Teak bedposts and bamboo railings: campus improvements

After a week of labor, our team was able to complete the masonry on approximately 23 wall sections in the new girls’ home— a huge feat, especially in the mid-90 degree heat. Throughout our time at GROW, we had also learned of various projects outside of the main building that they needed help fixing on campus, including: 

• Repairing the campus’ water filtration system, allowing access to clean drinking water in lieu of buying bottled water. 
• Installing a 1.5” and 6” PVC sewer line off the kitchen through two new catch basins then tying into the existing sewer drain line. 
• Building bunk beds made out of teak wood for GROW’s health clinic, a place for the children to stay when they are sick. 
• Building shelving for the kitchen and office to help store case files and other items.
• Creating steps and a railing to allow safer access to the trail that led to the river, where the children liked to play.

Some of these projects proved more difficult than others. For example, when a few of the guys went with Faa to buy lumber to build shelves in the kitchen, they discovered there no lumber in sight at the hardware store. They drove 2-3 hours each way to find basic shelving to install.

While they were on their mission, Randy and I worked to build the bunk beds in the health clinic. I had assembled many pieces of furniture at my house, and this project seemed fairly straightforward. However, the bunk beds were made of beautiful teak wood, weighing hundreds of pounds. We quickly learned that it would take more than two of us to build and lift the beds in place. We moved and arranged what we could and then gathered a few others to help. After hoisting up a very heavy bedframe, I secured the bolts to the bottom bunk. It is then I noticed a scripture verse written on the bottom of the bedframe above it. It read:

God, you’re my refuge. I trust in you and I’m safe! That’s right – he rescues you from hidden traps, shields you from deadly hazards. His huge outstretched arms protect you – under them perfectly safe; his arms fond off harm. Fear nothing. – Psalm 91

Seeing that scripture and knowing the past hurt of these children pierced my heart and tears formed at the corner of my eyes. These children were safe, God protected them here. I also recognized that the verse was written in English, and most of the kids wouldn’t have been able to read it, but it’s presence alone was comforting. God was the leader of this campus, and anywhere you looked you could see and feel His presence.

When the beds were built, we ventured to the next project: finding a way for the children to access the river. The path to the river was steep, but Faa liked to do her devotions here in the morning and the kids enjoyed playing in the river. However, it wasn’t necessarily safe for all the kids to get up and down. After contemplating all week how to make it safer to access, knowing lumber wasn’t available, William had the brilliant idea to use bamboo to make a railing and watched a YouTube video to learn how. Additionally, Luis began notching out steps with a hoe to make it less slippery on the way down. After showing Sabrina and I how he was creating the steps, he went to join the others cutting the bamboo.

Swinging the hoe over and over again was hard work, and I was dripping sweat from head to toe. About 30 minutes into notching steps and questioning if it would actually make a difference or just wash out when the rain came, I saw a group of kids approach at the top of the hill to bring us water. They jogged down the new steps we had created, full of smiles, and then continued down the path to meet the others. Their smiles and ease of navigating down the hill made the back-breaking work worth it. They could not wait to get to the river to play like true kids. The small sacrifice of hard work would allow them to continue their healing and give them a chance to create childhood memories. I carried on.

With the steps complete, we joined the crew to finish the railing and could hear the excitement of the kids as we neared. Luis had notched steps in that area and was cutting the bamboo with a machete. As the group planted the bamboo posts, they sent the kids to get buckets of mortar from the construction site to keep them in place. Again, I watched the kids eagerly run up the steps and hurry to do their part to help. It was pure joy watching their excitement to be a part of helping and hear their squeals as they ran down to the water and back.

One of my favorite parts of creating the bamboo railing was its unique solution. All week, our team tried to brainstorm using our American resources to come up with a solution. How will we build these steps? Should we build a wood railing? Yet, there was no lumber at the hardware store. It took all week for someone to think outside the box to use bamboo, the local resource. Sometimes, solutions are simpler than we can dream up. In America, I believe we often overcomplicate things compared to the rest of the world, because we have the luxury of resources. Their solutions are simpler because they are forced to work with what they have. They use their creativity and make do with what they are given; we had seen it numerous times that week on GROW’s campus and throughout Wiang Pa Pao. But in America, we are accustomed to buying what we need – often consisting of goods imported from all over the world. We take for granted our resources and wealth and forget to be gracious for it. Yet, I watched these Thai children praise God for the bamboo and dirt steps that created access to their favorite place. It makes me sad that we have been accustomed to a level of wealth where it has become a necessity and forgotten how to live without it and rely on God and the resources He’s provided. Another humbling lesson I was taught this trip.