Thailand #20

Pecan Roll:
One of my favorite treats as a kid was a pecan roll. I’d always start by eating the outside of the spiral…it was so good because it was the first bites…but the more I nibbled my way to the center spiral…the better it tasted. I remember savoring that final center bite. Being here is like eating a pecan roll. The first few days were a treat being new and exciting but as the days go by…and I learn more…the richer & better it gets.


School Visit:
We always love visiting schools & so we hopped on the bike and rode to the school that our kids attend. Just inside the gate was a small building--I figured guard--wrong. It was a barber shop. Not sure if that meant they had a short hair policy or if it was just handy to be there. We managed to find someone who spoke enough English to give us permission to visit the classrooms. Neat bulletin boards, wooden desks, blackboards & about 40 kids in each class greeted us with giggles & snickers. The teachers were enthusiastic & let us participate. In some classrooms, we sang Itsy, Bitsy Spider…others we read aloud in their textbook & the higher English class was doing a dance--Right, Left, Forward, Backward, and Spin & Jump--so we did. The teacher was projecting a program that illustrated the movements & each kid wore a headphone which I assume was saying the words in English. Anyways, it was fun. Each time we found one of our students, we could sense their happiness at seeing us.


Big PJ Party:
Many nights I visit the girls’ dorm and it takes me back (way back) to my middle/high school PJ party days. The girls are doing each other’s hair, putting on make up, laughing at pictures in a book & generally having a good time. Last night, they were “doing up MooMooPu”. Bright red lipstick & rouge, black eyelids, Cleopatra eyes, & backcombed hair with fresh flowers. I have been the center of several of these make up sessions. Imagine, spending every night with your friends. So often I see them walking arm & arm, sharing laughs. Though it pains me to think they don’t have their parents…at least they have each other & of course, Big Mama (Tasanee).


Saturday Company:
Tasanee invited her brother’s family to church today…His family included his wife, 9 daughters, mother, aunt, and about 40 kids he cares for (at the Safe Haven Learning Center which is where we dropped food & blankets that first week). Church started up shortly after they arrived…but didn’t end shortly after. Singing, preaching, singing, bible reading, singing and more singing filled up over two hours. Lunch was then served to all--guest first. As usual, Rog & I didn’t know what the game plan was for the day, so about 1 we set out some art supplies. Ever seen flies on honey??? Two hours later, people started gathering at the church again, so we did a quick clean up & back to church. More singing…one time with Tasanee’s brother playing chords on the piano, preaching, singing, etc…just under two hours. Then back to the art projects until dinner…again for all…and with cookies too. Soccer was next with the big guys playing on one end & the younger boys on the other. Didn’t seem to matter that they often mingled & most were playing on the cement surface barefooted. Around 7, about half jumped in the back of the truck & Chom drove them home & then came back for the rest. Now that’s what you call “Having company for the day.”

Catholic Church:
We finally got around to stopping by the Catholic Church. We met a young girl & older couple all from France. The young girl was working for an NGO evidently checking up on their donated funds & teaching English. The older couple was making furniture for the church & for small villages the priest visits. The grounds housed kids from the small villages too far for the kids to walk to daily. The whole place was quite upscale--compared to Safe Haven. Church had woven roof with carved trim, teak flooring, colored windows & several nice statues. We were surprised that no one there even knew about Safe Haven. We found out what time church was (not that going to church everyday at Safe Haven wasn’t enough) & on Sunday arrived to see all the girls dressed in gorgeous white Karen gowns worn by those not yet married. Their mother’s had woven them. It made me sad to think of all the girls at Safe Haven that did not have a mother to sew them a gown.

Thailand #19

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.