Stepping out...

I returned from Thailand to Colorado Springs August 20th. I was planning on going to community college immediately after returning home to Virginia, on August 29th. However, during the last couple of days in Thailand, I began to question going back to community college after arriving home. I began to feel very unsettled about it, and I started to pray, asking God if I was making the right choice, or if I should explore other options. If I wasn’t going to go to community college, I had no idea what I would do.
On our last day in Thailand, I received an email from a man in Slovakia, who was the one who had showed me the video of the DTS about a year and a half ago. He told me that they were running a DTS on September 15, and were absolutely desperate for another female staff member. I immediately became so excited, and I truly wanted to do it. After thinking and praying about it for several days, I decided that yes, I was going to jump in and go to Europe.
I came home and visited with family and friends for about 11 days. This was a very refreshing time, and it went by in such a blur. I was busy reconnecting with supporters and friends, trying to unpack from Thailand and pack for Slovakia, but at the same time rest and relax. It was a rushed time, but just long enough so that I could see everybody I wanted to, and short enough so that I didn’t get comfortable being at home.

So, on September 10th, I flew to Bratislava, Slovakia. After about 27 hours of travelling (which actually wasn’t too bad compared to flying to Thailand), I arrived in my final destination: Banska Bystrica. I was picked up at the bus station by the leader of the school, Ad de Bruin. Ad and his family welcomed me into their home for the night, and made me immediately feel appreciated and loved. The next couple of days were a blur; we were trying to get everything ready in the apartments we were staying at, adjusting to the time difference, trying to learn my way around town, going shopping for groceries, learning a few useful phrases in Slovak, and meeting some of the students and staff. It was a very challenging couple of days.
On September 15, the school started. Ever since then, I have had a rigorous schedule of having a worship time in the mornings from 9-10, having class from 10-1, lunch from 1-2, small groups from 2-3, staff meeting from 4-6, dinner from 6-7, and either intercession and outreach prep from 7-9, or local outreach or open meetings. Obviously, days have been flying by and have been quite exhausting. But the group is really beginning to bond, and I am really excited about being a part of their lives and watching them change and grow closer to God as I continue on the journey that began during my DTS of having an intimate relationship with God.
This experience so far has been absolutely crazy. There have been moments when I wonder why on earth I flew half way across the world after being home for only 11 days. There have been moments when I wonder if I will be happy here, if I am actually doing God’s will. There have been many times when I have felt insecure, unqualified, and unsure of myself.
But then there are other moments that overcome all the negative feelings and insecurities. God has been my comfort, God has been my Dad, God has been my best friend during these times. I am learning to talk with Him when I wake up in the morning, all during the day, and when I go to bed at night. I am learning to hear his voice clearly, and to act upon it. I am being forced to receive rest and strength exclusively from Him. And the more I rely on Him, the deeper I fall in love with Him and I desire to know Him more and be used by Him more. Maybe it’s good that I don’t feel that I can do this; it means that He will.

Neverending Love

SAFEHOUSE

Another ministry we had was taking care of 2 3-year olds during the day. Sia, the head of compasio, had adopted 6 children off of the streets. Their parents forced them to beg so that they could bring home money. When they failed to bring home enough money, they would not be allowed to sleep at home and slept under the 7-11. Sia took them in, is giving them food and clothing, a safe place to stay, as well as an education. The 4 older ones went to school during the days, and we took care of the two youngest, Ali and Jamiyla. Our team absolutely fell in love with them, but it was heartbreaking knowing that they had been sleeping on the streets only a few weeks before. However, it was so encouraging knowing that we were making a difference in Thailand. We were loving children that had previously not recieved love.

STREET MINISTRY

My favorite ministry was one that we didn't start until the close of our stay in Mae Sot. At the end of our trip, once we had adapted to the culture and food and were ready for more projects, we began to do street ministry. During the afternoons, we went to the marketplace, found beggar children and played with them and fed them. I absolutely fell in love with three siblings: Kimboye, Nissau, and Teddi. They connected so well with our whole group. It was so obvious that they were starved for love, and were desperate for attention. But at the same time, they excuded such joy in everything they did; if it was playing hide and go seek behind cars, or giving us a back massage, they were giggling and loving us being there with them. They are very close to my heart, and I miss them dearly.

BAMBOO CLASSROOM

After we were finished with the tire playground, we began what we originally thought we would be doing: building a classroom! It was extremely hard building a classroom without modern tools and equipment. We nailed eucalyptis together, and we tied on a thatch roof on by hand, while balancing about 10 feet above the ground. We also mixed the cement by hand, which definitely made me appreciate cement mixers back in the United States! Several times during the building process, the supplies would be dumped about 200 feet from the construction sight, so we would have to carry sand and gravel by hand in buckets...a very time consuming and tiring process. Some of the kids at the school would pick up the buckets and started to help us...it was the cutest thing!

We finished building it, and we were so excited to see the blessing that we knew it would bring to the overcrowed classes and stressed teachers.

Thailand 2008

We began our journey to Thailand on June 26, at 5 AM. Several of our flights were delayed, but by the grace of God, we made every single one. About 30 hours later, we arrived in Bangkok and crashed in our hotel. After a short time of orientation to Thailand culture and language in Bangkok, we took an 8 hour bus ride to Mae Sot, a small border town about 10 minutes away from Burma. We had several projects going on during our time in Mae Sot.


First, we were building a playground out of tires for a school for Burmese children. This project was challenging, but so rewarding for several reasons. The man we were working with, Marcus, was experimenting with building huge structures with tires, and we took apart most of what we built. But after we had completed several structures, it was incredibly rewarding to see children playing on the tires we had already constructed.

Our team grew together while working with the tires; although at times, we certainly got frustrated with eachother, we learned to accomplish huge tasks and great achievements that were only possible through teamwork.

Not only were we able to be a blessing to the children by building a place where they could run around and play, we were also able to be a witness to some of the people we were working with. Marcus, the man who was the leader of the project, had been a Christian, but was not walking with the Lord and was searching spiritually. Kat, a volunteer from Australia was also definitely not a Christian, but very open to listening to our stories and our beliefs. Rob, a fellow from Britain, had his own beliefs, but was still open to hang out with us and listen to us. Because of these unique opportunites Christ provided, we were able to be an example of true Christianity to them; we loved them no matter what they had done or who they were.

Our second ministry was working with New Day School, a primary school for Burmese children. We were able to simply play with the kids through out the school day, teach very elementary English, and we even fed them lunch. It was heartbreaking because we knew that lunchtime might be some of these kids only meal; at the same time, it was so lifegiving because we were able to love on the kids and show Jesus's love to them.