Rak BaWao

Rak in Thai is LOVE.
Rak is also a word I would use to describe BaWao.
The moment you step into the community where Bethel Church is located you will be greeted by BaWao with love. Ba (grandma) Wao is overflowing with love and joy for all those around her. Her smile and laugh is infectious. She loves people through hugs and making food *(much like a Mennonite Omi). And seems to be a mother/grandmother to all.
Much like other great mothers/grandmothers BaWao thinks of herself last. She lives in a small, one room house that is slowly sinking into the swamp lands it was built in. Even getting into her house was a task as her entrance way was a few rotting pieces of wood in barely above water. So to bless BaWao, as she has blessed those around her, the ACTION team jumped in and started to rebuild the entrance to BaWao's house.
They built a new deck and stone path so that she could get in without getting wet and even put in a porch light so you could find your way in at night.
While they were building BaWao created a cashew chicken feast for lunch (even while being blessed by others she tries to find ways to help in return) and I was able to put my menno-cooking skills to work by helping along side her. Clearly language was a barrier for us, but in the land of cooking/BaWao- no words needed to communicate. We laughed as sauces were made and food was tested (and by that I mean dipping fingers into pots of deliciousness!)- i even picked up a few knife wielding skills along the way. And I got a chance to show here photos of my fam. and asked about hers.
After lunch it was back to work for the ACTION team and at the end of the day BaWao had a new entrance. A few days later the team was even able to plant a small front garden just to add a special touch to the place.
I share this story because not because of the way in which we were able to help BaWao- but rather that her life is a testimony of the transformational LOVE of God.
Although BaWao lives in a place no one would wish to live in *(with drug dealers, outcasts, and the poorest of the poor), in a house that is sinking into the ground, she is overflowing with LOVE. I see her walking with God and knowing what it is like to experience love from Him that she has no other choice then to share that love with others *(in her community, with foreigners, and with a menno girl in the kitchen).

"And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them." 1 John 4:16

Rak BaWao for me was about seeing and experiencing a glimpse of how God is LOVE and how to live out that love.
I am blessed.