Thailand Team – Update #3
Today was a great day. We woke up to a beautiful sunrise and then came down to a tasty breakfast. Lawpa, the original founder of Seed of Hope, brings us fresh pour-over coffee and local fruit from his home every morning. He has a warm smile and is such a gracious man. The staff at Seed of Hope has been so welcoming and friendly, even with the additional work added by hosting guests. We are grateful for the opportunity to build relationships with them.
After breakfast and coffee, we headed to Seed of Hope Coffee Co. Ryan and Rebecca Stowell founded the Seed of Hope Coffee Co. The Stowell’s came to Thailand many years ago and partnered with Lapaw and his wife Bairak to care for the Seed of Hope boarding dormitory students. The coffee company allows the hill tribe families of the students to grow and sell the coffee along with helping to sustain the Seed of Hope dormitory. Ryan and Rebecca did a coffee tasting with us. We learned about the different beans and the exciting steps to process coffee. The process is long, and many hands help bring it full circle. So now, when I say, “Wow, coffee is getting so expensive,” I understand how much work goes into it before I purchase it. We were able to roast our own coffee and then headed over to help harvest some fruit from the trees on the property for the market. Longan is a delicious fruit, and they work hard to harvest it as another source of income. These people work very hard. It was very hot, and the team pushed through. After making some progress, the team heads into town for lunch. We hosted the staff and volunteers to lunch and treated them to coffee at a local Akha coffee shop. Akha is the name of the tribe, and it is where most of the students come from. It was great to share and get to know each other better while thanking them for their love and care for the children.
We returned to the dormitory, where we had a short time to clean up and rest. Then, we set up afternoon activities with the students when they returned from school. Each day, we are able to greet them with different stations of fun activities. Our team put in a lot of thought when coming up with activities, and the children have loved participating. It’s amazing that in two days, the different personalities of the children are apparent, and bonding with them has happened organically.
After dinner, we presented the students with a program designed to share God’s healing and prayer. The students were very engaged and seemed to enjoy the program. We ended with prayer and fun activities, including the staff and us. The children had fun laughing at us being silly.
Debriefing at the end of the day was good. The team was grateful for all the day brought, and it was evident God was at hand each step of the way. Tomorrow, we will travel up to the mountains to stay with the students’ families who attend the dormitory. We are a little anxious about this, for we will be out of our comfort level. Please pray that we will be able to adjust to the change in culture and environment, health and safety, and that communication will not be a barrier to the families. We end the day with much gratitude.