136 Days in Counting

Happy New Year, everyone! It's hard to believe we've already passed the threshold of a brand new year. 

It's also hard to believe that I've been here in Thailand for 136 days already. These past few days have been wonderful, growth-filled days. I am truly an abundantly blessed girl.  

I've had great intentions to share more on this blog about my time here. But due to the busyness of my schedule here, I haven't had an abundance of time to write updates. Teaching four classes everyday, practicing songs for upcoming events, trying to work on finishing a college class, playing games with the students, being entertained by the four girls who come to our hut whenever they have free time (which is quite often), preparing to give worship or chapel talks, or teach the 9th & 10th grade Sabbath school class, going on runs with some of my fellow teachers and more... keeps me pretty busy. (Christmas was a busy time too. I'll have to write a post about that sometime soon.)

I'm thankful to have a purpose in life, like so many people don't have. I'm thankful to be a missionary working with such sweet people. 

Even though I don't have the time to put a lot of thought into writing a blog post, I thought I could share some pictures of my students and others with you. Pictures speak a thousand words, right? There's so much more to share, but this is a start. 

My 10th grade class - they all have very unique personalities. I wish you could meet them all!

 The 9th graders - They are all wearing their class shirts that I helped design for them (except for the two day students who didn't realize they were supposed to wear their class shirts that day).

 Some of my sweet 9th grade girls - One of them had to leave this term. :(

Teacher Raquel with some of her students before she left. 

 These students love to take pictures with us! 

 Moo Koh Paw is one of my 10th graders on the left.
She's one of the ones who is always visiting my hut. She keeps me laughing. 

 We went on a nice outing a few weeks ago - the views were breathtaking!

 Here's a cute little munchkin. He's almost like the school "mascot." 

His mom is the girl's dean here at the school. 

 These girls were happy to be moving into their new dorm. 

We had the dorm dedication & ribbon cutting at the beginning of this term. It has been a long time in coming - we're so thankful that the girls and boys have a nice new place to stay now. 

This is one of the two new girl's dorm buildings. 

 Mr. Adams (Papa Doh) with little Timothy cutting the ribbon at the dorm dedication.

Girls carrying their few belongings to their new dorm.

This little guy gets this contagious smile on his face when I come to visit him. 

Please pray for him though - he recently broke his leg again. His bones are so weak and brittle. 

Important note: If you are email subscribed to this blog and you've been seeing some weird posts - Don't worry, it's not me... Those email subscriptions were still connected with my old blog address - which I don't have anymore. My old blog hannahmariepowell.blogspot.com has a new owner now. So you should just unsubscribe to the old blog and then then try to subscribe to my new blog.
Sorry about that.

Is God Your Pilot?

We're sitting here in the Los Angeles airport after flying from Dallas, TX this morning. It's a major hub for flights -- almost like a little city all by itself.

It's hard to believe this is actually happening. We are going to be flying across the great blue ocean from LA to Seoul, Korea in just a few hours. We'll eventually arrive in Bangkok on Wednesday evening (their time). 

It seems right though. I know God has called me to go to Thailand to work for Him. I'm excited to be traveling. I'm excited to be a missionary for God.

While on the flight here from Dallas, I was reminded of a story I had heard recently...

One day, a pastor was traveling on a plane.  During his flight, the pilot's voice came over the loudspeaker and told the passengers that they were going to be passing through some bad turbulence. Sure enough, the plane was soon being roughly jostled up and down and side to side. It was almost like an earthquake. There was an overwhelming sense of fear in the air. 

That's when the pastor noticed the small girl.  She was calmly sitting in her seat, contentedly reading a book, as if she was at home in her own living room. She was relaxed and at peace. This surprised the pastor and he determined that as soon as possible he must ask her why she wasn't frightened. How could this little girl be so calm when even the adults around her were quaking with fear?

To everyone's relief, the plane landed safely at their destination. Needless to say, the passengers were eager to exit the plane and step onto the firm, steady ground.

The pastor went over to the young girl right away and asked her, "Why were you not afraid on the plane? You didn't look worried at all..."

The girl smiled and responded simply, "Oh, my Daddy is the pilot, and he is taking me home."

That's the peace and the assurance that I want to experience while on this mission trip. I can have perfect confidence that my heavenly Father is the pilot in charge of my life and He is ultimately taking me home. So can you. :)

Waiting in LA

For more information about Sunshine Orchards,
view this website: http://www.karenoutreach.org/

Missionary Dreams Come True

Ever since I was little, I've had an interest in mission work.  It probably all started when I would listen, spellbound, to my mom read stories to us of great missionaries (such as Bruchko, Singer on the Sand, Taught by a Tiger, Hudson Taylor, Gladys Aylward, Jim Elliot, Eric B. Hare stories, and more) who worked with savages and all sorts of people, leading them to Jesus.  It thrilled me to hear how they each made an eternal impact on the lives of the dear people they ministered to. Also many of my family members and friends have served some time as overseas missionaries. These inspiring stories and firsthand mission reports worked together to spark a longing in my heart that someday, I too, could be a missionary in a far-off country for more than just a few weeks. (I have had the privilege of going on shorter mission trips to Honduras, Serbia, & Cuba for a few weeks at a time).

Now my dreams are becoming a reality. Recently, the Lord has opened the way for my college friend Raquel and I to spend a few months in Thailand at a learning center and children's home (orphanage) right on the border of Myanmar (Burma) and Thailand. It's the same area where Eric B. Hare worked! I had applied to volunteer at Sunshine Orchards quite a few months ago after getting some recommendations from others and I had not received a response from the school for quite some time. I began to wonder if God had a different plan for the next school year. My parents and I decided that I should spend a week specifically praying about possible mission opportunities and seek further direction from God. The very next day, when I opened my email, there was an acceptance email from the principal at Sunshine Orchards in my inbox.  Right away I thought, "Lord, is this a sign that I'm supposed to pursue this option..." After praying and talking with people who have spent some time there, I decided that the Lord did seem to be opening that door. There's nothing better than to see God open doors and lead you to the place He has for you.

Another blessing was to have my friend, Raquel, agree to join me in this adventure. My parents had expressed that one of the prerequisites for me to go as a student missionary, was to find a girlfriend who could come with me.  Raquel had written in her journal of an interest to travel overseas as a missionary, and had prayed that God would lead someone else to have that same desire. God's ways are truly higher than our ways and His thoughts higher than our thoughts.

So it's official now! Our plane tickets have been purchased and we will soon be applying for our visas. We are planning to leave the US on August 19, which is less than a month away. I'm planning to stay there for around seven months and come back in March after their school graduation. Raquel and I will be primarily teaching English to the upper grades there at the school. Thankfully they know some English, so there isn't as much of a language barrier. I imagine we will be helping with many other thing as well like working with the students in their vocational work & helping with some medical mission work. Part of the reason I wanted to take this break from school is so that I can gain experience in different areas (education, medical work etc.) which will hopefully give me clearer vision of what kind of education I should pursue.

It doesn't seem real yet, but one thing I know -- it's a great to see God's plan unfold before my eyes. I know it won't always be easy being separated from family and friends and trials will come. But, I can rest assured that my Redeemer lives and will see me through whatever arises. I like this definition of a missionary:

Just recently, I copied a song entitled "A Passion for Thee" in my journal, because it really resonated with a cord in my heart. I want this to be my motto as I embark on this mission venture.

~ ~ ~

Father, fill with Thy Spirit, and fit me for service,

Let love for Christ every motive inspire;

Teach me to follow in self-less submission,

Be Thou my joy and my soul's one desire.

A passion for Thee;

O Lord set a fire in my soul, and a thirst for my God.

Hear Thou my prayer, Lord, Thy power impart--

Not just to serve, but to love Thee with all of my heart. 

 ~ ~ ~