On November 3 (Monday) we headed off to the Safe House for ministry. This was during our first week of work in Northern Thailand & was one of my favorite days in Thailand. The SHouse is haven for refugees established by a native Thai lady who had a big heart for those who had no where to go. It has numerous buildings on its grounds & is supported partially by government aid, but mostly by contributions from visitors & helpers. They try as best as they can to cut costs by working on their small garden & keeping some pigs. They also teach the residents skills (singing, english, writing) & trades (sewing, weaving, craft)–which they can sell the items they make for profit.
They have about 70 residents, many mentally & physically handicapped.
This is there garden below, with our translator on the left. They are doing there best with the little about of land for a vegetable garden & crops. There biggest need is to have a rice crop of there own.
This baby has a rather sad story of how he came to be. He was abandoned by his mother (due to her mental illness). She became pregnant with him by rape & after he was born, she left him. A miracle this little baby is alive today, since this was her second baby–The first baby, (pregnant the same way) was not cared for by her (feeding) & died of starvation.
The highlight of my time there was this old man below. He was an old man who somehow made it to Thailand as a refugee from China. He has been @ the SH for years, sadly he has not talked to anyone. He only knows Mandarin, is partially deaf, & completely blind. He sleeps most of the day because he does not even know the difference between night & day. He cannot talk to anyone & no one can understand him…no one speaks his language. Years of no one talking to you or understanding what others say to you. This just broke my heart hearing about this man & I asked to see him. She took me to see him & he was just rising our of his bed. This man looked to be in his 60’s & I wondered if he had any family. I yelled what I could in Mandarin, telling him hello & that God loved him. It is sad that all I can remember is a few common sayings but I tried with what I could remember. I spent a good 5-10 minutes yelling Mandarin as it took him that long to get out of bed & make his way to the bathroom with his walking stick. Maybe he never heard me…or maybe he did…I don’t know, but I pray for him still.
Leaving the Safe House. We were able to talk to the owner & her family for hours. She told us of how she started the SHouse & how God had provided for there establishment going on 25 years now! We prayed with the lady that made the purse I bought. She has HIV & was very sick the day we visited her. We were able to hear the current needs they still have & left knowing we would be back again.
The next time we were back, it was the following Saturday for their 25 Anniversary!
Many people from the surrounding area were there for this big celebration. Above (in blue shirts), are members from the bible college. They sang after the group of children in the back sang. This celebration took all morning until the afteroon. They also asked us to perform a “Special Song” which we were happy to do…even though we had no warning.
This establishment started all by a women seeing the need of refugees being left @ the border between Thailand & Burma…left with nothing. She just asked God what He wanted her to do. 25 years later & so many lives being touched, I learned a big lesson. One person can change the world.
Inbetween our time in Thailand, we had debrief. We usually have debrief @ the end of the month, but plans were different this time around So, we had to leave Sangklaburi & make our way to Bangkok.
We had to take the Thailand-Burma Railway (aka Death Railway) much of the way there. It was the most adventurous train ride I had ever been on in my life. The train was full of loud Asians from only God knows where, a large group of old, rich Europeans in search of an African Safari in Asia, & my team-mates head permanently stuck out the window due to her stomach bug. It was a very interesting & adventurous ride.
It was a beatiful day for a train ride though.
We all eventually fell asleep & stayed that way as the crowded train slowly decreased.
