If you’re friends with me (Kellee) on Facebook, then you’ve probably seen many posts from me lately about how my memory is bad, or I’m slow at language learning, or I’m too old for this, or there has been some type of conspiracy I’m unaware of and critical parts of my brain are missing or not functioning at full capacity. You know, all those cliches, “one fry short of a happy meal”, “one brick shy of a load”, “not the sharpest tool in the shed”, that’s me, I should wear a shirt identifying me as “not all there” if you catch my drift.

So this morning, as I’m practicing Thai with my fabulous teacher, slash wasting her valuable time by banging my head against a wall. It occurred to me that to learn Thai, I have to unlearn English. For instance, when you ask a question in English you use certain inflection and tone on your words to get your meaning across. If I use the same inflection and tone in Thai it ruins the meaning I am trying to convey. But it’s really hard to “unlearn” something you’ve done for, oh, I don’t know JUST SHY of 30 years!

As I throw myself a pity party for oh, 45 seconds, ’cause let’s face it my attention span isn’t that great, my mind wanders to teaching Thai people about God. As hard as it is for me to learn their language, it will be about a million times harder for them to give up their ENTIRE belief system to believe in God. So let’s re-evaluate the task at hand, I have to un-learn my English tendencies in language, so that I can learn a new language and use it to learn another language to teach people about an even more foreign concept (to them): Jesus dying for our sins. His burial & resurrection. The fact that His completed work at Calvary covers ALL our sin and if we simply believe that we get a fresh start and eternity in Heaven. But, even if they do accept all that, there will still be so many traditions and customs that they’ve done for 30 years and more that will have to be re-evaluated. You don’t unlearn those habits overnight. Accepting a challenge like this is not easy and if you DO, it’s very easy to want to quit and go back to what you know.

I challenge myself to: “Be strong and courageous and do the work” (study, study, study). My commitment to God’s plan for my life, while challenging, is so vital. Not because I’m special or gifted (see paragraph #1), but because God wants HIS name to be known throughout the world.

So pray for us, it’s not easy, and sometimes, most times, it feels overwhelmingly impossible, and again, like we’re beating our heads against a wall. But we are committed to God first and foremost, and to the task we feel He has given us. Surprisingly, He hasn’t given up on us, so we feel we shouldn’t give up on us either, even though, believe me, some days I REALLY want to (give up on myself, switched to “I” because Doug is a man and usually doesn’t want to quit and is much more gifted at language).

So thankful for Facebook friends who encourage us and laugh at our blunders, and especially for the Bible, a great place to turn when the going gets tough and just for daily life! And especially thankful for a relationship with our Creator God, who is always available to hear my complaints and answer my prayers.

In other news, we’ve been hosting the neighbor kids. It’s challenging to keep them entertained, the house clean-ish, everyone fed, and get our hours of language study in. So pray for us as we prioritize. Trying to keep in mind that we have a short window to build relationships with our kiddo friends before they go back to school (in May). You can also be praying for us as we are trying to prioritize and juggle our finances. I lost my camera and iPod a little over a week ago and will need to at least replace my camera. We’re also hoping to buy a slightly more reliable/easier to drive car before the end of the year so I can drive a little more. Right now, I stick to the roads VERY close to our house because our stick shift frequently dies (it’s a pretty old car). We are so thankful for the car we have, and it’s definitely gotten us from point A to B, but we are hoping to upgrade a bit.

Always like to end with a big thank you to all of YOU out there, doing the work, praying for us, supporting us, encouraging us, and being HIS hands and feet. Love you all so much! Don’t forget, we’d love to pray for you all too, just let us know what’s going on and we’ll be happy to do our part by praying!

From Back to Thailand!, posted by Kellee Ann Tomlinson on 3/25/2012 (112 items)

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Wow!  We’ve had quite a year and a half.  Our first year in Thailand was filled with many ups and downs, then a 4 month trip home for maternity leave, and now back home in Thailand.

 

We got back a little over three weeks ago and have been working (feels like ’round the clock) to get our house back in order.  When it flooded, back in September we moved a bunch of furniture and boxed up a lot of our things.  So, when we came back from America, our place was in need of some TLC.  While we were gone, our landlady re-did the tile in our house and I got a new kitchen sink!  My first big task was to clean the kitchen that was covered in dust from  the tile job and the poor air quality issues while we were gone.

 

Now that we are up and running we have started back into language learning after the big festivities this past week for Songkran.  I feel so ready to get back into the swing of things.  Doug has completed stage two, but will be reviewing for a few weeks in preparation for his evaluation before moving on to stage three.  I will be reviewing stage one, and then getting back into stage two.  We were worried we would lose a lot of our language ability, and I’m sure we did lose some, but I’ve been encouraged at what I actually do remember.  When we got on the tram to take us to our airplane in Seoul Korea, I heard people talking in Thai.  It felt and sounded familiar and I even understood some of what they were saying!   After everything we’ve been through, I truly feel like that is a miracle and can only give credit to GOD.

 

We shared at a few churches while we were home, and at least a couple of times we mentioned how all the difficulties we’ve faced have strengthened our faith.  And how we know God is going to use every bit of what we experience and somehow work it together for good.  We don’t always know the plan, we may not even know the next step, but we know HE knows the next step, the whole plan, and he’s holding our future in HIS very capable hands.

Which brings me to a BIG thank you! We cannot believe the outpouring of love we’ve experienced through you all!  We were able to stay with the Hostetlers while we were in Michigan in February.  Julie told me how she was crying when she was getting updates on Facebook about my surgery and how she was on the phone calling people and praying.  I feel so truly humbled by all the prayers from people I know and people I’ll never meet this side of heaven.  God has been so good to us THROUGH you.  I know a mere “thank you” will never cover it, but I pray God will bless you in a special way for sacrificing your time and tears for us.  YOU truly keep us going when the going gets tough.

 

We shared at a few churches while we were home, and at least a couple of times we mentioned how all the difficulties we’ve faced have strengthened our faith.  And how we know God is going to use every bit of what we experience and somehow work it together for good.  We don’t always know the plan, we may not even know the next step, but we know HE knows the next step, the whole plan, and he’s holding our future in HIS very capable hands.

This time last week, we were at home starting a normal week.  It was a holiday in Thailand, so the neighbor kids were home from school and we had no language session for the day.  We decided we’d go out for lunch and pick up a few groceries.  Before we got out the door, one of the neighbors invited Kees to go with them to lunch, SCORE, that meant a very rare lunch date opportunity for the adult Tomlinsons.  We were in the restaurant about 3 minutes when the abdominal pain I experienced 6 weeks ago started creeping back up.  The pain increased steadily and rapidly.

The next 9 hours were pretty horrendous at our house.  After we left the restaurant I refused to let Doug take me to the doctor because I KNEW I had two cysts that could cause the pain to return, but there was nothing the doctors could really do for me.  At home, I tried everything, showering, sitting, standing, walking, lying, heating pad, deep breaths, you name it.  To no avail, after puking, feeling better for about 30 minutes, and then having the pain return, I finally decided we’d better go to the hospital.

After an ultrasound, that couldn’t determine much, and blood tests that revealed an elevated white blood cell count, the doctor said it could be my appendix, but it could be a number of other things too.  They also told me they found NO cysts on my ovaries, they guessed they had disappeared on their own.  With an obvious infection somewhere, but no way to isolate where, the doctor thought it COULD be my appendix, but doing surgery would put the baby at risk. He also said if we didn’t do surgery, and my appendix ruptured there was an 80% chance the baby wouldn’t make it.  So with no “easy” choice, we called home and took about 30 minutes to decide if we wanted to have surgery or wait to see my OBGYN doctor in the morning.  We reluctantly opted for the surgery.  I kept thinking that if it WAS my appendix, I basically had a ticking time bomb about to go off right next to our sweet Kora.

After that, everything started happening so fast.  They were removing my wedding band and fingernail polish and having me sign my life away on a few forms.  As they wheeled me back to the operating room I could hear Kees crying for his Momma and I couldn’t help but cry…just a little.  But surprisingly, throughout the whole frantic emergency surgery decision making haze, I felt calm, peaceful even.  Not calm, like I knew Kora would be fine, but calm, like I knew God would take care of it.  Regardless of the outcome, I knew from experience that he was in control, that even if my worst nightmare came true, he’d be there, “…to work all things together for the good of those who love him and are called according to his purpose.” (Ephesians 2:10).  As they took me back for surgery, I prayed, I thanked God for the wonderful blessing of being Kees’s mom, the gift of motherhood that we’re not all guaranteed.  Most of you remember we lost a baby due to miscarriage before we had Kees.  There was a time I wasn’t sure I’d be able to have any kids.  God has already given me 2 1/2 years with Kees, my sweet fabulous gift!  So I thanked God for the child I do have and asked that he give me a chance to hold Miss Kora in my arms and see her grow. Then I whispered to Miss Kora, “You just stay in there, don’t worry about what those doctors are doing poking around on Momma, but if I don’t get to keep you sweet girl, I know you’ll be in heaven with Jesus and that’s better for you, and I want you to know your Momma loves you.”  Of course I’m weeping as I write this now, and so VERY thankful that the outcome has been so good, but in the midst of it, I was calm, steady, and ready to face whatever may happen.  Not because I am strong, but because HE is strong.

When I woke up, they told me they had taken my appendix out, even though it was fine, but they also removed my right ovary because it had a 7 cm cyst on it that had twisted, was cutting off the blood supply, causing the infection, and had already killed part of the tissue in my ovary.  Basically, it needed to come out and couldn’t have waited.  Oddly enough, if they had found the cyst during the ultrasound, we might not have operated…thinking it could wait till after the baby was born.  It’s just so hard to determine without x-rays that can’t be done on pregnant ladies.  Again, God knew, he was in control.  And Kora stayed put, PRAISE the Lord!

I guess through all of this, I have been reminded again, that we have so much to be thankful for that we have done nothing to deserve.  Being Kees’s momma for even just two years is a blessing I’ve done nothing to deserve, to be living in Thailand for almost a year with support from fabulous friends and family like you, only our God!  “Every good and perfect gift comes from God.”  This verse is something I say almost daily when I thank God for the wonderful blessings in my life.  God has blessed me to be Kees’s mom for another day and allowed me to carry Kora a little while longer.  Each day is a gift! This week as I slowly recover in some pretty intense pain (no good drugs for the pregnant ladies), I’ve been thinking of the song, “You are God alone…and right now, in the good times and bad, you are on your throne, you are God alone!”  Sometimes it’s hard, when you don’t know his plan just yet, or you don’t understand the reasons.  But we have to acknowledge that HE is God, he’s in control, he has a plan, and he is GOOD…even when our circumstances don’t feel good.  As I was re-listening to this song, actually being sung and not just on repeat in my head, I was struck by the part about him being on his throne.  This shows his supremacy, his power, and his GREATNESS.  But when I was in the center of my storm, it didn’t feel like he was on his throne, it felt like he was right there with me, guiding me, holding my hand!  So thankful that he’s both!  He’s all powerful, all knowing, HUGE, but he cares so much for us too.

Thank you Lord, for loving us, for teaching us, for allowing us to be a part of your plan.  Thank you for friends, family, and strangers who have prayed for me and loved on me in such a huge way over the past week.  Thank you so much for one more day to be a Mommy to my sweet babies.  And thank you for being a God who cares about his people and uses every thing in our lives, good and bad, to mold us and shape us.  Thank you for taking the horrible things in life and finding a way to “…work (them) together for the good.”

We trust you, we love you, please allow us to serve you today.

The lyrics to the song I mentioned above:

You are God Alone (Phillips, Craig, and Dean) :

You are not a God

Created by human hands

You are not a God

Dependant on any mortal man

You are not a God

In need of anything we can give

By Your plan, that’s just the way it is

[chorus]

You are God alone

From before time began

You were on Your throne

You are God alone

And right now

In the good times and bad

You are on Your throne

You are God alone

You’re the only God

Whose power none can contend

You’re the only God

Whose name and praise will never end

You’re the only God

Who’s worthy of everything we can give

You are God

And that’s just the way it is

[chorus]

[bridge]

Unchangeable

Unshakable

Unstoppable

That’s what You are

A Long Overdue Update

Latest update on our recent hospital \”adventures\”

At the Hospital

When Dreams Come True

http://www.ministryupdates.org/tomlinson

It\’s not my party, but I\’ll still cry if I want to.

Good-bye, easier said than done.

My Ban on Bicycling Has Been Lifted

The irony found on a Ferris wheel in Thailand

A Day in the Life of Your Favorite Missionaries (wink wink)

Kellee\’s Thai Immersion Selling Kui Teow with Pi Noi

Well it\’s time for a note now…

Christmas in Thailand

Things I Find Quirky About Living in Thailand

The Silent Majority Meets the Loud & Clear Minority

The Full Story on Our New Car!

The Culturally Appropriate Way to Eat

Kellee and her first squatty adventure!

If I could go back in time and re-pack my suitcase I\’d….

My thoughts on culture shock and jet lag…

Greetings from Thailand! Hard to believe it’s been 5 months since we’ve been here! We are so thankful to be here and praise the Lord for where He has us and for His constant provision. Thank you for being here with us in prayers, encouragment, and through your giving.

We’ve just finished the first stage of our language learning curriculum and are very encouraged with how much we’ve learned so far. It’s excited being able to understand and respond to multiple questions in Thai! Pray for us as we go into the second stage and deepen our understanding. We are committed to spending as much time as necessary to be able to effectively communicate the truths of Scripture to our dear friends here.

It’s been a joy building relationships with our neighbors and Thai church family. Keep praying for our neighbors to be open to the Gospel. Pray for us as we are ambassadors for Christ, warts and all. Pray for our partnership with the Thai church as we look to reach out with His love to the community and peoples throughout Thailand.

Thank you again for sending us and being a part in reaching Thailand with the love of God.

Your missionaries,

Doug, Kellee and Kees Tomlinson

(P.S. Follow us on Facebook for more pictures and notes: facebook.com/tomlinsonstothailand)

We have finally come home.  We had no idea what home would be like, but God has wowed our socks off.  We are loving every minute!  Our last update was mainly about the flight over, so this note will give you an idea of what we are doing so far.

We landed at 10:45 am in Thailand.  We were greeted by several of our fellow missionaries at the airport.  One of the families, the Burts, have been helping us with literally everything.  They are such a blessing to us.  They took us from the airport to our guest house as they call them here.  They asked if we were hungry, tired, or up for some house shopping.  We decided to go ahead and take quick showers and go look at our housing options.  First we had lunch, got a little of our money converted, and set up Doug’s cell phone.  Then, we looked at 4 different places and chose the first & smallest place.  But honestly when it came right down to it we wanted to know our neighbors and we did not come here to have a nice house…one of them was honestly my dream house, but it had a privacy fence and would have been much harder to get to know our neighbors.  We are also saving quite a bit of money this way, however, we are pretty far off the beaten path, so we are still looking into motor bikes.

After that we had some down time, we planned to only sleep a couple hours from 4 pm- 6pm, but didn’t wake up till the next morning.  We had a financial orientation, set up our bank account, signed the lease agreement and then moved right in to our new place.  Our land lady said Thursday is believed to be a good day to move in Thailand.  So we did.  As soon as we unloaded our stuff, the landlady brought over sheets and towels for us to borrow and even made our bed for us. They invited us to come down to their “party” to eat with them and hang out.  We got to eat authentic food with sticky rice of course.  They loved entertaining Kees and teaching him Thai words.  He’s going to be so far ahead of us!

Today, we went shopping for some household items like pillows, sheets, towels, powerstrips etc.  We also bought our washing machine and drying rack.  We still have lots of shopping to do, but we got a few things done.  Doug, Kees, and I also got special official photographs taken, still not exactly sure what they are for.  Doug used a couple of them today when we went to the immigration office for him to get some kind of paperwork he needs to be able to take the motorcycle driving and written test.  I guess he will be finishing all of that up on Monday.

Tomorrow we will have a Thanksgiving meal with our co-workers. Not sure if we will be able to visit our church this Sunday or not.  We also still have to set up a language helper and buy a motorcycle, helments, and a seat with a strap for Kees.

So far we are making pretty good progress, but still have lots to do.  Keep those prayers coming, we greatly appreciate them all!!!

Love you guys!