My Mission Trip
“Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And
walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant
offering and sacrifice to God.” Ephesians 5:1-2
Before I start this I should give you some information on
what is happening in Thailand. Remember Nhu has 4 children’s homes in the area
we went. Three are on th “old land” and one is on the “new land”. RNhu is in
the process of moving each home onto the new land, which is located in a more
rural part of the country (safer for the kids to be away from cities where
trafficking is much higher). The reason they are having to do this is because
Thailand expanded the city limits and now the kids are in a city that they
would prefer them to not be in.
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| Before church, this little boy and I had a blast taking funny face selfies! |
All work is geared towards finishing the first boys home on
the new land so they can get started on the next one ASAP. The majority of our
group worked on cement and was digging the entire trip. Myself and two other
ladies tackled making a HUGE amount of curtains for the home. Each house has a “house mom” and helpers, so
there is at least 1 adult for every 10 kids. For our project they took the
house mom to the pick out fabric during the first trip (I was on the second)
and from what I hear she was in quite a daze while picking it out.
The poverty in Thailand is just astounding. I’ve seen photos
in National Geographic and seen documentaries on tv but nothing compares to
standing there and seeing poverty like this.
(a whole nother blog post that I have in mind and may be popping up
soon). With that being said, imagine
someone coming up to you and saying, “Would you rather have a Ferrari or a Lamborghini?”. I wouldn’t know how to
answer that question because it isn’t something fathomable to me. I’ve never
truly thought about owning a car like that.
This is how the house mom felt in the fabric store.
Curtains.
What we buy without thought, is what she is dumbfounded to
pick out because she never thought she would live somewhere that would allow
her to have curtains. There she was, standing there in awe of the whole
situation.
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| This girl and I clicked so well! She will forever hold a special place in my heart. The last time I saw her she said, "You are coming back next year! Don't lie! Promise me you will come back next year!". My heart has never broken like it did in that moment. How do you tell this girl that you don't know if you will see her again in this lifetime (thank goodness Heaven is real!). |
So became our project, curtains…more curtains than I ever
could imagine making! We made all of the curtains for the downstairs room, which
pretty much serves as a catch all. It’s a huge room that the kids hang out in
after school to do homework, play, and eat dinner. We also made all the
curtains for their bedroom, which is one large room with lots of bunk beds. (it
sounds very sterile and institutionalized but it’s not, each kid has different
bedding and it’s really quite adorable).
Then we also made curtains for the house mom’s apartment. Her apartment
is located just down the hall from the kids rooms.
“What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me-practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.” Philippians 4:9.
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| This is Boo, our amazing driver and wonderful beacon of Christ's light to his fellow Thai people. |
Each day we would get up around 6 or so and be at breakfast
at 7 am, at 7:30 we would do a morning devotional from Max Lucado’s book, “Just
Like Jesus” (I highly recommend this book!).
After all that we would head to our work sites, and work all day. At
3:30 we would head home and clean up/shower. Which reminds me, I was not
prepared for the blazing heat of Thailand. WOW! I would be drenched in sweat
within 5 minutes of leaving my room each day. There is no central A/C and fans
tend to just blow the warm air.
Anyway, at 5 we would head to one of the 4 children’s homes
and hang out with the kids! Because there are so many kids with limited adults,
they encourage us to hang out and just love on these kids as much as we can.
These kids come from homes where they were going to be sold if RNhu hadn’t
stepped in, so most of them just love being loved on! We played games, did
homework, braided hair and so many other things that I can’t even keep track
of.
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| This is a children's school that we were able to visit during our extra day in Thailand. They were so excited to see us, we were even able to bless them with a bit of money to go towards their education. This school has only been open two years and is for the kids in hill tribes whose parents come to the area to work each day. |
“Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is
old he will not depart from it.” Proverbs 22:6 (NIV)
Remember Nhu is taking these children away from poverty and
trying to stop the generational cycle. They are paving a way for future
generations to not have the same struggles that these kids are coming from.
These kids just love God with all their heart and are so grateful for the work
He is doing in their lives. On the last visit at each home, all of the kids
line up from that home and sing us a song in Thai, they then go down and give
each of us hugs and tell us how they will pray for us.
They are praying for me.
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| Church! All 4 children's homes in the area worshipping together! |
The kids who have come from literally nothing are giving
everything they have to me. What a humbling experience. There hearts scream of
the Lord and his work. Where they came from a place of darkness and no hope,
they are all so joyous and hopeful for a future. They are now in a place where
they can dream about possibilities.
Well now that I’ve cried (and written 1000 words), I should
probably save the rest for later, but incase you want to help out these kids.
There is a program where you can sponsor a child for $60 a month. Remember Nhu
follows these kids through University and/or technical training depending on
the child. They do this so the kids (adults by this point) can eventually
provide for themselves and not have to go back to a lifestyle they had.
“Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that
are on earth.” Colossians 3:2
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| Each child is responsible for a different chore, and they do not ever ask for help with their chores. I asked to help this girl and she said, "No, thank you. You guest." I said that doesn't matter and rolled up my sleeves. Pretty far into it the other two ladies joined this girl and I and we barreled through those dishes. She seemed pretty happy to have some help, considering it's dishes for 100+ people all left for her to do. |
-Amber
