Hello everyone!
I can’t believe January is over and I’m soon leaving Thailand! Quite a few of you have been asking how my fundraising is doing. Right now, I am near $14,000. 
I am so close to being fully funded! However, I am still short $2,296. So, please keep me in your prayers and ask God to continue opening doors! I’m so blessed to be apart of this amazing journey.
Another frequently asked question is about how I’m doing personally. Honestly, I’m doing great. I’m eating lots… however, I’m still not a fan of spicy food. This last week we went out to help villages in our teams. My group was blessed by a family of ten; they welcomed us into their home. The couple has two children of their own and the other six children came into their family because it wasn’t safe for them where they were at. Part of what we were asked to do was to love on the kids and play with them. They partnered each of us with a child. I was blessed to be with a little fireball named Grace. The first day, she grabbed my hand and showed me the way. Her laugh could fill up the largest room, she sings with all her might, and she prays with all her heart. The second thing we were asked to do was teach English to children that only spoke Thai. So, we got up the next morning, Grace grabbed my hand and led me to school. We only got to teach for two days, but both days Grace led me. At school, as children gathered, I couldn’t help but notice there were a couple of girls who stuck out. Their hair wasn’t cut like everyone else’s, and they looked messy. The oldest girl always laughed as she chased the girls while they ran away screaming and, in a way, smiling. That’s when I noticed her eyes speaking more than any language ever could. As I watched her “play” with the girls, I saw it again, she was alone in a circle surround by people, and it wasn’t a game. Her eyes screamed, “why?”
At the end of the last day, the kids in my fourth grade class thought it would be a great idea to decorate me with stickers. As I’m making my way out of the building, I’m giving hugs to every girl that gives me one. I looked for the girl who was always left out, I just wanted to smile at her, to show her that I noticed her. There she was right in front of me, her beautiful brown eyes looking into mine, searching. She gave me a hug, (not just a side hug like the other girls, but an actual hug) I wrapped my arms around her and hugged her back. She took a step back and gave me a weird look. She walked away, as other girls started to gather to give me hugs goodbye. I saw her stop and looked back at me, she smiled and quickly ran off. I shared with my teammates what happened with that girl, and how I felt miserable because there was so much I wanted to tell her. That’s when my beautiful squad leader said, “Your actions speak louder than words.” I’ve heard those words spoken before, but I have never had to live them out before.
It’s in these precious short months that I will be able to show people that we care; it’s in these months I will be able to show God’s love; it’s in these months that God will have His people teach me how to love someone you can’t always speak with. It’s in these months that I will want to speak to someone to tell them that “I notice them, it’s going to be okay, that they are loved.” But I won’t be able to. This month that I learned that you can speak so much life into someone by a smile, a hug, helping someone carry items that their struggling with. I will become a person I couldn’t become if I hadn’t taken a huge leap of faith.
