fun post!

I've decided it's time for a fun post. So here goes...

Basically, this is probably going to be a random list of things with about a bazillion pictures because I'm too indecisive to narrow it down to just a few and because I'm cramming about two months worth of "fun post" into one post, so bear with me.

I'll start with the dinner boat. I've been going church with Roy and Bonita for the last few months. One of the guys that goes to their church, Michael, is from China and was here for school but was leaving to go back to China, so for his going away shindig we went on a dinner boat!









This is Celeste. Let me tell you a little bit about Celeste. I met her through Roy and Bonita and first of all, she's great. But also, Celeste started dton naam ministries , a ministry for ladyboys involved in prostitution in Bangkok.There are at least 10,000 “ladyboy” working in the Bangkok sex industry.

I've heard several different stories of what causes these men to become ladyboys and what brings them to Bangkok. Just one of those stories is the story of a boy who became sick and cried constantly when he was a toddler. His mother had no idea what the problem was. In desperation, she took him to the Buddhist temple and the monk “prayed” over him, “sensed” he had a feminine spirit, and announced that the family should change his name to a girl’s name. He stopped crying and seemed fine. Since then, the family has simply believed he has a female heart and was really supposed to be female. Being the first-born child, he was given the responsibility of what a Thai girl would have. He cooked, cleaned, washed clothes and watched the younger siblings. He was always with his mother as his father traveled for business. His dad later took the younger brother with him, and he was left at home to do “women’s work.” He loves his dad but did not have the attention a son usually receives. He told stories about watching his mom being abused and the conversations held about how men are bad; and how he is not like them. Instead, of being raised to be a good man, he was raised to reject his masculinity.Thankfully, he was connected to dton namm through a younger female cousin and aunts. The cousin & aunts introduced him the same way, “He has a female heart.” Since then, he has given his heart to Christ and is beginning to pray and hear God’s voice consistently.

I admire Celeste for following the passion God's given her to reach out to these men and for her courage in starting the ministry to be able to do that.











This was our entertainment for the night. The choice of music she sang was impeccable. She sang everything from Backstreet Boys to K-Ci and JoJo to Celine Dion to Shakira... Perfect. The dinner boat would not have been complete without her :)

A few weeks ago Roy and Bonita took me to this really nice dinner buffet at this super fancy hotel, Plaza Athenee. I only took pictures of the dessert buffet because after I saw it, it was all I could think about. I thought about just skipping the dinner part and heading straight for dessert, but decided I should do the civilized thing and at least eat a little bit of dinner first or something. But back to the dessert. Holy deliciousness.















A chocolate fountain is just always a good idea. Yum.

Next up! This is actually really exciting! So, Ann's mom, Dolly (who lives in America) was here for a few weeks. While she was here, her mom decided she wanted to get baptized. So, Roy came to the house and baptized her. It was a really special time with their family and Roy and Bonita and all of the girls at Beginnings. We worshiped, read scripture and prayed together. I'm glad that I got to be here for it.











Four generations. So beautiful.







Gosh she's cute.

Ok... this is getting long so I'm going to split it into two "fun posts". To be continued :)