God has been teaching me so much already in the short time I have been here and I am so excited to share it with all of you. He has blessed my team and I with some crazy good community and such a cool place to call home. Ministry is in full swing and my team and I have had the chance to be English teachers in many different schools.
Teaching has brought me more joy than I could have ever imagined. I love it so much. Seeing new faces and new smiles each day is a blast. All of the kids we have had the chance to teach are so eager to learn and so happy to see us. My team and I travel to a new school each day, some near and some very far, some small and some very large. Going to a new school each day has been so fun because each day is a new adventure. We never really know where we are going or what kind of school we are about to enter into but I think that’s God’s way of keeping us on our toes. Once we arrive at the school, we play games like red light green light and always end up playing many rounds of freeze dance because the kids absolutely love it. Dancing is one of my most favorite parts of each day. Seeing the faces of the kids dancing their little hearts out brings me an unexplainable amount of joy. It truly is the little things like holding hands and jumping around with the cutest 4 year old you’ve ever seen that God shows up in. After games we break the kids up into their different age groups and teach them English. Most days this looks like learning the alphabet and numbers as well as body parts and phonics. It’s so awesome to teach these kids English because they are so eager and hungry for the chance to learn anything that we can teach them. After teaching we have lunch and play with the children. Most days, this looks like playing soccer, my favorite, or just swinging around on the playground with the kids. They love following us around and showing us how to play different games. After recess, we get the chance to put on a skit and the pastor we are staying with shares the gospel with the kids. It is such a sweet opportunity for us to be able to not only teach these kids English but to be able to share the good news with them. Nearly all of the population here is Buddhist and so us coming to the schools and telling the kids about Jesus is a lot of these kids first time ever hearing about him and the greatest sacrifice that he made for us. We may not be seeing the change going on inside of the kids hearts but we are planting a seed that God is going to grow into something beautiful. Each day almost always ends in sweet kids swarming you to take a selfie or to sign their paper s with your autograph. It’s an exhausting job but it is SO worth it. Every day I get to spend working with kids is a day well spent.
Every day we enter into a new school, there is always at least one kid that steals a piece of my heart. However, one little boy in particular stole a huge piece my first day of ministry and his name is Poom. Poom was sitting alone on the swings and so I went over to him and for a little while we just sat there smiling and laughing with each other. Overcoming the tough language barrier, we began to talk to each other in small sentences but I could feel my heart just bursting with joy. I would tell tell him what something was called and he would repeat me with the biggest smile on his face. R’s are very hard for Thai people to pronounce and because of this no one had really been able to say my name right but here was Poom, pronouncing it perfectly after me telling him it one time. I was Reya from America and he was Poom from Thailand. It was in this little conversation, this little moment, that I found my joy and my purpose for being here. I am here to bring joy and to show sweet kids like Poom how incredibly loved they are. Poom stole my heart that day and I am completely okay with it.
This place continues to feel more and more like home each day. The Christian community here in Tak Fa may be small in size, but not in the amount of joy and love that they have. It has been such a blessing to get to be apart of the community here and to make relationships with people who share the same love for the Lord that I have. We truly are like one big family here and I am so thankful that God has blessed me with these people. Our hosts are the two of the sweetest people I have met. They love us as though we were their own children and even though we can’t understand each other through words, we can through acts of love. Pastor is the one of the most joyful people I have ever met. His smile lights up the town of Tak Fa and he really is doing great things here. I know God has some big plans for him here and I just ask that you would pray for his church here that it would continue to grow and be on fire for God. Meaw, the Pastor’s wife, is our little Thai mom. She takes such good care of us, always making sure we have food to eat and sewing back together our clothes. She is awesome and such a sweet woman of God that is so full of compassion.
So there it goes, a quick glimpse into what my life has been like the past couple of weeks here in Tak Fa. We have a couple days of teaching left and then we will be starting a new ministry for the month of October because all of the schools have a break off from school. God is doing some great things here in Thailand and I know he has so much more in store for this place and these people. I have a couple of prayer requests that I would love for you to join me in praying for. Prayers for the town of Tak Fa and the country of Thailand that God would just continues to be moving here and to bring light to a place that has so much darkness. Prayers that my team and I continue to be beacons of His light and that we can bring joy and love to everyone we meet. Prayers for all of the kids we have taught that this tiny seeds we have planted in their hearts would grow into something big.
God truly is working here and I know big things are coming for the kingdom but it starts with the little things. It starts with choosing joy each day. It’s giving all the love you have to every little kid you encounter so that they can see even a fraction of the love their heavenly father has for them. It’s seeking opportunities for ministry even when there is no planned ministry. It’s working through the language barrier and realizing that joy is a language in and of itself. It’s striving each and every day to love the people around you more and show Christ to them. It’s going up to random people in the community and speaking through actions and not words. It’s cooking your host family and friends an american meal and sharing good company around the table. It’s finding the beauty each day has to offer. God is showing me that the little things really do mean the most. That the big moments are in fact the daily, tiny moments of love and hope and joy that we share with one another. The big moments are in every conversation, every encounter, every smile.
Love you guys,
Reya
