New Life...

I would love to write and write and write... But it's Holy Week and we have a short rest day today. So, here are a few pictures of Songkran (Buddhist New Year) and some of my daily life! Enjoy :)

Work permit app--my name and all written in Thai!

These are ALL OVER! Every building has a 'spirit house'. The Thai people all "WAI" to the houses as they pass.

After Church one Sunday at the Thai parish--Spontaneous Songkran celebration! This means a water fight with cooling powder! (Eva, Josephine, myself, Thuy, and Marie)

Our community, the kiddos, and the man in the front was the instigator of the fun!

The homes on our walk to church on Sunday.

Love, love LOVE this St. Joseph! At Holy Redeemer, our English-speaking parish, which is designed in semblance to a Buddhist temple.

A beautiful tree at Lumphini Park!

I thought this was funny... The sign on the way into the Temple

Put in money to make merit for a god/goddess--the little box lights up even.

Inside a temple

Thai faithful making merit by lighting some incense outside the door of the temple.

Beautiful gold lined house of worship in a poor neighborhood (ours, in Klong Thoey).

A Thai woman who spoke English with Marie at the temple! She informed us the faithful were present from 6am until noon to make merit during Songkran.

Beauty even in a tub of dirty rain water!

Katie ready for Songkran--it looks like a Hawaiian shirt, but it's really a SONGKRAN shirt!

Eva at St. Louis Hospital. This is our Saturday apostolate, to visit the elderly. This Chinese woman who speaks no Thai, wanted to search through every single item of Eva's bag! I stayed in the doorway laughing for 20 minutes and took a picture--keeping my distance before she saw my bag too!

Folding palm branches before Palm Sunday mass

They find beautiful ways to use the palm branches!!!

My name, Phii Pan (shortened from Pandaa to avoid confusion with another word), is all over! This is on a bench while we were eating on the street.

Had to take a picture of this--they are standing on the very structure they are demolishing!

Two sisters joining me in the chapel. Sooo beautiful--I was praying, and they came in and wanted to pray the Hail Mary with me--over and over and over and over! Their mother is in prison for 15 months, and they are living with their grandmother for now. They live in the neighborhood.

My first time buying street food on my own! This is a "kiawjiaw", omelette, cooked with 2 eggs, in lots of oil, with some pork, onion, and fish oil. The sauce? Chili sauce! Aroj maak maak! (Very delicious!)

Whoo! Storm rolling in!

Sunrise on our way to 6:30 am mass at Sacred Heart Convent.