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series of unfortunate events.

December 7, 2013 by Stephen & Kelli Spurlock Filed Under: kelli Leave a Comment

Though seemingly unrelated, these all come together in the end.

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Our landlord furnished the house with a new mattress when we arrived. This was great, except for it being poor quality. Only six months in, we were waking up with springs jabbing into us. To save money, we purchased a mattress topper (rather than a new mattress); it’s just two or three inches of pure foam that lies on top of the mattress.

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We purchased our bed frame over a year ago, and ordered it very tall. We don’t have any closets or storage of any kind in our house, so we raised mattress high enough to put our luggage, Christmas tree, sleeping bags, and much more underneath our bed frame.

This was a great idea, except our bed is quite monstrously off the ground. The top of our mattress hits me above the hip.

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When we left the jungle a couple weeks ago, we left our backpacking bag with Yim, full of things we wouldn’t need in Bangkok and Chiang Mai. This was primarily “jungle clothes,” sleeping bags, and flashlights.

She returned this bag to us when she got back on Thursday night, about an hour before thirty Partners’ staff members from Chiang Mai & Mae Sot arrived to our house for dinner.

I promptly placed the bag on the far side of the bed and out of view of guests, planning to unload it later.

Two days later, the bag remained beside the bed, partially unpacked when we needed things, so simply now a bigger mess with an external metal frame poking you in unexpected places.

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I got in a motorbike accident on Tuesday, leaving a patch on my left arm raw. It was reopened yesterday when I made the mistake of putting on a sweater, which adhered to my new scab. Stephen also accidentally hit it a few times, resulting in a few shrieks.

As we went to bed, he suggested he sleep on my right side, so that there is less of a chance of him hitting my left arm during the night.

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It was here that I went to climb over the backpacking bag and jump onto the bed on Stephen’s side. What I didn’t realize is that the mattress topper was off-center, and what looked like mattress was really just a few inches of foam hanging over the edge. I started to slip off and expressed something of, “Whoa! I almost fell off the bed.”

I then climbed on at the end (to continue avoiding the bag mess) and laid down. As I asked Stephen what time he wanted to get up, I rolled over to reach the cell phone charger on the floor.

Unfortunately, the mattress topper was still off center. There was a good four inches of appeared mattress, with nothing to truly hold you. I proceeded to roll right off the bed, three feet down, injured arm and all, onto the external-framed-metal bag.

And then we laughed for a very long time!

goodness.

December 7, 2013 by Stephen & Kelli Spurlock Filed Under: kelli Leave a Comment

God is good; just so good.

Last year, we spent Thanksgiving inside during a training. It was quite non-traditional, with rice rice, curried pumpkin, and frog. We didn’t see family–in true form or on Skype; I taught all day in a little hut in the middle of the jungle. But it was good; I remember being thankful for the experience.

When we returned, we did many of the usual Christmas activities around Mae Sot: visiting children’s homes that Partners supports and hosting Christmas parties. We brought crafts, games, presents, and the Christmas story.

One of these Christmas parties is to Mae La refugee camp, and a large group of staff tries to go from both our Mae Sot & Chiang Mai offices. I remember looking around and just being so delighted with the Christmas season. I loved the play the children put together, I remember reveling in the music, and somehow it just feeling so Christmas-y, even in the sun and heat and huts. I distinctly remember looking around the room last year and just thinking how grateful I was to be in Thailand for Christmas.

My parents came for Christmas, as well, and joined in on the Christmas parties and events. We had Christmas Day in Mae Sot, and then spent a few days in Chiang Mai before they flew out.

Fast forward to this year, when sometime mid-year we got the idea of visiting England over Christmas. It started because we had frequent flier miles that were expiring, and we thought we had enough to cover one-way for each of us. We started to look into it but learned from the travel agent that one-way would cost similar, or sometimes more, than a round-trip ticket. We considered not going; we considered just paying the round-trip for both of us. Did we have the money? Was it a wise way to spend? Is it just too extravagant to spend Christmas in England?

It felt like such a magical idea, perhaps it was too magical for us in our little Mae Sot lives.

But we still felt like we should pursue it. It felt like God was blessing it, and we decided to go ahead and write the travel agent about round-trip tickets.

Meanwhile, I suggested a cap for the tickets. What if they were under this price? Then it’d feel like such a miraculous deal…

It felt far fetched. I don’t know if it was or not, as I don’t watch tickets from Bangkok to London, but it felt like I was just being hopeful. Stephen assured me it was okay to spend more than that; we’d just see what the agent sent and pray about it.

The price he sent our way was 60 cents cheaper than my ticket price cap. Sixty cents.

My {cheap} heart {wished I set a lower cap, but also} reveled in these miraculous tickets!

For the two of us, both awful, over-analytical decision makers, we made what felt like a fast and impulsive decision. We felt like it was right, and we had 24 hours to decide. And we bought them.

Fast forward a few weeks or months–I’m not sure!–as we were making plans for our training in November. Stephen & I both thought we should spend Thanksgiving in Mae Sot, so we scheduled our travels to return a day or two before Thanksgiving.  We helped with the preparations and enjoyed a lovely Thanksgiving with some of our American friends here in Mae Sot. It was lovely, and full of all the traditional foods. We saw both of our families over Skype, and it was wonderful.

But honestly, as I sat among friends and enjoyed the Thanksgiving atmosphere, I was really thankful we were going to England. I told Stephen this later. I had been thankful from the beginning for the opportunity to go to England. But while we sat there, I felt like it was really a gift this Christmas, and I am more thankful for it.

Yesterday we went to Mae La for the annual Christmas party, and my response was the same. I loved the people around me, I enjoyed the skit, I loved seeing the kids open their presents with gleaming faces. It was a good day. It was Christmas-y. I was thankful. But I told Stephen yet again, this trip is a gift; more than I even thought before!

The year has been difficult for us. Have I said that before? Oh, yes, just a few times. No one will truly know all the intricacies of it–the pain coming from our time in America, from within our family, from work, from our community, and from within our marriage; the challenges and struggles and questions on every single side. We have tried to explain it to others here in Mae Sot, we’ve tried to talk to other expats, we’ve tried to share with family and friends, we’ve talked to a counselor; but in the end we know it’s just our road to walk.

Either way, we have commented, cried, and joked that God seems to think we can handle much more than we believe we can. As one more mess hits the fan or another painful event spins off us, we start asking questions. We start to argue that we’re not strong enough and this is too much; don’t you know where are limitations are? I don’t mean this in a dramatic way or even as a joke; I mean that I genuinely have feared that I might be just going crazy and crushing under the weight. Perhaps there was some confusion? I’m failing at handling it!

And yesterday, we sat at Mae La, and I was almost in tears with gratefulness, and maybe relief? I told Stephen that I am so thankful we are going to England. That’s just not even it; I can’t even express it. I just feel that it is a sweet gift from a Father that gives good gifts to His children. I didn’t know how sweet it was, I didn’t know how haywire this year was going to go, I thought I’d reached my end eighty times over.  I don’t know about the money or how to defend our decision; I just know that God is good. And this trip is a story of His goodness to us, whether it means that to you or not.

Stephen sweetly replied, “He knew. He knew that December 20th was our limit. We’ll make it to that.”

worms.

December 7, 2013 by Stephen & Kelli Spurlock Filed Under: kelli Leave a Comment

We’ve had some stomach problems this week in the community. I gave out little gingerbread cookies with icing on Sunday night, only to have two kids throwing them up. Another little girl came over with horrible cramps and pains, and there was the little boy that threw up all over the community space.

So when Meh Meh Toe came to me saying she had a stomachache, I wasn’t overly concerned. I told her to wait and we’d see. After a couple days of her telling me, I was more concerned. I also noticed that she was always grabbing her side; it wasn’t in the middle, where you get nauseous. It was on her upper side, where you’d get a running cramp.

And having had worms myself and taken the worm medicine (which gives similar pains as it kills the worms…), I started to get an inkling she might have worms. With oh-so-ladylike hand motions, I asked her if when she went to the bathroom she saw little worms in her poo.

She nodded an emphatic yes and pointed to her sister, “Che Na Na, same same!”

She then went on to use more oh-so-ladylike hand motions to inform me that sometimes Che Na Na throws up worms, too!

Oh, lovely. That is a significant worm infestation, and something Pepto-bismol wasn’t going to cure. Poor girls! No wonder their stomachs were hurting!

the little chick.

December 6, 2013 by Stephen & Kelli Spurlock Filed Under: kelli Leave a Comment

I came outside to say hi to the kiddos and found little Oo Wah Tah, an almost-two-year-old, with a little chick in her hands. She was gripping it as most two-year-olds would, and the chick looked a little uncomfortable. His feathers were ruffled and he looked like he was struggling to breathe.

I encouraged her to put the chick down; the other kids translated. She looked at me like I was crazy, why would she let this little treasure go? I urged her on, to put the little chick down to play and find his mom.

She considered my words and expression carefully.

And then she threw it.

She just chunked the little guy with full two-year-old force–at least three or four feet to the left and then off the porch, so at least three feet down. Let’s just the chick looked startled, more ruffled, and was now only using one little chicken leg.

I’m sure I gasped loudly, and then continued to gasp as other kids gathered around to “help” him–I was trying to tell them to just let him be to find his mother.

This is when Stephen said it’d probably be best if I just went inside. Poor little chick.

whomp whomp.

December 3, 2013 by Stephen & Kelli Spurlock Filed Under: kelli, photos Leave a Comment

Motorbike accidents are no fun.

img_7431But glad it wasn’t worse! I forgot to put my kickstand up as I left the shop. I made it down the straightaway, but when I hit the turn, it spun the bike out from under me.

Whomp whomp.

#givingtuesday.

December 3, 2013 by Stephen & Kelli Spurlock Filed Under: kelli, stephen Leave a Comment

img_1333Happy #GivingTuesday! Today, support for Partners Relief & Development will be matched up to $10,000!

first thai race!

December 2, 2013 by Stephen & Kelli Spurlock Filed Under: kelli, photos Leave a Comment

Today I ran my first 5k in Thailand! And not only in Thailand, but right here in Mae Sot.

It was so much fun, and also very much what I expected 🙂

It was the first day we were awake before the community, as we rolled out of bed at 5:00am and were out the door by 5:20am. Kudos to Stephen for coming to cheer me on at such an unruly hour!

The run was about as organized as I would’ve guessed: somewhat marked & somewhat blocked roads with a few semis to avoid.  There was a large turnout, but most were students. Thai school students were given bonus points or a grade of some kind if they came to participate, so of the thousand or so participants, about a hundred were over 18.

I was nervous to be one of just a few white people; I saw four in total. I prefer to blend in, particularly in things I’m not great at! In a race, I am there to finish and not to truly compete for speed. But knowing everyone would be watching made me nervous.

This was well-founded. I had three video cameras on me while I registered.

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It took over half a kilometer to just get running, so the start was a little rough. All of the students also ran very much like students in a school race: they would dart off running full speed, and then stop to rest, dart off, and stop. I can’t tell you how many times I was running and then nearly tripped over the person in front of me who decided they were ready to rest.

I was also stopped before I actually crossed the finish line: the volunteers came out to meet me and took my bib. There was some confusion as they asked me my age and which race I had run. I think they thought I had run the 11k and was just very fast–in 30 minutes! In reality I was just a mediocre 5k runner. But they stole my bib in the confusion; and when I asked for it back they gave me a different one. I have no idea what went down, and we decided it wasn’t worth seeking out the clarification.

But it was a race, and I do love races! It is so fun to have all the excitement. It feels very communal; as though we’re all in something together [beyond the next few minutes of running].

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img_7241And I got a cool t-shirt with all the ASEAN flags on it! Not bad for a $6 registration fee.

img_7249The participation medal actually one of the best I’ve seen, maybe because it’s simply from another country! It had Thailand on the front, with the pattern of the national flag within the country outline. And the back was a design of all the ASEAN flags again and very international-looking for Mae Sot!

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img_1310This was so much fun and one of those experiences I’m glad I took advantage of!

reality.

December 2, 2013 by Stephen & Kelli Spurlock Filed Under: kelli Leave a Comment

We had a difficult situation today.

I think the temptation with blogs–and Facebook, Instagram, or any social media–is to only be fake. We are only posting our best: the parts of the day we are choosing to share because they are beautiful, joyful, or exciting. We’re proud of them. The reality of tears, fights, questions, fears, and insecurities are rarely shown.

I want to attempt to show both the best of our lives here and the ugly realities. Don’t get me wrong, I will still edit what I write. I don’t want to be offensive or awkwardly honest; I don’t think every sorrow must to be shared. But I do think it is easy to romanticize a life overseas, a life in a foreign land with tropical weather and exotic foods, a life with beautiful little kids around us. The photos do tell the story: that is our life! We do have kids in our home and they are adorable. There are countless funny stories.

There is also vomit to clean up at the end of the day. There are times we are dealing with drunkenness, children being beaten, and sexual abuse. We don’t want to deny that those exist. They are reality.

Today’s reality involved stealing.

I told a couple of the girls they could come in to do puzzles, at which point I discovered two puzzles were missing and two pairs of flip flops that had been sent to us for the kids. Both had been on the shelves in the community space. I called a couple of the kids in and asked them about it, and a great discussion ensued as they argued over who was to blame. In the end, we learned that six of the girls had been involved. We later learned that one girl had instigated it and the others had been watching.

Everything was returned. But either way, it was discouraging.

It is so difficult to know how to handle such a situation: how do we punish–and communicate punishment–in a positive way? How do we communicate that this is unacceptable, but also extend grace? How do we show disapproval, but not show so much disapproval that a) they are scared or b) their parents are upset? For some of the kids, I know the choice of punishment at home is severe beatings. I’ve bandaged the wounds from such beatings, and we certainly didn’t want something like that coming from puzzles and flip flops.

There are so many cultural and family elements at play; there are boundaries to consider and setting precedents.

But God was good. He gives us grace in each and every circumstance; He gives us words and equips us every step of the way. It is really no less than a miracle that we are here, that our relationships with the community are good; that we have not been taken advantage of more significantly!

And then, at the end of the day, He brought redemption.

A group of the kids came over after visiting the Sunday night market down the street. They came with a Christmas package for us, and it was a beautiful little light-up Christmas tree they had purchased from the market! It flashes a variety of bright colors, and is a true market treasure, if you will.

Really, it was just so sweet.

I also had a conversation tonight with Mo Bya, one of our primary Karen-Burmese translators. His wife has been working outside of town and is now caring for her elderly mother, and he was telling me about his upcoming trip back to Burma to care for his own mom.  I asked if he’d ever be interested in moving back to Burma as things improved. He told me about the situation there, how there was very little work and it wouldn’t be good for his son; the healthcare was poor. He said there is work here in Mae Sot, and it is better because we are here to help. If someone is sick, we can help; if they have a need, we are there to help. This makes their lives here better.

I was so humbled to have his say this me–so boldly; so unashamed.

I told him that we try, but really don’t know what we are doing. And I told him thank you.

We talked about other things, including Aung Moo’s current conditions. It has been a community effort to care for him as he can’t see or walk. We talked about caring for each other.

We are really thankful the Lord gave us this little glimpse into the mind of the community. Mo Bya’s words were such an encouraging reminder that God has placed us here, that he is working here; that there is a purpose to all of the questions about stealing and abuse and addiction.

Sometimes just one day holds both really wonderful joys and really harsh realities.

 

home.

December 2, 2013 by Stephen & Kelli Spurlock Filed Under: kelli, photos Leave a Comment

img_12581It really was better than I could imagine to come home to Mae Sot.

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img_1287We arrived the evening before Thanksgiving, and spent most of Thanksgiving day cooking for a dinner with a group of American friends. We did take a break while the bread was rising; I went for a run and we swam some laps at the pool, to make it a very weird and tropical Thanksgiving.

And then we decorated for Christmas!

Every year since we’ve been married, we’ve had a small Christmas tree:

dsc03875-e1385910226550{2009}

img_2635{2010, just before moving to Thailand}

img_8117{2011, our first Christmas in Thailand}

2012-12-23-christmas-day-045{2012, when the no-extra-charge ruffle pajamas kind of overwhelmed the tree!}

But this year, our tree outgrew us!

img_7148Some friends of ours upgraded their tree, and that meant they were selling their old one!

img_7152We had some friends come to watch us decorate and enjoy the Christmas spirit! They have all been ooo-ing & ahh-ing over the lights and singing Christmas songs.

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Since returning home, we’ve had six people taken to the hospital & three teeth extractions; one child who had three accidents on our floor and three vomiting escapades. I discovered one of them when I heard an, “Uhh, Kelli…” from the community space. I came around the corner to see a little eight-year-old running to the door with her hands cupped. I then saw that a little eighteen-month-old had been eating sprinkles while his sisters worked on a puzzle. I think he choked, and then just kept vomiting. The three girls were taking turns catching his vomit in their cupped hands, and then running across the room–dripping along the way–to then throw it over our porch. So gross. I wasn’t really sure where to start with the child still vomiting, eight kids in the room, toys strewn about, and vomit across the floor.  I appreciate their effort to help, but I might have preferred a contained hazardous waste area.

I did get to bake gingerbread cookies with one of my favorite little sweethearts!

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img_1305She usually likes to come in and help when I cook, so she had been watching me chop pumpkin for soup. A neighbor came over, so I went out to say hello and came back to her holding our butcher knife and attempting to help cut the pumpkin! To make it worse, she was using it like you use a machete–holding it high and slamming it down to the counter. I was terrified! I did appreciate her effort to help, and she did! We made pumpkin soup for dinner, and gingerbread cookies & snicker doodles for a Christmas movie night.

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img_1297It is so good to be home, and it is so good to be celebrating the holidays!

a few more stops.

December 1, 2013 by Stephen & Kelli Spurlock Filed Under: kelli, photos Leave a Comment

After our trip to the jungle, we stopped through Bangkok and Chiang Mai on our way home. These were really wonderful stops: we saw a couple in Bangkok that lived in Mae Sot with us last year; we had some wonderful meetings and spent time with friends in Chiang Mai. And we took some random photos to document it all!

img_11991We went to see Catching Fire on opening night in Bangkok, which was pretty amazing. And it was a little bit fun to know that us seeing it on Thursday night at 5:30pm in Thailand was way ahead of many of you. For once in a very long while, we felt trendy!

img_1171We also found this shirt in an Adidas store, and we’re just not sure their marketing team thought this through. With all the human trafficking that is happening around the world, it might not be a good idea to wear a shirt that declares you a predator.

img_1225There is another new mall in Chiang Mai, complete with an ice skating rink! It is quite small, but a hilarious experience to watch. In America, most of us have at least experienced ice, whether it is on roads or sidewalks or rinks. For Thais, there is very little ice experience in their lives, so you have a host of adults and kids alike that are horrible at ice skating. No one is going fast, and most are just barely scooting across the floor.

img_1211We stayed with our wonderful friend, Sacha, who also happens to have a piano in her house! A real piano! {I’m not sure if this is common knowledge, but the climate here isn’t ideal for keeping pianos in tune, so they are very rare, and keyboards are used. I can’t think of one in Mae Sot, and she is the only one I know of in Chiang Mai.} Stephen loved the chance to play, and I loved the chance to listen and sing along while I wrote out addresses to our Christmas cards!

img_1250And then we went to see Catching Fire again with Sacha! Feel free to judge us, I suppose. Movie tickets are pretty reasonably priced here, and in Chiang Mai they were playing Catching Fire in 4DX. What is 4DX, you say? Since you don’t live in Asia: it is a new technology developed in South Korea. It adds a “fourth dimension” to movie watching–your seat moves and there are external elements including smoke in the room, a variety of scents, water sprayed on you, and blasts of air. 

It is just as weird as it seems.

But Catching Fire was super fun to see with all the extra elements. And it was fun to see with friends and laugh at all the oddities of having blasts of wind come at you and splashes of water falling on your head. You can also opt out of the water if you choose…

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Amidst all of this we had meeting after meeting in Chiang Mai. In some ways, this was so good–God is good! We have had so many questions over the past few months, and there have been so many struggles. We have been really unsure about the future.

At one point as we were headed up the stairs for yet another meeting, Stephen stopped me and turned me around to say, “We’re on the same team, okay? …We’re on the losing team, but we’re on the same team…” It made me burst into laughter, and it made me really, really thankful that Stephen is hilarious. Laughter has gotten us through countless difficult days.

And in many ways, we still are unsure. We still don’t know most things about the future. But God has been so present in all the questions. And we had some very hopeful conversations in Chiang Mai: not necessarily that we found answers, but that God provided direction. We know where we’re headed, even if we don’t know what awaits us.

I say all this to communicate that we are hopeful.

However, throughout this trip, I have never been more homesick for Mae Sot. I just ached for being in our own home and in this shady little town we call home now. I’m not really sure why, but I just ached for it. 

And it was really just as lovely as I thought it would be to come home.
More on that to come.

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