Sawadee Ka (Hello in Thai)

One week ago, we boarded a 12-hour bus from Bangkok and headed north to the province of Chang Mai. Hours before we left, my team found out we would not be doing the ministry we had planned for. Our ministry contact in Chang Rai had to leave Thailand due to visa problems and a very pregnant wife. So at the last minute, our team leader Alyssa, had to choose between two ministry locations and teams to partner with for the month.
 
And that’s how we got here. Working at Sila Home in the province of Chang Mai with Team Salt and Light, the same team we worked with in India.
 
Sila Home is a Christian Children’s Home that houses around 40 kids from all over the province. Some of the children here are orphans, many of which lost their parents to HIV. The other kids come from homes that simply couldn’t afford to raise a family. Without Sila Home, these children would not receive an education, would have very little to eat, and would be at risk for potential drug problems and human trafficking.
 
Sila’s mission is to provide a home, nutritious meals, and an education for each child. Undergirding these physical blessings, Sila’s main goal is to show these children the love of Jesus. These avenues provide a means to demonstrate the love of Jesus to these children and their families, as well as their individual importance and value. Here is the website if you would like more information: http://www.silahome.com/
 
Ministry is pretty scattered and since being here we have done many different things. In the mornings while the kids are at school, we have been doing a lot of manual labor and yard work. The day begins around 9am, when the Pastor hands us seven hoes, a metal rake, two wheelbarrows, and shows us a plot of land to plow for the rest of the day. One of our projects was to pull out all of the grass and weeds around the boy’s laundry station. By cleaning up the area, it leaves little room for mosquitoes, snails (YES, snails are everywhere here), and snakes that could harm the boys when they hang up their laundry.  
 
When the kids are home in the afternoon and on the weekends, we spend time hanging out with them and playing games. Every night around 7pm, all of the kids meet together for worship and activities. While we are here, we are in charge of planning these games and activities every night. Most of the kids cannot speak English, and if they can it is very little; so it is fun to play games since we have trouble communicating otherwise. This past Saturday, some other teammates and I were in charge of games, and I felt like I was back at my job at Camp Oak Hill. We played Capture the Flag in the rain, played games like “Gorilla, Man, Gun” indoors, and even though it failed, I tried teaching them a couple camp songs 🙂 On Sundays, we minister with Mercy Church who meets at Sila Home. Several of us teach Sunday School to the younger kids, while others share their stories to the congregation.
 
This past Monday, we had the opportunity to go to Ruth’s Home, another branch of Sila Home that is about 45 minutes away. Ruth’s Home is a place for girls who are at high-risk for being trafficked. There are currently four young girls who live there. They are from villages that are known for being targeted by traffickers. Most of their parents are very poor and cannot provide for them educationally or financially. Therefore, they either sell their children or send them to the city to earn money for the family. Ning, our translator, explained that the Pastors at Ruth’s Home and Sila Home visited these places and offered to take in these girls so they would be safe. Right now the girls sleep in the church office because at this point they do not have enough money to build a home. The Pastor at Ruth’s Home donated the land to be used, and he hopes to start construction by the end of the year. They currently have $2,000 and are in need of $30,000 total. 
 
We stayed at Ruth’s home Monday and Tuesday and it was such a sweet time. Most of Monday was spent working on a garden the Pastor had envisioned. It was fenced in for the most part, but the land had never been worked and weeds had taken over. So we plowed, worked the soil into rows, planted seeds, and fixed part of the bamboo fence. It was an awesome accomplishment to see at the end of the day; this garden that we had built, literally from the ground up. That night we hung out with the four girls and the Pastor’s daughters, playing Twister and other fun games. Even though the conversations were limited because of language barriers, it was so much fun laughing with them. And then at the end of the night, praying for them and speaking truth into their lives. The next day we continued work in the garden and then had an awesome time of fellowship with the Pastor. He shared his story with us and encouraged us with a passage from Matthew and his heart for Ruth’s home. It was a great time of ministry, fellowship, and prayer for both of our teams.
 
Yesterday, God revealed more of His heart to me through simple words that are changing the way I see ministry this month. I was praying for Ruth’s Home and I heard God say to me: “This is worth my time.” At times I have questioned the importance of my ministry as I plow fields, pick up weeds, and dig holes for seeds to be planted. But in the midst of all of this, the Father says, “These people, this place is worth my time. These people are worthy of my presence.”
 
It is worth His time to plant a garden to provide for four of His daughters who have found a safe haven at Ruth’s Home. It is worth His time to hear and respond to the prayers of the Pastor for His village. It is worth His time, for 13 Americans to travel across the world to dig up weeds, so that 15-20 Thai boys have a safe place to hang up their laundry. All of these things, all of these people are MORE than worth His time.
 
God sees our ministry as worthy because His sons and daughters are worthy. They are worth being fought for, they are worth sacrificing ourselves for, they are worth the small details and hard work. They are worth it all.