Bryan & Kalya in Thailand

Bringing in the New Year

2012-01-27T00:34:00.000-08:00

Here we are already into 2012 with only 4 more weeks of classes left for the school year at Payap. I can hardly believe it. We were very fortunate to have been able to bring in the New Year with my sister, Kathy, and her husband, Wes, visiting us here in Thailand. It was such a blessing to have them come and experience Thailand with us for two and one half weeks! They ended their time here in Bangkok enjoying their last few days in Thailand on their own. It was great catching up with them on Facebook to see where their adventures were taking them. It was so great to have that connection from home here. The day they left, I came home from work to find Kalya very melancholy and quite empty and sad. She said how she already missed Kathy and Wes and how great it was to have them here to connect again with the familiar, with people that KNOW us. What a blessing! Kalya and I spent Christmas in Bangkok before meeting up with Wes and Kathy to spend time on the island of Koh Chang and then back home to show them our stomping grounds here in Chiang Mai. It was a great experience and we are so thankful to have been able to share it with two people that we love very, very much.

And now, to finish the year out strong at school and New Life Center before coming to see family in Washington State and Spokane near the end of March. 2011 has been a year of learning, depending, appreciating and realizing how much we have in God, family and friends. Being away has shown me that the grass isn't always greener on the other side. A colleague of mine in the Spokane Symphony really comforted me earlier this year when I shared that with him. He said, "Yeah, but how would you know if you never tried?" And isn't that true that we seemingly miss out on a lot because we have never tried or taken steps outside of the box to see where the journey might lead. Sometimes it leads us to brand new chapters in our lives and other times it leads us right back to where we started, but with a whole new appreciation for what we already had. As I read the last sentence that I just wrote I am overwhelmed with how much I miss my family and my grandchildren. I am grateful, though, for each and every day here in Chiang Mai because I will always be able to encourage my kids, my grandchildren, even my students to follow their dreams. I thank God for making it possible for us to live in another culture and that Kalya has had the chance to once again be a part of her culture. Our lives are much richer for that. The people that we have met here and become fast friends with have enriched our lives in so many ways.

Next week I will be giving my recital. This has been very good for me. Getting back to practicing again and preparing for this has been something that I have realized that I really miss. I will be accompanied by some very good musicians. We have a world class pianist on the faculty at Payap from Japan. Her name is Atsuko Seta. I am playing a marimba solo with her accompanying. It's more like a duet and I am very excited to perform this piece with her. I am playing a multiple percussion piece to open up the concert and then doing a solo vibraphone arrangement of Chick Corea's Crystal Silence. It's a beautiful piece that I have always loved and it has been great to explore the harmonies and put together an arrangement. The second half of the concert will comprise music that I have written over the years and joining me are some very good musicians from Chiang Mai on drums, bass, guitar and keyboards. The keyboard player is a Christian and plays often with the bass player and drummer who are Buddhist. His nickname is Pui and he is such a kind person. You can definitely see the light of Christ in his eyes. I know that his life will have a huge impact on Gift and Jib (the drummer and bass player). And, oh my gosh, he is a very talented keyboard player. I am very fortunate to be surrounded by such a great group of musicians to share my music with here in Thailand. The final piece of the concert will be Ella's Eyes performed live with the video of Ella synchronized to the music. We worked on it with the click track a few days ago and it worked out really, really well. I am so excited to share the miracle of Ella here in Thailand and openly declare the love, grace, mercy and healing touch of God through Jesus Christ.

Our son, Matt, and his girlfriend, Ali, will be coming to visit us in the middle of March just before we come to the USA to see family. Kalya and I are so excited to have them come and see this part of the world with us. The last, and only, time Matt came to Thailand was when he was only 15 years old. Having him come now to a city that Kalya and I love and know so much more about will be a thrill for us. Bring on the scooters!!

The time has gone so fast. I have been doing a lot of thinking about our time here over that past few days. What does it all mean? ... What did we accomplish? ... Was our witness honoring to God? ... Did we really trust God through some of the trials early on? ... How have we changed? ... How will we view life differently? ... How will we live life differently? ... Have we made any impact? ... Did we fail? ... Did we take on each day to see how we could make a difference? The answers are all mixed and, quite frankly, I don't have many answers right now. But I have the questions and, if nothing immediate comes of these questions, I feel a change coming as I ponder them. I pray that God will give us the grace to sort through the questions and really take a look at our lives and look at life more and more through the eyes of eternity and not through the eyes of expediency. I really want to make a difference for eternity and yet I often find myself making choices for what is expedient in the moment. When I look at the life of Christ, He was always listening and hearing and following the voice of the Father. I want to do that and not think so much about it being where I am to accomplish it but looking to accomplish it where ever I am. I'm here in Thailand right now. How am I accomplishing listening, hearing and following the Father's voice here right now? Living life in the moment, listening, hearing and following the voice of God and His mission of encountering people, loving them and showing them a window into the miracle of salvation and a life devoted to Jesus. Pray for us as we pursue that dream here in Thailand and we look forward to seeing all of you in America in March.

-Bryan

Winter is here!

2011-12-17T00:10:00.000-08:00

Winter has arrived in Chiang Mai. Lows around 60º and highs in the mid-80's. Brrrrr! Not really, but truthfully I DO have to put a coat on when traveling on the scooter in the mornings and evenings. I actually bought a fleece pull over. I have to admit, Chiang Mai, and Northern Thailand in general, is incredibly beautiful and enjoyable to live this time of year.

I am sorry that I haven't been keeping up on the blog more diligently. Things have gotten pretty busy here with school and life. I now get to take a deep sigh and enjoy our winter break for the holidays. I can hardly believe that mid-term exams are over and we are headed into the home stretch of the school year. Finals will be starting the last week of February into the first week of March. Next week Kalya and I leave for Bangkok to spend Christmas in the big city and then on the 27th of December we will meet my sister and her husband in Bangkok and spend a few nights on Koh Chang (an island in the northeast Gulf of Thailand). Then, they will come up to Chiang Mai and be with us until mid January. We are very excited to share this part of the world with Kathy (my sister) and Wes (her husband).

I have been preparing daily for a recital that I will be giving on February 1 at Payap. I want to get in as much practice as I can before our relatives arrive. It has been so great to get into a regular practice routine. I really look forward to it each day. I am very excited for this concert. Joining me will be one of my colleagues at the University, Atsuko Seta, an amazing concert pianist from Japan. She will be accompanying me on a marimba solo. I will also be joined in the second half of the concert with a rhythm section of local Thai professional musicians performing five my own compositions, the last piece being a live performance of Ella's Eyes with the video showing as we play. These musicians are extremely talented and are so willing to go the extra mile to play my music. I am hoping that there will be some way that I can give them some sort of payment to show them that I don't take for granted their time that they are giving to me. They are becoming good friends

I think I am really beginning to find my rhythm here as I am beginning to develop great relationships with my students and colleagues at the University. After going through a very serious bout of depression for most of our time since we arrived, it has been by God's grace and to His glory that I have begun to break out of the depression and really beginning to enjoy the moment being here. Living in the moment has always been a concept that I have thought about a lot here, but now it is becoming more of a lifestyle as I begin to put the concept into practice. I love my students and not only my students but the other students that don't even take classes with me but enjoy coming to me for help and spend time together. Where, at first, I felt very much alone with regards to the faculty at Payap, I am now getting involved in their lives more. I have been especially reaching out to the Jazz faculty by going to hear them play at their evening gigs at some of the clubs in the city. It has been a blessing just being there to encourage them and show some genuine interest in what they are doing. They are so talented! I can see a genuine spark in their eyes when I come to listen. And, believe me, it's not because I'm all that (hardly) but it's more that a fellow musician and colleague is truly interested in just hearing them play and talk to them about the gig. Relationships are forming and I want to take joy in it while it lasts.

Kalya is really beginning to reach the girls at New Life Center. Last week when I dropped her off one of the girls came rushing out and gave Kalya the biggest, longest bear hug. The girls really look up to her and love being with her. She is so good with them. It is exciting to see her connect with the girls. Mondays have become a day that we look forward to. Kalya spends time with the girls until noon and then we are always invited to join them for lunch before we leave. It's great to share a meal there and have that time with both Kalya and me together.

I must say we have been so blessed that Chuck and Janice Sahagian live here in Chiang Mai. We have spent some great times together and it has been so encouraging to have friends that go back over twenty years. We have shared arroy mak meals together, sanuk mak adventures and lots of laughs. A couple of weeks ago we went to Chiang Dao for a weekend get away and it was a real treat. Chiang Dao is about an hour and a half north of Chiang Mai where the mountain ranges begin getting bigger and amazingly beautiful. Kalya and Janice drove the car up and Chuck and I took our scooters on just an incredible ride up to The Nest where we stayed. Please enjoy the following pictures from a very beautiful part of Northern Thailand. Oh...and Merry Christmas. Thank you Jesus for coming, dying and rising again to conquer sin and death for us!

Happy, Happy Birthday Ella Louise Dordal!!

2011-11-09T19:21:00.000-08:00

November 10, 2010 marks a day that would changed my and my families' life forever. I was at work getting ready for the annual Veterans' Day Con at Salk, my 8th grade band's first performance of the year, when I got an urgent message from Kalya that Christa had gone in for an emergency C-section and that the prognosis was very grave, and, that Christa had had a baby girl, something that we had been hoping for. That was the moment, for me, where my world literally stopped and we quickly began to pull together as a family and nothing else was more important. That was when we felt so small and helpless and God loomed very large as we would quickly lean on the only person, God, through Jesus Christ, who would prove to be ever present and grant enormous grace, love, compassion and, ultimately, miraculous healing over the course of the next 70 days.

Today, November 10, 2011 marks Ella's 1st birthday and we are so humbled and grateful to know that she is here with us healthy, beautiful and a testament to God's presence and miraculous work. A student of mine, last Spring gave me one of those plastic wrist bands that has engraved on it, "Believe in Miracles" that I wear to this day. When I look at it everyday I am reminded of the miraculous power of God and His wondrous gift of Miracle Baby Ella. One thing, and there are many, that God taught us through Ella is that we always have time for each other. Our culture comes up with many excuses and "good" reasons to be too busy to be there for the ones we love. I know now that life is too short to not be there when those you love need you. I am amazed that, during Ella's stay in NICU, Kalya and I were able to get to the Hospital to visit Ella every day through one of Spokane's more severe winters. And now, one year later, it is so difficult for Kalya and I to be half way around the world in Thailand and not be there in person with Ella on her 1st birthday. But, our hearts are there and we want to take this moment to wish Ella and her family the happiest of days as we take time to think of her and remember, with very grateful hearts, the gift of God who is Ella.

I wrote a song called "Ella's Eyes" last year. The melody came to my mind within days of Ella's birth and I couldn't help but sing it in my heart whenever I thought of her. I later recorded it and set it to a video using pictures and clips that Erik and Christa took in the days that turned into months in the hospital following her birth to her homecoming in January, 2011. "Ella's Eyes" is dedicated to Miracle Baby Ella and a God who is very present and loving, who granted Ella and our family a healing miracle that we will never, ever forget!

Thank you Jesus, and Happy, Happy Birthday Ella Louise Dordal!

Grandpa and Yaya

Click the link below and listen to "Ella's Eyes" and then look at the pictures above and marvel at God's miraculous, healing touch.

An Evening of Blessing

2011-11-09T06:37:00.001-08:00

Tonight was, to date, the most glorious, moving nights here in Thailand. Kalya and I were invited to share our testimonies of how we came to Christ at a cell group of Christian students from the school of music hosted by one of my colleagues from the school of music at Payap. It was so exciting to see Thai Christian college students worshipping and praying together.

The best part of the night after I shared my testimony was listening to Kalya share hers, so heart felt and emotional and completely in Thai. It was one of the most beautiful things I have ever heard or seen. What an opportunity for her and for these students to hear her story. I will never forget it and I wanted to share it with you on the Blog. God is so good and He came and died and rose for the entire world. Seeing these students and their faith in a country where they are truly the religious minority is so beautiful to witness.

Thank you Jesus for Your gift tonight.

~ Bryan and Kalya

What if.....

2011-10-24T07:12:00.000-07:00

So, Bryan said it's my turn to write something, so...here I am. What to write? Well...what's been on my mind lately is...what if...what if at this time of my life, I'm still living here in Thailand all this time? What if I had never moved to America? What would my life look like? What would I be doing right now for a living? Would I be married? And to whom? Children? But most importantly, would I have God in my life?

As I observe life here, and remembering how life was for me in my younger days, I think my life would have been no life at all. Life is very hard for the poor especially the kids and the elderly here, and poor is what it was for my family when I was young. I could say more like poverty level as we lived in a slum area of Bangkok. One of these days I really have to write all this down in detail somewhere. Anyway, I was going to school, my mom saw to that, thanks mom. But I don't know how far, because state school only goes to 8th grade, after that it costs to go, and no money for that. So...today if I still lived in Bangkok, I would most likely be...a street vendor worker, a lottery ticket seller, a street sweeper or worse I might have been in prostitution in my younger days and now still doing something in that area, who knows? I don't know as far as marriage or children, but I probably would go to temple daily, giving lots of offerings hoping for a better life in the next.

As I see it, God had His hand on my life even before I got to the USA...well, even before I was born. I thank God for His guiding on my life, keeping me whole with all that happened to me as a child, the sacrifice my mom made so that I could come to America, even though I didn't really want to. Giving me a stepfather that cared for me even though we couldn't communicate very well. Leading me to university near Spokane so that I could meet Bryan, my husband. Giving us Christa, Matt, and Andi, and later all the grand babies. Sometimes it overwhelms me to think, what if... then I praise God for all He has done. And I pray for Thailand...

It has been mixed feelings, as most of you who follow and support us know (by the way, thank you so much for that). The feeling of missing our family and friends, of not quite knowing what we are doing here when things are not going the way we think they should go, and also the adjustments we have to make as we go. Sometimes I see Bryan trying so hard to do "Thai" and not quite getting it, I feel bad for him. Or the slow motion of things that should not take that long to do or start...we think, why?

Then, there are times that I know I am where God wants me to be. In obedience, I am first of all here to support my husband in his calling, to connect back with my roots before I'm too old, and I am here to represent Him (God) as I live among the people He puts in front of me daily (living "life"), this include my girls I work with at New Life Center as well.

So, those are some of my thoughts these days. Now we try to take it a day at a time, thinking only how we can be the best to the person in front of us right now..... Please pray, we do need it daily.

Thank you for your time........... God Bless, Kalya

Easier Said Than Done...

2011-10-12T06:25:00.000-07:00

There is a reason that people do what Kalya and I are doing when they are young. I think it took being here to really start to fully realize that. What are some of the things about being young that seem to make it so different? The obvious is ... BEING YOUNG! But with that said there is something about being naive and, in a sense, foolish when you are young that makes embarking on a journey half way around the world somehow exciting. When you are young you have this feeling of invincibility that allows you to roll with the punches and not get too rattled. Your whole life is ahead of you and you are ready to conquer the world. As we set out to make the move to Thailand I thought, even in middle age, I had all of those qualities. We sold most everything large; all of our cars, half of our furniture, in fact, except for some pieces of furniture, everything else that we owned was stored in a small bedroom in the basement of our house that, yes, we did keep. I really felt ready to conquer the world with my favorite team-mate in the world, Kalya. As we were making preparations to come to Thailand and selling many things I kept thinking, "No worries, everything will fall perfectly into place when we get there."

Things really aren't so much the same, after all, when you are older. In fact, as I think back now about the day we left I can't get out of my mind our grandson, Gage, lying with Kalya on the couch crying harder than I have ever heard him cry and Kalya and I totally losing it with so many, many doubts flooding our minds, "What are we doing", "Why would we ever want to leave." It was no different when we went over to Christa's and Erik's to say goodbye to the other grand children. The same emotions with the boys and huge emotions as we watched Ella asleep in her crib not able to hold her just one last time before we left. Except for Ella's long fight to live and God's miracle to save her, I have never felt so numb and empty inside. When you're older there is so much that you are hanging on to and it is so hard to let go. In fact, in many ways you can't and you don't let go. Embarking on this journey at this stage of our life is different in that we don't have this carefree sense of an entire life ahead of us. On the contrary, it is this knowledge of a full life already behind us. It's a feeling of what if we don't stay? Will that mean that we somehow failed? Will that mean that all of the amazing things that led up to this moment of being here were completely misread? I don't know the answer to these questions but I think about them a lot.

As human beings we tend to think a lot about the past and the future. In fact we think about it so much that I think we forget about right now, this moment, the present. Why do we do that? What is it that is so hard about living in the moment? Being the best, most Christ-like person that you can be right now. That is the lesson I think I am really beginning to learn, live in the moment and shine the love of Christ in the present. The past is past and the future is in God's hands, but this present moment offers choices. The Apostle Paul said it very well in 1 Corinthians 13:

"Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails..."

Think about that. All of those qualities of love can only be done in the now, in the present. That's what I want to be doing whether we are here in Thailand or home again in Spokane. Regardless of where we are there is a world of people in need that we need to be present with and showing love in the moment. We miss our family so much. I never realized how much of an effect the separation from our family would have on me until I got here and have been apart from them now for nearly 4 months. But there are people here in Thailand that we come in contact with each and every day and Kalya and I both agree that we need to show Christ here and now and not get paralyzed by living in the past or worrying about the future. We need to be set free to live in the moment and bring honor and glory to Christ in this place, right now.

Having said all of that, there is one future moment we can't help but think about. November 10 is soon approaching and I know that we will feel an emptiness and sadness not being home to share in Ella's first birthday. The closer we get to that day the more choked up I feel knowing that she will be in Spokane and we will be here in Thailand. Her miracle story of life and healing is such a huge part of all of our lives and I know that we will sorely miss not celebrating her birthday in person.

Please pray for us and thanks for keeping up with us through the blog.

~Bryan and Kalya

The Floods Have Arrived!

2011-09-29T06:36:00.001-07:00

Please be praying for Chiang Mai and northern Thailand. For that matter pray for all of Thailand. The flooding has been very severe this year and has begun, as of yesterday, in Chiang Mai. So far our neighborhood has been spared but we are surrounded by klongs and they are rapidly rising and have begun to spill over into the roads. My campus at Payap was closed today and will probably be closed tomorrow as well. That will be two days of finals that the students will have to make up. More importantly, however, are many families that will be displaced by the flooding and the cleanup that will ensue. Many places are waist deep with water.

Thank you for your prayers. We will keep you posted. ~ Bryan and Kalya

New Beginnings

2011-09-10T04:46:00.000-07:00

Monday will start some new beginnings with our time here in Thailand. Our meeting at the New Life Center Foundation went very well last week. We met with the social worker at the residence facility to fine out what they would like Kalya to do. She will be working with the girls helping them with their conversational English AND Thai. Most of the women here speak their hill tribe languages, so both English and Thai are a challenge for them. Kalya, being bilingual, is a huge help and she will be able to work with the girls and the office staff who are also hill tribe women. Her schedule is Monday and Thursday mornings teaching but mostly being present with the girls and forming relationships. I am excited to see Kalya begin the other part of our dream for being here. Please pray for her as she begins. I know that she is nervous about the "teaching" part, but I also know that Kalya has a strength and determination that will provide a blessing for New Life and that the blessing will be returned many times over. Praise God for this!

My semester is winding down. Finals week is in two weeks and then most of the month of October will be a break from school. After having no break from school the past two years, because of our work here in Chiang Mai over the past two summers, this break comes as a welcome relief. The academic committee reviewed the finals that I will be giving and they said that they look fine. In Thailand, a group of government people come into the school and review all of the finals to make sure that they are defensible and that they pass their standards. This happens at all of the Universities in the country so to have the academic committee tell me that they would be able to easily defend my finals before the government committee was a relief. Now to finish strong with the students. That involves 4 final projects for my 4 lecture classes, 6 performance juries and one final Jazz concert where my jazz ensemble and jazz improv groups will play on September 21. Relationships with the students have been developing really well and I have picked up 3 more drum and percussion majors that will begin second semester. Now I hope that they will watch my hours for the next semester and not give me an overload like they did this semester.

We are so blessed with the people in our neighborhood that we are surrounded by. It must be mentioned that Chuck and Janice Sahagian have been our "Falang" Godsends and it has been great having long time friends living here with us in our muubahn. Four others have been a blessing to begin to get to know. Nokk, our neighborhood in-home Thai massage person. We have been starting to get to know more about her and her husband from the UK (she is Thai). Cat, our landlord, is becoming a good friend of Kalya and it has been a good opportunity to know her and her daughter. She is also Thai and here husband is Australian and is presently serving in the Australian Navy. And, finally, Bow, the neighborhood bakery lady who is a young mother of a beautiful 2 and a half year old who spends time at work with momma every day. She is Thai and married to a Thai man who is a recruiter of Thai students to attend universities in Canada. His college education and masters degree are from the USA. They are a very cool couple and we spend a lot of time talking with Bow whenever we drop in for something sweet. We are surrounded by some very wonderful people. It is our hope and prayer that our relationships with these people will give us an opportunity to not only "be" Christ to them but also to look for opportunities to "share" Christ with them.

We are looking forward to October to take a short trip with our good friends, the Sahagians, up to Chiang Rai to visit Kyndra at Bahn Am Jai and Josh and his wife, Anjelica, with YWaM. We are excited to see how they are all doing and have a chance to see Chiang Rai again.

Thanks so much for your support both financially and through your prayers. I am truly learning the virtue of patience and running the race with endurance. We covet your prayers in this as we move forward through this year.

Bryan and Kalya

A Ministry of Presence

2011-08-28T01:37:00.000-07:00

As I write this entry, Kalya and I are celebrating our 35th wedding anniversary. We have begun to get plugged in more here in Chiang Mai. When we first planned on coming we knew that we wanted to live in a Thai neighborhood and be more embedded in the culture by just being and showing the love of Christ through our lives. It wasn't at all about setting up a check list of things to, as westerners say, "Gitterdone!", but more looking at our opportunity to be in Kalya's culture and be a part of peoples lives through relationship.

We had a wonderful meeting with one of the directors of New Life Center Foundation a couple of weeks ago and had them mail a packet of information to us. New Life Center is a Thai NGO providing services to over 250 tribal women every year. Education through the 9th grade is the goal as is literacy in Thai. After this the girls are supported in a variety of vocational training to acquire viable employment skills. The women that are taken in range in ages from 12 to 25. Tribal people are not guaranteed automatic Thai citizenship and "this lack of status, coupled with a growing decline in their ability to sustain their traditionally nomadic lifestyle, has left tribal people highly vulnerable to poverty and exploitation." Girls are often lured away from their families under false pretenses to provide for their family and end up being trafficked into abusive labor situations. As Kalya was reading the document, she called me over to look at the materials. What we were reading was finally putting into words exactly what we have felt in our hearts all along about THE WAY we wanted to devote our time here with the people that we encounter. Here are some quotes from the document that we read:

"Ministry of presence has to do with risk. Your most precious gift to give is you. You have come far or near to 'give' to the girls. You may have thought that what you had to give them was your knowledge, your medical supplies, the benefit of your teaching skills, or your money. I challenge you to realize that what you have to give, the most important gift, is the gift of your time, your interest, your laughter and your love. It is the gift, the sacrifice of self....Let her know you need her, are learning from her, appreciate her, and are receiving encouragement and joy from her."

And then a quote in the document from Henri Nouwen:

"Ministry is, first of all, receiving God's blessings from those to whom we minister. What is this blessing? It is a glimpse of the face of God. Seeing God is what heaven is all about! We can see God in the face of Jesus, and we can see the face of Jesus in all those who need our care...We so much need a blessing. The poor are waiting to bless us."

That was all it took. Kalya and I looked at each other and said this is where we need to volunteer our time while we are here. Finally we were able to connect our hearts with the words we had been looking for to describe what our desire was for being here. As we begin to volunteer at New Life Center we want to be fully present to the girls receiving as much from them as we hope to give to them. The same is true at Payap when I am teaching at the school. I want the students to know that they have all of me while I am working with them.

So this has been a time of helping to define our role here and we are looking forward to it. New Life Center really sees Kalya as a very good fit to just be with the girls and the office staff and engage in life with them. They also see the great strength Kalya has in her bi-lingual ability to speak English and Thai and how that can benefit the girls and the office workers. I also will have an opportunity to bring some groups from Payap over to share music at New Life Center and let some of the Christian students that I have share their testimony. This will be huge, because of the somewhat "taboo" nature of the whole issue of trafficking. The students will be allowed to use their gifts to bring joy to the women and, in turn, receive so much more in return. I am very excited to see how this all goes. Please pray for us to:

"revel in the simple
walk in others shoes
borrow others eyes
surrender by seeking humility
practice sincerity
forsake rigidity in favor of spontaneity
relax
loosen our grip
encourage
be encouraged
give the Spirit room (to surprise!)
affirm innate equality
BE PRESENT TO OTHERS IN LOVE AND ACCEPTANCE"

And not only to the students at Payap and the women at New Life Center, but also to our Landlord who is becoming a fast friend, our neighbor who is also our massage therapist and the food lady down the street who we are getting to know as we buy meals often from her. In other words, all who we encounter.

In His presence and grace and love,

Bryan and Kalya

Simply Living Life

2011-08-03T07:25:00.000-07:00

I have been getting back into a regular schedule again at school. Last weekend I had a real dose of missing home and questioning being here. This week I am beginning to understand. Relationships are forming with the students. I am beginning to see progress in their work and making new friendships and that is very rewarding to me. I know that I want to be a blessing to them and to pass along my passion for music and look for opportunities to share my faith with them.

As I sat, depressed (in Starbucks of all places) I remember remarking to Kalya that there are so many layers in Thailand. Don't worry, I'm not going to go all Shrek on you. What I mean by the layers is there is this whole "tourist" layer where people come to visit and take in Chiang Mai on their terms going away with a very shallow picture of Chiang Mai and Thailand. They don't realize the wide contrast of poverty and wealth here. It is seen as a very inexpensive holiday. I see a people, on one hand, that work so very hard just to make enough to daily exist while, on the other hand, there are people that are quite well off. Not so different from anywhere else, really. It's just that the contrast is so much more apparent. Tourism is such a huge industry here that many people have found a way to make their living on the tourists that come through town regularly. These merchants seemingly think nothing of setting up their stalls and stands weekly and sometimes daily just to bring in an income selling anything from beautiful pieces of artwork to T-Shirts by the thousands. And selling them very, very cheaply by Western standards. To compare, I was trying to imagine Spokane setting up Pig Out In The Park every weekend like clock-work. Things of that magnitude happen every night in Thailand, especially in places like Chiang Mai which rely so much on tourism. But it's not just catering to the tourists. There are Morning Markets and Evening Markets that cater to the locals, as well.
The hard work that goes into this day in and day out blows me away. I know it's a cultural thing that is just a normal way of life here. But, clashing with that, there is a "Western" ideal that Thailand is continually being bombarded with through television, advertising, billboards and mass marketing. It's so strange to see the culture hit with this when the vast majority will never be able to have most of the things that the advertisements are touting. I am seeing very clearly that where many Thais find their joy is in the simple things. Things as simple as a walk, a bike ride, sitting at a street food stall and having a long leisurely meal with friends and family. I am really beginning to appreciate that again, not unlike when Kalya and I were first married and couldn't afford to do anything but enjoy each other. This is a good lesson to re-learn. This is just a lot of thinking out loud as we try to find our place here. Living in Thailand on a Thai wage has really made me take a look at these things much more closely than I ever did before.

We have noticed how much more slowly things move here (I am not talking about the traffic). The process of getting things done like a vehicle title transfer, to getting a workers permit, to even getting contractual things regarding my job ironed out, move at a very slow pace. Patience is definitely a virtue here in Thailand. Our appointment with the first place we were looking into to volunteer can't happen until August 16, which seems like such a long ways away. We are praying about what other places to look into to see where God might have us work with children and young girls that have been rescued from child trafficking. We are needing patience and discernment in this area, as well.

The rainy season has definitely hit. Our streets within a two block radius around our house were all flooded this weekend with 3 to 4 inches of water filling the entire street. The Ping River is rising and threatening many areas of Chiang Mai. A lot of flooding has already happened and there are many concerned people wondering if their home will be flooded next. In fact, many areas of Thailand, especially in the north, are experiencing this.

There is great potential for mud slides and severe flooding and the heaviest part of the rainy season has not even hit, yet. With this thrown on top of the things that I opened this post with, there is great cause for anxiety here in Thailand. What a need for a Savior and God to put their trust in to supply their needs and take care of them. We hope to somehow be His hands in showing His love and care here.

Lots of rambling, I know, but please know that, while we really miss home, family and friends, I really am enjoying the students here at Payap and the relationships that are developing. We are doing our best to simply live life. Thanks for reading and thanks for your prayers.

Bryan and Kalya

Slowly Settling In

2011-07-17T09:04:00.000-07:00

We are slowly beginning to settle in in our home in Chiang Mai. Just as I was getting into a rhythm with the teaching at Payap we have the Thailand International Composers Festival on our campus. All classes are basically canceled so that students can go to the lectures and performances. It is a good thing because it features composers from all over Asia, especially Southeast Asia and showcases their new compositions. I am performing in the Chiang Mai Community Orchestra and Wind Ensemble in two concerts where we will be playing many of these new works. There is some very good writing and it is an honor to be able to help out with the percussion sections of these two groups. The students that take part in this are very talented and it's a good chance for much of the faculty at Payap to be involved playing with the students.

What this means is that I won't be seeing much of my classes this week because of the festival and then next week is mid-terms and classes are canceled for mid-terms. So it will be almost like starting over again two weeks from now. My Jazz Improv class was asking if we could go ahead and have class next week. That made me feel really good because they all seem to be enjoying the class so much. I'm enjoying it to. I really feel like relationships are beginning to develop and I am praying to see how the Lord wants me to progress. I really do like the students and am beginning to find the ones that are really serious about moving forward with their music. Good times.

Kalya just finished being sick the past couple of days. We are thinking it might have been the flu or maybe something she ate. Either way she is doing much better now and we feel good about that.

We are hoping that things will continue moving towards settling in so that we can begin looking into the volunteer work that we want to do in Chiang Mai with child trafficking. Pray for us to not lose sight of why we are here and that we would make the most of our opportunities to show the light of Christ with all of the people that we come in contact with.

My language skills are doing a little better, especially in the private lessons. The lecture classes are still a real challenge but I trust that it will get better and better as I continue on.

Thanks for all of your prayers and support. We miss home very much.

Bryan and Kalya

Settling In Thai Style

2011-07-05T17:04:00.000-07:00

We have now been here in Chiang Mai for just over one week. There has really not been a moment to post on the blog until now. My first day on the campus I was warmly greeted by the Dean of the college of music and the staff that I had gotten to know when we were here last summer. I now have an office space that I can use to teach private lessons in and get work done for my teaching assignment.

Did I mention teaching assignment? A normal class load for a college professor is 12 hours per week of contact time with the students. My schedule is 18 hours and six different classes. I had 3 syllabi written before I came and still have 3 more to write and we are in the 5th week of the first semester. When we arrived I was already 3 weeks late. I am overwhelmed with the lecture classes that I have to teach because of the language barrier. The University encourages me to teach in English because, after all, this is an international school and the students need to be learning English. That's all well and good, but the teacher in me wants to make sure that the students understand what is going on. Please pray for me as I find a rhythm in the teaching schedule.

Last Thursday the entire student body and faculty participated in a ceremony called Wai Khru. Khru is the word for teacher and Wai is a term of honor. Each department of the university is presented with a beautiful arrangement put together by the students in that department. Two students carry identical arrangements up to the stage, drop to their knees and walk on their knees to present their arrangement to the president of the university. This is a very humbling and respectful act by the students. Speeches are given and the students are then encouraged by the president. In the evening each department has their own Wai Khru and the faculty each has a chance to give words of encouragement to the students.

On the home front, we have found a house and yesterday I purchased a scooter for transportation. We need to report to the licensing office in town to get the scooter's title changed over to our name. We are praying that the official we encounter will be in a good mood today and the switch will go smoothly. "Rules" are handled very differently in this culture and we are doing our best to navigate them in a calm and loving way. We met our friends' landlord and teaching colleague, Christina. She is a Canadian who has lived here for 15 years. It was such a blessing to meet Christina and she really helped ease a lot of our anxiety. She introduced us to a Thai woman, named Kat, who is married to an Australian. Kat owns the house that we will be renting and is a wonderful lady who really hit it off immediately with Kalya. This will be a great opportunity for Kalya to build a relationship and begin building community in our new neighborhood. Kat (who does not know the Lord) lives just a few blocks away and is very eager "hang" with Kalya. The house will be nice and is in a nice mubahn (neighborhood). We have an extra room for any of you that will be coming to visit :)

We miss our family and freinds very, very much. Skype has been so good. We are able to see the grand children and have good times talking with them. The best part was seeing that Ella remembers us and the first time we saw her on Skype she greeted us with that heart melting, beautiful smile that she has. After that she couldn't stop staring at us and interacting with us. It was as if she was just waiting for us to reach out of the computer and pick her up and hold her. We are so happy for that. That helped Kalya a ton to see that.

In the last post I was talking about how easy it is to romanticize
this adventure and that the reality would be much different. There would be many challenging times as well as many amazing and wonderful times. I've been trying to wrap my mind around how we look at circumstances we encounter in our lives. We look at the amazing and wonderful times as the ones that make us feel really good and excited and the challenging times as the depressing, difficult "downer" moments. I have been struck with the realization that all of the events we encounter should be viewed as amazing because everything we go through builds character and makes us stronger. In the book of James, he writes, "Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance." We are praying for trusting in God to guide our steps here and to let the light of Chirst shine through in the challenging moments that we face.

Now.....on to the next challenge!

Bryan and Kalya

Here We Go

2011-06-27T08:54:00.000-07:00

We're in our way.

The day finally came when we left for the airport. As I write this post we are flying over the Pacific and are about one third of the way to Seoul, Korea, the longest leg of our flight. In just under 7 hours we should be touching down in Seoul. From there we fly directly to Chiang Mai for about a 5.5 hour flight.

The week leading up to today seemed to go by rather slowly, which was good because we were surrounded by family and just enjoying being with one another. Then all of a sudden it was the night before with so much that still had to be done to get ready to leave. Our kids were fantastic and helped us out cleaning the house up and getting final things packed away and suit cases balanced out with the weight so we could check them in with no problems.

I love my family. We were able to hold them and look them in the eye and tell them how much we loved them. We were able to weep and feel the pain of separation and, yet, realize just how connected we are. I knew this would be hard and it really hit us suddenly like a ton of bricks. We will miss them so very, very much. Our grandsons were so precious. They offered big hugs and tears and I know we will be missed, especially Ya Ya.

We stopped at Christa and Erik's house to say goodbye. Ella was still sleeping. Christa said we could go ahead and get her up. Kalya and I both went into her room to get her and she was sleeping so,so very peacefully we didn't have the heart to get her up. All we could do is look at that beautiful miracle and cry our eyes out because she will be so missed. The night before we both had a great chance to hold her, smell her and tell her how much we love her.

So, here we are, on our way to our big adventure. Pray for grace when we yearn to hold our grand kids and hang with our children and be with our family. It's so easy to romanticize this adventure and bring to it all these glorious expectations when the reality is it will be hard work with many high moments and many discouraging moments. It will be life. We want to be a blessing to everyone that we come in contact with while we are here and I know that there will be ups and downs along the way. But, if there is one thing I have learned over this past year it is that Christ will sustain us and give us grace, comfort and strength.

Thanks for following us and holding us in your prayers.

Bryan and Kalya

Our time is quickly approaching...

2011-05-15T16:40:00.000-07:00

Soon we will be leaving for Thailand. June 25 is our date to fly out of Spokane. We will arrive in Chiang Mai on the evening of June 26 and I will start my teaching duties the following day.

On May 27 and 28 there will be a "moving sale" at 3315 W Decatur, Spokane WA to help raise additional funds for our time in Thailand. We are hoping to raise enough for emergency air travel in case we need that with our aging parents and our situation with our granddaughter. We are also hoping to raise $350 per month to cover costs that we will incur while we are in Thailand that my salary at Payap University will not cover.

Please pray for us as we take this step of faith and work to show the light of Christ to the people of Thailand.

More to come...

-Bryan and Kalya-

Grateful and Overcome

2010-08-09T08:16:00.000-07:00

I am so glad that we came to Thailand. I have learned so much (not just Thai) and have met such beautiful and talented people here. My final event will be a concert on August 15 playing with the Jazz Combo that I presented the improvisation workshop to and playing with a sextet that we have put together with some fantastic local musicians playing some traditional Northern Thai folk music in a jazz setting along with two of my compositions that the group has learned. It will be a very cool culmination of everything that I have done here this summer at Payap University.

During Kalya's and my stay here in Thailand I have been reading a book aloud to both of us. The book is called A Million Miles in a Thousand Years (What I Learned While Editing My Life) by Donald Miller. This book has been such an appropriate book for us while we have been on this adventure traveling to Thailand and trying to discern what our future might hold. We just finished the book and I would like to share a quote with you:

"I don't wonder anymore what I'll tell God when I go to heaven, when we sit in the chairs under the tree, outside the city...I'll tell these things to God, and he'll laugh, I think, and he'll remind me of the parts I forgot, the parts that were his favorites. We'll sit and remember my story together, and then he'll stand and put his arms around me and say, 'Well done,' and that he liked my story. And my soul won't be thirsty anymore. (italics mine)

"Finally, he'll turn, and we'll walk toward the city, a city he will have spoken into existence, a city built in a place where once there'd been nothing."

As soon as I started reading the portion in italics I began to choke up. When I got to the part that said "And my soul won't be thirsty anymore" I began to weep for reasons that I am still trying to understand. I think that the thought of pleasing God and him listening to my story and reminding me of his favorite parts that I had forgotten, and that he was with me throughout my life actively involved in every aspect of my journey and that he was happy with what he saw and liked my story, and how that would mean everything and fulfill all of the longings of my heart. To be fully satisfied and never thirst again and to be fully united with my creator for the rest of eternity would bring such joy. I can't begin to tell you how the very thought of that and the huge desire and thirst that I have for that makes me all the more want to live a good story here on earth.

As our time winds down here in Thailand I have been feeling many things. Sometimes I am feeling like I am ready to go back home to Spokane. And I am. I miss my kids and grandkids. I miss Kalya's and my favorite places to go. I miss familiarity and comfort and being on my own turf. As the time approaches to go home I also realize that I will really miss Chiang Mai. Relationships are beginning to form and we are finding places here that we love and will miss seeing. I know that I have made an impact at Payap and the closer I get to coming back to Spokane the more I want to come back to Chiang Mai and join the faculty at Payap and work with these wonderful students here. I had lunch the other day with one of the students whose name is Jam and is also a Christian. He plays tenor sax and is a really gentle, respectful and caring person not to mention a wonderful musician. I asked if I could pray for the meal and he said yes. When I finished praying he said, "Ajarn Bryan I want to thank you so much for coming here to Payap. It has been so good to have you here". Jam is part of my story now and I am, in some small way, part of his.

There is much for us to consider and pray about. I feel many things and one of the strangest things is that I feel a contentment that no matter what happens it's okay and maybe that is where God will begin to reveal his plan. I think that contentment is like the writer's blank page that God needs in order to move us towards him so that he can write his story in us.

They want me!

2010-07-26T08:51:00.000-07:00

Four weeks to go and our adventure may just be beginning. My mom always used to say that wanting something and having it are two different things . . . we'll see. I know that I will be going through a whole range of emotions as our future unfolds. I do know that Payap University wants me. They have been very pleased with the work that I have been doing this summer and they would really like me to be a part of the faculty.

I have really enjoyed working with the students. We had our first student recital and the Jazz combo from the Jazz Improvisation Workshop that I teach 3 times a week for 2 hours each session performed and it was a blast! The students are having a great time playing together and are really trying hard and playing well. On Saturday, August 7 I will have the last Recording Techniques workshop that I have been teaching for 2 hours every Saturday morning. The students will be doing their own mix of a song that we recorded in the studio. The private marimba lessons with the potential percussion students and private lessons with the instrumental students working on Jazz improv skills has really been a treat. Word got out to Prince Royal College (which really is more of an 8th through 12th grade) that I was here and they actually hired me two hours a week to work with their percussionists giving master classes. That has been great and has helped pay for my Thai tutoring 3 times a week with a little left over to pay for food. Believe it or not, I am actually beginning to read some Thai which is really exciting for me.

I'm tired. I have been working very hard for the school but it has also been very rewarding. I think that a lot of the tiredness is from concentrating so hard while trying to communicate. I find myself sometimes in mid sentence realizing that they really don't have any clue what I am saying and so I start over and try again.

The meeting with the President of Payap went very well. He made sure that we set a date for Kalya and Dean Chaipruck and myself to go to dinner with him before we leave. He seemed very positive in seeing the need for a Percussion Professor in the College of Music.

So . . . wanting and having . . . wanting and having. That is what we are praying about and what is very heavy on our hearts. The average salary for a Thai professor is about 24,000 baht per month. That translates to about $620. All of a sudden things are looking a little more expensive in Thailand. An average wage for a Falang (foriegn) professor is about 30,000 baht or $930 per month. A far cry from what I am used to making but then, again, this is Thailand. Suddenly all of the platitudes we so easily spew about giving up this and that before we really make a decision are really put to the test.

The good news is that I don't have to make any quick decisions yet. No offer has even been made. No application filled out. Just talk. All I can do is keep moving forward and seeing where this chapter goes. That reminds me of when I would check a book out from the library as a kid. This sounds crazy, but I would often read the last page first and then read the book to see how it arrived there. Life isn't like that, and yet, the story still unfolds and takes twists and turns and tests your hopes and dreams.

We miss home. We miss family and friends. As things wind down here we hope to clear our minds, pray and make wise decisions and not (as is my inclination) necessarily or unnecessarily take the easy way out.

Taking Shape

2010-07-14T00:03:00.000-07:00

We are at a point now in our stay in Chiang Mai where things are slowly starting to take shape. Tomorrow (Thursday) Kalya and I are meeting with the Garden of Hope leaders at their children drop-in center to see what their ministry is about and what future possibilities there would be for some volunteer work. This was exciting news for us. I know that Kalya is really looking forward to begin checking into the possibilities. For a while it seemed like we wouldn't be able to have some of these meetings but it seems that persistence is a virtue and now the meetings will be taking place. Next Tuesday in the morning we will be meeting with leaders of New Life Center. Both of these ministries are working with children who are being rescued from child trafficking and in many cases trafficking in the sex trade. Kalya will be so good with these kids and we are very excited to see what the future might hold volunteering with one or more of these groups. Our stay is so short this summer that we can only really do fact finding and pray for the Lord's leading about where to volunteer if we should move here in the future. There is, understandably, an application process to go through to work with these groups of at least 3 months before you would begin working with the organization. We totally respect that for the safety and care of the children. So, while things were looking difficult to set up, all of a sudden the doors were opened to meet with the leadership of these groups. Praise God and pray for our ears to be open to His leading.

Also, next Tuesday in the afternoon, I have a scheduled meeting with the President of Payap University to discuss a possible future here in the College of Music. The teaching here has been going very well with very positive comments coming back from the students in the Jazz Improv workshops that I have been doing. The private teaching (percussion, and jazz improv) has been sort of hit and miss. One thing about Thai students is that they are not as punctual as you might expect at this level of education. That will take some getting used to for sure. Classes either start somewhat late or, as the case was today, I will show up to my office only to find out that there is a note on the door saying that so and so is unable to come for their lesson today. I know a lot of that has to do with my being a guest here and the students having to schedule time with me around their actual schedule. So . . . Mai pben rai (no worries).

I was speaking with the Dean of the College of Music the other night and discovered that the responsibilities of the faculty are divided into 4 categories: Student Life, Community Service, Staff Development (e.g.writing papers, giving recitals), and Teaching Classes. Yesterday I did some community service and went with Ajarn Wassunchai to play at the Hospital in the patients' waiting room. It was fun. He played piano and I brought a snare drum in and played some brushes on the drum with him. Next week his son will join us on Saxophone. Jam, his son, is a senior at Payap University in the College of Music and is very talented and a really great kid. It has been fun working with him. There is a core group of students in the Jazz Workshop that I am really beginning to warm up to and starting to build some relationships. The building of those relationships takes time, especially with the language barrier, but it is so worth the time and effort to try to build up their confidence and let them know that we can have a lot of fun (sanook mak mak) being and playing music together.

Next week I will start some language tutoring 3 days a week for one hour each day. I am looking forward to that. I am doing much better but sometimes my brain just shuts down and things I thought I knew don't come back quickly enough. One of the best experiences with the language issue was last week when I went to lunch. All of the tables were full but there were two part time workers from the College of Music that recognized me and asked me to join them. They spoke about as much English (actually a little more) as I spoke Thai. But, you know what?, we communicated and it was a really great meal together.

As we enter our 5th week here, I know that we will have a lot to think about and I know that it will be hard to think about many of the choices that lay before us. At the same time, it's when we make choices that our story unfolds. We pray that our story will be honoring to God and His plan for our future.

Bryan

Finding Our Rhythm

2010-07-02T00:14:00.000-07:00

We are still early in our stay here. I have only been teaching now for almost two weeks, but we are beginning to find some sort of rhythm to life here in Chiang Mai. In the picture to the left you can see my office. Do you see the work area in the corner with the bulletin board and three great desk top areas? Very ergonomic making the work flow more smoothly and effectively. That's not my spot. See the desk to the left with a couple of books, box of crackers and a back pack? That's mine. Actually I feel very blessed to have a space at all. Payap has been so gracious to me to give me a shared office space with my own key and, most importantly, air conditioning.

Here is a typical week, so far: I come in to school at 10:00 in the morning on Monday, Wednesday and Friday and I usually spend time preparing for the Jazz Improv workshop that I teach on those days from 3 to 5. I also have 5 private students, 3 on mallet keyboard and 2 graduate students wanting more intense time on jazz improvisation, that come in sometimes expected and sometimes unexpected. I am trying to have a very open policy with the students and be there for them when they ask for extra help. I have also had rehearsals the past two weeks on two to three nights a week for "the big concert" scheduled for tonight with the Chiang Mai Youth Concert Band. The Band consists of students in the high schools and colleges in the area as, sort of, a community band but also a group that requires an audition to participate in. They are quite good and are playing some very challenging music. It has been fun playing with the percussion section and coaching them and getting to know them. Two of them are students of mine at Payap. The theme of the concert is Dances From Around the World and each section is wearing a traditional dance costume from somewhere in the world. The Percussion section is wearing a dance costume from Burma and today (3 hours before the concert) I will discover what the section brought for me to wear tonight. I think I can't wait . . . or can I? On Saturday mornings at 10:00 to Noon I teach a recording techniques class in the school's recording studio. The studio is awesome and I am really enjoying my time so far working in it.

The schedule is working out great and I am still trying to get the language skills happening. I have been encouraged to just try speaking and not worry about the mistakes. Like a child learning a language, the understanding comes first and then the speaking skills start to follow. I'm noticing that. When I hear people talk, I can understand some of what they are saying even though I would have never thought up what they said on my own. It's funny, when I want to communicate, I can often think of one word that I could use but can't string a sentence together for the life of me. I will just keep plugging away and asking questions and repeating phrases. I think that a tutor is something that will happen soon.

Kalya is awesome. She has been so supportive of me and my weak language skills. I am so lucky to have her for a wife and friend. She is really making our humble studio apartment a nice home. If you look closely at the picture, you can see her making one of her many "deals of the century" buying orchids for our balcony at the Orchid Shop in the gardening center that we went to the other day.

She is starting to get in touch with some of the many organizations that deal with children and, specifically, child trafficking. She has gotten some phone numbers and is starting to make some contacts to get a feel for what the possibilities are.

We have been exploring Chiang Mai a lot more and I have only gotten lost twice, once alone and once with Kalya riding with me. Obviously I found my way back, or I wouldn't be writing this right now . . . now, if I could only remember how to get home from this great coffee shop that I am sitting in right now . . . haha.

Life is starting to settle in. The rhythm is beginning to happen. Kalya is making what we have for now an awesome home. I am already getting great feedback from the students and some of the staff about the teaching that I am doing at Payap. I am feeling both helpless and somewhat more confident with my Thai. My language skills are like Thai food, a great mixture of sweet and sour. We miss home, we miss our kids and grandkids and our friends, but we also know that we are beginning a story here and we are so excited to see how this chapter will read.

Blessings,

Bryan and Kalya

Scooting in Chiang Mai

2010-07-01T23:37:00.000-07:00

Now, before you start thinking, "Oh, I hope Bryan is being very careful riding the scooter in Thailand. I am so worried that he will get hurt", rest assured that I have not forgotten my defensive driving from scooting on my Vespa in the states. The difference here is I am . . . FREEEEEEE! And, yes, I am carefully free but free none-the-less.

Scooting (and driving for the most part) in Thailand is way different than driving in the states. First, if you can fit, you can go. If you are headed to a stop light and you are on a motorcycle or scooter you are not only allowed to move to the front of the line, you are expected to. Weaving around the cars is a-okay. The main thing is to keep your wits about you and be very aware of your surroundings and once that happens you just go where you need to.

Parking is also very easy on the scooter. However, as you can see by the picture, the problem sometimes can be remembering where in the heck you parked your bike. I think I know now why so many people leave their helmet sitting on top of the side mirror. It's really nice to have some sort of marker on your ride so you can find it when it's time to go. Thailand is a very scooter friendly country. Parking is never an issue and you are way more free on the road than you are driving a car. I can't tell you how many times in the states I have wanted to cut to the front of the line, or pass the slow vehicle along the side or in that narrow space between them and the center line and have had to just suck it up and follow dutifully behind (I can see some of you cringing already). In Thailand it is never a problem. As soon as you see an opening you just go and no one gets mad or feels violated like they are entitled to stay in front of you and hold you up. Everything remains "Jai Yen" (a cool heart) and you move right along.

I always thought that since Thailand is so laid back (translated: sometimes hide your true feelings), that they tended to get their pent up aggression out on the road. I don't believe that anymore. I just think that they are getting from point A to point B and there is a certain understanding on the road amongst the drivers and therefore there are really no worries.

So, yes, I AM BEING CAREFUL, but I also am driving the way that I know at some time in your life you have always wanted to drive but our culture in the states just won't allow. If you really want to feel the real freedom of the road, come to Thailand, rent a scooter and . . . ENJOY THE RIDE!

Sawadee!
Bryan

My head is spinning...

2010-06-23T04:31:00.000-07:00

I feel like I have definitely hit the ground running. Scheduling can be a real challenge working in Thailand. There are no "real" set times that you work and last minute requests are always being dropped into your lap to consider. After my first Jazz Improv class on Monday, two of the drummers came up to me to ask about lessons on mallet keyboard instruments (marimba, vibes, etc.). I think that they are scheduled on Mondays at 11:00 after I teach one of the professors some mallet lessons at 10:00. After today's improv class (Wednesday), two graduate students asked about some private improv lessons. I realized then that I needed to let them know when my hours would be and on what days I would be at the school. I think that I will work with them at 1:00 on Wednesdays.

Today the dean said, by the way, there is a teacher appreciation day on Thursday where the students pay tribute and honor the teachers. He also said that on Friday there would be a dinner with all of the freshman music students. That sounds interesting because it's a time where the teachers can have some good one on one with the students and answer questions that they might have. I was talking to some of the Ajarns (Professors) today about how refreshing it is to be respected so much by the students and how they really have good questions and listen so well and try so hard. A lot of the teachers here are telling me that for a certain time the students will be that way with a new Ajarn but when the "novelty" wears off there might be some real similarities to the states. Let's hope the "novelty" lasts for about 10 weeks.

The teachers in Thailand are very devoted and work very hard and very long hours. I found out that it is not unusual for a Thai Ajarn to make maybe 12,000 baht per month in salary. That's not much more than about $350 dollars per month. I don't know how they do it. But they do it very willingly. Many of the falang (foreign) Ajarns are here on missionary support from the US and they are able to survive much better here. It really gives me a lot to think about considering that Kalya is here with me, too, and I want to be able to provide for her and be considerate of her needs.

I do love the students. They are so kind, respectful and soft spoken. That is the Thai culture and I really respect that.

Friday, I am told, is when I will meet the president of Payap University to "put a bug" in his ear about maybe adding me to the faculty at some point. We will all have a lot to think about given all that I have discovered today. I want to follow the Lord's leading and I want to hear from the Lord about His leading and do what honors Him and takes care of my wife and me. It's so different entering into this journey at this stage of my life and wanting to be sure that I am doing the right thing. I am taking it one day at a time and trying to find that moment in each day where I make a connection with someone here at Payap where something really clicks and helps. I have been experiencing that and I am very grateful.

Blessings,

Bryan

Our first full day in Chiang Mai

2010-06-18T02:18:00.000-07:00

Here we are, still settling in in Chiang Mai. We arrived yesterday and got our cell phones situated and picked up Chuck Sahagian's scooter to borrow while he is still in the US visiting family. Our room is nice and we are still trying to get the lay of the land where we are staying. I am still trying to figure out a schedule at Payap and then get into the rhythm of teaching at the school. It's funny, in the states jobs are pretty clear for the most part without a lot of gray area as to what your responsibilities are. I am finding in Thailand that there are a lot of "maybes" and "that would be nice". It seems like more has to go into questioning and finding out what the needs are and how I can be used. I'm sure most of that has to do with the language barrier and I think that that is what concerns me the most. I want so badly to be able to communicate in Thai beyond "Hi, how are you. My name is Bryan, what is your name?" or, "I'm hungry. That tastes very good. Thank you." I am so unbelievably limited and it is very frustrating. How could I have let 34 years of marriage to Kalya slip by without REALLY learning Thai. I feel so dumb.

I visited the University today and we will be going to a faculty dinner tonight. When I arrived at the music building I saw one of the teachers that I met 2 years ago and reintroduced myself in Thai. I was on a roll and feeling good about what I was remembering until he started to respond in rapid fire leaving me in the dust. I asked him, in Thai, to speak slowly and then finally said, in Thai, that I didn't understand a word he was saying. He was kind enough to speak in English, then, but I just felt pretty defeated.

After that I met the Jazz/Recording prof. I know that I will be doing some Jazz improv workshops and working with some of the Jazz combos. I might also be doing some work with the recording studio teaching some recording techniques. Thank God they are an Apple Macintosh school. The person that teaches the Jazz program and Recording classes is very nice and is a Christian. We had a great time talking today and I know that things will get clearer in the next couple of days. It sounds like "maybe" he will be with me in the workshops to help with the language. Pray for me to communicate and pray for us to get settled in so that Kalya can start to look into some ministry opportunities here. God is good and I am just trusting Him to help with the language and try not to get so anxious. I have to keep remembering that it's only the first day and that things will get better with each new day.

2010-06-07T09:53:00.000-07:00

It's strange . . . I know that we will only be gone for two and a half months but I have been feeling a weird sense of raw emotion. Family comes to mind immediately and I get a sense of emptiness knowing how much I will miss everyone.

Two words came to mind today as I was thinking about leaving on this "test" trip for the summer: anticipation and uncertainty. Anticipating what is in store for us as I try to "fit in" at Payap University in a role that I am somewhat unsure of (at least for this trip). Which leads to the uncertainty of how this will all play out and what is in store after the next school year here in Spokane. Kalya's anticipation of what ministry to be involved in, whether it's child trafficking or one of the many orphanages and the uncertainty of what her role will be there.

The more I thought about Anticipation and Uncertainty the more I realized how those words are such good descriptions (from a human perspective) of faith and hope. We hope in what we don't see so that we will wait for it with perseverance. It's funny that the things that seem uncertain to us and look to be very "risky" are not that way at all. That's why we can have a hope and exercise faith because God is trustworthy and will take care of us.

So, while it's hard to leave, I am anticipating exciting things of which, in my own mind, are uncertain but held in God's hands. Please pray for us (me expecially) to exercise "Jai Yen" (a cool, calm heart) in Thailand and listen and discern what our steps should be as we live in Thailand this summer.
- Bryan -

Time to leave is coming fast!

2010-05-27T07:23:00.000-07:00

It's hard to believe that Kalya and I will be leaving for Thailand in less than two and a half weeks. A lot has been happening in Thailand in the recent months and we hope and pray that Thailand will find peace and resolution to some of the deep issues that they face. We are so excited to go on this next step in our journey. To be in Thailand not as a tourist but as a resident at least for the summer. 30 years is a long time to have a dream and we are both excited to begin living the dream this summer as we live, work and find a ministry to connect to in Chiang Mai. God is good and He is faithful and we are grateful to Him to have this opportunity. Please stay tuned as we share our journey this summer in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Peace,
Bryan and Kalya