It is hard to fathom that our two months at Agape Home has already come to a close. Life slow down! Our last day of ministry was yesterday, and I couldn’t help but think back to our first day at Agape. Pulling up to the orphanage for the first time, little did I know that this little corner of Thailand would impact me forever. I would learn to work hard. I would learn how to put my own feelings and preferences aside to help others to the best of my ability. (and be happy about it!) I would learn that when the primary focus of a place is God and His love, you can’t help but feel that love and joy radiating from every space and every person, no matter the situation. I would learn patience. I would learn that you don’t need to wear a different outfit every day of the week to be happy or to be yourself. I could go on and on. I would also come to find that it is literally impossible to not fall in love with each and every child at Agape. I would realize that even the adults and other volunteers and workers at Agape were put in my path for a reason. Now that I am here, 2 months later, and I have learned all of these things and come to these realizations, I am better than I was before. I am also surprised at how upset I was to leave Friday. It is crazy how all of these things happen and we don’t even realize it until later on or until it is over. Anyways, I wanted to use this blog to outline our time at Agape to the best of my ability using pictures.
First- The work!
We renovated the old building on the back of the property into a new clinic for the kids. We painted the inside and outside, cleaned the floors and windows, and helped move the new furniture in! A dentist in the area donated a lot of dental supplies and is going to do dental work in one of the rooms for free! We also grouted lots of tile on the outside of the clinic. (Yay for new skills lol) Note: multiple dance parties took place in the clinic with some of the little boys who would sometimes do manual work as well.
We also sanded and lacquered a dining room set of table and chairs as well as a bench. This furniture will be given for free to go inside one of the workers houses that is on the property of the orphanage! The couple the set is going to are so deserving. The pictures above from top to bottom are before, during, and after.
Best for last- yard work!!!!! We trimmed bushes, mowed the lawn, and weedeated! I hope these pictures of me doing yard work bring some humor into your day.
Not pictured: Sorting metal, cleaning cribs, pressure washing, etc. !!
Second- The food!
I definitely credit trying so many new food to Agape. Our usual meal was some form of rice, greens, and pork/eggs. Sometimes we would get treated to noodles and curry and other yummy things! (I’ll never forget the one time we got spaghetti #iykyk)
But my favorite…. Khao Soi!!! (below)
Khao Soi is a northern Thai dish that consists of a noodle soup with a chicken leg, pickled greens, onion, spicy sauce, and crunchy noodles on top!
Third- Play time with the kids!
After we worked until about 2:30 everyday, we could go play with the kids! Definitely the best part of every day. If you chose to go to the nursery, you could spend your time loving on the smaller babies and then helping the nannies feed them rice porridge! The first picture is a good example of what they looked like after they had their food. M e s s y.
We also got the opportunity to play with some of the older toddlers, who are definitely more high-energy than the kids in the nursery. These kids are always full of joy and laughter, and they LOVE jumping on you and being held. They will find a way to have fun with literally anything, even if that thing is a dead bug. Some of the best memories were made here.
Not pictured: SWIM DAY!!! Some days we were able to take the kids swimming and even swim with them!
Our last day 🙁
This is my team and I with Wessel and Avis on our last day volunteering at Agape. Both Wessel (a volunteer from the Netherlands) and Avis (the founder of Agape Home) are such inspirations for me! Just by saying yes to God and following her call, Avis has changed so many lives and shown many people Christ!
I could never fully display my experience at Agape Home and how amazing it was through only a blog. I am forever changed and forever thankful that I got to be a part of the organization and the people’s lives there, even if just for two months. Farewell Agape!
