Sunday Sweet Sunday

      

Flagging down two tuk-tuks, Sunday morning found us on our way to the Evangelical Church of Bangkok where Mandy & Chad's family worship with believers from somewhere around fifty other nationalities. Singing traditional Christmas carols, beloved hymns, and familiar worship songs with such an ethnic mix of people felt like we were living a chapter of Revelation with the nations of the world bowing down. Awesome experience. Following church, we shared a meal at a nearby Lebanese restuarant with some of the Smith family friends. As we were introduced to one another, we figured we accounted for about ten different countries.

                                     

Ahhhhhhhh.............complimentary tea and baklava at the end of a scrumptious meal. Is it these blond, blue-eyed Smithlings that stand out in the crowd and attract favors, or are these Thai people just super hospitable?

We have enjoyed scrutinizing the architecture and noticing the way the traditional structures are juxtaposed against the modern and quite contemporary. 

                                    

The infrastructure looks quite precarious as it is going up. Construction workers (male and female) climb on toothpick-like scaffolding and walk beams far off the ground often wearing flip-flops. Electrical wiring and cables are bundled and bound together in curious configurations just above the streets. It makes them easy to get to for repair. One just picks up a bamboo ladder and does the necessary tweaking amidst sidewalk traffic.

                     

                                  

                                  

   

   

                        

Chad and Mandy went off for a couple days of well-deserved R&R which meant we got to be the dispensers of the customary Sunday night ice cream "dinner". Yep, this deliciously-nutritious-minded family splurges on ice cream and all the trimmings once a week, so we got to jump in on the fun. And to top off the sugary evening, Grandmoni decided it was time for  the younger children in the family to receive an M&M game tutorial.  The game was devised in Ukraine when Tristan and Abi were small, shifting three cups with one hidden M&M, which kept them entertained for hours (well....many minutes!) Let me just say that Gigi caught on very quickly!

                                 

                                

                                 

And then another chapter of The Best Christmas Pageant Ever with Tristan surrounded by his cotton candy pajama-clad sisters....and good night!