“Ashlyn, come on, we need to go.”
My teammate Zach busted into the room with a this-is-non-negotiable expression on his face. I was curled up on my top bunk with my journal in hand staring at him confused. This night was the one night I ousted out of worship with the girls since I was sick. A handful of thoughts ran through my mind of what could have possibly happened only in the past hour that he would be so firm and urgent. Did someone get hurt? Are we going to the hospital? Has Zach lost his mind? His hair has two braids right now. Maybe he did lose his mind.
“The girls want to wash our feet. We didn’t want you to miss this. I ran back over here because it’s happening right now!”
I catapulted off my bed and we ran out of the house. I probably shouldn’t have been running when not feeling well but this was worth sprinting to be a part of with these girls and couple boys I’d grown to love that month. We were in Thailand in April working with Sending Hope International Orphanage for mainly hill tribe girls.
There were 10 lawn chairs lined up in a row and a basin below each chair at the pavilion. The basin was filled with water with tiny fragrant flowers floating on the surface. When I walked up, I saw my team and the leaders of Sending Hope sitting in the chairs with bare feet. The 40 Thai girls plus a couple boys ages 6-18 were gathered all together in front of them. One of the older girls Tawan threw her arm around me when she saw me walk up, she was already tearing up as she led me over to the one leftover empty seat.
The children were lined up at each person’s basin. For some reason, I thought a few were chosen to wash our feet one time then it would be done. Each of us had 10-15 girls and boys wash and dry our feet. Not only did they wash our feet but some sang, prayed over us, or smiled in joy when we made eye contact. There was honest, genuine love in their actions.
I’ve witnessed and learned more about unshakeable, Christ-like love from these children. We should have been washing their feet. That’s what made it even more beautiful, it’s a rare sight seeing kids genuinely want to serve someone unselfishly. They’ve served us unselfishly for the whole month of April.
They sang to us on our first night and gave us each a bouquet of flowers.
I’ve received many, many sweet, encouraging notes throughout the month and then a pile of them at the end of the month.
Whenever any of us went anywhere, girls would hurry over and grab our hands to walk with us.
They served us every meal and never let us wash our dishes.
Every single night before bed all 40 of the Thai girls would give us a hug and tell us ‘Goodnight’.
It’s funny because while at camp, I shared with them during one of their sessions about the book of Ruth in the Bible. It’s not a love story between a man and woman as much as it is a love story about God’s relationship with us.
The whole book is grounded in displays of steadfast love; a love that is stubborn and committed. In Hebrew, this kind of love is called hesed. It’s the kind of love that is persistent regardless of the response. It doesn’t demand to be noticed or demand to have fairness. As we love the people God has allowed into our world, Jesus emerges in us as we love in this way. It’s the essence of the love at the center of His resurrection, death, and ascension.
These girls barely speak English and they can’t understand us unless it is translated. Even with a language barrier, I’ve experienced the most overwhelming love in Thailand at that orphanage than I have in all the other countries I’ve been to so far over these last 7 months.
“Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.” – 1 John 3:18
