If you could zoom in through Google maps real time you would find my miniature sitting on the rooftop café of a hostel in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. There are skyscrapers to my left, construction behind me, and the platform of an elevated train in front of me. When did Asia take over Chicago? I am not quite sure, but that is the land I am sitting in. (Well, except a British woman just served me fruit and a grilled cheese for breakfast . . . so that does not really fit into my Asian Chicago landscape, but hey, this is hostel life for you.)
But I am not here to write about Malaysia, I am here to (finally) take a look back and write my recap on Thailand. Sorry for the delay, but our time here so far has been emotionally draining and every time I tried to convince myself to write my head felt heavy and all my frazzled emotions could handle was reading some young adult fiction (Yes, I may have completed five Percy Jackson books in five days.) But I will try to catch up on my blogging activities now.
As many of you may know, Thailand was our squads “Manistry Month.” This means that James was on a team with the other 6 men of our squad and I got to experience life on an all girls team! James was located in Chang Mai and my ministry was a three hour bus ride north in a village.
My Recap:
The moment I hugged James goodbye and climbed into our Songthaew (pretty much a pickup with a topper and benches in the back – Thailand’s main form of taxi) I knew that this was going to be a good month. My lovely lady team was packed into our pickup and we filled it with conversation, laughter, and an easy atmosphere. It seemed natural.
We lived and worked at Sila Home. Sila Home is a safe haven for around 40 children and youth. From ages 2 – 18 kids live and play here. A few of them are orphans, others come from impoverished families, and a few live here because it is closer to school. Some of the village kids in Thailand do not have access to schools if they live too far out, so boarding houses like Sila Home are the only way for them to get a proper education. Sila Home’s mission is to take in kids who are at risk for sex trafficking and provide them with opportunities and a safe, healthy, and loving place to grow. When a child lives in poverty in Thailand, or when a girl cannot get a proper education, they are at risk at being caught up in the sex trade.
Our days were split into two main activities, manual labor – mainly hoeing up an area that will be used for a garden and then also just hoeing up grass around the buildings. It felt useless, but really it was their form of mowing the lawn. Another team will have to come in and do the same work in a few months, but for now the grass and weeds are under control. And our other activity of course was playing with the kids! The kids gather every night for activities and then for a worship time with the pastor. We got to plan games, teach dances, and love on these kids.
One day as we were hoeing behind the main building I started talking to Noona, our main contact and our translator for the month (she is awesome!). Noona had grown up at Sila Home and had since graduated high school and was now attending university in Bangkok. This month she was able to stay at Sila to help us out and take care of our team. She was such a blessing to us. But I asked Noona what her favorite thing about living at Sila Home when she was a kid. She said her favorite thing was when different teams and volunteers would come in and lead their activity nights. When visitors came it meant new people, new games, and new things. It brought life and love.
So when we taught those kids how to dance to Cotton Eyed Joe that month we were showing them Jesus’ love. I tell you what, those kids are pretty much ready for any high school dance or wedding in America. They can line dance, do the Macarena, and do the Cupid Shuffle.
My time on the ladies’ team was amazing. There is just a fun freedom to be had when you are surrounded by sisters in Christ. My brothers in Christ are wonderful too! But there is something beautiful about the beauty of women being women of God.
Our Marriage Recap:
There is no better feeling than receiving a hug by someone taller than you after three weeks of being the tallest one around. It also makes it better when that tall person in your husband and you can tuck your head under his chin and know that everything is right in the world again.
James and I spent about three weeks apart during Manistry month. There was a lot of phone calls, a few video chats, and a lot of missing each other. But we both grew, as individuals and as a couple.
There were some late night fights and arguments There were deep conversations and wonderful conclusions. This month allowed us to take a step, get some perspective, and look at where we are and where we want to go. Phone conversations with James can be a little bit tiring at times, especially in a third world country. I never knew if the call had dropped or if James was just being his usual quiet self.
Through our time apart we learned that it is important for us to really work on our communication. When I am sitting listening to silence on the phone it is apparent, but when we are sitting in a room together with plenty of distractions we do not always realize how much we do not talk. We want to have deep conversations more often. We want to learn from each other. We want to pull each other forward. We have an incredible journey to take together, and I do not just mean the World Race, I mean our Christian walk.
For any married couples who are checking out the World Race, who have applied, or who are accepted, the idea of Manistry Month may be scary, you may be thinking it is the worst thing ever, and it is. But it is also the best. One day while washing dishes I told my team leader that this missing James this month is kind of like going on a hike while carrying a small weight or a backpack. You feel the weight, but it is not really that heavy, it is not slowing you down, no big problem. But as the hike continues on, as time increases, the weight begins to feel heavier. It becomes more work and a bigger burden. It is never really unbearable, but you feel it more and more.
But there is strength from carrying that weight. There is something to be gained from that kind of journey.
And there is no better satisfaction than being able to drop that weight and run into the arms of someone who will help carry the next set of weights with you.
