Life here in Mae Ai, Thailand has been sweet and so good to my team and I. One of the reasons why is our incredible host. He is a man of complete generosity and kindness. He has served our team and Thailand in such a real and tangible way. His willingness to serve our team and our Lord is inspiring and brings joy to us everyday. It has been an honor and a privilege to get to know him over these past few months here in Thailand.
One day, he started to detail the reality of where we are living in Thailand. He explained that many children at this school, and the children in the village, have a lot of addictions and problems with drugs. Divorce rates are severely high here, and kids look towards drugs to numb the pain. Many kids also struggle with HIV/AIDS. Drugs are easy to find and attain because this place is probably about 5-10 miles away from the border of Myanmar, and drugs are smuggled from Myanmar into Thailand.
Then he said two sentences that I don’t think I will ever forget: “I believe that God has asked me to be here and to teach English. I am here to inspire my students to live a better life.”
He has been teaching at this school for twenty-eight years. He is one of two Christian teachers, and man, has he inspired his students.
Every time he takes us out “onto the town,” he always has at least two or three ex-students come with us for food, fun, and grocery shopping. Most of these kids have graduated from the school we are working at, and are now attending University. These kids are going to make a name for themselves in this world. On some weekends, he takes these students to church so they can learn about Jesus and the Bible.
He teaches his students English, sure, but he also teaches them about love. He teaches his students to laugh, and to have fun (yes, even in school). He teaches them about character, and joy, and integrity. He teaches them what it’s like to stand up for what you believe. (Did I mention that he is one of two Christian teachers at the school?)
He shows them Christ and Christ’s love in every single minute of every single day.
His complete and utter surrender to the Lord is inspiring to not only his students, but also to my team and I. He told us that he could be teaching at a University right now, that he got offered a job to be a Professor at a private university in Chiang Mai. (Chiang Mai is a big city in Thailand that is about three hours away from where we are, and also where our host’s permanent residence is.) But he said, “God wants me here. So I am here.”
And so he is.
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