Our newest full time worker started this month. Bee moved to Chiang Mai during the third wave of COVID and was laid off from the job he initially secured because of the lock-down. It turns out that Phong, our previous full-time tin-smither who had been making tin items with Thai Village for several years, had to stop working to take care of his chronic health condition. We were all sad to see Phong go and unsure about who could fill such big shoes.
Meanwhile, during Bee’s time at home during lockdown, he asked to spend his free time learning how to make tin. He learned so quickly that our tin manager suggested giving him more practice orders right away, since his handiwork was of such high quality.
Phong helped to train Bee when he first came to Chiang Mai
Bee practiced tinsmithing for a month at home
Bee has learned many different types of crafts since joining Thai Village
“we were surprised to hear his reason”
After a month of learning tin-smithing we met with him to ask if he would be interested in full time work. We shared that we were impressed with his craftsmanship and would like to offer him a job on our team. He accepted right away, but we were surprised to hear his main reason. While we assumed he would be eager to earn a salary during the COVID economic struggles, what he said was that he was so happy to be a part of the community at Thai Village.
“God was leading him to Chiang Mai”
In Bee’s previous work, he said it was nothing like this. He said he could tell God was leading him to Chiang Mai so that he would be around a Christian community and an encouraging environment. Welcome to our team, Bee we are so glad to have you!
