Thai Village home visits - a volunteer's perspective

Only a handful of our artisans at Thai Village work out of our small office in Pa Daet, Chiang Mai. The majority come in for training and to pick up materials, and then take their work with them to complete at home. It's for this reason, that home visits are a really important part of taking care of our Thai Village team.

Occasionally I get to go with our Thai managers on one of their home visits, as I did this week. We sit on the floor together over lunch and hear our artisan's struggles, their hopes and dreams and how we can support them. We hope it's an encouragement to them. It certainly is to me and here's why:

1. Purpose: A lot of my work at Thai Village is paper-pushing behind the scenes. I actually quite like it and I'm happy to do it but the home visits remind me why I do what I do. On home visits, I get to see in person the impact of a stable income on our artisans, on their families and on their communities. We hear how it is enabling them to climb out of difficult situations and how it has brought hope and dignity. For me, this is the "why" of the number-crunching on the inventory and the following up of sales contacts. That "God is Good" banner that I just sold is more than just a pretty decoration; it's a livelihood; it's a medical bill paid or school fees covered; it's a true symbol that God's goodness has reached a small cement room in a corner of Chiang Mai. That is what spurs me on. 

2. Inspiration: So often, I find that visiting our artisans leaves me inspired and motivated by their example. It's a challenge honestly when I meet a young Mum, working multiple jobs, barely sleeping to provide for her family or a Christian convert so passionate for Jesus that he is spending all his spare time and money visiting neighbors and villages to share the good news. I often leave with renewed vision to live my own life with more faith, more perseverance and more gratitude. 

3. Perspective: It is too easy for all of us to live a life separate from those who are different to us, who have not had the privileged life we have. Here in Chiang Mai, my kids go to an international school, we have air conditioning in our home and access to health care and travel opportunities. This is a privileged life for sure but if I didn't see first-hand the paths that my brothers and sisters have to walk, I could easily forget that. I could feel hard done by that we can't travel to the US/UK as often as we would like or that our car is old and falling apart. I'm so glad for work that adjusts the lens on my view of the world and helps me keep things in perspective. 

4. Responsibility: On that same note, it is being with our artisans that reminds me of the responsibility I have to use what I have to serve those less privileged - to give, to pray, to volunteer, to buy ethically, to speak out for justice. We know the command to "love our neighbour" but we don't always know how to do it. I often stall at this. But the home visits help me see tangible ways to help, to hold hands in prayer, to encourage and to help sell our products so our artisans can make a living. You can make a difference too. Our customers are a hugely important link in the chain of self-sustainability here at Thai Village. We all have a part to play.  

5. Connection: Finally, I love home visits because it gives me the chance to connect, to build relationships across the lines of culture, language and economic status. To be honest, it is not easy or fast. My language acquisition is slow. I don't get a lot of what the conversations are about over our lunch and I rely on our bilingual team members to fill me in, but I am learning, I am growing, I am present and that bond is somehow powerful. I feel a connection with these new friends and I hope they feel it too.

Today I got to meet this lovely family. 

Jalern is a skilled carpenter and is currently working on a new Easter design for Thai Village. He and his engaging wife are hard-working, talented, creative, humble and kind and the visit hit all five of the above points for me. I know many of our team left inspired, encouraged and energized in our work. These are salt of the earth people and we are so honored to be partnering with them.

On behalf of Jalern and many others, thanks to all of you who support Thai Village with your prayers and purchases. It makes a difference. 

An important piece of paper - part 2

I've been hearing good things about Chiangmai immigration recently - less waiting, less paperwork and even stories of immigration officials bringing out Birthday cake for people celebrating their day by waiting in line!

This is good news because honestly, if you live overseas, you spend a lot of time at immigration. It's one of the less glamorous parts of an overseas life . . . . 90-day check-ins, visa renewals, applying for re-entry permit before we leave and updating our residence every time we get back. I have not added up the time spent filling in forms for a family of 5 or waiting in line for someone's important piece of paper but it has been a lot. 

As some of you may know, I have been having a bit of drama with my visa recently. When I started work at Thai Village I switched my dependent visa linked to Tyler's job to a volunteer visa of my own. Thanks to a lot of work by my Thai Village team-mates, I was able to get a 1-year work permit on this visa in November last year! A big answered prayer as work permits had previously been disallowed for holders of volunteer visas. 

The checklist of papers for the work permit is pretty extensive!

Jessie and I are holding the papers but really Jade (front right) did all of the work!

This was a huge high point on the paperwork journey . . . but there have been many low points too like being denied visa renewal recently and having to leave the country unexpectedly at short notice.

So far, in the past 9 months, I have done 3 visa run trips to neighbouring countries - Vietnam, Malaysia and Laos - plus obtained one visa during a planned trip to the UK. If you know me, you'll know that I love to travel so it's not the worst burden ever, but honestly visa runs are costly and are mostly all the boring bits about travel and not much of the fun stuff, unless you have time and money to add on some extra days. In Vietnam we did (see this post) but not so much the other times.

Our most recent visa run to Vientiane, Laos was 2 days spent mostly waiting at the consulate and working in coffee shops but I enjoyed a few walks around the city and snapped this pic outisde Wat Sisaket

Tyler and I are very lucky that we have colleagues at our places of work who prepare most of our immigration paperwork for us. With rules often changing and officials being very strict about how forms are filled, we are so glad we are not on our own in this and we're very grateful for the hard work of our team-mates. Thank you!

I am writing this post now, because my visa obtained in Laos will be up for renewal soon and together with my colleagues at Thai Village, we are hoping to successfully extend our visas for a full year, thus eliminating the need and expense of more visa runs. I would be grateful for your prayers in this process. The pile of papers required will be even thicker than for the work permit!

In the mean time, I will be going to immigration next week to do a 90-day check-in for two of our kids (don't ask how the five of us got on four separate 90-day schedules!!) and maybe, if I'm lucky, someone near me will be having a Birthday that day! 

An important piece of paper - part 1

One of the challenging things about being a trailing spouse in this move to Thailand was that whilst Tyler had a work permit from the get-go, my immigration status was purely "dependent" - meaning not allowed to work or even volunteer. My pursuit of work here with Thai Village has therefore also entailed the rather longwinded and at times overwhelming process of securing a work permit. Oh the joys of immigration paperwork for those of us who choose to live overseas!

As an initial step in this process, I first had to cancel my dependent visa linked to Tyler's job, leave Thailand and re-enter on a volunteer visa. I am hence writing from Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, where a visit to the Thai consulate here this week has ticked off this first important step.

It was a fairly straightforward process but not without some of the typical idiosyncrasies of carrying out tasks in an unknown country. With all my paperwork already gathered, the only piece I needed to complete in Vietnam was finding some US dollars to pay the application fee. Interestingly enough, dollars are quite readily accepted here, but apparently, not that easy to get hold of. After a couple of failed attempts at banks, I was told, they could only be found at the gold exchange shop in the local market! 

Hoping we wouldn't actually have to pay in gold, we set off and found a lady who was very happy to take my Thai baht in exchange at a fairly hefty commission. She used up 2 pages in her notebook explaining how she got to her final number in very broken English and I left a little confused but with the precious greenbacks in my wallet.

Spot me in the bottom right-hand corner negotiating with the gold exchange lady

We then got a taxi to the consulate which was sadly the ONLY taxi ride in Vietnam so far that has been less than a pleasant experience. Pretty sure there was some slight of hand in the exchange of money and then he dropped us, not exactly where we wanted to be. Thankfully, we found a lovely lady on a scooter who spoke good English and she not only pointed us in the right direction but led us there on her scooter, with us running behind at a pace in the 35 degree heat!

After we found the consulate, the rest of the process was without event. The small room inside the gate felt like strangely familiar surroundings, with pictures of the Thai royalty and photos of Thailand all around. It's funny how you don't notice how much a place is familiar until you're out of it in a totally new and unfamiliar country. Vietnam has reminded me how far we have come in settling in to Thailand!

Anyway, that is the end of the immigration process for now. The next stage starts when we get back to Thailand and have to extend the initial 3 months visa and apply for the actual work permit. Part 2 will come later if it has any twists and turns of interest - which I imagine it might.

For now, here's a few photos of Vietnam which we are thoroughly enjoying. I have to say that that one taxi driver was the absolute exception to the norm in terms of kindness and friendliness of the people here. We have encountered so many lovely people, from the random scooter riders who shouted out "Welcome to Saigon" as they passed us on the street, to a family in the park who invited us to play badminton with them and the many many eager English students who have wanted to practice their English with us.

We chatted to this group of university students in the park for about 45 minutes

The food of course is also absolutely delicious, especially the pho noodle soup and the banhmi (French baguettes with an Asian twist).

This lovely lady is usually conveniently parked right outside our hotel so her banhmi have become a cheap and delicious daily lunch. She even has pate and serves it with soy sauce and chillies. 

More French influence at the impressive Opera House

Chinese influence at the taoist temple, Jade Emperor Pagoda

There has been so much to absorb in this city. We have learned about the war and the country's longterm recovery efforts. We have negotiated the HCMC traffic and found that scooters here use the pavement as much as the road which makes walking an interesting challenge! We have strolled through the beautiful parks and appreciated the green in an otherwise bustling city.

Tending the gardens

. . . . and enjoying the gardens - the parks are a hive of activity at morning and evening with da cau (Vietnamese foot shuttlecock game) and badminton being the most popular activities.

Overall, we have loved our few days here and we're so glad we came. Whilst I'm really glad to have my volunteer visa in the bag, there is much more we will take from Ho Chi Minh City than just this important piece of paper. Hope you enjoyed this little taste. I highly recommend Vietnam if you ever need to do a border run from Thailand!

Not by Sight

I used to walk paths like this . . .

Walking into the unknown, photo credit Hannah Swift, Shimla, India

. . . . and now I walk paths like this.

This is not me but this is the track where I walk often.

Exercising muscles that haven't been used for a while is never easy. I recently started walking this route regularly again after a bit of a break for the school holidays and it's shocking how stiff I feel. 

Ten times around the track and I find I can barely get out of the car again when I get home! It's sad really . . . . . but I know if I keep at it, the muscle tone will come back. Meanwhile, I'm so grateful for friends who walk with me and keep me motivated. 

I've been exercising another neglected muscle recently too - my faith. We're praying in my salary for Thai Village and waiting on God for some needs in our house in the US. I feel the same stiffness in my spirit sometimes that I feel in my body when I walk. I'm so stilted in my faith. 

If I'm honest, there is definitely a side of me that would much rather have all my ducks in a row - to know how all our bills are going to be paid and when I'm going to get my salary. But then there's a side too that is excited to give these needs to God and see what He will do. I want to grow in my trust and dependence and it's a daily choice to walk that path in faith.

Just like exercising though, I find I need walking companions around me to help me build the muscle.

Many of my friends here in Chiang Mai are missionaries "on support" and depend on God for all their needs. I often hear stories of His timely provision - a car donated in a time of need or school fees covered or a surprise full university scholarship.  Many times it's more than they hoped for or could imagine - but they had to wait on God's timing. It's not all glamour and amazing stories of course - but my own experience and that of many friends here reminds me how generously and extravagantly God provides when we dare to depend on Him and not ourselves. 

The other group that teach me so much about faith here are the poor. For believers who have little wealth in the world's eyes, faith is just a way of life. This week, I sat on the floor of a tiny one-roomed home for three and listened as my friends at Thai Village encouraged a new worker to trust God for her family's future. It was so natural to them and inspiring (well, after they translated to me what they actually said!) Thankfully at the same time, they were also giving her a means to build that very future and all this together is what I love about Thai Village.

Manager Pii Suai discussing work assignments with new artisan Pii Miu 
Afterwards we prayed and there were tears and hugs and hope and it was beautiful!

This week, I also heard from a dear Indian friend who has already been through way more suffering than any person should in their whole life, and I told her how inspiring she was to me in her dependence on God. She said, "I won't ever forget that I am nothing without God." Maybe that's what Jesus was talking about when He said, "Blessed are the poor". That truth is etched deeply in our souls through times of suffering and dependence. 

So, here I am, surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses - yet still I falter, and wobble and squirm in the unknowns! And then I read this in "Jesus Calling" this week.

"When some basic need is lacking - time, energy, money - consider yourself blessed. Your very lack is an opportunity to latch onto Me in unashamed dependence. When you begin a day with inadequate resources, you must concentrate your efforts on the present moment. This is the place where I always await you. Awareness of your inadequacy is a rich blessing, training you to rely wholeheartedly on me."  (Sarah Young)

A timely word for me! And so I choose to exercise this faith muscle. I want spiritual fitness even more than I want physical fitness and though the laps around the track are hard some times, I know it will be worth it. Let's walk together friends - through stiffness, through resistance in our mortal bodies and with faltering steps. There is treasure to be found there . . . . and I'm pretty sure it's of greater worth than a few calories burned. 

Many thanks to Karen B for the beautiful artwork in this post (orchid.karen@gmail.com) 

Work - a burden or gift?

I think sometimes our culture paints a distorted image of what work is  . . . either it's something so bad that we have to be paid to do it. . . . . or it's something that defines who we are and gives us our identity. 

Keeping a healthy concept of work is not always easy and this past year in Thailand has given me cause to reflect on this a lot as I have been pursuing meaningful work in a new place and season. I want to take this opportunity to share a bit of this journey with you. 

Work - a burden or gift?

When we first arrived in Thailand, I knew clearly the work that was before me - it was to help settle our family, set up our home, support Tyler and the kids in the season of transition and also to build community here and learn as much as possible about our new host culture. I didn't see this as less important than Tyler's paid job which had brought us here. We were (and are) a team. It was sacred work and it was hard work. It was fulfilling (most of the time) and exhausting (some of the time) and unsettling at times too - but it was what I was supposed to be doing and it was more than enough! I started Thai classes in our first year here as well but other than that, I was full-time working from home. 

 Of course, there are no pictures of me working from home because who takes photos of that? . . . . . but here's some laundry.

. . . . . and here's my kids creating laundry.

At the beginning of our second year here though, as the intensity of our family's transition dwindled, I started to feel a yearning for something more. The motivations however, were so much more than just "finding something to do" here in Thailand.

I think there were 3 main catalysts for this change. 

1.  The desire to use my gifts and passions - some of these had been laying dormant in me for a while (there's only so many spreadsheets you can create as a housewife - ha ha!) and I wanted to be a good steward of these gifts and of the time I had while everyone-else was at school.
2. The desire to be part of something bigger than my family, something Thai, something that Jesus was doing here in this place He had brought us. There was a world out there on my doorstep and I was anxious to engage with it more. 
3. The desire to help provide for our family - of course, a little more money is always helpful and we had some needs that we were praying for God to meet.

So what's next God? 

So I prayed and I talked to friends and I pursued options and filled in forms and met with people looking for just the skills I had to offer. It was not a particularly smooth ride! I considered online options, ministry opportunities, even starting my own business or teaching. In the end, I pursued 3 roles in depth that all fulfilled at least one of the above criteria. Each attempt taught me more about what I was looking for, what I was able to give within the limits of family schedules and what God was calling me to . . . . .but none turned out to be the right fit. 

Rung, embroiderer at Thai Village

Finally, about 6 weeks ago, a friend mentioned that Thai Village were hiring. Thai Village work with local artisans to provide vocational training and income generation opportunities here in Chiang Mai and they combine this with community building and outreach, working with the local church. I found they were a great match with my passions and skill set AND as it turned out, they could also be flexible with my schedule so I could still keep my Mum commitments and keep up my Thai language study. What a gift!

So now a new season of work outside the home is beginning for me. The previous roles remain but I get to add to this, more relationships with Thai nationals and more opportunities to use my gifts in administration and organization to serve them. I'm excited and will be starting to work 20 hours/wk at Thai Village as soon as I have my work permit and volunteer visa sorted out. 

Even though I haven't officially started yet, I have already met some of the wonderful artisans at Thai Village and I've seen their dedication and passion for work too. Sadly, in our broken world, not everyone has the opportunity to choose dignified work and people made in the image of God are forced into other degrading forms of existence just to survive. But I am seeing here at Thai Village what I saw at JOYN in India too - that work is transformative and empowering and that a lot can happen with a little opportunity.

JOYN blockprinters at work in Rajpur, India

Eet at Thai Village - tin smithing Christmas ornaments

Training and longterm job creation provide so much more than just a job in these countries. They provide a way out from oppression and injustice and the best part is, the opportunity just lays the path, the artisans themselves are the ones who walk it and they are changing their own futures and communities. This was such a powerful lesson that I learned during my 2 years at JOYN in India and I know the artisans at Thai Village will have more to teach me. I love seeing how dignified work brings life and joy to a community from within. And I love learning from these artisans what the real meaning of work is.

Work can be hard, yes, but  . . . . . 
Work is a privilege.
Our desire to work is God-given.
Work is part of the image of God in us
Work is co-creating something beautiful with God
Work is not to be taken for granted
And work is sacred - all kinds of work, in every season.

So grateful for this good gift of purposeful work at Thai Village.