Outpour:
To Pour Out.
Living a life of overflow.
Entering month four of the race in October, our team (Team Renew) was sent to Mae Sot to partner with a ministry called Outpour Movement. Due to wifi, training, travel, and just the ebb and flow of missional living – This blog is extremely delayed; however, it is important. So here it is:
While living in Thailand for the month, we were about five kilometers to the border of Burma. The harsh reality is that there are countless numbers of undocumented people from Burma that have fled into Thailand. In Burma, they are often forced into sex and labor slavery. Extreme poverty and instability lead to abuse, abandonment, and an often overlooked people group. There are many youth, some without families, roaming the streets with no where to go. With no where to GROW their social and creative skills.
Jeremiah 1:9 encourages us to build and to plant.
“I have put my words in your mouth, See, today, I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and to tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant.”
We, followers of Jesus, are called to impact lives. We are called to go, give, and love. We are called to action. It is absolutely amazing how just one encounter with one person could forever change their life. That one moment of outpour on one young soul can have so much power. A small seed of change can forever impact the course of a single life.
2 Corinthians 9:10-15 says:
‘Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God. This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of the Lord’s people but also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else. And in their prayers for you their hearts will go out to you, because of the surpassing grace God has given you. Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift.’
God is the source of everything good. Out of obedience to the calling He has placed on my life I have seen Him sweep nations in so many tangible ways. I have seen the faces of kids light up with the love that overflows from the new life Christ has given. God alone is the reason for every generous act and the reason why I am serving till I sweat daily. When God is central to the vision of an organization – Growth flourishes.
Outpour Movement exists to transform, disciple, employ, and empower the children and young adults of oppressed people groups who transcend the Thai and Burma border. This movement has been working hard to build and to sew into the young people of these bordering nations. Outpour currently has a training center equipped with a restaurant and bike shop known as Famous Rays, SEEds (a Creative Center for youth), and their staff is working towards building a Emergency Placement Home that offers counseling/training in order to combat human trafficking.
Working alongside this amazing ministry during the month of October has further confirmed that absolutely everything we could ever give is the Lords. Our time, our service, and our material possessions are not ours, but Gods. Through our team working with the youth, I have further learned to give. Generosity can take many forms and can look many different ways. For some, God blesses us with talents and gifts in order to bless others.
The last few days working in Mae Sot, I had the honor of painting a huge mural at Outpour Movement’s new space. Working with a few of the youth, we designed a super rad mural of growth that is now plastered on a large cement wall. It was a moment to be celebrated as we stood back to view our hard work. The last day we painted, I even got the joy of hearing Ray, the founder of Outpour, share his testimony with me.
Here is the story of Ray (Founder) and how Outpour Movement came to be.
http://youtu.be/jelY00SCJ24
Before Outpour started Ray and Michael met Khin – He was the first ‘seed‘ or boy they took in from the outskirts of Thailand. This Khin video was filmed by Cnn many years ago before Outpour Movement began. At the current time, Khin lived in a place called the ‘dump,’ where loads of trash are dropped off daily. He scavenged the grounds in order to survive. Now Khin is all grown up and living in the city of Mae Sot. He is shown as a grown up teenage boy in the video Outpour Movement made (video at the end of blog)
https://youtu.be/Fs55Mm_08r8
Our team had the opportunity to build and work towards getting their new space ready. It was a full month of giving in order for them to plant more seeds in Mae Sot.
Be the MOveMENT and visit www.OutpourMovement.com They are currently seeking to raise 180,000 to fund their mission. They need funds to purchase land in order to build an Emergency Placement Home that offers counseling and training to help combat human trafficking, abuse, and oppression for the displaced people on the Thai and Burma border.
To check out their website visit www.outpourmovement.com
This is a Video by and about Outpour Movement:
