Project: Christmas Warmth

The last couple of weeks here in Thailand have been busy.  A lot of changes, and transitions, and things happening.  

November 18 my friend, Lindsey arrived from Arkansas.  She will be living in Thailand with me until September.  It's so wonderful to have a friend here.  A person to laugh with, and work with, and adventure with.  Lindsey and I both worked with YWAM in Oxford, New Zealand.  I was in Oxford in 2006 and the beginning of 2007, Lindsey was there 2007-2009.  So although we've been in contact for 4 years, this is our first time working together.  It's been great and I'm excited she's here for the year!

We also had a World Race team living with us for the month of November.  The squad was split into smaller teams to work with the different ministries of Lighthouse in Action.  I had one girl who came out with me to the red light district a few nights a week to work with the kids.  Hannah and I would teach english, play games, and sing with the kids.  It was such a fun month! I was blessed to have a person working with me that was just as crazy, and fun as I am! And she connected with the kids so well!

This past month has been focused on connecting with the kids.  I have been told that last year in the red light district there were upwards of 20 kids that sold flowers in the streets every night.  The past month I've never seen more than 3 or 4 in one night.  Because of this we've gotten to connect with each kid much more.  We know what each of them like to do.  We've been able to work with them one on one and really get to know them.  This turned out to be a huge blessing as we prepared for Project: Christmas Warmth.

Project: Christmas Warmth was started in 2011 by my friend, Bethsaida.  She saw needs the kids had, and she prayed that God would provide to meet those needs - and He did! Nights in Thai winters get very cold - as cold as 30 degrees fahrenheit.  Many of the kids selling flowers in the street don't have warm clothes, or adequate shoes.  With donations from people at home we were able to raise enough money to bless each of the kids that we've been working with, with GOOD quality gifts.  For each of the kids we were able to get nice warm shoes, jeans, track pants, t-shirts, hoodies, backpacks, a toy, and for each kid something they enjoy.  Whether it was a book, sketchbooks, clay, crayons, notebooks - just something that they love.  

A couple of days ago we went to the red light to hand the gifts out to the kids.  They were so excited! Later in the night we saw one of the boys and he had already put on his new shoes.  He reminded us with a smile that we didn't get him socks, and asked if we would bring him some so his shoes wouldn't smell bad.

I have socks in my backpack to hand out tonight :)

If you would like to see the video we put together of Project: Christmas Warmth 2012 you may click here.

It was great to see that just by spending some quality time with each of the kids every week I've been able to connect with them and know each of their personalities.  And my Thai is getting a little better - I can even have simple conversations with them now :)

Thank you each for your encouragement, support, and willingness to stay connected! 

Seeking Perspective

I’m already entering week three of this giant adventure.  This last week has been more difficult than the previous. I was sick for several days with a head cold.  A head cold with vengeance... 48 hours of not getting out of bed, and close to a week of not leaving the house.  It left me feeling a bit disconnected from the work I have to do here.  Along with feeling disconnected from my work here, I was also feeling a bit disconnected from home.  The time difference along with not feeling well, and busy schedules made it difficult to connect with friends or family for several days.  I found myself in my house in Chiang Mai sick, lonely, and struggling to keep perspective.  

It’s moments like this it would be wonderful to say, “God squashed all discouragement I was feeling and I spent the week full of His joy.”  But instead I allowed myself to get in my head a bit.  If any of you watched the video I posted on my YouTube channel ‘Questions and Answers’, a friend of mine asked: 

“What is something you and God are still working on as you get ready to go.”

My Answer:

“Working on me trusting totally in Him, and not trying to think through everything in my head because thinking about what I’m doing can be really overwhelming and make me feel like I’m not ready.  But in the small moments when I DO trust totally in Him I know that it’s going to be ok... So just living completely in faith and not thinking to much about what I’m doing”

I’m still working on it.  This past week was a week I can learn from.  I tried to think to much through what I’m doing.  I tried to figure it out.  And do you know what trying to figure everything out accomplished?  Nothing.  It just caused me to feel anxiety.  Because I couldn’t figure it out!  And I couldn’t figure it out, because I’m realizing that God wants to work through this His own way  - which isn’t logical.  I want to understand the timing, and the finances, and the details.  

He wants me to listen to His still small voice and be obedient one step at a time.

It’s realizing that victory here looks different from victory at home.  It’s realizing that He didn’t ask me to sell everything I own to stay away for only a couple of months.  It’s realizing that He didn’t call me into a season of faith, so that He could see me struggle.  It’s realizing that He’s faithful, and if He’s asking me to living financially by faith that He’s going to provide.  It’s realizing that when things seem hard, I need to seek Him and not try to figure it out on my own.  It’s realizing that going to the market and have a short simple conversation in Thai, and bringing food back home is successful. It’s realizing that it’s ok to celebrate those success’ as insignificant as they may seem!

And most of those were not great epiphanies in the night.  They weren’t me overcoming fear, or discouragement in a single moment.  They were reminders, encouragements, and wise words from friends.  They were seeking scripture and reading Truth.

Last night I was finally able to go back to the red light district to work with the kids for the first time in almost a week.  As I sat across from a little 6 year old girl and taught her English I saw her face light up.  As we began learning animals, I watched her laugh as she imitated the animal sounds.  As we fashioned letters and small animals out of clay she began to play.  For a moment she was able to be a kid.  She wasn’t selling roses in the streets of the red light district for an hour.  She was being 6 years old.  When it was time to go she thanked us, and as they walked down the street she turned back looking at us with a smile and waved.

Being with those kids, I’m able to get out of my head and trust in God.  Because there’s no logical reason that I am making a difference in these kids lives.  I feel totally inadequate.  Completely inept. I was reminded this week that it’s ok to feel like that — because it’s NOT about me.  I’m going to be reminding myself of that a lot in the coming weeks and months.  

This past week I read a verse 2 Corinthians 3:5-6 “Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God; Who hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.”

When you look at the context of this verse the word sufficient means having the ability or competency to do a thing.  Able means to make sufficient or to equip with adequacy. Ministers are servants, people who follow the orders of another.  

So this verse is telling us that we do not have the ability of competency to do things ourselves, but our ability and competency comes from God.  God has made us sufficient and adequate to serve others and follow His orders.

This means if I am being obedient to Him that my adequacy, and ability to reach out and show His love comes straight from Him.  I can’t do it in my own will. That kind of takes all of the pressure off.  All I have to do is listen.

I realized this morning that things are going to be hard.  This is going to be an uphill battle to be obedient, at least in this season. But God has asked me to follow through with the simplest task I've ever had.   And that simplicity has somehow made it difficult.  The only thing that God is asking me to do is show His love to these kids.  That's it. Allowing them to experience the characteristics of His nature that they have never experienced before.  The characteristics that He's pointed out to me are loyalty, trustworthiness, and consistency.  And I'm not willing to be a person who proves to these kids that they can not trust, that they will always face broken loyalty, or that they will never have consistency in their little lives.   If He's calling me to display this to them I must be willing to be obedient.  To operate solely in His power, and not in my own strength.

When I posted my Facebook status yesterday and said, “...I wonder what I will learn today.”  I didn’t think that it was going to be quite this deep.

“Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again — rejoice!”  Philippians 4:4

The Only Thing Predictable is that it's Unpredictable

Hello everyone!

This week I was able to start working - and I just jumped right in. Sunday night a World Race team arrived.  35 people were on the squad that came in, and they were split into teams to work in different areas of Lighthouse in Action. I don't know a lot about World Race, but if you're interested in finding out more you can check out their website here: www.theworldrace.org I have a group of 7 living with me that will focus on working with Love Acts in the red light district, and with kids in the slums.  

The core purpose of Love Acts - showing the love of Jesus through actions.

Working with the team, getting them moved into my house, and figuring out what my ministry times were going to look like - along with language lessons, and graphic design work in the afternoons created a busy week for me.  Tuesday I celebrated my 26th birthday in Thailand.  Complete with coffee, Thai lessons, dinner with new friends, FaceTiming with friends from home, and a birthday cake.  It was a good day :) 

Wednesday night I was able to go out with Bethsaida again to the red-light district to work with the kids.  When we meet with the kids we pick a spot that has decent lighting in front of a store, or business that's closed for the night.  When we arrived on Wednesday we found that in the spot we had chosen the week before a new bar had opened up, and there was no place for us to meet with the kids.  As we walked down the street, we found a new spot, and we sat and waited. After half an hour of sitting, no kids had come down the street. Eventually we looked up and saw one of the boys we had spent time with last week walking down the street.  He came running over and sat with us for a few minutes, excitedly asking if it was time for gifts yet because he wanted shoes.  Looking down, he walks the streets with bare feet every night.  We explained we would have them in three weeks, and he smiled and wanted to learn more letters and animals in English.


Wednesday night that one little boy is the only kid we saw. As we were walking back to our bikes Bethsaida looked over and said, "The only thing that's predictable about this work, is that it's unpredictable." And I was starting to understand what she meant by that.

Thursday night we were back out in the red-light waiting for more kids.  This time it was almost an hour that went by until we saw one little girl come around the corner with her mom.  She came running over and sat with us, excited to learn.  As I taught her the alphabet, Bethsaida began talk to the girls mom.  After they left it was almost 11pm.  Bethsaida had found out that the boys she had connected with, whom we hadn't seen, had been moved to sell flowers in a different area, but she wasn't sure where.  We decided to try and go find the boys to reconnect with them.  We searched for quite awhile, but weren't able to find them last night.

So this is what my ministry is looking like at the moment. It's not looking for spectacular things.  It's allowing the love of Jesus to shine into a kids life - even if it's just one kid when I go out.  It's still worth it.  As I prepare to go out tonight - thankful that my cold is on the mend, and that it's not raining - I can only pray that God brings the kids that need it the most today.  And maybe even leads me to find the boys that have been moved.  

Consistent, Loyal, Trustworthy.

I have now settled into my house, and began getting into a routine.  It is starting to become real that Thailand will be home for awhile.

Last Monday I moved into my house.  I live in a small neighborhood about a 15 min drive from the red light where i will be working with the street kids, and about a 20 min drive from Wongen Cafe, which is my office in the afternoons :)

For the last week I have been living in the house by myself. It has 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a living room, dining room, and kitchen.  In 2 weeks my friend Lindsey will be moving to Thailand for the year, and will be my roommate. The two extra rooms will be used to host short term teams that come through to work with Lighthouse in Action.

My cute little house in Chiang Mai :)

A look down my street on my walk home.

My little work corner.  Makes me feel right at home :)

Tomorrow afternoon a team of 7 people from World Race will be coming to stay with me for the month. Each of them will be helping me work with the kids ministry during their time here. I'm so excited that there will be other people living with me from now on :)

Last Thursday was my first chance to work with the street kids in the red light. I am so excited for the work I will be doing here. One of the girls who had been working in the red light the past year, Bethsaida, will be transitioning out of the kids ministry as she prepares to move back home, and I will be transitioning in.  For the first few weeks I'm here she will be working in the red light with me and introducing me to the kids. God showed her the need in the red light for these kids.  She went in not knowing any Thai, by herself, and just began loving on them. The kids work every night in the red light selling roses. It's forced labor. They have to work on the streets every night until early hours of the morning sometimes with no shoes, and inadequate clothes.  She brought games, books, and candy so the kids could come rest, and play when they got a break. She began teaching them English - and simply building relationships and loving on them.

The ministry is so simple, but so vital. To be the consistent, loyal, trustworthy love of Jesus in these kids chaotic lives.

 He has THE sweetest heart. I loved hanging out with him!

These two boys loved playing!

She is SO smart! She loves learning English! 

Last Christmas Bethsaida bought clothes and shoes for all the kids she met. This opened up a huge door in these kids lives. She took the opportunity to meet a need in these kids lives and practically show them love. She called this act Project Warmth. December-February can be quite cold at night so providing the kids with warm clothes and shoes broke down a lot of walls.

So this year we are doing the same thing. December 3 we will be handing gifts out to all of the kids.  Even though it's for Christmas, this is when it gets cold. There's no point in them waiting to be warm. We are wanting to raise money to sponsor 25 kids to get them warm clothes and new shoes.  This will cost approximately $25 per child.

If you're interested in donating to Project Warmth, you can click here.  All donations will go directly to purchasing shoes and clothes for the kids. I will be posting pictures and videos of project warmth as they become available. If you have any questions feel free to email me at kristenwilkes.design@gmail.com

So that is my focus as the moment - along with learning Thai :) I love what I'm doing here and I'm really excited for you all to have a chance to connect with these kids and the work that God is doing as I build relationships here.

For now, it is time for me to go and pick up my bike that I will be renting for the month so I don't have to walk everywhere anymore. Thank you Jesus :)