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!