These past 5 weeks in Thailand have been truly wonderful. I
have grown so much in my faith and as a person, and it’s awesome. I can honestly say that no other experience
in my life has impacted me this much! Words cannot express how sad I am that I
have only one more week here, but I am very excited to come home so I can pour
out all the knowledge and wisdom I have attained. There is so much I want to
share that I probably will explode with excitement as I am telling it all. My
advice: be prepared to have your mind blown! Ha.
Well, a lot has gone on since my last blog. So much that it
would take me weeks just to write it all down. Therefore, I am just going to
tell you all about these past few days. On Thursday night, Brandon Hathcock and
all of the interns, with the exception of Shelby and I, traveled to the Burma
border to visit a Karen orphanage for the weekend. Shelby and I decided to stay
behind because we were going to visit an orphanage here in Bangkok. On Thursday
night, Crystal Hathcock and I went to do bar outreach while Shelby babysat
little Tobin. Unfortunately, the bars were closed that night due to it being a
Buddhist holiday so Crystal and I got some dinner and then headed back to her
apartment. This coming up Thursday I will be going back to the bars so please be praying for
that! Shelby and I stayed the night at Crystal’s and it was so much fun. We
talked for hours about everything on our minds and it honestly made me so much
more grateful for our wonderful missionaries here in BKK. Their hearts for the
Lord and His people are amazing!
On Friday morning, Shelby and I went with Jennifer McCaman to
visit the orphanage here in BKK. After an hour of searching for the orphanage,
we finally found it in a secluded area of the city. Before I start talking
about my experience, I am going to give you a little background on the
orphanage. It only houses up to 12 kids at a time and their ages range from 3 months
to 17 months. The majority of the time the mothers drop off the babies/children
because they either do not want them or cannot take care of them. The mothers
can visit their children every 3 months and still have the right to take them
back unless the child has been at the orphanage for a year. After a year, the
orphanage has full custody of the child and starts the adoption process in
which every child is normally adopted before the age of two. When we got to the
orphanage, there were only two workers and one volunteer for eight little children.
Immediately we found ourselves head over heels in love with their sweet faces
and loving personalities. They ran to our arms when they saw us and did not
leave our sides until it was time for a nap. I fell in love with a little boy
named Nawin and he definitely was the stinker of the bunch. He was so playful
and energetic and always getting into something he shouldn’t be in. He hungered
for my affection and while I was elated to give it, it also broke my heart because
I knew the reasoning behind his hunger. He, like the other nine children in
the orphanage, has never felt the love of a mother or father and so when a
stranger comes and shows them some sort of affection, they instantly cling to
that person to fulfill their desire for a parent’s love. It’s truly
heartbreaking and I found myself praying several times to God for these
beautiful, sweet children. We stayed at the orphanage for about two hours and
then headed back home. Friday night we had Unite BKK at the church and it was
so much fun! We played “Can You Make It?” and it was so funny watching everyone
try and made an object out of random items. It was also great being able to
hang out with all my wonderful Thai friends. Shelby and I ended up spending
Friday night at Crystal’s again, where we talked for hours and learned so much
from her about life and faith. She is seriously one awesome woman!
On Saturday morning, Shelby and I went to the orphanage
again with Julia and Ricki. We were only able to stay for about an hour this
time, but it was an amazing hour. There were ten children that day, four of
them being infants, so we had our hands full. We all had so much fun just
holding the children in our arms and playing with them. While I was holding my
little guy, Nawin, he said something to me that I will never forget. He called
me mama. I wanted to cry right then and there, but I held my composure and just
prayed to God that he will one day have someone to call mama. After helping put
all the children to sleep, we left the orphanage and Shelby and I promised each
other that we would be back again next Saturday. So please be praying for our
next visit and for these amazing children! Also, be praying for the orphanage
and that God will be a presence there! After the orphanage, Shelby, Julia, and I
went to JJ Market, a very famous and huge market in BKK. OMG that place is
ginormous! Shelby and I were so overwhelmed by the amount of shops and people. We
seriously got lost in that place for hours and did not even hit a third of the
market. Later that night, Shelby and I had dinner with Crystal and Tobin and
then we went back to our hotel for the night. I ended up cleaning my filthy
room and then Shelby dyed my hair a ruby red color! It looks awesome and I
absolutely love it! Saturday night was the first night in 5 weeks that I had a
bed to myself and it was wonderful! Haha.
Sunday morning we had church and it was amazing. Our whole
worship team consisted of Thai people and I was able to envision how
LifePointBKK would look in a few years and it was awesome! I am so pumped for
what God has planned for this church!! After church, everyone hung out for a
while and then Shelby, Tiffany and Leah VanDyke, and I all went to Khao San
Road to have some fun girl time. We took a river taxi to Khao San and it was great
because we were able to witness more of Thailand’s beauty. We did some shopping
at Khao San and then Shelby and I got manicures and pedicures while Tiffany and
Leah got foot massages. It was great being able to have some “pamper yourself”
time after constantly being on the go for 5 weeks. I loved being able to hang
out with Tiffany and Leah because they are such awesome ladies and such an
inspiration when it comes to missionary families. After Khao San, Shelby and I
just hung out around BKK and then returned to good ole Boss Mansion. I spent
the rest of my night doing laundry—fun, I know. Ha!
Well, now it is Monday afternoon and Shelby and I are just
relaxing. Everyone gets back from the Burma border in a few hours, so we are
anxiously awaiting their arrival. I cannot wait to hear all that God did up
there and tell them all He did here! Tonight we are going to the Baiyoke,
Thailand’s tallest building, to have dinner. They have an international buffet
that is supposed to be extremely good so I cannot wait to chow down! Haha.
Sorry this post is so long—there was just so much going on!
These past few days have been truly amazing and God-filled. While I know I would
have loved to go to the Karen orphanage, I am so happy with my decision to stay
in BKK because I learned and experienced so much in these past few days. Hanging
out with all the godly woman on our LifePointBKK team was such a great learning
experience. It really taught me how important fellowship with believers, especially believers of the same gender, is. These ladies are so inspirational and I love each one of them so
much!! They are definitely women after the Lord’s heart and as a young woman, I
look up to them so much! Also, going to the BKK orphanage was so amazing and I
am so excited to see all my sweet babies next Saturday! It has definitely been
a great weekend in BKK, one full of God's everlasting love. Well, we have one more week here so please be praying
for us and everything that God has done and is doing! Hopefully I will post one more blog
before I leave so stay tuned! Praying for everyone at home! Love you all very
much!!
God bless,
Emily
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