The Refresh Children's Program

(Blogger is slow today, I will use fb to do pics instead of the blog)

Our typical daily schedule:

• 7:30AM breakfast
• 8:30 staff prayer at the seminar room
• 9:00 Group worship
• 9:40 Children, Nate and I head downstairs for the kids program
• 12:15 - Lunch at the restaurant
• 1:30 prepare materials for afternoon activities
• 2:00-4:00 PM Pool/ activity time with the kids
• 6PM dinner
• 7:30-9:30 PM optional group activity (games, shopping, art, movie, etc)

There are six kids in the program this year.  All are Asian Americans and two of them are living in China, while four live in Taiwan.  There is some disagreement about whether Taiwan is part of China.  Not knowing the political background here, I try to keep the peace between the factions. 

The kids range in age from 6 to 13 and are bilingual. The 13 year old likes to join us when the activity is particularly engaging and otherwise attends the adult meetings which discuss topics such as burnout, conflict, and personality types.  One of our biggest accomplishments as a group has been the construction of 6’x 5’ castle out of Cinnamon Toast Crunch boxes that I brought from the States.  The kids have gained some crazy building skills with boxes and tape.  They understand the importance of right angles and firmly attaching adjacent boxes to create a durable structure.  Our completed castle was on display today complete with curtains, origami window decor and epic music. One parent suggested that I write to General Mills and tell them about our project… so I did.

The amazing castle came out of our study of Nehemiah.  Each day we cover a chapter or two of the book as Nehemiah is rebuilding the wall of Jerusalem.  It provides great opportunities to discuss topics such as prayer, endurance and conflict.

We have also enjoyed breaking geodes and making necklaces out of the shards.  The fashion statement (of beauty that comes out of brokenness) has actually caught on around here and there are a few requests for necklaces from the adults.  Yesterday we made tie-dye bandanas using permanent markers and rubbing alcohol. 

Nathan was a HIT when he arrived last Thursday because he could take pool time to a whole new level.  He chases the kids around the pool in various forms of tag and acts as the bottom layer for human towers.  Right now (Sunday afternoon) he is playing chess with one of the kids, poolside in the rain, as I write this blog.

Being at Refresh! Thailand is a unique experience.  It is a mission trip in that there is a lot of work to do, sacrifices to be made and people to serve… but in many ways it is a retreat.  We are surrounded by skilled counselors, experienced non-profit workers, and Christians who are experts in a variety of fields from finance, to medicine.  We have daily worship and wonderful Thai meals together as a group.  There are activities each night (some of which I lead and others I get to participate in) and gardens to be enjoyed by day when I can get a free moment.

My favorite part of today was video-talking with my boys, Gabe and Luke.  I love seeing their faces and hearing about what they are doing. Luke was on lock-down in his dorm room due to a protest occurring outside the college where he is attending a summer program, a reminder that our world is in need of healing.