[By Linus Bauer]
This Saturday most of us started our days early. This was our 2nd night at the Riverside House Hotel in Chiang Mai. We don’t have a tight daily schedule now like we did on campus, but most of us started with solitude time, then we had breakfast provided by the hotel. After breakfast, most of us had a little free time, then we all gathered in the hotel lobby and were picked up by staff from Remember Nhu (a local children’s boarding school). This was our second time riding in songthaews – which is a small pickup truck that have two benches mounted in the back with a canopy overhead. When we arrived at the school, we all gathered in a small building and one of the staff gave us a rundown on the history and mission of the school, as well as some rules and guidelines for our time with the children.
There are four large houses that the children live in, two for the boys and two for the girls. Our team divided into four groups – one for each house (my group went to one of the girls’ houses). Over the next few hours, we spent time getting to know the children, playing card games, volleyball, and trying to learn each other’s language. Afterwards, we gathered in one of the houses for lunch. After lunch, we performed our drama and led the children in a few worship songs. Rose, one of the students in our group, then gave a short message. After we performed our drama, it was my job to explain what it meant. I had never really talked on a microphone before, and I tend to get extremely nervous when speaking in front of large groups of people. However, the usual fear I would have was not there this time. I was still a little nervous, but it went much better than I had thought it would. After this we ended by leading the children in a few more worship songs. Then we picked up our luggage from the hotel and drove out to the Free Burma Rangers ranch, located in the hills outside of Chiang Mai.
After dinner, we gathered on the porch and prayed together, thanking God for all the prayers He has answered. Then we spent some time sharing our thoughts about our time in Thailand so far before going to bed. I was put out of my comfort zone a lot that day, and I all I could do was ask God to give me strength and courage and to use me. In the days and weeks leading up to Remember Nhu, I was pretty stressed thinking about it because it would be up to me and the other students to lead the children in worship, teaching, and activities. However, I was blown away at how well everything went. I think God answered a lot of our prayers that day.
