Yesterday was our last day with Samaritan Creations, and we are sad to leave these wonderful friendships behind. Saying goodbye was tough, but we are hoping to visit our friends at the renovated coffeeshop in a couple weeks when we return to Bangkok. This morning, we began our time at Bridges to the Nations with a lovely church service in Pattaya. We are excited to see what God has in store for us there!
Reflections
Emily:
Our time at Samaritan Creations was very impactful to me. So much has happened throughout the past month and we've already seen God work in so many ways. We've witnessed God's faithfulness both in the trials we've faced as a group and in the lives of others. In the short time we've been here, so many bonds have been made and so much joy has been experienced. From fun games to learn names to hanging out at the pool with our new friends. Relationships are so powerful and laughter and smiles say a lot more than one thinks.
One of my favorite parts were the days I got to paint with everyone. It was so fun to experiment with watercolor and see all the artwork they all created. These sessions were an answer to prayer that I never expected, a way to experience God, relationships, and art at the same time. We painted everyday for over a week and it was a wonderful way to grow relationships and express our creativity.
It's been amazing to witness how the love of God shines through these women and how he's worked in their lives. This ministry is doing such important work and is hope and light to the darkness that many have had to experience. There is so much more that has happened but is difficult to put into words. I'm excited to see how this ministry will continue to grow with their new cafe and renovations and keeping in touch with our new friends!
Makenna:
I am a planner. Each day typically has a dot on it on my phone calendar. Since being here in Bangkok, I’ve learned that we can’t plan. And shouldn’t. Every time we do, our expectations are shattered. We bring all these things to the table – ideas, hopes, how we think something should be done, our western ideals… when all we need to bring is a calm heart to be a part of God’s will. (And I mean this in a certain context, obviously. Planning and thinking for the future are normal things that are necessary. What I’m getting at is that if we are constantly thinking about tomorrow, worried about what we will eat or wear or post on Instagram or plan with friends, it will take away from the moments God is giving us today.)
And speaking of bringing things to a table, we recently went out with two women from Samaritan Creations to “Pig Pan” which is a Thai-style buffet. Yam and Nan showed us around the raw meat and seafood options and we cooked it in front of us on their table in pots and grills. There was so much dank food to choose from and I was loving it. The experience was amazing and authentic, and we were so grateful for their hospitality and openness to take us out to one of their favorite spots. It was a good reminder for me to not plan every single second of the day. Because if we had planned something for after work that day, we wouldn’t have been able to experience that spontaneous night with Nan, Yam, and her son, Hin.
On a similar note, it is common to call it “Thai time” here because people are typically running a bit late or things are a tad unorganized (in our American view). But here, nothing is wrong, and it is completely normal to be immersed in what you are doing in the moment. This way of life is refreshing and convicting for me to not stress out so much about the next thing on my to-do list, and to just be where I am, physically and mentally.
As normal as it sounds, I am never not thinking about tomorrow, or next week, or next month. But here, in Bangkok, I rest. And remember that it is not about me, but about the women we are learning from and are quickly becoming friends with. Last thing – I am attempting to read through Proverbs while I am here, and I ran across Proverbs 3:5. A classic and relevant example to my thoughts: “Trust in the Lord with all of your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.”
Natalie:
While in Bangkok, we have been staying at the Killars’ house (the family that founded Samaritan Creations). Every Wednesday and Saturday, their housekeeper Tao comes to do laundry. She is the sweetest and cutest lady. Tao bustles around the house cleaning, giggling, and speaking Thai to us even though we have no clue what she is saying. She just laughs and keeps talking.
Yesterday I was downstairs at the house journaling a prayer. For some reason, I was feeling discouraged and stagnant. I was thinking about doing a listening prayer, but I usually open my listening prayers with a question for God and I didn’t have one in mind. At that moment, Tao came downstairs, ran over to me, gave me a huge hug, told me she loved me (in English) six times, and hugged me again. It was the sweetest moment because I knew that God sent her to me right when I needed reassurance. I had wanted direction or advice from God, but all he wanted to tell me was that he loved me.
Tao reminds me of Jesus because of the way she loves us. We don’t do anything for her, we just dump our dirty laundry by the door and she gives it back clean. Jesus serves us even though we don’t deserve it. Tao speaks to us and when we don’t understand, she laughs and moves on. Jesus forgives us when we miss his directions. And lastly, Tao overflows with joy whenever we see her. Jesus loves us in abundance.
Last week, our team was talking about whether Tao was Christian or not. Since most of Thailand is Buddhist, we thought she might be as well. When the Killars returned home, we found out that Tao used to be Buddhist, but when she did housekeeping for another missionary family, they introduced her to Jesus. Now she is a Christian! In addition to helping the Killars with housework, she is a tutor for their autistic daughter Leilani. This woman is incredible.
We said goodbye to the women at Samaritan Creations on Friday, and to Tao and the children in the slums on Saturday. We hope to see them again when we return to Bangkok in a few weeks, but we don’t know for certain that our paths will cross again. I keep getting emotional thinking about how one day when we are reunited with our friends in heaven, we will all be speaking the same language, rejoicing with each other and praising Jesus with one voice. What a blessing it is to have this to look forward to, even amidst the tears of goodbyes. God is surely working through Samaritan Creations!
Audrey:
When we got here, we quickly learned that Samaritan Creations has an amazing system established. Our job was just to assist in any way we could, which sometimes meant teaching them calligraphy. But often, this looked like trying to make lives easier for the women so that they could focus on Bible studies without their kids running around and screaming. In order to do this, we ended up spending every day with a few boys named Hin, Akira, and every once in awhile a few girls named Khawn and Anin. This was exhausting because these kids had more energy than anyone should ever have, and it was easy to get discouraged that we were not getting to build relationships with the women directly. But this trip is not about us and we were reminded that this was the best way to serve the women. When we went back into the main room at the end of the day, the women were making jewelry and sewing in peace and quiet which is not something they ever get to do. It was so encouraging just to clear the pathway for these women to work in peace and to learn about Jesus without interruptions.
Akira and Hin were both about three years old and we spent every day with them. Akira never really caught on that we don’t speak any Thai and he got a little frustrated that we never spoke back. Hin quickly realized that the only way we knew how to communicate with him was pointing to things, and saying mai (no). He started to teach us his language by pointing to things and saying them in Thai, and we would point to things and say it in English and wait for him to reply with what the word was in Thai. It was amazing how a relationship with a three-year-old, who we couldn’t understand at all, could result in so much joy. The first day or so his mother joked about Hin fitting in our carry-on bag on the way back to the US and I’m very willing to try.
Since we had no idea what Hin was saying 100% of the time, it sounded like he was speaking fluent Thai, but occasionally if we asked the women what he was saying they had absolutely no idea. With the kids out of the room, we were able to make room for focus and attention to be aimed at Jesus and make one less thing for the women to worry about while at work. At our last day at Samaritan Creations, we had to say goodbye to all the women and kiddos. As we were giving hugs to everyone, we realized that Yam, Hin’s mom, was crying at us leaving. With no words spoken to each other, we hugged her, cried a little, and took pictures. The most we had communicated with her was some very broken English, and to think that in the beginning we felt like we wouldn’t make relationships with the women if we were watching the kids for most of the day! God is so good all the time.
Makenna:
I would also like to add that Yule is a straight boss and did marketing stuff for Samaritan Creations! She designed an amazing poster for Samaritan Creations' cafe, Beautiful Creations Cafe and Bakery, and it is opening next Friday! She is also working on a social media plan for Samaritan Creations and helping the Killars' young son with a business plan for his candy business. Yuliya is extremely creative and a go-getter, which is evident in the way she interacts with people and offers her talents here in Thailand. Beautiful Creations will keep women employed and help support them when they are rescued from the red light district. They are also still $20,000 short for the new renovations that the cafe is going through for the reopening, but we are so excited for the Killars and the women at Samaritan Creations! Please stop by the cafe if you are ever in the Bang Na/Sukhumvit area of Thailand 😊
Proverbs 3:5
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.
Luke 12:32
Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom.
Please remember us in your prayers. More importantly, pray for the people stuck in bar work, that they will be reached by the right people and that their hearts would be open to receiving Jesus' love. That they would take the risk of leaving so that they may experience the one true light in the darkness. That Jesus would give recovering people the resources they need to start a new life. That He would help parents protect their children from entering this lifestyle. We have seen the hope and joy that God freely gives to those who trust in him. Praise Jesus for finding the lost sheep!
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