Sabbath
Teacher welcomes everyone to Sabbath at 7 PM on Friday night. After many hymns and some preaching / bible stories, each person is expected to perform individually or as part of a group.
Most chose to perform with a group and were accompanied by the guitarist. Tonight brought a new twist- Pa So (who has a beautiful voice and cooks, cleans and cares for the infants day and night) , Mo Mo Say and Mu Mu Po sang and were accompanied by Chom on the piano keyboard. Jane and I sang “Amazing Grace” accompanied by a recorded piano version on the keyboard. Chom also sang a song in English , “He will show me the way when it seems there is no way…”(the only thing in the entire service that we understood aside from “Amazing Grace”).
Several groups of boys sang a song that seemed to have profound meaning for them. It is about asking God to provide guidance for us so we can lead a good life and be a good example for others. They sang with reverence and feeling that told me they really felt the words they were singing. They seem to feel honored and privileged to share this song with their brothers and sisters. They have all lost their previous life and now have found a new life here at Safe Haven. Amazingly, no one acts like they got a raw deal. This new life fills them with joy.
Balloon Project
When the kids get home from school about 4:30, Jane works with Ganika on English and I sometimes supervise an art project for the younger kids. We had planned to decorate balloons and all of the kids were excited to get a balloon to blow up. It quickly turned in to a big game of “Punch the balloon to keep it in the air” -15 kids with balloons laughing and jumping around in the sand in front of the church. Several of the big boys (who usually don’t get to participate because they work in the garden after school) saw all the fun and stopped to get their balloons. They quickly decorated with simple art and one drew on his balloon a broken heart with an arrow going through it. Inside the heart he wrote “I love Big Mum (Tasanee)”.
Another boy also drew a heart and wrote “ I miss you”. When I asked who it was he missed,
he said, “You.” It might have been his way of saying “Thank You“--Valentine heart style.
Visitors
Visitors from Canada stopped by the orphanage and brought a couple of tins of huge cookies for the kids. As the children arrived home from school each one stopped , placed palms together, feet together, and briefly bowed their head before greeting each visitor with“Sawadee Crop” (boys) or “Sawadee Kaa” (girls). A line quickly formed and each child was allowed to take as many cookies as they wanted. Some walked off with their shirts acting as a basket to cradle as many as eight or ten. A bit later Jane and I were both offered cookies by kids that wanted to share their treasure (or were they just learning that their eyes were bigger than their stomachs?).
Songs
We are recognizing a few songs. They use very few of the songs we are familiar with. Today we recognized the music (but none of the words) to “The Old Rugged Cross”, “Tell Me The Story Of Jesus”, “How Great Thou Art”, and “Praise God From Whom All Blessings Flow…” I think we failed at teaching “ Because He Lives I Can Face Tomorrow”. No one has mentioned it for several days. Jane also asked about the Lord’s Prayer where we ask God for our daily bread…they get daily rice around here! Also true for most of the rest of the world.
