For the past few weeks, my team has been at Agape Home here in Chiang Mai. An orphanage for kids and young adults living with hiv/aids. A place where the main goal is to love. Love with an unconditional love, agape love. Agape love meaning the highest form of love which is God’s love. It’s about spreading the love of God to everyone here. I really love that. (lots of love, can you tell??) There’s lots of labor work needed to be done here and we’ve been able to help out with that, as well as spend time with some of the sweetest kids you could meet.
Ministry right now looks like a lot of things I’m not used to. Sanding furniture, painting a clinic, yard work, etc. At first, it was difficult for me to look at this as ministry. To look at this as being just as important as other ministries. What I’ve come to learn is that sanding doesn’t just make the skin on my hands peel off, it makes a beautiful table set for a house here at the orphanage people will eat at daily, a table people will sit at and fellowship together. Painting doesn’t just get all of my clothes dirty but the clinic we’re painting gets to be a place where any sick kids here can get better. Yard work doesn’t only make us exhausted but it allows all the workers who work all day every day who are exhausted to worry about one less thing. I can look at it and think it’s not as important as other ministries but it doesn’t mean it isn’t worth doing or being a part of. The Lord is still using us, He’s still revealing Himself, even in the small things we’re doing. And if you look at what’s most important here, this ministry is about the kids. Sweet kids who live with hiv/aids. By the world’s standards, they’re looked at as unlovable and people to stay away from. That completely breaks my heart because they’re kids who need, want, and crave love and affection. And it’s so easy to give that to them!! This is ministry. And quite a unique one. Patience I would say is the biggest thing I’m learning right now, but it’s been a beautiful process to go through.
Some of the other teams are switching to a new ministry this month but we have learned that we are staying at Agape Home for another month!! We are very excited about it, but it will be a lot harder to say goodbye after another month with the kids. Please pray for our hearts in that coming transition. Through this, I’ve been learning more and more about what agape love looks like and it’s such a sight to gaze upon. His steadfast love is better than life!!
Here are a few pictures of some sweet kids we get to love on every day plus a few friends who love them with me 🙂
Thankful for the people the Lord has brought into my life through this journey, wow He is so good!!!
