Christmas in Bangkok

Imagine Christmas in the midst of summer and that’s pretty much what it feels like here in Bangkok. The calendar says December but the weather indicates mid-July with 95 degree (35C) temperatures on average. This was my first Christmas "at home" in shorts!

I sure wish it was easier to join family and friends in Canada/US but my visits will have to wait till the calendar and hot temperatures coordinate in a familiar way: next summer.

In the meantime, I'm enjoying the lights in my apartment, sharing moments with friends and taking in the amazing Christmas decorations around the city. The Thai people certainly know how to decorate for Christmas, even along city streets that light the way for vendors on sidewalks.

The malls around the city don't seem to spare any expense for Christmas displays either...

How great to attend Christmas events that focus on the meaning of the season. In fact, the oldest Anglican-Episcopalian church in downtown Bangkok, built in 1864 with permission from the King of Thailand, hosted a candlelight service the week before Christmas. A beautiful pageantry of lights, carols and reading of Scripture.

This service made me realize, once again, that Christmas is celebrated the world over. Regardless of where I live, I can join others who worship the One and only God, the King of kings, who came to earth to show us the way of salvation and eternal life with Him. What an incredible service. A highlight for me occurred when we took candles outdoors and sang Silent Night to our neighbors.

Wherever you happen to be right now, I wish one and all the joy of the Christmas message throughout the year to come -- a message of eternal hope and peace that only God can provide!

"This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him." (1 John 4:9)

In Good Company

So how does going on a weekend with over 40 teenagers sound to you? I must admit, I wondered at first what was in store for me when I accepted the position of chaperone on the annual 7th grade field trip to Sukhothai in northern Thailand. All in all, it turned out to be a wonderful time getting to know a great bunch of kids and learning more of the history of Thailand at the same time.

The weekend started off with a 5 hour bus ride from our school in Bangkok to a resort in Sukhothai. After laying down the ground rules to the kids for the weekend, we got off the bus at the Legendha Resort ready to enjoy our new home for the weekend. And what a wonderful place to stay, complete with outdoor buffet, interactive cultural displays, pool and park-like surroundings.

It’s an understatement to say there was ‘added energy’ on this trip than I am used to, but the staff was successful in channeling this energy toward riding bicycles, walking through markets, creating Thai handicrafts, feeding catfish and, generally, anything to keep them busy.

Our first stop on Saturday morning was at the Old Sukhothai Historic Park, which is the site of the capital of the Sukhothai kingdom in the 13th and 14th centuries (see Sukhothai post for details).

Later in the day, we were able to make dessert called Kanomtakoh (where leaves are made into little cups that are filled with a coconut mixture and topping), weave Thai crafts like Platapian (a traditional baby mobile) and bake a famous pancake-like snack over open fire which is still popular today. Only thing the kids didn’t do was grind their own rice and flour but they pretended as though they did.

Our last evening was spent at a local night market, full of sights, sounds and flavor.

Sunday morning I had the privilege of leading a devotional on finding peace, love, strength, joy, resources, and all the other things we desire in life. We discussed how these things are not always available to us through what the world has to offer but they are promised to us by God if we commit and trust our lives to Him. How great to end our weekend together with promises of hope!

When all was said and done, it was definitely one of the more active weekends I’ve spent this semester but well worth the expended energy! If I ever go back to Sukhothai, I already have a great idea of where I would stay and what I would see in greater detail.