I'm not dreaming of a white Christmas...

This past Saturday was the Good Shepherd Outreach Christmas party. There were about 200 people there. It was amazing. Families and children who are supported by Good Shepherd services attended. These families receive food, medical support, HIV support, and milk powder (for their babies) from Good Shepherd. The children, including the teenagers I teach, come to the Friendship Centre every other weekend for activities and English programs.

The children put on awesome performances that they had been practicing. I also got to be in the teenager’s performance because they needed another body. I had a lot of fun wearing my Santa hat and green skirt, dancing with candles and boughs and stars J We performed to “O Christmas Tree”, “Deck the Halls”, and a sweet song that goes “I’m not dreaming of a white Christmas, all I’m dreaming of is a peaceful world.” The younger kiddos performed to Jingle Bells, We Wish You A Merry Christmas, and Jingle Bell Rock. So cute!

The Friendship Centre was transformed into a Christmas wonderland by staff, workers, and us volunteers. It was beautiful!! At one point, Kia exclaimed, “Do they really have to do everything so perfect??!” Every detail was thoughtfully executed, from the balloon arrangements to the handmade bamboo nativity hut to Santa’s chair. We were busy preparing two weeks prior, especially the Outreach staff (Kate, Daen, Maew, Perm Sak, Sr. Pranee) and I thought numerous times that if we were back in the States, decorations would have been store-bought, ready-made. Much more time-saving, but also less special I think. Here, we cut out and attached every snowman’s nose, Kate carefully folded ribbons into masterful bows, Wanchai painstakingly built the bamboo hut.

After the children performed, the Outreach staff invited the people to bring up their gifts to the baby Jesus in the nativity set, with Chaon and Pik kneeling on either side as Joseph and Mary. Every year, they ask the people to bring small offerings of food, which Outreach will then bring to poor families in the villages. I was very moved by this part. People lined up so respectfully and deeply bowed to the nativity set before placing their donations. The Thai people have different forms of the “wai”, the bow. But this is the most respectful  one I’ve seen – on the knees, forehead to the knees. It also spoke to me of humility and acceptance – Christmas asks people to SURRENDER to the love of a powerless baby. Christmas asks us to put our faith and hope into this mystery of life. These Buddhist villagers showed me what it means to put the ego aside and bow down to the wonder and awe of life. They don’t worship Jesus as God, but their reverence and respect for the baby Jesus was so tangible.

Santa Clause also came to visit to pass out the gifts to everyone! An American man who has lived in Thailand now for many years, this was the second year he played Santa Clause for Good Shepherd Nongkhai. He has a natural white ponytail and full beard and full belly and full voice, so he really looked and sounded like Santa! I really enjoyed his jovial presence, which felt very American to me. I felt like I was back home hearing his “Ho ho ho’s”. He is also a very spiritual man who told Antonia that he prays for each person as he passes out the gifts. I actually started to cry when he made a short speech about the meaning of Christmas, about the peace and love of the season. I think mixed in there were the feelings of homesickness the whole party stirred up in me and the overwhelming bounty of love present.

After lunch, Nuphit’s daughter (around 12 years old) sang Silent Night in Thai for her mother in front of everyone. It was beautiful and also moved me to tears. It was doubly amazing because she was so confident in front of so many people – in my experience, Asian girls tend to be so shy. But she was so strong and confident up there. Nuphit, her mother, has largely, though not completely, lost the use of her legs. She needs a crutch to help her walk. But Antonia said that for a time, Nuphit would bike 6 km to work, to provide for her daughter. Now she has a motorcycle. Amazing. While her daughter sang, I cried out of gratitude for witnessing that kind of love. I cried because of the joy despite so much suffering in that group of people. I cried for my own family’s struggles and my own homesickness.

So many emotions, which is just about right for this Good Shepherd Volunteer in her home away from home! Thailand is a Buddhist country, so Christmas here is really not celebrated. Some things pop up on TV and in stores, but it’s more commercial than anything (though that’s not much different from the States I suppose!). But at the Good Shepherd Outreach party this weekend, I truly felt the magic of Christmas. Not in the same way as I did when I was 5-years-old and leaving notes for Santa so that he would know where to find us in the Philippines. But in the way that Christmas lights twinkle their way through the dark. In the way that the wise men followed the star, even though they didn’t know where it was leading them. In the way that pure joy and love transforms sickness and fear and sorrow.

And that was just the start of the parties! Three or four more to come!

Offering gifts of food. 

 The handmade bamboo hut!

 Christmas Tree decorating competition. My winning team's tree = far right. With Ying as the Star!

Antonia the red-nosed reindeer and Jiem and Wansai make merry. 

Showerheads.

I didn’t post anything for Thanksgiving, so in the spirit of gratitude, this post.

I just got back from a 12-day vacation in the Philippines. I am very grateful to have had that time with my mom and family there. It was full of reunions. With my two aunts and three cousins who live in the States and flew over with my mom. With my two uncles and aunt and cousins who live in Manila. With my 4-year-old cousin Jia whom I met for the first time on this trip! With my cousin Joanne who lives in my mom’s hometown of Hagonoy. With my mom’s cousins and family from her mom’s side who also live in Hagonoy. With my mom’s high school friends – they had a big reunion at their old high school, class of 1975! With my mom’s college friends. I’m so lucky to have such a big family in the Philippines!

It was a very full trip. I went to a beauty pageant. I saw the musical “The King and I” on stage. I got my teeth cleaned at the dentist. I went to my Uncle Eddie’s burial (there was a funeral back in California that I missed because I was in Malaysia, now he’s interred in the Philippines, at his family’s cemetery). I ate a lot of delicious Filipino food that I haven’t had in years. I ate an amazing soy burger. I went to Tagaytay to see Taal Lake and the volcano. I ate a lot of halo halo. I stayed in a hotel penthouse with my mom and her high school friends. I Skyped my dad and sister in California. I went to the mall. So full!

I’m so very grateful for my mom’s and family’s generosity. I really loved being with all of them.

Now I’m back in Thailand. Yesterday on the hour-long bus ride from the airport to my town, I chatted with an American gentleman coming to visit his daughter, who now resides in Laos. He gave me her number for when I make a visa trip to Laos at the end of December – I’m very grateful for that contact because I will probably go alone. Then I was very grateful to be back here in my quiet farm town! To be back in my little room, in my house with my two housemates. I had such a sweet welcome from my community here. And I arrived just in time for Nonnie’s fifth birthday dinner! Nothing better than coming home after travelling to good people and good food.

To top off my homecoming, today was the King’s birthday, which means it was Father’s Day, which means that it was a holiday! I was very grateful to sleep in today – I slept about 12 hours! Then I spent the day working on some craft projects, watching “Shark Night” (terrible but perfect for a lazy day), and hanging out with Kia and Katrine. At one point during the day, after hanging my laundry, I walked back to my room which I was in the process of reorganizing and I had this very settled and happy feeling of really being home. I felt, yea, I do belong here. It was a really nice feeling.

Last thanksgiving I’ll offer in this entry: for community and for my showerhead! To preface this anecdote, some background info. When I first arrived, Antonia suggested that I keep a container in my bathroom filled with water, for when water gets shut off all throughout town, which she said happens at certain times in the year. I never got around to getting such a container, but when the water shut-off finally occurred, maybe a month and a half ago, it wasn’t too big of a deal because the water came back later in the day. However, after that, the water pressure in my shower just wasn’t what it used to be (which was actually pretty good). Since the water shut-off and lack of pressure were caused by a general lack of water pressure and low rainfall, I just showered with my showerhead as per usual, even though it took forever to wash my hair out (I could have switched to bucket baths of course, but honestly I just felt too lazy to do that). But finally after a couple weeks of this, the water pressure became just a dribble. So, I did the next best thing…I started using the nozzle (on a short hose) next to my toilet, which continued to have really amazing pressure, even better than my showerhead ever had. In Thailand, there are two preferred styles of cleaning yourself after using the toilet: toilet paper or the water nozzle. I like having the hose in my bathroom because I use it to clean (I don’t have an enclosed shower which makes it even easier). Well, for the last month, I was also grateful to have the hose because it made showering much faster.

When I arrived back yesterday, I was told that Nongkhai had gotten more rain than usual over the last couple weeks. I was excited to hear this because I thought maybe my shower would be back to normal pressure. But when I tried it later, I was disappointed to see that it was worse than ever.

Then, some valuable information came my way. When I mentioned my disappointment to Kia this morning, she told me that our Thai coworker Perm Sak showed her how to use a needle to clear the showerhead of calcium deposits! She said after she did that, her shower was back to normal and it was so nice again. When it was time to shower again tonight, I cleared out the calcium (I’m such a volunteer – I actually wondered if it was the same kind of calcium the human body needs and if I could ingest that kind of calcium should I require it) and lo and behold! I have my water pressure back! Still didn’t have hot water, but I was so happy I grinned through my whole shower. Thank you Perm Sak, Kia, and safety pins. I’m so excited to take my showerhead shower tomorrow again J