Why I Volunteered for a Job I Could Get Paid to Do Elsewhere

I am a volunteer. I don't get paid to do what I do. Because of this I find myself in what seems like a constant season of fundraising. But why? why would someone with 2 degrees from a prestigious university decide to move half-way around the world and do a job that you could earn at least 3x as much to do in the states? I wonder if anyone has wondered about that and these are the questions I want to answer.

1. What does your work entail?
I am a music teacher at an International Christian School. I teach elementary music and this year we will be starting band. I teach drama and help our school put on productions. My music education degree has provided the skills to do this while my social work degree has provided me the skills to understand people and culture better. I use my social work degree in any way I can, whether it is in conversation with other colleagues or in working more intentionally with students, their families, and our community.
I am a missionary from a church and so my hope is that people here would have an opportunity to at least hear about Jesus. Many people in this country have never even heard of Him. Can you imagine that? I would say that everyone in America has at least heard about Jesus. But somewhere around 99% of people in Thailand are unreached, meaning 99% of this country has never been reached with someone just sharing about Jesus.

2. Why doesn't your church or school pay you? Why do you have to ask people for money?
My funds are raised through my church that then allows me to do work at the school and in the community. People who give, give to my account at the church which then gets distributed like a monthly pay check.

The church doesn't pay me from its own funds because our church sends out many people. Having people raise their own funds allows us to send out even more because the church can't say, we only have enough to send x amount of people. Plus it provides more partnerships to develop between those who give and those who go.

The school doesn't pay me because a majority of the students come from families who are serving in some volunteer capacity as well. Me being a volunteer allows students to get a quality education at an affordable price while their parents serve. The tuition they pay goes to school maintenance and development, purchase of resources, and salaries for Thai staff.

I have to ask people for money because I am dependent on donations (and also totally dependent on God's provision).

3. Is it worth it?
Absolutely. I LOVE my work. It is challenging but the best possible fit for me at this season in my life. Here's a common scenario I regularly encounter that I want you to picture with me:
A family feels burdened by something they hear about in Thailand (human trafficking, or poverty, or orphans, or unreached people,etc). They pray and decide to relocate their family to work with an organization that helps them realize their vision. However, they have to raise funds because they are going to serve a vulnerable population in a foreign country where they can't necessarily get paid. On top of that the family starts wondering about education for their children. Then they hear about our school and that just maybe they don't have to sacrifice the quality of their child's education. And I get to teach their students about things that I love (music and Jesus) and our lives become richer because of it (they teach me so much!). It is a beautiful, sometimes messy, community of people from literally all over the world.

Here is what I would like to point out: people who support teachers or missionaries at our school are not just supporting one person; they are serving nations. As a supporter to me you are allowing me to be here which allows students to be here which allows a school to be here which allows more families to come which allows captives to be set free, orphans to find families, and people to hear the good news of Jesus.

This purpose has given me great courage in the face of what seems like impossible odds. There are times when I don't know how provision will come but it always does. And I want to continue to invite friends to be a part of that. I am currently looking for financial partners to help with expenses for this upcoming school year. Please email me at klight@quikmail.org if you are interested in being a part. It's easy to give online and all donations are tax deductible. I'm also always looking for prayer partners. If you aren't on my prayer update list and would like to be, please email me as well.

Godspeed, friends, as we press on toward the goal!

Update in Pictures: April 2016

Every year CRICS has a Sports Day on the day of the Super Bowl. We start the day with watching the game (because it comes on in the morning here) and then break up into teams to compete in a series of games. Each team is made up of students from almost every grade level (K-12). My team was called "The Flaming Ninjas"

In January I had the opportunity to attend a women's retreat for women in our city. It was a refreshing weekend of teaching, worship, and fellowship. I was able to lead worship alongside some other talented women.

At the end of February we attended a graduation ceremony for our students from the Thai school where we go to teach English. We taught them a song in English and they got to sing it for graduation (I am up there leading them on guitar!).

In February we also welcomed two new teammates from California who will be with us until August. Here we are at a balloon festival!

Our city, Chiang Rai, has a professional soccer team! It's a lot of fun to go to the games!

We have middle school youth group every Tuesday night. Here are some of our boys making chocolate chip cookies during a Bible object lesson about how taking the time to make the real thing (like homemade cookies) is better than just taking the quick and easy way (like buying and eating cheap imitation cookies from the store).

During our Easter chapel, my K-4th grade students got to sing a fun song just for Easter! They sounded great!!

Several building on our campus are about to be torn down because a government road is coming in. We have been in the process of building new buildings. Here we are in our new, nearly finished auditorium, worshiping and praying together to dedicate the new building.

The current music room is one of the buildings that will be torn down. So we got to paint a mural on the wall! Every grade got to paint murals on walls that will be torn down.

In the month of April, Thailand celebrates Thai New Years with a big water fight. Yes, you heard me, a water fight! The holiday is called Songkran. People fill the streets and dump buckets of water on people as they go by. We had a special Songkran celebration at school. As you can imagine, students loved getting their teachers wet!

The first two weeks of April are a break from school. Above and below are pictures of time spent with friends during our much needed break.

Reflecting on Easter and 7 months in Thailand

I love new beginnings, don't you? I love dreaming and imagining a world that could be better than it is. I love to start new projects and go to new places.

And then I look at my blog and realize that I have not updated it in 7 months. Sure I've posted other things on social media and sent e-mails; but my blog hit the sidelines. I had great dreams for my blog. I had plans to update it frequently with stories and pictures and videos. But I kept putting it off.

Anyone ever find that dreaming is fun but the work to make it a reality can be really painful? I think that's why I like to start new things. I love the rush I feel when something new starts; but after a while it can start to feel hard or boring and I start thinking about starting something new again.

I wonder how Joseph felt when he had dreams and a beautiful coat and then got sold into slavery. Or David when he was anointed king and then had to spend years fleeing for his life. 

If I'm honest, a lot of things I dreamed about for Thailand aren't what I thought they would be. I've only been here 7 months, but I already find myself thinking, "How long, Lord?"

There are days when I really miss my family, miss home, miss my church. How long, Lord?
There are days when I feel like an outsider. How long, Lord?
There are days when I feel like I can't connect with students the way I want to. How long, Lord?
There are days when I feel like what I'm doing doesn't really matter. How long, Lord?
There are days when I'm just tired of things not going right. How long, Lord?
There are days when I feel misunderstood. How long, Lord?
There are days when my heart breaks for people who haven't encountered Jesus. How long, Lord?

Over the last 7 months I have found myself over and over again praying, God, I want to see this thing, and this thing, and this thing happen. God, why am I struggling with this thing or this thing right now? God, why am I feeling this way or this way right now?

And in this season I have heard God whisper over and over again, "Do you really trust Me?" In this last season I re-read Hinds' Feet on High Places. There is this moment in Much-Afraid's journey where the Shepherd asks her, "Would you be willing to trust me even if everything in the wide world seemed to say that I was deceiving you-- indeed, that I had deceived you all along?" They dialogue for a while until Much-Afraid says, "My Lord-- if you can deceive me, you may. It can make no difference. I must love you as long as I continue to exist. I cannot live without loving you."

Oh the horror! To think that all these things that Much-Afraid had been promised would never come to pass. But with tears in her eyes she finally comes to the conclusion that it is really the Shepherd she wants. I will follow You and trust You if only to love You, because I cannot live without loving You.

Today we celebrated Easter. I have been thinking about Jesus and what He went through for us. Jesus is THE model of complete trust in who the Father is and what the Father does. He is also the model of suffering and deepest pain. He shows us what it means to trust the Father, even when it hurts because He has promised us LIFE!

I could write a blog and post a bunch of pictures of cool things I see God doing right now. And there are really cool things and I will share them. I am really thankful for many things that are happening right now. But I wanted to share a raw side as well. My friends, I want us to find encouragement together that He really is worth it!

This weekend I rediscovered my love of Steven Curtis Chapman. Several years ago his family experienced a tragedy when his young daughter was killed in an accident. Several of his songs since then have been written from a place of deep pain but sung with great hope in the promises of Jesus. I wanted to share some.

I hope you are encouraged!

If I Take One More Step...

You know that scene in The Fellowship of the Rings when Sam stops and makes his grand statement of, "This is it, if I take one more step it'll be the farthest away from home I've ever been."

I just hit the two week mark of being in Thailand and these last few days I've started to feel a bit of a funk. It's the funk that hits when something isn't as new and shiny as it once was. It's the funk that hits when you are already tired of school and it's only the first week. It's the funk that hits when you have spent too much time with your BFF and you are starting to get on each other's nerves.

"But this is the thing I was so looking forward to having!"
"But I've been looking forward to school starting all summer!"
"But this is the person I enjoy spending time with!"

WHY AM I FEELING THIS WAY?!

I was thinking about that today and it dawned on me that I am approaching the point in most of my trips when I begin to head back to the states. But I'm not heading back- not for a long time. And it reminded me of that moment when Sam realizes that he is about to step into a place he had never stepped into- out of his comfort zone.

I'm sharing this because I think is something real that we can all struggle with at times. But how do we continue to choose life when life becomes mundane?

Now, some of you may be thinking, how is life becoming mundane for you?! You live in Thailand! Everything should be new and an adventure! True. But my mundane becomes familiar patterns of my flesh- things like fear, insecurity and jealousy. And now that I have had some time to settle, I've noticed that those things have tried to creep in.

But I just want everything to be fun and exciting and I just want everyone to be happy and get along!

But life is messy. It just is. And sometimes I think we live under the illusion that if we were in a different place or with different people then things would be better. But it seems like our mess follows us!

So what am I getting to? I am getting to an acknowledgement that life is messy and I don't like to feel out of control. Sometimes I don't even know why it feels messy, it just does. But what I am choosing to hold on to is that God loves our mess. He does. He died for it. And He invites me everyday to choose Him again and again and again and again. And to be honest, I find it harder to choose Him when I don't feel so messy. When everything feels shiny and new and exciting, I sometimes forget that I really, really need Him. And not only do I need Him, but I need to be spending time with Him every day. So that's what I'm challenging myself to do over this next week. I am challenging myself to press in to spending time with God. And if you feel comfortable, I'd like to challenge you to do the same, however that looks.

One week in Thailand: My Heart is Full

I have now been in Thailand one week. So much has happened.

I was blessed to spend the weekend with an amazing family who has lived here for a while. It was refreshing to be around a family with younger kids. We spent the weekend hanging out, eating good food, watching American movies and TV shows, and going to church.

Riding in the truck

The boy loves his 8 baht McDonald's Ice Cream Cone! ($1 USD is about 35 baht so these cones are about a quarter!)

At the Night Bazaar

 Something that has helped me through this first week has been finding as many familiar things as I can in a foreign land. People might have different opinions on how to adapt to a new culture. Some might think it's necessary to totally jump in and do everything the locals do in order to adjust. While I want to honor the culture, I have found it helpful to get excited about little things like watching American movies and shows, eating pizza, decorating my room with things from the US, and playing board games with friends. These things are so refreshing and help me be up for adventure when I am adjusting to a new culture, instead of constantly being bombarded with new things 24/7.

I mentioned decorating/setting up my room... here are a few pictures :)

The mat was here already... notice the colors (hint, green and gold)

Finding creative ways hang my scarves, couldn't leave home without good ol' BU

some of my favorite books from home... choosing which books to bring was so hard!! 

My desk with Baylor Bear :)

My bed with my Baylor t-shirt blanket... it's like I brought a lot of Baylor stuff or something.

 Another thing that has been such a huge blessing here has been the community. I live in a neighborhood that is set up like a little grid (kind of like a gated community in the states except it has one street down the middle with about 6 or so streets that branch off on the right and left). What's cool is that so far I know families from 6 houses in this little neighborhood and every house is no very far. It is the perfect set up for community! There are families from the school as well as other faring (foreigners) and locals. I am looking forward to meeting more of my Thai neighbors as I see them and learn more Thai.

5 of us got together last night to play Ticket to Ride

 The experiences I have had and the people I have been with have made my heart so full this past week. But I think what has filled me up even more is realizing what I get to do. For one, where I work is absolutely beautiful.

This is the view outside the music room

Today we had our first day of new teacher orientation and it was such a blessing. I love the heart and vision of this school. I love that this school values community and family- not just between the teachers but also between the students and their families. Some people might not be comfortable with those boundaries- but it is how I grew up and it is how I thrive. I love that I get to be friends with parents and have relationships with students outside of school. Here we are encouraged to invest in these kids well and be open about our lives. We are encouraged to ask for help and be as creative as possible. 

It is a great community and I truly feel blessed that God has brought such a good fit for me. I will say this over and over again, but thanks to those of you who continue to pray and give to make all of this possible- as someone said to me this weekend, "Here, you truly have the opportunity to impact nations."

The First 48 Hours

I AM HERE!!

wow, I can't believe it!

Just in case you've ever wondered what one would do as they make a big move like this, I'd thought I'd give you a glimpse into what the first 48 hours were like.

Monday Morning, August 10

• Arrived at the airport with 2 suitcases, 4 crates, a guitar, and 2 carryons. My flight was delayed 7 hours because of the typhoon in Taiwan so I had to work with the airline to get some flights rescheduled. 
• They were able to check my bags all the way to Chiang Rai, what a blessing to not have to get them until I get there! (for those of you unfamiliar with international travel, it is not uncommon to have to collect your bags during a layover and recheck them again).
• Said goodbye to mom and dad. This was hard. Please continue to pray for our family as we are separated for the next few years!
• Got on the plane and was blessed with a  window seat and an empty seat between myself and another guy traveling to Thailand who was from Austin (it was nice to have someone who was friendly and spoke English sitting close by!)

I was in the air for 15.5 hours!! I slept off and on, watched some Disney movies and Star Trek (some of my favorites), and enjoyed the Hello Kitty plane!

Tuesday Afternoon, August 11

• Because of the time change, we landed in Taipei, Taiwan on Tuesday afternoon. I had an unexpected 10 hour layover so I decided to get out and see parts of Taiwan! It was nice to just be outside and stretch my legs. I also made a friend and we were able to go out and see the city together. 

  

  At the big Taipei night market

  
  

  

  Delicious, fresh pineapple. The fruit here in this part of Asia is AMAZING

  
  

  

  Sites from the bus ride into town

  

  Interesting art in the metro station... I read a sign and I think it was supposed to depict taking the time to be whimsical in the midst of every day life... interesting 

Wednesday Morning, August 12th

• After several flights and layovers, I finally made it to Chiang Rai! All of my bags made it except one which I was pleased about (it was also the bag that had the least important stuff in it). I connected with one of the families from our team and we headed to their house so I could have time to shower and freshen up.

• I had a challenging day ahead due to the fact that I was very tired from not having a normal nights sleep in almost 3 days, but I knew I would need to stay up until bedtime to help my body adjust to the time change (we're 12 hours ahead!). The family did a very good job of helping me stay awake.
• In order to help me stay awake, we did the following activities around town:
• go to the mall to have lunch and set up my iPhone. SIM cards here are relatively inexpensive and I want to thank the individual back home who graciously donated their old iPhone so I could have a good phone... you know who you are :)
• I had my first Big C experience. Big C is a store that is very much like Walmart. It was neat to be able to go around and see what kinds of things I will be able to get here. There are actually a lot of things here similar to what we would get in the states so I will not be lacking :)
• We went by the school where I will be teaching and then to my neighborhood to see my townhouse. It is a cute little neighborhood and several other Farang (westerners) and teachers from school live there. I was able to meet a few of my neighbors, including a couple who just moved here last week to teach at the school. I think we will connect well since we are both so new and learning everything for the first time. 
• Then we went back to the house to have dinner and then I finally got to go to sleep and slept a good 12 hours!

driving around Chiang Rai

That's what it looked like for the first 48 hours! Over the next several days I will be visiting other places around town, purchasing a bike, staying with another missionary family over the weekend, and moving into my townhouse before orientation starts next Wednesday. 

Thank you all for your support, love, and prayers. This is certainly an adventure and it still blows my mind to think that this will be my home for the next 2 years (it still feels like a "trip"). 

Blessings,

Kassie

*If you are ever wondering if you can still give, the answer as of now is absolutely yes. Please contact me for more information. 

#ThailandTuesday: God's Provision

First, I want to say that THIS IS MY LAST #THAILANDTUESDAY IN THE STATES!!! Next Tuesday I will actually be in Thailand!

Second, I've been thinking a lot this past week about various ways I have seen God provide in extravagant ways. Up until several years ago, I never really found myself needing to trust God to provide. I knew He was providing, but it came mostly through my parents. But there comes a point (hopefully) when parents help you depend less and less on them in that area.

The first time I experienced this was a mission trip I took my last year at Baylor. This was the first time I remember my parents saying about something this big, "You can do this, but we aren't going to bail you out." That was good for me because it meant that I had to trust God to bail me out. That semester I encountered amazing provision (some of that probably coming from people reading this blog!). My favorite story, though, was after I had reached my goal I had this desire to get a little extra cash for things I wanted to take on the tip and for souvenirs. So I prayed. I just asked God to provide about $250 for me to get these things. No joke, the next morning I got a call about 7:30 am from our Director of Bands at Baylor asking me if I would be interested in going to Abilene Christian University to play the contrabassoon (if you don't know what that is, please do yourself a favor and look it up) for a concert. They were going to pay me, you guessed it, $250. Not only did God provide, but he did it in a fun way- I was invited to go do something I loved. It was above and beyond anything I expected.

Another fun story was when I was doing my discipleship training school. I had tuition due for the school that I did not have. I started to pray and ask God what He would have me do for this. His answer? He wanted me to watch Him provide and trust Him. To me this is a key part in the process of trusting God for provision. Not only do we trust that He will provide, but we partner with Him to see what part we are to play in the provision. The Old Testament is filled with stories of battles that the Israelites one. We look at those stories and see how God delivered them in amazing ways. But if you notice, God also gave them very specific instructions each time.

Walk around this wall...

Hold up your arms...

Take the loot...

Don't take the loot...

Take only 300 men...

God miraculously won the battle each time, but He didn't just ask His people to sit back and watch Him do it. He invited them into the process and each time His instructions looked a little different. Why? I think because He was testing their obedience and faith.

Sometimes God opens doors of provision for us through jobs. Other times He might use people. And other times it just seems nearly impossible how it happened. The important thing is asking Him what part you are to play. During the training school I did not want to assume that God's provision would look the way I thought it would. Once I prayed, I got a strong sense that this was a time where I was supposed to just wait on Him. I thought at times, should I get another job? sell some stuff? anything? But I kept sensing that God wanted me to wait this time and stand in faith. And do you know what happened? A week or so before the deadline it was announced in front of our class that someone had anonymously donated $3,000 to me which covered the rest of my tuition AND part of my spring outreach. It was incredible and such a testament.

I think what I love about those stories is that there was a process of connecting with God each time. Standing on the promise of God each time boosts my faith and makes me depend on Him more and more. Imagine if I just knew God would magically provide everything like a genie. I wouldn't need to reach out to Him for any of my needs, I would just know it would be there. He promises provision and to do above and beyond what we can ask or think. But we so miss out on an amazing encounter with God if we don't take the time to seek Him through the process to see what our part is to play in that.

Hopefully my stories boost your faith. I also want to say that as of yesterday I have reached my financial goal that we set for before I leave!! This is amazing!! Thank you everyone for your prayers and support. I do still have a little bit to raise once I'm there so if you ever wonder if you can still give, the answer is absolutely yes.

Until the next #ThailandTuesday that will actually be from Thailand...