Every day is an adventure!
We were up at 4 a.m., as usual — but that is nothing special here. The kids have devotions at 5 a.m., then eat breakfast, do chores, and are off to school at 6:30. Bro. Anond says they get up earlier when it gets hot because it becomes too uncomfortable to work later in the day. I hope they get to take a nap!
Even though it was Saturday, they were still up early. We went down and joined them for devotions and watched them do the exercise routine Bro. Anond worked out for them. I am trying hard to learn their names — but it is s-o-o-o difficult! It’s bad enough that we have a Pa-la-di and Pi-la-da. One is a big girl and one a small one, so I just have to remember which vowel comes first for whom. But Kitti-pong and Nitti-pong are boys the same age, size, hair color, eye color, etc. How will I ever tell them apart? I kept calling Cha- chi (eye), Cha – chee, which made the other boys convulse with laughter. Then there is Yo-bot and Ta-Bo and Wi-chi and others I have yet to pronounce correctly. It seems hopeless! I am soldiering on, though.
We welcomed Saturday as a day of rest and preparation. The ladies will come for Bible Study on Monday, so I wanted to do some extra study. Surprise! The Lord had something different in store for us.
We knew a friend of Anond’s from Bangkok was coming and some people the friend worked with were bringing gifts and lunch for the kids. We figured they were bringing special gifts since it was National Children’s day.
Wrong on all accounts! At about 9 a.m., a group from the First Baptist Church of Valdosta, GA, arrived — minus Anond’s friend. They had come on a mission trip to the prisons and were visiting some children’s homes as well. Since Anond’s friend works with him in the prison ministry, he recommended they visit our children’s home. Somewhere between the friend, Anond, and us, we got the story totally wrong — but it didn’t matter.
The group from Georgia presented a program for the kids, which they really enjoyed. We especially appreciated the testimony pastor Mack Weaver gave. He told them that he had been raised in a children’s home, too, and it was the best thing that ever happened to him. He was saved there and his life forever changed. How encouraging for them to hear that!
Then the ladies presented each child with a bag full of gifts — which thrilled them. It was so fun to see their pleasure in these simple gifts of coloring books, small games, hairclips, etc.
After the children’s program, the folks graciously included us in their visit to the Orchid Garden and restaurant. What beautiful flowers! They grow so well here. In fact, we have orchids growing along the fence at the children’s home. The meal was great, too, and the fellowship was sweet.
Since we were with Anond, and he was helping his friend by being their guide and interpreter for the afternoon, we went with them to the village of the Long Neck Karen. They are called “long neck” because they wear gold rings around their necks to stretch them, gradually adding rings until their necks are unnaturally long. They did a song for us, but mostly they sell the lovely scarves they weave on a loom, and other interesting tourist items. They did look odd with their elongated necks held up by the gold rings.
Back to Chiang Mai to run errands and to post yesterday’s blog. I should have written this then and posted ahead — but my computer ran out of juice, and so did !
A full and busy day — and a lot of interesting things to see. A different day than we expected, but one designed by our sovereign God!
Prayer Requests:
That the Lord will prepare me for the Bible study and bless the Ladies through it. I’ll be posting the study here online for you in a day or two.
For WiFi! We miss the instant contact with the folks back home.
Blessings from Thailand,
Susan