Neighborhood Ministry

An exciting ministry has developed with our neighborhood kids. When we first arrived, we weren’t sure a neighborhood ministry involving our boys was even possible as we only saw small kids and adults. We started taking walks around the area to see if we could meet anyone and after a few months we finally met two boys our kids’ age and talked to their families a few times. We also started playing soccer as a family in the grassy area across the street from our house, hoping to invite any kids as they went past. The first few times the kids declined, but eventually one joined in and we were excited when he began joining more regularly. With persuasion a second boy joined, the group slowly grew, and thus started what is now a complicated but exciting ministry. 

​From the first two boys, others started showing up to play four square on the street in front of our house or soccer across the street at the park. We bought soccer balls, playground balls, frisbees and other outside toys to encourage the kids to get together. At first we also bought snacks and bottled water for our boys to share, but quickly realized we couldn’t maintain that since they ran through them too quickly for us to afford. We switched to a water station outside on a table under our overhang and installed a water cooler with paper cups for the kids to use even if our boys aren’t outside. With the heat, it is a much used commodity and there’s something irresistible about free anything for the kids, so even those who used to bring water bottles to the park now come and get water from us. It is not uncommon to come home to a driveway full of bikes, skateboards and kids all drinking water and hanging out with our two cats.

​We also set up a foot washing station for the kids for when they get super muddy in the ditch across from our house so they can come and hose off. We’ll also come home to muddy barefoot prints all over our carport and know that the neighborhood kids must’ve been in the ditch while we were gone and needed to clean off before they went home. Almost daily we have boys of all ages buzzing at our gate to see if they can play with our boys and little girls (a cute group of 5-6 years olds) buzzing to see if they can play with our cats. (At least they’re not buzzing for the boys yet!) Having cats as pets is fascinating to them. Some of the kids are scared of them, and then we’ve seen Thai parents posing their little kids with our cats in the park to take pictures. I shouldn’t be surprised since they have cat cafés here where you can buy a coffee then pet a cat for an extra charge. Micah uses the kid’s skittishness to his advantage and will hold a cat while they’re playing tag to keep from being chased…

From all this our house has become the center of activity for the kids in the area and whether or not our boys can come play, our driveway and street in front of us are usually littered with bikes, toys, balls and kids. Thankfully there are only 3 other houses on our street, and since we don’t get through traffic, it’s a safe place to gather. We’ve gone from 3 kids coming to our Easter egg hunt last April to an average group of about 10 or more kids hanging out playing soccer or tag ranging in ages from 5-16, and ethnicities just as diverse. One boy is Thai adopted into a German missionary family, two are adopted from Nigeria into an American missionary family, a group are Thai nationals, some are Chinese, and a few are half Thai/half Western ex-military non-Christians making for a very interesting dynamic as we seek to help our boys navigate real life and ministry among a diverse group of kids from varying and sometimes opposing cultures and belief systems. Besides his regular interaction (soccer games and sometimes teaching soccer drills), Lance makes sure to go out and join a game when we hear of a new kid joining the group to make sure we know all the kids and so they know us, and I’ll bring out a batch of cookies when they’re all gathered around our gate so I can meet them and get to know them better too. 

Interesting, scary, exciting, challenging, all of these words simultaneously apply when I think of my kids interacting with these kids. After gaining the password for our wi-fi from a shared group Minecraft adventure, we’ve had to figure out how to deal with kids sneaking digital devices from their parents to then sit outside our house using our wi-fi with out permission (which ended up crashing our system, keeping us from being able to get Amanda onto it and took months to straighten out). On more than one occasion the boys have run home to tell us about what the other boys are setting on fire (from string to aerosol cans) and asking if it’s safe. Through their conversations the boys discuss their beliefs and learned one kid believes in all gods: Buddha, Christ and the ancient Greeks. And we’re currently trying to navigate and talk them through dealing with one kid and his dad who’ve become bullies to the group. Being only eight years old, the kid isn’t much of a physical threat yet, but his dad is another story who threatened to beat up a 13 year-old when his son accidentally got hit with a ball during a game. Our whole supper conversation last night was about how to handle this situation, the various mindsets of adults and kids, interactions and likely outcomes between said mindsets and how it applies to bullies, our family, and the larger group. I wondered what their response would be to this latest development. My boys surprised me when, eye’s glowing, faces excited, their agreed commentary was that they are excited to have a ministry with the kids that is their own, instead of just watching us do ministry and occasionally being able to help. They literally verbalized it that way – I was surprised at their vehemence and proud of their desire to do ministry! Increased life complications from random neighborhood kids notwithstanding, that made it all worthwhile.

​Thank you for your continued financial and prayer support.
– Ruth, for the Baker family.