March 15, 2004

Dear Friends,

The hot season has begun here in Thailand. I know this not only by the heat of the day but by the sound of the ciccadas, a high sound with an almost electrical pitch that makes hearing difficult. The plus of this time of year is the possibility of a delicious sweet—namely, mangos and sticky rice, a real treat.

The last six months have been filled with a lot of challenges for all of us at the Chiang Mai International School (CMIS).

Our head-teacher and manager, Acharn Supaporn, is having her first year of being fully in charge. She knows the Thai school system but is not that familiar with a foreign way of doing things. She has an amazing amount of energy and a good sense of humor and is a good sport. We are all adjusting.

Yesterday we had a farewell program, a silly one of songs and skits, for our Australian principal, who never expected to be a part of our school in the first place. He was one of the group that relocated here from the Murree Christian School in Pakistan when they had to leave there. He filled in the void this year but had already committed to another job in Tasmania beginning in May. We will miss him. One of our high school teachers has agreed to be acting principal until August. Then, a new principal, Terry Gamble, is expected to fill the slot. Terry will be coming here from Egypt where he has been principal at the Cairo International School these last four years. Change is a constant here.

A tragedy in October brought CMIS closer together. A newly hired, very capable, very young, English-as-a-second-language teacher took her own life. She couldn’t get beyond a romance that was not working out. She had kept all her problems to herself so it was an amazing shock to us all. Each of us felt if we had only known we might have helped. Her parents, in Canada, asked that the school take care of her funeral, and they have been very grateful for the close school community and finding out that we all really appreciated and cared for their daughter. It was a very difficult time for us.

April, the hottest month of the year, is the time teachers get a two-week break. A church worker from Australia who was part of CMIS 20 years ago has invited me to visit her in Melbourne. Never having been to Australia, I’m excited and looking forward to the trip. It will be good to get caught up on her family happenings as well as see another part of the world. Many of our teachers this year come from Australia.

Over and over again, as things happen around me and sometimes to me, I find a verse from Psalms a calming comfort: “Be still, and know that I am God.” I hope this finds all of you at peace with yourselves.

Sincerely,

Michal Dobson

The 2004 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 207