So I looked back in my journal and compiled a few entries that would be sufficient in updating you all about things that have happened since my last blog, which was quite a while ago…I know. These are moments that I learned from and some other fun times that I will never forget from this holiday season!
December 14th:
Journal Entry: “I taught the review part of English and it almost made me cry when Non remembered the past and future tenses for the verbs we taught the boys. It was great to see him trying and paying attention.”
I remember this day clearly because a lot of times we have gone to class and seen nothing really “stick.” We have found it sort of frustrating to teach them, but we continually tell ourselves that the real reason we are here is to love them and show them Jesus. It’s a great attitude to have for your life or missions in general. It isn’t my job to change them or make them “better people.” It is my job to love and let the Holy Spirit do the rest!
December 18th:
Journal Entry: “We had church this morning and then a great time of lunch and fellowship with the people here. We also made ornaments with the girls, which turned out to be good. I felt like my mom for sure as I gathered all the girls to have them come sit and paint these ornaments. They got a little creative with them and even Patcha was smiling and made hers into a snowman.”
This has been one of the great times I just got to hang out with most of the girls and some of them can speak pretty good English so I was able to ask them questions about themselves and get to know them more. This day was also the day I witnessed Patcha smiling and having fun with what she was doing. Ususally she isn't smiling with us. I hope that through these last days I have with the girls that I can continue to see Jesus fill Patcha up with joy!
December 22nd:
Christmas time was here, yet it didn’t feel like it. None of us were doing the usually Christmas cooking or parties with family and friends. On this day it really hit me how much I missed being home during this time. I went to Wawee Coffee (pretty much like Starbucks) with Angela so we could do our quiet times with the Jesus. As I sat I realized that it was maybe the first time I had truly been alone, not just in the room on my own couch, but really with the Lord and seeking Him. In that moment I realized that it wasn’t just my family or friends at home I missed, but I missed those intimate times with Jesus. I feel like this time was very much needed and reminded me just how beautiful Jesus is and how much He loves me NO MATTER WHAT! He loves me 100% how I am right now. He doesn’t care if I don’t plan on even getting closer to Him or where I go, HE LOVES ME.
December 23rd:
We went caroling for 5 HOURS! I had a blast with all the Abba House girls, Laa, and the guys dancing and singing and spreading Christmas joy!
December 24th:
We had 2 services this day, one for the friends of the girls and an adult service at night. This brought in over 200 people in throughout the day. It was great to celebrate Jesus’ birth with them all and tell them about Jesus, the real reason for the season!
This is Chain, Angela and I putting the top on the Christmas tree
as we set up for the services we had over the Christmas weekend.
December 25th:
Happy Birthday Jesus! Our family woke up early and opened presents together. We did a secret Santa amongst ourselves and filled each other’s stockings with candy. It was great to have a family here to share Christmas with. It was a great blessing to be able to see my family back home on skype though too!
Later we had dinner with everyone here and sang together. We exchanged gifts with everyone. Our team put together a medley of Christmas songs; the girls and guys had some presentations of the nativity story that turned out to be pretty hilarious. Overall Christmas was different, but turned out to be great to spend it here in Thailand!
December 27th:
Journal Entry: “The coolest thing happened yesterday. I heard someone calling my name while I was lying in my hammock. I turned around and asked Bia if she heard that, but she said no. Later I was lying in my bed and I heard someone call my name again yet not one of the girls in my room had any idea what I was talking about. Mae just goes, “You need to go talk to Jesus.” So I went out to the pond area here at Abba House to see what God had to tell me. I clearly heard him speak to me and comfort me as I cried…”
I hadn’t really cried at all for a while and I needed to be called to this time to let out my emotions. I needed to take my feelings seriously and stop pretending things were okay as they were. It was good to tell God how I felt and to just be brought back into that place of peace and reassurance that He was with me wherever I was at.
December 31st:
Here’s a quick run down of this day…
Just an amazing day here in Thailand…. fried some chicken. Took a trip to Chiang Mai zoo with the Abba House girls and Laa. Took a nap. Sweet and sour chicken for dinner. Random dance party. Watched Avatar. Made s'mores. Fireworks next door. Filled the sky with paper lanterns. HAPPY NEW YEAR! God is so good. 🙂
As our team set off a lantern together, we let go of our stress and frustrations. We started laughing about it, but in all seriousness I feel like a lot was let go from that night. We were looking forward into our last week here and a whole new year to serve the Kingdom of God!
I apologize for the length, but I thought y'all would need an update! I hope that everyone had a great Christmas and New Years! Please keep my team in your prayers as we hope to end well here at Abba House. Thanks so much for your support. Love you all!
To see more awesome pictures from the lanterns and also pictures of all the boys we teach check out Angela's photo blog! http://www.photoblog.com/Angelasue
