“My life is more precious for being less certain, and richer for being poorer”
Poldark
Hello dear friends, the happenings of my last update seem like a life time ago! All the new things we were experiencing and figuring out, are now the most normal, everyday things to me. I officially have my Thai driver’s license, my house is a home, and the city of Chiang Mai is becoming more and more familiar to me.
As I was looking over the pictures from the past few months! Wow so much has happened, so I will hit the highlights and hope to do better with these updates in the future.
SongKran! Best week ever? The nationwide water fight of Thailand, and we truly lived it out to the fullest, spent 2 days in Chiang Mai going around on the back of the truck battling everyone we came upon, and spent a day at the children’s home and had a beautiful, crazy, water filled day with the kids there!
Towards the end of May – beginning of June, I again journeyed to Laos for the purpose of Visa things, and was able to get my Thai Ed visa! So now I don’t have to worry about that for about 3-6 more months 🙂 I spent 6 days in Vientiane and 1 beautiful day in Luang Prabang. I have yet to have a heart of love for Laos I fear. Maybe I need to visit for the joy of it rather than being forced there in hopes of obtaining the next visa, I spent most of my days going from cafe to cafe, in the rather loud, filthy little city of Vientiane, studying and reading for hours. Then taking a train to Luang Prabang, spending one week there before flying out the next morning, and what a difference, it is a beautiful little french inspired town nestled in-between a little “hairpin curve” of a river, it was quiet, notably clean and such kind people. I will choose to see the week as a little blessing from God, of forced rest!
Birthday celebrations for Emily, Nolan and Jan Jaaw!
snippets of this beautiful place!
Look at God
In my last update, I talked about language school and my love for it, and I am happy to say that I still hold those same feelings, as much as one not gifted in learning languages, loves such things!
This month we have started learning to read and write. I could go on for hours about that, I fear. Thai is not read from left to right, but vowels will be placed willy-nilly throughout the word, sometimes the vowel appears before the first consonant, even though the sound comes after the consonant, or it will be above it, below it, or after it. Then there are special letters that can sometimes be a vowel with one sound or a consonant with a completely different sound but written the exact same way. If you didn’t understand any of what I wrote above, its okay, because same.
But I will say that I am living in answered prayers in this area. I was not at all looking forward to the process of learning Thai, and so I prayed many anxiety-induced prayers that God would simply give me the gift of tongues in the form of Thai! Yet learning it has been much easier than I thought, and I have been picking it up with far more ease than I could by my own strength. The miracle of it all is big enough that even a Thai friend noticed that it seems I am further along in learning than she thinks I “should” be.
Only God.
I love the way God continually reminds me that I am where I am supposed to be, often through tiny little details.
When I led the outreach team to Thailand at the beginning of this year, I was in contact with a little lady from YWAM Chiang Mai. After not seeing her for several months, I ran into her at church. As we were catching up, she kept looking at me and finally said, “Jolene, you are absolutely glowing. I think you have found your place.” ❤
Before coming to Thailand, my beloved customer-turned-friend Summer painted me a beautiful Bible. On the cover she painted lilies and wrote a beautiful note about their meaning and my journey to Thailand. Then, just a few weeks after moving here, I was given my Thai name: “Lin-Lee,” which means lily.
How beautiful is that? Just another reminder that God cares about even the tiniest details.
I have settled into a church here in Chiang Mai, a small church that reminds me of home and has answered all my prayers as to what I was looking for in a church! My first Sunday there I was so very welcomed by everyone there, afterwards I went out to lunch with a group of 9, representing 8 difference countries.
Prayer Requests
- Continued safety with all these crazy drivers and roads out here – just in the past 2 weeks, our team has had 2 accidents, one on a motorbike and one in a vehicle, thankfully everyone walked away with minor wounds, but it is wild out there 🙂
- Language Learning – continued God powered learning skills? My dyslexia is making it’s self known as we are moving into reading and writing, I feel like I am 6 years old again, trying to figure out d and b. Thankfully no tears yet!
- As we prepare to move to Mae Khachan in the next couple months, there are many details to yet be figured out, including housing for everyone, finding our roles at New Vision and creating relationships there, pray that God would go before us and prepare the way and give us favor in the eyes of the staff and leadership already established at the Children’s home!
okay! love you byeee!
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If you are interested in bringing a group on a short term mission trip to the children’s home, or have any interest in doing a 6 month internship with us, you can reach out to me personally or reach out via email.
oneyesatatime 
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