Bureaucracy

Bureaucracy sucks wherever you may find it, but when faced with a sea of bureaucrats in a country and language other than one's own, its that much harder to maintain one's sense of humour. I recently faced that here in Thailand.

I purchased a new motor vehicle in Chiang Mai towards the end of April. Part of the deal was that the dealership would, at no extra cost, register the vehicle in my name- i.e. no red tape to deal with. I provided the dealership with all the documents they needed and they told me it would take a week or two to have the vehicle registered in my name. In the meantime, I was given a temporary red number plate (paay deang) to use. One week after purchasing the vehicle I moved to Lampang, a town 100km south of Chiang Mai. Biiiig mistake!

After I had moved to Lampang, I was told, via the car dealership that the authorities in Chiang Mai wanted proof of residence and that I should go to the Immigration Office in Chiang Mai to apply for the necessary document providing proof of residence. So I made the journey, only to find out that the Immigration Office had stopped issuing these documents months ago. I was told to contact my embassy in Bangkok. Fortunately, I had business to attend to in Bangkok, so I picked up the necessary document (which was full of typo's!). Another trip to Chiang Mai, to the vehicle dealer to provide proof of residence. When the vehicle registration authorities in Chiang Mai saw that I was resident in Lampang, they informed me that I had to register the vehicle in Lampang. So I had to make another trip to Chiang Mai to collect all the registration documents from the dealer. It was now up to me to register the vehicle myself in Lampang. It took me 3 days to find the relevant authorities in Lampang, and when I submitted the documents to them, they informed me that one of the pages (in a bundle about 10 pages thick!) needed to be stamped by the Chiang Mai office. So back to Chiang Mai to have a jolly rubber stamp put on a page.

Finally! All the documents stamped and signed and ready to go, I went to the Lampang vehicle registration authorities. After standing in 3 queues I was rudely told that my vehicle needed to be inspected first and that I was to join the queue of vehicles. This queue went halfway around the building, so I gave it a miss and went home. This happened twice more and finally, the 4th time I go, I decide to brave the queue, which is about 10 cars long (at 8am!). 2 hours later my brand new vehicle is "inspected". I am given an extra wad of papers and told to report to counter 4. Counter 4 signs and stamps some of my papers and sends me to counter 11. Counter 11 peruses my documents for 10 minutes and sends me back to counter 4. Counter 4 doesn't know why I'm back, but I refuse to leave until they clarify with counter 11 what the problem us. Counter 4 phones counter 11 and tells them off. Back to counter 11 I go. They take half an hour to process my forms. They take my money and I start to see a light at the end of the tunnel - or maybe its just the train! Counter 11 sends me to counter 15. After an hour-long wait at counter 15, I finally get my new registration plates. Yippee ! I'm outa there, but no! wait! Gotta go back to counter 11 to get the blue registration book. After another 1 hour wait I finally get my blue registration book and this time I really am outa there before they find some other problem.

Mission accomplished. Final score = Total distance traveled in getting all the necessary documents to register my new car that I paid cash for - 1900km. Total time taken from date of purchase to date of registration -3 months. Total mileage on new vehicle before its finally registered - 8000km. Now you can't beat that for an exercise in bureaucratic inefficiency and patience stretching!











Before and After

Rice Planting

July is the beginning of the rainy season in Thailand. That also means that its time to plant rice. Everybody clubs together to help with the planting and its an interesting time in rural Thailand as all available hands head out to the rice paddies. Suddenly finding a builder or a handyman, or even a mechanic, becomes impossible and little odd-jobs are put on the back burner for a while.

The whole process starts with seed beds that have been prepared in advance. These are harvested and the rice seedlings are bundled.

(The ladies in this picture are harvesting and bundling rice seedlings to be replanted in prepared paddies).



At the same time, paddies that have been lying fallow are prepared by pumping water into them. Thailand literally has thousands of water canals (called khlongs) which are used for this purpose.

(Water being pumped out of a khlong into a paddy - note in the background the 2 dry paddies)


After the water in the paddies has made the soil soft and mushy, its time to dig it up, or plow it. For this they have a fancy contraption that looks like a generator on 2 big wheels.

This is what they used in the good old days and will probably revert to if fuel prices keep going up!











Once the paddies have been plowed, they are ready to be planted. Now the back breaking task begins as rows of people stand shin-deep in water, bent double, as they plant the rice seedlings. (Aaagh! It hurts my back just looking at them!)
In a few months time the rice crop will be ready for the harvest.

Our July Newsletter

KHAO PANSAA (BUDDHIST LENT)

We went to Trish’s favourite noodle shop for lunch – where they
throw in boiled pig intestines for no extra charge! There was a
festive atmosphere, and a friendly guy offered Nick a whiskey.
Nick declined, but his new friend was insistent, explaining that
“Khao Pansaa” is about to start, and during the 3 months of
Buddhist lent, drinking is forbidden, so drink as much as you can
today. In fact, he told us, he was drinking enough today for the
next three months. Later he admitted that he probably wouldn’t
last 3 months without a drink!

The rains have started in earnest and we are in the time of the
Buddhist Lent ("rain retreat"). Its an auspicious time for
Buddhists: it marks a period of spiritual renewal for them. It is a
time devoted to study and meditation. The monks usually stay in
the temple grounds, a tradition which dates back to years gone
by when it was necessary to prevent them from trampling on
newly planted rice paddies when they ventured out to receive
offerings from the villagers.

Thai people are usually actively engaged in merit-making during
this period. They bring offerings of food to the monks, but it’s
the offerings that provide light, like candles, which are
considered to be particularly important. It is believed that these
offerings provide monks with illumination physically and
spiritually.

Not insignificantly, within the next couple of weeks we will be
opening our outreach centre, The Lighthouse, right in the centre
of Lampang.

ARM AND OTHER FRIENDS

His name is “Arm”, he hardly has any teeth – those that he does
have are black stumps. He is five years old, but looks as if he’s
only two. His mother is very poor and the gardener in our
housing development. Arm has adopted us. For the first few
weeks that we lived here, he’d stare at us and follow us around
on his bicycle… and race away the minute we’d try to initiate any
contact with him. Now, he comes into our home, eats our food,
drinks our cooldrinks, plays with our toys, watches our TV, and …
listens to Bible stories, learns to sing “Jesus loves me” and hears
Trish read stories about how good God is. Naturally we have to
translate for him, and even so he probably only understands a
tiny bit of what we’re sharing, but, seeds are being planted in his
life.

On Saturdays, we have Kids’ Club in our home – Carrot, Champ, Satang (Thai word for a 1 c coin), Stamp (see photo), Rainbow and others are coming faithfully despite the focus on Jesus. While its fun and games, again, seeds are being planted each week. Its rainy season and we have a powerful God, so we’re optimistic!!!

Thai Drivers

I love Thailand - its a great country and Thai people are very nice people - I guess that's why I'm a missionary here! There are some Thai ways however, that irritate me beyond belief. One of those are the driving habits of the average Thai.

• they generally are in no rush to drive anywhere fast. Average speed that I find myself driving behind most Thai folk - 35km/h.
• solid lines - purely for show. When those who do go faster than 35km/h overtake their less speedy compatriots, they do so anywhere, at anytime. Oncoming traffic? Who cares - they can move onto the shoulder of the road!
• Traffic lights - purely for show and late night entertainment in the quieter towns. Motorcyclists especially, treat traffic lights, red ones that is, with total disdain. In fact, I almost took a motorcyclist out on my way home this afternoon as I went speeding through a green light and she went speeding through a red one.
• sometimes, especially at bigger, busier intersections where traffic police are always lurking, motorcyclists do stop and give rise to my biggest and most severe irritation - motorcyclists who squeeze in front of me whilst I am waiting for a traffic light to change, then proceed to take off dead slowly and speed up to 35km/h whilst my car's bumper hovers a dangerous 10 cm or so behind their back wheel (many is the time that I have been oh sooo tempted to give them a little nudge to help them along their way).

Some other pet irritations in the traffic;

• people on cell phones - their speed then comes down to 25km/h and they weave erratically across the road.
• slow moving traffic in the fast lane of major highways - there are even signs up telling people to keep the outside lane open for faster moving traffic - these are steadfastly ignored!
• big trucks that pull out into the fast lane in order to overtake slower moving traffic without so much as a glance, a warning, or any indication at all. Most times this happens, I am the only fast moving vehicle in the outside lane and if the the trucker and waited 5 seconds, he would have the whole road to himself and I would not have reduced the lifespan of my brakes and tires as much as I had in trying to avoid a collision.
• People who do not give you a gap to get into the flow of slow moving traffic, leaving you stranded and unable to "go with the flow".
• Traffic lights out of order and there is no order as it becomes a free for all to see who can get across. No taking of turns here - you just go - he with the biggest car and nerves of steel wins!
  

Driving in Thailand is an experience that has got to be seen and experienced to be believed. It gives a whole new meaning to the term "defensive driving" and those who think that mini bus taxi drivers in Johannesburg are bad..., ain't seen nothing yet.

Our June Newsletter

SNOOKER AND SHOPPING

The shopping done, loaded into the car, butter melting on the back seat, Nick wondered whether he should go straight home or pop into the hardware store first. There was a job that needed doing at the house – and had been for some time – and he needed supplies. He quickly weighed up the consequences of the melted butter versus the job being delayed yet again, and decided to head to the hardware store. Waiting at the cashier’s desk whilst she was struggling to get the purchases scanned, Nick started chatting to the cashier’s assistant/chief bag packer, whose name is Snooker (yes, as in the game played on a baize covered table and pronounced “Sanuk cur” in Thailish). After exchanging pleasantries, Snooker asked for Nick’s business card. Nick – being a nice guy – gave it to him, and sweetened the deal by giving him a tract too.

Imagine our delight when about an hour later we got a call from Snooker. He is keen – he wants to know more about Jesus because he is dissatisfied with life! We have since met with Snooker again and have given him a booklet about what Christians believe. We hope to meet with him on a regular basis, perhaps over lunch or a cup of coffee, perhaps even with a friend if his or a colleague, and talk more about this awesome God that we serve.

HOME ALONE

Nick was in Singapore and would be gone for a week. Trish was home alone – if you can call being left with three children “alone”. She was feeling a bit down, a bit discouraged, a bit lonely, even a bit nervous. We are still so new in this town – what would she do if there was an emergency? Who would help her?

Then there was a voice calling downstairs. Phii Nok had brought some supper for Trish and the kids. She stayed and chatted for a while. Then, as she was leaving, Khun Yaay brought little First to play.

Soon six other neighbourhood kids and their parents were in our garden having a whale of a time – running races, riding bikes, playing basketball, while Trish fed them savoury pies and chocolate cookies. Next morning none other than the vice-governor of the province (who lives 2 houses down) and his wife arrived to whisk the kids off to their home where they duly entertained and fed them for the morning – while the Bekker blessings destroyed their otherwise pristine house, Trish enjoyed a welcome break.

Home alone - maybe, but certainly with a God who supplies all our needs!

Bangkok Taxi Drivers

If there's one thing I detest with a passion, its being ripped off. It's bad enough when you find out after the event that you were ripped, but its even worse when the rip-off is so blatant that you can see it happening right before your eyes. Most of the worst and most blatant rip-offs and attempted rip-offs, that have been perpetrated on me, have been by Bangkok taxi drivers. These fellows are in a league of their own. I admit that it is unfair to tar them all with the same brush, there are, no doubt, some really upstanding guys out there, but on the whole, they are a fairly scaly bunch. Let me relate my two latest experiences;

I arrived at Bangkok international airport this morning and caught a taxi into town. The taxi driver tried to get me to agree to a fixed fee of 300 Baht. I politely declined and insisted that he turn on the meter. Fortunately, he did not push the issue and I arrived at my destination with the meter sitting on 205 Baht. This was clearly an attempted rip-off and I don't know why he even tried - was it because I am a foreigner? Would he have tried the same trick on a Thai man?

My business in town finished, I needed to catch a taxi to our head office, which has a guest house attached to it. This is about a 25km drive and the average taxi fare is maximum 230 Baht. It was 7 pm and the first two taxi's that I got into refused to take me (as I understand the law, a taxi which is on duty is compelled to take the customer wherever they want to go within the city of Bangkok). So, not a rip-off per se, but a flagrant violation of the law and a major source of irritation to me, a tired guy who wants to go home. Once again, I ask myself, "Would these guys have refused a Thai man who got into their taxis?" Anyway, the 3rd taxi I find is willing to take me, but he refuses to turn on the meter and because I'm getting fairly desperate to get home and am not in the mood to try to find another taxi, we agree on a fare of 300 Baht. Rip-off right there! If his meter was on, it wouldn't come to more that 230 and I still have to fork out 75 Baht in tolls.

Now, its clear to me right from the outset, that this fellow has no idea where I want him to take me. He keeps mentioning places that I have not heard of and I keep telling him which highway to take and which off-ramp and near which temple my destination is. I give him street names, but he still has no clue. I tell him not to worry, that I know exactly where it is and will direct him as we go. So we're going along the freeway on our way home when he decides that he wants to take the next off-ramp, which is one before mine. I ask him to please keep going, that my offramp is the next one and it is literally 3 minutes away at his current speed. He refuses, takes the wrong off-ramp and starts ranting and raving about how I told him that this was where I wanted to go. I tell him that he has just squandered his fare and that he must stop so that I can get out. At this stage the situation escalates to a loud screaming match. He refuses to stop, but says that he's going back to where he picked me up from (20 kms back). He is so irate that he tries to drive up the wrong way on another freeway off-ramp. I'm in the back, threatening to call the police because he's ripping me off and I'm telling him that he's not doing his karma any good. Eventually, still speaking in very raised voices, we agree that he would take me to the old Bangkok airport, which was further than he would have had to go had he just carried on on the freeway as I had asked him.

As I reflected on this whole ugly incident afterwards, I realised that I had handled it very badly and had not been a very good witness. Then again, what do you do when an irate taxi driver accuses you of lying about where you wanted to go and refuses to drop you off, but instead insists on going back to where you started from, thus wasting more than an hour of your time and money paid in toll fees? What really irks me is that the whole situation arose from his greed and intention to rip me off in the first place. He stung me for 300 Baht and when he realised that he had to take me further than he originally understood, it was no longer such a bargain for him. If, on the other hand, he had had his meter on, he wouldn't have worried. In fact, the further he had to take me, the longer the meter would have run and the more money he would have earned.

So what lessons do I take away from this? Don't trust taxi drivers? Give very detailed instructions with names and numbers of offramps and streets and suburbs? Use only those taxi's that are prepared to turn on their meters, even if it means taking a bit longer to find a guy honest enough to do it? I don't know. I just know that right now I'm feeling a little jaded, but I'm sure I'll be alright in the morning:-)

Our May 2008 Newsletter

How do you get to know a town and meet people? On foot, with a cute little baby of course. In order to really get to know Lampang town (see photo of Wat Phra Trat LampangLuang), we ditched the Isuzu and walked. We used the municipal market as our starting point and walked down the streets, going from shop to shop, introducing ourselves, telling people what we do, why we’re in Lampang, and handing out tracts.

“So, where are you from?” asked one friendly shopkeeper.
“South Africa,” we replied.
“Mmmm, where’s that?”
“The southern most part of Africa”
“Oh, is it a region?”
”Well, no, it’s a country”
“And what city are you from in this South Africa country?”
“Johannesburg”
“Johannesburg!!!! I’ve been there. I was there 3 years ago on an 8-day tour!” Then, much excitement as we talked about what a wonderful holiday destination South Africa is.

So far we’ve learned a couple of valuable lessons:

1. Nina is a great conversation starter and eases any initial tensions, but after two minutes she becomes a liability (she gets bored easily on the hip, but tends to destroy displays in shops when let loose).
2. Its going to take a lot longer than we thought to survey this town. The folk in Lampang are really friendly and keen to talk, so in about one hour, we only did one block … there are many blocks to go!
3. There is a big Catholic school in Lampang and many people think that we are associated with them - and don’t understand why we are not… others have been in contact with the Mormons and think they already know what we’re all about.

PHI NOK’S BIRTHDAY

Phi Nok’s restaurant is closed this Wednesday. It’s her birthday and she is going to “tham bun” (have a merit making ceremony) at the restaurant because it is an auspicious day for her. She usually does this at the temple, but this year she’s decided to do it at the restaurant, hoping that it’ll bring her lots of luck and make the restaurant more prosperous. She admits that it’s the first time she is doing it at the restaurant, but really, she should have a merit making ceremony there at least once a year. On the 4^th some monks will come to the restaurant at 10h30 (we’ve been invited to join in) as Phi Nok goes through with the ceremony.

Phi Nok tries to be a good Buddhist, but she knows that she cannot even keep the 5 basic Buddhist precepts – she kills flies almost every day - so actually, she is without hope. We shared with her about the hope that we have in Christ and that only he can remove our bad karma.

The Joy of Golf

I love playing golf - unfortunately, my love for the game is not borne out by my ability to play it. I tend to duff a lot of shots, but my attitude is "what the hack!" It's a great game and its always a joy to get out there with a couple of other guys who share the love of the game.

Golf is a very old game. Apparently during the time of Caesar, the Romans played a game similar to golf, where they hit a feather-filled leather pouch with tree branches. Golf as we know it, however, was being played by the Scots by the 15th century. Because it is such an old game, it has a certain je ne sais quoi that could be construed by newcomers to the game as snobbish. There is, for instance, a very strict dress code. Not too long ago, I dared to arrive at the course wearing shorts. This was not the problem - the starter had a problem with the colour of my short beige coloured socks (which I had bought in the golfing section of a large sports shop) - they were not white enough for him! Fortunately an expensive visit to the pro-shop sorted out that problem. I once heard of a fellow who was not allowed onto the course because he wasn't wearing a belt (it would, after all, be unbecoming for a gentleman to end up with his trousers around his ankles after teeing off). Apparently, this fellow merely took the strap off his golf bag, tied it around his waist and was allowed to play without any further objections, even though he must have looked rather strange.

Golf also has a lot of rules and codes, many of which are unspoken. I have on occasion played with fellows who insist that those playing with him and waiting to tee off, stand in a certain place whilst he is teeing off - and one should never presume to stand behind a chap who is teeing off. I guess its just too undignified to have someone stare at your butt whilst you're addressing your ball. Once our golfing party consisted of 5 guys. It was a quiet Tuesday morning, so we asked the starter if we could form a 5-ball as we didn't really want to split our group. The starter was an elderly gentleman who, judging by the expression on his face, had never been asked such a preposterous thing in his entire life. I daresay, he would have responded more favourably had we asked to see naked pictures of his wife!

Now playing golf in Thailand is an all together different story. In fact, I am sure that the royal and ancient founders of this great game roll in their graves any time the words "golf" and "Thailand" are used in the same sentence. This is all due to the Thai's delightful way of taking something foreign and adapting it to suit their own unique tastes and styles. Take the dress code for example: I have played with fellows who wear denim jeans every time they play. Just recently, I played with a guy who clearly had no dress sense - he wore shorts with long black socks! That would have given any self-respecting starter a fit of apoplexy. But not in Thailand. Nobody even batted an eye. Generally, use of a caddy is optional. In Thailand you have no choice. No caddy, no play. Oh yes! all the caddies are women. They wrap a towel over their head and around their faces to protect them from the sun ...and no doubt, to hide their smirks when hackers like myself play silly shots. They also tend to wear woollen gloves to protect their hands from burning in the sun. (In the status conscience Thai culture, a sun-tanned skin is a sign of low status).

Then the most remarkable thing about golfing in this great country, is that they are a sociable bunch of folk. They would hate to break up a group of friends who want to spend an enjoyable morning or afternoon together. So I have often ended up behind a 5 or a 6 ball.
I took this photo just last week.

No, it is not an optical illusion, nor is it a green keeper's convention on the benefits of Bentgrass over Bemuda grass. Yes, that is 12 people you see on the green. This can be quite frustrating if you're playing a quick round by yourself or just a 2 ball - heck even a 4 ball gets seriously held up by a 6!! But in Thailand, no one is ever in a rush, so it just means that you have more time to chat to your mates as you wait in the 40 degree Celsius heat to play your next shot! (To be fair, some of the more popular courses in bigger towns are less likely to allow anything more than a 4 ball - but not where I live).

The Thai also aren't interested in handicaps. You wanna play golf? you play golf! You hit that ball till it drops in the cup. There is no picking up your ball when you're 2 or 3 shots over. I personally have rung up horrendous 10's and 12's on par 4's. Now imagine being stuck behind a 6 ball of average to poor players who are each taking between 5 to 10 shots to sink their ball. To take 6 hours or more for 18 holes is not unheard of.

All these things are not negatives. They are just a different way of doing things and it doesn't detract from the joy of the game. Just this morning I went out and played 9 holes with my 4yr old son, Jonty. It was a special time as the two of us raced around in a golf cart, did donuts on the fairways and went off-road, our caddy (a transvestite and a first for me in terms of strange and unusual caddies) clinging on to the back of the cart for dear life. Jonty had his little kiddies 9 iron and hit a few shots. I hit a few shots, but it wasn't about the decorum, or the rules, or the score. It was about two guys having fun together, bonding and creating memories. Isn't that what all sport should be about?

Our April 2008 News

HOW TO FIND A HOUSE IN LAMPANG

We’d never met Ajarn Kai before, but Phii Yaa - who is an old friend - put us in touch with her. Ajarn Kai (see photo, with Nina) is a schoolteacher in Lampang. She’d heard that we have three children, so she arrived with gifts for them and a huge smile on her face. Then she introduced us to a family who had a house to rent in her neighbourhood. We’d seen plenty of houses at this stage and were prepared for yet another disappointment – the others were all too small, too expensive, too rundown, etc., but this time, prayers from across the world were answered, and we found the perfect home for our family.

There were a few tense hours when the owners had to decide whether they wanted to rent this perfect home to our imperfect family, but in the end they decided they’d take a risk and let us rent it. They did, however, ask for a three month deposit which we think is one month for each child!!!! Wise people.

Ajarn Kai - a total stranger to us - has helped us in an enormous way, and has become our first friend in Lampang. We have already told her that we'll be hosting a team from South Africa later this year and there will be an opportunity to do a special programme at her school.

“LOUD” in LAMPANG

A few days ago Nick went to try and sort out our telephone, taking Emily with him. Work at the telephone company office came to a complete standstill while everyone fawned over them. When we saw our landlady the next day, she said that she’d been at the telephone company earlier and they were still talking about Emily! The Thai expression she used to say that we are “well known” is literally translated as “loud”.
After three years in a fairly tourist-orientated Chiang Mai, with a high proportion of missionaries, then 7 months back in South Africa, we’d gotten used to being ordinary, “normal” people. Now we’re are having to get used to being stared at, having strangers offer our kids ice-creams, being pointed at, being discussed openly, and being treated as important guests of honour. Lampang folk are not used to foreigners – those who do visit here stick to the horse & carriage rides in the main street and spend their money at one of the many many ceramic factories. So yes, we – especially our three darlings - are loud in Lampang!

Our March 2008 Newsletter

THE MISSION FIELD COMES TO US

Plettenberg Bay. Beautiful sunset, distant mountain peaks kissed by the setting sun, the sound of waves crashing a few hundred metres away, wide sweeping beaches, and the supper table laden with jasmine rice, Thai curry, beef in oyster sauce, sweet and sour prawns and fried rice. Sitting round the table about to tuck in: Nick and Trish (of course), but also Yaa, Aneck, Noi, Jupe and Jeaw. Who????? Five Thai Buddhist friends of ours who visited us in South Africa for a couple of weeks in February. (See photo taken at Robberg)

What a great opportunity to gently witness to our friends as we spent 2 weeks in a holiday home together. One morning Aneck watched the Jesus DVD with Jonty and had several questions which Nick and Jonty were able to answer. But it was also fairly hard work as we had Thai culture and language thrust upon us 24/7 and played tour guide to our culture-shocked friends.

God has an unusual way of answering prayers. As a result of the hospitality we showed them, when we return to Thailand, these Buddhist friends of ours will be collecting us from the airport, organising interim accommodation and a car for us, and helping us find a house in Lampang, the new town we’re moving to. We feel very blessed.

HAPPY HOME ASSIGNMENT

The sun was beating down on my head and shoulders. My mouth was dry, my heart pounding and my legs leaden as sweat stung my eyes. What had started as a niggling twinge in my Achilles tendons had turned into a screaming pain that could no longer be ignored – and I still had 11 kms to go! But I did it: after 5 hours and 44 minutes on the road, I completed the Two Oceans 56km ultra marathon in Cape Town and received a bronze medal for my efforts. This was just one of many highlights of our 7 months in South Africa.

Trish caught up on scrapbooking, she attended courses, lost 6kg, went on a walking tour of Tuscany, and still managed to keep the family going. We also did a marriage course which has been very enriching.

The kids have had the best time of all. Jonty has attended a wonderful nursery school, Emily has enjoyed Moms and Tots and Clamber Club, and Nina tripled in age. She arrived as a three-month old baby and is now walking (well…only 2 steps at a time, but its walking!).

It wasn’t all sunshine and roses, but its been a great opportunity to catch up with some of our friends and family all over the country, and to enjoy the South African lifestyle. We are feeling refreshed (as refreshed as one can be with three small children), restored and ready to head back to Thailand.