Brownies in Thailand

To some, our work today would have seemed pointless and a waste of time. However, I feel like it was some of the best things we have done here so far. Today was not part of our original plan. When we stopped by the secondary school last week to invite students to the ESL Camp, the English teachers, many of whom speak very little English, (they know the grammar, haven't had much experience in actually speaking) asked us to come today and Tuesday to speak English for their students and engage them in some conversation. This was a challenge as they combined their classes into groups of as many as 190 at one time! We did break them into groups of 40-50. I mentioned to one of my team mates that I missed the kids from camp. But unfortunately, I didn't see any of them. We were pleased to come. We first met with the principal, and then the classes. The kids were sweet but very shy, and only a handful seemed to want to take a chance in speaking English with us. We played a little Simon Says, Who Am I and told them a Bible story and then asked them basic comprehension questions.

It seemed like every time we turned around they were offering us something to eat or drink. It has been like that since we arrived in Thailand. I learned a new phrase that I have used often-- “Ihm,” which means I am full, and I have used the other similar phrase a couple times as well-- “Ihm lao,” which means I am totally full and have no room for anything else! When we arrived and spoke with the principal, they brought us water and coffee, when we went to the classes they gave us coffee and cookies, and when we were done, they fed us a huge lunch spread – all within a period of 3 hours, only 4.5 hours past breakfast. There was a wide variety of things presented. Some of which I dared not try. I am glad I didn't as I found out later the dish that scared me the most was chicken feet and jelly fish stir-fry! I have to admit I am growing weary of trying new stuff. We went out to eat tonight and I asked if the restaurant had chicken fried steak and mashed potatoes (in jest of course), On was sweet and ordered for us and everything was fabulous and more close to what you might get in an Asian restaurant in the US.

During the afternoon, the guys stayed behind and got some much needed down time, and then scouted out some future possibilities for lodging in the future. The ladies went to the village to do spa treatments for the ladies there. They washed and massaged feet and gave manicures and pedicures. The village ladies were treated like queens and it meant so much to them.

Today was about earning some brownie points. We served people today, and it was good. I know because of what we did today, we could come back and tell the folks about Christ and it would be well received. Today was what I would call preparing the soil for seed to be sown in the future. It was time well spent, and we will do some more tomorrow. Our time here is drawing near to an end.