Update from Joanna in Thailand

Hello!

Hot season had descended upon Thailand. With the change in weather there has been a lot going on in Home of the Open Heart. Hot season comes with a furry in April and that co-insides with Thai school summer holidays. In April, we also find ourselves in the midst of Thailand’s water festival, Songkran. Songkran is usually around the hottest time of year (mid-April) and the whole country comes out to have a giant water fight. It is also the Thai New Year and the biggest Thai holiday of the year. Everything from noodle shops to major business close for the entire week. Since it is such a huge holiday for the Thais, Home of the Open Heart sought to give the Thai staff the week off. Therefore, we suspended normal activities with the children and divided the kids amongst the foreign staff. Esther and I had four of the girls. It was really great for me since I usually work with the boys to be able to spend some time with the girls and build some relationship with them. We had a great fun filled week, swimming, throwing water, making pizzas and special breakfasts and sleepovers. One the attached pictures are of me and two of the girls at the pool. Who knew swimming with two 9 year olds on your back would be so tiring?

Summer has brought all sorts of challenges! The children are home from school and so we have had to find creative was to entertain them. We have taken a few trips to the near by waterfall and we closed the office down one day and all when out to Chiang Rai “Beach”. The kids being home have meant many days spent in the office with children on your lap defying you to get any work done. As difficult as it has been to get any work done with such great distractions around, I will miss them incredibly when they go back to school. Attached is a photo of one those moments.

My adjustment to Thailand continues to be an up and down kind of journey. I’m finding that there will always be something to discourage you. Working with boys seems to follow this up and down roller coaster. It is essential to remember that these boys have broken hearts even if they don’t realize it. They get unsettled very easily and when they are unsettled they tend to have behavioral issues. Last week I realized that when there is so much to discourage you, maybe it’s just time to say “no.” Maybe, I need to learn how to say no to being discouraged. I’m finding more and more that joy is a choice and if the enemy can steal my joy and make me feel discouraged and question God’s plan then he has won.

Now that is all easier said then done and I have to remind myself so many things that I feel I should know. I remind myself constantly that all the things that get me discouraged are pretty normal happenings. Moving to Thailand will be culturally discomforting. Working too much will drain the emotional resources tank. The kids will be kids and misbehave and sometimes irrationally and over blown episodes. I’m trying to learn how to accept this and not let it get me down. There have been beautiful moments mixed up in the mess that make it all worth the fight. When the kids confide in you or are affectionate. Those are the moments I try to cling to when it gets hard. I’m finding little gifts that God has given me to cling to; I just need to learn to recognize them. I find more and more that I am so much like the children I minister to. I complain when things are uncomfortable and fail to see the precious things that are set out in front of me. I fail to acknowledge the miracles that happen around me constantly. Please pray for me that I will be less like the Israelites and more like Moses who saw an opportunity to draw close to God and refused to let it pass him.

I have also started learning Thai. Thai is difficult and is nothing like Spanish or English with no tense and many words having multiple even opposite meanings depending on the context. Let’s just say it’s very intellectually stimulating! I have enjoyed the opportunity to learn Thai immensely and get very excited when I hear phrases that I can understand. However, my attempts of communicating still are rather feeble! This has also been a gift. Thank you everyone who have prayed for language graces (keep praying!) and for those who have helped give financially so I could afford my lessons.

Many of you have asked about the situation in Thailand. Up until this past week the situation was largely localized in Bangkok and maybe a very quiet protest in Chiang Mai. Largely, there has been no activity to be of any worry up here in Chiang Rai (the Northern part of Thailand). However, this past weekend as the situation escalated in Bangkok it also escalated quite a great deal in the North. We had a few demonstrations in town and a few tires were set on fire. Therefore, Chiang Rai was declared a state of emergency and there have been escalation in security in addition to a curfew being imposed. While I don’t think I’m in danger and things are still largely localized in the South. Please pray for the situation in Thailand that the country would come to a peaceful resolution and not escalate any further. However, please do not worry, I am perfectly safe.

I cannot thank you enough for all the prayer and encouragement you all have sent over the past 4 months! They have helped me continue on when I feel like quitting. Thank you for taking part in what I do be it financially, with prayer, resources, or encouragement. You make such a difference to me and to my ministry! If you wish to join my intercessor group to receive regular prayer requests please let me know. I feel so incredibly blessed by all of you and pray that you all live in abundance!

Joanna