Hello All!

Wow it is a New Year all ready!

I wanted to share with you all how God worked this holiday season.

Christmas:

For me this year getting in the holiday spirit was next to impossible. I bought a Christmas tree and some decorations hoping it would help. But as I put them up all I could think about was home and how lonely I felt. My Friends tried to cheer me up saying we will do something special. I even thought that I would try to make some rice crispy treats in my room, though I changed my mind on that. (My cooking adventures in my room always end badly.) So I sat my self  down and thought about what I really wanted this year. 

I really anted to be with family. So I prayed and asked God that he would make it possible for me to have Christmas dinner with my Thai family and provide the money for that as well. Needless to say I was not very hopeful. My Thai Family are especially busy and I had no idea where I would ever get the money. 

We had a Christmas party for all our Thai friends the Sunday before Christmas. Lots of people showed up. We had Thai, Chinese, Philippine, Nicaraguan, and American people there. It was a great time of eating, playing games, reading the Christmas story, and being together. At one point I was able to talk to P'Geat (the mom) and ask her if it would work to meet on Christmas. She said she would have the girls miss some extra studing and come. My Heart leaped in the air! One big hurddle was just jumped... now for the next. 

Sitting around waiting to eat!

They got a rabbit!

                                                 

Thing 1 and Thing 2

Food!!!

Christmas tree!!

Not sure wat is going on...but i think it is funny.

Christmas eve morning I was sitting on my bed just looking around my room in thought when I saw all my extra coins I had. I decided to count them up. As I began to count I got more and more excited!!! The axact amount I prayed for was there!!! Wow! God worked it all out! The people could come. I had enough money! I was getting excitied! 

Christmas Eve the team had a small meal togeather. It was alot of fun just hanging out and talking and eating good food. 

 Nicaraguan style Rice and Beans

My Team!

Christmas day came. I had class so I dressed in my uniform and went off. My class was a cooking class so because it was christmas we got to make cookies. I love baking cookies...but these were the worst cookies I have ever made in my life. Even now when I think of them I shudder. They turned out so salty that you had to drink water after eating just one! How that happened I dont know, bacause I fallowed the recipee to a T. Christmas cookie fail. My friend Rabbit decided to try them... and loved them! She just kept eating them... until she got to the 4th cookie and then refused to eat more. hehe 

Chef Dani and the Salty Wonder cookies

Christmas Dinner with family

That evening I left to go meet the family and uncle Sari. The trip was long, hot, and I was beginning to feel like I was car sick. Finally I arrived. Everyone was so happy to see me and so glad that I came to meet them. They said that they felt like I placed importance on them and I think they felt loved. We made our way to the restaurant, ordered and began to eat. Suddenly I am beginning to think that maybe I was not car sick after all. I was in the middle of a conversation when I suddenly said, "I think I am gonna throw up." And sure enough I made it to the bath room with plenty of time to empty my stomach of anything I ate the last 3 days. 

I went back to the table feel much better, but after sitting for a few minutes I knew I needed to get home fast. I felt so bad having to leave in such a rush. The ride home never seemed so long and that night seemed even longer. I spent the next 2 days emptying everything out from my body. The only thing I drank and ate was water. I had a feaver and my body hurt so bad. Luckly I had my faithful friend Rabbit to bring me food, water, and anything else I needed. She was helpful in reminding me that I was "one sick mutt." (She always knows how to make me smile.)

Because of being sick I was not able to go on a 2 day trip to Big Mountian with some friends. I was super bummed. I was so looking forward to getting off campus and into some nature. The other down part was that most of my friends had left for home (we had a short 5 day break). I was all alone. 

Now I look back and laugh. Christmas fail. Break fail. Wonder what New Years will be like. 

New Year Eve-

I was able to get of my friends to go with me to Central World, a huge shopping mall, and where the 2013 Bangkok count down would be held. What an adventure we had!!! When we first got there we were interviewed for a TV news channel (none of us heard the lady say the channels name or number so I have no proof), but needless to say it was Awesome! The place was so crowded it was funny. We had pushing on us from all sides, at one point my friends and I just broke out laughing beacuse we were literality stuck in place. We could not go anywhere. We did get to see some action when a fight broke out... I have never seen a crowd of people move so fast in my life. The police came running in and did like a running fly tackle on all the fighters. The very best part was the fire works. I say this was God's gift to me because I love fireworks. I literately got to stand under the fireworks. When I looked up into the sky it was as if I was flying straight up! 

God is good and faithful! 

Welcome to the mass of craziness!

These are only the people behind me... there about twice that many in frount of me.

The view from above me...beautiful!