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To: Don Woodard Sent: Mon, 01 Jan 2007 Subject: Ouellette Update (c/w photos) |
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"Sawat dii pii may" from the Ouellettes in Thailand!! If you are wondering what that sounds like, it's more like "sawaat dii bee my", and don't forget to make syllables 2 and 5 'low tones', which is just slightly lower than syllables 1, 3 and 4, which, of course, are 'mid tones'! I think it would be very difficult to teach or learn Thai over email! Good thing we live right here in Lopburi and can practice speaking and listening to our vocabulary and tones on a daily basis!
All that to say "Happy New Year!!"
We are having a wonderful holiday season! The break from language school and all of the flurry of Christmas activities has been necessary, timely, and downright refreshing!
Christmas Happenings...
Thank you to those of you who were praying for us amidst the very busy week leading up to Christmas. Between Greg and I we had the privilege of visiting five different public schools. The message of Christmas was proclaimed to hundreds of students and their teachers as well. Many children learned to sing "Away in a Manger". Some of the older students learned "Joy to the World". They were able to watch a Christmas play, play some Christmas games, and make a Christmas card with a snowflake on it (although of course most of them have never seen snow).
Greg had an opportunity to share with all of the staff and students at our language school about some of our family's Christmas traditions. One of the things he chose to share about is the advent wreath and the meaning behind each of the candles. It took some time to prepare for this. Though the content was familiar, translating it into Thai really lengthens the whole procedure! I was amazed how animated he could be in Thai!
We were really encouraged by the turn out for our Christmas Open House! We really didn't know what to expect, but enjoyed visiting with many of our neighbours. We were surprised how many of them brought Thai khanoms (sweets) to add to our Canadian fare - the highlight of which was (alas, NOT my spectacular baking, but) the authentic Canadian smoked salmon!
Add a few Christmas parties, daily language lessons, and being a substitute teacher for our kids and their classmates to an already exciting week and what do you get? Complete exhaustion! It has been so good to take it easy for the past week, and it is great to know we have one more week to rest before we get back into our regular routines.
Many of our family and friends sent gifts to make sure we
had a special Christmas. Wow!! Thank you to many of you for these thoughtful &
special blessings! We will not forget our first Christmas in Thailand!!
Something to Pray About...
We are thankful for the open doors we were able to walk through this Christmas to share the message of Jesus coming to earth! I (Greg) have been reading through the book of John and was struck by the words of Jesus in John 18:37. Jesus tells Pilate that the reason that he was born into the world was to show people what TRUTH really was. Pilate then asks Jesus, "What is truth?" (...there is the ageless question!). Join us in praying for the students we met... that many would be deeply stirred by what they heard and earnestly seek out the the answer to this question ...may they discover Jesus!
Blessings to you and your homes in 2007! (...or 2550, if you live in Thailand)
We appreciate you,
Becky & Greg and the kids
(p.s. UPDATE: In case any of you have heard news from Bangkok over New Year's, we want you to know that everyone on our team is OK!).
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The kids came on one of the school visits! ...along with some of their friends from our team and the missionary community here in Lopburi. |
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Emma helping to make snowflake cards. |
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Our tree... |
