We arrive in Selaphum… a lil tired, a lil nervous, a lil insecure… but that lasts about, oh, 5 seconds! As soon as we meet our family for the month, we meet Pastor, his daughter, our translator, Tik, and his wife, who insists we call her Mom! I couldn’t even tell you what her name is, because to me, this month, she is my Mom.
She laughs, jokes with us in broken English, and takes care of us like my Mom back home would. She makes sure we are comfortable, she fixes food especially for us, plans activities for us to do, and insists on giving us a rest after working us really hard.
I think it is the little things that really strike me this month. It is her idea that we each have a buddy (one of us partnered with one of the Thai who work with the church– mine is Pastor!), and write notes to each other & get to know each other & watch out for one another. It is by her invitation that we spend the Thai New Year with their mom’s. It is by her arrangement that we always have bread, peanut butter, and jelly available to us. AND… it was her that bought matching Hawaiian shirts for us to wear out to the Songkran Festival!
What an incredible way to start our month- with such a wonderful family- enjoying such a fun activity! Matching outfits, riding through town on the back of a truck, throwing water at other vehicles & people on the street! Just laughing and having a great time.
I was comforted in the beginning of this trip by this verse:
I tell you the truth, Jesus replied, no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age (homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields- and with them, persecutions) and in the age to come, eternal life. But many who are first will be last and last first. Mk 10:29-31
I tell you the truth, Jesus replied, no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age (homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields- and with them, persecutions) and in the age to come, eternal life. But many who are first will be last and last first. Mk 10:29-31
And God has never failed to provide the promise of a larger family throughout the world. Thailand is NO exception- I love this family, I love that we laugh all the time, and I love the ministry we get to do here!
Yep, this is ministry with the elderly… most of whom have leprosy (not contagious, real Mom)… popping water balloons before giving a message and eating lunch together.
