a well-known noodle restaurant. a chinese couple has been running this restaurant for over 50 years. all the ingredients are fresh & local. it was really good & really cheap & the place had so much character.

muay thai

as part of my cultural & anthropological studies of thailand, i got ringside seats to a night of muay thai. muay thai is the national sport of thailand. after the championship fight, we got to take pics w/the champ. there was so much energy (& gambling) in the building as people passionately cheered for their fighters.

more on thailand (the food)

after being away from the internet for so long, i'm going through a blogging-binge. in thailand we were surrounded by many varieties of fresh tropical fruit. i learned that mangosteen is my favorite fruit. the hut is a typical outdoor coffee stand in the countryside, where 5 large ice-coffees are under $2. the pic of the flying waiter on rollerblades was taken at the world's largest restaurant. those monkeys are known to hang out beside the road by a small mountain in ratchaburi province. unfortunately i didn't get to try/taste monkey.

thailand experience

in thailand we worked with missionary/pastor paul kim (paulmkim.com). paul's parents have been faithfully serving as missionaries in thailand for over 30 years. they have been leading chonburi mission center for many years. chonburi mission center includes a church, a seminary & an orphanage. here is a pic of some of the orphans having a water fight. the last pic is w/pastor jaroen & his wife. pastor jaroen is a great leader of the karen people. the karen (pronounced currinn) are a people group that came from burma/myanmar into thailand as refugees. they were literally being killed off by the burmese. (actually the karen people were featured in the movie rambo IV.) pastor jaroen has planted many churches in many karen villages.

chicago road trip

after returning from thailand, i went on a road trip to chicago w/our nj guy's small group. we left on thursday night; drove there in 12.5 hours; arrived friday morning; ate at jim's original polish sausage for breakfast; ate at gino's east pizzeria; walked around the city (millenium park, michigan ave, navy pier); went up to the john hancock building lounge; ate kampung-chicken at great seas; then drove home the next day. it was an awesome trip. as expected the highlight of the trip was the time we spent driving.

elementary school teacher

i recently returned from a two-week mission trip in thailand. i worked as an elementary school teacher at bahnsohm elementary school in chonburi province. the public school canceled all their classes for a few days so that our team could teach english.

george verwer's sister, barbara

last night our church hosted a yearly multicultural-ecumenical worship service. during the refreshments afterward, i met george verwer's sister (barbara). george verwer is the founder of a mission organization, "operation mobilization". when i was in high school, i used to listen to his sermons on audio cassette.