Pictures as Promised

We've had another productive morning of Camp Preparation.  The younger members of the Team spent the latter part of our time rehearsing the two dramas and one puppet show, all of which demonstrate various aspects of the three traditions/holidays we'll be covering in our theme New Year/New Life.  The Ragman is one of them, if you are familiar with that classic.  It was a challenge to stay focused, but once we channeled our energies - oh my.  Powerful stuff.  Can't wait to see how this gets communicated cross culturally. 

We're not sure what's up for the afternoon but every one of us is glad for a more relaxed rest of the day.

So, some pictures...like I promised :).

First, let me (re)introduce you to Becky, our non Highview Team member.  Becky is a HUGE asset to the Team in that she's fluent in Thai, and has taught ESL at university level in Bangkok.  We are truly enjoying working with her.  

The Team at Toronto Airport.  We might consider this the 'before' picture ;).

The older girls, plus one member of Hot Springs Church, treated us with a traditional dance, complete with costumes and make up.  Amazing!  Such a gift of love for our arrival.

Rompo is really enjoying the blow up bouncing ball his Sponsors sent!

 Linda and Fruk are on the same team for Battleship.

One of the 'new' girls from last year, Apple.  Sponsored by two of our young adults, Heidi and Megan.  She's really blossomed in this last year!

Mee-oo enjoys the bubbles sent in his Sponsors' packet.

Settling Into Thai Life at Hot Springs

Hello all.  We've been here for three days already, but in some ways, in all the good ways, it feels like we've been here so much longer.  Took a bit to get connected to the internet, but here we are and hopefully this means more blog posts - and pictures - in the days to come.

Our Team has been settling in very easily to the more relaxed, albeit very different, kind of life that is here at Hot Springs.  It really helps that the majority of us have been here before.  Almost no culture shock at this point, and the weather has been incredible - cool in the evenings, sunny and only 'hottish' during the day.  Everything's green and flowering and very summer like here right now, such a welcome gift after leaving a cold, rainy, still-snowy March back at home.

The Hot Springs kids are growing both inside and out, and it's been so much fun to get to know our three new children better - Eg (Egarat), Pon (Waripon) and Da (Nachanan).  With my limited Thai I am finding out their favourite colours, if they like school, if they are feeling well....almost incidental information in my efforts just to help them be a little more relaxed with this crazy old white lady from Canada.  It's certainly my observation that there is a big change in the children from when they first arrive at Hot Springs to when they've been here a while.  I've seen it with several of them now.  Very reserved and less engaged at the beginning, but increasingly happier and healthier, physically and emotionally, the longer they are here.

We opened Sponsors' packages today.  One of my favourite parts of the trip each year.  It's like a mini Christmas.  And afterwards all the kids are wearing or playing with the gifts their Sposnors sent along.  Ian and Renee - the big, red bouncy ball for Rompo was a hit, although he hasn't quite got the hang of it yet, making for a fair bit of entertainment for us all.  To all the Sponsors, let me just say that through Becky (our Team interpreter) I was able to assure them again that you love them all very much, and that these gifts were just tokens of all our love from Canada.  They all had so much fun opening your love :).

And of course, we're talking a lot about the trip back when we bring Suradet and Yupa with us.  They are so grateful and so excited.  Yupa has never been on a plane before!  Oh my! But we will do our best to make her comfortable.  And of course, we are praying that they will feel the trip is worth it....just like we do.

Morning devotions/worship time comes early, so I will sign off for now.  Thank you again to all the family members who have released us to come.  And to Highview who releases me to do this each year.  You have no idea.

Blessings and Sawat-dii ka,

Ruth Anne

10 To Go

And so this adventure begins.

Since this astonishing gift began back in 2008, there have been 7 trips to the other side of the world.  Hard to believe.  All of it is. 

That God would bring together two completely different groups of people, and form a deep connection across language, distance and cultural barriers.  That Highview would somehow have the opportunity to be a conduit of God's Isaiah 58 blessing to two remarkable heroes name Suradet and Yupa.  That children destined for despair and poverty would laugh and grow and have dreams and hopes for the future.  That various and sundry adventurous souls would get on a plane 7 times and let God deconstruct their hearts and capture of vision of His.  How could this happen?

But it has.  And it's happening again.

This is the record of our 2013 Asia Trip.  The one where Becky and Dave and George and Linda and Sam and Luke and Elaine and Emerson and Jonathan and Ruth Anne dared to let God use used-to-be-orphans teach us more about the mountain of stuff we don't know about love and community, sacrifice and grace, and radical hospitality.

We'll be teaching an ESL Day Camp for three days.  We'll be visiting at least one rural village (where the pigs live under the hut, stuff like that).  We'll be invited to teach English to the police.  And we'll spend an afternoon at a prison for women.  And that's just what we know about.

These pre-boarding moments are always full of anticipation for me.  Each trip has been so different.  Every time there's been something to surprise, to inspire, to instruct, and to undo us.  Each time we come home different.

So, here we go.  Minutes now until the call comes to board. 

We'll send pictures, promise.  Dave has no less than 3 cameras so.... :)

Thank you to all who've supported us financially, emotionally and prayerfully.  We love you. 

Cleared for Take Off!

The doctor gave me the green light today.  I'm on my way with our fantastic Team, heading to Thailand to visit our beautiful Thai family at Hot Springs.

Down to the wire, this was.  Glad for this, oh so glad!  I believe something good is about to happen, something important. 

Thanks for all the support and love and prayers.  Will keep you posted.

7 mm of Uncertainty

 Waterfall Day Thailand 2012




My ticket says I'm to get on a plane around lunch time on Tuesday and fly away to Thailand.

A 7 mm kidney stone that decided to 'journey to the light' starting last Thursday says, "We'll see about that."

After 15 months of completely symptom-free living with the diagnosis of kidney stones, and a mere 10 days before my next trip to Hot Springs, things have gotten dicey.  There's a Team of 10 of us from Highview all set to visit our Thai family and to partner with them in running an ESL Day Camp for neighbouring children.  We've be working hard for months.  We're basically all packed already.  Supplies are gathered and purchased.  Lessons are set to go.  Hearts are ready to both give and receive.  There's a mere three days until departure as I write this.

But when last seen via ultrasound last Monday, a 7 mm stone had not yet made its way all the way.  And due to the time it takes reports to get to a specialist and the rather demanding schedule of a specialist, I can't get in to see the specialist until the day before.  I'm not kidding.  The day before I'm set to lead a Team half way around the world is the day I'll know if I'm clear to fly - or not.

This presses every first-born-female, Type A, anal and structured button in me.  And believe me, I have a lot of those.   A last-minute, seat-of-your-pants decision on something like THIS?  Come on!  Yes, I have mellowed over the years.  Ministry and children and age and grandchildren and reality will do that to you.  But, come on!

And yet.

It occurs to me that I mean it when I sing those songs of utter surrender in church.  I'm very sure I mean it when I pray those Mary prayers of being His maidservant and letting it be unto me as He has said, in private.  I know that I mean it when I raise that white flag, and lay my palms upward, and step aside to get out of His way figuratively and actually.

I do.  Belong to Him.  I. Am.  His.

And I mean it.

So there's no wailing to be done here.  No questioning.  No begging.  Yes, I've been prayed over and I'm praying even now that the stone will be gone and I'll be released to do this unbelievably fabulous thing I get to do each year with these heroes that somehow call me friend.  I've 'let my requests be known' to the Father Healer.  I've laid out the desires of my heart to Yahweh, just like He asked me to.

But I'm not demanding.  I'm not freaking.  Instead I find myself in a new place of resting.  I think, I think I actually do trust Him on this.  Go or not go.  Even this, as important as it is to me.  It's up to Him.

Don't like the not knowing.  Don't like that 7 mm is causing all this uncertainty.  Don't like putting the Team in this place.

But God's got this.

So...my part right now is to drink and pee, pack and wait.

So will you hear from me next in Thailand?  I'll keep you posted.

Kudos to the Team

Just wanted to express my deep appreciation for the members of the 2012 Thailand Team.
L to R George, Linda, Dave, Emerson, Jonathan, Sam, Ruth Anne, Elaine, Heidi, Megan, Nick.

This is the Team that spent months preparing ESL lessons, packed 10 suitcases full of supplies, endured the long flights, stretched way out of their time-oriented comfort zones, overcame language challenges, ate rice, rode in the back of the truck long after the novelty wore off, sweated through the heat, ate rice, adapted to more kids than expected for Day Camp, ate rice, put up with each others' idiosyncrasies, shared the bathroom, ate rice, ate a frog, played with kids, cared for each others' heat stroke, celebrated Emerson's birthday in a spectacular way, took pictures, slept on the floor, ate rice, and let their hearts get ripped out when it was time to leave the kids.

Way to go Team. You held it together and let God do good and deep things inside your soul. Lives were changed, ours included. You enriched my life by the time we shared in Thailand. Thank you for sacrificing in order to go. Thank you for the ways you are still sorting it through and unpacking your soul, allowing God to continue the good work He's begun in you.

There are kids in Thailand who love you. Never forget that.

Hard Goodbyes

It certainly doesn't get any easier.

This is my sixth visit to Hot Springs. I wish the repetition could somehow make the saying of goodbye hurt less. But it doesn't. I think it hurts more, actually.

Our last day was long and hot and lazy. With a departing flight of 11:53 pm (delayed another 30 minutes after that) we had the luxury of a full day: all three meals, both morning and evening worship, and as much easy be-with as we could squeeze out of every minute.

The be-with wasn't too hard. Played Funky Monkey with Beeyung (who isn't a bad loser, but is also a rather exuberant winner;), admired Jom-Kwan's new dress (daughter of current staff couple), packed some more, and tried to get my heart around what I had prepared to teach at both morning and evening worship times.

Yup. It was the worship that started making it feel like the last day for me. Stupid song.

There's a sog we've sung in church not all that long ago.

Give thanks, with a greatful heart.
Give thanks to the Holy One.
Give thanks because He's given
Jesus Christ, His Son.

And now, let the weak say I am strong
Let the poor say I am rich
Because of what the Lord has done for us.

That song.

So I asked Suradet to teach me in Thai, and we've been singing at worship times. We did this morning. It's a hard song to sing here.

When I first heard my Thai friends singing it - a group of Asia's Hope Staff at Doisaket learning it for an upcoming retreat - I was struck with the beauty of hearing voices sing about strength and riches, when they clearly have so little.

But more recently I've been hit with one of those hammers of mercy, as God so often, and so beautifully and brutally does from time to time. Gently, boldly speaking into my soul.

Because really I'm the weak one. I'm the poor one. I have forgotten in my spirit how over resourced and under nourished my Western abundance driven soul is.

So, now, after having spent another immersion with these incredibly faithful people, let me the weak say that I've been strenthened. And let me the poor say I am rich for having been in their presence. And God's presence

Oh my.

And we're singing that yesterday. And, man! How hard it is to say goodbye.