Thailand is absolutely magical.
I couldn’t be happier here.
This morning I climbed out of my tent in the middle of a mango orchard to the smell of Bud’s freshly made French toast. The light of the rising sun sparkled in the dew drops that surrounded the lush green world around my tiny home.
After a classic American breakfast and cup of chai tea, I threw on work clothes, grabbed a machete and headed into the bamboo field. We spent the morning hacking away at trees, picking up where a previous team had left off in the process of clearing out thick jungle brush and constructing a home for girls on a twenty acre plot of land.
After a month of feeling idle and cooped up, it is soo good to be working our bodies to exhaustion, surrounded by stunning beauty and breathing in cool mountain air. The contrast between Haiti and Thailand is almost laughable. Tucked away amongst picturesque rice fields and bamboo huts, my soul finds rest in the organic simplicity of life here.
Furthermore, the food is incredible. At 11:30 every day we walk down the road to a tiny curry hut where we are served a steaming dish of curry and sweet bubble tea for under two dollars. After rice and beans night after night in Haiti, it feels almost glutonous to be eating so well.
With full bellies and refreshed spirits, we are back in the fields again until 3. By then we are beyond exhausted and incomprehensibly dirty. In the outdoor bamboo shower we scrub the sweat and grim off our bodies, bathe wounds from retaliating branches, and then take naps in hammocks in the mango trees.
At 5 we go to the home where the girls are currently living. We play games with them for a few hours and eat more home-cooked Thai food. The children are absolutely delightful.
We are working along side several missionary families from Oregon who are some of the most loving, hospitable people I have ever met. For the children’s safety, we have been asked not to share information about the organization, so please excuse my vagueness. I wish I could say more because I couldn’t respect them more for the work they are doing. Their hearts for these children and the manner in which they are fighting to give them a loving home is truly beautiful. They have created a fortress of safety for these children to flourish.
I have entered into a place of safty and refuge.
It is a taste of Heaven on earth.
Right now as I climb into my sleeping bag, my muscles are aching, cheeks sun burnt, belly full, and fingers blistered, but my soul groans in contentment.
Its only been a few days, but I absolutely love here.
I think I could live in these mango orchards forever.
