Christmas Beach and Bus Adventures

getting their feet wet

The competition was held only about half an hour away from the beach. So, the students were told if they did a good job and the teachers had a good feeling about their performance they would take them to the beach. Many students had never been that far away from home and had never seen the beach, so it was a special treat for them. We got there and the teachers said they could have half an hour but not get their clothes wet. These students aren’t really shy and they often wear two or three layers of clothes, so most had changed out of their school uniforms on the bus. I hadn’t realized this, so was amazed when they all had on normal clothes when we got off the bus. We went down to the water, and they waded to their knees. I rolled up my pant legs and joined them. I’m a firm believer that you should never pass up an opportunity to put your legs in the water. We talked and took pictures, and many of them did end up getting a little wet despite the teacher’s instructions… Many of them had brought water bottles down to the water and were filling them to take back as presents, and for people to use as medicine I think for open sores or something like that.

enjoying the beach with a studetn

As it was time to go a lady came around and was selling trees and birds made out of shells. Many of the students stopped to buy them, and as I was walking by one of the sixth grade boys held up a bird and said he was going to buy it for me for Christmas. It wasn’t really that cute at all, and I couldn’t tell if he was serious or not, so I tried to tell him not to waste his money, but he handed the lady the money and then gave it to me. I then had the task of finding a place to keep it safe on the bus and now trying to figure out what to do as a thank you for him as I know he is from a home so probably could have used the money for something for himself, but chose to buy a shell turkey/peacock thing for me instead.

collecting salt water to take home

We all loaded back onto the bus and headed for our next stop, the main city of Kanchanaburi and a stop at the Tesco Lotus(a store similar to Wal-Mart or Meijer). I slept for the first hour or so, but then woke up and was thinking about it being Christmas and being away from home. Everyone in the seats in front, next to and behind me were sleeping, so I had no one to talk to and felt very alone on Christmas. I may have shed a few tears before praying and thanking God for the opportunity to return to Thailand, for the connections I’ve made with teachers and students so quickly, and asking Him to continue to bless my time

on of my favorite students who I found out is an orphan

here and that I could make a difference in the lives of those I’m working with. I made a shopping list of the things that I wanted to buy that I can’t get where I am, such as ground cinnamon, tea, popcorn, syrup, pancake mix, peanut butter, and jelly, and things for my Christmas presents, a blender, and a sandwich maker. When we got to the store the teachers said we had half an hour. I wasn’t sure how I was going to find everything in half an hour, so I hurried into the store, used the bathroom then grabbed a cart and went on a search for the things on my list. After quickly picking out a sandwich maker and a blender without really looking at them I started searching for the

of course I needed a pic of my feet in the water

other things I wanted. I went up and down most of the rows only finding popcorn and was getting a little worried when I got to the second to last row and found where they had all of the foreign type things and pretty much checked off everything on my list except tea which I then found pretty easily. I even found things that I wanted that weren’t on the list I made on the bus. As I checked out it felt so good to be buying things that I can use to make food from home for myself and for others. It’s amazing how just a few simple things can make life in remote Thailand seem more manageable. Now having cinnamon, syrup and vanilla I can easily buy bread, eggs and milk and make French toast. Having a sandwich maker and cinnamon I can easily buy apples, bread, and sugar and make apple pie. A home just doesn’t feel like a home without a jar of peanut butter in the cupboard. Black tea bags are good for those days you just want a plain cup of tea before school, after school, or before bed. MERRY CHRISTMAS to me I felt like saying as I walked out of the store with all of my new purchases.

pretending to drink the salt water

The rest of the way home was going to take around 3-4 hours. I knew that I couldn’t handle sitting at the front of the bus with all of the people who were sleeping for that long without getting homesick. So, when they were getting ready to leave I got on the back of the bus and stood in the aisle and talked and joked with the students in the back the rest of the way home. There were several that I hadn’t really had a chance to get to know yet, so it was good that I could talk with them. After talking with me for a while one of the older boys told me he had to go to sleep because he was Superman and that soon

buying things made of shells

people would start calling him to go and help them. I had been wearing my headband that has a little silver hat on top, so for a while boys who had bought hats on the trip would trade with me and we took pictures with them wearing my headband and I wearing their hat. Some of them were cold, so I went to my backpack and got out my two scarves, and two blankets and they were taking turns using them. As it got dark outside, many of them went to sleep, and I found myself talking with one of the boys that God has really put on my heart lately. He told me that we were nearing his house. Knowing that he stays at one of the homes I asked about his family and if he was

the back of the bus

going to go home for summer break. I then watched as this 14 year old boy almost shed a tear explaining that he had never known his father and that his mom had died when he was eight. However, he said he would never forget where his house was that he had grown up in. Having started the conversation we kept talking about how he went to live in the home with his two younger brothers (who are 8 and 9) that he feels responsible for taking care of. How at his old school he had been in third grade and when he came to our school they put him in Kindergarten and I now forget the sequence of how he progressed month by month through the grades but he ended up

trading hats

doing at least third grade again, and maybe second grade which is why he’s older for a sixth grader. After hearing his story my heart aches for him because he is such a good kid despite all of the obstacles he has faced, and I know that as he grows up he will continue to face obstacles being an orphan and feeling responsible for his two younger brothers. There is a part of me that wants to take the three of them into my home and raise them, but right now I’m not sure how practical that is, and if it’s a part of God’s plan. We’ll see, only time will tell. Soon after we passed the road he said his house was on we stopped at the gas station/7-11 which is the last stop before starting the climb into the mountains where you go miles without seeing a house, where there are signs that say to use the lowest gear possible because of how steep the road is. When on road trips with students every time you stop at a 7-11 no matter what time of day it is they think they have to eat ramen noodles. Here, they sell them in a cup, and there is always a hot water machine that you use to fill the

the boy has my scarf on as a headband, and the girl and I
traded hats, quite the game we had and lots of trouble getting
the pics to turn out

cup with hot water and then the noodles cook themselves. So, after using the bathroom and buying their ramen noodles we got back on the bus and I ended up sitting with another student. Somehow we got onto the subject of his life story as he lives in a different children’s home. He has a mother in Burma who sent him to the home because his father had died and when she got a new husband he said they couldn’t afford to keep the boy. As I hear more and more stories like this from different students I can’t help but imagine what it must feel like as the child who gets sent away. Whose parents can’t afford to take care of them, or who feel unwanted. How much hurt is there in their lives at such a young age? How

7-11 stop means it's time to eat Ramen Noodles anytime day or night

 many of them have experienced true hunger with nothing to eat? How many of them have already had the responsibility of taking care of their families or siblings? How many of them will really make it to finish high school? What will they do for work if they don’t? What will they do for work if they do? Will they go to college? What plans does God have for their lives? Of this I’m sure of the answer, He will use them to do incredible things if they are open and willing to hear His call. When we were 15 kilometers away from the bigger town near us the boy and I started a game of guessing how many mountains there were left to go up and down before we reached the town. We spent the rest of the time counting and joking as he kept changing his answer when we got past the number he had guessed.

I love how happy he looks with his Ramen Noodles. So funny.

We got to the school around 10:30, the teachers waited for most of the students to go home, and the few that were left said they had a ride coming before we left to go to our houses and go to bed. As I laid down to go to sleep I reflected over the day, over the conversations I’d had, over the things I learned about the students, the jokes we made, the wonderful sound of their voices singing at the competition, the feel of the water on my feet and the sand in my toes. Sure, it is always hard to be away on special holidays. However, I’m very fortunate to be here with these students and teachers. I found myself thanking God for the opportunity to be living here, doing life with them, learning from them, serving them, and loving them more and more each day.

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!