culture shock

It almost feels impossible to sum up and convey my thoughts about this trip...so many stories and feelings that I want to share! I will stick with the highlights, so here it goes:

I can't stop thinking about the amazing kids we were able to meet and spend time with. The minute we arrived we got "picked" by some girls and for most if us they stayed glued to our sides the entire time we were there. I was concerned about the language barrier, but amazingly communication wasn't that difficult. And what we couldn't say was definitely communicated in feelings. My 2 girls were May and Dinae (which i discovered on the last day was actually Jenny!!). May is 11 and Jenny is 12. I wish I could tell you their stories and how they came to be in the orphanage, but I don't know their stories. It doesn't really matter how they came to be there, the fact is they are. I can't imagine what it must be like to have no family - no parents to comfort them when they are ill, to be proud of them when they do well, to tell them a bedtime story at night. In spite of this, they are happy, well-adjusted young girls! On our last day there about 12 of the girls performed a traditonal Thai dance for us and both of my girls were dancers. The tears came for me when May, standing up on the stage scanned the crowd and when she saw me her eyes lit up and she got the biggest smile on her face and gave me a little hand wave. Then it occurred to me that this was probably the first time she ever had anyone in the crowd that she wanted to perform for and make proud....even typing this now I can't help but cry. And I was so proud of both of them!! They are beautiful young women and my continuing prayer for them is that they will get a chance to succeed in life and not end up in the sex trade as many of the girls in Thailand do. We are working with the locals there in trying to set up scholarships for the girls so they can attend a trade school there in hopes of providing them a way to make their own way. It's hard not to feel helpless in the grand scheme of things, but I know that our time there just playing with and loving on the girls has made a huge difference and more importantly a lasting impact. To those of you who supported us finacially and prayerfully, I can't thank you enough!! You gave me the opportunity of a lifetime and impcated these children that you don't even know in ways that will affect their entire future - thank you.

Now on to the lighter side! Thailand is a beautiful country and if you ever get the chance to go don't hesitate! We had some amazing food - hot peppers, bugs, ant larvae and all!! And the Thai massage was incredible! Those of you who are my clients (I am a massage therapist) look out!! I stole some pretty good moves from them - get ready to be twisted like a pretzel! As you've seen from previous blogs, we got stuck in the elevator (the sign said capacity was 10 people, but I don't think they meant big Americans!!), fed elephants on the streets & had some fabulous R&R in stunning Krabi. I had a foot massage and pedicure right there on the beach and I went on an elephant trek where I got to ride an elephant (her name was Kamoon) through a rubber tree plantation. Then we got to see how the rubber was made, then explored some caves and went swimming in a mineral springs pond - amazing! Joy and I spent an extra day in Bangkok where we got to explore a bit and then went shopping in the weekend market. We had to cut the sightseeing short though because I was ill - I had been badly sunburned in Krabi - yes, I wore sunscreen!! The sun there is much different though and being a freckled red-head 45 block was no match for the blazing sun! I had heat exhaustion and wasn't able to sweat through my burned skin and sort of went into shock. Fred got me in to see and acupuncturist though and that helped tremendously! This cute little 80 year old Chinese man fixed me up with some acupuncture and some "medicine" that they made for me on the spot - it's like a really foul tasting tea that I'm taking twice a day for the next week - and it's helping! I feel so much better and must say that I'm happy to back in the deliciously cool Seattle weather!

this was a trip of a lifetime for me - thank you to everyone who made it possible!!!

Janelle Wehrman