Wait....There's More!

I've been home a week.

Is that true? My body, my head and my heart all seem to tell me different things. My body still thinks I'm at 30,000 feet somewhere over the Pacific, lost in a continuum of time zones where sleeping and eating make no sense at all. My head struggles to get back to the ministry, both task and people, that make up the fabric of all that I truly love about my life and calling here. But my heart....My heart keeps tugging me back to a simple cluster of buildings and the 15 children who live there in the lush green of the foothills of the Himalayas.

I see their faces, I hear their voices, I sing the songs I learned in Thai, knowing few words only but worshipping along just the same with the simple faith of people who have so little and have so much all at the same time.

There's so much more to tell, especially about the five days I was actually at Hot Springs when blogging was not possible but the experiences were abundant. So if you'll indulge me just a bit longer, I'll keep the blog going, and let it be a vehicle by which I can help bring my heart home.

Let's talk about how a day begins and ends at Hot Springs. I think once before, I've compared the Asia's Hope orphan home experience as the "best of summer camp", and this certainly is the case when it comes to morning and evening "devotions". Now if right here you're thinking of something dry and obligatory, you've got the wrong idea. True, the morning times - starting at 6 a.m., 5:30 on Sundays - start with perhaps less energy than the children are capable of on full tilt, and some of them stagger in still wearing pyjamas. But their participation and enthusiasm, not just for the singing but for the teaching time, is quite remarkable, morning and evening.

Suradet leads, and he just gets everyone started by playing the guitar and singing with great energy and skill. He makes sure there are songs that the kids can really get into, and he includes specific ones that will help to teach his point for that particular lesson. I know this because many of the songs are familiar tunes to me. Perhaps my Missionary Alliance background is an advantage here. The CM&A were very instrumental in planting Christian churches throughout South East Asia all during the horrors of the 70's. Many missionaries endured much to stay. Their heritage lingers in many ways, but at least in part in the choruses and hymns that have been translated into Thai. I can recognize and sing along fairly easily.

Another advantage I use to help with the language barrier is the English/Thai New Testaments that are available on the back table. By following along in English, aided by my knowledge of Thai numbers and willing assistance from Thim or Miki or any of the other girls who cluster around me, I'm actually able to get the gist of what Suradet is teaching.

One morning, he very simply leads us to pray through the Lord's Prayer, verse by verse. When it gets to the part where it says, "Forgive our sins as we forgive those who sin against us", he has us pray, all together and out loud, in a time of confession and grace. When it gets to the part about "Lead us not into temptation", he has us pray for God's strength to face whatever might come our way this day. And.....I find it profoundly humbling to pray together with my new family, "Give us this day our daily bread", knowing that for them it's far more than just memorized words to an overused prayer.

Step by step we work it through. Step by step we pray together. I feel completely part of what is happening, very much just another child welcomed into this circle of compassion and care.

I woke up again really, really early this morning. Maybe it's still just the jet lag. Or maybe it's my heart thinking I'm going to be getting up, splashing some water on my face, getting myself dressed and walking down the hill around to the front of the building to climb the stairs and begin the day with Entorn and Somchai and Bee and Miki and Thim and Dtor and Sai and Siy and Teh and Milk and Nut and Nam and Fruk and Bee and Bao and Suradet.

I'm not. I've been home a week. And I'm glad to be home. I am. For one thing I can eat something else besides rice! But there are more stories to tell and glimpses to share so you can know how to love them.

So....there's more. There's lots more.