CHRISTMAS 2010

Dear MFLU Students, Well, it's been 7 years since I taught my first class at Mae Fah Luang Univeristy and I'll never forget

Here's the 1st class I taught

that 1st day. It was so much fun, and over the next 4 years it just kept getting better and better. Why? Because of you who came to my classes. I wouldn't dream of teaching here in America, but over there--it was such a joy to teach such polite and kind people. And there were also the other Thai teachers who were so kind in helping Charles and I figure out what we needed to do.

We are getting ready to celebrate Christmas (the birth of Jesus Christ) over here and it's such an exciting time. Our church has all sorts of services to attend. I wish I could bring you here and take you to our church. I believe you would find it interesting. Of course the most exciting part of going to my church is that God is there and in many ways He is experienced by those in attendance. Maybe next year. Start saving your money!

Life in Florida is nice but very cold, too cold. We have a bird bath in our back yard and the water has been solid ice a few times already. I can't imagine you guys in such cold weather. But it only lasts for a few months and then it will get hot again and we will be wishing for the cold to return. I hear you have had lots of flooding going over there. I've prayed for your safety.

Jackie and I miss our home in Thailand and wish we could come back. Perhaps it will be possible one day, but for now we just miss you all.

Finally, quit writing on my Facebook wall in Thai! I'm your English teacher--not your Thai teacher. I'm going to give an F to the next student who writes in Thai. 55. Much love to you all. Come and visit us... Bob and Jackie

CHRISTMAS IN AMERICA

I don't know about you, but here in the United States life is a bit difficult. Our (That's me, Jackie and one of my grand kids, Elijah) economy isn't good; many are unable to find jobs (I'm unemployed right now too); people are losing their homes because they can't pay for them; the homeless are standing on the corners in traffic trying to get money from those driving by and our leaders tell us we are doing better. Hmm...hard to believe. Right in the middle of all of this, Christmas comes along. We who are Christian are planning our parties and buying gifts for friends and family, spending money we don't have, so it all goes on the credit card. Sounds kind of depressing, doesn't it? Let's go back in time 2009 years ago. A young Jewish girl of about 16 is doing whatever 16-year-olds did in those days when suddenly an Angel crashes into her life, telling her she is going to have a baby. Can you imagine what a surprise that must have been? She said to that Angel, "That's not possible. (Here's my earthly angel, Jackie) I've never had relations with a man." The Angel replied, "Don't worry about that. God is going to miraculously allow you to have His Son and you are going to name Him Jesus." And that's how Christmas began. It began with a miracle that the Virgin Mary would give birth to God's own Son. That's why we give gifts to one another at Christmas: God gave us His Son to show us how we are to live and we now live for Him, giving not only store-bought gifts to each other but giving our lives back to God. So even if our economy is bad, even if we have no place to live, God loves us and it is more than enough to know Him. It is more satisfying, more fulfilling, to have a relationship with God than all the gifts from all the malls from all over the world. It is my faith in God that allows me when I am unemployed to not be worried. It is the faithfulness of God that has kept me safe and secure for the last 40 years of my life and who will one day bring me to heaven where I will live eternally. That makes the hard times today seem like nothing in comparison of the good that is coming. It is my prayer for all of you Thai friends that you too will know this love I found as a 20-year-old while meditating in an Eastern temple. So what is knew for you? I get to see and hear bits and pieces of what's going on in some of your lives on Facebook. I always enjoy seeing your photos. And it's so much fun to find your comments on my wall now and then. Of course when they are left in Thai it's a bit difficult for me to know what's going on. 55. I know some of you are also looking for jobs now and finding it difficult to find exactly what you want. One of my friends there killed herself because she could not face the reality of her own life. Never lose hope. God created you and within you is the ability to do so much. He created the entire universe and part of that creativity is part of you. Wow! When you don't know where to go or what to do, stop and pray. I will end by telling you how much I loved my years in Thailand and how important you were in my life. Even though we could hardly talk to each other you found your way into my heart. Thank you for your friendship and for sharing the things that go on in your lives with me. Much love to you all and MERRY CHRISTMAS!

IS IT RAINING?

Wow, it's been a couple of months since I've sent anything to you all. Sorry. Last time I updated my blog I mentioned that Jackie was going to get surgery to have a new knee put in her leg. Well, she did. That was painful and she has been in rehabilitation since March. Just in the last couple of weeks she has been able to walk without crutches. There she is now, over there on your left. We both miss Thailand a lot. What we really miss is our students. Jackie misses the kids she taught at Baan Nam Jai and I miss MFL classes. Even though many of you made me crazy, it was so much fun to have you as students. What wonderful people you are and what great friends you have become. I always enjoy hearing from you. Now that I only live a couple of minutes from the ocean, I'll share some photos with you that I have taken the last few months. I enjoy getting up early and riding my bike over to the beach to watch the sunrise and to pray. Here's some of the photos: As you can see, it's really beautiful over at my beach. There are lots of shells to find and plenty of birds to make all the noise you could ever want to hear. What we don't have that you have right now is the rain. You are having rainy season and we are having our dry time of the year. It's very nice actually with clear blue skies and coolnights--around 20 degrees C.



All it would take around here to make it even better would be to have some of you over for some ice cream. If any of you are coming over to Orlando to work at Sea World, give me a call. You can email me for my phone number. I'd love to hear from you and even more to see you in person. I'll close with a couple of photos of my family. Last month my Mother-in-law died (Jackie's mom) and we went to her funeral where these photos were taken.


My son, Nathan, on the left and Jackie and her mom on the right. Jackie was only 17!












Here's Leah, our daughter, on the left. Do you remember the photo on the right? You guys are all very crazy.














Well, that's about all for now. Don't forget your old teacher and write soon. God bless each of you....

IT'S SUMMER TIME!

Hey MFL Guys...

What up with you all? Are you excited about Summer? How many of you get to do the summer semester because you didn't pass your regular courses? I hope none of you. Your old teacher is doing well over here in Florida. It's still cold--it will be very close to zero degrees tomorrow. I think you'd die if you were here in that kind of weather. Spring will be here soon and the flowers will all start to bloom and it will be much nicer.

This photo is taken about 4 km from my house. The red roofed buildings is Flagler College, a very expensive school!

Any of you coming over to Sea World for work? I only live about 2 hours from there. You can come and visit us if you are in Orlando. We'd love to have any of you stay with us. We have lots of room on the floor and plenty of food.





This is a street in the old part of my hometown. It's a great shopping area.











To your left is one of the old buildings near the College.



That's Jackie in the blue jacket. You'll have to click the photo to see her. That's an old church she's standing in front of.


I guess you are finished with your final exams by now or you will be soon. I hope you all did well. For you who have the time, while you are traveling this summer, I'd love to see some photos. We miss Thailand and of course you too.

Finally, here's a link to a video I think you will enjoy seeing. It's about a boy from Australia who was born without arms or legs. He talks about that and why he loves to be the way he is. It's an amazing story. Let me know what you think.
http://www.wretch.cc/video/ritahsia&func=single&vid=2282608&rpage=2&p=0


Don't forget us over here. We love and miss you and pray for God's blessing to be on you almost every day. I really do! Enjoy your Summer break....

Bob

CONGRATULATIONS & Happy Valentine's Day

Hello MFL friends. What a wonderful day is coming up for you 4th year students--it's graduation time. You should all be very proud of all you accomplished in your studies. Some of you are much better video game players; others of you have grown in your abilities to use MSN. Some of you even studied! 55

It's very sad for me to be over here and to not be there to see you receive your diplomas and see your smiles. I know how happy you must be. Please, send me photos.

Jackie and I are doing very well and we have moved into a new house with our daughter and her sons. It's very nice and it's also fun to have the kids around with us. We even have a dog.

HERE'S JACKIE AT OUR NEW HOUSE...


Speaking of Jackie, she has been scheduled for knee surgery March 14th. She will have to get a new knee put in! It's not something she's looking forward to, but to be rid of the pain will be a blessing and to be able to walk again will be nice too. Perhaps you will remember to pray for her on March 14th.

THERE SHE IS AGAIN--DO YOU KNOW WHERE SHE'S AT IN THE PHOTO?

My life in Florida is going well. The best part is to be near our kids and grand kids of course. Work is work. It was much more fun to be at MFL and teach English to you guys. I have to say, as crazy as you were, my life was made better by getting to spend that time with you. Jackie and I both miss you and look forward to coming back. How I wish you'd all be in one place so we could see everyone again. Oh well.

Do stay in touch and then we'll be able to find you one day. And of course you might even be in the States sometime so you could come by and stay with us.

SEEMS LIKE A MILLION YEARS AGO!

OK, I won't talk anymore. It's your turn. I love to hear from you and I love the photos you send. Congratulations again to you who are graduating. To the rest of you, less MSN and more study! 55.


With much love...

Bob and Jackie

CHRISTMAS TIME

Hello dear MFL students and teachers. Last time I updated this blog I told you about Jackie. Well, the latest news for her hasn't been very good. She spent another 7 days in the hospital and is still unable to walk without her crutches. The doctor is saying she may need a new knee put in. Ouch! We are praying that doesn't turn out to be true.


There, you are probably worried about exams and such and I guess very serious. Here in America, it's the happiest time of our year--it's Christmas time, the holiday that we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, God's only son. About 2000 years ago an angel came to Mary and told her that she would have a son and He would be the Son of God and that she would become pregnant by a miracle of the Holy Spirit. Exactly as the angel said, this miracle took place and Mary did indeed give birth to Jesus Christ.

He lived a perfect and sinless life--something none of us or anyone else has ever done. This was predicted thousands of years before that He would be born and live a perfect life because He would later give His life in payment for the sins of the world, for all of us who failed. He was a perfect sacrifice.

After His death, he rose from the dead and made a way for us to not have to die eternally but to live in heaven with Him after our death. The Bible says that
everyone has sinned and the penalty for sin is death. That's why scientists and doctors will never be able to keep us from dying--we have all sinned. But Jesus lived a sinless life and He gave His life for us so that we could live forever with Him. When He rose from the dead, He reached down to those in the graves and gave them eternal life, raising them up too.

Today, all people have the choice about living or dying. We can choose Jesus Christ and live forever. Or, we can ignore Him and die without the hope of living in heaven after we die, eternally separated from God. Scary thought. If you want more information, go see Aj Charles or Aj Jin Ling. And of course you can go to Baan athii taan and see Aj Michael. Whatever you choose, make sure you have researched and made a decision based on what you have learned and sought--not just because I told you or your parents told you. Think for yourself!

I really hope all of you do well on your exams. I have so much enjoyed receiving your emails and hearing about what you are doing. Remember, your very handsome and intelligent teacher misses you and loves you and wants to know what's up in your lives. During your break, write and tell me what you are doing. I do care.

Bob and Jackie





email me at bobandjackie@gmail.com