1 Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because whoever suffers in the body is done with sin. ² As a result, they do not live the rest of their earthly lives for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God. ³ For you have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose to do—living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry. ⁴ They are surprised that you do not join them in their reckless, wild living, and they heap abuse on you. ⁵ But they will have to give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. ⁶ For this is the reason the gospel was preached even to those who are now dead, so that they might be judged according to human standards in regard to the body, but live according to God in regard to the spirit.

⁷ The end of all things is near. Therefore be alert and of sober mind so that you may pray. ⁸ Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. ⁹ Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. ¹⁰ Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. ¹¹ If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.

¹² Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. ¹³ But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. ¹⁴ If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. ¹⁵ If you suffer, it should not be as a murderer or thief or any other kind of criminal, or even as a meddler. ¹⁶ However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name. ¹⁷ For it is time for judgment to begin with God’s household; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God? ¹⁸ And,

¹⁹ So then, those who suffer according to God’s will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good.

Kaeng Khoi, Thailand
Canon A-800

location: Kaeng Knoi, Thailand
camera: Canon A800

location: Kaeng Khoi, Saraburi, Thailand
camera: Canon A800

Tomorrow is the birthday celebration of the King of Thailand, Buhimbol Adulyadej, the world's longest reigning monarch. He will be 85 years old. The Thais will also celebrate the day as Father's Day.

It's been about two-and-a-half weeks since I left Bangkok for Saraburi. It took about a week before things got moving and I moved to a little place called Kaeng Khoi. It is about 11 kilometers from the Tesco-Lotus in Saraburi. We aren't too far from Bangkok, depending on how the traffic flow is at any given moment. To Rangsit, it is maybe just over an hour. After you get through Rangsit, you are practically in Bangkok, but also about an hour away from what you want to be doing in the capital.

Last week was spent working with some children with their reading and conversation skills. They are students at California Preparatory International School, located on the south side of a twelve-lane highway. I guess it would be more accurate to say it is an eight lane highway with four lanes dedicated to frontage roads. There have been nights when i have been too early to sleep, but too early to rise and rise again in the middle of the night. I don't think I have had a complete night's sleep since coming here. The kids are nice, though. Some are Thai, some are Filipino, and all are pretty good kids in their behavior, if not in their English ability. I have my work cut out for me starting in January.

Teaching English will be one thing. The bigger responsibility will be taking on the role as dean of the boys dorm, keeping the kids out of trouble in more ways than one. It should be interesting.

While the school is located well out of the way on a major highway, behind the school is a nice view of some of the mountains. There is a dike behind the dormatories, and a field that will eventually become a soccer field, teacher's housing, and one or two other things. In the meantime, it is a good place for someone interested in the natural beauty of the world to hang out with a nice camera or binoculars and do some serious bird watching. One of the teachers here named Jim is an avid birder, and pointed out to me an Asian open-beaked swan. I got some photos of it, and will post them soon. He has also pointed out a few other birds of interest, including a jungle crow. I need a birding field guide. Looks lke a hobby I should take up while I am here.

While in high school I took three years of art. I'm going to get back into sketching, and bought some art supplies yesterday to see how I like it. I have 32 colored pencils, a 16-piece oil pastel set, and six charcoal pencils, as well as drawing pads and an instruction book. I hope to stay with it this time. It should also help save money on AA batteries for the Canon A-800 point-and-shoot I am packing. The macro setting and the lack of an ability to take pictures of the moon are the biggest reasons for wanting to retire it. I'm not happy with it, and would either want a DSLR like the Canon 1100D or the 650D, or an upgraded PowerShot with the same capabilities as the A-460. I need a camera with flexibility. The A-800 isn't flexible enough for my needs.

Self-portrait - Sri Maha Phot, Thailand

Taken after a day full of teaching. I 
was waiting to talk to someone in 
the admin building at school.

After the flooding in Sri Maha Phot receded, we started classes again on Oct. 15. I was not notified by my agency that I was not returning to the school until Wednesday. I thought I was going to be there through the end of the week, and then start the new term the following Monday. I am disappointed that there was such a breakdown in communication between the agency and myself. I should have been given timely notification concerning my status. I was ordered to pack up my stuff and relocate to Bangkok until they reassigned me.

On Wednesday, I bought a large duffle bag for my clothes, and a new book bag to replace a North Face book bag I have been carrying for about six years. The zipper on the NF bag splits now after zipping it up. I don't want to part with it, as I have carried it so far, from Chuncheon, South Korea, to George Town, Malaysia. However, on Thursday, as we loaded into the van for the trip to Bangkok, the duffle bag ripped. The next day the shoulder strap on the new book bag broke. I won't be buying luggage from Tesco-Lotus anymore. I am one who has brand loyalty to only three companies, made up of Apple computers, Cannon cameras, and The North Face line of bags and clothing. 

Thursday I got to Bangkok, and checked into the New My House Guest House, located on Soi Rambuttri, behind Wat Chana Songkram. It is in the Khao Sahn Rd. area of Rattanakosin Island, and is in walking distance of the National Gallery, National Museum, and the Grand Palace complex, among other tourist attractions. The island became the site of Bangkok's Old City, which was founded in 1782. I didn't do a lot of tourism, but I did find a couple of places to photograph for the first time. Romaneenart Park is the site of a park located on the grounds of a former prison. The towers still stand, as well as a long section of wall and gate leading into the yard. Before leaving Bangkok, I took climbed the Golden Mound, which gives a nice view of the vast expanse of Bangkok. Unfortunately, you can't see the river from its height. 

Over the next few weeks, I was waiting to hear from my agency regarding a job, which didn't happen. I started the job search again, and remembered a card I was given in July. A pastor at the Saraburi SDA church told me to contact him when I became available. I followed through about a week ago, and this past Friday I checked out of the guest house and relocated to Saraburi. The pastor and I discussed briefly the job with the school, and I am now waiting to talk with him tomorrow regarding where I will live, as well as training and starting date.

Saraburi is a town located about two hours from Bangkok on the highway to Khorat. The ancient capital of Ayutthaya is located southwest of Saraburi and is directly connected by railroad. By train, we are perhaps four to five hours from Bangkok. 

Fort Phra Sumen was one of 14 armed positions constructed during the reign of King Rama I that were to defend the old city of Bangkok. This fort is located in the northwestern corner of Rattanakosin, Island, where Banglamphoo Canal flows into the Chao Phraya river. Construction of the forts and city walls took place in 1783. A second fort, Ft. Mahakan, and part of the city wall still stands on the NE side of the island. The other 12 forts and city walls were torn down.

All photos were taken with a Canon PowerShot A800. Film speed 1600 and stopped down 1/3. 

A week before my birthday I purchased an Android tablet. I told myself I would regret it. My iPod Touch stopped working in August. The button that closes screens stopped working. It charges and the power switch work, but there is no way to navigate between screens and apps. I miss it a lot. Its size was perfect. I went to a tailor to get three dress shirts made for school. The pocket was custom made for the iPod to ride in, featuring a zipper so it wouldn't fall out. And it was so easy downloading podcasts from the iTunes Store. And I never had problems with Youtube or Google Maps. It was one of the best purchases I ever made. The only problem was that it never let me post blogs to xanga. The ANDROID lets me post blogs to xanga. However, I do not like the formats used for Twitter, Facebook, or Yahoo. I get xanga updates in the mail, but never the complete message. Also, when replying to email, I am given limited space for the message. I do not appreciate character limits. They are useful when working on Twitter, but such limits have no place when writing email. The iPod had eight gigs of memory. The ANDROID has a 16-gig SD card installed. Without the SD card, there is no meaningful storage space. I installed Winamp onto the tablet two days ago. It is nothing compared to the version used on desktop and laptop computers. I do get access to Internet radio stations, though, and need to see if it will stream podcasts. At this time I have a number of apps to try out. Most are related to photograpy, and some are related to foreign languages. I have a dictionary, two Bible translations, and a handful of books to read, and that I appreciate. I do not like the fact that it is so blooody difficult to remove some files. I need to get a cover to protect this device with, as I do not like the slick surfaces. Feels like it could slip out of my hands, and that would be rather inconvenient. I don't hate the ANDROID, but I don't like it, either. Its a wannabe device wishing to be accepted by its peers from. Apple and Samsung. Buy one only if you feel sorry for it. It is cheap. I bought this tablet and 16-gig SD card for under 5000 baht.