Sawadeeka friends!!! I have been meaning to share about my life here sooner but here we are! I wanted to highlight a few things that we are doing here in the orphanage, and then share more about what the Lord is doing!
We have nightly worship with the girls and every Tuesday and Thursday we get to lead the lesson. We have been teaching them about David. We usually do a little skit and that always makes everyone laugh.
During the day the girls split into 4 groups according to their grades and we teach English class. Teaching English is really silly sometimes and we don’t always know what we are doing and make up stuff on the spot because our lesson didn’t last as long as we thought it would. But the girls love it regardless. They are so eager to learn, which is inspiring.
When I imagined this trip I honestly had no idea what I was getting myself into for the next three months. But I knew the Lord was calling me to go and I was so excited to face the unknown. Also slightly terrified. Since being here it has not been easy! Not by any means. Some days I wonder why exactly God called me here and what my purpose in being here is. I guess even though I didn’t have many expectations for these three months, I sort of imagined I would be sharing the gospel on the streets of Thailand with people who had never heard the gospel. But that’s not what God had in mind for me in this time. The girls in this orphanage love Jesus so much and praise the Lord for that! They are so sweet, fun, energetic, and silly. They also speak very little English so conversation is challenging and sometimes very discouraging. But boy do these girls know how to have fun and how to love! Every time we spend time with them, we say goodbye with a hug from every one of them. They often bring us flowers or other little gifts. They are so welcoming to have us living in their space with them. Since they already know Jesus it has been a struggle for me to know exactly why we are here. We aren’t bringing any news they don’t already know, like I had imagined we would. I may never know exactly why we are in this place but this is what the Lord is teaching me through this time- showing how awesome Jesus is to these girls doesn’t look like how I imagined at all, but that’s okay because God knows a lot better than I do. What it actually looks like here is having dance parties with them, playing volleyball and lots and lots of games. Joining them for worship every night where they sing mostly Thai songs, and occasionally a tune we recognize that we sing along to in English. it looks like putting band aids on scratches. Letting them pull and rip our hair into a lovely braid and then decorate it with flowers (and bugs). it looks like hugs hugs and more hugs!! it looks like trying to learn phrases in their language and laughing through our mispronunciations. It looks like teaching lots and lots of silly songs and worship songs(and making up silly motions). It looks like painting walls. Gardening. Mowing. Anything we can do to serve them in our short time here. It looks like interacting with them and doing our best to display Jesus through fruits of the spirit and showing them we loved them so much we came here to be with them. Showing them that the Bible calls us to go and tell it on the mountain. What a blessing that God chose us as vessels for His gospel in this orphanage in Thailand!
The fact is that just because this season of life here in Thailand isn’t exactly what I had in mind, actually means very little. God knew exactly what every second of every day would look like for me, my team, and our time with the girls. He was already here creating a path for us even before we arrived and He is here now graciously guiding us along that path. He is in the hearts of the leaders of this orphanage and in these precious baby girls, and He is doing great things in and through them. Their smiles and joyful spirits are just one visible way I see Jesus here in Thailand. The Lord is showing me how faithful He is and how trustworthy He is. He is showing me that even when I may not see His purpose in this time, He is still good and He is still glorified by my obedience to His call on me to come here. He is teaching me to trust His plan for this time and that it is far better than any plan I could imagine. What’s so wonderful is Jesus has so graciously walked with me and pointed me back to Him and His goodness every time my mind drifts to doubt. He is teaching me to walk in trust with Him even when it doesn’t make sense to my limited human mind. Thanking and praising Jesus for His sovereignty over all things!
Thank you for reading this!
with love -Marianna xo
