Saturday, November 23, 2013

Food at the right time.... MIKEY and SAM

After a semi stressful first week we are finally settled in... or so we hope. Good thing because living out of a suitcase will make me homesick a lot faster then almost anything
else! So being able to empty our luggage and find a home for all of our belongings gave me a feeling of relief. So far, we have been able to enjoy multiple service days with the congregation and it turns out...its mostly in the Thai field<<<<eek!!>>> We are all doing our best to be flexible and roll with the punches :)

The brother who conducted our first Pattaya service meeting graciously handed all in the audience a sheet of paper containing many "simple" Thai phrases that would be useful for the ministry. That entire meeting for field service was spent going over these phrases (not like that helped at all but it was nice of him..) Once the shock of being "thrown" into the Thai field wore off, we all started
working on our Thai presentations, being kindly coached along by various service buddies. You can hear all the Californians quietly mumbling their presentations over and over again to themselves as we pass by each other. Thai householders, for the most part, don't seem to make it any easier. After I muster up all the courage I have and spit out a 10/15 second presentation..(that feels like forever) I look up at the householder to find either a blank stare or them laughing...awkward. Despite the confusion and uncomfortableness being experienced by both parties, they still take the tract, I force a smile, and we walk on. The nice part is that you can look back at those who you just left the tract with and almost always you will find them reading it. Warms my heart!


We literally will spend the whole service day trying to force our little brains to remember 2 or three little sentences. By the end of the day I feel a little more confident, repeating the presentations and greetings in my head and out loud for the rest of the night.. on motor bikes, in grocery stores, at dinner, before I go to bed.. I'm not exaggerating, I feel bad for Mikey. By the next morning I show up to the meeting for field service (still silently going over my presentation) and feel confident, dare I say even a little cocky about my new found Thai "skills." However that cockiness is immediately smashed to pieces when my new service partner informs me that I'm doing it all wrong and gives me a completely different presentation.  NOOOOOO!!! This is definitely a humbling experience :)

The good news is that we arrived just in time to enjoy the week of the English C.O visit! Last night we ALL got to attend the entire Pioneer meeting and it was amazing. Even though going into the meeting I wasn't feeling discouraged or down in the dumps, it was definitely the "shot in the arm" that I'm pretty sure we all needed. Jehovah always knows what we need even before we do :) Because the majority of pioneers here are more or less in the same boat that we are (serving in foreign lands) the meeting was tailored to us completely, allowing us to hear just what we need...Food at the right time :)


Thai Presentation:
Sa-wa-dee-kah (hello)
Pom/Chan (male/female) chuh Sam/Mikey Ka/Kob (male/female)- (My name is Sam/Mikey)
Rao ben pie-on pra Yahoah ka/kob- (We are Jehovah's Witnesses)
Pom/Chan yaak hi penpap ni ka/kob -(I want to give you this brochure)
Andu na ka/kob-(for you to read)...I think
Kob kun ka/kob-(thank you)

So I've tried uploading photos but its not working :( Sorry!

7 comments:

  1. Sam: Wow, this sounds pretty stressful! Hope it's getting better for you. With Jehovah's help, your perseverance and patience, I'm sure it will get a bit easier for you. Look forward to more posts soon. :-)

    Deb Stone

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    1. Thanks Debbie! I hope I didn't sound too discouraging because we really are having a great time here! With Jehovah anything is possible :)

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  2. Loved your description of events. You're a good writer! I will join the ranks of being able to say "I know how you feel" when we head to Maio in January and I have to know the "simple" presentation in Kriolu!! Yikes! So far I can only say "I go" or "you go" :)

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    1. Thank you! You have to just accept the fact that you will be talking baby talk for a while... It's really fun tho!

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  3. Nice post! It's nice to see your good attitudes and its good to hear about you both getting to attend the pioneer meeting with the C.O. We look forward to reading more!

    Antoine & Kanicia

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  4. I'm glad you're settling in! Loved the group pic!!! Miss you guys...

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  5. Loved the copy of your Thai presentation.
    Judy Ohlemacher

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