Blogs from Thailand, Asia - page 2915

After one year in Korat, my parents were reassigned to Bangkok where my Mom managed the mission guest home off of Silom Road, and my Dad was mission business manager, teacher at the Bangkok Bible College, and pastor of the Evangelical Church. The church initially occupied the guest home garage, but soon my Dad moved it to a rented conference room at the Hilton Hotel. It eventually ended up in a new church building on Soi 10 Sukhumvit Rd. This location attracted many expatriates, including my dearest friends Darryl and Marilyn. He was a civil engineer with the Officer in Charge of Construction/Thailand, the U.S. construction contracting agency for Southeast Asia (they built all the American bases for the Vietnam War). They were in their mid 20’s, so not much older than me. Darryl became my ... read more

My parents were assigned to Nakhon Ratchsima (Korat), Thailand for language training, which would last two years. While learning Thai, my Dad also taught English to the cadets who were learning to fly F-86 jets at the Korat Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF) Base. My Dad had a knack for names and remembered all of his students; even years later when they became the top officers in the military, and one became governor of Bangkok (then the owner of the Rose Gardens, a popular tourist attraction an hour west of Bangkok). When Mom was pregnant with me, she needed a doctor who turned out to be Dr. Supoch, an army doctor from the local base. Dr. Supoch eventually rose in rank to become the Surgeon General and one of the King's doctors. When my parents retired ... read more