Part 2: Work in Thailand

Part 2: Work in Thailand

Going on a trip labeled as a "missions project" I was expecting that there would be some manual labor. And sure enough, there was.

Hacking away...just another day.

I consider myself to be in good shape, so I wasn't concerned with a little physical intensity.
 However, manual labor under the hot Thailand sun will test anyone's physical capabilities.

Task #1: Building a Garden

The first day, Bud, the groundskeeper for the home, asked for four volunteers to do a gardening project.
I immediately raised my hand. I pictured pruning orchids and watering pineapple trees, while admiring the butterflies that would flutter by.... 
However, what I got was a large field of dirt that needed to be prepared for planting. Our task was to till the ground with hoes and make little mounds in straight rows.

This was harder than it seemed.

We were given our tools and left to get the job done. The rest of our team went over to the coconut grove to prune the branches.

First we had to figure out the best method to make the flat earth into mounds. We determined that working two by two on opposite sides, simultaneously digging the ground towards ourselves would be most efficient. However, upon completion of our first row, we realized that creating straight lines would be a challenge. No matter how hard we tried, the rows always came out slightly crooked.
We adjusted.

We pushed the mounds of earth a few inches to the left, then to the right.
We were sweating.
                                                The sun was getting higher in the sky.

 We did about five rows when all of the sudden, someone realized that the two sticks with a string tied between them was a great solution to our problem of crooked rows.
We began to use this tool and to our delight, the rows were straight!
It was still an obnoxious amount of manual labor, and I have so much more appreciation for the vegetables in the grocery store.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the property, the rest of our team pruned the coconut grove. Over the next two days, victims of their long spikes would limp away, bleeding, bruised and injured. It turned out to be a dangerous job and not one of us on the team escaped unharmed by them.

Task #2: Cleaning a Shed

The following day we gathered again, awaiting assignments from Bud on today's projects. Again, I volunteered right away when he asked for people who could do a cleaning project.

I mean,  this is what I do all day....sweep floors, wipe down tables and rinse dishes.... 

The four of us on the cleaning crew were lead to a cement building. Attached the the building was a dark closet.
"This shed hasn't been touched in five years," explained Bud. "I have no idea what's in there. There is probably a zoo living in there. You need to take everything out, clean it out, sort through the junk, reorganize it....Oh, and this wall can come down too."

He left  the four of us staring at each other, each not wanting to be the first one to venture into the uncharted dark space.

The first person to go in removed an old rusted motor part, shrieking as they exited from fear on what could be crawling after them.
The next person removed some bins of piping, screws and nails. "Oh my goodness...there was the spider the size of my fist on that wall carrying a huge white egg sack."
Upon pulling some shovels and racks from against the wall, a scorpion emerged, quickly climbing towards the door. Emily went in and smashed it.

During the next hour, this is pretty much how it went... One of us running in, looking around, grabbing an item and shrieking as we ran out. 
We carried out a plastic bin covered in fire ants.
Someone on our team swore they crawled up into their pants.

When all the items were successfully out of the shed, Bud gave us a demolition hammer and instructed us to knock down the wall. We each took a swing at it, finally reducing it to bits of cement and rubble on the ground. The dust was suffocating.


 We then each grabbed a shovel and hauled the bits of broken cement into a wheel barrow to then transfer into the back of a truck.
This. Was. Labor.
The next step was going through all the stuff and sorting it out. I would have labeled it all as garbage, but Bud stood next to us and identified the things he still wanted to hang on to...hey you never know when you might need an extra toilet seat, right?! 

Meanwhile on the other side of the property, more people were collecting battle wounds from the coconut trees. One of the girls had such a gash in her leg, that she was dismissed from the work team and sent over to us.
All we had was the threat of scorpions...

I have to admit that every moment of that shed project stretched me. The physical labor was difficult; the threat of unknown creepy critters and creatures was terrifying.

For both projects, I left physically tired; however, I have to say, it was so rewarding to have accomplished what we set out to do:
The grounds had fertile soil, ready for crops to be planted. 
The shed was cleaned and organized.
The coconut grove was groomed and orderly. 

My tolerance and capacity for physical projects and labor increased. For the first time I felt like creating a garden in my own backyard was something that could actually happen someday!


This experience gave me the practice of persevering despite my feelings. In other words, even though I didn't feel like doing the work, I was able to overcome.

Digging in the earth, I didn't have the option to "take  a break" to check email or texts. The only thing my mind could do was focus on the job at hand. It was meditative. I was in the moment. The pain of each plunge and pull of my shovel into the earth increased my capacity to be present and focused.

The task of cleaning out that horrible shed seemed overwhelming to begin with.
However, I got the job done by committing to one trip inside,
one basket retrieved,
one shovel of cement.
I learned that any task can be completed if you just keep doing one thing again and again.

What kept me motivated to do the jobs well was that I wanted to actually help the people at the home.

Too many times have I asked my kids to clean windows, only having to redo them after wards. 

Coming home, I see my tasks, even the ones I dread, as moments to be present in. Working in Thailand taught me the satisfaction of committing to a task and finishing fully, without distraction.

It takes true determination to work this way here in the United States. 
Our lives and work are often fragmented; we are trained to navigate constant interruptions and have access to instant solutions. 
There was something  satisfying about having to appreciate and live in the moment, unaware or unable to access anything or anyone outside of it. 
We laughed and joked among ourselves that we were truly experiencing "Adam's curse" as described in Genesis. Working the soil by the "sweat of our brow" could be described as something uncomfortable and tedious. Yet through it all, it was obvious to me that work is actually a gift. 
The things in life that are the most challenging-the seasons that seem unending-they are producing in us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all...."so we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." -2 Corinthains 4:17
We are building charter and strength.

This promise I held on to, especially during those uncomfortable, undesirable moments. In everyday, I can claim this truth, that what I do now is actually impacting a bigger picture and a greater plan. In these meditative moments of hard work or mundane tasks, I work in honor of someone else. 

A life worth living is a life focused  outside of yourself. Doing something in honor of someone else creates a motivation that far outweighs a goal dependent on merely task completion. In my case, I discovered that focusing my efforts towards helping the children and home and working in honor and thanksgiving to God created the energy in me to forge ahead, complete the project and dodge all the critters efficiently.