By the Sea...

I don't remember exactly when the brainstorm was first kindled. 

Somewhere in the midst of the busy schedules of daily life, the humidity of hot season, and the realization that turning 28 is nearly upon both of us, we thought that a little getaway by the beach would be in order. Who says you can't celebrate 

the milestone of "Turning 30" two years early? :) 

We picked a place. Penang, Malaysia. Neither of us had ever been there or knew anyone personally who had, but flights were cheap, it was along the coast, and the location was outside of Thailand so it would count as a visa run as well. 

The trip had been planned several months ago, but the timing of it couldn't have been more perfect. The past month has been hard in the terms of needing to make some weighty decisions, and I was feeling pretty drained. In retrospect, this 4 day trip was a precious gift from God, & here is a photographic tribute...

Yay for budget airlines like Air Asia. Except for when they charged to rebook us for our connecting flight because we checked in 8 minutes late :(

Our hotel by the beach, compliments of Mel's thrifty travel agent skills on agoda.com :)

The stairway going down to the beach from our hotel's bridge access. 

Sunsets by the sea... God's handiwork takes my breath away... 

Our secluded spot on the beach where we spent a lot of quiet time reading and journaling.
The sea, the sand, and the salty air are so refreshing to one's soul...

Times like these are always better when shared with a friend...
[and being asked by strangers if we are sisters? I'll take that as a compliment. :)]

On Friday, we decided to rent a motorbike to tour the island and the historic city of Georgetown. One tour guide tried to convince us that hiring a taxi and tour guide would be the better, safer option for us. We appreciated his concern (or his sales pitch to get us to rent the hotel's taxi service), but we preferred to blaze the trail on our own. The experience was every bit as adventurous as it sounds. 

Our rental bike and fearless driver. This is after we figured out that Malaysia does not have full-service fuel pumps like Thailand. :)

Yes, I am directionally challenged. But armed with a detailed map, on the look out for some specific landmarks, and we got around just fine.

The waterfront view from downtown

Georgetown is the capital city of the Malaysian state of Penang, and was first colonized by the British in 1786. Due to that influence, many of the buildings have been preserved in their original colonial architect as a World Heritage site. A simply charming city that is a fascinating cultural melting pot of Malay, Indian, and Chinese people, 

as well as other ethnicities.

I don't consider myself a photographer by any stretch of imagination. But even I was giddy at discovering all this quaint Old World charm... 

Georgetown is famous for their rich and creamy blend of white coffee. We were not disappointed. :) 

There were many evidences of different religions here with numerous Mosques, Hindi temples, and
Buddhist statues.

 

More colonial architecture...

Old Meets New: Pedal-bike rickshaws shared the streets with luxury vehicles.

Have I mentioned the beautiful architecture we saw on every street? :)

 

Props to a passerby on the street who offered to take our picture when we were struggling with self-timer
camera settings. :)

The waterfront yacht clubhouse

I have a weakness for old churches with steeples and was delighted to find one in Asia! 

Too many different ethnic restaurants to choose from? "Let's get a dish from all of them, " she said.
This was the Chinese dish, Laksa, I believe it's called. Made of fish and noodles in tomato curry.

And this was the Indian food, complete with authentic Chai tea, tandoor chicken, roti, and dahl. You have to taste it for yourself to understand the deliciousness of that plate. 

The following afternoon, we opted for a countryside route, winding up and down the mountains.

At one point, the actual road did not match my trusty map. But we bravely motored on and discovered the scenic route is sometimes the best one of all. :)

Last stop of the biking expedition was to purchase some real White Coffee.  

[And this is one of those "footsie" photos that I find strangely disturbing when I see them all over
 Facebook & Instagram].
But instead of buying boring "I Love Penang" tourist T-shirts, we opted for a much cuter and more lasting souvenir. Mine are the red, hers are the navy. :) 

"One of the most beautiful qualities of true friendship is to understand and to be understood."
-Lucius A. Seneca

Thanking God for the gifts of kindred spirits, sunshine, sand, and the salty ocean air...

Snapshots of Life [May - June 2013]

Statistics don't lie. Interestingly enough, the stats of my blog show that the post with the most pictures had nearly three times as many views as the other posts that were merely writing. Popular opinion rules in this case, so rather than tell you about my life, this time I thought you might prefer if I show you instead.

Ah, Monday Nights. 

They are our girls' night out once a week to talk, to share, to laugh, to cry, to drink coffee, and to pray with each other. What a gift those Monday nights have been with you, Melanie! 

Of course, those Monday nights usually involve coffee in some form & flavor.  :) 

Street scene from downtown Chiang Mai with Tuk-Tuk's parked in the foreground.

2nd Term was the "Month of the Foot Problems." 

One of the guys severely split open his toe while playing ping pong. Another one of the students developed a stubborn skin infection on both of his feet. Then there were various hives of the feet, swelling of the feet, & foot pains from going barefoot on concrete floors all the time. I was quite in my element getting to bandage, sanitize, medicate, and diagnose, but I was just sorry it was at the students' expense. :) 

Treating the split toe. I spared you the close up shot of the injury. 

Then there was THE KIDNAPPING. 

I thought I was going out for supper with one of the girls. They had all ganged up on me and had completely different plans for the evening. I was promptly blindfolded as soon as I came down the steps, led to the waiting songthaew (taxi), and hurried off to an unknown destination. 

Surprise! We had arrived at the beautiful Waterfall Restaurant for dinner

All the lovely ladies who joined us for the evening

Me & "My Girls''  ~ I think they are just pretty splendid. 

We had a few empty pots & planters around here that I wanted to use to add some color to the exterior of the school which is mostly concrete. Barb Yoder, the administrator's wife, and I went to a nursery one afternoon and filled the truck with lovely flowers. It was so much fun to get my hands in the dirt again. 

Now it's the challenge of keeping the plants alive.  :)

 

Three of my friends who had been students with me in 2010 returned to Thailand to visit and do some traveling. It was really special to have them over here and we even had a mini 2010 Reunion with them and those of us staff who had been here all together. 

Coffee shop with Yony who traveled all the way from London to visit.
Love how we can pick up right where we left off! :) 

Those of us 2010'ers on this side of the world. Good memories with these people!

And then, there are the daily routines and moments that my days consist of. Just in case you wanted a glimpse of some of my surroundings... 

Khau pad guy - One of my many favorite Thai dishes of
fried rice with chicken served with a tomato broth and a spritz of fresh lime. 

I have to keep five bathrooms and the girls' dorm stocked with paper supplies.
Believe me, we go through a lot around here! 

The cafeteria/dining area

The downstairs lounge where studying, reading, guitar-playing, games, and conversation take place.
Sometimes all at once. 

The Study Hall. Or where studying is SUPPOSED to take place. :) 

Classroom. The students spend between 4-5 hr/day in class.
(yep, that was me too not that long ago. :))

Every morning we have a chapel service, and on Fridays, a group of students are in charge. They have done a great job of planning those chapel services with a variety of activities. Sometimes, that includes skits to
act out Bible verses. 

Chapel Service 

Three women with a scales, a mirror, a black sweater, a silk scarf, and plenty of exaggerated expressions. I believe we got our verse of "do not compare yourselves among yourselves" across quite well. :) 

And sometimes, skits bring out unknown talents among us. Even in our administrator.  :)

Saturday night cook-outs at the Pastor's home.
We love the Barkman's. And we love Mr. Barkman's grilling. :) 

One day I found all these sticky notes from the girls on my door.
They certainly know how to make me laugh & cry all at once. 

And then, I find these random jokes hanging in the shower behind my towel.
Did I ever say I love a good sense of humor?? :)


After three weeks of classes and exams, the students leave for a 10 day ministry trip. That is my time to recoup, to refresh, to sleep, to catch up on never-ending projects, and to plan for the coming term.
It is also the perfect time to spend with friends who have a spare room in their house with A/C. [grin]

Practicing my culinary skills with Jana, Second-in-Command of the Kitchen.
(For the record, First-in-Command would be her mother. Not me) 

Lunch with Mae Wan, our faithful laundry lady and Thai Grandma

A 4th of July celebration for Val's 60th Birthday (with the gift of a hand-drawn picture of his children).
I feel so blessed to work under the leadership of this man of God. 

After the Month of the Foot Problems, we had a bout of Dengue Fever that took it's toll on one of the students and two of the staff. All three of them had to be hospitalized for several days due to very low platelet counts. The fever is spread by infected mosquitoes who are striped black-and-white and are most commonly active during the day, unlike most other evening-biting mosquitoes. 

We praise God for the healing He brought to those three and that so far, the rest of us have been spared. 

Visiting one of the students, Sandra, in the hospital.

Life continues to be a journey of the mundane and the extraordinary.
Yet in it all, He keeps giving me purpose, teaching my skittish heart to trust Him, and multiplying my meager offering of loaves and fishes in ways that make me stand in awe of how chooses us to do His work here on earth. 

May we all be in such a condition of soul, such an attitude of heart as will fit us for any little work in which our gracious Lord may be pleased to use us — not seeking a place for ourselves, but lovingly serving all. The Lord, in His great mercy, grant that thus it may be, with all His beloved people!" 

~C.H. Mackintosh