Sen

Sen’s name means 100,000, or it can better be translated as meaning, “extreme”. I think this is a pretty suitable name for him since he seems to have more of an extreme personality. I have to say too that Sen probably has one of the biggest mouths I have seen on a Thai person, which makes his smile extra big. I wonder what Sen would have done with his life if he weren’t disabled. I tend to think that he would have been the class clown, the guy that always makes you laugh no matter how bad you might be feeling. Sen loves to wrestle with me, or anyone else for that matter. He also shows no fear of hurting himself and loves to play games that see who could stand the most pain.
One day we were doing paper mache and I looked over at Sen and saw him painting glue on one of the other guys’ head rather than on the boxes. I couldn’t help but laugh when I saw how Sen just laughed like anyone of my friends would when they play a trick on me. That’s Sen though. What makes his antics even funnier is the fact that he almost hast to move in slow motion to have the ability to control his arms at all. It’s really funny to watch him shut the door on one of the other guys (who also lack the ability to move quickly) before they can get through. He always has such a great smile and laugh when he does it too.
His speech is also really slow and sometimes it takes him a few breaths to muster up what he is going to say. I do think that he’s getting quicker at speaking though and I always wait for him to answer my questions before I move on. The more stimulated and excited he is, the faster and more frequent the words come from him. He’s pretty good at remembering English words too. One day after playing games and wrestling with him I took him back to his ward (where he spends most of his time) and he shouted out “See you tomorrow!” That was one of the first times I heard him speak since being here so I keep trying to teach him more English each day. He loves to write in Thai and English too, so sometimes I give him my notebook and write a sentence or two for him to copy. This could be an activity that takes most of the morning, but he always seems really excited when it’s finished.
I heard from a friend that last year during cold season Sen got really sick and almost died. I feel extremely blessed to be able to enjoy his friendship while I’m here because this place wouldn’t be the same without him. Praise God too that he hasn’t been sick this cold season at all. Please pray for Sen that God would increase his ability to speak and the movement in his arms and legs. Also pray for good health and lots more fun memories.