Wednesday was my one of my favorite days of ministry here in Thailand thus far. The people I met are forever etched in my memory.
We started off our day of ministry planting banana trees. What this looks like is we dig a bunch of holes that are about 2-3 feet deep and then we separate and dig up smaller banana trees from a big one. Then we carry it across the farm and bury it in one of the holes. It is actually a lot of fun and neat knowing it is going to feed a lot of the people our ministry host Pat takes in, along with his own family.
It is even more fun when ministry turns into a mud fight!!
Some days after working and planting we go for a swim in the pond. It is the perfect way to cool off! 🙂
Living on a farm has been incredible and something I’d love to do again in the future. The work can be difficult but it is rewarding, an excellent workout, and has taught me a lot about how to live off the land.
After eating lunch we went to a local hospital where we talked with one of the nurses. She shared with us how she would love to adopt a baby girl but her husband threatened to divorce her if she did. So we were able to encourage, pray and spend some time with her. Thankfully our ministry host Pat visits this hospital often so he will be able to check back in with her to see how she is doing.
Our next stop was a village nearby. One of the nurses ended up coming with us so she could do her check-ups with her patients in the villages we were going to.
When we arrived to the first home, there was an elderly man sitting on the front porch and his daughter who greeted us. We figured out that his daughter has been taking care of him for a long time and has been struggling to afford food and other necessities for them. They had a small vegetable garden and some banana trees on the side of there house but nothing that could provide for them year round. We ended up spending a lot of time with her father and we all had plenty of laughs! We found out that his name is Kaew and that he is 103 years old! And let me tell ya, this man is a character! He had a huge smile on his face and was full of beautiful laughter almost the entire time we were there!
Though none of us could understand what he was saying (and he couldn’t understand us) we all just kept talking to him and vice versa. We were told that he hasn’t been making since lately due to old age but we still had a great time together. Our ministry host Pat was talking with the daughter and nurse most of the time so we ended up enjoying the joys and beauty found in language barriers and new friendship. 🙂
Later in conversation his daughter shared that a necessity that they haven’t been able to afford all of the time is jasmine rice and soy milk. The daughter is older as well and neither her or her father get enough money from the government to survive. They are not able to live off of the amount they get and sometimes the daughter has to find work that she is able to do just to buy food. So today we will be going back and bringing them food and drinks in hopes that it will help there family. This is also a family that Pat visits often and will be able to continually check in with after we leave.
After saying our goodbyes we drove around the corner to another village where we met a mother and her daughter. The mother was lying down on the floor on some blankets and the daughter was talking with Pat. The young lady told Pat that her mother had a brain tumor and it was too deep in her brain for them to do anything else about it. She shared that her mother had been laying there for a long time now and was not able to get up or move much on her own. We learned that her mother is 64 years old and her name is Baewleaw and she LOVES when people sing. So naturally my team and I sang her a few songs. Baewleaw ended up clapping throughout and smiling throughout each song and would give a cheerful round of applause when the songs were over. When I looked at her daughter after the first song, there were tears in her eyes. My heart was and is so full thinking back on this moment. I cannot imagine being in her shoes and I just pray that God will help give her strength, will provide for there family, and heal her mother.
Baewleaw ended up singing us a song and the Thai National Anthem! It was lovely and put a smile on all of our faces. We ended up praying for her and watching as the nurse took her vitals.
If you would, please join me in prayer for a miracle for sweet Baewleaw and for her daughter! We are able to go back and see them today as well. This time we will be bringing our guitar and there favorite snacks/foods! 🙂
After saying goodbye we ended up walking over to another home in the same village. We walked up some wooden stairs into a hut where we met an elderly woman, her sons, and there children. One of the sons talked to us a lot about his mother and how she had been unable to move without assistance for 20 years. He shared how she had broke her legs and hasn’t been able to walk since.
As I sat next to this lady and felt her extremely thin hands, my heart ached. I could not imagine living life in such a way. The same thought brought my friend Caitlin to tears. We took some time to sit with and pray for this woman. We learned that her name is Lae (pronounced Lah) and she is 97 years old. Thankfully we will be able to go and visit this family again today as well and get to know them more. Prayers for this family as well would be more than appreciated!
Thank you for reading.
