The last two days of service have been my best so far here. It started quietly enough - myself and three of my Thai friends went out to a red light district to hang out with street kids, only to find our friend we wanted to meet asleep at a storefront. "Plan B" was just to hang out across the street until he woke up. It was oddly peaceful - I just sat on a bench praying for the people who walked by. Interesting people pass by in a red light district, many showing some aspect of their prayer needs right on the surface, though all have needs apparent only to those who get to know them. We went on like that for quite some time, just sitting and silently praying.
As the night got late our friend woke up and came over to join us. Two of the Thai friends I had come with bantered with him while I hung back, but soon enough another one of our street friends joined us, and her and I settled in for some games of tic-tac-toe, drawing, and English letter practice on my whiteboard. It was my most satisfying moment in three weeks, mostly because I felt accepted and blessed by the interaction, knowing that she was willing to be my friend. We can't yet communicate much verbally as we are both still weak in our newly shared 2nd/3rd language, but we could tell that each other was having fun, and that's what mattered.
Soon two more "farangs", another Thai friend from our group and another friend from the streets showed up. Then several more street kids found us and we had a near-party on our hands. We grabbed some treats, shared them and played around in the midst of all the weirdness that is the red lights. Though a couple of the boys got a little rambunctious, we had fun, and despite not returning home until after midnight I still felt full of energy.
The next day picked up where we left off with the opening of a little drop-in center we're starting up for those same kids. We were disorganized on day one, but we'll learn and grow. We started out with lunch, did an art project, and played some games while making nametags and messing with the alphabets a little. Only a few kids were there for most of it, but a couple more came late and we pray it will grow a little with word-of-mouth. In our next session (later this week) we'll incorporate Thai and English literacy lessons along with the art and games, and we'll see what happens from there. It's new territory and we're trying to keep expectations low and flexibility high. Our first objective is just that the kids can have fun, and if God can use us to help them process something or expand their opportunities along the way, then we will engage that chance with joy.
And joy is what I got to have in those interactions. It's only a small start, but I am grateful for that blessing and pray for many more such blessings to come, God willing.
As the night got late our friend woke up and came over to join us. Two of the Thai friends I had come with bantered with him while I hung back, but soon enough another one of our street friends joined us, and her and I settled in for some games of tic-tac-toe, drawing, and English letter practice on my whiteboard. It was my most satisfying moment in three weeks, mostly because I felt accepted and blessed by the interaction, knowing that she was willing to be my friend. We can't yet communicate much verbally as we are both still weak in our newly shared 2nd/3rd language, but we could tell that each other was having fun, and that's what mattered.
Soon two more "farangs", another Thai friend from our group and another friend from the streets showed up. Then several more street kids found us and we had a near-party on our hands. We grabbed some treats, shared them and played around in the midst of all the weirdness that is the red lights. Though a couple of the boys got a little rambunctious, we had fun, and despite not returning home until after midnight I still felt full of energy.
The next day picked up where we left off with the opening of a little drop-in center we're starting up for those same kids. We were disorganized on day one, but we'll learn and grow. We started out with lunch, did an art project, and played some games while making nametags and messing with the alphabets a little. Only a few kids were there for most of it, but a couple more came late and we pray it will grow a little with word-of-mouth. In our next session (later this week) we'll incorporate Thai and English literacy lessons along with the art and games, and we'll see what happens from there. It's new territory and we're trying to keep expectations low and flexibility high. Our first objective is just that the kids can have fun, and if God can use us to help them process something or expand their opportunities along the way, then we will engage that chance with joy.
And joy is what I got to have in those interactions. It's only a small start, but I am grateful for that blessing and pray for many more such blessings to come, God willing.
1 comment:
Thank you for sharing. It helps us see in another part of God's world.
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