One Beautiful Place

I have officially been in Thailand for 3 days now and it has been some of the best days ever! 


The flight over to Thailand was long... we spent 12.5 hours on a flight from Chicago to Korea, then spent 4.5 hours from Korea to Thailand. They were long flights, but we were occupied with lots of movies and trying to sleep! Our cousin, Marvel, met us at the airport and brought us back to their house. She showed us our room and then showed us the rest of the house. Kayla and I are in a room at the front of the house which has two beds in it! We unpacked some and then decided to go right to bed! 


On Monday, we slept in and then got to say HI to Kirsten and Hezekiah, our little cousins! After playing with them, Marvel brought us over to The School of Promise where Kayla and I would be volunteering. We went on a tour of the school and got to eat lunch there with the kids and all the teachers. We were introduced to all the classes and got to do some work in the library. We then left and went to a grocery store which is kind of like a Sam's Club or Costco. We got some groceries and then spent some time back at the house baking a cake and playing with the kids. For supper that night all the English teachers came over. It was really fun to meet them more and learn more about the work they are doing and how on fire they are for God and teaching these kids who live in a very Buddhist population about Christ! During dinner that night we also got to hear about the weekend plans since this coming weekend is a 4 day weekend because of a Buddhist holiday. We were so tired after dinner because of jet lag, so we went through the swimsuits that we brought out with us and then headed to bed. 


Tuesday was our first day working at the school. We rode with our cousin Joel and got to hear about Thai culture until we reached the school. When we got there, we were able to sing some songs with all the teachers -- Thai and English -- It was so cool to sing songs together with everyone because all the Americans sang in English and the Thai teachers sang in Thai. To hear the same songs sung in two different languages at the same time was so cool! We prayed together and then all the teachers left and Joel gave us a little orientation about what the school's mission is. Then it was time to interact with the kids! Our first activity was working with Miss Brittany's class (one of the English teacher's). We got to do science flash cards with the kids and then watch them as they played a game. After that, Kayla and I each taught 3 PE classes. We taught the students how to jump rope and say the rhyme "Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear." We had so much fun jumping rope with the kids, or twirling the rope for them. It was fun to hear them laugh! After the day at school, was swim club. I got to work with one of the classes and swim with them and play with the students during free time! 


Wednesday, we spent the day at the school again. All the teachers sang together again before class started, and then Kayla and I moved to the library and started to sweep and mop it, then we washed down all the mats and chairs with Brittany and Joel before rearranging shelves and cataloging new books! During the breaks for kids, Kayla and I found a new little buddy, named Mai. She is a 1st grader and is super cute! She doesn't speak much English, but the fact that we can still communicate to her is amazing. During lunch, she pulled Kayla and I over to a table and set up a checkers game to play with her. It was so much fun and we had another little girl come and join us too! After lunch, we finished the library then spent some time in the music room talking with Brittany, Emily, and Rebecca, the other English teachers. When school finished, we waited for some of the students to leave; while waiting we jumped rope together out in the rain. Once again, it was so much fun to play with these kids and be able to communicate through smiles, laughs, and simple English words! 


So there is an update for you all! It has been such an experience out here so far. The country is beautiful, very hot and humid, but beautiful. These students and teachers at the school are such beautiful children of the wonderful God we serve! My time here has been such a blessing to me so far and I can't wait to see what else God has in store for the time I have left here!