We are officially in month three of our race, and in Thailand! First off, I can’t believe how fast the months are already going, and second off, I love Thailand! The day we showed up and saw the lush green trees and landscape all around us with the cooler weather, I knew it was going to be a good month. We had a couple of long travel days getting from Nepal to the city of Chiang Mai Thailand, so needless to say we were exhausted once we reached our ministry site for the month. However, we were immediately blown away by the beautiful, exceptionally large orphanage we showed up to!
Our ministry partner for the month is a place called Nikki’s Place, Agape Home. This is a place “where LOVE is changing the lives of children living with HIV/AIDS.” And let me tell you, love is abounding here. This orphanage has been open for over 20 years and is run by a woman from Canada named Avis, whom I am convinced is an angel. She responded to a call from God to go and serve His children in Thailand when she was 18 years old. She has now been in Thailand for 50 years, loving with all her heart for as long as she lives.
Hearing her story about how she came to Thailand so long ago and saw a desperate need to respond to the needs of children who were being impacted by the spread of HIV/AIDS, has already impacted my life greatly. To see that God does specifically call us to follow Him, and even greater than that, He leads us into something wonderful. All we need is a willing heart.
Many of the children who have come to the Agape Home are, or are at risk of being, HIV positive. Many of them have already lost their parents to AIDS, and there are no other options for their care. Agape Home provides a loving family for 100+ children aged 0-21yrs. The way Agape runs is that they come alongside the family to aid in whatever way they can, through either helping the family care for a new baby, fostering children until they are adopted, or raising the children as their own.
It is a beautiful place and I am overjoyed to be partnering with them over the next month. Our work here is to aid them however they need, from painting, to brick making, to teaching English, but mostly to love on these kids and learn what Agape Love really means.
Pictures from their website: http://www.nikkisplace.org
