I hope to share several blogs about my month here in Thailand. There's so much to say. I am blessed to be involved with two ministries this month with Lighthouse in Action: working with kids four times a week in a nearby "slum" and working the streets on a nearby street we call Bar Street (much more on this one later).
First night out on the town, working the streets, in Chiang Mai. This is a tuk-tuk, though we usually ride on a cheaper type of public transportation: a song thaew.
Today's ministry with the kids was filled with such joy. These kids are eager to learn. Eager to play. Eager to do arts and crafts. They are so much fun. They laugh. They try to sneak away with our snacks before they learn the English lesson.
Our time with the kids usually starts with a story we read to them in English. Then we teach them English words or phrases, followed by some crafts and/or sports time. If they've stuck around for the English portion, we give them some snacks. Sometimes the boys just want to play football (soccer). Sometimes the girls just want to ride their bikes or jump rope.
After today's English lesson, we reviewed the words associated with family (mother, father, sister, brother). We had them draw their family. Then, we gave them popsicle stick frames and had them use glue and glitter to decorate. I learned today that KIDS LOVE GLITTER!
As usual, It was so joyous to watch these kids become so engaged in the crafts project and our time with them. These kids come from a slum area nearby where we are staying this month. It's this same area where other kids come from who are being sent to "Bar Street" to sell flowers to the men and women at night. Oftentimes these young kids get told they can't come home until they sell the flowers. That could be as late as midnight or later. Thankfully, I have not seen any of our kids in the evening in the bars. However, our host here says she's seen one of the kids from the kid's ministry at night on Bar Street. She said it broke her heart. Every night in the bars since I've been here, at least one kid comes up to me trying to sell flowers. Even though I haven't seen these particular kids before, my heart breaks for them. They shouldn't be in this bar environment. LET KIDS BE KIDS. As part of our kid's ministry, our hope is to teach them English so they can grow up and get a job that is not related to the sex industry.
Going over vegetables and fruits in English. One of the girls is actually called Banana. Another gal we call Papaya, even though it isn't her name. For some reason, we've nicknamed her that and she looks up at us everytime we say it! She is such a joy!
You can't see but him, but Michael is buried underneath these kids. He's from YWAM (Youth With a Mission) and helps us out a few days a week. He is great with the kids.
Liz (in the foreground) likes to read the stories to the kids. In the background, you can see Michael with a boy in green who has his arms wrapped around him. We nicknamed him "pajama boy" because the first day he came he looked like he was wearing pajamas. I love this kid, but I keep both my eyes on him. He likes to take the water and snacks before it is time! Keeps us on our toes.
This is the girl we have nicknamed Papaya. She has such a great personality and a wonderful half-toothed smile. I think she'd rather ride her bicycle than sit down, but she LOVED today's craft project. Just look at the photo; she is so proud of her art project.
Forget the spoonful of sugar to help the medicine get down; a jar of glitter in a kid's hand will do the trick.
My partner, Liz, is great with the kids. These kids do not speak very much English. Other than hello and thank you, we don't really speak Thai. So, there is definitely a language barrier. As I explained in my last post, just because you don't speak the language, doesn't mean you can't LOVE on these kids! We are here to love them unconditionally. I laugh every time I hear it, but to get our attention, they'll say "you," not our names.
These girls are amazingly smart and beautiful. We pray they do not get sucked into the sex industry here. Chiang Mai is known as a sex tourist destination. The city has roughly 160,000 people and its metropolitan area has nearly one million people. According to our ministry host (www.lighthousethai.com), the city is home to approximately 5,000 male, female and child prostitutes.
Normally the kids never take their drawings and other crafts home. This time they did! Success!
A beautiful masterpiece…just like these precious children
I've traveled to more than 30 countries now during my life, but I'd have to say Thailand is one of the more unique places I've been to.
More to come on my time here in Thailand…stay tuned for my next blog.
God's peace and love be with you.
