September-October
Hello! Wow, it has already been around 1.5 months since arriving at Mango House (MH). I wanted to send this out sooner, but it has been busy busy busy! I am excited to finally share what’s been going on.
SO WHAT HAS BEEN HAPPENING?!
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Almost immediately after I got to MH, around 45 of the 50ish kids + MH staff fell ill.
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Bri, Irene, and I turned the office into a mini clinic where we distributed medicine and monitored kids’ conditions. Many of the little ones were just miserable, so we made caring for them as fun as possible by cheering “medicine time!”, having them guess each other’s temperatures, or giving high fives if they drank all the medicine. Caring for so many kids + still being a literal stranger was difficult, but it was so rewarding to see smiles return to each face :) Perhaps this was a sneak peek into future life as a doctor!
Doodling with a few girls who stayed home from school because they were sick
Vietnam squad!!
Visa victory!!
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Bri, Irene, P Mai (head of staff at Mango House, P as a sign of respect) and I went to Vietnam for 1 week to get Non-Immigrant Volunteer Visas.
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The Thai government recently changed the requirements for volunteer visas, making it hard for anyone to obtain one. After 4 visits to the Thai Consulate, we were only able to get 60-day Tourist Visas. Though stressful, we were relieved to get anything at all. We will likely continue to try for tourist visas from here on out!
VBS YAYYYY
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We went with the Mango House staff and leaders to do a half day of VBS at a rural ministry!
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The MH ministry goes beyond their own walls. Two weeks ago, we traveled 2.5 hours to Arunothai, a village near the Thai/Burma border to teach the story of Jesus walking on water. We had spent the week working with the MH leaders (staff + a group of college/high school aged kids) to plan and prepare a skit, crafts, and games. For some kids, this was their first time hearing about the gospel. Being part of sharing such a precious gift and seeing kids get excited to learn about Jesus made this experience very special. The village we visited was the same village many kids at MH are from, so watching them return as blessings and disciples of God was a beautiful thing to witness.
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Arunothai VBS team + kids :)
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We helped host a US missions team for the first time!
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Several churches send teams out to MH every year, and last week, we got to help host one! This team was from Cornerstone Church in NYC, and I will be honest, hearing so many English speakers again felt weird. But I really loved fellowship with this team and was excited to watch so many more people give it their all to pour God’s love into the kids. I always used to wonder if such short missions were actually impactful, but this experience showed the power of short-term missions when done right:
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When teams come, even for just a little, the kids get to hear about and be encouraged by God’s work all over the world, especially by hearing different people’s testimonies.
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Kids can get really excited to learn about and worship Jesus, they sing VBS songs we sing with teams for weeks after.
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God uses these experiences to connect His precious children to each other and help us see the bigger picture of his kingdom. Both MH kids and missionaries (like myself and teams) get to see God’s work in different places and share it with our communities, uniting and inspiring more of God’s kingdom.
MANGO HOUSE x CORNERSTONE
an intense game of Monopoly Deal
baking cupcakes with the team!
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Bri, Irene, and I started teaching science classes!
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After the Cornerstone Church team left, we finally started teaching! We are teaching biology, chemistry, and physics to junior high and high school students. Similar to the US, many of the science teachers here are not very good. As a result, many students dislike science or lack confidence in the subject. Having had my fair share of bad teachers and having once struggled in science, I totally understand. My goal is to not only prepare kids for science classes at school, but also to help them see God in the beauty of the organization of the natural world around them. I also want to emphasize the growth mindset, that our abilities can blossom through hard work, so that kids may feel encouraged to pursue careers they feel called to, like medicine or engineering, even if the road is difficult.
With the language barrier, teaching has been a challenge, but working hard to lesson plan and pick up thai along the way has definitely been worth it. Some of my students have already told me they understand different concepts they have already learned in school much better now, making me so so happy!
teaching unit conversions to 10th grade physics!
Fah and Mint observing cohesion and adhesion of water
a very focused Wendy during physics, she wants to be a doctor :)
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I helped design this year's Mango House t-shirts!
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With Juju, one of the Mango kids, we designed t-shirts for all of Mango House and its visitors! I have never done anything like this and wasn't expecting my limited art skills to be of use this way, so it is really exciting to know that Juju and I's work will be worn around the world. Even more exciting that it will be part of spreading the word about His good work!
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HOW HAVE I BEEN DOING
back of the shirt!
​Whew, that was a lot. A lot has been going on, many new experiences all at once. Admittedly, I am tired, but I am lucky to be surrounded by so many wonderful brothers and sisters in Christ. Days when I feel down, the kids, volunteers, and staff make it so easy to be here by relentlessly showing love even when I don’t deserve it. I am so happy to say that I feel well-adjusted to this ~new life~ and community! Some thai words have even become part of my natural vocabulary 😎​
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Of course, it was not always so easy. When I first arrived, I really struggled with anxiety and feeling severely under-equipped. I think I naively hoped that when I landed in Thailand, everything would make sense but of course, nothing did. I was at a loss about how I was actually supposed to carry out a daunting task like God’s work. I felt like an awkward outsider and was ashamed of my selfish worries and doubt. I was impatient and wanted to know the why’s and how’s on my timing instead of God’s. However, our God is full of grace.
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During my first morning devotional, He reminded me to live for His glory, not my own little moments of glory (Psalm 115). He sent me here to do HIS work, not mine! I also reunited with many kids from my first visit to Mango House, including Latda. Latda was only 8 years old when I first met her, but 5 years later I was shocked to hear that she remembered my smile from my first visit. She said that seeing my smile after a bad day at school would make her worries disappear. I was deeply moved by the reminder that God works through us in ways we don’t even realize.
A month later, I feel much more comforted in the beautiful unknown known as God’s plan. I can feel God continuing to soften and shape my heart into the person He plans for me to be. Mango House is also a very spiritually intense place. When praying for some kids individually, just touching them in prayer has moved me to tears. I can feel God dwelling inside of them, healing their souls while molding their hearts. I hope that as I continue to grow in my relationship with God, I can continue to develop this spiritual sensitivity and be wiser in my prayers for the kids.
With ALL of this being said, HERE ARE MY PRAYER REQUESTS:
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As I grow closer with the kids and staff here, God may give me the courage to be vulnerable and be intentional in my relationships.
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Some MH kids I remember from my first visit are not at MH anymore for various reasons. I pray for a hand of protection, physically and spiritually, over those kids and that they might still feel God clutching them tightly in his palm.
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I will share my testimony with Mango House soon. Please pray that I use this opportunity to encourage kids by sharing not only my story but also God's!
I can’t wait to continue to share my experiences with all of you (in the future i will share on time...hopefully). Thank you for continuing to keep me in your thoughts and prayers. Please reach out any time, I miss you all! Til’ next time!!
Izzie / Isabella
Sending love from over yonder,
reunited 5 years later with Alao!
5 years ago
now
Latda!
tony likes climbing things including me
nail painting with boon using HER green. not any green, HER GREEN.
on this night, timmy and i had an intense battle with imaginary swords. i did not win.
