The last few days I have been staying at Bow and Boot’s house – the second children’s home on the property. Until now, I have been staying at the larger children’s home – which is a much nicer building and where R-Nhu typically houses guests and short-term interns. With Nhu gone for a little while, I have had some extra time and it was important to me to spend some quality time with the girls who live at the other home. I have really bonded with the girls I live with, and naturally so – but I wanted to make sure that I really connect with the other girls and get to know them on a deeper level as well. They speak much less English, so I am really being pushed to use my Thai!
Living at the other house has been so fun and though the conditions are much more rough, I am loving spending time over there. Their house is simply big enough for their bunk beds and storage containers. They eat, do homework, and live the rest of the time in an open area under a grass roof. I am brushing my teeth in the mornings using water from the hose and a little cup because they do not have sinks. Showers, like at the other house, are cold and you use a bowl to scoop water out of a giant bucket (imagine garbage can that goes out at the street). It is definitely an adjustment to only be inside when I am sleeping (or working at the other house).
The girls literally melted my heart when I heard how excited they were that I was coming to bunk with them for the next week. I think I may need to make it a more regular occurrence during my time here. Despite their living conditions, these girls are happy and fun and smart and silly and I am sure I’m learning more from them than they are from me. I know I’ve said it before, but what a joy to share my life with these girls and what a privilege it is to be a part of their story.
Another fun little treat has been sharing my evenings with a “toukay” (no idea what the English spelling of this word is). Toukays are lizards who, if they decide to bite you, lock their jaws, and do not let go until they are dead… literally. So…. We are kind of scared of them around here. Doesn’t sound like fun to me trying to kill a lizard whose jaws are locked onto my flesh! Well, we have a toukay living on the roof at the house. It frequently makes its homes in the framing and two nights ago I swear it was inside the pole a foot above my bunk. They make this gurgling sound and then literally say “toukay” – hence their name. Fun lil creatures…
On a more serious note, it has been nice also to separate my work and living spaces. Until now, I have been working in my room for the most part, so it is nice to divide these two parts of my life. I have been so much more focused all around! And now, when I leave my work – I literally am able to just leave it and turn my attention 100% to my family here. With a lot of teams here for the U.S. summer months, I have needed to be more disciplined in how I am spending my time, and this has made it so much easier!
The World Race team here has also been a major blessing. (World Race = missionary organization that sends teams out to visit 11 countries in 11 months! www.theworldrace.org). I am absolutely loving getting to know this group of people, and they have been awesome enough to let me share in their worship and group devotional times – how I’ve missed that! A seriously transforming time and I am so excited with the way God is transforming my heart and my mind in the last few weeks. “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” (Romans 12:2a)
<3 Blessed <3
No comments:
Post a Comment