Howdy, folks!
Is it really October? How the time does fly! My brother is now a teenager, my sister is only a few months away from becoming a bride, and I’m, well, living life in Thailand. ;P
Ministry update anyone? Read away!
After a lovely month 1 debrief in Lampong, Thailand, we arrived back at Zion Hostel in Chiang Mai on Monday, October 15. It was the weirdest feeling, but the hostel felt like home after having been away for a week…..shows how long we’ve been here I suppose!
Debrief is a time for relaxation, bonding with the squad, and spending quality time with the Lord. Our World Race coaches, Matt and Kendra Coco, as well as the WR director, Hope Mendola Wong, flew down to Thailand to join us for debrief; it was an absolute privilege to spend time with them in Thailand and I can’t wait to see them in Costa Rica!
The Lord blessed us with an amazingly beautiful hostel that none of us expected (or deserved). Running water, air-conditioning, homey décor, and even Wi-Fi. This huge and unexpected blessing completely blew me off my feet and I found myself giving constant thanks to the Lord for His endless mercies. During my stay at Memmoth Hostel, I grew closer in my relationship with the Lord as well as the people around me. I’ve been “stacking stones” in my journal to remember some incredible happenings as well as the Lord’s goodness, faithfulness, and passion for his kids through the thick and thin.
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We began our month two ministry on Tuesday, October 16th! The boys and us (United T.O.T.S) switched ministries, which means that we are serving at an orphanage with children that have (or are at risk for) HIV/AIDS.
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We leave the hostel at 9:25 am every morning.
It takes 28 minutes to get there.
We begin ministry at 10:00 am.
Lunch is served on campus at 12:00 pm, and we get to eat with the children.
After lunch, we break for an hour and then work until 3:00 pm.
We play with/love on the kids from 3:00-5:00 pm.
We leave at 5:00 pm.
For the first couple of days, each hour felt like an eternity….
….but now they go by pretty quickly and sometimes I’m not ready to leave!
At first I was dreading this ministry because I remember hearing the boys’ complaints and somewhat negative stories. Apparently they were overworked and not shown much appreciation. They came home every day absolutely drained and exhausted from a hard day’s work (they had them rigorously sanding down tables and painting playground sets). One of the guys shared his frustration with me: “it’s hard to stay motivated and driven when what you’re doing doesn’t seem to be advancing the kingdom; the tables looked like junk anyways and so it seems pointless to even try and salvage them.”
Here I am thinking that we’d be stuck with similar projects and that I’d dread ministry too, but it turns out they have us doing more “feminine” jobs that are actually pretty fun! The tasks vary day-to-day (anything from cleaning houses and dishes, to playing with children and sewing) and we have no idea what to expect going into ministry every morning, which makes it even more exciting. We just finished our first week of ministry and I’d say we went out with a loud “bang!”
The first day of ministry was long and tiring, but well-spent and fruitful. Hannah, Merrill, and Brittany played with kids and assisted with English lessons, while Ashlynn, Amy, Lilly, and I helped the women in the sewing room. At first I thought that it was just any old sewing room, but then our guide explained to us that the women who work there work for Samaritan’s Purse and make stuff for Operation Christmas Child shoe boxes! Say what? For some reason, I literally thought that the shoe boxes were only made in the U.S. and sent to children in different countries; I had no idea that they were also made in other countries and sent elsewhere! (I know….I’m a little slow:). But for real, that was such a cool realization! And so my team and I are technically working for Samaritan’s Purse and making handbags to put into the shoe boxes for children at Christmas time! Cutting and singing rope all day is quite tedious, but the four of us girls sure spent some quality time together!
Day two, we detail cleaned the sick mother/baby units. This task, too, appeared overwhelming at first, but ended up being enjoyable (especially since we finished all seven rooms before lunch time, when our original goal was only three. Our team is literally killing it).
The tasks of days three and four have been helping the maids clean windows in the children’s bedrooms. Although window cleaning is quite the monotonous task, it has been (in my humble opinion) the most enjoyable. Seeing the number of windows we had to clean freaked me out at first, but after softly praying to God to give me the strength to get through the day and clean with a positive attitude as if working for HIM and NOT for men, my entire perspective shifted and the fun began. It’s amazing what one simple prayer can do, isn’t it?
The rest of my day was quite enjoyable. We even got to play with the precious little toddlers! They will literally pile on top of us and nearly smother us to death but in the most adorable and loving way. It saddens me to think that these kids are not only orphans but also unconsciously suffer from HIV/AIDS over which they have no control. The best thing I can think to do as I cradle these precious souls is to pray for them and trust that God has an ultimate plan for them that’s beyond our understanding.
Thanks to the Lord, ministry here at the orphanage becomes more enjoyable every day. We’ll be here for close to one month and I can’t wait to see what the Lord has in store for us as we serve Him and bring kingdom every minute of every day. I pray (and invite you to join me in praying) that God will fill each member on my team with His supernatural strength, perspective, and joy every day as we face the unknown and live in the shoes of servants.
I can’t wait to keep all of you updated on this ministry and all the stories that are coming my way. Stay tuned!
-Sam
