My name is Jonathan Marcus, but everyone calls me Jon Marc in English or Nong Jon in Thai, which means “younger brother Jon.” I am 9 years old. I was born in Bangkok and have lived almost my whole life in Thailand. I live in northeast Thailand, which is also called Isan. I can speak Thai and know a little bit of the Isan language, too. I love to eat sticky rice and Thai-style omelets. I like living in Thailand, and I love the sunny, warm weather.

I also love to give high-fives and hugs to the kids in my village.

Every Thursday morning, my mom goes to the government preschool in our village to teach English. Teacher Ming and Teacher Tan also read storybooks to the kids. Teacher Ming is the director of our creative learning center, and Teacher Tan is also our nanny. Sometimes, I go with them to help teach the kids English. I like to teach the kids about shapes and colors. Sometimes, we dress up or wear masks, and I teach the kids to sing songs in English.

On some weekday afternoons, after I finish my homeschool lessons, I go with my brother Justus to hang out with kids from the village at our learning center. My mom and dad help the kids do their homework after school, teach English, and give the kids snacks. I like to play Legos and do jigsaw puzzles with my friends in the village.

On Sabbaths, we often have a kid’s church program in the morning. We watch Superbook Bible videos and do crafts and other activities. I’m happy that my friends in the village come to our learning center on Sabbath so they can learn that Jesus loves them.

When I am older, I want to be a teacher and an author. I also want to travel. I especially want to travel to northern Europe so I can see the northern lights. I would also like to travel to Japan to see Mount Fuji and to Israel or Palestine to see the Dead Sea.

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