Visit from Nick Jackson wooohooooo!!




































































Hanging out with kids, hiking on Doi Suthep, little time at the beach, my birthday, watching me work, sitting next to fat smelly men on the truck taxi = awesome and encouraging!!

Merry Christmas!

Wow I have now passed my four month mark!
Honestly, it is difficult for me to summarize and lately I
don't fully understand my own thoughts let alone have the ability to
communicate them through a mass email. Don't think I have forgotten
about you because I think about each of you far more than you would
even believe.















As of late:
-still living with my awesome children and enjoying them as much as ever
-teaching part time at Chiang Mai University Language Institute and
some occasional children's camps
-taking Thai class with my precious tutor Bee who is now my friend
-teaching kids on the weekends at two churches
-meeting tons of people from all over the world doing all kinds of
cool stuff and trying to make meaningful relationships with them
-trying to eat something and somewhere different for lunch every day
-running and trying to relearn the guitar with my free time
















So my first holiday away from the US… Coming soon and on my thoughts
is a feeling that I am missing Christmas or skipping it or something.
I don't normally go crazy over this holiday to the extreme, I don't
have an extreme amount of sentimentality, am not a very talented gift
buyer or giver, and sometimes I am turned off my the American media
version of Christmas; but I never imagined the opposite in a place
where there is a complete void of the entire holiday (at least in its
real meaning- I did see Santa stuff at the market). Children will be
at school, work will go on and food will be rice and noodles as usual.
I will miss my family and at a time when most of us have that on the
forefront of our minds, though I am surrounded by many people, none of
them really know me. I realized the other day that no matter what
house or state or part of the family I have been with on Christmas, I
have been with my brother for 18 years straight and this is the first
year for that to change. But I praise God who "sets the lonely in
families" (Psalm 68:8) for he has given me a breakfast date with some
other girls working here and an invitation from a New Zealander couple
(the associate pastor at the English church I go to who I just love
and want to be adopted family) to join them for Christmas dinner! I am
so encouraged by their hospitality and for a God who sees me and
provides. I will also be spending New Years in Vietnam which will be
very fun!

Otherwise, life is continuing in its strange way here. Lately I have
been squirming over circumstances that are uncomfortable and
stretching but exist so that I can serve and love just because God
says to and not according to my conditions.















To those of you who have supported me financially in the past, I would
like to let you know that this part off my budget has been going
towards medicine for the kids, my visas that must be renewed, my
motorbike and Thai lessons. If you would like for more details I would
love to let you know more and can give you a copy of my budget and
expenses. I am so thankful for God's provision while I have been here.

If anyone is considering a last minute Tax deduction, the ministry I
work with has had two churches cut funding this month and the
construction of the new home (as the current one has tons of termite
damage) has been put on hold. Any donation no matter how small will go
to the kids that I work with every day (and my future home as well!)
Please go to www.saltministries.com for some info (some a little
outdated but generally helpful) on the foundation and send checks to:

SALT Ministries
P.O. Box 58145
Jacksonville, FL 32241

(you can make a note of "Children's Home" in the memo)

If you think of me, please pray for:
-my next visa run where I will be spending some time praying about
future decisions and being near to God
-funding for the new house especially the boys as they have a pretty
limited accommodation
-My Thai students and friends to be drawn to God
-the children's health and knowing God's love
-My relationships with those that I work with in the ministry
(cultural and language barriers, love and patience, etc.)

I am so thankful for all of you who are praying and have been so
supportive of me. I miss you a lot right now.
Merry Merry Christmas!
Maggie

Laos and Ayuttiah

SO I still have a tourist visa and this brought me to Vientienne, Laos to visit the Thai embassy there to renew my visa to be in Thailand for another 3 months. Vientienne was a peaceful little capital and I met many interest people including some crazy danish travelers and a sweet Laotian girl who walked along the Me Kong River with me for a while.
































Then I had the wonderful opportunity to take the train to Ayuttiah to visit my dear friend Marissa Oliver (soon to be Henniger) as she is doing an internship there. We also traveled to Bangkok and visited a church there which was so refreshing!

One Month Aniversary!

Well, Thailand has a new Prime Minister, who just happens to be the brother in-law of Taksin, the guy who was ousted in a coup a couple years ago and is now in exile in London… (the one before the most recent resigned Prime Minister Samak- I know, its confusing.) Let's hear it for democracy!

The former could be an example of one of the differences in how some things go here in Thailand compared to the US. Not wrong at all, just a little different. For example, I was apparently hired as a teacher at the Chiang Mai University Language Institute, however I have yet to know when I will start or what kind of classes I will have. Thank you for your prayers though, God was gracious to encourage me with this job and He knows when I will be ready to begin working.

As a result of my unemployment, I have enjoyed some liberty this past
week to explore the city and other areas, to seek encouragement from
others and for God to give me some rare and very special opportunities
to talk about His love.



















As for fun, I had a chance to go to the Chiang Mai zoo which is in a beautiful setting and has some wonderful animals. Also, while in the pursuit of a visa extension, I got to go Burma/Myanmar which is a stamp on my passport that not as many people can claim! We only crossed the border and visited a friend I met that works in a coffee shop on the Burmese side and spent an hour or two in the border shops. My interest in Burma is increasing as I learn more about the conflict and oppression going on there.

(This by the way, is Chinese imitation electronics paradise so if you
are in the market for a fake Blackberry or illegal copied DVDs, I can
make a run!)
I also had an adventure taking the public bus to Phayao,
the city where the medical team was stationed and had a blast spending
time with them. We ate at an outdoor restaurant that served food in a
way similar to the Tokyo Pot except all-you-can-eat, with a grill and
boiling broth and only like $3! It was awesome. (Why do I always get
excited to report about food?)

Encouragement has poured in from many sources this last week as well and I
know it was due to God's answering many of your prayers and His
knowing the needs of my heart. I went to a really cool youth meeting
where I heard my first sermon in English since I've been here by a guy
from New Zealand who had a translator, as well as a community church
where everything was in English which provided some much needed food
from God. I also spent time with heart-friend Marissa who is here in
Thailand and people from the medical team including Jim and Hunter,
who poured into me with much needed prayer and encouragement.

As for special opportunities, still hoping to meet with Pee and I
might take a guy who translated for the medical team with me. Praying
for how God wants to lead him.
While with the medical team I had a really special encounter with a
lady named Mugda who listened about Jesus and wanted to learn about
him. After hearing the story and talking for a while, I got to hold
her hand and tell her she was like one of God's children that He had
been searching for and she started crying and hugging me and called me
sister. Another very real conversation and connection from God and a
rare scenario I could never have created! Please pray for Mugda to
continue to be drawn to the Lord and that He would put people in her
life to help her on her path.















(This a what i call a braid attack!
They periodically come in my room and create varying amounts of braids on my head. This one is one of the best ones yet!)

In SALT Ministry news, the middle school kids had a Bible bowl
competition which I got to help set up and staff and they had a ground
breaking ceremony for the new children's home and church! It was
incredible to see the dreams of Virgilio and Esther come to fruition
after almost 40 years!

Long winded, but I can't help sharing of the things I've seen and heard!!

Praying for all of you in Houston and for those who lost friends in
Stillwater.

Love, Maggs

Just a quick need for prayer and more to come later...

On Saturday I had a wonderful opportunity to spend time with Marissa
Oliver and to make a long story short we were exploring some tourists
sights and stumbled upon "Monk Chat" which featured question and
answer opportunities with Buddhist monks. To make a long story short,
we encountered a guy our age named Pee who had been studying Buddhism
and sat at our table while we were talking with a monk.
After listening and talking for a while (would never enter a temple
with the slightest motivation to exert my beliefs because I'm sure
many belligerent tourists like to argue with the monks who by nature
will not even enter into a discussion like that and will only wish you
luck on your own path), the monk made his final question evasion by
excusing himself to teach someone else, while Pee starts asking about
the origin of life and the spiritual world which he had found Buddhism
to have no answers for. It was pretty crazy, such a real, honest,
patient conversation about God's truth and not only that but with a
Thai man who had been studying Buddhism but was still so hungry, full
of questions and deeply searching for something more in his life.
I talked with him about prayer, why bad things happen if God is good,
what the Bible says about spirits, and many other questions he had
(God definitely helped my feeble knowledge) and Marissa gave him her
Bible with the Old Testament. He finally shared that he had tried to
pray to God, but he thought he had to pray in English and didn't
understand faith in Jesus.

He has no help from his parents, is trying to pay for school and
thinks he must sell his motorbike in order to do so. He told me on
Saturday that he wanted to pray to God, but asked, "Can God help me?"

Conclusion: I gave him my phone number (if you're weirded out don't
worry, there's no way he knows any other info about me) and since then
he has called me twice. He called today sounding very distressed and
said he was desperate for a miracle of God. I could only tell him that
I know God knows his circumstances and sees him and wants to show
himself even if I didn't know how he will answer his prayer. I shared
with him about having faith in Jesus and it was difficult talking
about it over the phone with a slight communication barrier. I am
going to try to meet him along with one of the guys I work with... and
he said he wants to next Saturday!


Please pray for Pee. This was a rare appointment and this man needs
and wants Jesus. Oh I want to see God do a miracle so badly for Pee!
(I know it's hard not to laugh at his name. That last sentence could
have been my plea for a prostate problem.)
I also need wisdom and words from God. I have never had someone ask me
for so much help and answers and I am incapable of doing what only God
can.

So thankful to be able to send this to you all and know you will pray!!

Maggs

Ten year old giggles sound the same in any language…

I am happy to report that since my last email, I have become a master
bowl bather and squatting pottier.
Still healthy and hearty hear in Thailand, and now beginning to settle
into the routine of what I hope to be my home for a while. I am

becoming slightly better versed in the ways of the giant wok and strange vegetables I have been eating every day by helping a little in the kitchen and I hope I will have a chance to make some Northern Thai food for you all one day soon.

Also feeling much more a part of the ministry here. I have been
frequenting Dawn of Light church (run by the missionaries here) to
their many devotionals during the week and have quickly felt a part of
the team. On Sunday they welcomed me as the new missionary from
America in the little Thai church that meets in what once was a
mechanic's garage and the members were quick to say hello and offer
translations. I am going to be a part of out reach to a village
outside of Chiangmai by offering free English tutoring to be able to
witness to them and they have helped me to get acquainted with their
mission and how I can serve them.


One of the coolest things I've learned
is the origin of the children's home and it really hits a spot in my heart deeper than anything else I could be a part of here. Northern
Thailand is a notorious recruiting ground for Bangkok traffikers and many children as young as 7 will be sold by their families under the
guise that they will be offered a good job in Bangkok when in reality they will be sold to a brothel as slaves. We might have heard of this
on tv, but this is a reality that they have witnessed here and the home was started to take in kids who are at risk of this because they
are from big families who can't afford to feed them, they are orphans,
or their parents are very sick. I get sick to my stomach at the
thought of some of these precious kids I have been living with under
those circumstances. God has certainly reached down and pulled them
out of a pit of darkness, and my prayer is that he set their lives
apart for his glory.
I am excited to be able to start having a small devotional with the
four older ones who are college students. They are being raised up as
leaders in their villages and in the church and I think it is amazing
that I could potentially be a part of discipling them.

The little ones have officially stolen my heart. Probably an event I will never forget, on Wednesday after eating dinner, the five youngest girls Nee, Da, Ya, Nok and Manee (ten and twelve) pulled me into their room and start throwing all of these clothes on me! They are originally from two hill tribes called Lahu and Mohng who have very colorful indigenous costumes, covered in beads and tassels. I ended up wearing pretty much everything they could put on, while they dressed up as well. They taught me some sweet Thai dance moves and we laughed until Da told me her stomach hurt! It has been a while since I've played dress up and never has it been such an honor than with these girls.

We are going to have English lessons for the kids, but that is only an alias, for I have quickly become their new sister. They call me Pee Maggie (no jokes, pee means sister) and they already cling to me way to much and tell me they love me all the time.


Other fun events of my first week: Youth group meeting on Saturday complete with games and rock music like at home, special welcome
dinner on Wednesday with yummy food, trip to a legit night market with the older girls (no tourists here!), and taking the kids to the national stadium to play soccer on Sunday!

For prayer, that the younger kids would come to a relationship with Jesus, that I would be able to communicate my roles and find my place
in serving in the home and outside, that I would be able to communicate quickly to have more independence, that a job would come
in God's perfect timing, and that God would bear fruit through SALT
ministries.

Much love,
Maggie

Hello everyone!

Just an update letting you all know that I am alive and still
breathing in Chiang mai, Thailand!

I Arrived in Chiang mai at 9:00 AM on Monday morning, after the
daunting 16 hour LA to Bangkok as well as three other flights.
The missionaries that I am working with, Virgilio and Esther de los
Santos, met me at the airport to drive me to the children's home where
I will be staying (indeterminately). I was welcomed to a bedroom to
myself with a "Welcome Maggie" sign on the door!
















After eating lunch they basically left me to myself with Joy (who is the wonderful
'house sister' but she speaks basically no English) to unpack and
rest.

Joy and I are a fabulous pair; we basically spend the whole day
laughing at each other trying to learn new words. She just made me pad
thai and I adore her!
The count for trips to the market is up to 4 times in two days, but I
don't mind because it is vastly entertaining and I have seen much of
this beautiful city already.















There are two bathrooms inside and some squatty potties outside, but I
was confused because nothing looked like a typical shower. The
bathroom downstairs is a tile room with a squat hole up on a ledge,
several buckets of water with small spouts above them, a small sink,
what looks like a wash basin and a 2 by 2-foot box with a drain next
to the squatty potty. Out of this basin there is a bowel from which
you scoop water to wash your emissions down the hole. I have
absolutely no problem with the squatty potty, however the question
remained; out of which small bucket of water I was supposed to wash
myself in? I'm still not sure.
Basically I have been scooping bowels of water over my head from a
bucket and it works! Why did the conventional shower head ever need to
be invented?















The children are beautiful and sweet and yesterday the kindergartners
began to teach me the crazy Thai alphabet. I also was welcomed to a
devotional at their church and they made me feel like such a part of
their group. Praise God for the provision of funds for a new home!
(The current house is not in good shape due to termites)






























Overwhelmed by difficult communication, otherwise there is peace that
transcends all understanding in my heart. Doing much better today if
you happened to be one of the ones who heard me crying all weekend.
Thank you for your prayers.

To contact me please use this email address or my skype name is maggietalley.
Right now mail goes to:

Maggie Talley
c/o S.A.L.T Ministries
P.O. Box 144
Chiangmai, Thailand 50000

Much love,
Maggie