Thailand was by far the best month for me so far the race. It’s not hard for me to pinpoint why this past month was so amazing. We were given the opportunity to work with an organization call Remember Nhu that was setup by a couple from Ohio. Their aim is to find children at risk for being sold into the sex trade and instead provide them with a home, education, food and an opportunity to learn about Jesus in the process. The organization is amazing, as are all the people involved in it. The girls ranging from ages 5-16 are absolutely incredible and left a permanent mark in my heart. The men of O squad all worked together this month, separate from the women. This meant Casey and I did not see much of each other. Thankfully we were in the same city and we had the chance to see one another each weekend. We were also given the chance on a few occasions to see what the women were doing and even accompany them a few nights. Other than being able to spend time with the girls at the orphanage, O squad’s men did manual labor during the days. We did a few projects around the grounds of the orphanage such as digging ditches and laying down pipe to prevent flooding during the rainy season. We also helped to clear much of the fence line around the grounds, which is an ongoing battle that must be completed every year. I wish I could explain to you how much of a privilege it was to be allowed to spend time with these people. The girls and the staff showed us so much love the instant we arrived. This experience has left such an amazing impression on Casey and I that we believe God will call us back to Chiang Mai (the city we worked in) in the future. I can’t tell you when or in what capacity, but I believe I work there is not done. I would love the opportunity to work more with Remember Nhu and from Carl and Laurie who set up the orphanages we worked at. They also run 6 other orphanages in 4 other countries besides the 2 in Thailand with plans for at least 1 more for boys in Thailand and 2 in Mongolia. As I’m sure most of you who read any of my blogs realize I’m not the most articulate. I hope that you understand at least a little bit of how amazing it was to see the ministry we worked with and be a part of it for even such a short time. Carl told us that while they do not expect the girls to become Saved, there is a 95% rate of girls devoting their lives to Christ in the orphanages! If ever there was a way to penetrate nations such as Thailand and others in Southeast Asia who are predominately Buddhist or some other religion other than Christianity, this is the way! It’s no small gesture to claim to be a Christian here. Those who do are often completely cut off from their families, jobs can be lost and lives threatened. It’s definitely not the watered down Christianity and commitment we see so often in the US and other Western countries. So please keep Remember Nhu and the work they are doing in your prayers!
