Goodbye Chiang Mai

Today we pack, we pray and say goodbye to Chiang Mai, Hope House and all our new found friends.  Our time has been nothing short of fulfilling and we leave feeling extremely blessed by all we got to see and do.  

26 full days, 53 amazing kids, 2 crazy sisters on a journey of a lifetime.  Now, we head home (after a pit stop in England to see our 97 year old Nan) with a determination and a knowing that our life isn't our own and contrary to popular young mindsets, our season here on this earth is short. 

Thailand was a time of refreshment but also a time of pouring out refreshment to others.  I have found that you're always in a cycle of giving and receiving and can never separate the two.  No matter how desperate you feel or how broken or how "poor", you always have something to give. Sometimes, you're more on the giving end or vice versa but the two come hand in hand.  

We spent this time hand in hand with beautiful children who have impacted our lives forever.  We taught them about Jesus' love, His plan for their lives and how much He thinks of them.  In return, they showed us love through their hugs, smiles, cards and even little English words from BIG Thai hearts.

Getting the bags ready for the Indian kids

LOVE these boys!

Boys will be boys ALL over the world!

This is Wit, he's an amazing guitar player and young man of God

These guys are SO creative.  They made these bamboo stilts

Grace's Drama class

Chapel time

I told the girls they HAD to come up and sing, but they didn't mind at all

I absolutely loved playing with these guys.  They have beautiful voices and love to sing

Awesome time of love and friendship

One of the younger girl's dorms

They are very neat and clean

Getting ready for school

Showing the kids a slide show of India

Art class

I can't take it, too cute!

My babies

Riding in the songthaew with some of the kids

Kongsin and I - my photography student

Party over at Tom and Lenora' for our going away and Deb's birthday

They just love cramming in and they all behave so well!

Showcasing the skits Grace taught them

My English class

Our last night together.  Andrew, Lenora, Aliyah, Deb, Mike and Tom.  Dear friends we will never forget!

Valentine's PARTY!

After our weeks of crafty work making Valentines with the entire school, we were ready to party!  Grace and I were given the task of coming up with a fun afternoon for the kids.  We decided what better way to let off steam and have fun at the same time than an obstacle course?  Mind you it's like 1,000 degrees but these guys are used to it.  So, we set up various daunting tasks for them to complete as teams against each other.  It was a BIG hit.  They loved it! 

We listened to music, played pin the heart on the heart, had some yummy snacks and finally, everyone got to open their personal mailboxes and read all the Valentine's from their friends.  

There's something about watching a kid do something for the very first time.  I do not have my own, but I feel very blessed to have experienced many "firsts" with different children.
In India, I bought a little girl her first ice cream and watched countless children review their picture for the very first time on my camera.  It's pretty spectacular. 

Our Hope House kids loved their first obstacle course and we all had a good laugh!  We definitely took advantage of this "day of love" and spread it around!

Ready to take on the course!

Eat 2 crackers and then blow bubbles

It's impossible not to laugh

Stack the cups as fast as you can!

Team #1 is the winner!!!

"Pin the heart"

Yummy treats!

Surprise!!

They were SUPER excited to finally get to open their mailboxes!