Hello all. Hope you are well and life is going well in your respective worlds.
Wanted to share an update of the past fortnight with you.. Since my last post I've trekked a good 1900km around Thailand.. all on bus.. totaling approximately 26hrs.. good times.. plenty of laughs (including the overbooked bus which included 3 hrs of standing - an added extra which came as a little bit of a surprise and getting booted off the bus one stop early.. photo below). I've seen some amazing countryside, sunsets, stars and met some really nice people.
The highlight since my last update has been meeting my sponsor child. After picking my friend Abby up from Bangkok we made our way to the Children's village in Phetchabun. Phetchabun is a province in the North-east of Thailand. The children’s village cares for approximately 90 kids providing housing, food and education at Ban Meata (Thai for House of Mercy). Lift (my sponsor child) is 12 years old. He is 1 of 12 boys in the younger boy’s house. An amazing, smart, caring and thoughtful kid.
There has been some good fun with the boys as I've been living in their house (the volunteer accommodation has been full). It has been great being apart of their house.. although I'm still trying to work out why the boys get up at 5.10 every morning.. a time which gives them a good 2 1/2 hours to getting ready for school.. Nothing huge.. it has proved helpful in getting me up to go for a run in the the cool (?) of the morning...
Lift and the other boys love board games so we've pretty much been having a blast playing Uno, Jenga, Macala, Dominos and a whole raft of other games.
If there is anything I can share/encourage any of you reading this who have sponsor kids - it is to write to them. As hard as you might think it is - they LOVE IT. As I’ve been saying good-night to the boys each night I’ve seen many of them with cards/photo’s/letters next to or under their pillows (one boy had rocks & play-doh.. i’m sure they had special meaning for him!). The letters and gifts mean so much to these kids and I want to encourage you to pick up a card and write.. nothing big.. just a short message of encouragement. It will mean the world to them.
So aside from traveling around the country visiting and showing the other House of Mercy homes to my friend Abby i’ve pretty much been laying pretty low. Very much enjoying Thailand - the people, the food and the countryside. I am amazed each day at how rewarding simpler living can be. This is probably a good time to explain the title for my my blog - Living without pegs. The general theme behind it is living a simpler life - I’m not talking about living in a tent, just being more conscious of what I consume, it’s impact on the environment around me and the impact on future generations.. it all started during one of my house-sitting gigs earlier this year... the place i was looking after had no clothes pegs. Initially I had intended on purchasing some, but as the weeks/months rolled I began to realise I could live without them. I came to the realisation that all the resources, energy and waste involved in producing some pegs solely for the purpose of hanging my clothes out, was a luxury I could live without. After all, people in Africa and Thailand don’t have the of pegs.. don’t they?
Enough rambling.. I guess what I’m trying to say is that in the time since being here I’ve learnt the power of ‘being present’ with the kids. I’ve enjoyed walking the land for a couple of hours collecting bamboo shoots for dinner, spent one afternoon fishing in the dam, another playing volleyball (without a net!) and another collecting paw-paw’s from the farm. The kids don’t have much by western standards, no Nintendo DS or bikes but from what I’ve observed and experienced, they really do have so much.. They taken what they have and turned it into so much. They have a family of 70+ brothers and sisters and carers who love them deeply.
There is so much laughter around the place, a really strong indicator of the vibe of this place.
In closing, they do have pegs in Thailand and given the number of loads of washing Oo (yes that’s the washing lady’s name pronounced like Boo minus the ‘b’) has do each day.. roughly 20 which she pushes through four washing machines from about 7am to early hours of the afternoon.. then jumps on the ironing board for the remaining hours.. 6 days week!!.. Yes so I can see the requirement for pegs as there is little to no time to chase clothes down the road.
Anyway, hope each of you are well and enjoying life.
Leave a message as I’d love to hear how things are going for you.
Talk soon
Damo
If there is anything I can share/encourage any of you reading this who have sponsor kids - it is to write to them. As hard as you might think it is - they LOVE IT. As I’ve been saying good-night to the boys each night I’ve seen many of them with cards/photo’s/letters next to or under their pillows (one boy had rocks & play-doh.. i’m sure they had special meaning for him!). The letters and gifts mean so much to these kids and I want to encourage you to pick up a card and write.. nothing big.. just a short message of encouragement. It will mean the world to them.
So aside from traveling around the country visiting and showing the other House of Mercy homes to my friend Abby i’ve pretty much been laying pretty low. Very much enjoying Thailand - the people, the food and the countryside. I am amazed each day at how rewarding simpler living can be. This is probably a good time to explain the title for my my blog - Living without pegs. The general theme behind it is living a simpler life - I’m not talking about living in a tent, just being more conscious of what I consume, it’s impact on the environment around me and the impact on future generations.. it all started during one of my house-sitting gigs earlier this year... the place i was looking after had no clothes pegs. Initially I had intended on purchasing some, but as the weeks/months rolled I began to realise I could live without them. I came to the realisation that all the resources, energy and waste involved in producing some pegs solely for the purpose of hanging my clothes out, was a luxury I could live without. After all, people in Africa and Thailand don’t have the of pegs.. don’t they?
Enough rambling.. I guess what I’m trying to say is that in the time since being here I’ve learnt the power of ‘being present’ with the kids. I’ve enjoyed walking the land for a couple of hours collecting bamboo shoots for dinner, spent one afternoon fishing in the dam, another playing volleyball (without a net!) and another collecting paw-paw’s from the farm. The kids don’t have much by western standards, no Nintendo DS or bikes but from what I’ve observed and experienced, they really do have so much.. They taken what they have and turned it into so much. They have a family of 70+ brothers and sisters and carers who love them deeply.
There is so much laughter around the place, a really strong indicator of the vibe of this place.
In closing, they do have pegs in Thailand and given the number of loads of washing Oo (yes that’s the washing lady’s name pronounced like Boo minus the ‘b’) has do each day.. roughly 20 which she pushes through four washing machines from about 7am to early hours of the afternoon.. then jumps on the ironing board for the remaining hours.. 6 days week!!.. Yes so I can see the requirement for pegs as there is little to no time to chase clothes down the road.
Anyway, hope each of you are well and enjoying life.
Leave a message as I’d love to hear how things are going for you.
Talk soon
Damo
9 comments:
Damo - sounds like you are having an incredible experience. So happy to hear!
What are your plans for the next few months? Still planning on stopping in the US? Jason and I would love to see you...the door is always open in Kansas :)
Hey, sounds great Brian. I can't believe your sponsor child is named after a drink. Nothing nearly as exciting back home, work, work and bridge to brisbane on saturday. Keep up the blogging, it's a great read!
Hi Damien, you're doing everything I think that our souls crave to do...we wish we were there.
Have you taught the kids rock paper scissors?
All good here with the boys. Take care and we're glad that you are having such a great time.
Slater
Wade, Jasmine, Dylan and Noah
Such an inspiration to read of your travels and work with the boys in Thailand. I'm sure they appreciate your efforts more than you even imagine. Blessings to you and the people you touch on your journey without pegs. Hope to see you in the States when your travels bring you closer our direction. As Nat says, the door is always open for you for as long as you wish to stay.
Damo!
Keep up all of the peg-less discoveries that you are making on this epic journey!
It is so wonderful to read your thoughts regularly.
A&A
Hey Damo!
Love reading what you're up to. Do you know anyone in particular who needs some letters? I'm the queen of writing rubbish and sticking it in the post. Hooray for snail mail! Just give me a name and address.
Ah Omnion you make me miss the place :)
hey Damien!
Its Wendy here! Say hi to Abby for me! and you've inspired me to do more things with my life!
be safe!
Wendy
It will be a miracle if you get this little comment but i have recently just been to thailand on a mission trip with my school and as i was browsing the internet to try and find one of my close friends, i finally found him. He looks so small in that picture with you and it makes me so happy that i can;t stop crying. Lift has grown so much and after only spending three days with him i already feel like leaving him has taken away a little piece of my heart. i think its so amazing what you have done for him and if its the same guitar i saw him playing then it looks like your present to him has lasted him for a long time. i can't stop crying, im so sorry but i find this so amazing. it would be a blessing if you got back to me buut as i said before, it would have to be a miracle for you to even get this message as this was posted four years ago.
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