2 Sunday’s ago my team and I returned to Chiang Mai after spending 2 weeks at a girls home in northern Thailand. There are 40 girls living there between the ages of 7 and 17. They are all from different hill tribes and their communities are shunned and looked down on and not accepted by the Thai people. They do not receive an education, do not have jobs, worship spirits and just plow the mountainous fields and barely survive. And to make matters worse, the young girls are at an extremely high rate of being s3x tr@fficked. Pimps come into their towns, get their parents drunk and convince them to let their daughters go work at a “restaurant” in the city, and then they are never heard from again. Sending Hope takes these young girls out of those situations and puts them in a Christian environment to disciple them while also allowing them to go to school to receive an education. Its goal is to essentially be proactive instead of reactive meaning they prevent the girls from entering so that they don’t need to be pulled out.
The girls are precious. They were on break from school so we got to spend all day everyday with them and we loved every moment. During the week, we would teach them English 2x everyday and then do some kind of activity like volleyball, soccer, kickball or line dancing! I definitely learned a lot about patience as I and 2 other teammates were teaching the little little girls English. 10 minutes into our hour lesson they would stop listening. I can’t say that I blame them because it’s their break from school! But I really learned how important it is to be slow to anger and patient with them because it’s more important that they see Jesus in me than them knowing English words. The guy who started Sending Hope was there with us and did a devotion with us every night. I really really enjoyed digging into scripture and getting a little glimpse of his wisdom to take with me.
Leaving them was hard. I love them and miss them more than I can describe. But it has definitely been harder for my teammates than it has been for me. As a team we’ve been a little bit of a wreck lately because the way we grieve is different, but that’s okay. I’m proud of them. Proud that they have fully embraced the emotions they’ve felt and taken it to God. Proud that they have taken the grieving process head on instead of delaying it. Proud that they’ve had open eyes so that the Lord can break their hearts for what breaks his! I am full of love for them.
Our last week in Thailand we worked with a women’s home in the area. We were given the task of painting a ladies room that lives there and before we started, we prayed over the room and wrote some truth on the walls.
We made it to Malaysia!!! Thank you for prayer for safe travels and please continue to pray for the hearts of the people we will be in contact with. Thank you!!!
