This month in Thailand we have been partnered with a great ministry called Friends of the City. Friends of the City is the only Christian outreach to the poor in the district of Bang Rak, Bangkok. Ninety-nine percent of the people in Bang Rak are Buddhists; and even the churches located in this district have overlooked the slum communities in their own backyard. Children living in slums face many challenges, such as poor access to quality education, exposure to drugs and violence, broken homes, and financial instability. (anything in italics is directly from them)
“Our mission is to make life better for the urban poor through holistic education. We believe God’s good news to the poor (Luke 4:18-19) is that they are loved by God and created with dignity and strength and that God’s redemption includes them. We work to give opportunities to the urban poor in the area of holistic education that encourages young and old alike to reach their full, God-given potential.”
What does “Holistic Education mean?”… I’m glad you asked!
Holistic education strives to prepare students to meet the challenges of living as well as the challenges of academics. Holistic education believes it is important for young people to learn about themselves, grow in resiliency, develop emotionally, engage in healthy relationships, contribute to social development, and encounter beauty and awe through a relationship with their Creator. (just a small side note… there are currently only 3 people who make up Friends of the City and they are striving to do all of this!!)
This month we have gotten to come alongside our hosts as they begin to work in a couple of the slum communities here. We have gotten to hold and English camp for kids in these slum communities and it has been great to see the joy on their faces as they learn new things and grow more confident in their English speaking ability… but that is not the story I want to share with you this week.
The other desire Friends of the City has for the kids who call the slum communities home is to know The Lord and have a personal relationship with him. One way they do this is by coming in and building trust/relationships with these kids and hoping that they will see something in them and ask about The Lord.
Well… in one of the communities we have been teaching in this week there is this amazingly sweet young girl and the other day she asked one of our hosts to teach her about Jesus and The Bible. Can you imagine the excitement our host felt as this girl asked her for something that she longs to give to all of these kids? Our host immediately without hesitation said YES and has since begun to share the Gospel with this young girl!
I pray for this young girl as our host begins to share with her about Jesus and all that he has for her, that she would be open and receptive of it all, and that she would then not be scared to go out and share what she has learned with others.
I pray for our host, that she wouldn’t shy away from the hard topics and would be open and honest with this young girl about her own journey to knowing and having a relationship with Jesus. I pray that her words wouldn’t be her own, but that they would come directly from The Lord.
If you would like more info about how you can specifically partner with Friends of the City send me an email ([email protected]) and I will get you that info!!
I have absolutely LOVED our time here in Bangkok Thailand and can’t believe our time here is coming to an end!
Please be in prayer for my team and I as we head into our last two days of teaching before we head up to Chiang Mai for The Awakening (a gathering of all WR squads in the area – there will be 4 squads there) before we head out to Cambodia on the 13th for Month 4!!
FUNDRAISING UPDATE!!
I am currently sitting at $12,703 funded… I have $4,697 left until I am Fully Funded!! Would you consider partnering with me to grow The Kingdom by clicking on the Donate link at the top of my blog
