Night Life in Chiang Mai

When you want to visit the prostitutes, you have to be ready to expect a long night! I was invited to join my Thai friend for a "night out" while in Chiang Mai. My friend works with a ministry team who targets the "women of the night". I considered it a great privilage to join her on one of those nights.

This "night rider" was my ticket into the brothels and pubs downtown. An earlier conversation with her lead to an invitation for me to join her that night. She lost her ministry partner a few months ago and hadn't been able to head into the district by herself. She was thrilled to have someone eager to accompany her. We met for prayer and then zoomed off in the dark on her motercycle! What a great opportunity. I learned a lot as I observed her in action. She is one brave young lady!

Soooooo.....what do you do once you get to the pubs? Well, you order an orange soda and play whatever board games they have available.

I was there to learn so I took my directions from my friend. She has been working for months to gain the girls trust. We went in easy, relaxed and low key. We engage in conversations and spent alot of time listening and laughing with the girls. This seemd to please the bar owner. (It's very important to keep the bar owner happy!) Her girls were enjoying themselves with us, which caused additional people passing by to be curious and stop in to see what was happening.

My Thai friend has an amazing way about her, she simply pours out compassion and tenderness to these women. Most of the bar girls are happy to have someone to talk to, someone who will listen to their story. The young lady (on the right) left her village two months ago to try and earn money. Her younger sister just arrived three weeks ago for the same reason. They have only been at this work a short time and yet their eyes tell you it has been an eternity.

The goal is to reach these girls with the Good News before they are swollowed up in the darkness of prostitution and drugs. Many young girls like this are out on the streets all night by themselves which makes them easy prey. This girl can't be much more than 11 or 12 years old.

These darling little faces are just a few of the hundreds who run the streets all night long. Many children of the young girls and women who work in the brothels or pubs have no were to go while their mothers are "working". My Thai friend and I had fun visiting with some of the street children that night. They seemed to enjoy the extra attention!


Of course the little ones are always begging for money, but my friend wisely takes them around the corner market instead. They can pick out two treats, something to eat and drink. Then we give them a little money to pay the cashier. This makes them feel very important, it also helps keep peace with the store owners who these children usually steal from.

Pad Thai for everyone!

Preparing and enjoying food is very important to the people of Thailand. Meals are social. I thought it was interesting that although eating is considered a high social value, many Thai people do not have kitchens, especially true for those who live in apartments. They eat with their neighbors at small food stands or purchase food at the local street vendors.

One of the PIONEERS team members has been working hard to develop friendships with key people in the Ubon community. She does this by teaching English classes in private homes. One of those wonderful relationships resulted in a personal invitation to the family's restaurant for a private cooking lesson. Our group of four were treated to an afternoon of learning to prepare an authentic dish called Pad Thai.

I love to cook, so it was fun to help in the preparation (lots of chopping and slicing!) and then in the cooking of our own portions. We did this with the assistance and supervision of the restaurant owner. She was very encouraging and patient with us. Luckily we didn't burn down her kitchen!

While I was in Thailand, I dined on everything from (UFOs- Un-identified Food Objects!) at the neighborhood street vendors, to lovely meals prepared like this at our friend's restaurant. What a treat! Our Hostess even showed us how to encase the Pad Thai noodles and vegetables in a very thin egg omelet for a pretty presentation.

Pad Thai Ingredience
1/2 lb. dried thin gkuay dtiow or rice noodles (also known as ban pho to the Vietnamese)
3 Tbs. fish sauce, to taste
3 or more Tbs. tamarind juice the thickness of fruit concentrate, to taste
2 Tbs. palm or coconut sugar, to taste
4 Tbs. peanut oil
1/3 lb. fresh shrimp, shelled, deveined and butterflied
3/4 cup firm pressed tofu, cut into thin strips about an inch long, half an inch wide and a quarter inch thick

4-5 cloves garlic, finely chopped
3 shallots, thinly sliced (or substitute with half a medium onion)
1/4 cup small dried shrimp
1/4 cup chopped sweetened salted radish
2-3 tsp. ground dried red chillies, to desired hotness
3 eggs
3 cups fresh bean sprouts
1 cup garlic chives, cut into 1 1/2-inch-long segments (optional)

Pad Thai Garnish
2/3 cup chopped unsalted roasted peanuts
1 lime, cut into small wedges
A few short cilantro sprigs
4 green onions - trim off root tip and half of green leaves and place in a glass with white end in cold water to crisp (optional)

Now What?

Soak the dried rice noodles in cool or lukewarm tap water for 40 minutes to one hour, or until the noodles are limp but still firm to the touch. (If you are using fresh noodles it will only take a few seconds in boiling water) While the noodles are soaking, mix the fish sauce with the tamarind juice and palm sugar; stir well to melt the sugar. Taste and adjust flavors to the desired combination of salty, sour and sweet. Prepare the remaining ingredients as instructed.

When the noodles have softened, drain and set aside. Heat a wok over high heat until it is smoking hot. (Note: If your wok is small, do the stir-frying in two batches. The recipe may also be halved to serve two.) Add 2 teaspoons of oil and quickly stir-fry the shrimp until they turn pink and are almost cooked through. Salt lightly with a sprinkling of fish sauce and remove them from the wok.

Swirl in the remaining oil, save for 1 teaspoon, to coat the wok surface and wait 20 to 30 seconds for it to heat. Add the tofu, frying 1 to 2 minutes, or until the pieces turn golden. Add garlic and stir-fry with the tofu for 15 to 20 seconds. Follow with the sliced shallots and cook another 15 seconds. Then add the dried shrimp, sweetened salted radish and ground dried chillies. Stir and heat through a few seconds.

Add the noodles and toss well with the ingredients in the wok. Stir-fry 1 to 2 minutes and when most of the noodles has changed texture and softened, push the mass up along one side of the wok. Add the teaspoon of oil to the cleared area, crack the eggs onto it and scramble lightly. When the eggs have set, cut into small chunks with the spatula and toss them in with the noodles.

Add the sweet-and-sour seasoning mixture. Stir well to evenly coat noodles. If the noodles are still too firm to your liking, sprinkle 1 to 2 tablespoons of water over them to help cook. Taste and adjust flavors as needed to your liking by adding more fish sauce or tamarind juice; if the noodles are not sweet enough, sprinkle in a small amount of granulated sugar.

When the noodles are cooked to your liking, toss in 2 of the 3 cups of bean sprouts and the garlic chives (if using). Sprinkle with half the chopped peanuts and return the shrimp to the wok. Stir and when the vegetables are partially wilted, transfer to a serving platter, or dish onto individual serving-size plates, and garnish with the remaining bean sprouts and chopped peanuts, the lime wedges, cilantro and green onions.

How many will this serve?

Serves 4 for lunch or dinner. Squeeze lime juice over each portion before eating and enjoy!

This BLOG has been temporarily hijacked to accommodate a quick "grandma-fix"

Inquisitive or just excited to see what grandma Kathy's Next Steps will be? This is the same little grandaughter that you saw wearing a fluffy pink "tu tu" in an earlier blog. If you knew her mom, you'd understand why!

I think I see a few little teeth in there!

My adorable grandson!

Who needs expensive toys, a bucket of water and a plastic cup is sure to bring hours of fun!


Sometimes people ask me why I would EVER decide to leave such precious grandchildren to work in cross-cultural missions. My answer is always he same, I have no intention of abandoning them! God willing, I will continue to be very involved and connected to my three children and their children, reguardless to my physical location.

My kids are doing an excellent job of parenting and we all have a very good relationship. We are committed to staying in commuication with each other by using internet services, SKYPE and anything else we can figure out!

The decision to work cross-culutrally is much easier than it was for missionaries years ago. Many of them never saw their families again after they left! They did not have access to the technology nor did they have the ability to travel internationally as easily as we can today. Many of their trips involved months of travel with little opportunity to ever return! I am blessed to be living in a different time. Global missions has never been more accessible.

When it comes to missions, I can't NOT GO... does that make sense? This desire in me to reach out to lost people has only grown stronger through the years. It is evidence of the holy Spirit at work in me. Believe me, I have prayed hard over these issues. No one gets up one day and says, "Hey I think I'll TRY missions. I'll resign from a perfectly good job, move out of the home I've lived in for the past 20 years, subject myself to a people, language and culture that is totally foreign and leave behind everything and everyone that I am familiar with, because that seems like a really fun thing to do!" I am going because I am compelled, God who lives with in me compells me-I must at least make the attempt.

A quick word of thanks to all my prayer warriors!

“I thank my God every time I remember you.” Phil. 1:3

My return back to the States was an adventure in itself! I made it back to Northern California on Friday night. As some of you know I picked up a nasty bug (bacterial?) about 30 hours prior to my departure from Bangkok. In all honesty, I wasn’t sure I could make it down the hallway of the apartment, let alone endure a taxi ride, airport terminals, layovers, 23+ hours of air travel immigration and then a three hour drive home... but I did, and GOD IS GOOD.

I am home now and feeling better every hour. So how in the world did I survive the trip? Your prayers! On the morning of my departure I was still debating, “should I just cancel or reschedule this flight?” These were my thoughts as I laid sprawled out on the tile floors of my little room, exhausted from typing a simple four sentence email for prayer support! I was already dressed and my luggage was packed. All I had to do was find the energy to get up!

Rejoice in all things came to mind as I got up for one last trip down the hall to the bathroom. “Okay Lord, I rejoice that my body has been working VERY efficiently in a NON-STOP manor to EXPEL the little trouble maker in my system!” But I still have a day and a half of NON- STOP travel ahead. How can I do this?

Standing at the threshold of my host family’s apartment, my mind became flooded with all sorts of stressful and embarrassing (possible) traveling scenarios! (I am sure you can imagine). Then a clear thought came to me from my Heavenly Father, “Step out the door, trust Me. Your friends and family are praying.”

Okay.

Faith requires us to trust the invisible and the impossible to an all knowing and loving God. It requires action on our part. If I had decided not to step out the door, would I have robbed my friends and family from experiencing the joy of being a part of God’s supernatural provision for me? I think, maybe so…

To all of you, I send my love. Thank you for your prayers. Thank you for the important role you play in my life and for the role you play in reaching the nations ….for every time I remember each of you, my heart is full of appreciation!

Much love and

many blessings, Kathy

The Flower Festival in Chaing Mai usually takes place during the first week of February

I have been in Thailand for the past month. My travels have included BANGKOK and south to SAMUT PRAKAN as well as PATTAYA. To the Northeast, I spend time in the UBON RATCHATHANI PROVINCE and to the North, CHIANG MAI.

It has been an intense 4 weeks of taking in many differing sights, sounds, smells, languages and foods. I have been living and ministering to and with people with differing worldviews. It has been an incredible opportunity!

When you take in so much so quickly, you need time to process! The tendency is to try and categorize what we have experienced by what feels familiar to us. That is exactly what my brain has been trying to do. I have to resist the temptation of attaching values to my cross-cultural observations. That's not easy. My mind wants to say, "This was good..." or "This was bad..." when in fact the situations I experience are usually just different!

I am back in the States now, and will begin to post some of my adventures. To those of you who were faithfully hunting for my new posts while I was out of country, sorry. The ability to post and communicate while I was traveling was more difficult than I had expected.

So, thank you for being patient …don't worry there are plenty of great stories on the way! Here are a few pictures to get you started. Enjoy!

Traditional Cuisine - Issan Style

While in Ubon, a PIONEERS team member took me to meet her friends in a little village. We sat outside on bamboo mats high off the ground and enjoyed a lovely traditional lunch of black sticky rice and fresh greens. For a special treat our host also prepared a dessert for us. It was really very tasty, especially the bowl that looks like cold split pea soup. It was sort of an egg and palm sugar, steamed sweet custard? ...and yes...those are flies landing in and on everything.

Issan Friends in Northeast Thailand!

Kim and little"Pumpkin"

Rice is the main staple for the Issan and it is usually served at every meal. These tuffs of rice are being prepared for planting.

Returing from working in the rice fields

A nice catch this morning! This will make a wonderful evening meal with some green leafy vegetables and rice.

This kitchen is only a few feet away from a banana tree. To the right is a mango tree and coconut plam as well. I didn't notice any chickens, but there is a small pond near by where they fish. Cooking is done outside. Charcoals or a small gas stove (like a camp stove with a single burner) are commonly used. Issan food is flavorful, fresh and usually spicey!

Our gracious Host (to the left) and one of the PIONEERS team members (to the right)

Survey Trips and Practical Tips

The best thing about going on a survey trip is that you get to see and experience a country and it's people first hand! You get the opportunity to observe another culture and interact with them. Another good thing is it allows you to figure out (hopefully ahead of time) what does and doesn't work in another country! Getting a grip on some of these practical things ahead of time can save you a lot of headache and heartache.

A few practical things I figured out:

Internet? I really missed this convenience when it wasn't available. That surprised me, because I am not someone who spends a great deal of time on the internet. Because I was jumping around to a variety of locations (rural, urban slums and city) the availability of wireless services was also varied. Most of the time I was unable to use my own computer, which made it very difficult to keep my supporters and family updated or to make Blog entries that documented my activities. Although people were very generous to offer use of their lines (when ever possible) it usually meant using their computers, time frames, passwords or configuration codes. Time, if any, was very limited and when and if I could get logged in, it was considerably slower. Because it was slower, everything took longer. I didn't feel comfortable interrupting my host's personal routines just to wait for information to load up. It also felt like I was being disrespectful to my hosts if I spend time trying to do any updates instead of engaging in social interaction with family members.

Cell phone service: I called ahead to find out if it were possible to receive or make calls from my Razor with my Verizon account. I was told that there would be a roaming fee, but that most of Thailand has coverage. That was not the case. Also my Razor style phone could not be adapted with a SIM card. Next trip I will consider renting or buying a cheap phone in country. Apparently they are easy to come by and then you purchase your "airtime" as you go with a SIM card. In the future I will try using the free SKYPE download for internet phone calls and communication. That seemed like a nice way to stay connected, plus you can use a camera/microphone to see as well as hear your caller.

What is a SIM CARD?

I had never heard of a SIM card before my trip to Thailand. Many international travelers as well as locals use them all the time. They are an inexpensive alternative to long distant roaming fees in addition to being convenient for day to day use. This is how they work-

A SIM card or Subscriber Identity Module is a portable memory chip used in some models of cellular telephones. By simply sliding in the SIM card, you can make your old cell phone a new one. The SIM holds personal identity information, cell phone number, phone book, text messages and other data. It can be thought of as a mini hard disk that automatically activates the phone into which it is inserted.

A SIM card can come in very handy. For example, let's say your phone runs out of battery power at a friend's house. Assuming you both have SIM-based phones, you can remove the SIM card from your phone and slide it into your friend's phone to make your call. Your carrier processes the call as if it were made from your phone, so it won't count against your friend's minutes.

If you upgrade your phone there's no hassle involved. The SIM card is all you need. Just slide it into the new phone and you're good to go. You can even keep multiple phones for different purposes. An inexpensive phone in the glove compartment, for example, for emergency use, one phone for work and another for home. Just slide your SIM card into whatever phone you wish to use.

A SIM card provides an even bigger advantage for international travelers -- simply take your phone with you and buy a local SIM card with minutes. SIM cards can be purchased in airports as well as small markets through out the country of Thailand.

Information gathered from the Wise Geek website http://www.wisegeek.com/

*Side note from Kathy: It is important to note that not all cell phone styles can be fitted for SIM cards