Hey again! My squad has just finished up the second week of ministry at
Agape. This is an orphanage which is about a 20 minute drive from our hostel. The
word Agape means unconditional love, which is exactly what all of the nannies and
our squad have been giving the children here. Our ministry is manual labor which
may sound horrible to some but is actually quite enjoyable. On the first day of
ministry we arrived to be greeted by this 71 year old lady named Avis. By no
exageration she is the most enthusiastic and animated person I have met in my
life. She immediately felt the need to point out how all of us looked like young
boys, which I guess is a complement on saying we do not look aged, yet lol. We
were put to work right away in spreading a couple piles of gravel around to make a
parking lot by the entrance. Coming into work the next day to see cars actually
parked there was quite satisfying. As you may have guessed already we did not
take all day to make this parking lot which meant we got to find out what our
bigger project would be. It turned out to be sanding tables to get rid of black mold
that had accumulated from allowing the wood surfaces to get wet. At first glance I
figured this would be a fairly simple task and we would be moving onto other things
shortly. It turned out to be a five day project. From sanding the mold off the tables
to getting the legs sanded down as well and lastly painting the legs of the table.
After finally finishing up on the tables I have to admit the tables looked a lot more
inviting. When we found out are next project would be sanding the playground and
then repainting it I’m pretty sure everybody’s heart sank, even if it was just a little.
However the amount of sanding was nowhere near as much time as we spent on
the tables and we were able to start painting the same day we had started sanding
which was a big relief. They had half of us share our testimonies this week. I went
this week that way I would not stress about giving it next week. It was a little hard
to speak in front of so many people and tell them about how I had lived a worldly
life like everybody has. After I was done sharing I had a big feeling of satisfaction
for one being able to share and secondly for just the opportunity to let them know
that I was no different from them and that I also struggle with things they might
struggle with as well. Lastly the place we are staying in is so nice with the ability to
run AC at night and to be able to get on wifi. I think life in Thailand is great and it
makes me sad to think that we will only be able to live in this culture for two months.
