After months of preparations, emails, phone calls, this last week our team greeted the first 2 of 4 short-term teams to Thailand. Having never organized or made arrangements to host teams before, I was a little anxious to see how this week would turn out, but as is the case, God was with us and we had an absolutely wonderful week.
Since I have not perfected the art of being in 2 places at once, I went with the team from Prince of Peace in Palatine, IL to Bamboo Island while Sarah and others took the PLI team from Texas around Bangkok and Chiang Mai. Let me just say it was just incredible.
I met 4 team members that arrived early on Friday night. Fortunately I decided to meet them at the airport instead of their hotel as it turned out that their shuttle never picked them up. The 5 of us and their luggage fit all in one taxi as we made our way to the TK Palace. I knew right away as I got to know Andrea, Carolyn, Lisa and Kyle that this was going to be a special week. They were so excited and full of energy. Even though it was dark out I got to see Bangkok again through the eyes of a first time visitor and it was great. That night I left them at their hotel with directions to set them off exploring the next day and a promise to see them for dinner the next evening.
Saturday afternoon, Dang picked me up at my apartment and we headed back to the airport again to pick up two new members on the Bamboo Island team, Randy and Barbara. I met them during my visit to Chicago in May and had a chance to get to know Randy via email in preparation for their arrival. They seemed pretty refreshed having adjusted to jet lag during their stay in Japan. We took them to the TK and met the others for dinner.
My evening wasn't over after that as I waited up late with Robin McCoy to hop on the TK Palace shuttle back to the airport to wait for the PLI team's arrival. That day had been so busy. Reality hit me when I went to the airport that all these months of emailing back and forth wasn't just some fiction book I was writing, but that there were in fact, actual people arriving here to serve in many different ways. I headed home tired and still needing to pack and arrive at the hotel by 8 the next morning. To top things off I got a phone call from the last 2 members of the Bamboo Island team saying that their flight was canceled and they wouldn't make it there until noon the next day. Dang and I decided to solve that problem after talking to the team the next morning.
Sunday we decided to start our 11 hour journey to the south and just have the other 2 people fly to Phuket. Dan made arrangements for her friend to pick them up at the airport and take them to the Phang Nga Bay resort hotel. They ended up getting there before we did even though they didn't get to Thailand until the afternoon. Our trip was scenic and fun. Everyone was quite enjoyable and it turned out to be good that the other two people were delayed or else we wouldn't have had room for them in the van.
Our Monday was supposed to be laid back and relaxing after all the travelling, but that didn't mean that we were short on things to do. The first stop was at Tham Pung Chang which translated means Elephant Belly Cave. The first part of the tour was taking a kayak through the "belly of the elephant". Halfway through we switched to bamboo rafts and then the last leg was on foot wading through the water. That was awesome! All of us had to wear headlights and while most of our team looked at the limestone rock formations our guide pointed out, Dang spent the time shining her light in the water thinking that some creature would crawl on her! We found a "baptismal font" in there that Buddhist regard as having lucky water, but instead we used it as an opportunity to remember our Baptism! Moving on from there we headed to the coast. We planned to stop at a resort sight for a little beach time 
and lunch but found out it was closed during the off season! Sad day! So instead we drove 45 minutes away for lunch at a Burmese kitchen! While we were in the area we visited the Baan Nam Kem Tsunami Memorial. This way the team could see how the tsunami devastated the area and effected the ecosystem. We changed plans to go to Phuket since there was a big ASEAN summit there and security was tightened. Instead we stopped at a market on the way back to Phang Nga Bay and made the team purchase stuff without using English! It was like a mini-orientation! That night we were ready to sleep! Though Dang and I stayed up to watch some Thai TV-drama!
and lunch but found out it was closed during the off season! Sad day! So instead we drove 45 minutes away for lunch at a Burmese kitchen! While we were in the area we visited the Baan Nam Kem Tsunami Memorial. This way the team could see how the tsunami devastated the area and effected the ecosystem. We changed plans to go to Phuket since there was a big ASEAN summit there and security was tightened. Instead we stopped at a market on the way back to Phang Nga Bay and made the team purchase stuff without using English! It was like a mini-orientation! That night we were ready to sleep! Though Dang and I stayed up to watch some Thai TV-drama!Tuesday was workday #1. We had to wait for the tide, so we didn't leave until 8:30am. When the boat full of farang (foreigners) showed up at Bamboo Island, I think the village men were a bit bewildered, but some of them said hi to us! When we got to the school there were already a bunch of kids painting the first building a very bright shade of green. 
Thinking back, it is funny how shy the kids were at first. Dang told them that they couldn't group together and that at least 2 kids had to be with each farang so that way they could practice their English. The farang also practiced their Thai with their handy flip cards! Once the kids discovered that I could speak Thai, they warmed up pretty quickly. Our team was so good at just jumping in and interacting with them. Andrea Krause, our team nurse brought a hacky-sack with her, so she got a group of kids together to play that. 
Thinking back, it is funny how shy the kids were at first. Dang told them that they couldn't group together and that at least 2 kids had to be with each farang so that way they could practice their English. The farang also practiced their Thai with their handy flip cards! Once the kids discovered that I could speak Thai, they warmed up pretty quickly. Our team was so good at just jumping in and interacting with them. Andrea Krause, our team nurse brought a hacky-sack with her, so she got a group of kids together to play that. 
At first painting was pretty rough because they were thinning the paint with some pretty strong smelling thinners. 
I ended the day with a big headache, but we pushed through and still had fun. That afternoon the team had a chance to introduce themselves to the students and sing songs with them! After introductions, half of the team went to paint some more and then Kyle and Tom did an afternoon art camp. They were the two graphic artists from the team. The kids really enjoyed this a lot. I think the first day was a great introduction for the kids. By the end of the day they wanted to make sure that they would see us again the next day! We had to leave the school early because the solar eclipse was causing the tides to be really low. This picture shows how far down the water is. 
It's supposed to cover those roots as they are part of a mangrove forest!
I ended the day with a big headache, but we pushed through and still had fun. That afternoon the team had a chance to introduce themselves to the students and sing songs with them! After introductions, half of the team went to paint some more and then Kyle and Tom did an afternoon art camp. They were the two graphic artists from the team. The kids really enjoyed this a lot. I think the first day was a great introduction for the kids. By the end of the day they wanted to make sure that they would see us again the next day! We had to leave the school early because the solar eclipse was causing the tides to be really low. This picture shows how far down the water is. 
It's supposed to cover those roots as they are part of a mangrove forest!Day 2 and we were ready for another day of work. While we waited for the boat, Tom chased his wife Julie around with a dead eel. He got the nickname Dtoon-Dten which means excitement :D
This morning there was hardly anyone around, so Dang had to scrounge around for our paint brushes and paint. We discovered early that the new paint they brought was not the same shade as the paint we used the day before, but we used it anyway. The kids were much more interactive this day. 
Randy, the team leader brought some music with him so we were listening to some tunes. This day the area around the school flooded, which was cause for much excitement. All the kids decided to go swimming in the polluted water and catch mud-skippers for us to see. Mr. Excitement taught the kids how to dance the robot and Julie got quite a following as well. In the mean time Dang and Ba Nok (Carolyn) entertained the kids while dancing to the music. 
This day was sooooo fun! The kids just had a blast, and I'm pretty sure the adults did too! Our driver Amnot came to help that day too! Our lunch was the first time our team experienced Thai cooking a whole chicken and putting all of it in the curry. So watching them pick around the chicken feet was fun. That afternoon Lisa and Andrea talked about hygiene and Portillo's hot dogs! Well, Lisa talked about hot dogs and Chicago as part of a cultural exchange! In the afternoon the weather changed, so we hightailed it out of there to try to beat the storm. I say tried to because we got stuck in a downpour! Our team was so great though, because they looked at it as a unique experience and even a blessing because it made the temperature cooler! That day when I left the kids actually wouldn't let go of me and even tried to drag me back to the library! I knew then that I was at risk of being sad when I had to say goodbye at the end of the week. 
We went home and changed clothes and then headed to the Lutheran church at Takuapa. Kyle had the opportunity to share a short message with the church members there after we ate dinner with the members. 
This church was one of the first Lutheran churches in Thailand and founded by the father of one of the Lutheran leaders. He still lives there with his Thai wife, and in fact played the piano for us during our fellowship time.
Randy, the team leader brought some music with him so we were listening to some tunes. This day the area around the school flooded, which was cause for much excitement. All the kids decided to go swimming in the polluted water and catch mud-skippers for us to see. Mr. Excitement taught the kids how to dance the robot and Julie got quite a following as well. In the mean time Dang and Ba Nok (Carolyn) entertained the kids while dancing to the music. 
This day was sooooo fun! The kids just had a blast, and I'm pretty sure the adults did too! Our driver Amnot came to help that day too! Our lunch was the first time our team experienced Thai cooking a whole chicken and putting all of it in the curry. So watching them pick around the chicken feet was fun. That afternoon Lisa and Andrea talked about hygiene and Portillo's hot dogs! Well, Lisa talked about hot dogs and Chicago as part of a cultural exchange! In the afternoon the weather changed, so we hightailed it out of there to try to beat the storm. I say tried to because we got stuck in a downpour! Our team was so great though, because they looked at it as a unique experience and even a blessing because it made the temperature cooler! That day when I left the kids actually wouldn't let go of me and even tried to drag me back to the library! I knew then that I was at risk of being sad when I had to say goodbye at the end of the week. 
We went home and changed clothes and then headed to the Lutheran church at Takuapa. Kyle had the opportunity to share a short message with the church members there after we ate dinner with the members. 
This church was one of the first Lutheran churches in Thailand and founded by the father of one of the Lutheran leaders. He still lives there with his Thai wife, and in fact played the piano for us during our fellowship time. Day 3 we continued painting and interacting with the kids. The afternoon session, Andrea had a unique opportunity to share the Gospel very clearly with the kids there, so that was scary and exciting. By this day I had a little following of girls who hung around me pretty regularly. I really enjoyed the time I had with them. The field flooded even more today, which the kids of course enjoyed. That evening we took a trip to Phuket where we got pizza and some people shopped or got foot-massages. Me? I went to Starbucks. That is my oasis in this world and it's on every continent!
Day 4. Before heading to the island we took a side trip to "James Bond Island", so named because it's where the Man with the Golden Gun was filmed. I bought some pearls there which Dang informed me I was over priced for. I also collected some shells for my Grandma. After that we went to Koh Panyi where we met with the principal of the school there who showed us a presentation on how advanced the school is in using resources and educating their kids who live there. When we got to the school we had a sort of "closing" with the kids. Randy and his wife Barb did a presentation showing the students all the places they have been to visit on mission trips and then showed them where they are from in the US. Then we sang songs with the kids and presented them with their hygiene packs and art supplies.
To thank the team, the kids did a special performance which they choreographed themselves. They were all dressed really fancy and like attention starved kids that they were wanted to make sure that they looked beautiful. It was so fun, but also sad. My group of girls clung to me. It's funny because they were so distant at first and then one on impulse gave me a hug but wasn't sure how I would respond to it. There was a pause in the group, but when I hugged her back, then the whole group of them dove on me. It was the strangest thing, almost like they had never been hugged before or maybe it wasn't permitted. I don't know. Anyway, the kids took us to visit their homes before we left. It was nice to get to meet their parents and see where they live. I ended up getting a ton of little gifts, including a silver heart necklace that one of the girls gave me. Her name is Yaa and she made me promise to never forget her. I can not wait to go back.
To thank the team, the kids did a special performance which they choreographed themselves. They were all dressed really fancy and like attention starved kids that they were wanted to make sure that they looked beautiful. It was so fun, but also sad. My group of girls clung to me. It's funny because they were so distant at first and then one on impulse gave me a hug but wasn't sure how I would respond to it. There was a pause in the group, but when I hugged her back, then the whole group of them dove on me. It was the strangest thing, almost like they had never been hugged before or maybe it wasn't permitted. I don't know. Anyway, the kids took us to visit their homes before we left. It was nice to get to meet their parents and see where they live. I ended up getting a ton of little gifts, including a silver heart necklace that one of the girls gave me. Her name is Yaa and she made me promise to never forget her. I can not wait to go back.Our team members from Palatine were Randy and Barb Gray, Tom and Julie Zehner, Carolyn Latas, Andrea Krause, and Lisa and Kyle Johanson. My they are such wonderful people. As Carolyn said, they are my "forever" friends. We may never know what seeds were planted, but I pray that they would grow and grow!
