Note to Chronicle Readers:
Welcome to Patterns of Ink. This post was inserted Wednesday when I learned that a story many months in the making was on the front page of today's Muskegon Chronicle. It's about the medical mission documentary we made:."The Hill Tribes of Northern Thailand: A Timeless Mission."
The above videos and several others may be viewed in sequence at the Patterns of Ink Youtube Channel. (For newspaper readers who may be new to blogs, I'll explain that if you click on highlighted words, they'll take you to a new page.) Navigating blog archives can be tricky. Posts appear in reverse-chronological order. Scroll "down" to the earliest post and then read "up" toward the more recent posts. Various entries about Calvary's Medical Missions Trip to Northern Thailand are in the January Archives, but here is the post with the most pictures of the Hill Tribe people.
The article mentioned that I came home early when my mother's long bout with cancer came to an end. I made it home just in time to speak. She wanted to know about the trip,and talked about it for an hour or so. The next day she slipped into that long indefinite farewell when holding hands is the final form of letting go.
Thank you for stopping by. Thailand is not the typical topic here at Patterns of Ink, but if you like personal essays, poems, and stories...
feel free to drop by and read whenever you like.
The above videos and several others may be viewed in sequence at the Patterns of Ink Youtube Channel. (For newspaper readers who may be new to blogs, I'll explain that if you click on highlighted words, they'll take you to a new page.) Navigating blog archives can be tricky. Posts appear in reverse-chronological order. Scroll "down" to the earliest post and then read "up" toward the more recent posts. Various entries about Calvary's Medical Missions Trip to Northern Thailand are in the January Archives, but here is the post with the most pictures of the Hill Tribe people.
The article mentioned that I came home early when my mother's long bout with cancer came to an end. I made it home just in time to speak. She wanted to know about the trip,and talked about it for an hour or so. The next day she slipped into that long indefinite farewell when holding hands is the final form of letting go.
Thank you for stopping by. Thailand is not the typical topic here at Patterns of Ink, but if you like personal essays, poems, and stories...
feel free to drop by and read whenever you like.Also feel free to call the school if you have any questions about enrollment in an outstanding K-12 program fully accredited through Northcentral Accreditation and ACSI.
NOTE: I'd like to thank Theresa Taylor Williams of the Chronicle for initiating the article and for her hours of genuine interest in our interviews. I'd also like to thank Chronicle photographer Cory Morse who took equal interest in the story while in our school building last week. Back in the 80s and 90s when I was a classroom teacher working weekends and summers as a videographer, I tried hard to remain unnoticed and in the background. Because of that, it felt a little strange to be the focus of this story, but I do thank the Chronicle for helping to spread the good news about this medical outreach to the Hill Tribes of Northern Thailand.
NOTE: I'd like to thank Theresa Taylor Williams of the Chronicle for initiating the article and for her hours of genuine interest in our interviews. I'd also like to thank Chronicle photographer Cory Morse who took equal interest in the story while in our school building last week. Back in the 80s and 90s when I was a classroom teacher working weekends and summers as a videographer, I tried hard to remain unnoticed and in the background. Because of that, it felt a little strange to be the focus of this story, but I do thank the Chronicle for helping to spread the good news about this medical outreach to the Hill Tribes of Northern Thailand.
posted by .Tom Kapanka | 3:55 PM
6 Comments:
It is a good article.
It will be exciting to see if God gives you opportunities as a result of this article to share your story or should I say God's story to people that you normally might not have the opportunity too spend time with.
Great job on the videos.
Thanks for your ministry you had in Thailand and your willingness to allow God to use your talents there and at Calvary school.
Tom,
I was surprised by this honor--front page above the fold no less... I never would have guessed that this trip and the documentary we made would have generated such interest. It's cool that our students have been included. They were very attentive in the assembly when we showed the video, and many of them have had or will have opportunities for foreign service in their futures.
Tom...silent curiosity. My new daughter in law is Thai. I'm sure that as soon as the lad finishes learning the language he'll be going to his father in laws home in one of the southern province.
I should get you, with that dulcet mellifluous tone to recite my poetry.
All together though it seems that the village portrayed is not really all that different in its social awareness, upheavals and constraints. The materials are different but the struggles are much the same.
TOM! My, my, my... where will we find you next! FIrst we find you on the front row, sitting next to the "First Dude" and now on the front page of the newspaper! I feel so fortunate to know (kinda... I guess fellow blogger counts) a celebrity. I would like to have your autograph... if I send you my address would you send me the newspaper article, autographed? hehe
Seriously, I'm so proud of you and your mission work. I've already read every word and watched every tape but as I go back and listen again; the one thing that stands out... probably your biggest gift of all-your calm soothing voice! I say a gift because I think of all of the students that have been reassured by that same calming voice or the many parents that have been counseled making a lifetime difference in their parenting. You are a blessing indeed and I appreciate your sharing with us, your readers. What a well deserved honor my friend!
TWM,
Mark, I don't think I've ever heard "dulcet mellifluous tone" in reference to my speaking, but you made my eventing! You are correct that many of the concerns of "the human condition" are shared by those people in the hills. But not many of them have been watching the "bail out" news this week. Their issues of survival are much more basic, which is at the heart of their survival through the centuries.
Nancy,
Somehow we'll figure out a way to get you the article along with that copy you requested of "Bringing Home the Duncan Phyfe" when and if I ever get that printed as a book. But yes, it was quite an honor and a surprise that it was front page under a headline "Principal of the Heart." You can see the shorter on-line version here: http://blog.mlive.com/chronicle/2008/09/calvary_christian_schools_prin.html
Thanks for the encouraging words.
Good article, Tom. And videos. Always interesting and multifaceted. D
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