happy birthday!
i almost forgot to say, 4 days ago was yaay pensri’s 64th birthday! i hope she had as great of a birthday as Abi did over the summer… It was Abi’s birthday during our first half-week at our ministry sites. we had only been in our homestays for 1 full day before I mentioned to daniel and ansell that abi was turning 20 on saturday! we did some over-the-top gesturing, charades and pictures to convey the idea of ggao’s birthday to our grandmas. to my surprise, they were so excited to hear about the birthday and even planned a surprise party for her! it was one of my favorite memories about bangkok… I was terribly homesick and regretting my choice to come on the Trek. i couldn’t see why the heck God had dumped me in the outskirts of bangkok for a whole month. why did God choose me to be here, now? I’ll never forget looking around at our motley crue of random thai people and random students from the US, huddled in yaay boonsri’s small living room hashing out an elaborate plan to get abi and her grandma in taxis to the Ruth Center, and then instead to my house, without abi realizing it was all for her. we planned a secret note delivery, biking, walking, an escape route, a backup plan, a cake. and even after we said goodbye that night, while i was snuggled inside my mosquito net ready for another night psychologically battling the mice, our friends came over and knocked on our door to KEEP planning! they sat in a circle with my grandma, their faces dimly lit by a bright reading light she keeps next to her while she sleeps. i barely picked up any of what they were saying, but i couldn’t stop smiling. it was so funny. so sweet. so simple so real so wonderful so kind of them. who was I, what had I ever done in my pathetic easy life to deserve to be invited into this setting? to be treated like an honored guest in this home, AND a daughter? as if i were doing some service? i didn’t bring absolutely anything to the table, and here i was getting a glimpse into a life so different from my own. well the party plan went off without a hitch, i’m pleased to say. we had the most delicious spicy glass noodles with beef…….yummmmmmmm… and pepsi with ice… and a yummy cake from the market that a stream of ants also enjoyed pretty quickly once we were done. and we even had more cake with all the Trekkers at Sabbath team time the next day. so yeah. i hope yaay pensri’s birthday went kind of like that.
