I have three weeks left in Thailand and I am starting to panic because I feel like it is not enough time! The days are going by so fast and, honestly, I have fallen in love with all the people that I have met here. I feel like I could give more and learn so much more from everyone.
In fact, I was talking to God about how I felt like I wasn't giving enough and the next day Sue, out of the blue, had to leave to Bangkok for the week. So this past week I have been in charge of all the English classes. And boy, has it been scary and hectic. But also filled with so much joy!
So this post will be mostly on the amazing people that I am meeting :)
The family that I am staying with are such incredible people. They have so much love for others. When I first arrived in Bangkok, I stayed at a church for two days before I took a bus to Khon Kaen. There were people staying the night at the church also but I didn't think much of it. I thought they were just there to prepare for church the next day. I just recently found out that they are not even from Bangkok but from the mountains in Northern Thailand. Because these people are from the mountains of Thailand, it is hard to receive a good education. The church allows them to live in Bangkok for free so that they can attend school. The family that I am staying with rented the church and renovated it. Not only this, but the family has also set up other locations like this including places in which students come from Laos to stay and study.
Above is a picture of a church that I attended last Sunday. It is another church that the family help set up. These children were so adorable and energetic! Sadly, they live in poverty on railroad tracks. The church picks them up every Sunday and teaches and feeds them.
There were missionaries from Australia so we had a worship night. I don't know where these motorcycles came from but we got on them anyways. These are the monkeys from the third year class. I'm sitting with Sychanh and Mook and Kham mon are on the other bike. Sychanh and Kham mon are from Laos and Mook is from Bangkok. Sue and I call them monkeys because they are so crazy in class. Yesterday Sychanh put seaweed on his teeth and pretended for the rest of the class that he was toothless. Not to mention, these three are in there twenties.
This is Por, Arm, and Chin. They are also my students. Arm and Chin are kids of the other students at the seminary. The whole family moved. I teach the younger kids at night after dinner.
This is Key another student. And he just got BINOCULARED!
Lou is also a student. BINOCULARED!
The students at the seminar volunteer at churches every weekend, whether that is teaching, cooking, cleaning, etc. These three are some of the kids that Lou works with. It was awesome that they were able to come to the worship night!
Goy and Ii (im not gonna lie, I don't know how to spell her name, though this is just her nickname because I can't pronounce her real name!). Ii is Arm's mama.
More students. We started dancing!
And krumping? No just kidding. But really. We don't mess around when we are dancing for Jesus.
This week I also started volunteering at Ban Meata an orphanage for children who are HIV positive. And oh my goodness are these children so lovable.
I usually spend the time playing or reading to them in English.
This is Mooham. They were practicing a dance routine for mother's day. We sat down to watch!
These kids love my phone and my camera. I show up with them. Give them to the kids.
And then must locate and pick them up before I leave.
And they are not bad photographers at all. This picture was taken by one of them.
On another note, Por let me borrow a mosquito net! I can't even count all my bites anymore. Oddly enough the first night I used the net, I received the most bites I had ever gotten. Por said it was probably because I was touching the net while sleeping or my arms and legs got out. Who doesn't know how to use a mosquito net? O, right, me.
Tangent, the students and I made dessert (which was mashed sticky rice surrounding coconut or beans and wrapped in a banana leaf) for mother's days! Aroi (delicious)!
And these are the younger kids I teach at night. We were learning vocab by playing pictionary. They didn't get the picture so Saxophone tried acting it out!haha
