Family Favorites Reading List, part 3 - Animal Stories

In this series of posts entitled, Family Favorites Reading List, we share some of the books we've read and enjoyed together as a family.  Here are some of the animal stories that we have enjoyed for this week's post,

"Because of Winn-Dixie," by Kate Di Camillo
Opal acquires her pet dog in the most unlikely place…a grocery store! Make sure you read the book before you watch the movie.  We were inspired by this story, and thus we named our cats - Tesco & Lotus, after a local grocery store here in Bangkok!

"The Summer of Riley," by Eve Bunting
The devotion that a boy has for his dog and what he does to save him from certain death one very special summer.

"Tornado," by Betsy Byars
 

Read Pete's favorite tale of how he got his favorite pet.

 

"Summer of the Sharks," by Sally Streib
The underwater adventure story of Eric and Susan on a remote island paradise in the Bahamas for a coral reef restoration project!
http://www.adventistbookcenter.com/Detail.tpl?sku=0816321264
ISBN: 0816321264

"Lass," by Roland Gebauer, Illustrated by Cheri Bladholm
Lass, a pure-bred Border collie, is rescued from her unhappy life in the city and taken to a sheep ranch. There Lass learns about trust, obedience, and faithfulness under the patient guidance of her new master. A heartwarming true story that illustrates the unconditional love that God has for each one of us.

 

Questions for our blog readers:

1. Tell us about your favorite animal story book? 
2. What is it?  Why do you like it? Write back and tell us this book!

Family Favorites Reading List, part 2 Stories From the Under Ground Church

In the last post, Family Favorites Reading List, part 1, we gave a list of some of the books we read and enjoyed together as a family.  In this blog, we want to share stories from the Under Ground Church.  

There are many places around the world that do not have freedom of religion, and so Christians are persecuted by these governments for worshiping God, having a Holy Bible, or sharing their faith.  These are some of their inspiring stories of their faith under persecution. 

The Man Who Couldn't Be Killed: An Incredible Story of Faith and Courage During China's Cultural Revolution by Stanley Maxwell

Order your copy of this great book online at Alibris, or Amazon.

The Heavenly Man: The Remarkable True Story of Chinese Christian Brother Yun by Paul Hattaway

Order your copy of this great book online at Alibris, or Amazon. 

Singing through the Night: Courageous Stories of Faith from Women in the Persecuted Church by Anneke Companjen

Order your copy of this great book online at Alibris, or Amazon.  
 

God's Smuggler by Brother Andrew

Order your copy of this great book online at Alibris, or Amazon.

Questions for our blog readers:

1. What is your favorite story book about the underground church? 
2. What is the story about? 
3. Why do you like it?  Write back and let us know!

Chopstick Hill

Today we went to Chopstick Hill - เขาตะเกียบ. The road going up the mountain was very steep! And our old missionary car was squeaking all the way up. Finally we got to the top and went to three different viewpoints.
We could see all of Hua-Hin there.
It was beautiful. We saw a tree growing in the rock!
It was a neat reminder of how faith grows!

And while we boys went to the third viewpoint, the girls found many amphibians and insects in the girls bathroom. While we were going to our car we saw many peacocks. And on our way down it was very steep! Questions for my blog readers:

1. Have you ever visited a mountain?
2. Did you like it?

Sea Creatures

Last night we walked along the beach in Hua Hin, Thailand. The tide was low about 8 or 9 pm so we were out there with our flashlights searching for sea life and admiring God's creations. We were exploring for about 1 hour or so, and guess what I found and caught? I caught some shrimp with my bare hands! 

Me and my Dad also caught some other interesting fish and crabs too! Really cool ones - like this flat fish!

 
They were swimming in a tide pool along the sandbar we were walking on. My mom says I am pretty brave to catch them with my bare hands.

We were sad to see many really big jellyfish that were washed ashore as well. We were sad to find them dead. I love to explore and see all the different sea creatures that God has made. And I know that when we get to heaven, we will enjoy all the creatures and never find any sick or dead.

The night before, my mom found a flying fish that had gotten stranded when the tide went out. It was so interesting and pretty big. I wish I could show you a picture, but we didn't have the camera with us that night. But don't worry, the picture is in our heads. It was still alive so my mom carefully scooped it up with the mound of sand it was laying on and walked out a ways into the waves and set it free. We had a good feeling to watch it swim happily away.

Questions:
-Have you ever found a cool sea animal?
-What was it?
-What is your favorite sea creature?  Write me and tell me about it!

Family Favorites Reading List, part 1 - How God Protects During Time of War

Many people ask, "What does your missionary family do for fun?"

Our family loves to read!  So this year we wanted to share a few of the books we have read and enjoyed together as a family.  

Many of them we just couldn't put down as we were so eager to hear the story unfold.  Josh and Hannah would often plead to keep reading, "Just one more chapter, please!"

So, we just thought you might like to know about these books of how God protects during time of war we really enjoyed.  "A thousand may fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand; But it shall not come near you."  Psalm 91:7 NKJV   

"A Thousand Shall Fall," by Susi Hasel Mundy

A 40-year-old pacifist was drafted and assigned to Hitler's elite troops who built bridges at the front lines. Read how God's hedge of protection surrounded this man through the hardships and trials of war. To order your copy go to ABC Book Store or Amazon.

"Escape" by Sandy Zaugg.  

This is thrilling story of a thirteen-year-old boy who had to leave his home suddenly during the World War 2.  It is a testimony to God's protection and guidance through difficult times.  Order a copy of this great book for kids in Grades 4-7 at these online bookstores at ABC Book Store, Alibris, or Amazon.

"The Story of a Hitler Youth Under the Blood Banner," by Eric Kreye and Norma Youngberg
The inspiring story of a boy growing up in Germany during World War 2 as a Christian. Learn more by reading this exciting book by going to these links at Amazon or Albris.

"Behind barbed wire" by Vinnie Ruffo
Read the exciting story of John & Olga Oss who served as missionaries in Shanghai, China during World War 2, when the Japanese forced them into the prison camp. Order your copy of this great book online at Alibris, or Amazon.

Dare to Stand Alone by Bradley Booth

The main character of this book is Ivan who as a teenager lived his Christian faith in the Soviet Army!  Order your copy of this great book online at ABC Book Store, Alibris, or Amazon.

Salvation in the Killing Fields by Aileen Ludington
This is the true story of Chanla Dok, and how God protected he and his family during Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge reign of death in Cambodia.  This inspiring story of faith starts with the Chanla, a young teenager & his family being forced from their home in Phnom Phen and then documents their experiences through the horrors labor camps under the Khmer Rouge & Vietnamese Communists.  Get your copy of this book online at Alibris or Amazon.  

Let us know what you think, and maybe you could recommend some books to us as well.

Questions for My Blog Readers:

1. What's your favorite story book of how God protects during time of war?  
2. What's it about?  
3. Why do you like it?  Write back and tell us about the book!

The Ultimate Cereal Gift

Part of being a missionary kid is that we don't have normal breakfast food. Normal breakfast food to me is Cheerios, pancakes, or waffles with applesauce. It sure goes nice with Stripples or breakfast links too. But these are not common Thai foods. Usually the Thais eat rice and vegetables for breakfast, but we don't. We eat cereal, but it is almost impossible to get Cheerios here in Thailand. And if we see them in the import stores, they are extremely expensive and may even be stale. Sad, huh.

One day Auntie Pat came to visit and she brought us a big bag. In that big bag was boxes of Cheerios! I was surprised and very happy! They were soooo crunchy and soooo sweet and yummy. I loved eating every bite!

Thank you Auntie Pat for the yummy Cheerios. It is amazing how much a box of Cheerios can mean.

Questions:
-Do you like Cheerios?
-What is your favorite breakfast food?
-Have you ever not been able to find something you were really hungry for?

Hay Stacks for Dinner!

Mom surprised us tonight! She made Hay Stacks for Dinner! We have Hay Stacks for Dinner about four times each year. Why? Because we don't have Frito's Corn Chips.
Well thanks to our friends ,"Uncle Rick" and "Andrew" we could have Hay Stacks. Pinto Beans are hard to find here but our grandma sends them to us. It was awesomely yummy!

Questions:
-Whats Hay Stacks?
-Have you ever had Hay Stacks

Selling Books

"Oh no! It's time to pay off my school bill. Oh no, oh no ...

I have raise a lot of money (10,000 THB / $300.00 USD). That's lots of money - for me!

So I went to my Dad and asked, "I need your help! How can I earn some money to pay off my school bill?

Dad said, "Hannah you can sell some books! I have the book, Christian Service, you can sell.''

''OK Dad, I need to sell these books fast, I mean fast. So I can pay my school bill."

Dad said, "Yep, these books will sell like hot cakes!"

I said, "Thanks for your help Dad!"

I was a little nervous but I had the courage to sell the books. I called up lots of people on the phone and asked them if they wanted to buy the books from me.

Some of the pastors said "Yes, I'll buy some of these books for my church members!"

One of my friends helped me keep records and sell the books. And I'm happy to say that they sold like hotcakes!

Here's the link online study guide for this helpful book.

Questions for my blog readers:

1. Have you ever had to pay for your school bill?
2. How did you do it? Did you sell books?
3. Would you like to buy a book or two and help me pay my school bill?
   

Running & Jumping on Sports Day

Today was Sports Day at my school. Our school had two teams - the Red team and the Green team. I was on the Red team. We started the day by watching a gymnastics team from a local orphanage. Then we had different fitness activities. I participated in these various activities.

• 50 meter run
• 100 meter run
• 100 meter hurdles
• long jump

We then did a tug a war between the Red team and the Green team. Guess who won?



Questions for my blog readers:

1. Have you run a race?
2. How did you do?
3. How did you feel afterwards?

Write soon!

Adventist Health Expo

Today I went to the Adventist Health Expo with my awesome dad. It was pretty cool! It was held at one of the biggest malls in Thailand. The mall's name was MBK. They had all these booths with health check-ups, and the NEWSTART Plus program. There was also an ongoing program on the stage where different musical groups performed. There were exercise classes and interviews with doctors and other health professionals.

While this was all happening I was taking video of one of our student volunteers passing out brochures, inviting people to the health expo. When our student volunteers had to go home, I stopped taking video and started handing out brochures. I gave out more than 1,000 brochures that day. A total of 70,000 brochures were handed out! And we had over 2,000 people participate in our health expo over four days. It was really neat how people learned how to take care of their bodies in practical ways. Ways such as eating a healthy diet, and getting plenty of exercise.

Questions:

-Do you take care of your body?

-What kind of exercise do you enjoy?

-Have you been, or helped with a health expo?

Check out photos and videos from the expo:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Adventist-Health-Expo

Adventist Health Expo - Applying What We Learn from Hope for Bangkok.

Rainy Season

Rainy season in Thailand is from June to October. And when it rains, it really rains! This year we were flooded several times. It is interesting to wake up, look out the window and your house is surrounded by water, including fish! It is kinda cool, but my mom does not like the 8 inches of water that gets into the back storage room.

Several times we could not make it out

of the house without wearing rubber boots. One day after wading to school, the school was also in a lake of water. The teachers had made a bridge out of benches to get from the road to the classrooms. We really "dove" into our studies that day.

Questions:

-Has your house ever been flooded?

-Have you had fish swimming in your yard?

-Have you ever had school cancelled due to flooding?

Worms, worms, worms!

Here in Thailand, it's now rainy season. Today when it stopped raining, I went outside to school to see who I could play with.

I saw a bird pecking at the ground. I walked closer to see what it was doing. Guess what? The bird was eating worms!

There were worms laying around everywhere! They came out of the ground to try to escape from the flood waters. So they were laying on the ground.

I decided to pick up the worms and play with them. I picked up the worms from the cracks in the concrete of the road outside my house. One after another, I started collecting them. Soon I had a pile of wiggly worms, but I wasn't scared!


I didn't know where to put them, because our yard was flooded. So I asked my mom, "Where can I put these worms?"

Mom said, "Not in the house!"


So I put all of them into one of the big plastic buckets we have with dirt in it.

Questions for my blog readers:

1. Are you scared of wiggly worms?
2. Have you ever played with worms?
   
3. Do you like playing with worms?

Write back soon!

Finding a Baby Bird

One day I found a baby bird on the ground. I looked up and saw the nest where it had fallen out of. It was so, so cute.

One of my classmates was with me as we were playing outside. We went and told one of the teachers at school and he helped us carefully put the baby bird back into its nest without touching it. So now the baby bird is back home in its nest safe and sound!

Questions for you, my blog readers:

1. Have you ever found a baby bird before?
2. What did you do with the baby bird?
   

Hatching Gecko Eggs

One day my friends and I were playing in the field across from my house. I saw one tiny little white egg, about the size of a pea. It looked lonely so I took it inside our house and put it inside a bird's nest that my Dad found when we took a trip to Ayutthaya. I put the egg in the nest and then went back outside to play with my friends. I saw another little white egg laying in the dirt, so got it and went back home and put it with the other lonely little egg. I checked on the eggs every day. But then I stopped checking on them. I gave up hope on them hatching. I started saying to myself, "What if they don't hatch?" Guess what?! I looked again one day, and one egg hatched! I looked the next day and both eggs had hatched! And I said to myself, "What if I had thrown the eggs away? What would have happened to the cute baby geckos?" That would have cost the two little baby geckos lives! One lesson I learned was never give up home on small things! Because there's something big inside, even if you don't know it!

For My Blog Readers:

1. Have you ever wanted to give up?
2. What lessons have you learned from small things?
3. What story could you share about a lesson you learned from being patient?

Visiting Klongtan

Today we went to one of the new church plants, and next month it will be three years old! As my sister and I walked to church, she almost stepped on a dog! It was lying on the street. I saw kittens and puppies trying to get out of their cages. One kitten looked just like my cat!

There were boys and girls who attended the morning Bible study. They sang songs for us in English. They learned these English songs during the classes they attend during the week.

After church, on our way home, we walked by the house of one of the students. So we stopped and visited her, and we prayed with her too!

We had a lot of fun there.

Smile, You're On Camera!

I'm working on my Pathfinder video honor. Through video, you can capture events so that other people can see them, and to record special events.

I've learned how to use different kinds of video cameras and tripods. I've learned how to balance the tripod so that it's level and even. It has a little bubble level that I have to make sure the bubble is in the middle so the tripod is balanced.

With each camera, you have to learn how to use the difference buttons and switches. Sometimes we use the camera's built in microphone. Other times we use wired or wireless microphones. We can capture the sound so that it is clear and more understandable.


Some of the places I have video taped include two concerts at a local church, a school program, evangelistic meetings, at the prison, various events at the church plants, and some seminars.


Questions for my blog readers:

1. Is video one of your hobbies?
2. Do you have the Pathfinder video honor?
3. Do you know how to video tape?

Cultural Diversity Appreciation in Cambodia

I'm learning about different cultures and how people live in different parts of the world. One way I'm learning is by completing the Cultural Diversity Appreciation Pathfinder honor.

Last Sabbath our family visited a church in a Cambodian village. It was a typical Cambodian house made of wood and bamboo and up on stilts.


There were no pews or chairs or much furniture at all. There was also no electricity. They used batteries for their power.


Everyone sat on the floor on the second story. The houses are all built on stilts because of all the rain they get and also to get up and away from snakes, rodents and bugs. Being up high also has a better chance of catching a breeze. It had a tile roof, but many other houses have grass roofs.

Everyone welcomed us with warm smiles.

As we sat on the floor, we could look through the cracks in the wood floor to the ground below. There were some hammocks below and bikes parked, but not much more than that. I saw some people dropping food down below, so I was glad I wasn't in one of those hammocks! We even lost our pen because it fell through the open spaces in the flooring. But my dad went down and got it for me.

There were about 50 people there. The church service was in Khmer, so we didn't understand much, but it was interesting to listen to their language and notice some similarities to the Thai language.


We sang two songs for special music. The first song we sang was “Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus”, which we also did it in sign language. Then we sang “Give Thanks”. We sang it first in English, then we sang it in Khmer. Our friends who we were visiting speak Khmer, and they had the song written phonetically so we could try to follow along. The people were very appreciative of our musical gift.

It was an extra special Sabbath because it was communion. My dad preached the sermon and spoke about Jesus and how Mary Magdalene gave him the most precious gift of ointment. He invited the people to commit their lives to Jesus. Even though the people don't have a lot of things, and they live very simple lives, they have a most precious treasure, and that is their heart. That's what Jesus is asking from each one of us.

After the service, they had a meal that was cooked on charcoal fire pit. We sat on the floor in groups and ate Khmer food. There was lots of rice, with vegetable dishes and curry. It was good, and not nearly as spicy as the food in Thailand.

Questions for my blog readers:

1. Have you ever been to a church where you don't speak the language?
2. Do you have the Cultural Diversity Appreciation honor?
3. Have you ever been to a church without electricity, or furniture?
4. Have you gone to a potluck and saw food that was new to you? Did you try it? Tell me about your experience!
   
5. Even though most people we saw were very poor, they seemed happy, why do you think they were happy?
6. Will you give Jesus your heart today?

Basic Rescue

Today our school went on a three day camping trip. One of the Pathfinder honors we worked on was Basic Rescue. Here are a few things that we learned. We learned how to stop bleeding How to take care of chest injuries How to take care of head and spine injuries How to save a drowning person without getting wet How to be safe in an earthquake How to be safe in a fire inside a building and outside We went on the obstacle course and I got wet. We went swimming. I had an awesome time there.

To learn more about the Basic Rescue Honor go to http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Adventist_Youth_Honors_Answer_Book/Health_and_Science/Basic_Rescue

The White Elephant part 2 - the rest of the story

(continued from The White Elephant part 1 on Thursday, January 21, 2010)

The white elephant I was petting was dangerous!  My mom is holding it's tusk!

After we took some photos, one of the workers came running over to us yelling, "Don't pet the white elephant!"  

We stopped right away.  She later explained to us that this elephant was being used for a war re-enactment, so it was used to soldiers in battle, not with little kids!

I thank God that my guardian angel protected me and my friends!  

Questions for my blog readers:

1. Have you ever pet an elephant?

2. Have you ever been in danger before?

3. What did you do?

Write and tell me your stories!

Did you know that ช้างเผือก pink / white elephants are very special here in Thailand?  The Thais believe that they are a sign of royal power, and are presented to the king!  Go to Wikipedia to learn more http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_elephant_%28pachyderm%29

To learn more about this Elephant Rehab Park, I visited check out their websites!

www.elephantstay.com English                 www.changdee.com Thai

The White Elephant

One day we went with our friends, Gabi and Eli to the Elephant Park in Ayutthaya, Thailand.

We went over to see some of the other elephants in a fenced area. We petted the nice big white bull elephant.

And guess what? I think I'll keep you in suspense . . . .

I'll post the rest of this episode next time!