San Antonio

March 8

We arrived in San Antonio by 2 PM and parked in our friends’ driveway. Sharon and Jim Moa are some of the most giving of people on this earth. I must share a story that confirms this.

Jim and Sharon graduated from PLU the year before Barb and I arrived. On return from Viet Nam, Jim was assigned to Fort Lewis and they lived in Steilacoom, where Sharon taught in the elementary school. Jim’s sister was Barb’s roommate her junior year and we met Sharon and Jim several times, even visiting their home. As Barb and I neared graduation we interviewed with that school district and were offered contracts there. We chose Puyallup because it was a “farm town”.

As Barb and I accepted the positions in teaching in the International School Bangkok, somehow we heard that Jim and Sharon were stationed in Bangkok. A week or so after Barb and I arrived there, we again met Sharon who was also teaching at ISB. From that time on, for the next 18 months, we were together often.

We lived on the local economy. Jim and Sharon had APO and PX privileges and had access to things like peanut butter, mayonnaise, and wine which were not found in local markets. We and they were careful not to abuse this part of the relationship. An Army career can be ruined for abusing those privileges. They had a car, we did not. When we went somewhere together, Barb and I would crawl in to their back seat with their son, Chris.

We were together almost every weekend. We were two of perhaps four couples that were the mainstays of the Lutheran Church in Thailand at that time. Our small group met to worship with Rev Gadde and his family on the third floor of a Catholic girls' school every Sunday morning. I remember there being about 40 in attendance each Sunday, mainly military personnel and families, a few international business families. Then as pseudo extended families, we’d spend the whole day together, usually ending up at a restaurant then a pool at someone’s home or apartment. On occasion, we’d travel up country or to a beach together, spending several overnight or extended ventures experiencing the beauty of Thailand.

I have vivid memories of that first Christmas there. Sharon, at the Christmas Eve service, sang “I Wonder as I Wander” and I accompanied her on the guitar. Then we gathered at Jim and Sharon’s home. She had fir boughs shipped in and their home, bathed in candle light and the aroma of those boughs, almost made you forget that you were in Thailand. However, the 80 degree heat quickly brought you back to Thailand.

Just a few days earlier, Jim had called me. “You have a package here from Puyallup.” “You can’t,” I said. We had given Jim and Sharon’s name, phone number, and address to family as a contact with strict orders only to contact them in an emergency.

“Well this is from Puyallup, it has to be yours.” They brought the package over a bit later. It was a Christmas tree. The PX provided live Christmas trees to the military families and that year the supplier was the Kirk Company of Puyallup. The Moas saw the Puyallup tag on the tree and saw it as a sign. They asked for their allotment of 2 trees, one large, and one small. Perfect for our 600 square foot apartment. A policy broken in a special circumstance.

Jim and Sharon, both natives of the Pacific Northwest, have lived here over 30 years. They visit us occasionally and this is our second venture here. Again, as mentioned in our blog from New Bern, NC, those many months ago, our friends from Thailand and China have been so special in our lives. It was a growing and spiritual time, with family whom we shared no DNA.