The dirt under my finger and toenails might take another few weeks to wash away, but know I will carry this month in the mountains of northern Thailand in my heart for as long as I live.
I got to experience home in a different part of the world. From the mountains to the farmland to the friendly people who smile and wave when you say “sawadee cah” (hello).
This month my team and I have been working just outside of Chiang Rai at a beautiful place called The Little Farm Thailand. The Little Farm is a small patch of land owned, cherished, and created by a wonderful couple named John and Heidi. It serves as an example of organic farming for the neighboring Thai people, as well as a place of rehabilitation for girls rescued from the sex trafficking industry. The land was purchased a year ago and Heidi and John have been plowing, trenching, and planting their way to becoming fully sustainable ever since. Heidi has amazing dreams for the farm and ways it can continue to help people and further the Kingdom. She has such a big heart for youth in the area and has taken in three teenage boys from impoverished families to help provide for and mentor them. Her and John also have an adorable-spunky 3 (almost 4) year old named Charlie who they adopted several years ago. She has loved having the team around to climb on and play with and ask “why” to (yep, she is in the why stage). She has definitely chosen me as her favorite and always asks “where’s Ali” or looks and me and says “I want you.” I gave her the nickname monkey which suits her pretty well.
Our main task this month has been planting pineapples. 12,000 of them. This requires hoeing holes up and down steep hillsides, dropping in the pokey pineapple plants, and covering them with soil. They will take an entire year to grow and each plant will only produce one pineapple, but the plants will be good for 7 or 8 years.
We have also milked goats, shoveled pig poop, hand-slathered concrete on an outhouse, dug for worms, weeded the garden, learned to cook Thai food, played with kids from a local children’s home, and picked chili peppers for a neighbor in the hot sun.
There are times when we get to reap and actually see the harvest. Other times we are called to simply be the seed planters. Most of the race has been spent planting seeds and making connections with people I may never see again. This month has been planting actual seeds that will take an entire year to produce fruit. I trust that those little pineapples will be ripe for the picking this time next June. I also trust that all of the people I have encountered on this Kingdom journey will someday be watered, fertilized, and ready for the harvest in the right timing. What an honor it is to get to be apart of a bigger and greater plan.
On the 23rd the team will be leaving Chiang Rai to go to Chiang Mai (a few hours south) for a couple of days before busing to Bangkok and then on to Penang, Malaysia. Please be in prayer for safe travels!
Next month is our final month in SE Asia, then it’s off to Central America for the final 4 months. My parents will be joining me in Nicaragua for a week in month 8 so keep them in your prayers as well.
Love you all and as always, thank you for your continued support!
xx
Ali
