Monday was one of my favorite days of our trip because I was able to see first-hand what Kyle and the teams he leads gets to be a part of. In a way, it made me feel really close to him and get to be a part of the big-picture of the mission of Lifevesting.
We spent the majority of Monday working in a local elementary school with a team from the church at Nong Nae. The church and Lifevesting teams host ESL camps for the children. The night before, we had a planning meeting with Gift and Dui at our hotel. I asked Dui and Gift to share with us why this is such a big deal and how ESL can actually help further the work of the Gospel in this area. They talked about how for a long time, while being Christian is legal it is very unpopular. Christians do not have a good reputation in the community and because of this they weren't given very many open doors in the community and it has squelched interest in the community. BUT once teams started expressing willingness to work in the schools with their children, they started to see quite a change. Doors are being opened and this ESL work is literally changing this communities view of Christianity.
We spent the first part of the morning singing songs and going over some basic English. I loved that the songs we were teaching them literally were them learning the words "God is love."
After that, we broke into smaller groups and each had something different that we worked on. My group was "opposites". I had flash cards and we played a game to learn the opposite words.
We took a break for lunch back at the church building (where again amazing women had prepared a feast for us.... there was not a meal we did not feast!). And after lunch we went back to school. We finished up our groups and then there was some large group teaching time about culture but using the correct English terms. They ended the afternoon with some sports games with the kids.
(my name in Thai)
It was a very full and fulfilling day and we wore ourselves out loving on those kids. Any love we did.... every minute of it. I just kept thinking, this right here is good solid Gospel work. So thankful to get to be a part of it.
We went back to our resort to shower and rest before going to dinner. For dinner we went to a restaurant that was new to even Gift and Dui. It was kind of a "hip" restaurant and the food was very artsy.
(This is our, "We're tired and jet-lagged faces")
(my pineapple slushy was amazing! and can you see that fruit in the background?)
After dinner we went by 7 Eleven for some snacks and laundry detergent to wash our clothes in the sink. Some of us also got Tiger Balm because it is so so cheap there. In fact, if you are ever in Thailand you should stock up because of how much more it costs in America.
Ha! Of course I found this book at the 7 Eleven.
Such a great day to be a part of on our trip.
This trip to Thailand was with Lifevesting International. LVI is a missions organization committed to helping National pastors move the Gospel forward all over the world by resourcing them with discipleship training, boots on the ground ministry and short term trips, and relationship building. We would love for you to be a part of it with us! To join our monthly email list, email me at wileyadventures@gmail.com. To find out more information about how you can partner with us and support this ministry, you can email me or visit the website at http://lifevesting.org/.
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