Caylahall’s Weblog

I woke up to a frantic voice “Where you going? Where you going?”

We were on the overnight bus back to Bangkok from our getaway weekend in Chiang Mai. We had managed the front row on the upper level with lots of legroom, I was sprawled over our two seats and Matt was taking up the space at my feet. We must have finally gotten pretty comfortable because until Matt accidentally knocked something over the edge onto the driver’s assistant, we were out cold.

I heard Matt say the name of the station we were aiming for – what we thought was the end of the line…

“Go already!” she shouted back.

I finally came to and looked around – there was no one else on the bus. I looked out the window, “where are we?” It didn’t matter, it was time for us to get off that bus.

In the frantic moment grabbing all of our things and getting off the bus the only answer I got was a road name I didn’t recognize and “Taxi! Taxi!”

Well, thanks a lot. We fell out of the bus as it drove off into the dark morning on the side of some Bangkok road. No clue where, still trying to wake up. Well, a cab will get us home….

*GASP* My bag!!!!

I had stowed it under the bus- something I usually avoid- but I had been assured that it would be fine down there… and it was… but now where is it? We don’t even know where WE are, or where the bus drove off to, or where it had been. Had we really missed the stop? Did they really dump everyone at the station and not notice the sleeping foreigners in the front row?! Is my bag still under that bus headed for who knows where? Did they leave it at the station? Did this really just happen?

I had a lot of questions.

With no real answers, because, well, this is Thailand… even the systems they DO have don’t really work. But we had to try. We got in a cab and went back to the bus station where we assumed the bus had stopped sometime in the last hour.

But it was a busy bus station on a busy Sunday and how on earth do we communicate what had just happened. We checked in what might have been a lost and found, we tried to ask multiple people who might have seen it but mostly got blank stares and random points in other directions, we walked up and down and up and down where the busses were loading up… nothing. We didn’t have our ticket stub, we didn’t even know for sure this was the station, we even know what company we had ridden with! It was hopeless.

Matt had to use the 3 baht toilet so I went into 7-11 for some change and bought some tissue to clean up my teary hopeless face. I stepped back outside to wait for him. I didn’t even care if people stared. I was tired and groggy and had just lost my favorite backpack with all my things inside. I needed a minute to mourn its loss and kick myself for being so stupid.

When my minute was up, I turned around to head back inside and there, in the midst of a pile of bags, with a beam of light, shining down from heaven upon it, was my bag!!!! I let out a gasp of shock and amazement and ran to grab it. “That’s my bag!” I told the man standing next to it. He looked at me and looked at my bag, pointing to the tag the lady had put on it at the station, indicating which ticket it belonged to. “I don’t have it, I don’t have it…” I told him in Thai almost laughing, “but I can prove it!” I started to open up the pocket as if I was actually going to stand there and recite its contents to show him that it was really mine. I quickly realized how stupid that would be and just picked it up walked away, saying thank you over and over again. He didn’t really know what else to say except “Mai pen rai”

I still can’t believe we found it.

I was taking out the trash the other day, walking through the ‘jungle’ that is outside our apartment when I ran into a bit of spider web. I almost plowed right through the web but decided to back up instead. Upon doing so, I realized that it was not just a few strands, but an intricate web. Upon backing up further, I discovered that there was a SPIDER in the web, a GIANT SPIDER, a GIANT RED AND YELLOW SPIDER… and if I had plowed right through, it would have been on my SHOULDER!

I stood there, staring at the creature contemplated this for almost 2 full minutes. I think it would have eaten me.

It’s finally over! This whole week was absorbed with rehearsal and set building and gathering props and costumes… I think we are all glad it is over. It was a lot of fun though. I had forgotten how much I love performing, especially when it is just getting up there and acting crazy! We really had a blast. As soon as I can I’ll get some clips up =)

This pic was taken when Ryan saw the ocean for the very first time

So our friend Ryan who waited three long years to even get refugee status from the UN has been waiting for the call about his resettlement for months and he just announced this morning that it finally came! And he is moving to California!!!! 

Unfortunately not beautiful San Diego, but were all just glad he is finally going to be in America! Though we will miss him sooooooooo much, he has really become one of our closest friends here. But many new adventures for him in the future as he starts a WHOLE new life in a WHOLE new world!

It is still hot hot hot outside but Bangkok is already reminding its shop-obsessed population that it is never too early to start spending that Christmas bonus. I remember the malls in America rushing the holiday, but it seems even more out of place when the 100 foot Christmas tree goes up right next to a giant elephant shrine.

I guess I really can’t complain though, hearing “Winter Wonderland” as I walk past the mall just floods me with warm memories of Christmases past – baking cookies, decorating the tree, long road trips out to Houston. You know, all those things that just aren’t the same in Thailand. Also not in Thailand: snow. But for some reason Primo, the little boy I teach, has become obsessed with it. It isn’t even Thanksgiving yet and we have already read every Christmas book they own (which is actually quite a lot), had a snowball fight and built a snowman out of paper. What will we do when it actually is Christmas?

And coming right along with the season of giving, the teachers at Kids Drama have decided to put on an British panto production of Cinderella to raise money for charity. They have cast me as Cinderella- the poor, love-struck, SINGING servant girl =/ Now if you know me at all, you know that I generally avoid singing in front of or around people at all cost. Not really because I am shy, but because I care for their sanity. It’ll be an interesting production. As long as no one asks for their money back =)

One thing that I am really excited about this Christmas is that it is Matt and my first Christmas as a married couple. It is time for us to start our own Christmas traditions! And we won’t even have to worry about whose parent’s house to spend it at =)

To all the married people who read my blog, what did you do on your first Christmas?

Only one more day in Iraq and it is time to head back to Thailand. Mixed feelings. We have had such a good time here – with the team, with the Kurds, working for PLC. It has been quite a visit.

A few days ago we had lunch with the team leaders here and talked about what it would look like if we decided to come join the team. They answered a lot of our questions and filled us in on things we hadn’t even thought about. We wouldn’t be able to get here until the end of 2010 or early 2011, but there would be lots to do before then.

We are excited because this would be our chance to do something on purpose; to go somewhere with a clear idea why, with goals and something to work. Not only would we be helping children receive life saving heart surgeries, we would be investing in the lives of families by spending time with them and loving them with Jesus’ love, a love most of them have never known.

Our specific roles here would be working on public relations for PLC and caring for families of the children. It has been fun to see that there are very tangible and specific ways for us to serve here.

I was also excited to find out that in order to learn the language we would live for a few months with a Kurdish family, hopefully out in one of the villages. This is actually on my top 100 list of things to do before I die (as is kill and pluck a chicken with my hands, there may be opportunity for this too =) Living the way they live would be so far out of our comfort zone, it would pull and stretch us so much, but I think it will be so beneficial to us too, not only to learn Kurdish.

So we have a lot to think about when we get back to Bangkok. We are leaving for Turkey tonight and will be in Bangkok Wednesday afternoon. Please keep us in your prayers as we are traveling and as we make this huge decision.

More to come – picture too =)

There are over 3,000 Kurdish children with congenital heart problems and tens of thousands of others with a range of other health problems. Last week we went out to a village to visit a boy who had surgery in February, he is doing great, but afterward we visited his cousin whose muscles didn’t develop correctly so he cannot stretch his legs out or control his limbs at all. Then we went to see a little boy with spina bifida and his sister who also had a problem with her spine. It has just been amazing to me how much these children have been effected by what their parents were exposed to. On top of poverty and malnutrition, these people were effected by Saddam’s chemical attacks in the 80’s. It just makes you realize how blessed we are to have legs that walk and hands that can move. It has been amazing to watch the PLC team care not only for the families who have received heart surgeries, but also for their relatives and neighbors, anywhere there is a need and a hand can be lent. One of the girls on the team has a background in physical therapy, which is amazingly useful here. Just yesterday she taught one of the mothers of a heart surgery girl some exercises to help her aching back. It makes me wonder why I chose such a vague field of study. But even with that, I have been able to lend some help, so I’ll learn and keep doing what I can =)

When a family comes to PLC for help with their child, it is not just the child who will get attention. Each family is assigned an advocate from the PLC team to make sure they along the child are being cared for throughout the entire process.

This week I have had the opportunity to accompany these advocates on home visits around the city and out in the villages. We visited little Heran to make sure she was gaining weight so she can get a needed follow-up surgery. We visited Honya who will be getting surgery in November to ready her family for the trip to Istanbul. We went out into the villages to visit Teban to plead with the school board to let her back in school now that she has recovered from her surgery. Every family has needs and PLC wants to do all they can to meet those needs and ease the pain.

It is also a time to build relationships with the families, friendships that can go beyond their child’s health. The Kurdish people have been through a lot and though there are many institutions offering aid and handouts, there aren’t many offering Truth and love.

It has been a really neat experience spending time with Kurds in their homes, though most of the time I have no idea what is being said. From the outside the houses look like cement bunkers, but inside they are quite inviting. Most families have a sitting room where they take us, usually two long rugs on either side, maybe couches to sit on. They are very hospitable people and will always offer whatever they have, though I am learning that you should not always take them up on their offer because it might really be all they have. The woman will bring out a tray first of water, maybe cookies or nuts, then tea and the last thing to come out is the fruit. The tea comes out in little shot glasses with a spoonful of sugar at the bottom. Just yesterday, throughout my various visits, I drank 6 cups! That’s a record so far =)

So lots of you are probably wondering why we are up here in Iraq. Well, this post is dedicated to telling you more about where we are and whom we are with.

PLC – The Preemptive Love Coalition

This is a team of both foreigners and Kurds who have dedicated their lives to helping Kuridish children attain much needed heart surgeries. They have partnered with many other organizations and doctors as well as raised money through donations and the selling of local Kurdish shoes so that they can offer families expensive surgeries at a much more affordable cost. Once a child is chosen for surgery, the team members offer support and love to the family during the entire process and long into their recovery.

The Team

So we are staying in the home of the founders of PLC along with their two young children. They are Americans who we met for the first time in Waco two years ago. Right now there are three short-term team members, all about our age, who have been here since June. Also on the team are a few Kurds who help with translation and understanding Kurdish culture as well as a young Irish woman who has been here since the beginning and speaks excellent Kurdish. The rest of the team is currently away working from America.

Sulimanye

The city we are in now is nestled among rolling sand hills in Northern Iraq. As can be expected, it is a very warm and dry climate (I have been drinking a gallon of water a day just to stay hydrated!) The city has many foreigners living here for various reasons; our host’s daughter even goes to an international school. Most women cover their heads and the men wear Aladdin pants. They are very hospitable and generally friendly. I would also like to add, knowing many of your ideas about Iraqi people, that they think all Texans ride around on horses and shoot people for fun. We all know that is not true, and I have found an Iraq that is peaceful and in need of Truth and love.

So that is a bit of what is here… but why are we here? Well, we met these people our last year in college and were inspired by their passion and their mission. They have been on our minds ever since and we always wondered if joining them could be a possibility for us, but all we had were vague ideas about what really goes on here. So here we are trying to get an idea of what life is like working for PLC and living in Sulimanye, Iraq, as well as if there is a place for us to fit in and really contribute to the team. It would be a big life change and a huge step of faith, but we are willing to take that risk if God shows us that this is a place we can glorify him. It hasn’t been long, but we are still open to the idea… so we’ll see how we feel after our three weeks are up and it is time to go back to Bangkok.

Hello from Iraq! We made it =)

It was a loooong trip. We left home at about 9:30 on Friday night, caught a few winks on the red-eye to Cairo… landed, got visas, changed some money and dashed out to make the most of our 10-hour layover. We took a bus to see the pyramids… which were awesome. We even got to ride a camel! We started talking to one of the guys and he threw us up there, stole my camera and led us around posing us for various pictures. Of course he asked for an obscene amount of money at the end, we gave him a bit, but it was totally worth it. We took a cab back to the airport, had an interesting ride when a rock shattered the front windshield… he kept driving for a while and finally stopped to break out the glass completely, totally calm the whole time and he still got us there with two hours to kill before we boarded a plane to Istanbul. We had plenty of time to get our stuff and get checked back in for a short flight up to Sulimanye where our friends were waiting to take us home for some much needed sleep.

I slept in practically until lunch. Which was delicious. They said you get tired of just rice and beans… I don’t know, these are pretty good beans =)

We went to the office afterwards and talked about business. I understand quite a bit more about what they do here. Tomorrow we will make some house visits. I’m excited about that too

After dinner was house church and some great conversation. It was a good first day! and I am tired… so you will have to wait for more details about where we are and how I am feeling and the people here and all of that… I promise, more to come!