Business as Usually Unusual

 It's Wednesday.

I am sitting in a government waiting room - again - and I'm not feeling that great.

Not sure exactly why, since I've had a very good morning of concentration on sermons and a research paper that's part of my current school work.  Jet lag is mostly done, and up to this point I've not had any of the mild to moderate health issues that can sometimes plague us farangs when we visit. 

But here, after lunch, it is hot.  And it was a late night yesterday taking Evangeline to the airport.  And I did eat that third piece of pizza yesterday, subjecting my system to more wheat that I normally ingest.  So maybe the combination of it all is making me feel just a bit "off".  Or maybe it's because this is the - I've lost count - time we've had to wait in a government office in the past five days or so, and the runaround is wearing on me.

The good news around this waiting is that I can now announce that the New Family Foundation has come to be.  After a nine month application process, on Monday, November 12, 2018 Pastors Suradet and Yupa's vision to expand their ministry has been birthed.  Up to this point we have cared for our children in cooperation with and under the umbrella organization of Asia's Hope, for which we have been so very grateful.  Getting to know Tutu and other Asia's Hope personnel has been a delight, and incredibly helpful in learning about ministering to orphan and at risk children here in Thailand. 

But for some time now, Suradet and Yupa have believed God was asking them to step out and broaden the scope of their ministry to include not only the care of the children, but the raising up of evangelistic teams to go back into the mountains and surrounding villages to bring the Jesus' story to those who barely know His name. 

This has been entirely their own initiative.  

My role, my understanding has been, and is increasingly being understood as being, that of encourager, cheerleader, supporter....but not leader.  And I hold them up as owning this outright.  Somehow, I just get to be along for the ride.

Which is why I'm in the waiting room - again. 

Doing business in Thailand is tedious business, I am learning.  I mentioned the nine month wait already.  But then two Mondays ago, we got the news that the application had been approved and that all we had to do was go to the district office and sign the papers.  Which we did the very next day, only - no papers.  Come back tomorrow.  Which we did, only - we were told it would take an hour to work through the last bits of things (not sure what really).  So we did.  We waited the hour, when everything in me, that still-jet-lagged afternoon, just wanted to have a nap.  And at the end of the hour we were told to come back tomorrow.   Which we did.  And then, we had the papers, just - 200 more baht please.  Really?  O-kaaaay. 

But happy dancing all the way to the car, and much excitement at evening worship that night.

Now on to the next step:  getting the charitable tax number.  Which brings me to waiting in the office and not feeling so good.  This would be only the first of two times in this particular office, but I don't know that now.  I, for some reason, think this time things will be straightforward.

That's because we haven't been to the bank yet. 

Because after we do finally get the charitable tax number, we will now need to open a bank account.  And on Sunday afternoon right after lunch we will creep through gridlock traffic in Chiang Mai where our first attempt will be thwarted by a power outage at the mall.  Not sure why there's no power, and we won't find out.  And the weird thing is that the mall will not be closed.  People will still be milling around even with darkened hallways and coffee shops that can't serve us frappes because - duh - no electricity.  Same with the bank.  Not that the bank serves frappes, but just that we can't do business with the power out. 

Disappointment. 
We thought today would be the day.
 Sad face. 
Then - Hey wait a minute.  Let's try another branch.

So we will creep through more gridlock traffic to another mall - we're looking to open this account at a main office of one particular bank that has been recommended to us - and this mall, yay!, has electricity.  So we will find the bank and then we will wait a bit more until our number is called.  And after that it will take 30 minutes for the bank manager to go through the paper work and tell us something needs to be changed back at the district office before they can move ahead.  Just a slight change in wording is all that's needed.  Sorry, you won't be able to open an account with us today.  Change the papers and come back another day.

Disappointment. 
Because all this requires the signatures of three people, the third party being Yupa's brother, Pi Jen, who has taken time away from work and driven creeped an hour into Chiang Mai to do this with us!
To coin a well-used Thai phrase, "Oy!"

At least the coffee shop in this mall will be able to serve us frappes.  And perhaps the caffeine is what will give us the oomph to make one more attempt.  We get back in the car and creep back to the original mall - which now does have electricity (insert shrug here),  and then we wait in this different branch of the same bank, so that we can be told that we can't open the account until we have an official foundation stamp.  But not to worry, you can get one of those in a shop downstairs.  But by the way, by the time they make it for you our branch will be closed so, you'll have to come back tomorrow anyways.

Aaaaaand we will go order the stamp, aaaaaand then eat supper while we wait, because by now, yes, it actually is supper time.  At least this will be Jen's first time eating at KFC and I will get a picture to mark the occasion, even though he won't like his chicken burger very much.  And at least after this particular long and tedious and unfruitful day, I will still be feeling pretty okay, all things considered.

It strikes me, even before all the bank nonsense, while I'm waiting now in the charitable tax number office not feeling so good,  that this is such a colossal waste of time!  (Perhaps not unlike how you're feeling now, having read through all this tedium and still not knowing if we got the bank account opened.)   I have a fair bit of school work to do while I'm here, and I'm not getting any of it done just sitting here waiting, scoping out where the bathroom is, just in case. 

The inefficiency of it, yes!  I think that's what making me feel off.  No control.  At everyone else's whim and mercy.  Parties not communicating with one another.  Offices not opening on time.  There's no common pause day so businesses and even government branches might be closed on any given day in a totally inconsistent, and rather inconsiderate manner, I might add.  This is my best farang voice of indignation speaking.

"Jai yen, yen," Ahajah Ruth.   They will say this frequently throughout the afternoon.  It means, 'settle down', or also could be translated, 'take a chill pill".  Clearly, my frustration is showing, even though I'm trying to smile my way through. 

But later, in the second bank wait, I will reconsider. 

This waste of time is quite fruitful, actually.  (Yes, you did hear this Type A, efficiency-addicted, first- born female say that.)  Because how else, but by going along for this tedious ride, can I know it from the inside?  As we move forward into a future of even deeper partnership, how else can I understand what happens in any given business transaction? 

Business as usually unusual.

This is what I’m here for. 

And ironically, this is exactly what my studies are about right now, and the topic of the paper I’m not writing as I sit here, waiting.  Learning together, being together in the midst of real Thai life in real Thai time, which is oh so different from what it's like back home.  This is one of my main points as to "reciprocal learning strategies".  Just "being with" is so important.

So, sitting here, not feeling good, not writing my paper or getting at anything else "productive", is actually exactly what I’m here to do.

Funny how that works out when I let it.