Camp Update and MORE!

You may be wondering why on earth Dave would be dressed like this…  or more precisely, is that Eli’s tutu on his head? 

You could be forgiven for thinking that he’d been missing the AFL so much that he’d donned on his Bombers jumper, but that made him too hot so he was on his way to the pool with his goggles but had mistakenly put on my pajama pants!  But, what excuse could there be for wearing Eli’s tutu on his head?

Well, I won’t keep you guessing any longer.  He was actually on his way out to the final night of camp, a “crazy dress-up” party when I took that photo.

To their credit, Jessica and Dave have finished strong.  They put together a mammoth 4 week long camp program in a very short amount of time.  It was well planned, outstanding, creative, energetic and unforgettable.  This camp was the last one to be run from the current children’s home because next time camp is on, we’ll be using the new buildings and new home out in Doi Saket!  Yay!           (See video at the bottom of this page)

I went out to the land on Thursday to look at a couple of the dormitories that had been “mocked up” with some paint colors I’d help select and also to make some suggestions about another few areas.  

I have a mixture of feelings when I put on my “design team” hat.  In one way, it is quite daunting but I also find it mildly funny!   Instead of continually giving disclaimers about my lack of qualifications in this department though, I am learning to simply embrace this opportunity and do the best that I can do.  I believe that God does not give us more than we can handle and I am definitely relying on Him to help me do this task to the best of the abilities and ‘eye for color’ that He’s given me.  I will be returning to the site this week to look at some more of the progress, which I am looking forward to.

I’ve had an eventful week.  From Tobi and Eli’s student-led conferences at kindergarten… to getting our work permits approved 

… to helping organize and lead one of this week’s elective classes for camp… to spending an afternoon out of the new ZOE buildings deciding on colours … to having Dave out for four of the five week nights… as well as looking at page after page of rental properties…. 

It’s been a whirlwind of activity but all the fun has left me feeling exhausted!  

Spencer enjoyed being out at ZOE every day (except Wednesday. It was a public holiday and I had a great day at home with all 3 kids).  I love that we get to work at a children’s home and that our children are just as much a part of it as we are.  Spencer was able to join in the elective that Jess and I ran on ‘imaginary play’.  It was so beautiful to see how all the children, so quickly, adjusted to each new setting and were able to have opportunities to just “pretend”.  We set up a shop, hairdressers, building equipment with tools/safety wear etc, hospital and home-kitchen and restaurant.  It was fun and so cute watching all the children dressing up and taking on their new ‘roles’.

It’s Mother’s Day today and whilst I missed seeing my mum in the flesh, I was grateful for our telephone conversation.  It was lovely to hear her voice and find out that she’d spent the day with both my brother and sister.  This made me so happy.  I am also overwhelmed with thankfulness for the opportunity to be a mum to my own three children.  They are so precious to me and it is an awesome responsibility and honor to be their mother.  I loved that I got pancakes for breakfast and cappuccino ice cream after church to celebrate.  

I also got wander around the shopping centre for a few hours, which I found very relaxing and interesting (it always amazes me how many different ‘things’ there are to see here).

We did a little bit more research into housing yesterday and went for a drive around the area on the other side of the main roadway, closer to the kindergarten.  I think we’d ideally like to move over to that side (following some of the other missionary families who are moving over) so we’ll be doing more intentional searching and praying for a bargain house to come up soon so that we can plan for when our lease is up at the end of July.

Tobi has just discovered “Where’s Wally” and is really quite quick at finding Wally amongst the busyness of the page.

Tobi has just discovered “Where’s Wally” and is really quite quick at finding Wally amongst the busyness of the page.

Sometimes over here it’s easy to feel a bit like Wally; lost on the page amongst all the multitude of things happening and the millions of people ‘doing life’ but speaking a different language.   I feel like a little tiny spec on the page and often wonder how could I possibly ever make a difference here.  

But I do believe that no matter how busy it gets or how much of a language barrier there is, that if we continue to do what we set out to do (helping these beautiful children to become all they were meant to be) then we are helping to raise the next generation of Thai leaders to impact their country and, therefore, we ARE making a difference.