Ministry.

So I’m going to jump in right where I left off last time.

We started our Ministry work here in Thailand. Myself along with 5 other people started working with an orphanage. It was the best decision I could have ever made; well, that God ever made. Those children are so beautiful. There are 8 children that we worked with every day. They all speak English and have been brought up in a Christian house hold. They had time off of school so our days were filled with games, laughter, and a lot of playing tag.

On Friday, we spent working on a dance for their Church. BMK is amazing amd made up a simple but great dance for them to perform at their New Years Eve party at their church. A couple of us went to watch it that Saturday night. We had grilled meat and sticky rice (I have developed a love for sticky rice!!) and had a lot of fun playing with the children. It was fun to spend time with the kids outside of their house. After the kids performed their dance our translator, Peng, and I went to the city center to try and find the rest of our team. I really wanted to bring in the New Year with my new family. We first found part of our group doing ministry and then the second part that was out found us 5 minutes later. It was the best New Years ever. There were fireworks going off everywhere, lanterns filled the sky, and a lot of laughter. It was the perfect way to start the new year- simply magical.

Sunday we had another day off and I spent the day at Starbucks (obvi) and in the night market. God is using my time at Starbucks to talk to me a lot lately and I love it.
On Monday our school leaders joined us here in Thailand. I was really excited to have them come meet us; I didn’t really know either of them so it was fun to be able to get to know them a little more. The rest of the week was filled yet again with tag, movies, and games with the kids. Sadly, they had to go to school on Wednesday. On Tuesday we ended our day with them playing soccer. Most of you who know me know I am sports challenged. And yet, I was the goalie and blocked every shot. I was so proud of myself! Since the kids were in school, Wednesday and Thursday we helped out with practical work around the house. We cleaned the walls, filled the sand box, painted furniture, and weeded their garden. It was nice to be able to practically help them out when they couldn’t do it themselves.

Friday we spent the day as a team praying for the kids and the home. It was really nice to be able to intercede for them and pray for their future. We also planned an activity for Saturday because it was our last day with them. And it was so much fun! One of my teammates has a Polaroid camera so we asked him to come with us to take pictures of the kids. They loveeeed him. Saturday morning we girls watched the kids climb on him, run after him, and punch him- It was so entertaining. After lunch we started our project- time capsules. We decorated boxes and added Polaroids of each of the kids, toys, clothes, and letters we wrote for them. It was so fun to watch them get involved and excited for their boxes. We told them they couldn’t open it until they were 18 and many of them cried, “I’m 18 now!” It was the perfect way to end our ministry with them.

Sunday was another good day spent in Starbucks! I spent some time alone with God and then my friend from the orphanage met up with me and we walked around the market. It was a good afternoon spent here in Thailand.

Monday we had the opportunity to pray again for our ministries as finished our time with them. I love those kids so much; I pray that God uses them every day for his purpose and that they are open to it. We had team time Monday night because Tuesday we are splitting up. My plans were to go to Cambodia but through a process and a lot of talking I changed teams. I am now on the Thailand team. God has been giving me a heart for this country and I’m excited to serve Him here. We are not quite sure what is happening but I’m excited to see what He has in store for my team.

So here I sit, ready for what is to come next. My team is splitting up tonight and that makes me sad but I know that God has AMAZING things planned for each person. I’m not sure what the internet situation is going to be like these next two weeks but I’ll try to update when I can.

I love you all,

Hannah

Prayer requests: We need finances. God has provided already in crazy ways and we know that He will continue to provide. But if y’all could pray for that, it’d be great :)