Friday Pizza Night

So apparently Friday night has been a long tradition for Family Pizza Night.  The Owens carry this tradition and the Rami have decided to adopt this delicious tradition as well!

Last night was so much fun.  Many Friday nights the Owens have had us over but last night we had the privilege of hosting them!  The kids had a blast in the toy room while the adults had some great conversations.  We finished the night with watching planes on the projector.  So so grateful for great food and even better friends.

Mini Mart Peeps

The boys have big a huge hit with connecting to people around the city, especially the people who work at the mini mart right next to our house.  In the pictures above the ladies were so excited about seeing Judah that they took several pictures on their camera phone.  Tracy and I have tried to be concious effort to go next door to make purchases and to take the time to practice a little of our Thai.  We are so grateful that it seems like we have a small community forming with the family who owns the mini mart.  The owner and her niece--her name is Bot, pronounced Boat, who works there everyday--have been very gracious and generous with the boys.  They often give the boys treats, and other free goodies from the store.  Pray that The Lord would continue to help us create community with them.

Kids will be kids

So Andy Owen--missionary who has been in Thailand for around 13 years--teaches every Monday at the government school here.  They recently had a Christmas party and Andy did some really fun songs with the whole school, gave gifts for every student, and the kids had the opportunity to meet our two boys--who they loved!  We had a great time and were honored to be there at the school and to meet the kids.  I walked  up to many of the students who passed by and brought Judah along.  Judah said hello and gave the students a "fist pump" and they all were dazzled by the blue-eyed boy!  It brought back great memories of being in Thailand back in 2005 for the first time as a 23 year old and meeting many young Thai students and talking to them and having a good time.   Much of those same emotions came back...only this time I'm 31 with an amazing wife and two wonderful kids.  Only this time my trip here isn't for a few weeks but rather for a minimum of 10 years!  I look forward to what The Lord is going to do with these convictions he has placed upon my heart for the people of Thailand.

Cecil

Silent Night

So the Owens invited us to their Christmas outreach with the house Church that they have been fellowshipping with and it was a great event.  Tracy and I had the pleasure of meeting other Christian missionaries from around the world who find themselves in Chiang Mai.  We also had a great opportunity to meet some new Thai from the community.  We enjoyed some good food, then there was a skit, a message from Andy, and we ended the night singing "Silent Night."  It truly was a great experience.  I was reminded of the urgency to be in prayer and. The reality of the demonic in the land of Thailand.  I--Cecil--am growing to love this country and it's people more every passing day.  May The Lord help my eyes and heart remain open to learn all that I can from this culture so that Jesus can shine brightly through my family and I.

Cecil

Riding on the Road

So recently Tracy and I took our kids and our boys on the back of our bikes to the supermarket down a busy street...somewhat of the picture that is above.  It was a pretty intense ride--to say the least.  It was wonderful to see the way The Lord was protecting Tracy, the kids and I.  Tracy and I have learned to really enjoy our bikes in our neighborhood, but we have decided to take some public transportation with the kids when we go our on busy streets.  This is a beautiful city and we are excited to explore more of it!

"And I you..."

So I was just reflecting on our going away party at Lbc before we came to Thailand.  It was great to see all the people.  I appreciated so very much all the kind things people had to say about Tracy and I.  There was one conversation I had with a man I respect very much.  He said some encouraging words, and I was embracing him I told him, "I love and respect you very much."  To his response, "and I you."  Those words will stay with me forever.  Proverbs talks about how encouraging words are soothing to the soul, and healing to the bones.  I will cherish those words and others that were spoken, forever.

Cecil

Legos and Battle in the park

So a few days ago Tracy was not feeling well and she was resting in bed.  I took this opportunity to have Solas ride his bike and Judah and I followed close behind on foot.  That wasn't before we made a quick stop at the mini mart next to our home and purchased some goodies and practiced our Thai--as the owner and workers played with the boys and gave them hugs and kisses.  At the park the boys and I had such a great time.  They played with Legos, pretended they were teaching a class, whereby I was always the student, then we rushed toward trees at the park and shot all the invisible bad guys...one of my favorite parts of course.  I was so thankful to The Lord that I was able to spend such quality time with my boys and I love seeing other people adore and love on them as well.  Please continue to pray that we would be able to learn more of the culture and language and our boys would continue to bless people they meet.

Cecil

To Bike or not to Bike

So Biking has become a big part of the Ramos life as of recently.  Tracy and I purchased bikes for ourselves several years ago, but never really rode them...we eventually gave them away.  However this time is different!  We are sort of forced to ride our bikes!  We are looking for the right vehicle for our family but in the meantime we are learning the rules of the road and we are forced to have our bikes as a major means of transportation.  We ridden around our neighborhood and we have ventured out to the local  market a few times as well.  Tracy and I are so appreciating the fact that we get to enjoy The Lord's creation, we enjoy the beauty of Thailand, we have more opportunities to say hello to pedestrians and neighbors, and it's a great work out as well!  We certainly are looking forward to our new adventures on our bikes!!

Cecil

Happy Birthday

So Tracy and I had the privilege of attending Andy and Carmen's daughter's birthday party.  As we were interacting with the people at JJ's birthday party we realized most of them had daughters that attended the same school as she did.  Tracy and I met some fascinating people.  I met Bruce--a follower of Jesus from Seattle--who has been here for about 10 years.  Tracy met a woman originally from New York, but moved to Ft. Worth Texas who follows Jesus and she and her husband are here for a year teaching and trying to reach people for Jesus.  There were many other wonderful families we met that were either Buddhist or agnostic and we pray that we could reconnect with them as well.  The party was a great venue to connect with these folks.  Pray that we would learn the language well so that we could have some deep connections with Thai people here.

Cecil

Mini-Mart Peeps

So this was taken about the second day we arrived in Thailand.  We actually haven't been suffering much from jet-lag,  so the boys have been full of energy to meet this new world.  These pictures were taken the day we were signing our lease for the home above the mini-mart!  I'm sure it maybe a shock to you guys but Judah and Solas have been a huge hit with!  We have been so blessed to have the boys with us I this journey.  Please pray that our family will continue to adjust to our new life and that we would depend on Jesus to be everything we need.  We feel incredibly blessed to be part of MB Mission and to have the privilege of being part of such a beautiful culture and world here in Thailand.

Cecil

CRV going once...going twice....

So as many of you know the family and I decided to auction off our CRV last weekend, and the result was astounding!  We only had a handful of people there, and only a few bidders. One of the bidders was calling from out of town--anonymous bidder.  Good friend of mine Ray Marquez stepped up to be the auctioneer, thank you Ray.  So the bidding began, and at the end the anonymous bidder won purchasing the CRV--that's only worth $3,800, for $10,000!  The best part was that Tracy and I had been torn because we really wanted to give it to a single woman at our church but we also wanted to sell it so we could purchase a van.  Well we asked the bidder before hand if he'd pray about this situation.  After the auction was over he told me on the phone, "Cecil, I'll get the check to you...and by the way, give the car to that single gal at LBC."  Tracy and I were overwhelmed!!! Jesus has been moving in mighty ways!!  Thank you for all your prayers and support on this journey with us!!!

Cecil

"Heritage from The Lord"

Psalm 127:3 "Children are a heritage from The Lord, offspring a reward from Him."

During the way down to LAX, waiting on lay-overs, the flight to South Korea, than Bangkok, then finally Chiang Mai, Jesus was so faithful to us.  We felt pretty good.  We actually had favor by many of the airlines, no they didn't bump us up to first class 😉 maybe next time, but the boys slept most of the 13 hour flight from LAX to South Korea.  During many times of the boys sleeping I had the privilege of looking at them and being so thankful to have the honor and privilege of being a father...more over their father.  I am sitting right next to Solas right now and it's 7:30 a.m in our house in Chiang Mae.  Solas wants to tell you a few things about the flight, "I like the shooting games and I like the movie theatre on the plane, I was able to open my big chair present, because I was excited to open it to go to Thailand, and um....I love you. Oh and Judah said he wanted to go to Thailand and mom said to sleep and we will be in Thailand in nit-noy (Thai word for little bit).

Ok well it's about time to get our day started.  We are so thankful for all of your prayers.

Cecil

Commissioning service

It was a great honor to be part of LBC's service--our home church.  We truly are grateful for all that The Lord has provided through LBC.  We certainly will miss you!!

Cecil