Stories. Photos. Wonders from our last month in Thailand.
Tadpole
His mother signed him over to a state-run orphanage when he was three months old, feeling she could not take care of a child with Down Syndrome and later he came to Hope Home. He is the most cuddly, active, and the most rambunctious boy ever. One minute he will be giving you a big ole’ hug, but the next he will be racing his dirty bike through the house.
Yindee
Yindee was born with Cerebral Palsy into the Yellow Leaf Tribe in Thailand. She always has a smile on her face. Her family could not afford her hospital visits nor care for her unique nutritional needs, so Hope Home took her in. Today, they frequently visit Yindee’s family and are hopeful that eventually she will be strong enough to return to her village. Fun Fact: although she cannot speak, she can understand three different languages!
Little Guy
Curiosity – a common theme for the kiddos at Hope Home. Little Guy had respiratory failure at birth and eventually had a tracheotomy as a result of tracheomalacia (floppy windpipe). He is intelligent, loves any kind of food, and exploring any new thing he can get his hands on or his feet to go to.
Kame
Kame was born with a complex genetic disorder that requires her eating to be closely monitored. Before entering the doors of Hope Home, she had very little personality. Today, she is brave, bold, extreamly LIVELY and loveeees the color pink.
More pictures of Hope Home above ^^^
Pailek
One of my favorite parts of every month is the unexpected relationships God puts in our lives. This month, we got coffee at Pailek’s every day on our way back from lunch. Daily, she gave us free Thai fruits and hugs – we called her our Thai mom!
HOPE!!!
A mighty woman of God who left behind an unfulfilling life working in the red light district for a life filled with purpose and freedom. Who is now serving inside (and outside) these doors of Zion Cafe loving on every. single. person she encounters. Her Hope is now in something greater than herself and it’s been an absolute honor to get to know her story this month.
Songthaew (pronounced Sung Tao or as Calli likes to say “Sagawan”)
Our form of transportation in Thailand. We had about a 30 minute commute to Hope Home every day and the Lord used that time in prayer to refocus our minds on Him and on loving His people well.
ADVENTURE DAY
Elephant Feeding / Mud Bathing / Waterfall Going
Pai, Thailand
Aka, hippie backpacking town. And boy was it HIPPIE. This will give you an idea: we prayed before eating our breakfast at a local café there, and afterwards the lady who had owned the place for more than 15 years said she had never seen anyone pray at her restaurant. So, we weren’t surrounded by our usual crowd, but the Lord provided some amazing relationships in the short time we were there. PLUS, we got to see the sunrise in a field of wildflowers over the beautiful Thai mountains.
TEAM WILDFLOWERS
Our team, the Wildflowers. Goofy. Real. Obedient. Silly. Truthful. Calli – fearless leader, describes our team as colorful. Cassie – trier of everything // describes our team as authentic. Rashelle – gentle boldness // describes our team as safe. Katie – prayer warrior // describes our team as warm. Britt – creative compassion // describes our team as well-oiled machine & intimate.
