The Days

Lately I've had a line from an old song from JoDee Messina going through my head.

"These are the days you will remember for the rest of your life."

Thinking back to my students and the road we've journeyed together.

These are the days I remember:

*Drying their tears,
*Driving them to and from school because their mom was busy working and their dad couldn't be bothered,
*Buying them food because their mom was sick and had no money,
*Checking their foreheads for fever and praying with them when they were sick,
*Holding him as he cried after his dad's anger branded a red mark on his face,
*Driving him to the grocery store where his dad worked as a security guard because no one was home to let him in the house,
*Holding their hair out of their faces and rubbing their backs when they had to be sick,
*Sitting after school working on homework and work they weren't able to finish in class,
*Driving him home because he had his bicycle and it was so stormy and the roads were flooding,
*Carrying her through the rising flood water to get her back to her house,
*Taking her to get KFC for her birthday,
*Picking nits out of their hair for hours,
*Spending every spare moment of the day reviewing math facts and giving speed tests,
*Playing tag with them until my bare feet blistered,
*Visiting them in the hospital and bringing stickers,
*Playing bubble gum, bubble gum way too many times,
*Singing along with the one CD in the school van,
*Talking with their parents in the parking lot after school - reporting the good and the bad - hearing about their lives,
*Spending time with them on the weekend eating yogurt and ice cream just so they would know that someone cared,
*Talking with them about right and wrong and praying they'd make good choices,
*Standing in for their mom on Mother's Day,
*Eating lunch together,
*Sitting outside listening to your stories about wild animals,
*Reading Bible stories together...

The list of memories could go on and on.

Today I got to visit my students and it was sweet. I now have new memories of my now fourth grade boy seeing me and having his face light up and running to me to give me a hug. My precious girl proudly telling me "I no have anymore" pointing at her head and speaking about her lice. My boys asking, "Did you go help the kids yet? Are you finished?" Squeals and hugs and smiles. Their stories, speaking in English, holding my hand. How much I miss them. We've been through a lot together... ups and downs... tears and laughter... sickness and health. These kiddos hold a special place in my heart...they always will.

What Love Sees

So, hands down one of the sweetest moments happened today at school. Behind our school in a small "shed" lives a family. Last Christmastime when the pink baby blankets started appearing on the clothesline we thought it must be a girl. Shortly after I found out that the wife had given birth to a little boy. He's over a year old now and through the past months we've interacted with him some, but since he has become mobile he now toddles over to our PE class, assembly or recess. At least once a day he's in our arms or we are making faces at him or chasing after him. He is one of the cutest babies. Now, if we put our arms out he'll toddle over to us and put his arms up.

Today, some of us English teachers were sitting at a table outside eating lunch. My roommate went to the noodle shop (where his mom works) and came back with him and a butter/milk sandwich. I was holding him and one of my 3rd grade boys came over and sat down with me. I watched as he gently talked to the baby, rubbed his back, jabbered at him, and had this look and manner that I have never seen on him before. He tried to get the baby to go to him, but he came to me instead and my student said, "He likes Miss Emily." I thought my student would lose interest quickly and go running back to his paper airplanes, but he didn't. He sat next to me and loved on our sweet little friend. After a few minutes the baby reached over and gave my student a big hug. And my sweet little boy gave him a big hug back. My student picked up the baby, who is not too much smaller than him and held him in his arms. He played with him and let him wrinkle up his paper airplane. When the bell rang and it was time for our students to line up my boy hugged the baby and gave him a sweet kiss on the cheek and then ran to line up.

I can't explain to you how precious this was. Precious because of a broken little boy who hasn't had the love of a mommy or daddy. A boy who struggles everyday to not give up, to throw his hands up and say he can't. I am amazed by the love I saw shining in his eyes and by his gentle manner which contrasts deeply with his often harsh attitude. In those minutes I saw hope and I saw the goodness of the Lord.



"Tell me your story, show me your wounds, and I'll show you what love sees when love looks at you. Hand me the pieces broken and bruised, and I'll show you what love sees when love sees you. I see what I made in your mother's womb. I see the day I fell in love with you. I see your tomorrows, nothing left to chance. I see My Father's fingerprints. I see your story, I see My name. Written on every beautiful page. You see the struggle, you see the shame. I see the reason I came. I came for your story, I came for your wounds. To show you what Love sees when I see you. When I see you."
~Mac Powell "When Love Sees You"

I know that Jesus was watching us: dirty baby boy who is growing up in a shed, broken little boy who isn't quite sure that he is loved, and weak teacher whose inadequacies glare... He saw us there around that table and He loved us the way He has since before we were born. We bear His fingerprints and I saw them today in the love in an eight year old's eyes.

Soil...Who Knew

(after school gardening club...boys love that dirt)


Science class with 4th grade on Tuesday was filled with laughter. Mostly because we were talking about worms (because we just started talking about soil) and one of my girl says, "You know you can make medicine from worms." I'm thinking, really? Isn't that interesting. Then we discuss how her parents make medicine from worms, but city worms are no good because they are dirty, they have to be worms from a particular place. Then my other little mountain boy chimes in with a word in Karen that only one of my kids understands. They tried to work out what word he was thinking of (he couldn't remember it in Thai). Eventually we decide that he is talking about snails. His family makes medicine out of snails. I told them if I got sick I would ask them to make me medicine. They laughed and said, "Oh, we don't know how to make it, we just watch our parents." Apparently making the medicine involves squeezing the creatures in question. I'm not sure though because I think this was the point I directed the conversation back to the actual lesson. During that Science lesson I also learned the best way to catch termites for eating. I asked each of my students if they had ever eaten termites. Only one said that they hadn't. Not gonna lie I was a little grossed out. But mostly it was so funny. Anyone walking by would've thought we were crazy.


My favorite part though was when I asked the students what things we might not have if we didn't have soil. They answered, "houses, food, clothes, etc." But then one boy, the one who thinks he isn't as smart or as good as everyone else answered, "Well, if we didn't have dirt then we wouldn't be here because God made us out of dirt." I was amazed, I hadn't ever thought of that application. Then another student responded, "God did make us out of dirt, but He can do anything so He could have made us out of water if He wanted to. Then we'd all live in the sea!" They never do cease to amaze me.

Things I Loved About This Week

(Two of our van kids. It takes us about an hour to get to the last kid's home and more often than not there are some sleepy kids.)


Singing with Viirawit in the school van on the way to and from school in the mornings and afternoons. Talking with him about Bible stories, hearing him tell about Abel sacrificing reindeer (I think he just got confused about the English word) ;). Having him tell me he was on blue.


Driving up to Naamfone's house and seeing her standing out on the road waving at me. Having her hugs and her slipping her tiny hand in mine as we go to the bakery store. Working through metric conversion problems in the store just because we could. The way my heart breaks a little when she tells me not to go visit the States, that I'm her big sister and I need to stay.


Visiting our newest first grader in the hospital. I don't like that he was sick, and I don't really like hospitals but I enjoyed the time with him. Reading, coloring, and practicing English. Remembering how when we dropped him off with an older man in a wheelchair last week he was so enthusiastic about waving to us while pushing the wheelchair that he ran the chair into a pole.


Sitting in our little clinic room and praying with my smallest 3rd grader who was feeling sick this week. I asked him if I could pray and he said yes, so I did and when I opened my eyes his were still closed with his little hands folded.


Watching our 4th, 5th, and 6th graders all brushing their teeth together at the outside sink at our school where we wash our hands. The dentist from the local hospital came and said that our children have very poor teeth and so we now require them to brush their teeth after lunch at school. So funny to watch. The older girls squat hiding in the grass and the boys who try to be so tough and manly just can't keep up that image with the toothpaste around their mouth.


When my third graders asked me, "Why don't your parents just come here if you want to see them?"


The chaos that is the school van on the ride home in the afternoons. When there are two girls and one boy shouting math facts, at least three different conversations being passed from the front to the back, me on the phone speaking Thai trying to figure out if we should pull over and pick up Naamfone's brother at school. When I am in the middle of trying to tell Amy something and inserting the word favorite into the sentence just because I saw it on a sticker on her hand and subconsciously said it, making no sense. My boss calling the teacher in the seat next to him on the phone because he was thinking about dropping her off when he actually meant to call his wife. Deciding that pretty much our whole team is crazy.


Hearing my children speak English and wondering "Where in the world did they learn that?" And then realizing, they sound just like me.


Seeing a little boy, who was in our summer school, on the street where we drop off one of our students. Waving to him and having him wave back enthusiastically with a big smile. Please pray that he might come to our school next year.


In the city on the last night of Loy Krathong (a huge Thai holiday) where old monks were grinning from ear to ear and repeatedly almost catching people, trees, and a temple on fire with lanterns with fireworks attached. I actually took off running from him once, and another time collided with a stranger because I was trying to escape from another lantern. We said that we probably could predict which of our boys will be the ones almost catching people on fire when they are 70 years old.


When the water in our house came back on after being out for two days. (I take that back, it's still not really working.)


When one of my students did something against the rules and another of my students told him, "Bad choice." In English.


Teaching our cook/janitor English after school. She is such a sweet and generous woman and I enjoy spending time with her.


Hanging out with our Thai boss who is super funny and always selfless and serving.


Driving the previously mentioned school van because our boss had to take care of his kids while his wife went to Laos. Happening upon Naamfone and her brother on the way to school, stopping on the small street, waiting for Viirawit to freak out and rescue her from a spider, and then heading off to school with an extra passenger. Although it is infinitely more fun being in the back with them.


Being a "coach" during our basketball club after school, trying to remember what I learned about the sport when I was 9. Wondering how my little group of 1st and 2nd graders was going to play knock out because they rarely make a basket even though the one they use that is only about four feet tall.


The fact that we didn't get in a car accident! And our car was only in the shop once this week.


My student who usually gets low scores got the highest grade on our Science quiz this week. It seems to come so naturally to the other kids so I was glad he got a chance to have the best grade. He wasn't just guessing the answers either, who knew refraction of light was something he was going to understand quickly.


Hope you enjoyed a glimpse of our week. :)

Basketball club...
Above: I'm trying to get one of the little girls to not put her head on top of the ball before she tries to pass it.
Below: My third graders playing with Miss Amy

Sprouting Seeds

I think one of my students is a missionary in the making. Technically, he's Buddhist but he has a soft heart for the Lord and remembers Bible stories better than just about anyone. He reads the Bible during English class and I feel terrible telling him that he needs to put it away and listen. My roommate says I'm persecuting him, and I guess she's right.

Yesterday, halfway done with the after school student drop offs my boy says, "I love God." I said "Oh, yeah?" My roommate who just been talking with him said to ask him why. He said, "Because God made us and called us and He loves us." We then proceeded to talk about the stories of Daniel, Joseph, and Noah. Joseph is his personal favorite. I remember being shocked several weeks ago when I asked my class who Moses was and they stared at me with bewildered looks on their faces. This boy however, raised his hand and was able to tell me in Thai from Moses' birth to the parting of the Red Sea. Now, you have to understand this child rarely listens to me, focuses on anything, or remembers what we've been studying, but he can remember entire Bible stories.

After we'd been talking for awhile he saw a plane passing overhead and made a comment so I asked him if he could go anywhere on a plane where would he go. He said he wouldn't because he wouldn't want to crash. But he decided he'd like to build a big boat. He said he would, "Have people come see, and have pictures, and tell them about Jesus." I asked if I could come see it and he said sure. There might be a second ark in the future. ;)

When we had arrived to the drop off spot he said truly disappointed, "Oh, I wish we weren't here yet, I want to keep talking about Bible stories." I told him to read a new one and we'd talk about it on the next ride home.

This is the same child who three days ago was on "red" which is the lowest rung on our school's discipline ladder. He was unmotivated, not listening, and not putting forth any effort. I was frustrated because we were trying to review a lot of information for the final and he was just not being helpful. We finished and he was still nowhere near done with his work so I sent him to the office with a note asking them to have him finish because we were moving on to Science and I had no patience to keep working with him. He spent all afternoon in the office working with my boss. After school I apologized for not being patient with him and he said, "It's not your fault, I'm sorry, I was on red, I wasn't doing very good." I said, "Well, we are both sorry we'll start again new tomorrow." To which he responded enthusiastically and gave me a high five. I was impressed with a third grader taking that much responsibility for his own actions. He has such a tender heart. Please pray for his development in the faith. Please pray Luke 8:15 for him: "But the seed in the good soil, these are the ones who have heard the word in an honest and good heart, and hold it fast, and bear fruit with perseverance." Please pray that he would not be like the "...rocky soil are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no firm root; they believe for a while, and in time of temptation fall away." Please pray that his faith would not be squashed by his Buddhist family, may they come to believe in the Lord as well.

The Word

She asked me where she should put her brand new still packaged Bible, and I answered. I looked at her face and I knew then, she wasn't really asking where to put it, she was asking for someone to give her permission to be excited about it. She was asking for someone to tell her it was a big deal. So I did. As I held the Bible for her she tore off the plastic with great enthusiasm. As I asked her to find our memory verses I realized that she hasn't ever read a Bible before. This is quite possibly her family's first Bible. She listened as I showed her the Table of Contents and talked about the Old and New Testament. She found Romans and I explained how to find the chapter and verse. Then she found it and started reading, "For all have sinned..." She exclaimed and looked at me so excited that she already knew that verse.

You know, I pray to hunger for God's word, but she puts me to shame. Every day since then she has looked for opportunities to read her Bible. During math she asked me "When can we read the Bible again?" So, we ended math a little early and everyone got out their Bibles (a required textbook for our 4th-6th graders). We practiced finding verses and all of my kids loved it and asked to keep reading. On the ride home she pulled her silver Bible out of her backpack and asked what verses to look up. As we sat surrounded by new Thai books (thanks to a generous church in Australia) she read to me a book with Jesus' parables. As we finished the story there was a Bible reference. She looked at me and said, "Oh! Can I go get my Bible?" She ran upstairs and quickly returned and found the book of Matthew just like I taught her.

Visiting with her mom at the end of the day I told her that her daughter has been so excited about her Bible and had read it virtually non-stop. She smiled and said, "I know, she came home yesterday bursting about her new Bible and read it to me last night."

When she was opening her Bible for the first time some of my other students came in to see what was going on. They saw some of our Bible story books in Thai and English and asked if they could read them. After they read for awhile and I read with my little girl we decided to play catch with a plastic ball. More of our students ventured in and we sat in a circle to play a new game. One of my boys said, "How about we play that we pass the ball around the circle and when Miss Emily says stop, whoever is holding the ball has to say one of our Bible verses." I said, "Good idea," Miss Brittany turned on music and the game began. As the ball stopped the kids would tell the other kid what verse to say and what language to say it in. Miss Brittany stopped the ball on me and the kids said that I should say Romans 6:23 in Thai. I got nervous and asked them all to say it with me. And the sweet children they are, they helped and we all recited it together. They really surprised me with how well they did reciting the verses on their own in both languages.

And I'm so thankful because God's word does not return void. "So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; it will not return to Me empty, without accomplishing what I desire, and without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it." Isaiah 55:11 I pray that the Lord continues to work in their hearts and that they always love His word.

Swim Club!

Swim club = the highlight of our kid's week. The kids love to don their borrowed swimsuits and splash around in the water trying to follow the directions of their English speaking teachers. They get to escape some of the oppressive heat and just be kids. Our bosses' wife has organized this after school swim club with the help of other volunteers for all of our students. They are doing a great job!



A picture is worth a thousand words so here you go...

Reasons to Smile

So I have to admit I think it's funny when he says plower instead of flower and fourn instead of four. Every time he says six it comes out like the Thai word for ten (sip) and the poor girl next to him gets confused.

It makes me smile when I go over to check on him and the other fourth grade boy because they are talking over a book in fun reading and I hear him explaining to his friend the Bible stories he recognizes from their pictures in the English Bible. They ask me if the statue in the picture is Christian or Buddhist and they don't quite get that it is neither.

I smile when he brings me a book in the library at break and asks me to read to him. When he excitedly calls a friend over and they hurry to the mats to sit down to hear the story. When it's finished they ask for another and when time is up they say, "Thank you, teacher" in English.

I smile when we're doing addition fact flashcards and he yells out "Seventyhaa." A strange mix between Thai and English which he thinks is so funny. Pretty soon we were all laughing, including my Thai co-teacher as we were going downstairs for the end of the day. He kept repeating it to himself and then giggling in the funniest way.

I smile when the ping pong ball taped on our back bulletin board in a solar system model randomly drops to the floor and makes that distinctive noise when no one is in the classroom and I am walking down the stairs.

I smile when one of my students from last year comes into the room politely, wais, looks confused and says, "I'm sorry teacher...um...I forgot what I'm supposed to ask." Before hurrying out to find Miss Amy again and ask what he is supposed to be getting.

I smile when I see my three third grade girls playing and giggling all together since one is a tomboy and the other has a hard time fitting in.

I smile when one of my dear little boys asks me "How are you?"before I ask him and when I ask him how he is he answers, "I'm fine thank you and you?" I wonder how long we could go in this cycle.

I smile when I am helping one of my students complete a behavior reflection form to help him think through why he got in trouble and how to avoid it in the future. We went through the first part of the Thai form fine with the name, date, grade and then I read him the first question because he can't read in Thai. He answered me and then went to write the answer and then asked me the Thai equvilent of "Now, does that start with an s?" (Which in Thai there are numerous symbols for the /s/ sound.) I looked at him and told him, "I have no idea." And then we both laughed because neither of us could spell.

I smile when they help each other (the one who really struggles helping the one who struggles even more) and encourage each other.

I'm thankful for these many reasons to smile and my thirteen blessings who cause them and the God who carries us all.

The Moments that Matter

Just wanted to express thankfulness and answers to prayer for small steps of progress for my smallest one today.

He's walked a rough road and if he thinks he's not going to make it he gives up. I've seen it in English when he doesn't know the words and he literally shuts down and becomes unresponsive. In PE if he sees that the race is lost he won't finish. It breaks my heart, living life already defeated at eight years of age.

This morning he was sitting all alone watching the other kids play, so I went over and tried to strike up a conversation which all things considered went well. After school his ride was two hours late picking him up, luckily four other kids ride with him and two other students ride home with teachers so he wasn't alone. I was on duty today, outside watching the kids, playing games, talking, waiting for parents to come. This afternoon as I sat alone watching over the other kids he came and sat beside me. In a mix of languages we talked about all sorts of things like whether or not he liked tea, what colors were around us, what animals he liked, what games he liked to play, how God loved him, and other random thoughts. And then he asked me, "Where do your mom and dad live?" And normal as that question may or may not seem, I know what he's asking. My answer was simple, "They live in America, far away." I wonder if he knows what I'm not saying. That my parents and his parents are both physically inaccessible but for very different reasons. We played with the basketball, him making sure I got my turn and cheering wildly when I made a basket. I hope it's a breakthrough, I hope he knows he's worth the time, I hope he knows that with God's strength he can overcome his circumstances. I hope he learns to persevere and not give up. Like all my other students my hopes for him are high. Please continue to pray for the Lord's working in his life.

Words for Life

"We will walk the path of Jesus."

These are the words I hear little voices sing when we are playing a game resembling checkers on our stone tables with rocks, or when we bounce the basketball around the circle, or in chapel on Friday afternoon. The most unlikely voices sing these words and it's music for our souls. They sing the words proudly and joyfully, somehow knowing that its the way to live life.

As a school we've been memorizing Genesis 1:1 in both languages. During this same chapel time some students got a chance to recite their verses on their own for the first time. Sitting up straight just hoping to be called on, they were so proud to show what they could do. One of my boys was sitting up so straight his gaze fixed on the front of the room. He's one of my little guys who hasn't yet answered a question on his own correctly in English. He just hasn't yet figured out what is happening. As he was leaving school yesterday piled in the bed of his dad's truck with a bunch of other kids he widly waved at me and yelled out, "Good Morning!" His soft heart always goes out to the hurting and he is such a good encourager. This week I was having a conference with one of my newest students who has given up. I think he already feels so behind that he doesn't make any effort to learn. After Khruu Ooy and I talked with him about him needing to try this other boy walked by the doorway. He wanted to know why his friend was crying. When Khruu Ooy told him, he told his buddy "Oh, its okay. I don't understand anything she says either! I'll help you!" He put his arm around his friend and spoke words of encouragement as they walked away down the hallway.

Back to chapel time - I caught his eye and did the teacher/student communication thing (the signal across languages that means "Are you wanting to be called on or are you secretly dreading it with all your heart?" He gave me a huge smile and nod letting me know that he indeed want to be called on. I was afraid if called on he would be embarrassed in front of the whole school if he couldn't recite the whole verse in both languages. Sure that he did indeed want a shot I told Miss Brittany to choose him. He started off in Thai reciting without a problem and when he went to answer in English he started speaking Thai again. Amidst the giggles from the other children he started again in English and said the whole verse without a problem.

I was so proud, when I realized the first words he has spoken on his own in English are not his words at all. If all my children ever speak in English are God's words that will be more than enough.

Grades 3 and 4

I know you've already seen the school and class photos but I thought you might enjoy a glimpse of these photos of the kids taken by my great roommate. They show some more personality than the other photos.

Grade 3

He cracks me up with his sense of humor and his use of informal English. He is the only student I have who will ask me how I am before I ask him.

He is the little boy who would show up to summer school an hour and a half before school started, by himself. He is our mystery child that started singing Christian songs and drawing crosses when we didn't have any idea where he learned them from. Today when I asked him if Jesus loved babies (we were reading a book about them) he said a definite yes. When I asked him if Jesus loved him he looked at me and said, "I don't know."

Another child from summer school this little girl is a perfectionist. She has a beautiful smile that lights up the room.

This little girl is very smart and does so well in class. She has a sweet and gentle personality. Even though she doesn't understand when I talk to her she still likes to come and sit with me which I think is brave. :)

This is my sweet charmer. He aims to please and usually tries his best. He likes to explain things in Thaiglish while wildly gestering so I get the point.

She is also very smart and diligent. She survived last year as the only girl in her class. Which actually didn't bother her too much as she likes playing sports and gets along well with the boys. (Of course they all fell in love with her which also doesn't seem to bother her too much)

This is my newest 3rd grade addition. He showed up yesterday so I don't know much about him yet.

He is smart and works hard, and like most of the boys likes to be silly.

He is super sweet and respectful. He struggles quite a bit to understand but always tries his best. Yesterday, with our two new students he was very gentle and would translate what I was saying to his new friends. I think he took pity on them because it is usually him who is totally lost. He did a great job with the translating though!

Grade 4

This is my newest 4th Grade student who always answers me with "Khap. Khap."(a respectful word that shows agreement) because he has no clue what I'm saying.

He is my sensitive student who struggled quite a bit during summer school. Now he finds himself doing so much better because he understands a lot of what I'm asking. He is doing a great job remembering and building on what he has learned. Every morning he arrives on his bicycle bringing our copies from his mom's copy shop down the road.

This is my only 4th grade girl. She works hard and has such a sweet and helpful spirit although she greatly misses her friend. We started out with another girl and through a sad set of events she might not be able to join us anymore (please pray that she will be able to come back.)

I also started out with one other boy from last year. However, his parents have decided that it is too far to bring him to school everyday and he will no longer be joining us. Please pray that the seeds planted in his heart last year will be watered by someone else and that he will come to know the Lord as his Savior.

I'm so thankful for these children that the Lord has given me this school year. Please pray that I will teach them well and that I will daily show them the love of Christ by my words and actions. Pray that they may know hope and that they may have a future in both Christ's kingdom and this kingdom of Thailand.

Meet the Gang

Meet the gang...the students and staff of the 2011-2012 school year! Wednesday we started off with twenty-six students which is more than double our beginning day of last school year. We are so thankful for our new students as well as two new Thai teachers. We even have a couple of students from summer school!



This year has seen some changes as we are short a few English teachers. I am now teaching Grades 3 and 4. I'm a bit sad to say goodbye to the little ones but I am excited for the different challenge of teaching the older kids. My new co-teacher Khruu Ning and I have nine students. Six boys and two girls. We have five students from last year, two from summer school, and two other new additions. About half the class understands me and the other half is completely lost...but such is the nature of what we do.



Khruu Nida and I are teaching Grade 4 and have three extremely quiet students. So quiet. None of the three of them understand or speak a word of English. But they are sweet and try very hard to do their best. The two girls are from the mountains and are sponsored to come to our school. They had to leave their families and move to Hang Dong. They are currently living with two very generous staff members of our school who virtually became single mothers overnight.


This school year has many challenges which we are already feeling as well as so many opportunities. Please pray that we would make huge strides toward meeting our three main goals for this year:

1) Share the Gospel

2) Provide Excellent Education

and through those things to...

3) Provide Hope and a Future

Overview of Our Trip to South Africa

South Africa was absolutely beautiful, words and pictures do not do it justice. Even though it was a land of great beauty, like any land, it also holds much brokenness. During our time there we were able to see much of the beauty, the brokenness, and the ways God is bringing hope and light through His people.

The following pictures are just a few of the memories from the trip. I hope you enjoy seeing this land which actually felt much more like home than anywhere I've been recently.

This precious boy was one of the many kids in the hospital without family or friends. Just trying to survive. We were able to take some puzzles and toys and visit the hospital for awhile with a ministry that consistently visits the children and builds relationships with them, and shares about Christ's love.

This was one of the animals we saw on our drive through a game reserve. The weather was freezing!

This is from the sweet time we had at a Children's Village. They also have a school there for the children and they teach them in English. It was similar to what we are trying to do over here in Thailand.


These little girls are also at the Children's Village.

This is a gorgeous sunset at the game reserve.

I just think this picture is so funny. Please notice the man in the bright red cowboy hat with a white fuzzy rim.

This is the view from the Drakensburg mountains where we did some hiking and camping.

Another view of the moutains. The sky there was soooo blue. At night we could even see the stars!

This picture is from the beach near the airport right after our arrival into SA.