There are so many stories, so many memories, it is hard to know where to begin. I came into the camp alone and afraid, and they accepted me in as family. I became a mother and sister and daughter and friend. The children stole my heart away with the first hug; they captured my spirit with the first giggle; they kidnapped my soul when they raised their hands to worship Jesus. I love them with every ounce of my being.
I journeyed to Thailand with a team that did work throughout Vietnam, Thailand, and Laos. It was a pleasure and honor to get to know these servants of Christ. I was able to accompany them into Vietnam. What an experience to travel in a Communist country. The best part was being able to attend a church service of some Vietnamese people. It was very small and hidden, but the people sang out with all their hearts. The people are hungry for God’s word and are requesting 10,000 more Mung Bibles.
After Vietnam, I stayed in Bangkok with a friend while the team went to Laos before meeting in Chiang Mai to travel to the refugee camps together. Knowing I was so close to meeting the kids was driving me crazy and I could barely handle waiting in Bangkok. Even before I ever knew them, God gave me a love for these kids that I could not explain. I counted the hours until I could finally see their faces.
When the day finally came that we went to the KT (Shekinah Children’s Home), my heart was bursting with excitement. As we pulled in, all the children came running down the hill to meet and greet us with hugs. All my fears disappeared in that moment and I was ready to make this jungle mound my home. The team left to rest, and I stayed behind to play with the children. Within two hours of being there, bombs began to go off across the river (Burma), which was only about a football field away. The children were terrified and took off running in all directions. Eight children and I hid behind some large boulders at the bottom of the hill. In the moment it seemed surreal and I was not afraid, but seeing the fear in the children’s eyes—seeing them sleep two to three in a bed, wet the bed, have nightmares—it put it in perspective. This was their reality. Those same bombs had driven them from their homeland and killed their family. It was heartbreaking to be with them, where they were supposed to feel safe, and know that they didn’t. In order to help ease their fear at night, I slept with the girls, always sharing my mat with one of them and giggling with them until everyone grew tired. Bedtime was definitely something I looked forward to.A typical day began at 6 am with singing, praying, and listening to a short sermon. Afterwards we would do our “morning duty” of sweeping all the leaves from underneath the mango trees into big piles to be burned. By the time we finished, it would be about 8:00 am—breakfast—which usually consisted of rice, eggs, and fish paste with chilies. Oh how they laughed at me as I tried to get used to the spicy food, and even more so as I tried to “correctly” eat with my hands. I was happy to make to them laugh, even if it was at my own expense. After breakfast the children would play outside before the sun would fully rise and make it too hot to function. At around noon, we would gather for a snack: a box of soy milk and a few cookies. (This would hold us over until dinner.) In the afternoon’s we would sometimes have a music or English class, while on others we would lay on the floor in front of the small TV and watch episodes of Tom and Jerry or Mr. Bean. The kids cannot speak English, but they loved to watch and laugh.(Astrid, the woman who funds the home, brought the new Karate Kid movie one evening. The kids LOVED it. It was so funny to watch each of them try to do their best Kung Fu moves on their friends. I think we watched that movie three times that week.) At 5:00 pm, we have dinner which is more rice, chilies, fish paste, and maybe some potatoes and some weird jungle veggie. Before 7:00 pm, we would shower while it was still hot enough to handle the cold water but cool enough to not sweat too much. At 7:00 pm, we would have worship again. I learned a lot of patience since every sermon was in Karen, but it was worth it because of the singing. By the end of my time there, I could sing almost every song with them in their language and do the actions. They LOVE to sing!! And I love to sing with them. After worship, we would watch TV until our nine o’clock bedtime so we could do it all over again.
One of my favorite things about living with them in the jungle was how slowly the days past. Because it was summer in Thailand, the kids did not have school, so we were able to just get to know one another. The children and teachers loved to practice English with me while I loved to learn Karen from them. Right before I arrived, someone had donated a playground for the kids which included a section of three swings. One of the first words the children learned was “Push!” which beckoned me to push them on the swing. Rather than call me by my name, the children called me “Teacher” which in reality sounded more like “Tee-ah” or “Teach-ah.” After much persuading, I convinced the cooks and teachers to call me “Kelsey.” It was entertaining to hear them try to pronounce it (I never knew my name was so hard!).
My responsibilities at the KT were to give the children with health conditions their medicine, bandage any “owies,” preach some sermons, teach some English, and discipline on occasion. To be honest, I really just felt like I was a Mom. When a child cried I would hold him and kiss him until he was ok. I would play with the kids and tickle them and tease them. We would praise Jesus together and pray for each other. I would worry about and miss them whenever we were apart—even if it was only for a few hours. My funniest “Mom moment” was during the Vacation Bible School weeks we had. The children from Pastor Jimmy’s camp joined us for two weeks which included his two daughters—Paw Paw and Mae Mae (ages 14 and 12). As I was sleeping in the girls’ dorm one night, I was awakened to the sound of CheeGay coughing (she is six years old and has severe asthma). I got up to get her inhaler and noticed that Paw Paw and Mae Mae weren’t in the bed they were laying in when I fell asleep. After getting CheeGay settled and back to sleep, I looked through the dark to see where they were. When I did not find them, I began to freak out. I ran up to the building where the women slept to see if they had moved up there in the night. As I searched, I woke three of the women up, causing them to panic as well. I decided to go back to the dorm and search—this time with the lights on. Of course, I found them sleeping safely and soundly in the far corners of the dorm. Everyone laughed at me at breakfast the next day when the three women told the story. I remember trying to sleep that night thinking “so this is what mothering feels like.”
I have so many more memories I would love to share with you—some good, some sad, some scary. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or want to hear more. I love to talk about it.
One afternoon at the camp, Astrid was sharing stories about the amazing things God has done during her 20 years of mission work. It was so amazing, I was moved to tears. She looked me in the eyes and said, “Kelsey, I can’t wait to hear your stories in 20 years.” She had mentioned the possibility of me coming back again for a longer term. I had already been thinking about it for weeks before she brought it up. Now that I’m back I can think of nothing else. I have kept in frequent contact with her, and am tentatively planning in December for a year-long term. I am excited, honored, and humbled to be part of something so much bigger than myself. Why God would choose to use someone like me—who knows nothing other than my own small work—to become a fulltime servant of Him is beyond my comprehension, but like I said, why settle for an extraordinary life when we serve an extraordinary God? One phrase that Pastor Jimmy and Luke (a teacher at KT) told me over and over again was “I cannot do anything, but God can do everything.” I am confident in God’s call and am pursuing it with a heart of joy. I am so excited to see what God has in store for me!! I know it is going to be far better than anything I could imagine or plan. My goal still is to make little of myself and much of my God. May my life bring glory to His name!
Thank you SO MUCH for your support and your prayers. This could not have happened if not for your love, prayers, and support. I am so humbled to be blessed so much. I pray you all may experience the joy I have received from your offerings. God bless you, my friends.
A bondslave of Christ,
Kelsey Erickson
