So it sounds like everyone is okay

So everyone seems to be safe. Let me know if anything
happened to family or friends. I'm glad to hear the
news reports that there were very few storm related
deaths.

Steve

__________________________________
Yahoo! Mail - PC Magazine Editors' Choice 2005
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Good times at my b-day party!

Alright! Cake!

Hurricane Rita Update

Hurricane Rita is causing all sorts of problems in Texas. I've read a few AP wire reports. There was a fire raging in Galveston caused by a fallen power line. Rain was not putting it out. It was being spread by strong winds. A bus carrying evacuees from a nursing home caught fire and 24 people died who were trapped inside. My mom wrote me that my highschool and middle school both became shelters for evacuees. About 7,000 people have come to Austin (my hometown) to seek shelter. The roads around Houston and East Texas were jammmed with people who were trying to evacuate. Gas stations ran out of gas. My uncle and aunt decided to turn around and go back to Houston because it was so bad. Some of my relatives have decided to wait out the storm. The last report I read said Rita is now a category 3. New Orleans is being flooded again. Keep Texas and Louisianna in your prayers.

My B-Day Party and Rita the Party Crasher

I just had a terrific birthday party! It was five days early, but it was good timing because some of my friends will be leaving soon to go on trips. I think everyone had an enjoyable time. It was at a stylish place called Number 53 Restaurant. Stephanie said the restaurant looked like places in New York. The walls were made of glass and the interior is very modern. Tan helped me find the place. One of her students at school is the daughter of the owner. Tan seems to know the owners of every good restaurant in town.

I am so blessed to know so many wonderful people. The night was memorable for so many reasons. I recorded Steve Loych reciting Yertle the Turtle by Dr. Seuss. It will be good material to use for black mailing him later. Enrique, the one man paparazzi, showed up. He got a photo of me licking the candles from my birthday cake, an awkward photo of me eating cake, and a bunch of really nice shots. Dan Stine gave a nice toast. I really appreciated it. And it was followed by an equally eloquent speech from Rori. I got some generous gifts from Tan, Tan’s mom, Ice, Eve, Pui and Connelly, and Margaret. And more presents are coming. I am so blessed. I don’t know what I did to deserve this.

I wish I could see my family for my birthday. We used to go to Chuy’s Tex Mex restaurant in Austin. They have their Green Chile Festival every September. I used to order a dish called Elvis’s Chicken Fajitas. I miss that. I miss friends back at Baylor. So many of my friends have birthdays close to mine. Neil, Eric and Chad. For all of you guys, Happy Birthday!

Meanwhile, I hear news that Hurricane Rita is making its way to Texas. Hurricane Rita is crashing my friends' party, quite literally. Neil, Eric and Jordan were planning a party for Saturday in Waco, the same day as Rita's projected arrival to Texas. I am amazed by the news of its powerful winds around 290 mph. It will cause storms and tornadoes all across Texas. I pray Rita will weaken and that people will evacuate before its too late. Members of my family live in the Houston area. I’ve heard that most of them have left. Jaron’s parents were there tonight. They’ve been visiting Thailand for a week now. They said that their home in Kerbyville may not be there when they go back.

My thoughts and prayers are with everyone in the Gulf Coast of Texas and Louisiana.

October Break

Hey everybody,

Sorry for not writing again for a while.  I've got a 
break from teaching English in October.  
It's the end of the first 
semester in Thai schools.

I'm going to Beijing with some 
teachers: Caleb, Stephanie and Jaron.  We'll be 
there from October 6-10.  Caleb will
stick around and a few extra days and see Shanghai.
Our trip will be a whirlwind tour of Tianmen Square,
The Summer Palace, The Great Wall, The Forbidden City
and more. Unfortunately, Tan does not have a vacation.
She works at an international school. They get British
holidays and some Thai holidays.  She gets a very long
Christmas break that I don't get. :(

We're using April Travel Agency in Bangkok. Our trip
is going to cost 25,ooo baht (about $625). That
includes plane tickets, tour, accomadations and food
at a three-star hotel and our visas.  Visas alone cost
4,000 baht.  Pang mak (very expensive). Oh well. I've
just accepted that it will cost a lot to get there.
And I really didn't want to go without a tour.  I
don't know enough Mandarin to get around.  Our visas
should be taken care of tomorrow.  We need to get them
done before the Chinese holidays.  October first is
National Day.  I'm glad we are going at the end of the
public holidays.  We'll only overlap one day with
National Week, when everyone travels.  We've been
getting Chinese lessons from Sue in the school van.
She taught us how to count and say good morning and
other stuff, but that's about all I can remember. 

As for my other plans in October.  I am going to try
to work at an English Camp and get a little extra
money.  I've spent a lot of money this year,
especially on the laptop I bought.  I don't know if I
mentioned that.  But I also hope to go to Angkor Wat.
I think I'm going to go the ultra-cheap way, by
catching a free shuttle from Khao sahn road to a
casino across the border.  The casino figures they'll
get your money if you get shuttled up there, but I
won't stop.  Then I can pay for another ride from
there.  It will be a bumpy ride on those Cambodian
dirt roads.

There is also a church retreat for the 20's and 
30's group. We'll be staying at a nearby resort.  
The theme of the retreat is:
Growing Deeper in Christ.  We'll be studying Christian 
disciplines 
like service.  The Assistant Pastor of ECB 
(Evangelical Church of Bangkok) will be the speaker.
  I pray it will be lots of fun and a very powerful
 time for God to speak to us.

The other English teachers are going all over the
world.  Jill and Rori are going to India and Nepal.
Amy is going to  travel around Thailand and Sri Lanka
with her family. Then she is going to meet up with
Andrew Ross and go diving somewhere.  Tim and Shelley
are going to China and Mongolia.  Caleb is going to
America after his China trip. Melissa is going to
Europe.  I think she'll stop in Germany, Turkey and
Italy.

-Steve

Serving

I've heard so many of my friends and family tell me about the refugees from New Orleans. I think about the tsunami in Thailand and now Hurricane Katrina in America. I went to one area that was destroyed by the tsunami. But it was six months after it happened. Some of those who I've heard from have been caring for the refugees just days after the levees broke. I didn't get that close to the disaster. I really admire you all that are sheltering the homeless or going to the Astrodome in Houston to volunteer. You are serving the Lord Jesus as you do this work.

"Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?"
He will reply, "I tell you the truth, whatever you did for the least of one of the brothers of mine, you did for me."
Matthew 25:37-40 (NIV)

You wrote to me you could not be where the disaster happened. Now it is the reverse.

Thai people have expressed sadness at the news. A taxi driver asked me if I was from the place that the hurricane hit. Others in the world care about America.

In His hands

I heard the news about the catastrophe in New Orleans. I'm thankful that my Uncle Max and Aunt June are okay. The more I read about it, the worse it sounds. My heart goes out to the people trapped in the Superdome and other places. I hope they can be evacuated soon. The headlines in Thailand have been dominated by Hurricane Katrina and the 900 Iraqis who died in a bomb scare. It's depressing to read about. Anyone can die on any day. It's a fact that everyone tries to forget. Be thankful that we can put our trust in the Lord. He holds us in His hand everyday. I'm trying not to forget that.