We have arrived at the border town on Mae Sot. On our first day here we went to Life Impact International (http://www.lifeimpactintl.org/#/home). To tell you who they are and what they do I have copied the following from their website:
Our mission is
TO CHANGE A LIFE,
WHICH IN TURN HAS THE POTENTIAL TO CHANGE THE WORLD
We accomplish this through…
PREVENTion programs for “at-risk” children and youth, displaced peoples,
refugees and orphans.
RESCUE-ing children sold into prostitution or child slavery and those who are
victims of abuse, abandonment or extreme poverty.
HEALing the lives of orphans, soldiers, women and men through outreaches, humanitarian aid, disaster relief, children’s homes and orphanages.
We will be spending the next couple of days there working on some projects such as staining and sanding. We have also been able to have some interaction with the kids which has been cool. Simply hearing their stories is heart-breaking and they could really use your prayers.
The kids need our prayers.
One of the girls we learned about is a 4 year old named Lilah. The first two years of her life were spent in prison with her mother. This is because there are laws that allow the mothers to keep their kids in prison with them until the age of two and her mother was in prison for that time in her life. Also, her diet consisted mostly of chocolate (my kind of kid, lol) and when she arrived at Impact she was always wondering where all the chocolate was. I am happy to say that she is now a smiling and beautiful child with possibilities ahead of her. Simply watching her and the joy that she has is something that makes you realize that we do have a God of hope and love. Below is a picture of me with Lilah (left) and another girl from the home. Please pray for the kids at Impact and future kids as they need our intercession.
The election for a potentially new leader will be in about a week and the people are hoping that Aung San Suu Kyi (who is a women that was placed under house arrest for about 20 years and was recently released in 2010) will be elected. She is the hope for the people right now in their attempts to rid themselves of the military regime that now oppresses them. Pray that God’s will will play out and that positive things will result from the elections because there is the potential for violence, chaos, and corruption. God is bigger than any military regime and let’s all join in prayer to free a nation in desperate need of that freedom.
Our girls and the women of the sex trade need our prayers.
Pray for strength, wisdom, and discernment as our girls enter the bars to bring hope, freedom and the love of Jesus to these women enslaved in the sex tourism industry. I encourage you to check out my teammate’s blogs below and read about their experiences and pray for them. You can also support them financially as they can take the girls out for a night to invest and speak life into them.
http://amandahoward.theworldrace.org/
http://jamosandemilymitchell.theworldrace.org/
http://lindseycook.theworldrace.org/
http://oliviagill.theworldrace.org/
http://allysinpryzeny.theworldrace.org/
Thank you all so much for your prayers and encouragement. To my girls I want to say that I am praying for you and I know that you have the boldness, strength and love to show those girls the Kingdom of God. I love you and know that us guys are praying for you nightly. I can’t wait to hear your awesome testimonies when we get back together in a couple of weeks.
