This week was full of forgettable things that turned unforgettable. A normal Monday afternoon of hanging out turned into Barrett and I trying on Thai clothes for the next days photo shoot where I got tucked and squeezed into Thai sized dresses that revealed more of me than necessary and left Barrett rolling in laughter. Upon losing my dignity there, we returned to school and had a night of bee bee gun capture the ball with the guys where we sweated rivers as we ducked and ran with our guns shooting every moving thing we could while trying to steal the other teams ball. Fun times!!
The next day I had to leave school early to get poured into my Thai outfit, get my my hair backcombed into a proper Thai style by a beautiful transvestite, and getting my face painted with more paint than a Barnum and Bailey clown by a gay man while Barrett had his own circus at the jewelry store with pushy saleswomen that brought in their own models so Barrett would buy diamonds for me. Too funny! Our pictures were taken by a boy that was a girl whom we kept calling both a he and a she in our confusion. Only in Thailand! The night continued with a little girl peeing on the floor, eating sushi for dinner with so much wasabi that our sinuses were cleared and our tear ducts emptied in defiance, glorious ice cream for dessert, and Barrett yelling at people as they walked on a freshly scrubbed floor that left the staff rolling in laughter but the assailants walking by with daggers in their eyes. It was a blast!
A normal Wednesday chapel practice turned into a mom of one of my students asking Barrett what it means to be a Christian and him explaining the gospel for over 2 hours! I praise God for that!!! Im amazed at how God works!!! Then, a normal Thursday turned into our Austrian friends, Franz and Sabina, coming to my school to hang out for the whole day! They sat in some of my class, had fruit shakes and lunch with us, then went to the market with Barrett, played in our after school youth stuff witnessing Barrett tear off my big toe nail, and finished the night with watching a basketball game at the International School of Bangkok shaking their heads in wonder at the enthusiasm and excitement of high school sports! What a blast!!
I learned that ordinary can turn to extraordinary in a moment! That every day occurrences can leave lasting memories! Make the most of your time with friends and strangers! Get to know new people and be willing to look stupid or try something you’ve never done before!! Barrett and I laughed lots, shook our head in amazement, and smiled as we recalled events that we could never have planned!!
Now I face an odd situation as my time closes here in Thailand. I have 2 months left where I want to soak everything up and make the most of my time with my students and friends and yet I long for the time when Barrett and I will meet again! How do I balance the two? Please pray that I will choose wisely and the time won’t go too fast or slow!!!