And even though I’ll always remember them, I hope they won’t remember me.
At both training camp and launch, we went to sessions on orphan care and children’s ministry. We were given a few key guidelines and principles in order to do this kind of short term ministry well. One is to not say “I love you” to the kids. It doesn’t matter if you love them – you’re leaving. Short term teams come in and out of childrens’ homes, and you don’t want them to associate love with leaving. Instead, you can tell them that God loves them; he’s not going anywhere. Another important one is to be mindful of physical touch – you don’t want to create an unhealthy attachment that will be torn apart when you inevitably leave. There are others, but these two are the ones that most applied to our time on Thailand.
Now there are also things you can do, not just avoid, to make your time at this kind of ministry the most valuable. You want to teach and impart things that the kids will have after you leave – songs, English, games, skills, bible stories… Anything that they can use and know even when you’ve gone home. So that’s what we did. I was an English teacher, a gym teacher, a music teacher, and more this month.
The kids here at Sending Hope International are loved like crazy – the six full-time staff members care for them and invest in them unbelievably well. The short term teams that come here have things to offer, but the true influences in these girls’ lives are Peace, Nee, Kim, Tootoo, Noi, and Pong. I hope that when they grow up, they think back on these people who raised them and loved them.
And I hope they remember the words to I Surrender All and One Thing Remains.
I hope they sing “Boom chicka boom” and giggle at the funny words.
I hope they play basketball and shoot lay ups.
I hope they know that they are beautiful no matter what anyone says.
I hope they remember that God loves them so much more than they could ever imagine.
But I hope they don’t remember me, this random American girl who was around for a few weeks. There are so many more important, lasting relationships and moments for them to think on.
