The House Collective

something new.

by Filed Under: kelli, photos, schoolhouse 1 Comment

We started something new. Again!

It’s practically a disease, but with great results 😃

While we have loads of toys and games, there is a point where the kids get uninterested in trains and CandyLand. And when these kids get into teenage years, that’s really when we most want to be there for them. We want to provide them with one-on-one attention and opportunities to talk to us. We also want to give them skills, a chance to be set apart. It’s hard to instill the idea of dreaming, of opportunities, in migrant students, but we want to try.

Toward the end of last year, Stephen had an idea of how we could continue to reach this group of teenagers and youth in the community.

It also provided a way to use his gifts aptly: he loves technology and enjoys learning with it. So, we applied for a grant with Kingdom Mission Fund and we were granted it earlier this year! Per anything with just the two of us, it takes time for us to get things going. We’re generally operating a bit over our heads, if we haven’t mentioned that yet. But, it’s officially up and running!

Four days a week after school, while our house is also open for play, we have two iPads available to the older kids. We’ve chosen a select group we know well and want to further invest in. They have an hour per week that the iPads are reserved to them, for them to learn different skills through apps and lessons with Stephen and I.

We gave them options of what to learn: English, coding, math, guitar, cajon, and art. They almost all chose guitar initially. Some have since changed their minds, but we do have six students studying guitar for an hour per week. We also have three learning English, one on coding, and another on art.

We have set it up to be self-guided but with help and assistance from us. I help more with English and art; Stephen helps more with guitar and coding. They are also given the freedom to “study” their class for 40 minutes, and take the last 20 to play educational games or puzzles. This week I taught Mwei Mwei how to play solitaire, and she loved it. And honestly, it teaches some great deduction and problem-solving skills that aren’t utilized in schools here. We played together, and I had the most fun I’ve ever had playing Solitaire!

The oldest three kids are actually given two hours per week. Mwei Mwei is learning both guitar and math; one of The Reinforcers does English one day per week and guitar the following. The other Reinforcer is really loving coding, and he does that twice per week.

The two new iPads focused on the youth has opened up our older iPad for a younger group. We were also given an older iMac that Stephen has set up with some basic games and activities. All of them have different schedules to give different age groups opportunities to learn technology, strategy, creativity, and more. It’s been really fun to see the kids learning new skills and exploring new worlds their community hasn’t previously had access to.

We’ve been introducing the idea of a schedule: they are each given a time on the iPads each week, and it’s their responsibility to show up to attend. We were laughing at the irony of the first few weeks, as we’d be encouraging people inside to sit in front of a screen. We’d be puling them out of groups and pushing them into work by themselves.

One of our goals is that this creates an individual activity for them to work toward and succeed at. We don’t want friends helping or taking over; we want them to get an individualized, focused opportunity to both teach themselves and get one-on-one help from us.

It means that we are constantly saying, “This is a one-person activity.” Or, “Stop playing outside and come work on the iPad!”

The difference is striking between their lives here and so many kids’ lives in the States.  They spend so many hours outside; they are constantly walking to school, to the showers, to do laundry, to the shop. Everything is communal, so that they are always with people and in groups. There are often three or four people crowded around the computer to play Minecraft together. Even our retro video games: there are usually 8-10 kids taking turns playing Mario Kart, standing up, jumping around. As the two folks working extremely hard to get them fed every morning, I just want to tell them, Sit down! Let those calories stay with you! I want to give them a ride everywhere and get them seated playing a game; I want them to experience doing something on their own successfully.

It’s meant that this is fairly counter-cultural, but I think a good balance. Couldn’t we all use learning from our differences?

Overall, we’re so excited for the opportunities this has opened up and how smoothly we’ve been able to provide this for the community teenagers. We’re also going to do a test run of some English learning with two adult mothers next week.

We want to send out a special thanks to Kingdom Mission Fund, who makes projects like this possible! So many ideas just take a spark to make them happen, and we’re excited to be able to partner so that this could spark!

not to be neglected.

by Filed Under: kelli, photos, playhouse, schoolhouse 2 Comments

There has been good, too; I don’t want to neglect that.

One of our lost girls is back from Burma. Most of the family is together, living back in Mae Sot. She’s boarding at our pastor’s house and attending school. We get to see her on Sundays, and that is a joy.

We saw one of Thida’s daughters off to study in Burma for a year. We sent her off with photos and all the love & encouragement we could muster. We love her to bits.

Sometimes we come home to things like this, to both horrify and humor us.

I started a toddler class with Mwei Mwei on Thursday mornings. The kids call it “school” and often come with little backpacks that are empty.

I teach them English for thirty minutes or so, and then Mwei Mwei teaches them some Burmese. We sing songs while Stephen plays the guitar. It has brought me so much laughter over the past few weeks, and I love it.

We started a new after school program for the older kids–the full story which requires another post–but it’s going really well. The kids are loving it, and it’s manageable for us, so we’re thankful.

This team found a basketball game on the computer they love (and they are learning about angles while they play!) He vocally cheers for himself when he makes a shot. 😍

We’re still celebrating birthdays, and that’s fun.

We took one of our sweet friends out to snacks and ice cream with a small group of her friends, and it really was a beautiful afternoon smack in the midst of some of the messes mentioned above. We laughed and loved it.

And we put birthday candles into chicken nuggets. 🤷🏼‍♀️

On the way, the birthday girl was laughing at Stephen & I, saying, “Kelli always says, ‘Uhhmm-hmm, uhhmm-hmm.’ Stephen always says, ‘Yep! Yep! Yep!'” Oh, they know us so well.

Sometimes, we make cakes and attempt to decorate them with jelly filling for little at-home parties. And we laugh and love those, too.

We have this little fellow who likes to be drawn on and a babysitter that enjoys it even more.

We have this little girl, who came to the door last week to tell us she was going to get a snack with her mom. To this I asked, “And when you mom gives you your snack, what are you going to tell her?”
“Thank you.”
Her mom, in awe, “Who taught you that?!”
“Auntie Kelli.”
I mean, could I be more proud?! (Admittedly, we’ve become quite well-known for the fact we counter-culturally require thank yous and hand washing to the extreme.)

We still have Thida and her whole family. And that is such a gift.

And we’re making it together. We’re still discovering new places in Mae Sot, one of which serves up delicious soft serve (or soft sever..). They let us bring in our own little parties as you saw above, and one of the staff also works at the hotel where we swim often. So now she sees us all the time for either ice cream or a swim! At least we’re attempting to balance it out 😊

Stephen is gearing up for the OneHouse worship night this come week, and he’s managed to work with local students and worship leaders to have songs available in English, Thai, Burmese, and Karen; with a variety of musicians. It is not a small feat, but it’s really beautiful how God is pulling it together.

That could be said of a lot of things in our lives. Many little things, but no small feats. Many hard things, but many beautiful things.
None to be neglected.

when things work.

by Filed Under: kelli, photos, playhouse, schoolhouse 3 Comments

When we started the Summer Program this year, I had an inkling it was going to be a hit.

We knew we individually didn’t have the capacity, but we also knew the summer is wide open for the kids to sink or swim. Sinking looks like: boredom, that generally drives us crazy or ends in risky games and medical accidents. Swimming looks like: opportunities to learn and play safely that wear them out, that are organized enough to maintain parental & neighborhod sanity.

The kids were still reckless. They would come for breakfast every day, and in between a bowl of rice and whatever activity started at 8, we had screaming and wall climbing and stunts and what not.

But inevitably, by 8am, we had something to wrangle the chaos.

The four teachers we “hired” for Monday & Wednesday did absolutely amazing. They organized and taught about 40 kids from 8am to 11am. The littlest group went home then, and about 20 stayed on to study Geography & Science until 12pm.

We loved seeing the teenagers step into their roles, be challenged in their skills, and ultimately find their place. We were like proud sideline parents, and I loved it.

The teachers also helped pull off a little celebration ceremony, handing out certificates and small prizes for perfect attendance and the “best in” for each subject.

On Tuesday & Thursday we had play times. Sometimes we had our usual games and activities, but we also had friends who came with soccer games, sidewalk chalk, crafts, and relay races.

This was a relay, where the kids had to put on a swimming floatie, a pair of glasses, and a headband/crown. It was one of the funniest things we did all summer!

My sister’s also brought some fun little treasures! We did water colors one day, and they gave a drawing lesson to the teacher crew.

And water beads? So fun! The kids played in them, and the last day we also added some toys and small eggs filled with coins. They got to keep what they found and loved it! We even let the parents have a go, which left smiling parents and, uh, a few scratches! 😳

They brought a collection of egg dying kits from post-Easter sales, and Thida helped us hard boil over 150 eggs.

Adults and kids alike were pretty impressed with the dying process.

And some just wanted to eat their egg.

Mwei Mwei also kept up studying math & photography; The Reinforcers did some extra study of Burmese typing and learning Keynote.

And we just soaked up the time having fun with happy kids. It just worked! Thankful for a great community summer.

come on in.

by Filed Under: house calls, housewares, kelli, photos, playhouse, schoolhouse Leave a Comment

Life in this neighborhood is a rollercoaster.

Summertime here is from mid-March to the first of June, and it is chaotic to say the least. The kids are absolutely crazy: climbing fences and gates and trees before 7am, with so much energy and so little structure. We have kids napping on our porch; there are so many I fear aren’t fed regular meals. They’ll easily spend all day in our yard and on our porch and in our house.

Hence, the summer program. We still do Breakfast Club every weekday morning; we have two days a week of summer school classes, and two more days of play and games. We do mid-day fruit at least twice a week, plus other days of milk and packaged snacks.

Then it gets even more complicated. Many of the kids in the community live with grandparents or aunts or uncles through the school year, and their parents “call” for them over the summer. They will be sent off to Bangkok or places in Burma to stay with their parents for a few months before they return for school.

It’s also common for kids to live in Burma with grandparents while the parents work in Mae Sot. The parents, likewise, “call” for their kids over the holidays, so we have a whole new slew of kids in our neighborhood that we don’t know, but their parents know us, and they are here just for a few months.

And there is yet another group that lives here with their immediate family, but goes off to visit aunts, uncles, and cousins in Burma for the holiday.

It’s a very big, very convoluted switcheroo.

So while we still have The Breakfast Club, we added about fifteen kids and lost about twenty, presumably both temporarily. And while we have the summer program, some of the kids don’t know the routines: what our rules are, the fact that we speak Burmese (but not perfectly; no, I didn’t get that spiel…). It’s a big learning curve for all of us.

And it’s messy.

______________

This little boy, he left us in early December, just a few days before his birthday. We had a cake early and said our goodbyes as he moved back to Burma with his dad. Then he came back, just two weeks later. He didn’t like it, and came back to live with his mom, older sister, and younger brother.

He and his sister left again at the end of March, to leave over the summer. They said they’d be back for school in June. We gave them hugs and said goodbyes; just a few months, right?

The little brother followed just a few weeks after. I asked Thida last week, and she’s talking now about how they might stay. It is going well with their dad and grandmother–maybe the mother was the problem, and she’s still here in Mae Sot.  Now they might start school in Burma this year.

That might be the last of their living in our community; I don’t even know yet. And I won’t even pretend I can swallow that. We’ve been snapping photos together for over seven years. To say we love them is the understatement of our lives here.

______________

This little boy: he left us last year.

His parents got in a fight and split; he was left with a grandfather and an aunt. He was then called to Bangkok by his grandmother and yet another aunt; we said our goodbyes and hoped it might be better for his messy little life.

Then he came back, a few months later. His parents are back under the same roof. They are expecting again, and I’m just not even sure what to think.

______________

This is a family of first-borns, amazingly enough.

Three are first-borns in their individual families, but all sent to live with their grandparents here in Mae Sot. The littlest is a youngest child in every way you could imagine! They are two more cousins & brothers that have joined at different times and then been sent back, just to really confuse it all. But these four have stayed, and made a second little family of over-achievers.

Over the summer, the oldest got a job, which we hope is just for the summer. Reality? With her switch to Thai school last year she was put back into first grade. And money in the pocket is more generally more tempting than the promise of money through education. I’m nervous she might be a nanny forever.

The older boy was called by his parents to go to Bangkok, as was the littlest little guy.

This leaves one. Left behind, not called by his parents; and now having a few breakdowns as of late.

______________

This girl is one of Thida’s, and we love her!

She left to go to visit an aunt for the summer, and I was so sad to not have her in the summer program. Her smile can light up a place, and a she’s a natural leader.

Thida casually mentioned she called to ask after her daughter, and they said she was in Yangon. Thida laughed about all the fun she was going to have.

I have been praying all week for her. It terrifies me to have her traveling on her own, generally a paperless young teenage girl, in a world and region where human trafficking is rampant.

______________

One of our Breakfast Club families is in a hard season: in the past six months they have moved into a field, living in a shanty hut with no water or electricity. They are unable to afford the insurance program we are offering and supplementing; and it’s putting us in a challenging position.

Her baby was due for vaccinations last week, and while we are no longer driving out to the clinic, I did agree to drive her to a free vaccination clinic in the market. As she got in the car, Thida asked her if her husband was working that day. She said no, as her husband was hungover from yesterday and unable to work.

Thida later told me this is her second husband, and shared their sad story. Apparently their are two more kids in Burma, and it’s just messy.  We talked about how we just aren’t sure how to help, because if we help with one thing, it will just be another.

______________

This little boy moved to Bangkok to join his mom and dad, aunts, uncles, and cousins in Bangkok last year.

We have visited him there, and while we missed him terribly, we were hopeful.

But his grandmother & primary caregiver didn’t like Bangkok–not enough people to talk to during the day–and wanted to move back to Mae Sot with him. This week, we helped move them in a shanty room off the main road, amidst a rough crowd.

______________

One of the bread ladies is unexpectedly pregnant again, struggling with morning sickness with a toddler and unsure about the coming season. This week she said her husband’s boss left town–he had a great job installing windows, and the boss owed him a month’s salary when he left.

This happened last month to another bread ladies’ husband. A month’s salary owed, and the boss skips town.

______________

The Breakfast Club is no easy task. Creating a summer curriculum for forty kids in your house in 100 degree weather sans air con is not to be taken lightly. Sharing your kitchen with a breakfast service and bread business is challenging.

The hard part, though: It isn’t serving breakfast to 50 kids before 8am. It isn’t even the hot, sweaty kids shouting out their ABCs.

It is opening up your door to fifty kids with broken families, painful stories, instability; and saying,
Yeah, COME ON IN, with all that baggage.
Every day before 8am.

summer program 2018.

by Filed Under: kelli, photos, playhouse, schoolhouse Leave a Comment

We’re already a week into the chaos of Summer Program 2018!

For about eight weeks through the summer, we have “hired” four teenage students–two are The Reinforcers, one works at our house regularly, and the other is Mwei Mwei’s sister & Thida’s daughter. In short, they are our sisters & brothers! We are quite close to them and have known them all since they were 8 or 9.

We had their shirts made at a local Bible school in town, and I love them! The back says “teacher.” (Technically, “male teacher” and “female teacher” respectively.)

We’ve asked them to come on Mondays & Wednesdays from 8-12 to be teachers for the kids. This allows us to simply coordinate–a big enough task!–and equips them to be learning and helping provide for their families over the summer.

The week before, we met together with the teachers to prep all the materials. They were able to help us translate some of the lessons I’d put together and prepare some lessons themselves. Stephen has also already taught the two guys to type in Burmese, so they were typing up documents for us!  It was fun to work with them, even amidst the chaos and lack of sleep. (Hindsight, I probably shouldn’t have scheduled the Summer Program to start the same week as Easter, OneHouse, and Flour & Flowers + Cinnamon Rolls; and the same week we started the M-Fund insurance program. Whoops!)

They are teaching Burmese reading and writing, English writing and speaking, math, geography, and science. We have about forty kids enrolled, from ages 5 to 14; and they are at all levels of reading and writing.

So far, it’s going swimmingly! Each subject has different levels. For Burmese, the lowest level is learning to write their consonants; the second level is learning vowels and tones. The middle level can read simple Burmese, so they are reading stories in The Storybook Bible in Burmese (which is in colloquial Burmese) and then answering questions. And the final level is reading Wikipedia articles (which Wikipedia translates into Burmese, but literary style) about famous people: Mother Teresa, Martin Luther King, Galileo Galilei, Nelson Mandela, and more. I am so excited about all of these.

For English, we have some writing the alphabet, others learning basic words; the older groups are using lessons from an ESL program. Math is divided into eight groups at all different levels, mostly done through self-study. The teachers are there to help explain new concepts one-on-one.

After these three subjects, the kids that aren’t literate get to go home. The older kids stay for two classes of Geography & Science. In Geography, they are learning continents and oceans, plus thirteen specific countries (which the boys picked, so mostly those famous for soccer!). In those countries they learn the flag, the capital city, the population, the languages they speak, and few interesting facts. In science they are learning the basics of the solar system and planets.

Overall, I feel like the kids are learning so much. After the classes, every student gets a piece of fruit on their way home, and the teachers have lunch with Stephen, Thida & I.

Every child enrolled–and all the kids in the neighborhood under 5–are getting free breakfast for the summer. This includes malnourished & nourished kids! We are doing this through the summer. For next school year, The Breakfast Club will be free for malnourished kids, but available to purchase for healthy kids (as we have more that have passed into nourishment!). We’ll offer a well-balanced meal with unlimited refills for 15 cents per person per day; or 9 cents per day if pre-paid for the week. We’re trying to promote health, planning ahead and savings all in one 😃

In addition to the two days of classes, on Tuesday & Thursday we have Playhouse. We have made in the morning for these summer days, when it is cooler. Honestly, we also hope to wear them out with safe activities before they come up with other ideas, too!

We have some friends who come to join for street football and crafts.

They brought chalk this week for the street, and it officially felt like summer! Sidewalk chalk & hopscotch? We’ve arrived.

This is all a bit of a switch up to our schedule, and our house got even crazier (somehow!). But, we love that the kids are learning and utilizing their summer months. We are also glad that they are at least getting a meal a day, snacks, structure and stability. We hope it goes a long way for all of them, but we know it does for some families in particular.

whispered needs.

by Filed Under: housewares, kelli, photos, schoolhouse 1 Comment

It’s been almost a year since Mwei Mwei came back from Bangkok. It’s been just over two years since she left.

I remember sitting with Thida after summer program in 2016, trying to use my limited Burmese to explain trafficking and why we were worried about her thirteen-year-old going off to Bangkok by herself.

I remember sitting with Mwei Mwei at an ice cream shop in Bangkok, after we miraculously found her in January 2017. We showed her pictures of her family and tried to gauge the danger of the situation she was in. She cried, and we left worried.

In Sara Hagerty’s book Unseen, she writes, “To meet any need, I first have to hear God’s whisper about that need.” I think that’s what happened as we sat with her over ice cream. We didn’t know the details of what she was in, or where it would go, or what was true. But we knew he had whispered that we needed to do something.

We told Thida we’d create her a job if they’d bring her back to Mae Sot, even if we didn’t know how we felt about hiring a fifteen-year-old. We weren’t really sure what it was we needed to do, but we felt there was a need.

And then she arrived back to Mae Sot just as we landed back from America, and we scrambled to get her into a sewing training and ultimately, to come up with a plan.

_________________________

The past year has been a lot of “coming up with plans.”

While we tried to create additional sewing work for Mwei Mwei, our regular seamstress–who had a contracted job with a local organization–lost that contract. We now had two ladies, both coming from painful, rough situations, looking to us for work.

There were a lot of weeks of made up projects. I have a whole stack of zipper pouches and bunting and bags that we made samples of as I tried out new ideas and chased new prospects.

While her family has told her she’s not the smart one, we knew she had so much potential. We didn’t want to see her end her education. Somehow, we wanted her getting some education while she was able to work and be viewed as a contributor to the family.

But coming up with education opportunities wasn’t easy, either. We created a group English class for her join, but she hated it. We had our church come teach a group Thai class, but she sat in the back silently. I worked with her in math, and it was like pulling teeth. I tried to have her read Burmese books and write book reports, and then spent ages trying to read them myself, realizing this wasn’t a time-efficient plan as her “teacher.”

_________________________

In the end, we found solutions. It just took a little time & chaos.

For work, we are so thankful to be partnering with Sojourn Studios here in town. This is a project of a local Christian nonprofit, training teenagers and women to make ceramic jewelry. Both Mwei Mwei & San Aye make jewelry for them two days a week, and Mwei Mwei also participates in their Youth Program, where she makes jewelry with other students her age and participates in a life skills course.

Sojourn Studios plans to have this jewelry for sale internationally in coming months, but for now–watch this video, and be inspired!

We are also just beginning a partnership with a local Bible school. They screen print on to t-shirts, and we are partnering with them to sell reusable grocery bags with screen prints on them. We hope this will be available internationally soon, too.

Either way, they both have steady, sustainable work, right in our home! 🎉

_________________________

We found a few solutions for education, too.

First, we bribed her. I couldn’t get her over the hump of her multiplication tables, but I knew she could do it. I gave her three weeks to memorize them, with a reward of an extra weeks’ salary as a reward. She couldn’t give it to her family collective, though–where money traditionally goes. She’d go on a special trip to the market with us to spend it on her.

It worked 😁

More than anything, I think it showed her she could. Since then, she has completed all her multiplication lessons and passed the “exam” I gave her with flying colors. We’re on to division, and she says it’s easy. And I am loving that time with her every week.

Second, we let her vote on what she actually wanted to learn. And we’ve learned: if she wants to learn it, she gives it her all.

English got ousted; she just wasn’t interested. She hopes to open a nail salon someday (as you can see in the video above), and if she plans to do that in Thailand, we wanted her to start learning Thai. So now a portion of her salary ifrom Sojourn Studios goes to hire a Thai teacher once a week. She has just started, but the teacher already says she’s doing great.

We also offered her most of the things we know and could train her in: and photography was voted highest. Enter Stephen. He now is teaching her photography using our Canon DSLR & Mac software on our computers.

Mwei Mwei’s also becoming a bit of a teacher herself. San Aye is becoming literate in Burmese, and has a teacher that comes once or twice a week. However, she requested more practice and study time. As part of her work time, she now studies with Mwei Mwei helping her three days a week.

And still further–she’s one of our teachers for the Summer Program this year! Two mornings over the summer she teaches Burmese, Science, Math & basic English to the younger kids in the community. She is absolutely thriving in so many things these days.

_________________________

She celebrated her sixteen birthday a few weeks ago. It fell right near when the two Reinforcers were both turning seventeen, so we hosted a party for all three! We told them they could each bring five friends, and pick what day & time, the menu, and what movie we’d watch on the projector.

They initially picked Saturday morning at 8am for hamburgers, which surprised us a little.

Our laughter led them to think that wasn’t cool, so it was switched to Saturday night at 5pm. They still picked hamburgers, but wanted chicken.

{Beef is pretty expensive and not that favored by Burmese, so I asked if they wanted some beef and some pork. They all made faces of disgust–“Not beef! We like chicken.” Right. Chicken hamburgers, coming right up.}

They invited a collection of friends and family, including two toddlers…so it wasn’t we expected by any means. But, hey, we had chicken hamburgers and sodas and cake and popcorn. We watched Spiderman. And Mwei Mwei fell asleep, so… 🤷🏼‍♀️

_________________________

We gifted her a set of nail polish and nail care kit for her birthday. She loved it. She came the next day with her nails all done and I snapped this photo.

I don’t want to forget where we’ve come.

I don’t want to forget how her demeanor has changed since we sat with her in the ice cream shop last January. I don’t want to forget the day I had to use broken Burmese to ask her if she was cutting. I don’t want to forget the scowl on her face at every math lesson, Thai class, and English class.

I don’t want to forget the day she passed her multiplication tables. I don’t want to forget the day we talked about how much we believe in her. I don’t want to forget the day she thanked us for her new Thai class and teacher. I don’t want to forget my pride for her as became an excellent teacher in the Summer Program.

I don’t want her working alongside her mom, chatting and laughing, to become so normal that I don’t give thanks for the gift it is. It wasn’t there a year ago, and it’s a beautiful, beautiful growth.

So much has changed in the last year, and it’s been messy. I’m so glad she’s sixteen, because somehow that feels less ridiculous that we’re hiring her. I’m so glad we have some sustainable work solutions, because we were just pouring money into ideas.

_________________________

It still feels unfair, sometimes when I look at who we have hired: it’s uneven; it’s random. We have three ladies making bread, one lady making flower bouquets, two ladies making jewelry and sewing. We have one woman making breakfast for fifty & overseeing the community space. We have two boys running sound. Some work one day a week; some two, some five. Some have savings plans and some don’t. Some have extra education built into their hours, and some don’t.

The only pattern is that they are needs God whispered to us about. And I’m really thankful we felt the whisper for this need.

weekend shenanigans.

by Filed Under: house church, kelli, photos, playhouse, schoolhouse Leave a Comment

We started the weekend trying a new fruit!

I don’t even know what to call it. We currently can’t find it online in any translatable form, so we know the Burmese word (which literally translates to “sugar fruit”) and nothing more! This is the first time we haven’t been able to find any other photos or descriptions or details in English. Kind of bizarre, and a surprisingly good fruit.

After Flour & Flowers on Friday (because our Fridays just aren’t crazy enough!), we went to the BMCC Christmas. Twelve local Burmese churches have come together to form the Burmese Migrant Churches Committee, where the pastors meet regularly for bible studies and worship and prayer; they partner for events and work together in a variety of ways. It is a pretty incredible group and a great example of unity in the church.

And every year, they do a Christmas party. This year we borrowed a friend’s car to make the many trips, since it’s on the other side of town.

Funnily enough, they have the same car as us, which led to much shock & awe. One of the kids asked, How did you make two of the same car? 

Anyway, with the help of two big soccer mom SUVs, we managed to get 48 people there and back again, with a lot of singing and talking in between.

(Oh, and they also got to pass the big town Christmas tree at our local department store–the first year we’ve had one in Mae Sot, and the first time they’ve all been the kilometer away from our house to see it! Such a great response. The whole car, adults & kids alike, erupted in oohs and ahhs!)

And since it lasted til 10pm, this is how Ah Gar & I ended it in the back.

Saturday brought ZuZu’s 3rd birthday! Here she is with her aunt & uncle–all some of our favorites.

And then we had a girls only shindig on Saturday afternoon.

This started out of some Days for Girls kits we were given for the community. In short, Days for Girls provides re-usable pantyliner kits for girls around the world, in hopes of helping them to continue going to school when they are menstruating.  In impoverished communities, its not uncommon for materials to be too expensive, so girls stay home from school or work. Since we were only given a small number of kits, we wanted to make sure the teenagers were given them.

And while I had intended to do this for a few months, I had been putting it off in the chaos & my poor health. But with some of the community possibly moving back to Burma in coming weeks, we wanted to be sure we got them to the girls before they left, as it could really help them in poorer seasons and for their chances at continuing school.

In giving them out, we also wanted to provide some education on their cycles, what to expect or when to go to the doctor, and when they can get pregnant. Because we live in a community where abuse is quite common and the girls face a higher risk, we wanted to talk about that, too.

Thus unfolded a lengthy conversation, made possible by my friend Nu helping with translation; I didn’t want to give a sex or abuse talk with my elementary language; it was bound to be accidentally crass. We talked to the girls about their right to choose for their body, and that no one else has the right to touch them. We talked about it in the general concept–in the market, or at school; their freedom to say no, to hit someone, to run; but also in the community–that their rights are still theirs, even in situations with their dad, brother, uncle, or friend. We talked about the choices they get to make now and in the future. We talked about our house as a safe place, to talk to us, to go to the doctor, and even to sleep if they are scared.

It was probably one of the harder conversations I ever had in the community. For one, it’s a sensitive subject across cultures and languages. But also, we have suspicions that some of the girls have already faced abuse in their young lives. It was hard to see tears in some eyes and watch their responses.

That said, it went better than I could have asked. I had been praying about it for weeks–feeling like it was the right thing to do, but unsure of how or what words to use. Not sure how to love them well and help them. I can honestly say I’m so glad we did it, and we even managed to make it fun, too.

We didn’t want to them to leave with a menstruation kit and have everyone asking what they got and what we did. So we also gifted them some earrings, nail polish, and lip glosses that they could show as “what they got.”

We played a game–which they loved! I had four jars with different items in them–some beads they like to use, two of candy, and one of small stars. They guessed the numbers inside, and whoever was closest one the jar and small prize. Wow, it went over amazing, with cheers and laughter. This is the easiest group to impress with entertainment.

We also decorated Christmas cookies! I always love to do this, but…it’s messy. This was just nine girls, all teenagers, and it was still a doozy of a mess. (So thankful I didn’t try it with the littles!)

I will say I also realized too late that I didn’t have much in the way of food coloring (apparently that’s only something my mom always has on hand; and as an adult you have to buy it in order for it to be “on hand”) and we ended up with blue, purple and white icing, plus a red strawberry filling. And then I put out sprinkles and waxy chocolate chips. They loved it ALL and put it ALL on every single cookie.

I guess it’s a good diet plan. I wasn’t tempted to eat even one!

So thankful for these girls, many of whom we’ve known since they were six or seven. And really thankful for the chance to love on them.

still.

by Filed Under: housewares, kelli, photos, schoolhouse 1 Comment

Still.

We are still baking bread and making flower bouquets every Friday. And it’s still profitable! Three women make a days salary + savings on the bread baking, and Daw Ma Oo’s family is still coming together to keep up flower sales and make ends meet while she’s away for cancer treatment.

There are still two ladies sewing in our house three days a week, and usually a sleeping baby within sight. They are still cute as ever.

I’m still teaching Mwei Mwei a few days a week in math, English, and typing; she is reading Burmese books and answering essay questions; and she is taking a Thai class.

Oh, and I’m still an ogre next to all the tiny folks in this community.

This girl is still a part of our lives, day in and day out. And now she’s a teenager, going to church in her lovely outfits with her hair braided and styled. I’m still snapping blurry photos on my phone so I don’t forget the moment I realized she’s grown and beautiful.

We’re still resting one day a week to stay alive. We find pretty places or quiet places or cool places and make a day of it.

literacy & learning.

by Filed Under: house church, kelli, onehouse, photos, playhouse, schoolhouse 1 Comment

Our pastors asked us a few weeks ago about teaching in our community. A few broken conversations later, we had a community meeting, and still a few more conversations after that, we re-arranged the community space for whiteboards and…we have community adult education classes happening!

Our pastor, Ah Tee, and his wife, Pranee, are teaching on Tuesdays and Thursdays. They teach one hour of Burmese literacy, teaching five Burmese women how to read and write in their own language. And then they teach an hour of Thai class. And since the neighbors also requested English, Kelli teaches English for an hour on Wednesday evening.

Guys, this is a community center if I ever saw one.

We are really thankful for the opportunity for the neighbors to learn, and that it doesn’t take much from us! We are so excited to have our pastors and friends in the community with us, helping us sort things and observing and advising.

We also love that they are teaching literacy. We had been working on this for sometime, shortly after we learned that San Aye, who sews with us, can’t read or write. Pyo Pyo, our bread manager, is also limited in her literacy. Both of them are taking the class, and it’s so beautiful to see!  There is also a young teenage girl who attends Thai school–and so doesn’t get to learn Burmese–that has joined.

The two sewing ladies have been practicing their alphabet as they sew, reading letters aloud, or spelling words out letter by letter. Thida, while she waits for all the children to come in the morning, has been practicing her Thai letters. They are using new English phrases they learned and testing them out on us!

Meanwhile, Mwei Mwei is our young seamstress that we still want to ensure keeps studying. She is now taking Thai and English classes with the adults in the evening, as well as practicing Burmese reading and writing, learning typing, and learning math with me in the afternoon.

On Tuesday, I helped Mwei Mwei with her typing program until the kids came at 4pm. I then played with the kids in the main area while the literacy class was held in one of the rooms; and Stephen taught The Reinforcers how to solder in the studio. And then we swapped it all around at 6pm for the Thai class to continue.

It’s incredible to see the space used so much and see so many opportunities for our friends! And we love seeing so many opportunities for new skills and languages.

little wins.

by Filed Under: housewares, kelli, schoolhouse 1 Comment

The recent season has held quite a few unknowns, as Thailand cracks down on illegal labor nationwide (read: our best friends) and makes international visas more difficult (read: our futures) and lends very little information about the adoption process we wait in (read: no idea when or if baby bunny will come).

Unknowns, to say the least. Even more than there always have been, so…

And while we continue to try to keep a community center running, keep six women in jobs, sell bread and flowers once a week, continue praying and hoping for one woman in chemotherapy and ensure her family is cared for, and make sure the blind man doesn’t have tuberculosis but is cared for while he’s in isolation…

Sometimes we spend so much time just staying on top of every day life, I forget how great some of the things are that we see and experience.

But there are just two little side stories of this month that I don’t want to ever forget.

_______________________

First, this little boy. He’s been spending day after day at our house, where he is “watched” by his grandparents who live across the street. He mostly spends time by himself on our porch, asking multiple times a day if we’ll be playing at 4pm.

There’s definitely an opportunity for him to go to school in the area, but we weren’t really sure why he had slipped through the cracks. We talked to his parents and asked if he could go to school; it seemed money was the issue, and perhaps disorganization and disinterest. We asked the little boy if he was interested, and he was beyond keen.

So then we asked Thida to help, and asked her to check with the teachers to see if he could join late and what grade he’d be in; what costs would be. She got us the information and we “hired” her to help coordinate it all–she’s the best gift of a community help we could have asked for. At the cost of $59, the little boy was enrolled in a year of school, was given three uniform sets, new shoes, and a backpack. And Thida made $6 of that for her help in enrolling him and purchasing all the uniforms.

Thida’s kids attend the same school, so a few days in, they reported back that he didn’t have lunch with him each day. The family helped educate the parents on sending him with a lunch pail each day, so he could eat lunch there. The teacher reports back to Thida that he’s incredibly well-behaved and is just so excited to be learning everything and anything.

Fast-forward a week, when we’ve recovered from dengue and he’s situated into school. He arrives at our door in the afternoon, in an adorable uniform and shiny black shoes, wearing a backpack on and a proud smile.

Are you attending school? Do you like it? What are you learning?

He tells me he’s learning the Burmese alphabet and his Burmese numbers; he says he teacher told him they’ll learn English, too. And he tells me he’s writing it all in his book. He goes on about how his mom walks him to school and he walks home by himself, and how his friend Jor Lay is in the same class. And that he loves his teacher.

…Oh, and are we playing at 4pm today? He asks again.

And just like that, he’s in school. He has a piece of stability in his life, friendships, and new role models. He’s learning and growing, and he’ll be joining us for breakfast each morning starting next week, on his way down the street to school.

I don’t want to forget that. It’s a small, but so well-spent $59. Worth every penny.

_______________________

And second, this girl. Thida’s daughter, Mwei Mwei, has officially started sewing in our home three days a week and helping us with childcare during Flour & Flowers on Friday mornings. She’ll also be going to the market with me each week to help purchase food for the blind man in the community, purchase bread baking supplies, and purchase ingredients for The Breakfast Club that starts next Monday! She’s back from Bangkok, living with her family, and has a job in a safe environment.

She’s fourteen, and we’d rather her be in school. But if the family is going to take her out of school, we’d rather her be in a safe work environment that values her age and vulnerability, and gives her the opportunity to keep learning. So that’s us–finding a way to do that!

She was able to do six weeks of sewing training at a nearby organization where her sister also works. She is now sewing new items each week to expand her skills. And for about an hour a day, she also takes lessons from us. We have set her up on a computer with math lessons and typing lessons, while we work with her on spoken English, as well as reading, writing, and typing basic English.

And once a week, we’re also having her spend time reading a Burmese book, which I’ll also be reading in English. After each book, she’ll be writing a short paper or two in Burmese, which we’ll go over with a Burmese teacher, so that she can further her Burmese grammar and language skills. I’m excited that we’ve already found I am Malala and some Charles Dickens’ classics online in Burmese; and I’m on the hunt for a copy of To Kill a Mockingbird that is supposedly translated out there somewhere. I’m hoping it promotes some interesting conversations in Burmese between us, too!

And again, just something not to be forgotten. It’s a little success, a budding relationship, a few hours of study. But she’s safe. We get to watch her with her siblings each day. She gets to be told she’s doing a great job and oh-so-clever on a regular basis. And that’s a win.

Here’s to the little wins that just must not be overlooked in the unknowns 😊