This is Apimya. She is 13 years old and one of the girls who lives at Remember Nhu. She is one of the most incredible people I’ve met so far on The World Race, and I can’t wait to tell you all about her. Her story is similar to many of the stories of the girls at this ministry and is a testament to who the Lord is and what he is doing in Thailand. Apimya (she goes by Pim), came to Remember Nhu at the age of 11 after being kicked out of her house…literally. More on that in a second. When I asked Pim about her childhood through a translator last night the first word she said was “difficult”. It was truly difficult from the start as a result of her mom having her at the age of 14. She was forced to do a lot of manual labor at their simple house in the mountains at a very young age. She was then pulled out of school in third grade and given the responsibility of taking care of her younger brother. Eventually, when her mom married husband number three, she put her foot to Pim’s back in order to get her out of the house. She had nowhere to go and instantly became at risk of being trafficked to a brothel and sold into slavery. Fortunately, the Lord had different plans for her, and Remember Nhu brought her in.
Pim is truly a young woman after God’s heart. Sometimes I catch myself just watching her to see what the Lord is going to teach me through her next. She is one of the most selfless and servant-hearted people I have ever seen. She has her eyes on everyone and everything but herself. She will leave her meal at the dinner table to make sure you’ve eaten enough or have a full glass of water. Last Sunday at church all of the girls were given five jolly ranchers. She immediately realized that only the girls got them and came and offered all of them to us. She doesn’t think about it, she just does it. It’s automatic. Pim looks at everything she’s given as an opportunity to bless others. I’m currently in possession of one of her notebooks from school because she was teaching me how to count in Thai and would not allow me to go home without it. We took all of the girls to the zoo last weekend, and she would come find me on numerous occasions throughout the day to show me the next wild animal. Of course, I’ve seen them all many times, but she didn’t know that. It was so much fun. She would see them and come find me to make sure I didn’t miss the amazing thing she just saw. I had no idea I could learn so much by observing a 13 year old. I asked her last night what she wanted to do when she grew up. She just said, “serve God”. It’s that simple for her. Love it!! After asking another question, I found out that she loves singing and would love to be a worship leader and lead the youth in a church after attending a Bible college. I have no doubt that the Lord is going to use her in huge ways. Of course he is. She loves him so much, and her only desire is to serve him. This girl will change the world. She has walked through a childhood I can’t imagine and has a simple, beautiful, and pure faith that hasn’t been hurt in any way by her rough start. She is too busy serving others and serving God to be hindered by difficulties from the past.
Pim is just 1 of 30 incredible stories from Remember Nhu. Please pray for her and the rest of the girls today. The Lord is doing amazing things in Thailand, but there is so much more to be done!!
