“Thai hoe, Thai hoe, It’s off to Work We Go”

By Christy

In addition to spending time with the kids at the Boys’ and Girls’ homes and having some Thai cultural experiences, on 2 of our days we also had the opportunity to put on our “grubbies”, roll up our sleeves, and work alongside the Thai construction crew in building the new boys’ home. This would become the new home for the boys we had played with and grown attached to on our first home visit on our very first day. The goal is to have all 4 Children’s Homes on the same expanse of property. This construction would be the 3rd of the Childrens’ Homes completed on the property, and would bring those boys over from their current property to be near the Girls’ Home and the Boys’ Home that were completed before theirs.

They would now have an indoor kitchen and dining area (although we had enjoyed our outdoor dinner under their thatched roof), they would be near the other “families”, and there would be room to bring more boys into a loving and joy-filled home…which will change the course of those boys’ lives forever. It felt good to be able to jump in and do something “hands-on” and tangible to support this ministry which is truly transforming lives.

Mike took us to the construction site and left us in very good hands with Bud, our guide and “Go To” person for our work days. Bud is a former cabinet-maker from Oregon…a spunky “Grandpa” figure to the kids with a generous soul  who found his calling here in Thailand, using his gifts and resourceful talents to cultivate sustainable projects on the property -- everything from agricultural projects and aquaponics, to assistance in some of the construction and maintenance projects.

Bud gave us a warm greeting, hooked the 4 of us up with work gloves, and helped us get clear on the first task that the Thai construction foreman would have us help with. After some “charade” hand gesturing and pointing, we learned we would help mix concrete to install poles for bringing internet lines to the children for their school work. We spent the morning hours bringing loads of sand and gravel and bucket brigades of water to each pole site to mix and pour the concrete.

We worked alongside a lovely young Thai woman who was incredibly hard working, exchanging smiles and camaraderie, since we couldn’t exchange words. She was better at mixing the heavy concrete sludge with a hoe than any of us, by far. It was so humbling to realize that a day’s wage in Thailand for hard manual labor is about $3. Wow—such hard work she does day in and day out, for less than 40 cents an hour. Ohhh, so many things I take for granted.

At our mid-morning break, Bud took us on a walking tour of the property and showed us all the projects underway to support the Childrens’ Homes. They had planted groves of banana and papaya trees, and rows and rows of pineapple, dragon fruit, watermelon, spinach, kale and more.

They had experimented with many different things to find what was most sustainable, including an aquaponics fish tank system that provided fertilization for the plants to produce greater yield. We were so impressed with all the ingenuity they were using to make the most of every inch of the property so they could improve the quality of life for the children and be able to support more kids.

Next, he gave us a tour of his cottage. We loved the sign hanging on his wall, and we sure could relate.

On our 2nd work day, we got to work directly on the construction of the new Boys’ Home. We were given the task of carrying a “mountain” of bricks up to the 2nd floor, to be used for constructing the walls. It sounded simple enough, but boy was it a process to fill a wheel barrow with 50 bricks (though Bud could stack 80!), push it 75 yards across the gravel and into the bottom floor, do a “brick passing brigade” up the stairway, and then get them stacked in the right “upper room.” Then, repeat…and repeat…and repeat. We were pretty proud of ourselves when we stacked our one thousand, six hundred and twenty seventh brick!! Phewww!

On a break on our 2nd work day, Shayla had one of her Bucket List dreams for our trip come true…to ride a “moto” somewhere en route. One of the things she gave up for this extended family venture was getting her Driver’s License when she turns 16 (next month) like she’d envisioned. Believe me, she has no regrets about the trade-off, but you could see by her glowing grin that this made up for it all the more. Trevor got in on the action too!

When it was time for lunch, Bud walked us out the property gate and about 200 yards down the dirt road to a little thatched roof restaurant where he claimed the woman made the best fried rice in the area. Hands, down…we were all in agreement…Man, did it hit the spot!!

The lunch tasted incredible, but hearing Bud’s life stories as we ate together was even better…stories of different countries he had lived in during his construction career, stories of the many kids (dozens!) he had raised (as a foster or adoptive parent) in addition to his own, and stories of his times here in Thailand, learning the Thai ways, launching projects, baking his much loved banana bread for the kids by special request, and loving on the children. What a rich life he has led! There is something so “good for the soul” and so contagious about being with someone who is right  where they belong, living out their calling, letting God use their gifts, and overflowing with gratitude from their journey.

It is so inspiring being with Bud and seeing how fulfilled he is, and meeting others in various countries who have left their “ordinary jobs” in the US (or they use their vacation time), responding to a call God has stirred in their hearts…and seeing what a difference it makes in the lives of others—and what utter contentment and joy it brings them too. …an engineer who is helping drill wells in a village in Africa where there’s no clean water to drink;  a young finance grad who knows nothing about agriculture, but he’s helping increase the food supply of an impoverished community through trial and error experiments; a corporate professional who is using her jewelry-making hobby to teach beading to village women in India, tripling their daily earnings and enabling them to feed their family; a nurse who is helping prevent a generation of youth from dying of AIDS like their parents did…and others.

Wow…If ever someone is lacking meaning or purpose in their work (or in their life)…there is so much need  in these developing countries, and so much that anyone can do that is so significant. Just come—come with what you have. Bring any skill you have, any hobby or interest, or just an open heart, really--and God will do amazing things with whatever you offer, and blow you away with joy. That is certainly what He is doing with our family.