Yupa's New Kitchen (The Whole Story)

Yupa and her Pampered Chef Chopper

 It's all big and bright and clean.  Just like you would want any kitchen to be.  But there's something of a deeper good and a truer shine on this new addition to the house of Suradet and Yupa on the Hot Springs campus.  Because it quite literally rose up out of the ashes.

Before this.

It's important to know something of the living situation of not just our gathered children, but of their parents as well.  We are situated on property that is the extension of the Korean Methodist Church  Suradet and Yupa planted some 20 years ago.  It's a larger-sized property, and can host small conferences and large meetings, youth retreats and, well us.  

In this living situation, Suradet and Yupa have been given one of the structures to live in, and while it wasn't originally laid out to be a family home, they have innovated and adjusted and made a good place for their own family, with an office space now included.  

And before this, the kitchen was, let's say rustic.

Don't get me wrong, some of the best Thai food on the planet came out of the kitchen, proof of Yupa's excellent culinary skills and gift of hospitality.  But the "room" that we called the kitchen was more outdoors than in; more camp-style than cuisine.  It made use of what was once a porch, some corrugated fiberglass roofing, crazy Thai-style electric wiring, and copious black netting to keep out the animals.  It was cramped and crowded and dark, and accessed down a rather steep step and via a rather narrow walkway.

To be clear, this was not the kitchen where the main food prep for our children took place.  Some did.  And a fair bit of food storage was in there.  So there's that.  But still.

Yupa was not at home when the fire happened.  She was staying with her Mom in their shared time of grief at the loss of her father.  Trauma happens that way sometimes, layer on layer like that.  Bell was the first to notice the smoke and the alarm.  She woke up her Dad.  And by the time they and the older boys were on it, things were almost, almost beyond saving the entire house.  Almost.  And aren't we glad we made sure we have smoke detectors and the fire extinguishers, because the fire department never would have made it out here on time.

And it was a mess.

I received the video of the still-smoking remains within minutes of the danger being past.  And Suradet's strained but relieved voice, saying first the words you absolutely must say first if you ever have to send a video of what used to be your kitchen but now is just a charred and hissing mess. 

 "Everybody okay!"

I admit, this was perhaps one of the hardest points of the full-throes of the pandemic for me.  We were already contending with the pandemic itself.  Online learning for the kids.  Concern for everyone's health and safety.  Then Yupa's father's diagnosis leading to his death.  Now this.  Really?  A fire?  And the next little bits of this illusion of security and control we fool ourselves with break off and shatter on the smudged ceramic tiles. And I am all these cursed miles away, completely unable to do what everything in my being screamed to do.  Just be there.

An important pause inserted here, because it was awful.

But after this.

This.

It's beautiful.  Big and bright and clean.  And it happened because so many responded in the moment.  Because it just so happened that Yupa's nephew who is a skilled tradesman was available.  Because folks half way around the world felt the "oh no!" of it and wanted to help.  Because insurance is a real thing and was part of our start up plan four years ago.  A new kitchen was not in the budget but it happened anyway and today we are all shiny with gratitude.

The Pampered Chef Chopper was a cherry on the top of one of the fundraisers we did.  Thank you to everyone who participated in that.  Thai food, as you well may know, requires lots of chopping, and it will be put to very good use, believe me.

And now I am tempted to simplify it all and say that good things come out of bad.   They do.  But in all my conversations I'm having this week about all the things that happened while we were away from one another, we are trying to make sure not to be glib.

This was hard.

So many levels of hard.

And we are grateful, 

largely because of how much we've lost, 

and how much we've lived, 

and how much is true in dark chapters of the story. 

Maybe the Hokey Pokey IS What It's All About

L-R Fah, Meena, Pooey, Atom, Gam, Im, Da, May

There's been a lot less hugging than usual in these first few days here.

Partly, that's because I'm keeping my distance for about five days...just in case.  Feeling great, actually.  Better than I should be given the extra rigors of the trip this time.  But if I do begin to present with any symptoms....best be careful.

But it's more than just that.

So many of the kids have never met me.  And some of them are still adjusting to being here and being part of this family.  Some of them, as I might observe, will take a while long to show the benefits of the better nutrition and overall care.  To hold back a little makes sense, and respecting that is therefore even more important.

The older girls (pictured above) - which sounds funny for me to even call them that now - are holding back a little too.  Maybe because when I left they were very much into that cuddly stage, and now they are becoming young women.  Maybe because a lot has happened in the world since I was gone and, well, aren't we all a little more careful with our hearts and expectations this side of COVID.  After all, I was gone for a long time because of it.

Speculation, at this point, shared because an honest account of how it is here brings more of it home to those who can't be.  And because I'm still sorting myself out a little in these first few, lesser-hugging days, and it helps to say it.  And because caring for at-risk and orphaned children is more complicated that any amount of hugging or can resolve.  All of our kids are here for a reason.  

But then, a bit of a breakthrough.

Right.  Left.  

That's the basic concept we're after for the little ESL portion of our time together last night.  As I said, a lot of the children are new, and many of the little boys are very much at a beginner stage as far as English learning is concerned.

And, come on, when you have Right and Left as your main concepts, you just HAVE to do the Hokey Pokey.*  And when you do the Hokey Pokey and you turn yourself around, well, apparently that is what it's all about.  Because big smiles.  Because laughing.  Because being silly (especially when you get to the 'you put your backside in' verse) is freeing, and fun, and is a love language all its own.

For me personally, I am over the top grateful for a very solid first few days here, emotionally, physically, even sleep-wise.  But there's still a sense that there's work to do and trust to regain.  

I can be patient.  I takes a while to earn the name "Gramma" in any language.

For all those who Sponsor a Child, and support us in other ways, thank you.  Your love is known here.  The tangibles and the prayers.  It's all part of giving our kids the space to believe they matter, they are important, and they're safe.

Here's a little glimpse of opening the packets from the Sponsors last Tuesday night.

I'm still building up my picture file.  Haven't wanted the new kids especially to feel too invaded.

Deborah (pink) and Goon (blue)

May (who is now taller than me)

Bell

Guitar

*The inspiration for the title of this blog, and much more creative reflections of my life, is from my dear friend and kindergarten teacher extraordinaire, Anne Campbell.

Cascades of Shalom

The exact date of this photo escapes me.  It was taken on a trip to Thailand fairly early in our partnership with Suradet and Yupa.  We went on an outing, escaping the oppressive humidity, driving up in the mountains a little bit, where this gently cascading waterfall provided no end of refreshing fun.  

I remember the children's uninhibited laughter; their squeals and happy shouts, playing in the rushing water with the forest leaning in, all green and misty and lush.  

I had a profound moment in the midst of that.  Sitting there (I'm kind of off to the right under a tree branch with a pinkish shirt on), letting the cool water and the children's joy wash over me, there was an undeniable, breath-snatching sense of God's presence, and His voice, bell-clear, saying:

"This!"

Because laughter and joy and wild-abandon fun is NOT where these kids came from.  It was NOT where they were headed either, had they not found their way into the nourishing care of this unique and incredible family.  And somehow, some-unbelievable-totally-unlikely-but-it-happened-anyway-how, I get to be part of it.

"This!"  

"Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink?  When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you?  When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?"  The King will reply, "Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me."   Matthew 25:37-40

"This!"

"And if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed....You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail."  Isaiah 58:10-11

 "This!"

"In the last days....(God's end game for humanity)...Everyone will sit under their own vine and under their own fig tree, and no one will make them afraid."  Micah 4:4

"This!"

Yes, this!

And the cascades of shalom, of God's ultimate love-driven destination of peace, keep tumbling over our children, over their hearts, over their lives, over their futures.  And it all spills back to us.

I leave in less than two weeks (October 31), so the countdown is really on now.

Sponsors' packets are all in, bulging pouches of this exact kind of least-of-these-shalom, ready for opening on the first day I arrive.  And it all tumbles down and around and waters this garden of peace.

Thank you for joining this piece of the mission of God!

May everyone who's given any part of themselves towards this cascade be washed over with blessing and strength and joy, and exactly the kind of peace you need right now.

A Word from Micah and The Double "Hoo Boy!" of Having My Tickets

A tiny delicate flower (not a fig) that grows on the property we hope to develop as a future home of peace for our children.

I have my tickets!

The exclamation mark at the end of this sentence expresses two ways one can say "hoo boy!"

Hoo Boy! 

Yay and hooray, it's finally happening!

After almost two years and nine months away (February 2020 to November 2022), this feels like an unbearable longing fulfilled.  

My heart lives on both sides of the world.  This is a painful kind of love, as anyone who has been distanced from beloveds knows.  Between our two churches, between Sponsors and children, between Suradet and Yupa and myself....our is a very relational kind of connection.  And the on-the-ground feature of my role, three times a year for a month at a time, has become an essential component in the partnership and reciprocity that has been so carefully cultivated over the past fourteen years.  

Of course, the dangers and anxieties related to the reason for being away, that being of course a global pandemic, only add to the sense of distress at being separated.  

So, to now have my tickets for a visit scheduled from October 31 to November 22 feels like something incredible.  And something solid, hopeful to hold on to, to work toward, to hang on for, in the easing of my longing to simply be with them.

Hoo Boy! 

Yikes!  COVID is still circulating around the globe.  Travel news reports much chaos at airports.  The politics of that part of the world are also making news, and I am paying extra attention to that, given my transfer point is Taipei, Taiwan. Yeah, I know.  Besides all that, I hope I still have my travel 'stamina'.  The flights are long and demanding.  Hope I'm up to the demands.   

Hoo Boy!!!

It's okay.

I find these "hoo boy!" exclamation marks force better thinking about who I am and why I do what I do.  More to the point, I find I am reflecting about the whole 'mission of God' thing at perhaps deeper levels.

The Mission of God.  Missio Dei.

Lest that sound too lofty, it's not really.  It's something God has been quite up front about since He started to guide the process by which His heart (His Words) would be written down.  It's everywhere in the Bible.  But for a long lately I've been lingering in Micah, and especially chapter 4.

Emphasizing His passion for equity, and all peoples having what they need, He paints a picture through the prophet of what it will look like when His mission is fulfilled.

"Everyone will sit under their own vine and under their own fig tree; and no one will make them afraid."  Micah 4:4

Invoking the symbols of agricultural security, Micah describes a scenario where everyone has exactly what they need for safety, health and well being, in the most spiritually riches of ways.  And not being afraid....that's everyone living in peace.

I think of our kids.  How well fed and nourished and supported and protected they are.....now.  

So, okay.  Yes!

This is something I can 'hoo boy!' about!! This is worth moving out of my COVID and politically-safe comfort zone for!  Something this important, this deeply true, is worth taking some risks.  

So.  Okay!  HOO BOY!

The day of my departure is technically Sunday, October 30, since the flight is technically scheduled for 1 a.m. October 31st.  On that Sunday at Highview, I have been invited to reflect even more on what God's been doing with our Thai family, and give something of a pre-trip report.

It's a way off, but for now, what I think is formulating for that report is this:  "A three-year absence from being on site at Hot Springs has re-emphasized important understandings about the mission of God.

One, God's mission is not bound by time.

Two, God's mission cannot be thwarted.

Three, God's mission requires I give myself fully.

So much more to unpack on this, and between now and then, who knows what else may surface?  For now I am happy, excited to be sitting in between the exclamation marks of this next journey with God to the other side of the world.

Breaking Out: The Education Factor and Garage Sales

 Faces of opportunity.  

To the left in the light blue is Kratae, now in her first year at horticultural school, studying not just botany but business, with the hopes of owning her own garden shop one day soon.

To the right in the dark blue is Wara, now in her second year at Bible school pursing what she believes to be a call into ministry as a pastor.

We could not be more proud of these two young ladies!  A post-secondary education would have been out of the question for both of them, given the circumstances into which they were born.  Education at all would have been basic at best, as most villages do not even have a functioning primary school.

Their families asked us to help change the trajectory of their lives, to provide the kind of nutrition and education and environment that would help these daughters live into their fullest potential.  Both Kratae and Wara have been with us for the majority of their schooling, and have completed high school and stepped into the new possibilities waiting for them.  I can tell you with complete confidence that they both have the depth of character and tenacity to spend this opportunity well.  And may I add, we all know the impact of educating young women on the effects of poverty overall.  

And while each of them has a Sponsoring family here in Canada, the extra expenses of tuition, room and board, books and spending allowances comes from a separate fund at New Family Foundation.

That's where all the money will be directed out of our

THAILAND GARAGE SALE

Saturday, September 24, 2022

8 a.m. to 1 p.m.

295 Highview Drive

Kitchener, ON N2N 2K7

(Rain or Shine)

For those nearby, we will be receiving donations of gently-used, already-priced goods at Highview Community Church (address above) starting Sunday, September 19th.  

We also hope to have a baked goods table and have already had some tasty offers in this regard.  [I intend to provide some of my own chocolate chip cookies, just sayin'.]

On the day of the sale, if you're close by at all, we would LOVE to see you!!!

And Kratae and Wara are already overwhelmed that we would do this for them.

If you have any further questions, or maybe simply would like to make a donation to NFF's Student Fund, please do not hesitate to contact me at rabreithaupt@hcckw.ca.  

An Invitation to Make A Real Difference - Four Sponsor-Child Connections In The Waiting

 

If you've been to our blog before, you know how this goes.

And for all our faithful, beautiful Sponsors, you really know how this goes!

Four New Children

Four new children have arrived at Hot Springs and we are hoping to make good connections between them and folks who can come alongside and love and lead them on to strong futures.

Let me introduce you:

Fah

Fah is 12 years old in grade 6.  Both her parents are living and are together as a family.  However, the mountain village where she is from only has school up until grade 5.  For her to continue in her education and have wider opportunities, her parents have asked if we could bring her to Hot Springs.

Sharon

Sharon (pronounced Sha-Lon) is 16 years old and in her last years of high school.  Her story is complicated, with both parents living but neither of them in Thailand.  Her mother has had previous connections with the church at Hot Springs, and Sharon has spent holidays there while at her previous boarding school.  Now that school has closed down, and Sharon was left virtually homeless.  We are glad to have her become part of our circle.

Colour

Colour is 9, from a very rustic village with no school.  His parents, both living, have heard how well one of the other children from this village has done so well at Hot Springs; Kratae, now in post secondary education, and contacted Suradet and Yupa to ask if their son could be given the same opportunity.  This isn't new this year, but it's always affirming to have parents contact us because of good referrals.

Goo

Goo is is 7 years old from a Hmong village.  His divorced parents have left him to be raised by his maternal grandmother who is herself still working as a farmer.  Unfortunately, this is a common story among many separated families. There is no school whatsoever in the village.   The grandmother heard about our home from a relative, and asked if he could come to be with us.  Another of our new children (Jua, already sponsored) is his first cousin.  So the boys have each other to keep fluent in their original language and culture, an important value at Hot Springs.

Each of these children need Sponsors to come alongside and be partners in their future.

"Sponsors' Expectations" are carefully laid out in the document I would be happy to send you.  And for that and any other questions you can connect with me at rabreithaupt@hcckw.ca.

But a warning.

When our kids come to us, they already have big challenges written into their stories, as you can understand from the little I've told you about the children above.  Our hope is to see them find hope and safety in a journey that takes them through to the end of high school and beyond.  Indeed most of our kids stay with us for this consistency and stability, and you can go back to previous blogs or keep checking in for those stories.

But sometimes the challenges, combined with our commitment to keep them connected with living family members and their original tribal culture, interferes.  As with our own children at home, they have the freedom to make their own choices and not all of those choices are wise.  

So the caveat is this.  We invite you into a very relationship-based, hands-on kind of Sponsorship experience where we will do our best to keep you meaningfully connected with one another.  AND that may mean some heartache as you walk them through to their adult lives.  Just sayin.  To be fair.

So if you are up to that, let me know.

You will make a difference.  No question.

Wanla Nit, Wanla Noi - "A Little Bit Each Day"

 

May and A-Tom - Grade 6 Graduation

The slow and steady things of life have been impressed upon me of late.  The bigness of the little bits all collected; the successes of a long faithfulness; the measurements of what happens when you just tenaciously stay at it over the long haul.

If we're honest, I think we might all admit to feeling the temptation to want the 'big win'.  When things are important enough, we can get impatient to see the results of our efforts in obvious, immediate metrics.  Pounds off on the scale.  Big chunks off the debt.  Huge strides in improvements or developments of any sort.  Flowers shooting up into blooms all at once.

Earliest spring shoots.

But in most of life, accomplishment comes in increments, almost impossible to see happening before your eyes unless you take a longer look at what's going on.  Like children eager to line themselves up against the wall to see how tall they are now.  It's only by measuring against where you were months or even years ago that you can see where you've come.

May and Atom both graduated grade 6 this school year.  They are tall and blossoming young ladies now.  Here's May when she arrived at Hot Springs, age six, and so very, very small.  What you can't tell from the pictures is how much she has grown in confidence as well.  Her voice!  Such a timid, held back whisper, now developed into a well-spoken, articulate expression of strength.  All around the world, it's so important that we help little girls find their voice.

Similarly for A-Tom.  The coming into her own, the building of skills, the finding her own space in the world...it doesn't happen over night.

The Thai phrase for this is a colloquial blending of the word for 'day' (wan) and the phrase for 'little bit' (nit noi), becoming a lyrical wanla nit, wanla noi.  Just a little bit each day.

A-Tom

I am glad for these reminders.  As    the pandemic months turn to years and I am not there with them, it can feel a bit like time is frozen and nothing is happening.  

That is, if I make this only about what I can perceive.

It brings to mind a rather intriguing "quotation" from Paul in 1 Corinthians 2:9.

"'What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived' -- the things God has prepared for those who love him -- these are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit."

There's good depth in exploring this text (and the Isaiah 64, 65 connection it evokes)  that I won't go into here.  But the underlying thought is that there's always a lot more going on than meets the eye...and God's got it well in hand.

This brings me again and again to places of deep gratitude for all you who take these patient steps a little bit at a time with us.  The long faithfulness of your support makes these gradual life transformations possible.  Thank you for your tenacious vision to stay at it with us.  They are growing, these precious ones.  Just a little bit every day for big, big outcomes that would not be possible otherwise.

Soon I will be making some important decisions about a time to return.  There's a lot to consider, especially now with war and air-space factoring into flight paths and transfers.  And then there's this little 'sixth wave' making its way around the world, and the growing realization that waiting until COVID has run its course isn't likely going to be a proactive strategy.

So, as always, we appreciate your prayers.  Much wisdom is needed for this, and for any and all future plans for property and financial development, and the nurturing of all our partner relationships that make any of it possible.

Blessings and strength for your own "little bit each day" endeavours!