God is Good!

We are in the middle of our first week of teaching and what a blessing it has been! The Thai students are all very respectful and full of smiles, which makes it a joy to teach them...well, most of them. My favorite are, of course, cute, chubby little boys who turn away shyly when we talk them...they are just so precious :)

Anyways, UPDATE: we have finally gotten a complete schedule of classes and the team has gotten used to our lesson plans. At today's English Corner, our after school program for the students, we practiced spelling and helping the kids with their pronunciation through the reading of the story of Zaccheus. The story helped us introduce the idea of salvation and Christ's forgiveness to us. I even had a student ask me about forgiveness! It was very exciting to have struck a curiosity in them about Jesus.

God has definitely been very good to us. For the past few days, there has been nice, heavy downpour, which really helps cool the heat. It is still very HOT but tolerable. The teachers at the school are also very appreciative of our help, and it is very nice to know that we're a blessing to them and not a burden. Many of them are very baffled by the idea that we, a group of collegians from America with all different majors, were willing to give up our summer and to come to Thailand to teach English without pay. But perhaps our sacrifice will allow them to see Jesus' love. We are trying to take hold of every opportunity God gives to us, and are very excited to see what else God will be doing.

Through this trip, God has also showed us a lot about ourselves. For me, I have come to accept that I have a gift in language. Because we are in an area very close to Burma and China, many people here in Chang Rai are either part Chinese or full Chinese so they can speak Mandarin very well. I don't think I have ever spoken Mandarin so much in my life but it is wonderful to have that ability where I am able to communicate with the students and create a deeper relationship with them. Definitely all apart of God's planning.

Last but not least, thank you, everyone, for the continuous prayer supports! 


—Esther


p.s. I hate sharing a bed with Alisa! j/k.