Field Trip

My roommate, Eileen and I were invited to have an overnight visit to an orphanage in Fang (no don't say fang like the vampire teeth, it rhymes with song, fang.) about three hours drive northwest of Chiang Mai, high in the mountains.

The drive was very exciting.... steep, narrow twisty, curvy "road" with lots of trucks. The highlight for me was seeing a lady on her motorcycle....she had one dog in the basket, one in front of her and TWO sitting and balancing behind her as she sped past us. WOW! Those dogs were amazing!!!

The orphanage is actually a farm, just outside of town. There are about 65 children from age 4 years to 20 years old. The houseparents live with the children FULLTIME. This is more like one big extended family. There is a boys dorm, a girls dorm, a library/media center and a Multipurpose building with attached kitchen/diningroom. They have Brahma cattle, goats, and pigs. They raise their own rice, and vegetables and fruit.

The children met in the evening and sang songs for us, introduced themselves and gathered around us and prayed for us. Having children lay their hands (and their heads) on you and pray over you is quite an incredible experience and my heart was full of joy while my eyes were full of tears.

The children were watching Thai boxers in the gold metal Olympic match. (this was very exciting, since we do not have TV at our home, I did not get to see any of the Beijing Olympics. so when the children invited us to watch with them, I was EXCITED.) It was amazing to watch the faces of the children as they cheered on their Thai hero to his gold medal. When the Thai anthem was played for the medal ceremony, all the children stood and sang the anthem at the top of their lungs. What a delight!

On Sunday, all the children had practiced special songs and performances for us, their honored guests, and we had such a fantastic worship service. Most everything was in Thai, but a couple of songs they sang we knew in English and so we sang along. What a joyous time to praise our Lord in two languages at one time!

When it was time to leave, all the children lined up and one by one they filed past us, hugging us and bidding us farewell "Please come visit us again" ........and we will.

pam