Wow I have now been here in Thailand for 6 days and its so hard to believe. When we started driving through the city of Mae Sot to get to our new house I already felt like I was home. There is just something about this city. As I begin to think about what it is exactly that makes it feel like home I really can't describe it. It may be the city, but it may also be the fact that I am exactly where God wants me at this time.
My first day in Thailand was my birthday and was definitely a birthday I will never forget! We were able to go out to the land to see where the children are going to be be living. It's referred to as the "Promise Land" and that is exactly what it is. The land is beautiful and the children on it are even more beautiful. The land is full of the presence of God. The moment that we stepped on to it I could feel Him. It is a place full of peace and joy. We took the time to walk around the land, exploring all of it and every inch of it is perfect. Just being on the land brings so much hope, healing and restoration. We then drove to the Children's Home and were greeted by the children as we stepped out of the truck. It is the greatest feeling in the world to open up my arms and have 5 or 10 children run as fast as they can into them - smiling and laughing the entire time. I don't see how anyone could ever turn away the love of a child. It reminds me of the story of Jesus and the children. (Matthew 19:13-14) Jesus says "Let the little children come to me and do not prevent them from coming to me. God's Kingdom is made up of people like these."
Our second day here the children threw a birthday party for me at the Children's Home. It was the best birthday party I have ever had! As we pulled up, all the lights were off and the children were holding up a sign and written in glitter was "Happy Birthday." They were all holding candles and they were singing "Happy Birthday." When they were finished singing, I ran around and blew out all of the candles. Each child was so excited when I came to blow out their candle. The rest of the night was filled with a lot of special things. We watched the girls dance; we sang songs; and we all ate cake. I would have to say my favorite part of the evening was when we were able to have worship with the kids. We all sat around and sang worship songs. Although I didn't understand the words the children sang, the presence of God filled the room. Watching all of the children worshiping God with all of their hearts, really melted my heart. I can't wait to be able to worship with them again. I was so blessed when the kids took time to lay hands on us and pray (Mariah, Me, Mr. Shaw and Mr. Tims.) It was incredible! These children are full of the Spirit of God and they are going to be life changers for their generation.
We have spent a lot of time with the children. And, each time I become more and more attached. Thursday we were able to pick the kids up from school, and they were so excited we were there. On Friday and Saturday, Thailand was celebrating "Children's Day." It's like Mother's Day or Father's Day in the US. We went to school with the kids on Friday and they were given lots of treats and prizes. The kids prepared songs and dances which they performed on a huge stage in front of all of the people who were there for the special day. It is wonderful that they take a day out of the year to celebrate children. Children and the lives they live are something to be celebrated. Some of these children never get to enjoy simple things like candy or ice cream, but on this day they get all they would like. It was not only great to spend time at their school with the children from the home, but also to see the other children at the school. All of them were running, smiling and laughing. Seeing children smile and laugh brings me so much joy, I can't think of anything better.
On Saturday, we rented mopeds to see how well we could drive. If we did well, the plan was to rent them for the three months we are here. After I crashed mine into some other bikes before we'd even left the rental shop, we decided to spend the morning learning how to drive. It was a long process, but we finally got the hand of it and we are now using them as our means of transportation.
On typical day we spend our mornings doing our own personal devotionals and doing our school work (Mariah and I are both taking online classes this semester.) Early afternoons, we work in the office, then spend the late afternoon and evening at the Children's Home. At the Children's Home, we play with the kids, spending a lot of time just loving on them. Three nights a weeks, we lead devotionals for some of the Children and two nights a week we are teaching the staff English. On Saturday, we go out and help with the dump ministry. And, on Sunday we watch the babies in the morning, then go to church in the afternoon. The church we attend is a house church with some of the other missionaries. It's nice to be able to worship with people who share the same passion and calling.
God has been so good to me over this last week! He is speaking to me about why I am here, and what my focus should be while I'm here. The Word I keep getting is "Love." I am here to love every person with which I come in contact! I am to love them with everything I have, because God loved me first with everything He had. I try always to remember I may be the only Jesus some of these people will ever see.
I have so much more I want write, but we have only had limited internet access. We expect to have internet installed in our home any day now, so it will be so much easier to update you more frequently!
I can promise you, there is much, much more to come!
Serving Him in Thailand,
Katie
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