Sweet Journey

Five Years Ago

2012-01-18T22:36:00.009-05:00

I wish I could remember what I was doing on this day five years ago. Whatever I was doing, I was oblivious that my baby girl was being born in China. I was dreaming about her, praying for her, hoping for a phone call. But, on this particular day, my life was changed FOREVER and I had no idea. But Providence knew.

On most days, this whole scenario doesn't enter my mind. We're doing life: learning to read, putting puzzles together, laughing, crying, taking temperatures, snuggling, kissing, pouting, correcting, singing (to which she will say, "that's ok mom, can you just let daddy sing?"). She's my baby girl who's turning five. Its not until I get the question, "why doesn't she look like you?" that I'm reminded that I didn't actually give birth to her. From day to day, I'm not really thinking about where our journey began.

But on days like today, I just need to sit and think about that day. I wasn't there for her birth, but others were. If no one else, there was one Chinese woman there. May the grace of the Lord be with her on this day. We will never know all the details of that day and the days leading up to it, but what we do know is that Jesus was there, caring, protecting, carrying out His plan for the life of this precious child, our daughter. Reflecting on this day carries me to the Cross where we see the redemption of all things. Difficult, painful circumstances become beautiful, life changing gifts. I am humbled on this day.

Marc and I want to help Sophie view all of life through the lens of God's greater story of redemption. We are a part of that story, our beginnings, our endings. Our personal histories are important but not ultimate. The ultimate story is that God's people, his creation, were lost and He found us. We were hopelessly trying to do life our own way. God, compelled by love, pursued His people- His stubborn, prideful people. He redeemed us by His own blood. He gave us a new identity, a new life. And then ultimately, "He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away. And he who was seated on the throne said, 'Behold, I am making all things new.'"- Revelation 21:4-5

My Love Muffin, my Princess Buttercup, my Sunshine, my Sophie Mei, she's five today and I'm so thankful for her.

Princesses and Hovercrafts.

2011-01-29T23:18:00.006-05:00

Wow, its 2011! That sounds so weird. When I was in high school, we just knew that we would be all be driving hovercrafts by now. Where's my hovercraft? Where's the robot that's supposed to be cleaning my house? What about my personal vending machine that will prepare and cook whatever I want? We may not have these things but we have some crazy phones and electronics. My friend sent us a kindle over Christmas- amazing gift!!! We can, from the other side of the world, order a book- just about any book- and it will download to this handheld device in a matter of minutes, any time of the day. I think she meant it for me, but since Marc reads about 3x's as much as me, its usually in his possession. :-) Technology is progressing, societies are changing, some for the better, some the worse. When my heart is tempted to get overwhelmed with the spiritual condition of those around me, the poverty, the pain, the enslavement, I have to discipline myself to look to the promises of the Lord. But what I KNOW is that "the steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, His mercies never come to an end. They are new every morning, new every morning. Great is your faithfulness O Lord, Great is your faithfulness." The Lord is good and with every passing year, He draws us closer and closer to Himself. "He who began a good work will carry it out to completion." - Phil. 1:6

The last couple of months have flown by! We've celebrated Thanksgiving, lots of Christmas parties, my birthday, many spiritual births, Sophie's gotcha day, Christmas, Sophie's Princess birthday and now we're girding ourselves for another busy season. We've got lots coming up on the horizon: showers and parties to celebrate Blaa and Nai's wedding (more on that later), ministry parties, a three week training project for the students, the wedding, staff training- then before we know it, the school year begins again. Whew! Lord, help us to be on your agenda and not our own.

The new marriage of a Thai Christian couple is really a huge praise! Thailand is a spiritually dark place and when two of our student come to know Christ, continue to walk with Him to a place of maturity, fall in love, and marry one another to begin a Christian family- we CELEBRATE!!!! Blaa and Nai need to be bathed in prayer. The Evil One does not like the formation of a Christian family, because its powerful. Please pray for them. Also, its a little long, but please enjoy watching their fairy tale engagement........

Until the next time I blog...... whenever that may be....... the Lord be with you.

Daisy the Dog

2010-11-26T18:21:00.003-05:00

We now have a dog. She has been a part of our family for apx. 2 months. We had talked about getting a dog for a while. Sophie has very high social needs and seeing that she doesn't have a little brother or sister yet, we figured a dog would be the next best thing. There is a sweet missionary family in the neighborhood whose teenage daughter was moving back to the US and they were looking for a home for her dog. It seemed to be a situation we couldn't pass up. First of all, she is adorable. Secondly, she was already partially trained and very well mannered- for the most part. Her biggest weakness is the burst of high energy she gets on the arrival of anyone through the front door. She is OBSESSED with toes. She bites, nibbles, licks, sniffs- while simultaneously jumping and running circles around your feet. The sight of fresh feet (meaning new feet, not clean feet- actually, I'm pretty sure she prefers dirty feet) acts like a visual amphetamine for her. I need to figure out how to take her through detox. I know there's probably a very easy way to train your dog, but I'm challenged when it comes to training. We're still working on going potty outside- all the time. Isn't this supposed to be relatively easy when working with an intelligent dog? I believe the experts, its normally a problem with the trainer, not the trainee. I need someone to train me on how to train.

Nevertheless, we really do love her. I secretly love the fact that she usually follows me wherever I go. When I'm cooking, she always gets snuggled up in the corner beside the oven, right by my feet. When I'm having a quiet time on the couch, there she is, right at my feet. I'm trying to ignore the fact that if she doesn't get a bath every other day, then I'm constantly sneezing and my eyes are bloodshot. This too shall pass- or not.

Sophie does well, but she can't handle Daisy first thing in the morning. Sophie always stops on the second from the last step and calls me to come and get her. Daisy is especially excited to see Sophie in the morning, but Sophie needs to enjoy Daisy from a secure location- the couch or living room chair, too high for Daisy to jump on. After Daisy comes down from her high, the playing begins. Sophie loves to play with the leash. The great thing is Sophie can't clip it to her collar, rather she lets Daisy hold it in her mouth and leads her around the house. Daisy always cooperates and keeps it in her mouth, following close behind Sophie. That's a good friend.

I hope we have Daisy for a long time, I just need to get trained on how to train. It's not that much different from training a child, except I don't have to "shepherd" the dog's heart. Speaking of shepherding a heart, I need to go read that book again. I need to get trained on how to train a child too, or at least a regular refresher course.

Poor Child

2010-11-22T02:59:00.004-05:00

Hmmm, I guess I'm not a blogger. My last entry was almost 4 months ago. The Pioneer Woman would be so disappointed. Maybe its just not in my blood. My sister finally wrote me an email and said, "Ok, enough is enough. Its Thanksgiving, write on your blog." Once I do it, blogging is really therapeutic. And I'm all about therapy.

I really can't believe its Thanksgiving already. Where does the year go? We have a big team Thanksgiving dinner. The only thing we'll be missing is turkey. Turkeys are really expensive here and to make enough to feed 40 people just seems like too much. We'll have grilled chicken instead. But we'll have everything else: pecan pie, hashbrown casserole, dressing, sweet tea, etc. The only other thing missing is weather cool enough to wear a sweater and boots. Ahhh, the joy of winter ensembles. Its so much more fun to pick out an outfit in the winter. I wear the same shorts every other day, the same 5 shirts, the same flip-flops. Though, I guess I should be be counting my blessings- clothes to wear and food to eat.

Something else that is flying by is Sophie's age! She will be 4 years old in two months!! She is getting smarter, spicier and funnier. Here are a few funny things she's said lately:

Sophie is really good at turning some of our corrections around and using them on us. Marc will periodically comment, "Sophie if you don't like Daisy trying to play with you, maybe we'll have to let her go play at someone else's house." Then the other day, Sophie said to me, after she witnessed my frustration at cleaning up after the dog, "Mommy, if you don't like Daisy tee-teeing on your floor, maybe we'll have to let her tee-tee on someone else's floor." My reply, "Well, who would like to have Daisy come tee-tee on their floor?" ...Sophie- "Hmmmmm, I'm not sure."

We were at a retreat and Sophie was really in the mood to play, she came to me and said, "Mom, I love you and everything, but where is Daddy?"

At the Fall Festival there was an ongoing game where our friend Brandon played the part of sheriff and would periodically arrest people. Brandon came to arrest Blaa and put her in jail, Sophie was standing with Blaa at the time. (Blaa is a dear friend who hangs the moon in Sophie's eyes). Sophie was taken off guard, and as Brandon pulled Blaa away by the arm Sophie aggressively pulled Blaa back by the hem of her dress. She was determined to save Blaa, it was serious business. She was utterly confused and Blaa was playing along saying, "Help, help!!! Sophie, help me!!" Finally, Sophie let go of the dress and took off running to her daddy, crying hysterically. She couldn't help Blaa. Marc kept trying to explain that they were just playing but as soon as I took Sophie in my arms, she said, "I'm never coming to church again!!!" She continued to say this on the way home, through her tears, "I'm never going to church again. Only you and Daddy. You can get me a babysitter!!" Poor child.

Until next time......

A Tribute to Sisterhood

2010-07-30T00:55:00.007-04:00

Well, the visit by my sister and her family has come and gone. We had a great time. Their visit was short but we tried to fill our days with good time together, eating (as usual) and seeing lots of everyday Thai culture. There's never a dull moment with my brother-in-law Gary around, he never meets a stranger. They say the people who learn the language the quickest are those who aren't afraid to go out and use the vocabulary they've learned, Gary would have the language in no time. He was trying to speak Thai the minute they got off the plane.

Hailey and Emily were so sweet, just glad to be here, going wherever we took them and eating whatever I asked them to try. They colored endlessly with Sophie in all her new coloring books. They watched Pooh. Hailey even shared her i-touch with Sophie whenever she asked. They are great cousins.

Melissa, however, was such trouble, more trouble than it was worth to have her here. I hope you can hear the jest in my typing. If I could wrap her up and stick her in my pocket to have with me all the time, I would. She's adorable. She's sweet. She's as easy to talk to as the day is long. She loves her family. She can make a cheesecake better than Paula Deen and the Pioneer Woman put together. She's addicted to sugar- I mean BAD. She's got extreme maternal instincts- (she still tries to mother me and I don't mind a bit :-). She loves Jesus and loves to talk about Him. She loves to cuddle with my baby Sophie. She thinks my husband is funny. She flew 1/2 way around the world to see me. And best of all, she loves me like a big sister should. I mean she really loves me. She is at home trying to slay the jet-lag beast because she loves me so much. I absolutely, positively cannot imagine not having sisters. I'm so sorry to all of you out there who don't have them. I'm sure having a brother has its perks. Having one sister is a great thing, but having two sisters is, is... extra great. I have a friend with 3 sisters (you Lute girls are blessed) and I can't even imagine the joy and the fun. Its in the works for my oldest sister and mom to come along next time. I will have to send out warnings that the Marechale sisters are in town and in full effect. My dad has graciously declined an invitation to ever visit us in Thailand again. He says he enjoyed his trip last year but he never cares to get on a plane for 27 hours again. I don't blame him.

So, anyway, that's pretty much all I can talk about right now. I will go and make something chocolatey so that I can think about my Sissy some more. Until next time. Sawasdee Kha!

New Friends and Other "Tidbits".

2010-07-01T05:03:00.009-04:00

Life is good here in the Lewis house. The schedule has picked up quite a bit with the arrival of our summer missions team, which has been a positive thing. Sophie and I have still been enjoying doing some school together. This girl loves cutting and gluing. I could give her a pair of scissors and a stack of scrap paper and she'll be happy for hours- ok, maybe only 45 minutes, but still. Its fun to hear the new words and expressions she picks up- from who knows where. We were walking through the grocery store, the stinky meat and fish section, when she covered her nose and said, "Mommy, something smells horrible, no actually, something smells terrible." I could only agree and laugh. Then, yesterday, while I was cooking dinner, she came to me and in her most bereft voice said, "Mommy, I don't know what to do with myself." What!? Have you ever heard me say that? I know she might get the dramatic and animated facial expressions from me, but these expressions have got to be someone else's fault. :-)

We also made some new friends this week. Sophie and our friend, Blaa, met some little girls at the neighborhood playground when Marc and I were on a date. They are several years older than Sophie and really loved playing with her. The oldest one, named Ice, asked if she could come and see Sophie again sometime. Well, Monday night Sophie and I were finishing up some coloring and about to head upstairs to bed when there was a knock on our front glass door, scared me to death. All I could see were four tiny faces pressed against the glass. The next thing I knew there were four precious neighborhood children running and playing in our living room at 7:30 pm. I let them play for about 20 minutes when I finally had to tell them it was time for Sophie to go to sleep. They, to my surprise, quickly starting neatly putting away all the toys they had played with and got on their bikes to leave. It was sweet. It was especially sweet because I was just thinking the other day that I wish there were some little kids in our neighborhood. I had never seen these children before. I knew children lived here but our street is all older, retired people and the kids on the other side of our neighborhood generally stay at school until at least 5 pm, sometimes 7-8 pm- hence the reason they were strolling in at 7:30. We were delighted to hear their voices in the carport the next evening calling Sophie's name. They came in again, played "enthusiastically", asked lots of curious questions about why my and Sophie's hair color was so different and then cleaned up all their toys at the first mention of Sophie's bed time. We're hoping they stop by again soon.

I had to stop this blog post to start dinner. Sophie came in to help. I sat her on the counter, her normal seat, and she said, "Guess what Mommy, I cut my hair and Chok Chai's hair." (Chok Chai is her stuffed horse's name) "What?!"I couldn't immediately see the missing chunk of hair but she showed me the evidence, black hair in the bathroom trashcan. Once I tried to reapply her hair in a ponytail, I could see her new and extra thick sideburn. Lovely.

So, the last exciting tidbit is that my sister and her family are coming to visit in exactly 13 days. They will be here for about the that long exactly, 13 days. I will anticipate their arrival obsessively, and savor every moment of their visit emotionally. :-) Its just the way I do things.

I didn't know it could be THIS good.

2010-05-29T06:17:00.009-04:00

I'm so glad no one told me how incredibly fun and satisfying being Sophie's mom was going to be. If I had known this, the 2.5 year wait for her would have been so much more difficult. And she gets funner everyday. Can I say funner? I don't think I'm supposed to. :-) The above picture is Sophie driving her school bus.

Most of the time I can't wait for her to wake up in the mornings- though I also can't wait for her to go to bed at night either, b/c I'm usually falling asleep by 7:45. But seriously, can anyone love their child as much as I love her? Is this normal? It only intensifies with every day. Like my heart is going to burst. I really have to control myself so that I don't squeeze the breath out of her. She is FULL of personality. She still loves dancing and now she's singing more and more. Though, I know she loves me dearly, her daddy totally "hangs the moon". See her hanging on his arm, I can't get enough of her and she can't get enough of him- I LOVE IT!!

Sophie and I have just recently started some K-3 homeschooling. The school year in Thailand begins in May so we will follow their schedule. It's been so good, for both of us. I really thrive within structure, and so does Sophie. Our schedule is very simple but its provided us with such good quality time together. She really enjoys "school" and its showing me how eager kids are to learn when given the opportunity. All of the older missionary kids go to a school in our neighborhood which is equivalent to a homeschool co-op. All the mothers teach, with the addition of a hired teacher. Sophie goes to this school for Thai language class. She loves getting to sit with her friends, John and Becca, to color and try to learn a few Thai words with her teacher, P' Gluay Khay (which literally translates "banana egg", a type of Thai banana).

We've got a very busy few months ahead of us as a group of American college students come for their summer to help Marc and the other staff meet some of the Freshmen at NEU. Sophie and I are looking forward to exercising our gift of hospitality by having a house full of students as often as we can. We've just recently put an air-conditioner in our living room which makes having people over a lot more enjoyable. Please continue to pray for us- and come see us!!!!!

Home Again, Home Again, Jiggity Jig

2010-03-28T22:05:00.003-04:00

We have now been home for one week after a long month and a half of traveling. Although it was difficult to leave our loved ones again, we are so glad to be home. Its taken us all several days to get somewhat back to normal, but I think the best way to express our current joy is through a dance performance by Sophie Mei.....

Dancing on a Cool Day in Thailand from marc lewis on Vimeo.

Sophie Mei dancing and having a great day.

The week after Sophie's 3rd birthday we flew to America and spent 4 lovely weeks visiting with friends, family and supporters. We, especially me, enjoyed as many yummy southern cooked meals as possible. I've always enjoyed good food but I feel the older I get, the more I enjoy- not a very good thing for an ever-declining metabolism. Collard greens, black-eyed peas, cornbread, a few Paula Deen recipes, Tres Leches cake, real mexican food, etc. I also had forgotten just how enjoyable a Chick-fil-a sandwich really is. There have been many foods that I dream about eating for so long and then when I finally get to eat it, I'm sorely disappointed- never as good as I remembered. But good 'ol Truett Cathy never disappoints. What is it? Is that sandwich anointed? Maybe so. God's blessing on a family who have chosen to honor Him first in all their dealings. Otherwise, it really doesn't make sense- a chicken sandwich so set apart from all others of its kind. ..... Ok, this is what happens when I just start typing the first things that come to my mind- a tribute to the Chick-fil-a sandwich.

Back to our traveling.... we enjoyed being home but the cold weather was pretty intense. We experienced snow 4 x's in those four weeks (Georgia, Tennessee and North Carolina). Sophie and I spent a lot of time indoors avoiding the weather and all the viruses that were rampantly attacking almost everyone we knew. She and I finally got colds but enjoyed staying snuggled up inside Grammy's house. While home, we ate good food (have I already mentioned that?), played really hard with all Sophie's cousins, had many cups of coffee around a table with all my favorite gals, lots of laughing, a little crying, trips to Wal-Mart, Target, and Chick-fil-a. Pretty enjoyable I must say.

Once we returned to Thailand we were at our house for four days and then left again for our Thai Summer Project in Chiang Mai. This retreat is designed to provide an ideal setting for our Thai Christians to grow in their faith and the non-Christians to be moved forward in their understanding of who Jesus Christ is. It was a very fruitful time as there were six new believers by the end of the retreat and many Christians who were encouraged to seek Christ daily and have Him use their lives to reach others. We were reminded of how privileged we are to be a part of such profound things, the ministry of reconciliation.

Now, we are getting settled back in, enjoying the Thai summer break. We will have a staff retreat at the end of April and then the campus schedule picks back up in May. Please continue to pray for us. Pray that our language acquisition will continue so that we can build and deepen relationships for the sake of the gospel. Maranatha!

Sophie Mei's Birthday (video 2:54)

2010-01-19T04:59:00.002-05:00

Sophie Mei's Birthday (3) from marc lewis on Vimeo.

My daughter's birthday party.

Christmas in Thailand 2009 (video 8:22)

2009-12-27T10:51:00.000-05:00

Christmas 2009 from marc lewis on Vimeo.

Christmas morning video with team and ministry photos. Merry Christmas.

By the way, its Zine, not Sai.

2009-12-11T20:04:00.003-05:00

Phonetics can be tricky sometimes but nonetheless, Zine (I had earlier asked you to pray for Sai, this is the same girl) prayed to receive Christ yesterday!! Praise the Lord! Please be praying for her, that the Lord will protect her from the lies of the Evil One, the intimidation of her friends and family and that she would stand firm in her new faith. Please continue to pray for the other girls as well: Im, Rock, Gung, Boo, and Jum.

Just a reminder: Im is on the left, Blaa is in the middle (older Christian who is one of my dearest friends), and Zine in on the right.

"I just want to believe the Truth"

2009-12-07T20:09:00.009-05:00

"I just want to believe the Truth", is what one student said after a lengthy conversation during the car ride home from our retreat. She also said she wanted to study more about the claims of Christ so she could compare it with the intense Buddhist teachings she has received her whole life.

The retreat was precious in every aspect. Our staff girls did an incredible job planning the retreat, and more specifically, planning their presentation of the gospel. I don't think the gospel could have been shared any clearer. The first night, Snow set the stage by explaining God as Creator (she was a Chemistry major and had great illustrations), the reality of heaven and hell, humans inability to be perfect, and our need for a Savior. Honey picked up the next morning with how God had provided that Savior, Jesus Christ. She, too, had wonderful illustrations that made the gospel so easy to understand. At the end of her sharing, there was even a tearful pleading for the girls to know that this message is true, not just Western religion. I think every believer was moved to tears (which included 4 Thai students), but the unbelievers sat stone cold still, no comment, no expression. Tough crowd. But we know that the power is in the gospel and that all we could do was pray for God to open the eyes of their hearts. We wrapped up our meeting time, leaving them with some things to think about and got ready for our day of activities. Hopeful.
We went to the National Park where we saw a ton of monkeys, wild elephants, and a beautiful waterfall. We tried to take advantage of our free time with the girls to have follow up conversations. By the end of the weekend there were four girls who said they were interested in learning more and one in particular who told Snow that she wanted to meet with her one on one and study the Bible before she made a decision for Christ. Helping someone make a decision to place their faith in Christ and begin following Him takes time and must be handled with care. There are many barriers for these students- strong family influence and expectation to be faithful Buddhists, and potential ridicule from friends and family if they do become a Christian. Please pray for Im, Gate, Ice and Sai as they move forward in their search for Truth. You can also pray for Gung, Rock, Jum, Boo, . I look forward to giving you an update on their progress.

This is Im, Blaa, and Sai.

Trip to "Big Mountain"

2009-12-01T20:41:00.002-05:00

We have a busy few days ahead of us. Tomorrow, the new mall opens in Khon Kaen. This is a big deal. For some crazy reason I have agreed to go with 3 of my friends, toting two children, to the opening day of this mall. My biggest objective is to find out whether or not they will be selling Christmas trees. I am desperate to get a Christmas tree up but I'm not yet desperate enough to spend $50 on a short, gappy, sparse, plastic tree. Watch, I may be eating these words after tomorrow when I can't find my dream artificial tree. There is just nothing like bringing home a nice, big, full, Fraser Fir that smells up your whole house. Those were the days. But its also nice to have all your windows open enjoying nice, perfect temperature weather on Christmas Day also. The blessings and the sacrifices- life is full of them.

Ok, so on with our busy week. After our mall outing on Thursday we will have a Women's Christmas Fellowship on Friday night. This is a party that our team puts on every year for our staff women and missionary women from other organizations in the area. I'm really looking forward to this. We're having a appetizer buffet, lots of dips, chips, cheesiness of every kind and cookies. Can I handle it? Thanksgiving already left me with 1.7 extra lbs. I'll just have to do a few extra laps around the neighborhood this week, and a few hundred more crunches (not).

Lastly, the reason for this whole post in the first place, Saturday morning I will be leaving to go to Khao Yai (pronounced 'Cow Yie). The Thai staff girls are putting on a small women's evangelistic retreat. There will be 16 Thai college students (12 of which are unbelievers), 2 Australian college students, and 6 of our staff women. This is really a big opportunity that we would love for you to be praying for. The majority of the students are girls that our two single Thai staff women at NEU have been building friendships with over the last few months. We are asking the Lord to prepare their hearts to respond to a clear presentation of the gospel. We are convinced that it is the gospel that is "the power for salvation". Please pray these things for our weekend:

1. Safe travel as we take 3 vehicles on a 4 hour drive (one way).
2. Snow and Honey would have clarity and boldness as they teach and share the gospel.
3. That the Holy Spirit would remove the blindness and chains that keep these young women in bondage to idol worship and seeking satisfaction and happiness in the things of this world.
4. That, I personally, would be able to build some relationships with these students. Being at home with Sophie, I have little opportunity to go on the campus and enter their world. I would love to maximize this opportunity in order to build trust with them so that they would feel free and comfortable to come to "my world". How I long for my home to be a refuge, a safe, warm place that when unbelievers walk in, they know there's something different and they want to know why. I want more opportunities to use hospitality as my medium for evangelism.
5. Lastly, pray for Marc and Sophie as they will be home alone for 3 days. I know Sophie will miss me but she LOVES extended quality time with her Daddy.

I look forward to posting lots of pictures from our weekend and maybe even share about another soul being redeemed!

Love,
Sherry

Thanksgiving

2009-12-01T20:27:00.001-05:00

happy thanksgiving from thailand from marc lewis on Vimeo.

A scarf in Thailand?

2009-11-23T20:08:00.009-05:00

Can you believe that I'm sitting at my computer wearing a jacket and a scarf? I also have a throw blanket wrapped around my legs. The temperature is right at 60 F this morning. I know that doesn't sound cold to many of you but I mine as well be sitting outside in the 60 degree weather. We have no insulation and all granite/ tile floors so its pretty much the same temperature inside as it is outside. I walk with a good friend of mine at 5 am and I have NO long exercise pants here. So I'm out there with running shorts and a jacket. Our Thai neighbors don't mess with the cold weather, everyone we pass (the 3 other people walking at that time) are bundled to the max- sock caps, scarves, gloves, etc. I'm sure they think I'm crazy. But, with all that said, I LOVE IT!!!!!! There is nothing better to aid in getting in the holiday spirit than cold weather- well, playing Christmas music always helps.

Sophie and I made a couple of Thanksgiving crafts. There is one with a poem writen on it that involves writing things you are thankful for. I asked her to tell me things she was thankful for and she started her list: God, Daddy, Mommy, a few family members, and then she said holiness. "Holiness?", I asked. "What do you think holiness means?". She answered, "I don't know. God told me to say it." Was that a message for me?

We are also getting ready for our big Thanksgiving dinner at the church. We were going to have the meal at our house but with the unpredicability of the weather, we thought it best to have it at the church. We have no AC in our downstairs and its predicted to be 90+ degrees on Thanksgiving day. Sitting around sweating while trying to enjoy a big plate of hot mushy casseroles would not be fun. Whoohoo, I cannot wait for a plate of hot, mushy casseroles all piled up together with just a corner reserved for a heaping spoonful of cold, crunchy broccoli salad. While we may not have access to all the holiday trimmings, we certainly make do. It also usually turns out that someone is making a trip to Bangkok and can make a grocery run for everyone. This year it happened to Moe and Git. Git had a long shopping list that included stuff like: pecans (which cost about $5.50 for 1/2 cup), corn bread mix, canned pineapple, cranberry sauce, karo syrup, etc. The only thing that will be missing this year is a turkey. Yes, thanksgiving without a turkey. We actually have access to butterball turkeys here but they are outrageously expensive. So, we do rotisserie chickens from a local grocery store. Honestly, I can take or leave the meat (although I do love my Daddy's perfectly moist smoked turkey), just give me that plate full of hot, mushy casseroles with a little crunchy broccoli on the side and I am blissfully content.

I look forward to posting pictures of our Thanksgiving spread from this Thursday. I will be assisting our resident decorator, Mary Jo Ray (missionary teacher) with the festive decor. I know we will have a wonderful day of eating and talking, two of my favorite things. The upcoming month holds lots of other holiday activities. We'll be making a trip to Laos, Bangkok and Khao Yai. I'm sure we'll have lots to write about then. We also have a group of Australian college students coming to help meet Thai students on the campus. I'm looking forward to all the Lord has planned for us over this Christmas season. We're praying that many hearts are opened and that the gospel would pierce and bring freedom. Joy to the World!

Lewis Family Disco Throw Down

2009-11-11T21:01:00.001-05:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Sophie's Song

2009-10-26T11:30:00.001-04:00

Sophie's Song.

Singing at the table. Breaking all the rules. I was trying to get some footage of her talking but she decided to sing. Don't read into her song...she is a happy girl who knows who she is and also knows her stuffed animal flopsy.

Ballet Class

2009-10-25T00:46:00.003-04:00

Today Sophie took her first ballet class at the Hug School in Khon Kaen.

Here they are warming up.

Working on positions.

We are very pleased that there is now a ballet school in our city. Sophie had a great time!

Waiting

2009-10-17T20:25:00.003-04:00

I wanted to blog about "waiting" this morning. I just googled, "wisdom from waiting" and I ran across this website, someone interviewing Lewis Smedes. These are the bullet points of his interview:

I. We all have to wait sometimes.
II. Nobody likes to wait.
III. Waiting is the hardest thing we ever do.
IV. Waiting can be a beautiful experience.
V. People who cannot wait almost always make things worse.
VI. The strength to wait comes from faith.
VII. In fact, waiting for God is the supreme test of faith.

These are all great reminders for me right now. We turned in the paperwork for our second adoption, here in Thailand. Initially, I was told that the wait time would be one year. The social worker casually informed me that it would now be at least 2 years. This waiting time will not even begin until we have finished our homestudy. I don't know when that homestudy will take place, I just have to WAIT for someone to contact me.

This is not how I had things planned. Isn't it interesting how we don't even realize we are making plans until we find out things aren't going according to that plan. I definitely agree with point VII. "... waiting for God is the supreme test of faith." I struggled HARD while waiting for Sophie Mei. Many days of crying and disappointment, not understanding why it was taking so long. But God was patient with me as I was impatient with Him.

Sophie just woke up and is laying her head in my lap. Wow, looking into these dark eyes, that I love beyond words, how can I question God's wisdom and timing? I can't. Thankfully, He is always patient with me and I will pray that He will give me the grace to wait and be patient in response.

"Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD."- Ps. 27:14

"I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in his word I put my hope."- Ps. 130:5

"I say to myself, 'The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.'"- Lam 3:24

We are waiting and we are open to whatever opportunity God might put before us in the meantime. The more babies, the merrier the home. Please pray with us.

Sherry, Marc and Sophie

"Its ok Mommy. Grammy come back again. Maybe not tonight."

2009-10-06T03:29:00.009-04:00

Wow. We sure did have a wonderful time while my mom and dad were here. I didn't want it to end. Praise the Lord their travel was uneventful and no sickness, exactly what we prayed for. Sophie loved having multiple playmates everyday. Her favorite phrase was, "Come on Grammy, follow me." And you know my mom followed her everywhere she led. We stayed at our house in Khon Kaen for the first two weeks. Marc was still on campus so mom and dad just got to see our normal life, Sophie and I at home all day :-). We did make a few short excursions to some nearby places, King Cobra Village, The Obonrat Dam, a friend's rice field. We took it easy. Hopefully, it was a good taste of Thai culture for them. We don't have cable so we had to get my dad set up on the internet to follow a few football games, Ga. Tech to be specific. Other than that, we just spent time together, drinking coffee, reading books and laughing at Sophie. One thing about living so far from family is that when we are all together it is quality time.

My favorite part of everyday was waking up, walking downstairs to the smell of coffee brewing. My dad would already be sitting on the front porch reading with a pot of coffee ready for my mom and me. I usually always drink coffee alone in the morning so it was really nice to enjoy the mornings with them. My mom and I would then sit on the couch and talk, drinking coffee and sometimes talking to my sisters on skype. So, my mornings now are a little sad but it was precious while it lasted.
We spent the last week of their trip in Khao Yai and Bangkok. I decided to wear them out the last few days. I loved being their tour guide. We rode elephants, saw wild monkeys at the National Park, rode in a taxi for hours on end (my dad's least favorite part). All the while sitting not more than 2 inches from one another, always close enough to grab their hand or put my arm around them, and that's all that mattered.

I knew my dad was wild at heart but I guess its laid dormant for the last few years. He decided to let it fly while he was here- eating bugs, handling snakes, even getting a tattoo in Bangkok. I loved watching it all. My mom just rolls with it. The craziest thing we did was sit and get a mural painted on our toenails. I came really close to eating a bug with my dad but I just couldn't do it.

I was getting sadder and sadder as the day approached for them to leave. I shed a few tears at the hotel before Marc took them to the airport, but I was ok. We drove home to Khon Kaen the next day. Getting back to our house was the difficult part. We walked in the door and the smell of our new bamboo blinds made me burst into tears. My dad worked so hard to get those hung. He was our regular fix-it man while he was here. He loves fixing and building, he really ministered to us. Then I walked into "grammy and papa's room" and more tears came. Sophie came up, looked right into my eyes, and said, "you little bit sad, mom?", I said, "yes, i miss Grammy and Papa." she answered, "It be ok, Mom. Grammy come back again...Maybe not tonight." Of course this made me laugh and I hugged her little body til it hurt. She is my sunshine.

So, its only been 4 days since they left but for some reason it seems like a month. I love my family. I love my home country. But I also love this life that the Lord has called us to. Its not easy but it sure does bring me to my knees. I don't know how God is going to use us here in Thailand, but He sure is using Thailand to do a work in us. My peace and true satisfaction is found nowhere but in Jesus. He is my strength when I am weak, He is the treasure that I seek, He is my all in all.

Visitors and New Arrivals

2009-09-05T10:21:00.006-04:00

I'm going to stop saying that I'm going to post regularly because it hasn't happened yet. I'm one of those people who needs to write a note of encouragement to follow up on a conversation but I have so much to say that I keep putting it off until just the right time. Then of course that perfect time never comes and I'm left with lots of good intentions. The same goes for blogging. I feel like I have to wait until I have something extra interesting, extra encouraging or extra funny to post. Then when I think I have something blogworthy, I keep putting it off until I have uninterrupted time to be thoughtful about it. Marc, on the other hand, can just sit down and be objective, spitting out two full paragraphs of witty, encouraging and interesting tid-bits. Oh well, I guess I have to be content being the "sweet one".

Sooooooo, on with my irregular posting....

Life is going very well at present. I'm actually on cloud 9 because my mom and dad are coming to visit next week. Who knows, they may be the first Marechale's to ever come to Thailand- ever. I will get to spend a full 36 hours with them in Bangkok, just me. This is precious to me b/c I know that as soon as they get around that little dark haired, dark eyed munchkin, I'll be nothing but chopped liver. (we moms always say that about grandparents but we really love it that they love our kids so much). They are going to absolutely eat her up. And rightly so, because she only gets cuter and cuter. She has been saying the funniest things lately. After play group on Wednesday, she was sitting in her booster seat eating lunch when she exhaled deeply, leaning back in her seat with a bereft look on her face and said, "me and my friends had a rough day." then shrugged her shoulders and said, "anyways".

Sophie is also really into painting. She wants to paint all day every day. I don't protest too much because when I have the opportunity to sit down and paint with her I really enjoy it, its very therapeutic. She has a pretty long attention span. She will really stick to a project. I had to clean lots of really nasty windows today and she was right there with me wiping and scrubbing until I gave her her next assignment. She's quite the helper. Though, along with getting cuter and cuter, she's definitely exerting some independence and reminding us why they call it the "terrible two's". Just when you think you've got this discipline thing down, it gets even more challenging. Its getting harder and harder. I need to pick up few old books and read them again.

Well, those of you who are on facebook probably got Marc's recent message, non-chalantly announcing that we are in the beginning stages of adopting again. Those of you who aren't on facebook, this is the announcement :-). We are adopting a Thai child. We've requested as young as possible and are open to either gender, which in Thailand will most likely mean a boy. We are told that it will be roughly a year wait from the time we finish our paperwork. So, we're thinking maybe Christmastime 2010. Please keep us in your prayers.

Well, I think that's about it for now. I'll be sure to post some pictures of my parents visit. We're planning to do a few neat excursions.

God Bless,
Sherry

Lovely Day with Sophie Mei

2009-07-01T08:43:00.005-04:00

Yesterday was quite a sweet day. It started off a little rocky when I couldn't put Sophie's carseat back together. I had taken it apart so that I could wash the cover but there ended up being one piece whose original place I could not find. I love putting things together so it became especially frustrating when I couldn't do it. I searched all over the internet for a diagram on how to put the carseat back together but couldn't find it. I had tried not to bother Marc b/c he was working on something but finally I put out my distress call. Thankfully, it only took him looking at it for about 30 seconds and he told me where it went. My hero. This small crisis put us way behind going to the grocery store. It was 11:30 and I knew Sophie would be way too sleepy to make it through the grocery store without falling apart. I decided that my chances for a successful shopping trip were a lot better if we ate lunch first. There's a small Thai "food court" upstairs at Lotus (grocery store). We ordered Khaw Mon Guy (baked chicken and rice) and Phad Thai (stir fried noodles). We ended up sharing the Khaw Mon Guy as the Phad Thai was inedible for me, full of fatty pork and tiny dried shrimp. Because I generally eat anything, it has to be pretty bad for me to leave a full plate of it.

Well, to my surprise, Sophie was an angel all through the grocery store. She was quite content, just talking to me the whole time. We were even serenaded by a man from Whales, seriously. He was a character. We got finished in record time but I knew that a good nap would be ruined if Sophie fell asleep in the car. So, there began "Operation Keep Sophie Awake". It wasn't as difficult as it has been on other occasions. I have even resorted to feeding her candy to keep her awake. This time I just talked to her, asking her all kinds of questions. I could tell she was getting sleepy when all of a sudden she just yelled out, "my tummy hurts... I eat too much food around here." Where did that come from? Sophie is a very sweet child but it just seemed that she was especially sweet that day. Or was it just that I was in a good mood, able to appreciate her sweetness? I just couldn't keep my hands and lips off of her. I probably told her I loved her 85x's. She replies with "tank you, mom."

We get home, get a nap and all is well. Later that night I made spaghetti and invited a friend over. My friend, Blaa, is Thai and she used to be on staff with our ministry. Now, she has opened a Christian bookstore in the city. She asked if a friend could come with her. The guys were on campus for dinner so, for me, the more girls at my house the merrier. Her friend was a sweet girl from Taiwan. She was a Christian who was here teaching Mandarin at an elementary school. Her name is Wendy and she is very homesick. She just walked into my Blaa's bookstore looking for a friend, for fellowship. I was so glad she came. We ate dinner and talked for while. She told me how she became a Christian 10 years ago. She had been looking for meaning in life, her purpose. She asked her teacher and she gave Wendy an encyclopedia and told her it would have the answers. Sad. One day she went to get a new haircut, hoping it would make her feel better, less depressed. The hairdresser was a Christian and Wendy could tell there was something different about her. Long story short, Wendy heard the gospel and placed her faith in Jesus. I was very encouraged. I hated to cut the conversation short but I needed to give Sophie a bath and get her to bed. You could tell Wendy didn't want to leave. I went upstairs, gave Sophie a bath and then came back downstairs. They were leaving and Wendy asked if we could all pray together. It was precious. Sophie sat in my lap for about 10 mins. while we prayed. I prayed in English, Wendy prayed in Chinese and Blaa prayed in Thai. A beautiful picture of heaven, people from every tongue, tribe and nation gathered around the throne of God. I love that praying is such a normal thing to Sophie already. She would never let us forget to pray before we ate. She's precious. I know all mom's think that about their children so I make no apologies :-).

Blaa, Wendy and Sophie

It was a sweet day with Sophie Mei.

Sophie's new video

2009-06-29T20:33:00.001-04:00

Random Moments from marc lewis on Vimeo.

Sophie talking, singing, and dancing.

A French Press in Amazing Thailand

2009-06-27T04:24:00.007-04:00

Another week in "Amazing Thailand". This has been a description for Thailand used by the Ministry of Tourism for atleast the last 10 years. Now, its commonly and affectionately used by most Thais and foreigners (that's us) living here. It really is a pretty amazing country. I think our sweet little house guest is loving his visit (Slade would probably prefer not being called "sweet" and "little" but since this is my blog I will proceed with overly feminine and maternal language). We love watching someone "fresh" enjoy all the things to look at and observe. The mama and baby cow travelling in the bed of a truck, and another truck loaded down with plastic chairs at least 6 ft. high with a man sitting on top calls out to a newcomer as a great photo-op, but to us feels very normal. The first couple of weeks that we were back felt like a shock to my system- culturally- but its been encouraging that all those things quickly returned to feeling familiar and normal. I'm sitting here on my bed, Sophie napping beside me, with my laptop- everything feels very normal- but then I think, "Wait, I'm in Thailand, on the other side of the globe, and I LIVE here." Strange.....but wonderful. It can only be the Lord to give this kind of peace being so far from home. We were just reminiscing today at lunch. We let ourselves dream sometimes, picturing the beautiful drive to Marc's mom's house in N. Caroline, the geraniums on the square in McDonough. The other day I was watching a video of the procession that took Sgt. Beale's body from the airport to the funeral home. The video took me down all the familiar roads from Fayetteville to McDonough. My heart did ache but still it had peace. Its been neat explaining to Sophie why Daddy and Slade go to "campus" everyday. I want to keep before us all, even Sophie, why we're here. Here's our conversation,

me: "Sophie where is Daddy and Slade?"
Sophie: "campus"
me: "Why did they go to campus?"
Sophie: "tell friends about Jejus."
me: "what do they tell them about Jesus?"
Sophie: "Jejus loves them. Jejus died on the cross."
me: "If they believe in Jesus where can they go?"
Sophie: "heaven".
Marc likes to clarify and keep us on track, "Sophie, who will be in heaven?" Sophie: "Jejus... and P'Honey (one of the staff girls whom she loves.)

Anyway, I was going to talk about our week and went off on a tangent instead. Sophie and I have had a few friends over for dinner while the guys were on campus. Marie and her boys came over on Tuesday night and I made spaghetti pie, then on Thursday night we kept little Rae Rae (Moe and Git's daughter) while Moe was in the hospital (he had nose surgery after a minor soccer accident). Sophie had fun playing with Rae, except for the few times that she couldn't quite make herself share her toys. She had to get a little discipline a couple of times but other than that they had fun together. Finally, on Friday night Sophie and I were able to attend our first ministry event on campus. She had a really good time as long as she was stuck to her Daddy's side. That was nice for me too as I was able to get to know a few students. We have a retreat in a couple of weeks that Sophie and I will go on. I'm looking forward to that so that she and I both can spend more time with everyone.

The last bit of exciting (though insignificant) news from this last week is that I got a french press coffee maker. I've been drinking instant coffee for the last three months and since its already not easy to find a good coffee maker for a decent price, I bit the bullet and bought a french press. I'm still trying to figure out how to make a good cup of coffee with it but I'm hopeful that I can master it and wow my mom and dad with a superb cup of coffee when they come to visit in September.
If there are any french press experts out there, please feel free to instruct me.

Sherry

critters and such

2009-06-22T23:53:00.006-04:00

Misc. 6.23.09

Life is seeming to get to a "new normal" for us. Marc has been really busy since the Cross Cultural Project students have been here. We were spoiled having him home everyday when we first got here as everyone was out for summer break and the staff had "down time". Slade Adams is also staying with us this summer and we have loved it, especially Sophie. Every morning she says, "Where Daddy is? Where Slade is?". Then when they leave she always cries and says she wants to go with them. She has even referred to Slade as "my Slade", then she randomly looked at me one day and said, "I'm Slade's baby". Wow, we're going to be a mess when Slade has to leave.

Sophie and I are at home on most days. Its much different than the first time we were here. We have gone on campus a few times to eat with Marc but there's really not much opportunity for us to get around the students right now. We have three Thai staff women who are on campus everyday and I look forward to opening my home for them to bring some of the students they are ministering to. I love being at home with Sophie, she is growing so fast. She's talking a lot. She LOVES puzzles and painting. We have a little fish pond in front of our house and she always wants to go "catch the fish". We have a net and she splashes around in the water quite often, poor fish. I'm so thankful for the house that the Lord has provided, it is quickly becoming our home away from home.

One thing I've had to get reacquainted with is the abundance of "critters" that are inevitably going to find their way into your home. Ants in abundance, ginkgoes (aka. geckos), tuk-kae (lizard a little larger than a gecko), frogs, spiders, mosquitoes, roaches and occasionally snakes. I will be sure to include a picture of most of these as they have been much obliged to pose for my camera. The most disconcerting visit we had was from a friendly garden snake. Sophie and I were sitting in the living room, I was reading as she was playing. She started to walk into the dining room and I heard her say, "What's him doing?" "What's who doing???!!", was my response as I sprung from my chair. And sure enough, there's a little green snake slithering across the floor. Now, I'm not particularly scared of snakes, I kind of like them. But there's something about one crawling into your house that is quite unnerving. I scooped Sophie up and we ran upstairs to get Marc. He was able to catch it and dispose of it. Initially, I wasn't going to offer this information to my mom as I didn't want her to worry but she recently told me that she and my dad had a 5' king snake in the house, wrapped around the base of my dad's recliner. So, I figured this little garden snake would be nothing to her :-).

The only other exciting thing that has happened around the Lewis house is that Sophie was able to feed a baby elephant on the side of the road. It is very common to see a man walking an elephant down the street trying to make money. He sells small bags of sugar cane or bananas (20 baht a bag) for you to feed his elephant. Sophie (and Slade) were very happy to give the baby his breakfast. She hopes to see a mama elephant sometime soon.

I might try to take a power nap now as the princess is sure to wake up from hers any minute.

Until Next Time,
Sherry, for the Lewis'