Well, the weekend turned out to be a lot of fun! It was very busy, but we had a great time with the kids! Friday night, we took some of the kids out to dinner in Mae Sot. Then, we went to the Taiiwan cultural show. It was the craziest thing...we were at a Taiiwan cultural show held at the Chinese school in Thailand! Interesting combo, huh? The kids liked it though...then, we brought them back and let them watch High School Muscial 2 (I brought it with me from the states for Andrea b/c the kids requested it) and they were so excited about that! They don't get to watch tv or movies much, so it was a special treat for them!
Saturday, we got all the kids together and taught them some new Christian songs in English. We also played some games with them and we even taught them the electric slide and the macarana. They loved that! It was so much fun! Then, Saturday night, we had a missionary from a remote village come and visit us with a few friends that were here from the states and they gave a message to the kids. Then, Sunday night, the YWAM girls showed up. So, there really wasn't a dull moment!
This week has been a lot of fun being Cru Becca (Teacher Becca). The teachers gave me a Thai name the other day...they named me "Nam Peung," which means honey. I thought that was cute. I love getting names in other languages. It's fun! Anyway, this week has been great so far. Monday and Tuesday, I taught the preschoolers, who are actually more like kindergarteners. They don't have kindergarten here, so the kids go straight from preschool to first grade. The kids were very smart and I had fun teaching them songs and teaching them about colors and numbers and animals. I love that I can teach Christian songs at a public school and it's ok here. Then today I taught first grade. It was a lot of fun. I was able to teach some things that were a little more advanced than the preschool curriculum. I had a great time with them. Tomorrow, Andrea and I will go back to our team teaching at a school about an hour and a half from here. The school is kind of an outreach Andrea undertook awhile back. Then, Friday I leave for Chiang Mai to help out with the clinic. I am really looking forward to that!
Well, things have been going well with the YWAM group! The kids have really enjoyed their songs and skits and we have all enjoyed getting to know them. They went to the school where Andrea and I have been teaching (Hoi Bong) on Monday and did a program for the kids there. One skit was about how just reading your Bible or praying the right way doesn't make you a Christian and how you have to actually know Jesus personally. That was really neat. It is so great that there is such a strong Christian influence at the school. All the teachers there are Buddhist, not necessarily because they are so dedicated to Buddhism, but because it is just part of their culture and nearly everyone here just end up following that religion. It has been neat though because Andrea and I have lunch with several of the teachers nearly every day and they always have us pray before we eat and we just try to be a good, Christ-like example to them.
So, I was thinking today about how I have been in Thailand now for exactly 2 weeks…it's crazy…it has gone by so fast and yet I feel at the same time like I have been here forever. It's funny because when the YWAM girls first came, one of them asked me if I ever get homesick here…I was like "No, I don't…but, then I have Andrea with me"….then, when their leader found out I'd only been at Agape for a week when they first came, she was really surprised too…apparently I fit in really well here…I think part of it is also that I speak quite a bit of Thai (well, that's what they thought anyway...I don't think I speak that much)...I have been blessed to have the kids teach me a lot though...I guess I was just blessed to find my place here really fast...which is good because Agape just kind of feels like a second home to me now. It will be hard to leave when I do have to go…even the thought of being away from the kids for a week during my time in Chiang Mai is sad to me…they are just amazing kids!
Oh, one more thing….thank you for your prayers for me as I hadn't been feeling well…I finally got over the severe heartburn I was having and I'm feeling much better…the kids are getting over the malaria too….It has been great too because I've been able to play my role as the nurse here a little bit too with some minor injuries. I bandaged up a wound the other day when one of the boys gashed his knee and wrapped a girl's ankle last night after she injured herself playing sports. So, God has really answered that prayer of helping me find my place here in many ways. I am just loving it! Yesterday, the pastor's daughter and her husband told me I should extend my trip and stay longer…it is tempting, but it probably won't happen….I do have to say, though, Thailand is a place I don't think I could ever get sick of…it is so beautiful and the people are amazing!
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