The Flower Cart
There is a man
who travels up this street
every day
with a cart full of flowers
and every day
he climbs this hill to the very top
where the air is thin and the people are thick
to present beauty to wandering souls
I think that maybe tomorrow
I will buy a flower
or maybe the whole cart
so that I can plant the beauty in my heart
and begin to watch it grow.
-Kenzi Johnson
I wrote this poem after seeing the “flower cart man” walking up and down the streets of Thailand between our ministry site and our hostel this last month. In the heart of a city where the sky is almost always a gray reflection of it’s buildings, due to the air pollution, it was gift to see a cart overflowing with tropical flowers. This last month in Thailand has truly been a series of small gifts like the flower cart man. In month eight of the race time with my teammates is sweeter because everyone is increasingly more aware of the “countdown.” I have 48 days until I am back in Virginia Beach with my family. I have 48 days left with the sisterhood that has become my family this last eight months. Everything feels bittersweet.
My future is full of excitement, I am hopeful about attending a college this fall and majoring in International Studies. My ultimate goal is to receive a well rounded understanding of the political, environmental, and cultural policies and trends of the world so that I can continue to specialize in International Law through a masters degree. Thats my 5-10 year plan anyway, God willing. While on the race God has unveiled the burning desire in my heart for global justice. While I originally thought journalism would be an appropriate outlet for my pursuit of that passion I feel that I would ultimately be unsatisfied with reporting on events and crisis I had no power to change. If, however, I obtain a law degree I can work on behalf of organizations and global citizens to help them claim the inherent human rights they are due. This future excites me and while I’m nervous about the intense dedication this academic path is going to require, I cannot wait to start the journey. That being said the future, however exciting it is, is not my present.
Thailand is truly a gift. While staying at Zion Hostel in Chaing Mai I have met numerous tourists and had amazing discussions pertaining to faith with them. Many travelers backpacking through Thailand are searching for “enlightenment” and self-understanding and when given the opportunity, I get to tell them about who my identity and understanding is in, Jesus Christ. The conversations I’ve had here in Chaing Mai and in our squad’s short trip to Pai a few weeks ago have been so fruitful and I hope that my friendships within this country will extend far past my time on the race.
This month my team and WARP(another team on Q squad) are working together at a women’s shelter called the Wildflower home. Our first day of ministry looked like hours of cultivating the mushrooms that the residents were growing on the property and teaching english to their children. Over the next two weeks as our teams work with the two nuns who run Wildflower, it looks like we will be doing a variety of manual labor jobs, teaching english, gardening, and teaching music classes to mothers and children coming out of crisis situations. These mothers are staying at Wildflower due to abusive, corrupt, or addictive circumstances in their home lives and communities and Wildflower staff is teaching them life skills and providing safe environments for their healing processes.
I’m excited to volunteer my team to such a generous and loving program and I cannot wait to see how Jesus will move to heal the hearts of the women recovering from crisis on the property. Every day of ministry with my team and WARP fills me with laughter, love, and memories that I will never forget. As our teams head into this final season and prepare for our move to Myanmar in two weeks please keep us in your prayers. We need God to guide us and comfort us through these transitions and continual encouragement to finish our race well. I’ll update everyone again soon about ministry at Wildflower, I’m sure there will be a lot to tell.
