Thailand home recently welcomed three new visitors: Jane from the United States, Lissie from Germany, and Sophie, a sister from Quebec, Canada. Yes, Sophie, the sister from Quebec, just visited last month and experienced the warmth and harmony of our big family, reluctant to leave. She has returned once again to relive the wonderful experience of sanctuary life.
Sophie has been helping Yu Lin in the kitchen, while the other two girls have been joining our members in rural chores. These days, we all worked together to dismantle the old, leaning bean frame. After some diligent cleaning and tidying, the surroundings of the dining area have become even fresher and more pleasing to the eye. We also collaborated on making compost with tree leaves and helped the workers harvest corn stalks to feed the animals in the yard.Shangfa sister helped Qianzi manage the flowers, while Rou Mei and Qu Mei, the two gardening experts, diligently worked in the vegetable garden every day. In addition to various vegetables, we also planted grains such as corn, red beans, and black beans. The arrival of Rou Mei brings us one step closer to self-sufficiency in Thailand's sanctuary.
We had delightful conversations with the calm and spiritually open American girl. Qian Zi shared her journey to becoming a chanyuan member, discussing the articles about Greatest Creator that touched her deeply and helped her find the roots of her life. This made the American girl curious and excited to learn more about Lifechanyuan’s interpretation of Greatest Creator. Qian Zi then explained to her the eight characteristics of Greatest Creator, eight logical reasonings, and several natural phenomena proving the existence of Greatest Creator. Also shared insights on where to find Greatest Creator and how to reverence Him, translating Greatest Creator 's words. While the American girl understood and agreed with these content, she preferred to refer to Greatest Creator as "nature" due to negative childhood experiences with religious connotations.
The arrival of visitors has infused the sanctuary with an international family atmosphere, allowing siblings to practice English and gradually become familiar with Western personalities and thought patterns. We also learned new things from our guests. For example, the American girl shared a course on improving communication efficiency between people, emphasizing that disputes arise from the desire for others to adopt our perspectives. She stressed the importance of stepping down from our egos to understand others, fostering elegant, warm, and effective communication. Sophie shared with us how to solve life's problems using the "Six Thinking Hats" method, encouraging us to wear different-colored hats representing optimism, constructive suggestions, passionate imagination, objective statements, warnings, and more, to expand our thinking. Sophie, being a musician, generously taught us how to play the ukulele, African drums, and dance African dances. The night before Jena and Lissie left, we spontaneously organized a heartwarming and joyful music concert!
Before leaving, Sophie gave each of us DIY hand-painted bookmarks and knitted flowers as tokens of friendship, fostering fond memories and blessings among us. She also expressed her welcome for us to visit Canada, where she'll be waiting for us in Quebec!
2024-3-23
