Ripple Effect

There is none like you

No one else can touch my heart like you do

I can search for all eternity long and find

There is none like you

These words, sung by the children in the orphanage, the buddhist Thai children from the Huai Bong school, and the buddhist teachers from the Huai Bong school, brought tears to my eyes as the words escaped from each of their mouths. My heart was overflowing with joy. These teachers, whose lives are devoted to buddha and the buddhist ways, sit in my English lesson and sing songs to the Lord. Their breath is worshipping Him. God is doing amazing things! I love how He works, it makes me smile! Sometimes I get so frustrated, thinking and telling God "what could I possibly be doing for the kingdom simply teaching English?", and God answers me and shows me that it is so much more than that. I just obey and pray that it all glorifies God. A wise man explained it to me like this- I'm a pebble. God has picked me up and dropped me into the water. At first, it seems like the little pebble being dropped didn't make a difference in the water at all and it seems small and insignificant and maybe even pointless, but then we begin to see the ripples. One by one they form and continue to move farther and farther out and affect even more of the water. The pebble doesn't necessarily see all the ripples, but they are there. Expanding all throughout the water....all throughout Thailand....all throughout America. Just like the pebble, I can't see all the ripples, but I know God is forming them. This wise man's words encouraged me and will continue to speak to me as I go through my frustrating times when I wonder "How could I ever deserve to be here? Will I make a difference?" I love seeing His hand reach down and know that this is His work, and I'm just a tool in the process.

I am loving every day I teach at the Huai Bong school. The children are so wonderful, and I'm beginning to adapt to their different way of life. I'm learning and changing me, rather than changing them. I have made many new friends through the teachers who work at the school along with me. They are all so sweet and they love to take care of me. I have received so many crafts from the children as gifts and so many bunches of bananas from the teachers. Every time I go to school, or they come to the hostel they give me a gift. They are such kind, grateful people. I eat lunch with them every day, and we use it as an opportunity for them to teach me Thai and me to teach them English. I'm learning more and more every day. I have my notebook that I carry around with me to write all the Thai I learn in. It's so much fun! I love all the food. I usually love everything they put in front of me, and they put so much food in front of me. I tell them they feed me too much, when I return to America they're going to have to roll me off the plane. Every day I step onto that campus to work, the children all run up to me and say "Good morning teacher Andrea", and they all say "You are beautiful". I have never felt so beautiful. I love living here, where it doesn't matter what clothes I wear, what my hair looks like, who I smell, how many cars/houses/etc. I own, my heart is all they see. How I pray that is what we were like. A world where I was beautiful because of the woman I am in God and not because my clothese were in fashion and because I knew how to do my hair. Learning to look past the exterior and see with the eyes of God, that is what I pray for.

Tonight was a blast! Tonight, I took a break from teaching and just played games with the children. The children from the Huai Bong school come every night, Mon-Thurs., to learn English and on Saturdays. Plus, I teach in the school Mon.-Thurs. So Fridays are my days to just goof around with the children. I love it! I played the games with the children tonight. We played "Find my shoes". We each put our shoes in the center of the room and then we put blindfolds on. We had to run to the center when Teep said go and be the first to find our shoes and put both of them on. As I wrestled with the children, blindfold on, and put my arms out hoping they would find my shoes, I realized this is life. This is what life is all about. Appreciating, more than anything, the times I get to simply play, blindfolded, with the children I love and listen as their laughs fill the room and contagiously I begin to laugh as well. Please pray for all my children. I love them with all my heart and so dearly. I love each girl and their precious servant hearts and each boy and his warrior servants heart. I can not even explain to you the joy that is found in these children. The little children have completely opened up and I'm beginning to form strong bonds with the older girls. Please pray for each and every one of these children. That they will grow up to be mighty men and women of God. I see them every day and I know they are going to do mighty things for the kingdom! They are going to cause so many ripples that there are going to be tsunamis hitting for God every day!

Don't forget to check out my pictures....I've uploaded more :)

p.s. Today is my mom's birthday!! Happy Birthday Mom! I love you so much! I wish I could be there with you to celebrate, but I'm there in heart! Happy Birthday from Thailand!! (All the children and staff say Happy Birthday too!!) Love you!