playhouse – Page 5

finding her.

November 8, 2016 by Stephen & Kelli Spurlock Filed Under: kelli, on the house, photos, playhouse Leave a Comment

A few weeks ago I wrote about sweet Musana moving away to Bangkok unexpectedly. Since we had our anniversary trip to Bangkok already scheduled, we started thinking about the idea of finding her.

We’ve tried this before with another young girl in the community, and it didn’t work. Because of this, I tried very hard to hold it at arms length–leaving a day for it in our schedule, thinking of gifts to bring her, hoping to see her; but allowing for a day spent going nowhere, making sure the gifts could go to others, and know that it might be a disappointing day. And also knowing that even if we found her, it might be hard–for her, for us.

But we knew we had to try.

We have a phone for her and chat with her sometimes, so we called before we left and had our friend Nu translate for us. We learned they lived outside of Bangkok, either in Ratchaburi or Lopburi, which in Burmese sound the same and are three hours in opposite directions outside of Bangkok. We knew a few key words, but we were unsure where to go first and how best to get there.

Once in Bangkok, I went to the front desk at our hotel and asked for help. I explained that we were looking for our Burmese friend, who lived in one of these two places. The women said she’d be happy to help–she was from one of those areas and her boyfriend was from the other, so she knew them well. I called Musana and asked in Burmese if her mom could speak to the front desk and explain in Thai where they live and how to get there. The sweet lady talked a few minutes and then spent over an hour with me, mapping it out and explaining each step. She wrote out the directions in English and Thai, and was such a huge help.

We left the hotel at 7am. We grabbed some gifts at a Tesco down the street, and then got on the elevated train at 7:35am.

7:35am – 8:30am on elevated train
8:30am – taxi to bus terminal
9:00am – 10:15am in van to a nearby province
10:15am – walked to a nearby pharmacy, because I had yet another eye infection; had lunch, since we weren’t sure what was coming
11:30am – motorcycle taxi to another bus terminal

*Here we were told the next bus leaves at 12:45pm, which seems a long time to wait for what we have ahead of us (getting there and getting back!). We ask if there are other options and they say no, so we sit down and pull out our books. In less than five minutes, they come over, rushing us onto the bus–Come on! Going!–and we get on without paying, and we’ve left within a few minutes. Not sure if they told us wrong, or if they changed the bus schedule for us?!

We arrive into the town at 12:45pm, and bus drops us off at the hospital, where we are supposed to meet Musana’s mom. Instead of meeting us, she gives instructions to a motorcycle taxi driver, who refuses to let us take two taxis, putting all three of us on the same little motorbike. We looked absolutely ridiculous.

He drives us down the road a bit and into a nearby community–a wealthy community. There are nice new Mercedes and huge new houses; we’re not sure where we’re headed. We turn around the corner and see them waiting–Musana and her mom; and Musana starts jumping up and down.

So much fun.

It worked! And I’m not sure any of us could believe it. We were hours from anything any of us know, in a little shanty town community in the middle of this newly constructed neighborhood, and here was Musana with her mom, step-dad, and step-sister.

I’m confident her mom was very confused as to why two white adults spent five hours finding her daughter, and why we brought coloring books and puzzles with us. But we chatted about the neighborhood and what they did for a living; how long we had lived in Mae Sot and how everyone was doing. Musana told her mom I was 28 and I’d be having a baby by the time I was 30; she hadn’t forgotten yet!

We made a puzzle doll house together, and played the rock game that Musana loves.

I’m not sure I can explain how good it was and how much of a gift it was to all of us. We had such fun seeing her and laughing with her; seeing her smile. It was so good to see her in what is really a more stable situation, with some meat on her bones and a fridge full of fruits & veggies (and a fridge itself!).

We also loved just letting her know we loved her enough to find her; that she isn’t forgotten or lost. That she can call and we can visit; and that it’s all going to be okay. We showed her pictures of her cousin and family in Mae Sot, and then took pictures of her back to Mae Sot, which the whole community loved.

The past few weeks have been hard. There is so much instability anyway, and when things shift like this, you can see everyone questioning it. We see her cousin, who won’t let his grandmother out of sight, but then panics when we are. We see him cry when we say we are going to Bangkok, which to him is just a black hole that eats people he loves.

We see the other kids wonder if she’ll be coming back, or who will be leaving next, or even if they’ll have to leave what they know. We see the parents and grandparents wonder when their worlds will shift and if they can do anything about it.

And then we got to let everyone see that it’s okay. While Musana is somewhere else, she can still call and we can visit. She is still okay and with family.

Sometimes I am amazed how much of our life is long, extensive, weird efforts to say: You are seen. You are valuable. To us, yes, but ultimately to Christ. So many miracles had to have happened for us to get to Musana, and yet they did. They all fell into place, because He wanted all of us to know that she is seen & valuable. He hasn’t forgotten any of us in this blender of brokenness.

Thankfully, the ride home was shorter. The first time, we were basically sent to the state capital and then on to the town, which was considerably out of the way. On the way back we went directly from the town she lives in to Bangkok, which made it a little over two hours, and hopefully much more possible again!

So, $33.47 in gifts and $27.18 on five forms of transport and one long day in “Bangkok”–priceless hours with a friend.

the girl with the sticker.

October 10, 2016 by Stephen & Kelli Spurlock Filed Under: house church, kelli, playhouse Leave a Comment

Returning from our vacation was a difficult decision. Sometimes this place feels so hopeless.

We have come into some really difficult situations. There was the abuse situation, some complex relationships… then on Thursday, one of our best little friends, Musana, left for Bangkok.

I’m not sure I can capture my feelings.

She’s eleven. She’s the one that just moved further away last week and nearly broke my heart then. Now her mom, who has lived in Bangkok at least since we’ve lived here, has called for her to be there.

I have so many questions. I don’t know why a mother that didn’t want to raise her for the past six years now wants her. I don’t know what she wants her for–to truly raise her? For help around the house? For work? And if work, what kind of work?

I’m scared for her, beyond words. I’ll miss her, beyond words.

So will her little three-year-old cousin, Zen Yaw, who lost his first primary caregiver about a year ago, and now this one; after a move two weeks ago. He losing it, and I don’t blame him. All his stability and all his favorites are disappearing in the night, and that’s scary.

I don’t know what we’ll do, because we never do. We are asking questions and trying to make calls and trying to help. It sounds like her mom took another husband or something of the sort, and had a baby about a year ago. She’s now calling for this other daughter to come back and take care of the baby.

She is good at that. She’s great with the littles.

But she’s still just so little herself.

_______________

On Wednesday we were playing at our house per usual. We had just received a package from a church in the States, so I had pulled out a few new toys. She loved the Spirograph, but patience isn’t her specialty. We played together, and she held Zen Yaw while playing math games on the computer.

And then she told me she was going to Bangkok tomorrow. I tried to ask questions, and she started to cry. I was holding her three-year-old cousin, who is apt enough at recognizing stress. He started crying and said he wanted to go home. I asked if she wanted to go home, too; and then we all went together. I put them on the motorbike to take them around the corner to their new house.

I asked the grandmother a few questions and tried to understand. Musana started crying louder and saying she didn’t want to go. I tried to tell her we’d help somehow–was their anything we could do? In the end, I said to call when her mom arrived tomorrow to get her, and we’d come meet her mom and talk a little. Then I started to cry, so I said one last thing to her mom, gave Musana a hug and told her I’d see her tomorrow.

I thought I would. Stephen & I went to her house at 7am to catch her and try to see what the day would look like and how we could help and what we could possibly do. She’d already left. We missed her.

Stephen didn’t get to say goodbye. And I lied. I told her I’d see her tomorrow.

_______________

Just last Sunday I asked her and her friend, Yedi, about singing in church. Stephen and I have been asked multiple times to sing up front, a “special music” of sorts. We decided we’d like to sing Good, Good Father and have the kids help with the chorus, since a few of them have learned it from our OneHouse worship nights. When I asked, they were so excited. Our plan was to do it this week.

But I’m not sure I have it in me to get the other kids together. I’m not sure I can sing about our good, good Father without crying.

_______________

The neighbor kids decided one week on the way to church that it was okay Stephen & I haven’t had kids yet, but we needed to have them by the time I was 30. That seemed fair, I guess; so we went with it. It was just a conversation, right? That was about a month ago, maybe longer.

This past Sunday at church, another mother was holding her baby and I was telling her how cute he was. I was holding Zen Yaw, and she asked if he was mine. I explained his family situation with Musana standing next to me, and Musana piped in, “She doesn’t have any kids yet, but it’s okay. She’s going to have them by the time she’s 30.” I replied, “Whew. Good thing I have two years!”

“Two years!?! You’re only 28? I have to wait 2 years for you to have a baby?”

I was kind of hoping she’d get to spend a lot of time with this conceptual baby. She’s so great with the littles.

_______________

Stephen keeps reminding me that God loves her more than we ever did or will. That He’s protecting her and caring for her.

He’s her good, good Father, too.

And really, we realize this could be good for her: she’s with her mom and her sister. She is great at raising little ones. I’m sad for her education; I’m sad that she’s lost her friends and stability. I’m scared for her more in four years–when she’s a young teenager without an education and a baby that no longer obviously needs her–than I am right now.

And selfishly, I’m sad because it’s a loss to me. There are so many horrible things we see–so many horrible conversations and events and suffering; so many things we go to counseling for, guys. And then there a few things that God seems to put a sticker on–this, this is my good gift to you. There is a big, obvious sticker on Stephen. And there is a sticker on Musana. She & Zen Yaw were little gifts to me–a little piece of sunshine in the middle of the day.

But even our good Father who gives takes away, as well.

new games!

October 8, 2016 by Stephen & Kelli Spurlock Filed Under: kelli, photos, playhouse Leave a Comment

It’s a very small world, folks.

Nearly ten years ago now, when I was in university, I worked at a local church, Family Life Bible Church, a few days a week. I helped with some different childcare needs they had, and then led a small group for the sixth graders. One of the girls in this sixth grade class had back surgery that year, so I spent some extra time with her and brought her some things to do at her house while she was on bedrest. I kept in touch with her throughout high school and in our move to Thailand.

This year she wrote me to say that she, now in college, was also leading that same class. They were trying to a service project each week, and they wanted to put together a box of things to send us. I told her how much we’d love things for the kids–games & activities.

This week, we received such an amazing package from them!

It was stuffed full of Uno, Go Fish, Twister, Connect Four, and Jenga. They put in markers and colored pencils; journals; a Spirograph!

And an Etch-a-Sketch, which the kids are just amazed at. They shake vehemently and love that it all disappears.

The students also included notes for us and a picture of all of them, where I realized that one of the kids was in my 3-year-old kids’ childcare back years ago! He’s now huge and writing letters. What a small world.

And what a kind world!

I’ve been pulling out a new game or two every day this week, and the kids are loving it. Thida asked me on Thursday where they all came from. I told her about a church in the States sending it to us, and she went on to say that Americans are just so nice. They are just giving so much! I said the church does try to do that, like the Bible says.

What a sweet picture of the Church she’s getting to see! And us, too. Thanks so much, Family Life Bible Church, and Brooke, Hack, Katherine, Shamuel & Cade, for blessing our little community!

😳.

September 26, 2016 by Stephen & Kelli Spurlock Filed Under: kelli, playhouse Leave a Comment

An expat family that the community knows pretty well is moving back to the US next week. They have faithfully bought Flour & Flowers products each week, and even helped with deliveries while we traveled last year. They have visited our house on week day afternoons to play, made some trips to the clinic when we were out of town, and helped during the annual flood of 2015. They have also hired a house cleaner from our community.

So while we knew they were moving, we hadn’t said anything until they were ready. When we returned from the beach, it had been “announced” and spread through the community. As we sat in Open House, two mothers were chatting about how they were leaving and never coming back.

One said to the other, “What if Kelli and Stephen leave? What if they go back to America and never come back?”

The other replied, “Oh, don’t worry. That won’t happen. I’m praying.”

😳😳😳😳😳😳

seasons.

September 26, 2016 by Stephen & Kelli Spurlock Filed Under: kelli, playhouse Leave a Comment

Two of my favorite little friends moved a little further away this week.

They aren’t too far, perhaps half a kilometer away. Close enough that they can come during the day, but far enough that they need to be home by dark. And since they spent many late evenings at our house–reading books and helping me cook and watching the clothes wash–this is a loss.

Everything comes in seasons here, as some families come and go; they move houses often; they have jobs and don’t. There was a season where one of the little girls and her little brother spent nearly every night at our house. We were their little safe haven, and in many ways they were mine. She and I played endless games of Memory and her English grew incredibly. It was just a season, though, and their family is in a much better place. She’s nearly a teenager now, and he’s the new Memory champ. The season has changed, but they are still really deeply rooted in my heart.

The next season has been with this new little eleven-year-old and her three-year-old cousin. They have been the ones to spend every evening with us. He falls asleep in my lap a few times a week and asks me to wash clothes every single day so he can watch the washer. She is quite the chef and loves to help chop all the veggies. She is ecstatic if she can sneak in extra computer time or a few games on my phone in the late hours of the evening when she’s the only kid around. She has just recently learned its okay to give us hugs and tell us she loves us; and so she does. She’ll hesitate and then run straight into you and give the tightest hug a skinny little girl could give. And sometimes she whispers in my ear that she loves us.

So in their moving, the friendship doesn’t come to an end, but this season does.

baking bread, chasing goats, & then some.

September 11, 2016 by Stephen & Kelli Spurlock Filed Under: house church, housewares, kelli, photos, playhouse Leave a Comment

Some seasons are just too full for too many words. But I do still love the photos!

We have been baking so much bread as of late! Flour & Flowers continues to grow at amazing rates. Most weeks we are baking over twenty loaves of bread and rolling out 140+ tortillas. They are also getting particularly stunning at rolling out beautiful, round, huge tortillas.

We sell cinnamon rolls once a month; and in just our fourth month, sold 20 pans! So many friends, neighbors, and organizations in Mae Sot have been so supportive to purchase, and we are loving seeing it grow. We are also really excited to see a savings account growing for all the staff to split at the end of the year.

We are constantly working to keep the littles away from the hot ovens, particularly as they both mirrors.

Some of our neighbors recently purchased goats. And since we live very communally, if they have new goats, so do we! There are at least three spend most of their time in our yard. In some ways it is a free lawn service; in other ways it is a liability for bread business!

Last week I had cinnamon roll pans out on every table and bench, then turned around to find three goats half way into our house and making their way toward bread! They may be our biggest challenge for leaving our doors open all day.

Our Open House hours through the week are still such fun. This week the kids starting making snowflakes, which quickly turned into crowns–perhaps since they don’t know what snowflakes are?

I love our street in the evenings. The sun sets so beautifully on the horizon of the mountains and the community comes out to buy roti and play games and climb on motorbikes and unwind from the day. Its like block party–every night.

This particular night we had given out photos: a few times a year we print copies of the photos we’ve taken of the community. If there are three kids in a photo, we make four copies–one for each child to have in his house, and then one for our community photo albums. We group them all together and give each household a stack of photos to paste on their walls–y’know, next to the old photos of us in college or of our families that we threw away!

It always fun to see them cherish the photos so much!

Zen Yaw goes to church with us every Sunday afternoon and most Sunday evenings. Despite falling asleep in my lap nearly every time, he loves it. He asks most days if we’re going today (as we’re still sorting out which days are which).

He came back from a different church last week–another local church had picked the kids up for a Saturday program–and exclaimed, “Kelli, you didn’t come to church!” I told him I went to a different church, but we’d go together on Sunday. Did he like it? Yes. What did you learn? We ate snacks! 😂

The best is that he’s learning to pray, and instantly folds his hands into mine and ends with the most adorable Amen I’ve ever heard! So sometimes I try to sneak a photo of his little praying fingers.

And then this morning we had one last little homework help session–with the littles giving high fives on the side– before we left for vacation. While I’m so thankful to be walking on the beach, I’m also thankful we have all of this to go home to.

baby tricks.

August 24, 2016 by Stephen & Kelli Spurlock Filed Under: kelli, photos, playhouse Leave a Comment

This little lady on the right loves her brother. And since last year, when he was delivered into our community from Bangkok, she’s been his caregiver. They live with their grandparents, who care for them and two other cousins while the parents work in the city.

She loves to come visit and show off his newly learned skills: she taught him to give high-fives and clap. And this week, the newest baby trick?

She says in Burmese, “Zwe, do you love Kelli? Do you love Kelli?” He nods his head yes and then holds his arms wide as she says, “SO much! SO much!”

😍

life in photos.

August 24, 2016 by Stephen & Kelli Spurlock Filed Under: house church, kelli, photos, playhouse Leave a Comment

Sometimes I love the way photos capture the life that fills this little community.

This is the church truck on its way back from children’s Sunday school.

Due to rainy season, all the games have been moved into our covered yard. In this game, there is a string of rubberbands stretched between two kids, while the others run and jump, trying to snatch it with their toes and other tricks. It’s like our own Olympics!

Another new baby! The family that attends church with us regularly just had their third little boy.

the community center.

August 8, 2016 by Stephen & Kelli Spurlock Filed Under: kelli, photos, playhouse 1 Comment

We’re still working on a better name, but nothing is coming right now. We’ll get back to you on that.

Our house is really always a community center: there are always kids out and about, there is always water to be shared, there are always Band-Aids when you need them. But, we wanted to create more open space. So in the past few months we’ve re-arranged some things to make most of our house an open area. We still have our two rooms: a bedroom and studio; and then we have one little sitting area closed off behind a bookshelf. Other than that, the house is fair game from our front door and down through the kitchen.

In addition to more open space, we also wanted to establish more regular “open hours.” We want to provide some sense of stability, and this seemed a great way to do that.

Since we never know what we’re doing, it has taken us a few weeks to get the kinks out and figure out what hours are best. It looks like we’re landing on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday & Saturday from 4-6pm. That leaves out Mondays (our Sabbath days), Sundays (when everyone is invited to come to church with us), and Fridays (when we’re making Flour & Flower deliveries).

We have Thida, a friend and mother from the community, come to help us manage it all: she’s there to help us keep an eye on kids and help clean up after those not yet potty trained. She helps us make sure all the puzzle pieces are put back and water stays in the kitchen. She manages the computers and who has already been on them twice this week. She helps us stay sane in the midst of the insanity 🙂

Because it does look a bit like insanity. There are two computers available for use–they run on Raspberry Pi consoles and are intentionally pretty limited. We are trying to teach control of the mouse, basic typing in English & Burmese, and math. There is an open-source Word program for them to use, plus three “games”–a math game for various skill levels, an art program (think Microsoft Paint), and an English typing program. There is no internet, and very little they can click on accidentally to mess up the computer!

It’s super simple, and we were actually nervous they might think it was too lame without Facebook. But, alas–they love it! They are all so excited about every chance they get to type and practice math. It’s amazing.

We have just this week finished up our “trainings” of most the students, so that kids eight to sixteen know the basics of how to get around. They can now come and sign up for 30-minute slots when the community space is open. We only have a few adults interested–young, young mothers mostly. We’ll likely just have them come through the day whenever we are around.

For those not on the computers, we offer one-on-one English homework help if they need it. We also have coloring pages and a basket of colored pencils, pencils, and crayons–all treasures for them! We have books available–some simple English board books, bible stories, and a collection of Burmese storybooks.

We have our same collection of toys: a train set, cars, stackable rings, blocks, magnetic dolls, and puzzles. We have a shelf of games for the older kids, including Memory, Uno, Mancala, Pass the Pigs, Sorry, & Dutch Blitz. We’re slowly teaching them and they love it! It’s endearing to see them fight over which four people get to play a half-dilapidated game of Sorry!

And our house fills full. We have some adults that come with their littlest babes, and so many sibling groups. We love to have them crowd into our house, and especially just seeing them exposed to so many opportunities. It’s amazing to see what they learn on the computer, see their improvements in English, or see them reading Burmese books to each other. In many ways, it’s tiring. But in most ways, it’s watching a dream unfold.

One of girls came up to us after school one day, “Remember that test you helped me study for? Last week? You helped me study all those English words for my test! I got a perfect score!” 😍

our friends say the darndest things.

July 26, 2016 by Stephen & Kelli Spurlock Filed Under: house calls, kelli, photos, playhouse Leave a Comment

So many things were said this week I don’t want to forget.

____________

I’ve been sick recently–really sick for a week and then a cough and runny nose that stuck around for another week. One of the girls had her arms around my neck as I was coughing one day.

“Oh, Kelli. When we are sick you take us to hospital, but when you are sick, there is no one to take you to the hospital.”

____________

Stephen had gone to watch a movie with a friend one evening, so I let a few kids play games in our house while I worked on a painting project. Around 9:30pm, we shared a bowl of pretzels before they headed back home. As one of the girls left, she hugged me and said, “Your house is so happy. I like it here.”

____________

I was baking bread to take to church with us and chatting with Thida in the kitchen. She was commenting on our two ovens—which have both been given to us—and that many of our friends give us so many nice things, which is very true. I agreed and told her that foreigners are often coming and going, and they are very kind to give us things.

She suddenly panicked, asking, “You’re not going to move back to America, are you? You can’t move back.”

“We will stay for a few more years at least, and then we don’t know. We like it here, but we aren’t sure. We talk about maybe moving to Burma someday…but not yet. We won’t leave Mae Sot yet.”

“Oh, you cannot go back. I will cry and cry and cry. You cannot go back. Where do you want to go in Burma?”

I told her a few places we’ve considered, and she said, “Oh, in a few years, your Burmese will be so good! I will come to Burma to visit you. I’ll look around and ask, Where are Stephen & Kelli? And all I will see is Burmese people! You will be Burmese!”

Yeah, something like that. I’m sure there is only thing that makes me stick out in a crowd around here 🙂

____________

This guy is always saying the most adorable things. If he hears the washer—spinning, water coming in, changing cycles—he comes running, shouting, “WATCH! WATCH! WATCH!” If I’m cooking, “Up! Up! Help! Help!” If I’m holding another child, he whines, “No, not (other child’s name). Hold me! Hold Zen Yaw!” If we’re singing, he knows, “Hallelujah!” And if we’re saying goodbyes, he has learned the English for, “See you tomorrow!”

Melt my heart.