Queen for a day

As I sit here and eat my Mankoot (thai fruit that is delicious-mangosteen in English, similar to pomegranate) and listen to the children worship, I reminisce about yesterday and the wonderful day that it was. I felt like a queen. A beautiful, Thai queen........

I had to wake up early yesterday at 7:00 (that's early for me :)) because me and the girls had to do our hair, put on our make-up and put on all our clothing. It was funny going from wearing my dirty flip-flops, the same clothes I wore for 2 days, to wearing the beautiful Thai garments. I scrubbed my feet extra well to match my new attire :) I woke up, brushed my teeth (which is not a normal thing that these people do), washed my face and walked across the quicksand mud (because it has been raining every single day) to May's bamboo hut. This is where we would be getting ready. As Thai words flew around me, I sat while May did my hair and make-up. It was so much fun getting ready with the girls. After my hair finished, they all said lo e, soy. After my make-up was done, they all repeated the same thing. Once my clothing and jewelry were on and complete, they once again repeated the same thing. "Callowa (what the karen call foreigners) lo e pado" (foreigner very lovely). I felt more beautiful then I have ever felt :) Once we were all done getting ready, we walked back across the muddy quicksand, umbrellas and bottoms of skirts in hand as we all walked ever so carefully so we wouldn't slip in the mud in our Thai attire. "Beware, Beware" May kept saying. It was making me laugh. We all made it safely across the mud and we went into the computer room to practice our dance a couple more times. While we practiced, we could hear the celebration going on in the worship hall. They were worshipping, preaching, and preparing for us to come and do our dance. Finally, "girls, girls you must go on", says May. We all walked giggling the whole way. We were all very excited to do our dance, and I think they were more excited because a farang was doing it with them. We walked onto the stage and took our places. The music began and this was it. We danced more gracefully then I have been in my whole life. The girls looked absolutely beautiful and the dance was wonderful! We finished and the audience broke into cheer. They loved it! I was told later, by Pastor Winai, that I was the star of the day. Everyone loved that a farang partook in so much of their culture. It touched them. May told me I'm a very good foreigner, because I do everything. It was so sweet. I do everything because I love their culture and I don't want to miss out on anything.
After our dance, a couple other girls danced in their Karen dresses and then we gave out awards (notebooks, pens, and pencils) to the children. They did a drawing and writing contest, so the children who won came up and received their prizes. They asked me to be the person to give them their prizes. I loved it! After I finished giving them their prizes, many of the Karen people asked Noah (he had my camera and was the photographer for the day) to take pictures of them with me. I stood on stage, still in front of the whole audience, and they would come up one by one and get their picture taken with me. Noah kept telling me I was like a celebrity. To them, that's what I was like. A foreigner who comes to live with them and be part of their culture means so much to them. I'm just obeying God and trying to glorify Him in everything I do, and through that I am more to these people then I ever could know and they are more to me then they ever could know. Amazing how God works things out for the good of those who love Him. I'm learning every day how to trust Him. I don't know what every day will be like or what my future is like exactly but God loves that, because I am forced to fully lean on Him and trust Him.
After we finished taking the photos, they closed up the celebration with prayer. Then it was time for another photo session with the children who wanted to take pictures with me and the staff and the girls that I danced with. It was so much fun! Then "tah oha low co"- "lunchtime". They sat me at the table with the Pastors and their wives. They didn't really speak English but May stood there and translated for me. Pastor Wachina (means Bible in English-what are the odds :)), asked me to come to his church and teach the children English and fellowship with them next Friday. I'm very excited to go to his church. He was a very sweet man and his wife was wonderful too.
As the celebration came to a close, everyone piled into the trucks to be driven back to their villages. They said goodbye to their children with long hugs and kisses because they won't see them for a while. They came to me and shook my hand and held it a little bit longer. I can never know what I do for them, but it's amazing to see God work. The love they hold my nad with, hug me with, and look into my eyes with, is a love that rattles my soul. As they drove away I told them "Kasawa Cho gey"- God Bless you!
We spent the rest of the day cleaning up, playing, and relaxing. I went to May's house and hung out with her and some of the girls and relaxed with them. May told me the girls wanted to give me a massage and wanted to know if I wanted one. Well, I for sure am not one to turn down a Thai massage, so I said "YES!". I had four girls massaging me as I layed on the bamboo floor and listened to the rain hit the leaf roof. It felt like I was in a Thai paradise. It was wonderful.

Today was a really fun day too. We had church this morning and then ate Pad Thai for lunch. Boy was it delicious! After lunch I taught the children about rooms in the house. I wrote each room on a peice of paper and then taped the papers in the front of the room. After I taught them, I played a rooms of the house game with them. They got into five groups and I would have them ask me "Where are you going?" I would answer them "I am going to take a shower". Then they would have to run to the correct room where I would take a shower. The first person who made it to that room got a point for their team. They loved the game. The boys were intense though and would knock each other over to get to the room. It was hilarious! It really helped them learn English.
We also went to a funeral today. A Karen man was killed by three Burmese soldiers. The funeral was right across the street and very different from an American funeral. They had the body on the ground simply wrapped in a blanket and we all stood around it as the rain fell on us all. Pastor Winai prayed and spoke about this man, as his wife and two children stood looking solemnly at the ground. My heart broke for this woman who just lost her husband. They took his body and his belongings, placed it on rubber tires stacked up, poured gasoline on it and set it on fire. Pastor Winai explained to me that they normally bury their dead, but since this was so unexpected they didn't have time to take care of the body correctly and they had to take quick action. As the smoke went up into the Thai sky, I sat with the woman and prayed for her. She was such a strong woman. One who truly understands what it means to put all her faith and trust in God. Although, she couldn't understand what I was saying, love goes beyond language.





I put more pics up so check em out :)