Who are all these people?

What did you think of my abode? Nice, huh?

You want to know what's nicer? Eric fixed our hot water today (we never bothered to tell him it was broken - just assumed the showers were supposed to be cold.)! I took my first hot shower in 2 weeks.

...sunburn and all. ;)

For today, I wanted you to see some of the residents and transients in this house of ours. There's a lot of good people here I want you to meet.

The biggest reason I came. - my family.

First off, of course, is my two biggest treasures, Jess and Aidan. Jess is beautiful, a bit of a gamer herself, into steampunk and animation, as well as sharp as a tack and a great cook. No, I'm not making her up. The perfect woman does actually exist. Now stop looking at me like that.

Aidan, of course, is sneaky, way too smart (who does division in the 1st grade? Seriously??), and too cute. He's so adorable, that the people here have trouble not touching him. This leads to hilarity, as every person he comes into contact with tries to poke him, pinch him, or squeeze him while he protests and tries to hide. It makes me want to go hug him myself (he's sleeping now).

Ginny is the one in black with the glasses.

Eric and Ginny are my in-laws. They are pastors, run the ministry, take good care of us, and are generally busier than you can imagine. Eric is known as 'dad' by everyone because he is a father figure and extremely reliable, and Ginny is either Mom or Madame. I was going to use a shot of Ginny that was more staged, but this one shows her in her natural habitat - surrounded by people who love and adore her.

That's Eric on the left, and Jacob on the right.

Jacob and Noelle are two of our friends. Jacob does a lot of the IT stuff and I'll get to work with him more as time goes on. Noelle works with Sak Saum, and Aidan loves to run up and talk her ear off. They have 2 children - the famous Aaron of Aidan's blogs, and Caleb, whom is very cute and small.

I get to see these two quite a bit, as I am either around computers, Saang, or Sak Saum. We're planning to get the boys together soon. I volunteer to bring the advil. :)


Aaron, as you know, is Aidan's best friend here. Aidan and he are going to be going to Saturday service starting soon.

Noelle, with Caleb. Jacob with Aaron. Me with this being my only picture with Noelle in it.

Ok, so who else?

Remember this guy? Third appearance. He owes me some french fries.

Well, there's Solomon. You remember him, right? Aidan's favorite adult. He runs the children's service in Saang, along with doing a whole bunch of other stuff. He's very dependable too, and unfailingly polite.

His wife, Emily, hangs out at our place all day with their son Micah. She's Aidan's favorite sounding board, and will talk to her about almost anything just to get a chance to sit with Micah. She works directly for Eric, and handles a lot of admin type stuff. She is quite nice, and still remembers some cartoons from the 90's, which is awesome.

Emily, and that's Micah. Micah likes instrumental video game music. Also awesome.

Along with all these, we have Pheaktra (pronounced petra, like the city). He is the pastor of Gospel Community, the church in Saang, and a very passionate man of God. We've had some nice discussions about cereal, and how easily sheltered American geeky guys burn in the sun. I'll be getting with him to see what I can do for the English classes and such.

At the breakfast table. Super nice guy.

Moving on, we have some staff that are mainly for the house itself, and not so much the ministry. Don't take that the wrong way - these people are just as important and fill critical roles.

No idea what she says, but pointing from clothes to the dresser is pretty clear.

This is Mara. She comes to clean the house, do laundry, and generally remove the dust and debris three times a week. She's an absolute Gem who doesn't speak more than 3 words in English.

Her background and former bosses have left her with a slightly militant slant toward cleaning. I've learned to basically do what she says, not do what she shakes her head at, and try to communicate as best I can. So far, she's given me the most 'what is this guy doing?!?' looks than anyone else here.



I really like Mara. She's family, and nobody will ever tell me differently.

Next, is our cook. Ginny just calls her 'Ohm', which is a respectful 'young lady' sort of phrase. She has a name, but I haven't memorized it yet. I'll let you know when I do, ok?

She speaks some English, and like to teach me and Aidan Khmai.

Her claim to fame? She makes the best food in the city (her other job is at a big fancy restaurant) and does so without loading up with MSG, salt, or chemicals. She also makes french fries, and spectacular egg rolls. She tends to school me and Aidan in Khmai, and gives Mara someone to chat with. She also enjoys dragging my wife to the market to ride on strange vehicles!

Sopi. (So - P). He likes ninja fighting with Aidan

There's Sopi, Aidan's 'bodyguard' and night watchman. He doesn't follow us around or anything. His gig is strictly guarding the house at night, chasing off some dude that won't stop ringing the doorbell for beer money, and generally making us feel safer. He sleeps in a hammock out there under the umbrella. We aren't sure yet what he'll do when the monsoons get here.

He's friends with some of the close local people, since he lives nearby, and the police know him too. Aidan likes to attack him, and he's a pretty nice guy.









There's lots more, including a few people I respect highly, but we'll save those for another post.

After all, you're getting one of these a day, it seems. I gotta save something for next time.

Oh, one last cast member... the gecko.

Not showing his face. See?

He hasn't really shown his face since Aidan slipped past him the last time. He's cute, so I forgive him. Who's going to keep Aidan away from the blog now though?