Well for those who don't know, I am currently in Thailand for three weeks. I am with my family and we are working in an orphanage for children with disabilities where Emma worked for 6 months on her gap year. The children are absolutely incredible, the whole organistaion is pretty mind blowing. Once again an ordinary couple have seen a need and been obedient in meeting it. Thailand being a Buddhist country has a very low view of people with special needs, thinking they must have done something terrible in a past life to have been reincarnated into a 'disabled' body'. There are also many families who can't afford to look after a child with special needs or the disabilities may be the result of poorly carried out abortions. So the Thai government, big on saving face, builds areas where around 3000 children live on wards away from society. We went to visit one of these places where we spent time in the day centers set up by the organsiation we are working with (CCD) so a small proportion of the children can come from the wards and recieve love during the day. Supposedly the sleeping conditons there are pretty devastating with just rows and rows of metal beds, neglect and child abuse are frequent issues, with the Thai staff being just overwhelmed. Some areas are locked off.
So CCD has rainbow house where I am staying and the younger children live, a girls house and a boys house. Here as many children as possible are provided home, food, day care and education, family and love. Some children from the government wards also come to rainbow house during the day, often crying on the bus ride home. So we have been spending our days playing with these children, feeding them, catching the little ones who love to try and run away or jump in the swimming pool as well as doing drama clubs and other activities. It has been incredible, there is one little deaf boy that has won my heart and I would absolutely adopt today if I had the means to support him.
Thailand is beautiful, this is my first trip to Asia and it is definitely different. I am pretty exhausted and overwhelmed by it all to be honest. There are very few who speak English and so everytime we take a taxi (which is ALL the time... I was in 7 today!) we are always unsure as to where we will end up. And i'm fully aware that if I lose my family I will probably be stuck wandering the streets of Thailand for life haha. This all makes me rather long for the comfort of being home, but it was interesting tonight during my quiet time the holy spirit really layed on my heart where it talks about us being 'aliens' or 'foreigners' in this world. This trip this concept means far more to me than it ever has; that even as I go home I am not called to comfort and conformity but only to christlikeness. Its not an easy lesson to learn.
