Back from m trip!!
I'm home from m trip!! Got to come back first due to some family and work commitments - the rest of the team are coming back on Sat ... sigh* miss the visitation to the orphanage and schools which they will be going these few days =( And I'm home feeling worse off physically than before I left =(
Anyway, it was a trip which I felt was rather "relaxed" in terms of programs and plans - very different from previous m trips which I had - maybe due to the fact that this team consists of a number of children, so the program cannot be too heavy and demanding. In any case, instead of 11 adults and 7 children, we left with 9 adults and 5 children - Eln, who was only 11 months old, wasn't well days before the trip and was advised against travelling by the pediatrician and the family would join the team on 13 Dec, on the day which I come back home.
We went to Khao Lak, way up North Phuket island and is one of the worst hit area during the Tsunami.
Recalling the trip (bear with me - it's going to be a long post, with limited pictures as I didn't have my camera with me, so using my phone to capture whatever I can ...)
9 Dec (Sat)
We left in the afternoon and reached Phuket in the evening. Rev T came to send us off at the airport. Pastor Wsn, Mat (pastor's son) and another helper came with 2 pickups and 1 10-seater van to pick us up at the airport. We loaded our luggage into one of the pickup and went to Tesco for dinner plus buying all the groceries and items we need for the next few days. We loaded 5 big trolleys of things - fruits, food for cooking for Pastor the next day, treats for the kiddies, items and prizes we need for orphanage and school, etc. We just filled the back of Mat's pickup full of our things!! The journey back to Khao Lak took almost 2 hours and Pastor was driving at quite a fast speed (though aggressive, but very safe driver =) to ensure we get back as quickly as possible so as to rest.
The 3 families had a house to themselves - a house with 2 bedrooms and a small living room, with 1 attached toilet. Ab & CY stayed with one family, while JM and myself stayed with another family. All the houses there are very simply furnished - 2 small bedrooms with a living room and toilet attached, with just a few cupboards, airpots, fridge, mattresses - that's about all. In fact, I'm more than thankful for a proper place of rest - I had expected to live in a simple village, probably having to walk a distance for the nearest toilet ... and well, having to bathe in cold water is definitely a challenge *wink*
Anyway, a few amusing incidents today to share with you ...
1) The Ls were about 15 mins late when we met at the airport and L shared that CL didn't want to call for a cab - he said it's a first exercise of faith, so the family of 4 waited outside their house (which is off main road) for a cab to pass by and after 10 mins or so, CL told L maybe they should call for a cab ... haha
2) While we were checking in at the immigration, Cay (my younger godson) asked L, "Why is pasta not coming?" and L had to correct him, "It's pastor, not pasta." Cay had earlier said "Bye, bye, pasta" to Rev T.
3) L said she always beeped while walking through the scanning gate, so she had to be "scanned" by the officer. Cay, who was beside her was watching what she did when L stepped on a little platform to be checked. After L stepped down, Cay who thought he had to follow suit, stepped up the platform, lifted both his hands for the officer to check him too =)
4) LS brought Jo for the trip (this family of 4 had been staying in Japan for the past 1 year plus due to Shel's work commitment - Shel & Ben didn't join us for the trip) and Jo kept asking Lin, "Why is the pastor (referring to Rev T) a different pastor?" - thinking that he would be seeing the usual, familiar pastor he knew in Japan.
5) Nh (my older godson) asked L while queuing up to clear immigration at Phuket, "Mummy, they are parking lots, aren't they?" - referring to the marks he had seen on the floor at the immigration.
10 Dec (Sun)
We had a simple service (mainly in Thai) just outside Pastor Wsn's house. The team shared a skit, testimony, song items (adults and children). After the service, it was mainly free time for us, as Pastor's 10-seater van was borrowed by the YMCA team to be used as transport. Hence, we are kind of "immobilized" by the lack of vehicle =(
Anyway, we got to rest, especially for the kids who get tired more easily, and around 4.30pm or so, we began preparing dinner for Pastor Wsn. WT was the I/C for the cooking and the ladies helped in the preparation, frying and cooking, etc. It was a simple dinner of Bak-kut-teh, fried chicken, eggs, 2 vegs =)
11 Dec (Mon)
After breakfast, the team was very much excited that we will be putting our hands to help in the the building of houses!! We left for Baan Nam Khem but was rather "disappointed" that the material (cement, water, pillars) that were needed was not there yet. We walked around the vicinity after being told that that was the area we could still see traces of the effects of Tsunami.
See this boat? It was swept offshore during the Tsunami and hit a house - it's a big boat (not the usual small fishing boat) so it's not difficult to imagine the impact of the Tsunami at all ...
Pastor also brought us to the fishing wharf to see the fishing boats and the fishermen at work. We saw baskets and loads of fishes there - it was an experience for the kids who do not get to see this back home =)
Cay got a doggie balloon from one of the guy practising his ballon sculpturing outside a church and L taught him to say "thank you" in Thai, which he said it as "kor-kor kha", instead of "Khor-khun kha" *SMILE*
We also went to the Tsunami memorial park, from which we could see the village that was totally swept away during the Tsunami. See the picture here - the "sandy" patch in the middle of the sea? It looks like it's "joined" to the trees behind it, but they are actually separated by the sea. It used to be a village - a village full of people and houses ... but now, it's just a sandy patch 
..
After visiting some of these places, it was near lunch time, so we made our way back to Pastor's house for lunch before proceeding to the site to help in the building.
Now, guess what? After lunch, God decided to send rain - heavy rain, so the work was off. We were somewhat disappointed that we didn't get to do very much the last few days, especially when we were already immobilized by the lack of vehicle to bring us around to visit the villagers where we stayed. Most of our plans had to be changed and adjusted at the very last minute also. So, to make the most of time, we spent some time with Pastor to understand more about his ministry.
Pastor Wsn really had a heart for the Lord and His people. He stayed away from his family - meeting up perhaps only once a week with his wife and children. After the Tsunami, Pastor Wsn had been helping villages get back into routine life by helping them to get their houses built, buy fishing boats for them, etc. He had helped to build some 60 over houses and bought many fishing boats for the villagers to get their life back. He has really blessed many people and showed God's love to them in such unconditional manner! He doesn't have an easy life when he was younger - in fact, he was kicked out of his house by his step-father when he received the Lord at the age of 15. He stayed with some missionaries, working and earning whatever he could to support himself, learning as much as possible from the missionaries at the same time in language and spiritual growth. Amazing man!
The day practically just drifted by with us sitting around and chit-chatting with Pastor. After dinner, JM (our team leader) asked us about our sentiments concerning the trip for the past 2 days. We expressed disappointments in some ways (especially Ab who's an architect and all ready to get his hands on the building work) about not feeling what a m trip should be like, but again we were also reminded by each other that God knows best, and in m trips, flexibility and fluidity is usually what pops up, and we just have to learn to react and make the most out of every situation. We also remind each other that sometimes we cannot measure what we do or not do in tangible manner. To me, I believe, by having the kids on this trip ... having one more person to know how to pray and what to pray for when we think of this land and the work here ... having one more person to share about Pastor's ministry and get more support for him - I guess to a certain extent, we would have achieved part of our objective for this m trip. We are just so structured people, isn't it? We just need to pour back what we have planned for, in order to feel satisfied that something has been done or achieved ...
12 Dec (Tues)
We finally got back to the site where the houses are to be built. By this time, a few pillars had already been set in place. So the guys helped to steady the pillars while the workers held them with wood and strings before pouring the cement in. It was really hard work - the guys said their backs and shoulders were aching fast with just helping to mix the sand and stones to make cement, pouring the cement in, helping to lift/move, and steady the pillar. We began to see how God really knew best - sending rain the day before so that instead of 2 days of building houses, it became 1 day, which is more bearable for us, city people =)
While they worked, the ladies sat around to make balloons for the village kids who were curiously peering at us. Though there was communication barrier, but it was good seeing them so happy with just some simple balloons that were made for them. L brought Nh & Cay to sit around some of the shops, playing with the shopkeeper's kid. When Cay saw a car, he said, "That's a car!" and the shopkeeper thought he said, "sa-wa-dii kha" and returned the greeting immediately. Haha.
A few of them went prayer-walking also - Sah & Arl went with JM. It was really encouraging seeing how Sah & Arl, though they are just children, praying from their heart for the villagers and those houses that were hit by the effects of the Tsunami.
In the afternoon, we got back for lunch, and while the guys went back to the site to work, the ladies prepared goody bags and items needed for the orphanage and school ministry in the next few days. We had a mini-surprise for Jo who celebrate his 4th birthday today. He was so pleased to have a cake and a birthday song sung for him =)
13 Dec (Wed)
Due to the children having school in the morning, the visit to the orphanage had to be done in the afternoon - and as a result, I'll have to miss it because I'm flying back home today =( Well, at least I contributed to the preparation for the orphanage =) and I'm sure the team would enjoy the children and the time with them.
Before leaving, Ab bought some fried insects (silkworm, grasshoppers, and whatever else ...) from the household opposite Pastor and treated the kids with them. Well, the adults definitely DON'T dare to put these fried insects into our mouths, but for the kids, they just simply pick one from the pack and put them into their mouth - especially Arl, he was enjoying the fried insects so much that he took one after another - but it was really gross seeing him biting off the head of the grasshopper before popping the whole thing into his mouth. By then, Mat had arrived to drive me to the airport. So before leaving, all the kids were giving me their goodbye hugs and peck on the cheek - MY! my cheek felt so/extremely nourished by the protein from the worms they ate ... *grin*
So there goes ... I'm back home and the rest are still there. I'm hoping to get the rest of the pictures of the trip soon so that I can get them posted here. And I'm reminded that the trip is not about us blessing or throwing off everything we've prepared to the people we meet, but about listening to God and trusting that even when our human plans changed, His steady hands is still in control of the situation. Ultimately, everything work out for the good of everyone that He meant it for.
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