Pink BBQd Pork Fat, Prickly Fruit, and a Flavorful Life

Well... We made it. This place sure is amazing. It's amazing and quite strange. It's so strange to me how a different country with a different culture can be so strange to me. But it sure is.
Now where do I begin? I mean, it's only been two days short of two weeks since we landed in this land I may never understand but still appreciate. I guess I should mention the beauty of Thailand. Everyone was not joking nor exaggerating every time they praised Thailand's beauty.

Not to brag, but that's our backyard. Yeah. And pictures hardly do it justice. I am literally speechless (yes, mom and grandma, believe it or not ;) ) in my attempts to describe to anyone including myself the beauty of this place. It's exactly how I feel when I'm on a drive through the rolling hills of Missouri during the setting of the sun. Isn't the Creator amazing?

Also, I'd like to introduce you to this lovely lady next to Lynne. That is our homestay mother. She is a real jewel! No one in our town really speaks English besides counting to ten and "Go home." How they got that combination is beyond me. Our sweet "mother" and her husband are no exception to the no English. That makes living with someone both VERY comical and pretty frustrating. Also, our "parents" are not believers. Please pray that He will continue to reveal Himself and they will seek Him. 

Now about this land being strange. Take a look at this seeming dessert:

Yum!... That's what we said as we put on a smile and choked it down. May I attempt to describe it.. You take pork and barbecue it. Sounds delicious so far! Then you melt down all the fat off of it until the fat is liquid you can pour into a bowl. Then you pour that liquid into a rectangle mold, dye it pink and put it in the fridge to enjoy later for an afternoon snack... But one thing we have learned and relearned is that things are different. Different does not equal bad. Different = different (look at that math!) So maybe we have to acquire tastes for certain foods. That's okay and we are more than grateful for the experience. Thank You, Savior!

Check this one out:

Is it a bug? Or maybe the fetus of a porcupine? Or perhaps an alien? Gotcha! It's a fruit. Actually it's one of my favorite fruits in Thailand. After peeling away the prickly peel, the sweet, juicy fruit is a treat on a warm day.  

Pink eye. That doesn't sound so strange, does it? Unless it's actually red eye of Thailand. I had the pleasure of experiencing red eye within the first week of being here. It was painful. Really painful and watery. It swelled up, blurred my vision, and gave me a headache like I'd never had before. So sorry to people who get migraines, because that mess is ridiculous! While every single person I met for the next four days pointed it out and talked about it in a different language to one another, it was not a bad experience. My Father knew exactly what I needed, and He allowed the red eye so that I could get what I needed. That sounds so strange I'm sure. You can ask me about it sometime. 

I have immensely enjoyed my time in Thailand, and I am very very grateful for my days to come. May He be glorified. I'd like to share one last strange, or maybe a better word would just be different, thing I have observed and even learned from while here. 

There is some seriously interesting spices and ingredients that go into the food we eat here. Some of it is used in the States. Others maybe not as frequently. Ginger, cilantro, sugar, an entire frog (yes, the whole thing), fish sauce, brown mush stuff that is unidentifiable... to list a few. As we sat with "mom", who was making dinner, last night, we pondered the process of meal making. 

Lynne was giving spice pounding a try!

All the ingredients for the base goes into a stone bowl. The tasty ingredients along with the... less tasty ingredients... All of it makes a meal. The ingredients are pounded together by the person with the pounding club thing and later added to the pot to make the meal. While this seems insignificant, I was reminded that in life, we get the good things, and we get the bad things. All of these things become a part of our life and God uses them to make something beautiful... or for the sake of the metaphor, delicious. We may not enjoy each thing individually or we may want to eat an entire bag of it, but altogether and in the capable and loving hands of the Creator Chef, it is turned into something good, filling, and flavorful.