Slum Cooking Fun!

Today reminded me of one of the days of our past mission trip. We got the privilege to visit 2 different schools. One of the ones was a small Burmese school for grades 1-5. They have a population of around 70 students with 4 teachers. Each classroom has 2 grade levels with teachers alternating lessons and work for each grade.

The second school was a Thai school with a population of 300 children, grades 1-9 with 18 teachers. Here we were able to spend more time with them and actually we did some English lessons for a 4th grade and a 9th grade class. Amazingly they were so hungry to learn English. Yet it is so difficult to get an English teacher because they do not have the funding to hire one. They readily welcome volunteers and stop all things so that their kids can interact and hear English from foreigners like us. The coolest part was that through the English lessons we got to share who we were and our purpose and that we were Christians looking to help children’s organizations in Thailand.

Next we got to meet P’Noi’s family. He is married to Bronwyn and has two children, Daniel and Naomi who are 3 and 1 yr 9 months respectively. We got to share and get to know them as a couple and talk about family and ministry together. It was a wonderful bonding experience. Praise God for their heart for the Ratchaburi community.

P’Noi heard that one of the things that we did in the past for Khaodee was cook for them so he asked if we would do that for the 20 Burmese slum children. Without hesitation we said sure. So we went to the local market and did some shopping and came back with some long green beans, pork and eggs. As we were prepping the food, all the children and some of the adults came out and joined to watch us. We took a small propane tank and frying pan cooked up a storm. (Yes you just light a fire to the spout of the tank and that becomes your stove…scary?…yes…hot?...extremely…) For about an hour we cooked nonstop and served these kids and even had enough to feed many of the adults. The kids were not shy about eating, they came and had full bowls and cleaned them up with room for seconds.

The full mouths and huge smiles on these children’s faces were enough to make me want to do this every day. Food brings community together and it was evident today. After the meal, we passed our chips, candy, and drinks to all the children who were out playing and laughing around us. And many of adults had big smiles on their faces seeing their loved ones really happy and well fed. Honestly I know this meal was one of the rare times when meat was in abundance and bellies were at capacity. How many days of the week do we indulge in these blessings and not think twice about it… (I am the first to raise my hand)

Brian