Alise & Mark Juanes
September 2020

Sa Wat Dii! 

What a crazy and unpredictable start to our cross-cultural experience! Back in May of last year, we posted the “yay duck and the yuck duck” outlook: The paradox (pair-of-ducks) in life is to know that there are both positive and negative aspects to it,  and the importance of seeing and accepting both. Here in Thailand, society is slowly, and with restraint, making a return to “normal.” Stores and restaurants are opening back up, so this seemed like a good time to let you know what we have been up to with our Yays and Yucks of social distancing. Remember, as humans, we often have a tendency towards being either pessimistic or optimistic – so the challenge is to experience and gratefully accept both.

YUCK: “Adventure” is our theme word for the year. We were planning to create a mindset of boldness and adventure by exploring Thailand and going out of our way to meet new people. About six weeks after we arrived, and as we were starting to get settled into language learning and a routine of “adventure,” the government shut down all non-essential stores and requested everyone to shelter-in-place as in most countries around the world. This put an obvious barrier to our mindset of adventure.

YAY: While our expectations of “boldness” and “adventure” are currently challenged, being unable to go to parks or hiking has allowed us to focus on walking around the neighborhood and meeting lots of people. We live in quite the international neighborhood: There are families from England, Sweden, and even Detroit, as well as many Thai families. Since the evenings are cooler, and with better air quality, many people are now outside. This gives us an opportunity to meet new people and practice Thai phrases that we are learning.

YUCK: When we were at language and culture training in Colorado, one of the key suggestions they gave was to get outside as much as we could; and to engage people and experience the culture as much as possible, rather than staying at home where we would feel more “comfortable” on our own. (This would be the complete opposite of what we have done during the past two months.)

YAY: We have had an opportunity to connect deeper as a family: We have had discussions about things that are similar to and different from our lives in the USA. We definitely have had some really hard days here, but we see God working in our marriage and in our family – and even in our home-school battles, just like many of you!

YAY: Since the air quality improved we have been able to spend more time outside in our yard. The property here has several fruit trees, including banana, guava, papaya, two types of mango, and rose-apple. Besides caring for all of these fruit trees, we also have been working in the yard that's filled with orchids, bamboo, plumeria, etc. For us, working in the yard has been relaxing, stress-relieving, and given us "food" for spiritual thought.

YUCK: The whole family started going to a Thai Language school a month after we arrived here. We were able to go in person for only two weeks and then the schools suddenly closed.

YAY: We are thankful for technology and have been able to continue our language studies online. It’s not always easy to hear the tones of the word sounds, but we are getting it! One thing we have appreciated is that because our teacher is also at home, we have been able to connect with her on a more personal level as we learn about her friends, family, and Buddhism. If we were in a school setting we think we would have had fewer opportunities to talk more openly with her.

YUCK: One of our top priorities in getting settled in Thailand is to find a church community where we can receive God’s Word and be fed spiritually. Finding a new church can be intimidating, especially one where everyone in our family can make connections. Of course, under COVID-19 restrictions, all the churches are closed and we have not had time to connect with a church community…yet.

YAY: While we have not been able to connect with a church in Chiang Mai, our home church in California has shifted to online services, which we have been able to watch, as well as being able to participate in an online Bible study group. In terms of cultural integration and finding a community for the kids, online will not be a viable long-term solution. However, it is nice to study with friends and to be part of a worship community online.

Social distancing, especially in a new country and culture, is not something we can control. What we are trying to do is focus on what we can control, how we can respond to the current situation, and how we can best use our time. The biggest takeaway from these past few months has been to spend more time looking inward and developing our personal relationships with Jesus and with each other.

“Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.” Psalms 139:23



Here are some updates, praises, and prayer requests from Kim Brown and the staff of the House of Love and the House of Blessing:

  1. We praise God that all of our House of Love family have continued in good health. We ask for continued prayer for them, and also for wisdom for the staff as we begin to consider what the beginning of school will be like in July. We are grateful that we will have the personnel for helping with home-schooling if that is what is needed, but we would need to buy extra computers or devices (our students are in many grade levels at 8 different schools) if home-schooling is necessary.
  2. Please also continue to pray for all of our House of Blessing students, who would normally be starting back to school this month (although school is out of session until at least July 1). All of our students live in densely populated slums, with little hope of being able to socially distance or self-quarantine themselves, and therefore putting them at risk for contracting the COVID-19 virus. These children used to have a healthy hot lunch when they came to school, so we are trying to make sure our families have rice and other food because the parents are unable to work right now.
  3. Can you also be praying for the health of our children at the Christian Center for the Development of Persons with Disabilities (CDPD) project? Having disabilities, these children are often more medically fragile, and we would appreciate prayers for their health and safety. We also are sharing rice and other food with our CDPD families. Some (like the students who are blind) board at their schools, where they receive three meals a day. But with no schools in session, many families are finding that feeding teenagers can put a strain on their food budgets!
  4. Pastor Tim Dee, representing the Thailand Karen Baptist Convention (TKBC), and Pastor Thra Chirasak, representing the Church of Christ in Thailand (CCT, District 19), met with us for an introductory meeting.


    How do you get mangoes from a mango tree? Use a really long pole with a basket on the end.

                                                     

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