Mangos and Sticky rice!!!!

One of my favorite dishes in Thailand was Mangos and sticky rice!
it is made with sticky rice and coconut milk with mangos! This weekend I tried to make some, but to no avail :-(

So I bought this bamboo steaming basket to put in a pot in order to steam glutanous rice (the kind used to make sticky rice). I did it the way my Thai friends had instructed me, but I think I am supposed to rotate the rice throughout the steaming process? some of it turned out right, but the rest was still crunchy. and then I heated up the coconut milk to put in the rice and mixed it together, but it wasn't the right taste and texture.

Then the mangos we had bought were definitly NOT ripe! They were picked to early and then left to ripen while shipping them here, they got soft, but when I peeled them they still looked unripe and were not sweet. actually pretty bland.
so, it really didn't work, but I think I have a better idea on how to make the rice now.

My mom tried some of the crunchy/mushy rice and said -"this tastes right!"
My respose was "mom, I have lived in Thailand for TWO years!!!! I think I know what sticky rice tastes like!!!"
She said "well I had some when I visited!" but really she was only in thailand for 2 weeks and maybe had sticky rice twice..... so really she doesn't know, but I will keep trying!!!!
:-)
I'll let you know when I get it right!

FREEZING!!!!!

So I am not enjoying the 40ish weather we have been having. I have decided the 50 and 60 degree weather is more agreeable to me. Thankfully we did NOT get snow today, there was some hail yesterday, but not much. But the freezing cold rain is something I have not missed much.

Last night I counted how many blankets I have on my bed, and I have 5. One sheet, a down comforter, a light quilt, a fleece throw and a down throw on top of that. :-D :-)

I know, a little bit overboard, but I get so cold, I just can't warm up!!! I totally forgot about wearning pajama pants and long sleeves to bed. I have slept in a t-shirt and shorts for two years straight, I forget about layers! and I have to say I am LOVING it!!!!!

Marisa-your "cold Arkansas nights" have nothing on Michigan's 40 degree DAYS with a chance of snow right now. I saw your pictures... you were still going without a coat outside during the day! I can't even run down to the mailbox without freezing half to death! :-)
(This is Marisa who was on my team my first year in Thailand she has a blog about her 2.5 kids and husband and their ministry with Campus Crusade at Arkansas: the foltz4--- I guess she will have to change her blog name to foltz 5 soon!!!!! :-) )

My car got broken into!

So a couple weeks ago I was in Troy, hanging out with my brother, and I got back to my car, and the door was slightly ajar, but I thought, maybe I just didn't close it all the way when I got out, since I had a lot of stuff in my hands. Anyway, so I got on the expressway, and then I noticed a light in the back of my van was on, I reached to turn it off and realized, there was no way I could have turned this light on. I have not been in the back of my van for at least a week, and I can reach it from the front, I have to crawl into the back to turn it off. Anyway, I realized my car had been broken into, and when I got home I called my brother about it.

The next day he made a police report, so they would keep an eye on the neighborhood. The whole way home I was trying to think of anything ofg value in my car they might have stolen, but I couldn't think of anything. I watch CSI shows too, and I thought about how they do fingerprinting, so I was trying to figure out how to turn off the light and check the glovebox without messing up the fingerprints, but then decided since I had nothing of value, and I don't think anything was stolen, they wouldn't do forensics on my car or anything like that. However, yesterday I saw my brother, and he was telling me about the report he made and the officer asked him if I was planning on bringing the car back to Troy to do forensics, he said no, he just wanted to make sure the police knew about it. But it amazed me that they would do forensics, even though there was nothing stolen.

I think 10 years ago they probably never would have done that, but now that forensics is all over TV it has helped them out a lot. I don't know. my cool story about my car being broken into. not that it's cool, I freak out about leaving ANYTHING in my car now, but better to be safe than sorry.

Last week was WHEW!

Warning: this is a long one, and for some reason, my blog isn't lett me me put spaces in between the paragraphs :-/

So last week was very very interesting. I think because I was able to meet with so many, and talk to some really amazing encouraging people, Satan was not happy, and tried to throw me off.

(warning, if you are a super animal lover, do not read the next paragraph)

Monday: it started out, I was driving and I hit a wood chuck! I have never hit anything before, and I felt so bad. I was driving and this animal was in the middle of the road, and it had no place to go, a truck on one side, and then me coming, and so it was running back and forth, and finally decided the best place to go would be to run under my tire! I was so shocked and surprised, I felt so bad for the poor thing.

The good thing is I saw 16 swans on our lake! They were so beautiful and majestic

Tuesday: I was getting ready to meet a lady from my church and I just finished blow drying my hair, I took a moment to just take in the storm blowing in, blowing the water creating waves going off the lake, my dad joined me at the window, just watching the storm. All of a sudden, in slow motion, I see the boat being blown by the wind, pulling the dock along with it, ripping the dock out of the water, and pulling the whole thing apart. I yell "oh my gosh the dock!!!!" and my dad couldn't see it where he was at, but just ran outside and started heading down. I ran, changed out of my nice clothes and joined him. We both got into the water, pulling pieces of the dock back onto shore so they wouldn't float/blow away. my dad tied up the boat and we got it pretty well settled. when I got inside, I realized I was going to be late for my appointment, and so I called, my friend said, "well at least you have a REALLY good excuse" :-)

Thursday: So I was headed to another support appointment on Thursday night. Praying as I was going that God would just give me words, and be working. As I am going along, I notice I am at the area where the road narrows down to one lane, and it's all construction, I see the construction sign telling me the road ahead is going to merge so I turn on my blinker and try to get over, but there is a car there, so I decided to get ahead to merge over. Just about this time, we come over the hill, and I realize the construction is all cleared up, and I don't want to cut the other guy off, so I stop trying to merge and straighten back out into my lane, but by this time, the guy behind me decided he was going to pass me and was already headed into the left lane(the lane I was in) to get around me since I was moving over, but now I realize he's trying to get by me, so I try to move out of his way to the right, but he is already trying to do that now. So I am just confused at where this guy is going, and I am just trying to get out of his way, well, he then decides to turn on his lights. It's a COP! he pulls me over, and I am thinking, ok, it's just a misunderstanding, no big deal, no need to get upset or anything. If anything, maybe I just didn't come to a complete stop at the blinking red back there, I don't know, I am pretty calm, not really worried.

So the guy comes up to my window, and asks me, so what was going on back there. I start to try to explain, but my body defies me and I start to get a little choked up anyway (even though, it's a completely non-threatening situation), I tell him, sorry, for getting choked up, I try to take a breath to calm myself down, and while I am taking my breath, he starts yelling at me. Telling me I have issues with Road rage, it's bad enough that I am doing that to a cop, I shouldn't be driving that way with regular people (I had no idea he had been a cop when he was behind me, b/c it was so dark) and he just keeps going on and on reaming me out, yelling at me telling me how bad a driver I am and how bad a person I am, and so I start SOBBING I mean I don't do very well when people are accusing me of something, that I didn't intentionally do! I couldn't even get a word in! Finally, I did get a chance to say something, and asked if I could, he said " you better explain yourself" so I tried to tell him about the construction sign, and then he went on and on about how the construction wasn't there any more, and was yelling and accusing me some more. I finally said "well I realized the construction was gone, after we got to the top of the hill" inbetween sobs of course. so then he asks if I am from the area, I say yes, he asks what my record is like, I say I've never been pulled over before, and he takes my liscense and stuff, and says he'll be back in a moment.

I just sit there praying, trying to calm down. b/c I know I have to meet some people and my face is going to be all red and puffy, so I try to calm down.

Then the guy comes back, and very nice, sweet, calm voice he says "well I'm just going to give you a verbal warning for now, drive home safely, and just becareful when your driving from now on"

I couldn't believe it!!!! the only thing I can think of that changed his whole demeanor is that he looked at my record, and there is NOTHING on it! the only thing might be a parking ticket at MSU, but that would be it. No accidents, no nothing! so later I thinking, maybe THIS guy has problems with road rage.... I don't know.... maybe I could win a prize for best story about a support appointment. :-)

Friday: I get a letter in the mail, saying I have been picked for Jury Duty! I can't believe it! I am just so crazy busy now, and in the middle of raising support, and all sorts of stuff.... and Jury Duty.... oh well, hopefully I won't get picked.

So my conclusion is that Satan is not happy that I am doing well, and I am in the word, and just overall, happy about how things are going right now, even though the economy sucks, God is taking care of me.

So yeah, that's a little about how my week went

last week's photo of the week

here's is last week's photo

Tribute to the end of summer

Amazing Thailand

Here is my video I created about some of my experiences in Thailand

Amazing Thailand

So Fast!

Wow! Last week just flew by, and it must have been because I was working a lot for Jimmy John's (my part-time job) and outside with my mom. I loved it though. I moved a whole pile of wood for her, and we just spent some time getting the house looking nice for her friends coming into town, and I got to do some manuel labor, which I think deep down makes me feel wonderful. I am a hand's on type person and if you give me a job, even though it's tedious, and it's within my capabilities to do, and if I have good company or music, I just love it! I worked for this one guy the summer before I went to thailand painting stuff around his place and stuff like that. I LOVED it because even thoguh it was tedious, it had an end point, and I got to listen to my favorite music, and just enjoy the time completing something.

I think that's why support seems difficult at times, because it's not something I can necessarily finish exactly, it's something more the Lord has to finish. I can do all the steps to get there, but ultimately it's the lord working in people's hearts that will complete my team of supporters.

I took some time out this week just to take some pictures of fall, and it's so relaxing for me, and God has provided some wonderful sceneries for me!!!!

So many people ask how support's going, so if you are wondering, and haven't actually asked recently, it's going well. I am meeting so many people interested in the ministry I am doing and it's so encouraging. I am really enjoying raising support now compared to before going to Thailand. the New Staff Training I went to in September helped encourage me by going through what the bible says about raising support, and how god provides, and what He's called us to. So I guess I just feel more confident now of what I am doing because I know God has already asked me to Go to MSU with Bridges, it's just a matter, of who is going to be blessed by joining my team of ministry partners.

Oh! and Church this morning was AMAZING!!!! I got the chance to go to Riverview this morning. It's the church I went to while I was at MSU. It's a younger congregation, and I have been listening to the sermons while I was in Thailand, along with the Village Church in Texas. It was SO cool, because I have been listening to them teach, and talk about the new building and just all the goings ons at the church, and today I actually got to join them again! I got to finally see the new building after hearing about it for two years, but never being able to visit, as well as hear the pastor in person, and not on a podcast. SO COOL! SO much fun! and the worship was so amazing. It spoke right to my heart this morning. Mostly it was all Hymns. We sang Amazing Grace too, and I have been listening to the song a lot recently because I made a video with the song as the background music, but today I was just moved to tears, that and a couple other songs I have not sung for a year. Not since I was in Copper Mountain, CO for our briefing conference and my new team that I was going to Chiang Rai with.

Wow. I just. I mean. wow. it was great. Thank you god. Thank you for amazing music! It just stirred up all the hopes and dreams I had a year ago, and then I think of what God did these past two years, the lives he's changed, tha amazing experiences that happened, the blessings, the hardships, the transformation. wow. it was good.

photo of week

Last Week's Photo of the week: Grasshopper (right outside my garage)

Dreaming...

So I am taking a course called "New Testment Survey" and it is a seminary level course. One of the assignments we have to do is pray for the campus we are going to be on, and taking time to dream about being with our team. Well last night, I dreamt about being in a classroom of Chinese students. They were listening to an American speak, and they couldn't understand a thing he was saying, and I think it was just his accent, or he was speaking too fast, but anyway, in my dream me and a friend took it upon ourselves to sit down with a group of the students and just start breaking the lecture down for them, and speaking slowly in terms they could understand.

When I woke up, it just made me so sad that I could not be on campus yet, and that I have to wait for the Lord's timing. I know he will get me there right on time :-)

butI miss working with the Thai girls, and even a couple chinese girls that I made friends with these past two years.

Pandora

I "found" this great website that you can listen to music to online, and I am obsessed with it! but it is so wonderful. By "found" I mean at work they use pandora, and so since I have seen it and used it there, I am now using it at home.

I change the "station" depending on my mood, and it fits me perfectly!!! you can select a song you like, and it makes a radio station based on the musical qualities and the artisit of that song, or an artist you like and it will make a station based on the songs by that artist. I have gone through the scal of nickleback, pink, daughtry, enya, michael west, and others.
And the best part about it, is that it's free! I know this sounds like an ad, but I spend a lot of time on my computer, and sometimes I get tired of what I have on itunes, or just want to hear some new stuff, and this past week, it has been a lot of fun to spice up my little "space" in my parents basement where I have my "desk" set up :-)