Since class is over, I spent a bit of time exploring more of Bangkok today via the public transportation system. Other than just looking around, my big stop of the day was Chatuchak Weekend Market, one of the largest outdoor markets in the world (about 15,000 booths!). It was overwhelming to say the least - the number of booths was hard to comprehend, and the fact that it's an outdoor market in Bangkok meant that it was incredibly HOT! I got there pretty early, so the pictures show when things were quite empty. By the time I left, every crevice was crammed with people! It was a successful trip - I was able to pick up the things I needed to get - but I'm in no hurry to go back. I usually love bargaining with the shopowners and the whole experience of shopping in a place like this (I got lots of experience when we lived in Beijing), but the heat and the sheer size of this market were a little too much for me. Definitely a valuable experience though!
Today was the last day of class, so we had a joint lunch with the morning class and professor. Class today was filled with student presentations on the Minor Prophets, which were very enjoyable! Summary for the week: I LOVED class. Looking forward to teaching a full class myself soon!
Today was another day of observing class without much to report - the most notable happening today was eating dinner at Sizzler (click to see the Thailand website), which for Midwesterners brings back memories from a couple of decades ago, since they're nowhere to be found in the Midwest anymore. Anyway, since there wasn't much to photograph today, I wanted to give you all a little taste of Bangkok at night: pardon the shaky camera and occasional blurriness; I was filming while walking down the sidewalk. Today was still spent in class, but this time observing Daron Wilson, the instructor for this class. Today the Prophets were addressed. Other than class, there isn't much to report today! I explored the area for a while this morning to get a better idea of Bangkok, but started to feel sick a little later and spent some time resting to make sure it doesn't get any worse.
Today was my second and final day of teaching. The main order of business today was addressing Ecclesiastes. This book is my main focus of study, so I enjoyed it a lot - hopefully I didn't go overboard on content! We also had some great discussion on teaching, preaching, and applying Wisdom Literature as a whole. I'm done teaching for now, but I'll be observing class for the rest of the week to get a better idea of how ABTS classes operate. My teaching time was just two short days, but I loved it!
This morning was spent worshiping at Chaengwattana Community Church with Rick and Lisa Caynor. Rachel and I spent a lot of time with the Caynors when we were in Bangkok in January. After church we headed out for lunch at a Tex-Mex restaurant nearby, where I had a chance to catch up with Rick and some Pakistani believers that we met back in January. After lunch Rick took me around the area to look at a number of different housing options to get a better idea of what is available and pricing for when we move to Bangkok.
Tomorrow I start teaching Wisdom Literature! Today was my first teaching day! Here's a picture of the class - it's not a big class, but the smaller size has allowed for some good discussion! Today we covered some broad introductory material on Wisdom Literature, did a quick skim of Proverbs, then spent the bulk of the class on Job. There was some great discussion, particularly on the book of Job. I don't have the time or space here to explain in detail what was covered, but as usual The Bible Project comes to the rescue with a great video summarizing the book of Job very, very well. If you have time, check it out! First day in Bangkok for my teaching trip! Not too much to report for today, which was mostly a day to recover from jet lag. Here's the view out my window at the Bangkok Christian Guesthouse: I spent a lot of the day finishing up prepping for class on Monday and Tuesday - I'll be teaching the Wisdom Literature section of the Old Testament Biblical Theology class. This is what most of my day looked like: I also got to spend a bunch of time with Daron Wilson, the ABTS professor that's teaching the class. He showed me around the area and we at lunch and dinner together while he filled me in on what's been covered in class so far. All in all, a good recovery day. Things are going to be a lot more busy after this!
So thankful for this room...
- The washer was given to us by a church friend. He had an extra washer he didn't need (but no extra dryer). - The dryer was given to us by seminary friends. They had an extra dryer they didn't need (but no extra washer). It's electric with a 4-pronged plug - exactly what we needed. - We no longer share 2 washer/dryer sets with 8 other seminary families. We can use this washer and dryer as much as we need to with no lines. - The laundry room has a door, so when we're running the washer/dryer it's quiet in our home. - We have been blessed with 4 little ones, so we do feel like laundry is endless but the love in this family of 6 is endless too. The clothes represent that we're all living together - someday this won't be the case and my little ones will be living far away. The food stains remind us that God provides us with nourishment. The grass/dirt stains remind us that our little ones are healthy and active. So much to be thankful for in this room. "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father." James 1:17 My amazing father-in-law, built me this incredible coffee serving corner table as a house warming present! It is officially my favorite spot in the whole house! Come over and have coffee with me!
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