"Greater Things Have Yet to Come"

I hope everyone has heard the song "God of this City" written by Bluetree. It's a song that was written in Thailand, supposedly in the city I visited last weekend. Pattaya (the city I visited) is a city often compared to Sodom and Gomorra. Prostitutes fill every street corner, the night life is the main life, and while we were there we even found a bag full of needles floating in the ocean. Walking down the beach while I was there, I always had "God of this City" playing through my mind. This song that was written for this city seemed so fitting. He is God of that city! He is hope for the hopeless! He is light in the darkness. God has greater things for that city! As I sang, I so badly wanted to be part of what God was doing there! But what could I do? I don't know Thai. I live in Bangkok which isn't that close to Pattaya. How could God use me to help change Pattaya? Then I realized that what I am doing at GES is a small step in that direction! The students I am teaching will hopefully grow up to love God and will be able to, in their own language, make a difference in Pattaya.

God made this truth even more real to me when this week one of my students came to me after school and started asking me some really good, really hard questions. Kelly always asks lots of questions, but it's because she wants everything to make perfect sense in her head. She doesn't want to get any answers wrong, and because of this she is one of my best students. When she came to me after school she came with these same kinds of questions, but these ones were with a new sense of urgency.

"Miss Jill, how do we know God is real?"

"Miss Jill, can we believe in Buddha and in God?"

"Miss Jill, my mom and dad bow down to Buddha, but they still believe in God."

"Miss Jill, will my dad go to heaven if he believes in Buddha?"

"Miss Jill, I WANT to believe in God, but I just don't know what to do with what my family believes about Buddha."

The excitement that filled me as I did my best to answer all of her questions, was mixed with a bit of sadness knowing how hard it was going to be for this dear child to believe in the ONLY one who can save. It's not easy to believe in something, no matter how true you know it is, with no one backing you up at home. Kelly isn't the only one who asks these kinds of questions! There are so many students in my class who ask these kinds of questions every day. They want to believe! Please pray for all of them as I try to answer questions that come up. Pray that they will see that Jesus really is "THE way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Him." Buddha isn't going to get them there. Pray that they will be bold enough to believe, despite what their families believe or think of them. It's going to be a hard road for these kids, but I have faith that God will bring them to himself and that they in turn will be part of the "greater things that have yet to come" in Thailand!

How Blessed I Am!

Walking down the streets of Thailand used to seem like such a big deal. Lately I've been noticing myself forgetting where I am more often. Forgetting that I'm half way around the world from where I grew up and from what I really know. Then it will hit me. Why is everybody staring at me? Oh yeah, I'm the only white person on the street. It's in those moments that I remember how blessed I am to have found a place where I feel content so far away from home. God truly has blessed me. The amazement that I'm actually here and the desire to share Christ's love with the people here only grows stronger the longer I am here. Thank you God!

God knows us so much better than we know ourselves! He knows what we can live without and what we will be so much better off with. One of the ways God continues to reveal his provision is through the friendships he brings my way and the activities he gives me to do. The following pictures will show you a little glimpse of how blessed I am.

Brenna is one of my dear friends here. Since her birthday was on a Saturday, we had the chance to spoil her on her birthday. It was fun!

This was after a music night at the Baptist Church located on our school. It's so fun to be around all of my brothers and sisters in Christ even if they don't speak my language!

This is Kurt, the med. student we met who is traveling around Thailand for a month looking for clinics to do work in. (Yes, he is as strange as he appears in this picture *smile)

And now for some pictures of my class!

Measuring how much their plants had grown in science. These girls are GREAT!

Playing Fraction Bingo. I am continuing to love my kiddos! They are so much fun. I feel so blessed to have such a well-behaved class of students! Praise God for that so I can actually focus on the material I'm teaching them a bit!

Another co-worker and friend's birthday party. We got to enjoy some Swensen's! It was delicious!!!

Thai Barbeque is one of the best dining experiences (in my opinion) in Thailand. You get to cook as much as you can eat on the little bbq right at your table.

We had to get tested for syphilis to get our work permits, so here we are waiting to be tested. This was quite the unique experience!

I felt very confident using the bathroom here! hehe

I was supposed to get the baby I will be visiting from here on out, two weeks ago, but he has pneumonia, so this is my replacement baby. Hi name is Bon pun. He is so sweet! He loves it when I cup his face with my hands. It always makes him laugh and he also loves it when we play patty-cake. Every time he laughs, he seems to end up getting the hiccups, so I now lovingly refer to him as "hiccups". I'm really looking forward to getting Kitty-Phom, but I'll really miss my 'lil Hiccups!

At the market, this man asked for volunteers and I didn't really know what was going on, so I volunteered. What he ended up doing was taking Chris and my hands and spending 5 minutes or so trying to get them just perfect so he could dip them into wax and make a wax mold out of our hands. It was a very unique experience and the hands looked pretty cool when he was done! We didn't buy it though :)

Dinner with many of my co-workers and friends.

I hope as you look at these pictures you can get a little taste of what my life is like. It's great! I have so many fun and unique experiences. I'm so thankful that God has put so many things in my life to enjoy!

I would appreciate your prayers though! In my classroom I share truths from the Bible every day! It's exciting to see some of the students respond to this and to ask questions. I believe that all of my students have Buddhist parents. The fact that these kids are understanding and beginning to accept is huge and will probably impact a lot of parents as well! Pray that their hearts will really be open to the Holy Spirit's leading! Pray for the parents that I come in contact with and that I will be a shining light to them! Pray that I will not forget God's plan for having me here-to share Christ's love with EVERYONE. "He must become greater, I must become less." -John 3:30. Sometimes it's hard to do this when I'm trying to take care of myself and be content in my new home, but God is helping me to make it happen. Pray that I can focus on God first and then loving others and sharing with others will just flow from that.

Descriptions :)

You have all been most gracious blog readers! I've been realizing that I tend to write when I want to vent, and so my posts often contain very little description on what I am actually up to and tend to be more focussed on how I'm feeling. I would love to actually tell you though, what it is like over here in Thailand!

Let me start off with my neighborhood. I live in a suburb of Bangkok called Nonthaburi. Unlike the quaint, pretty suburbs that we in the states are used to, Nonthaburi is a sea of activity. All up and down the road where I live are shops and vendors. There is a steady stream of taxis, motorcycles, and buses that makes every attempt to cross the street a threat at your life. (It doesn't help that even after nearly a month being here I have a hard time remembering that cars are coming from the "wrong" direction). It is definitely more busy than I was expecting, but I can't complain too loudly because we teachers here at GES definitely take advantage of all the things near us. We go to the 7/11 at least once a day. We visit our favorite restaurant "Som Bots" every other day. And I like to make my weekly trek down to the "Big C" grocery store and least once a week! We use public transportation to get everywhere. Taxis, tuk tuks, motorcycle taxis, buses...I've ridden in them all and they all have their perks and disadvantages. So despite the fact that we breath in exhaust all day, we can't see the sky through all the buildings, and I've forgotten what nature looks like :) living smack dab in the middle of this city is not too bad.

Now to move on to my apartment. I live in an apartment with 3 other girls, that is way nicer than I expected. It has three stories and three bathrooms (one for each floor). The bottom floor has a nice kitchen and a wonderful living room. I have my room on the second floor, along with Bridget. 3rd floor belongs to Kira and Amanda. It's just the four of us living in this spacious abode (besides the geckos, ants, and cockroaches) and we seem to do pretty well with it that way!

My Class. I've only been with my students for less than 2 weeks now, but already I am so attached to them! I'm not sure there could be a more perfect combination of 20 kids. I have the quiet shy students and I have the loud students to balance them out. Every one seems to know that if they behave class will go well, but if they don't, there will be consequences. Their lower English level makes it difficult to teach at times, not knowing what they are understanding or what I need to keep going over, but I guess that is part of the job. Sometimes I feel like I'm more of the student than they are! I'm learning so much about teaching...I still have so much to learn!

Thai kids have the funniest names! I have a Minnie in my class who has a brother named Mickey. In another class there are siblings names Seven and Eight. It is the name of the boy who reminds me of that Abbott and Castello skit "Who's on First". When a fellow teacher had his leg rubbed by one of my students, I asked if he knew who the student was. He said he didn't know who it was. I asked the teacher, "Do you know who It is?" Frustrated the co-teacher replied, "No, I already told you, I don't know who it was!" Living in Thailand brings a whole new side of humor to that skit!

Well, there's so much to write! I think I could go on and on. Instead of just jabbering away though, I'll leave it up to you! Feel free to ask me questions! I'd love to answer them! Or ask me to write about something specific, and I'll do my best at that too!

I'd love to hear about how everyone is doing! I'd love to be praying for you as well! Feel free to email me at my gmail address :)

Thanks for reading! Love to you all!

Reality Hits

"One of these day's I'm gonna fly, over the mountains.  One of these days I'm gonna ride on a silver lining.  One of these days I'm gonna witness all that I've been missing...one of these days."

From sun-up to sun-down for the past week I've been working on getting my classroom set up and on lesson plans.  There's never enough time in the day or enough energy in my body to get everything that needs to be done, done.  Last night after spending the entire day setting up my classroom, I finally had to call it "good enough" and figure that God would take care of the rest and that my day would go fine.

3:00 am-Oh great!  I ate something that didn't agree with me.  After several trips to the bathroom and several prayers out to God that I would be well enough to make it to my first day of classes, I finally threw up (sorry if that grosses any of you out!) and felt oh so much better.  Good enough to get a few more hours of sleep and to feel rested enough to make it to my first day in my OWN classroom!

God is so gracious!  I had a lovely first day with my class!  All of my students are well behaved and seem like they are going to be so much fun.  I feel inadequate as a teacher sometimes, not sure what to do always, but my kids were just great the whole time!  :)

By the time 2:00 (the end of school) rolled around my legs and feet were aching, my head was cloudy, I was hot and sweaty.  Looking at the prep that needed to be done for the next day was overwhelming.  And it's in these weak times that we miss home the most.  I started thinking of all my friends and my family back home.  I was down-right homesick!  I miss you all!

A good nap helped to cure many of my problems!  Tasks didn't look so daunting.  My body felt rested and refreshed.  But I still missed home :)  I got what I needed to done and I feel ready for another day tomorrow!

This all may seem kind of random.  I'm not complaining (although I do covet your prayers).  I'm just realizing how amazing heaven is going to be!  I long for that day.  But I'm excited that it hasn't arrived yet, because I think that God has a group of 4th graders that he wants me to be a light to!  How exciting!!!

"For my power is made perfect in your weakness".  

My life in Thailand

 

 One thing I've had to be really careful of since I've been to Thailand is that I don't smoke my alcohol.  It's been a challenge, but with my good support base I'm getting through!

This waterfall is in the middle of a mall near us.  It's pretty sweet!


Kira and I decided we wanted to dive into the pool at the bottom of the waterfall!

Getting to the mall we decided to travel Thai Style: see how many people you can fit into the back of a pick-up truck.  It was fun to see all the looks we got from the Thai people as a bunch a forangs (white people) passed them on the streets.  Their faces would go from emotionless, to surprise then they would usually yell one of the English phrases they knew at us and wave.This man is making Roti.  We love to buy Roti from him, not only because he's adorable, but also because his Roti--flat bread, fried, and then drizzled with condensed milk and sugar, is like eating a little piece of heaven!  NO JOKE!!!  It's so amazing!

On our adventure to the mall we found a very comfortable massage chair.  If it hadn't been for one of the other teachers, Chris dragging me out of it, I may still be there. 
These are the four of us girls who live in our apartment together enjoying some bowling.  On the left is Bridget, then Amanda, then Kira, and then me!  They are all GREAT!!!

Oh how I do enjoy Kira!Well friends and family,  As you can see I have not been bored since I've been here!  God has blessed me with so many fun, friendly people!  He has already given me so many adventures!  I can't believe I've only been here two weeks.  I'm starting to pick up on some of the language, and feel more like I might be able to go do something small on my own.  In fact, today I went shopping at Big C and took a took took home by myself!

This upcoming week is pretty relaxed.  We don't start school until Thursday, so I have until then to finish lesson plans and to get my classroom set up.  There's so much to do still, but at least I've got some time to do it!  If I don't have time to write more before, please be praying for me on my first day of school!  It's kind of scary to be teaching my first day as a new teacher, at a new school, in a new country.  Pray that I will keep remembering that my reason for being here is to share Jesus with these kids!  Pray that God will open up their hearts to hear the truth!  I love and appreciate you all!  If there's anything I can pray for you about email me at jillnielsen86@gmail.com   God Bless!

In Your weakness I am strong!

I know this last week was just the beginning of these words of Jesus becoming so real in my life.  Throughout this week of lesson planning and setting up my classroom, the feeling of insignificance overwhelmed me many times.  "You're not smart enough."  "You're not quick enough."  "You're not experienced enough."  Were some of the lies I was fed this week, and sometimes I believed them.  And in truth, on my own, they may be true, but with Jesus on my side, my battle is already won.  I know I still have a lot of work ahead of me and that it is NOT going to be easy teaching this year, but I also know that with God ALL things are possible.  So I'm just going to keep trusting that God is going to be made strong in all my weaknesses!

posting pictures soon!

Two Days and lovin it!

Yesterday was the perfect first day!  I got up early, did some unpacking, some cleaning, and some email in the morning.  In the afternoon I went to the store and bought all the things I had put on a list during the morning.  I barely  made it 'til 9:30, but I did make it so I got a fantastic night of sleep and now I'm on schedule!

Today, my second day in Thailand, was perfect as well!  We left GES kind of early and took a taxi down to a Thai orphanage.  There we were able to hold orphan babies.  They were so cute and there were so many babies.  It made me sad to see so many babies there, but they were being taken care of pretty well.  We discussed how Thai people rarely have abortions, so that is one reason there are so many orphans, so in a way I was happy to see so many babies.  They are all so precious and special and they just need a little extra attention.  I will probably be volunteering there and who knows, maybe one day I'll adopt from there :)  

After visiting the orphanage we made a stop by the massage place.  This is an organization to provide jobs for blind men.  So I had a blind man give me an amazing massage for an hour and a half and it only cost me about $6!  It was incredible!  But boy he worked out those knots and I'm still a little sore from it.

Afterwards we ate some delicious food and did some more shopping!  I've got a Thai phone now!  I finished off the day with my first baby-sitting gig!  I watched an adorable little red-head girl name Jaya.  Her parents are also teachers here at GES.  

As I've been exploring Thailand the last two days I've been enjoying the company of some of the teachers here.  Some of them are first year teachers like myself.  Others are doing the guiding and have been here for some years in the past.  It's so encouraging to be around people who love the Lord and who have a passion for people.  It reminds me of the verse I read out of Romans this morning, "...so that by God's will I may come to you with joy and together with you be refreshed." -Romans 15:32  Being around people with the same purpose and the same Savior is so refreshing!  I praise God that He has given me wonderful people who are making this transition easier and I praise Him because they are helping me to grow up more in Him!

God Friends

As I said my teary goodbye's this morning, which seems like an eternity away now, my wonderful family said a prayer for me.  Out of every best wish, and safe travel prayer that was prayed, the one that stuck out most in my mind was the one said by my lovely sister-in-law.  "God, give Jill good seat companions to sit by."

Emotional from my farewells I hopped on the plane in Pasco on its out-of-the-way flight to Denver.  I didn't mind the detour because it meant I'd been able to sleep in my own bed the night before and it meant that Hayden and Emily were there along with my parents to see me off.  Leaving for a foreign country for then months had left me unusually emotional and weepy.  Feeling a need for some joy, I pulled out the special note Emily had given me to read on the plane.  Contrary to the feelings I thought this letter would produce, I began sobbing from the sincere, touching contents of the letter.  As tears streamed down my face and sniffles proceeded from my leaky nose, I'm sure the sweet middle-ages woman next to me thought I was crazy to be throwing such a fit just for going to Denver.  Whatever her thoughts though, she let me cry.  She gave me the space I needed to let it out and then to sleep it off.  She didn't way a word to me, which is exactly what I needed because by the time I arrived in Denver I was full of excitement for the journey that I was about to partake in!

Plane flight from Denver to San Francisco:  The inquisitive eyes were the first sign that I would like Dream.  She watched quietly as I shoved my duffle beg into the overhead compartment.  As soon as I sat we began in easy conversation.  We had lots to talk about.  She was heading home to Bangkok from being an exchange student in New Mexico.   How excited I was to be sitting next to someone who could calm one of my biggest fears-not knowing the Thai language.  She assured me that I would be able to get around speaking English and then she proceeded to help me with some Thai.  What a blessing that was!  Not only had she helped me to be excited about my trip again and taught me some Thai, but she had become friend #1 for my trip.

San Francisco to Tokyo.  "Hmmmm..."  I thought as I stowed away my luggage and sat down in my window seat, "That boy is quite good-looking!"  And when that same "good-looking" boy sat next to me, I was completely taken off guard.  I could barely blubber out the greeting, "Hey, how are you?" before I fell back into a silent stint.  Only when Collin (whose name I found out as we were landing after our 10 hour plane ride) asked me if Tokyo was my final destination and I found out that we had the same flights to Bangkok as well, did I find my voice again.  We compared stories.  His was one of excitement and adventure as he travels around Thailand on bicycle.  We had an enjoyable conversation and then he left to go sit with his friend who was sitting toward the back of the plane.  I might have been disappointed to lose his company if it hadn't been for the fact that his leaving cleared up the seat next to me and left the entire row entirely to me to stretch out in and enjoy.  I got a couple hours of much needed, sound sleep and enjoyed some time alone.  After landing, Collin allowed me to cut in line with him as we went through security.  As we walked to our next gate together I realized, I had made friend #2!

Friend #3 I have a good feeling will be the most special.  I knew this friend was going to come and was a little nervous that Shaellea, who was also going to be teaching at GES wouldn't be as nice as I hoped.  All my fears disintegrated when a cute blonde tapped on my shoulder and asked, "Jill?"  it didn't take much more before we were sharing stories and she was getting me excited by telling me all about life at GES.  If I have it my way, friend #3 and I will continue to be great friends!

Three friends!  That's quite a few to make in one day, but God wasn't quite done yet.  I wasn't expecting friend #4.  I already had three friends on the same flight with me to Bangkok.  I figured I'd go and chat with them, but apparently God wanted me to have one more.

I'd found my seat 41D.  I was sitting next to a middle aged man with his young son.  No big deal, we probably wouldn't talk much.  But he kept looking over at me expectantly.  Finally he came out with it, "My wife is sitting in the row ahead, is there a chance you could switch her spots so she can be with our son?"  That's how I ended up next to Tim-a sweet Thai man who is 29 but looks 20.  45 minutes into our conversation as we were talking about painful ways to die, Tim pointed out that we were getting pretty deep for having just met.  At this point he officially declared us friends since only friends would talk like this.  BINGO!  I'd found friend #4!

To some, these plane encounters may not be a big deal, but for someone as people-driven as I am, the meant the world!  They totally lifted my spirits!  Hopefully I had a chance to shine Christ to them!  God knew exactly what and who I needed and when Emily prayed that prayer for me to have good seat partners, God had already planned it all out perfectly.

One day!  Four friends!  I have a feeling this is just the beginning!  What friends is God going to put into my life tomorrow?

One Month!?!

I've always known it would happen!  From the time I was 11 and dreaming of going over seas to share God's love, I knew that eventually it would happen.  It's been so distant in the future for so long now that I can hardly believe it's actually about to take place.  I only have one month left until I leave for Thailand!  That's four weeks!  Only 31 days until I leave the US for almost a year.  Boy am I excited!

As I was reading in 2 Samuel the other day, I couldn't help but comparing my waiting time to David's waiting time.  When David was still in his teenage years Samuel anointed him as next king of Israel.  For many, many years David waited.  He waited patiently, never whining to God that he was ready to be king now.  David never even complained that he had to be in the presence of King Saul and Jonathan who were standing in his way of the throne.  He made the most of those years, and when the timing was just right, God had everything set up in His perfect plan for how David would gain the throne.  How excited David must have been to finally receive what had been promised to him so long before.

Now, of course I haven't been waiting on something as mighty as becoming a king, and I hope that like David I have made the most out of the "waiting" time God has given me, but I sure am excited that the time has almost arrived!  I'm excited, but as the time draws nearer, I also become a little nervous.  If you are reading this, would you just pray that I will have confidence knowing that God can work through my weaknesses.  Also pray that God will give me the strength that I need to complete what He has planned for me.  Most of all pray that my focus will never stray from the only reason this trip matters--that is doing God's work to help further His kingdom.

This is me playing Jill of the Jungle last time I was in Thailand when I really was in the jungles with the Yellow Leaf People. (Excuse all the posts! I'm experimenting here!)

A New Blog

I dedicate this blog to you my dear friends and family! I hope that you can enjoy keeping up to date with all that is happening with me as I start this new phase in my life! I appreciate the prayers I know I will receive from you all! You are all so wonderful!

A Jungle???

Even though the jungles in Thailand are breathtaking and I'd love to be spending all my time in them, I'm heading to a different kind of jungle. I'm heading to Bangkok. Teeming with 11 million people, this tropical metropolis with its exotic orchids, delicious fruit, and smiling faces truly is a concrete jungle.
In this concrete jungle I will be setting up my dwellings among the people at GES (Global English School) where I will be leader of my own little tribe of fifth graders. It truly will be a challenge as I teach these mostly Thai students in my native language, English and try to pick up on their tonal language with its unique alphabet!
My travel guide for this adventure is none other than my Heavenly Father. He will show me things I've never seen before, he will protect me from all the many dangers encountered in a jungle, and he will lead me safely to where he wants me to be. This is the adventure of a life time and I'm ready to climb into my canoe, hold on for dear life, and ride it for all it's worth!
Please follow along on my adventure as you explore this blog!