Dear friends, how are you? We want to wish you a happy lunar new year! I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it here, one perk of working in Asia is the number of New Year celebrations we get to celebrate!
Well, our family is well. Van had a spill the other day trying to do a daring balancing act on a concrete divider. He got scratched up, but is ok. I must say that we are glad for 7-11. What? In my youth 7-11 was my world, we would make weekly treks down the back alleys with allowance or bottles to return for cash, and then we’d get treats. But in recent years 7-11s seemed to decrease in number, and maybe even quality. Well, here in Chiang Mai the sheer numbers of 7-11s would make Tim Hortons’ saturation seem minimal. After Van had his spill we piled onto the motorbike we rent and went zipping down the road to 7-11. Why there? 7-11 has almost anything you need! So there we bought all manner of bandaids and gauze and tape and such, plus waters.
On a more sober note, Michelle is currently back in Texas for her grandfather’s funeral. You may recall her grandmother passed away in October. We were able to visit then too, and Michelle felt the time with her grandfather then, along with Liberty and Van, was a valuable time. We had already decided that if her grandfather were to pass away while we were gone we would all try to get back; at the very least Michelle would go. For various reasons only Michelle went, along with her sister who is in the same general area as we. It is a sad time, but we are glad Michelle could get back to be family. She and her sister return to Chiang Mai Feb 19.
In the meantime I have continued with the homeschooling. Thankfully (no really, THANK YOU Michelle) Michelle had organized and schedule the lessons for the next 2 weeks in a sweet calendar, so it has been going well. Except, on the first day we did two days worth of work until I figured out what was going on. So Friday was easy. đ
Please pray for Michelle’s family during this time. Thank you.
All our sympathies to you and the family during this time of your grief at the loss of Grandpa. You are all in our prayers.
Chuck & Marilyn
Hello Shane nice to hear from you!! Looks like Van is all bandaged up and ready to go. Geez the 7-11 date us don’t they, I remember them growing up. Sorry to hear about Michelle’s grandfather please give her our condolences. We shall keep her in our prayers. Greetings from all the ladies in the group. Also keeping Michelle in prayer for a safe return home. Blessings, Connie.
Hi Shane
Sorry to hear about Michelle’s grandpa – being together to draw comfort from each other is very helpful – I am glad Michelle could get home.
Taking on the home schooling role I am sure will give you a great appreciation for how well Michelle does.
It is always nice to see pictures of Liberty and Van – they appear to have grown some since we last met them!
You mentioned ‘extra’ New years celebrations – does that mean you will be getting older faster than I will?
Hello Shane, Please know that the MetYouth Central Asia girls will continue to pray for you, Liberty, Van and Michelle. We are so sorry to hear of Michelle’s grandfather’s passing but are grateful that she was able to return with her sister to Texas for the funeral. We will pray for a safe return for them and for comfort and peace as they mourn the loss of a loved one. Hope Van’s leg is healing and who knew 7-11 could be such a resource of health care supplies … I used to work at the rival Mac’s Milk as a teenager. Good luck with taking over the home schooling role in Michelle’s absence. Thank you for sharing the pictures of your children! They look like amazing kids and I hope I have the pleasure of meeting you all someday.