Sa wa dee ka!
On Monday night, I attended a party to celebrate 14 new people (including young teenage girls, 2 pregnant moms, and 3 lady-boys) joining the Tamar Center and leaving their former lives. The training lasts for 12 weeks. At this training, they learn how to make cards and also salon and bakery skills. They also receive teaching from the Bible that will give them the opportunity to heal from the brokenness of their past. At the party, it was beautiful to see the joy on these 14 people as they started a new journey in their lives. Pray for these 14 people with me. Pray that they are able to receive hope. Hope of a better life here on this earth. Hope of a better life in heaven. I have met and got to spend time with 2 of these girls, Nikki and Naam. Before I left for Chiang Rai, Naam came to church the week we brought the PSM kids. She saw one of the girls who didn't have very nice shoes and she went out on the street and bought new shoes for her. That really blessed my heart.
On Tuesday, it was fun to go to the slum and see the kids again. We taught on Moses parting the Red Sea and how God fights for his people. While we were there, a couple of the older kids were hitting and yelling at each other the whole time. I told one of the boys named Get to stop many times and he didn't. After we left, I thought about how these kids don't know how to follow the rules, because they don't have people in their lives to teach them and to love them, to model how to be kind to others. Later, I found out that two of the kids who were causing most of the trouble, Get and Froi, live with a grandmother and two other kids. Their parents aren't around and aren't investing in their lives. Pray for these kids and other kids living in the slums with me. That even though they do not receive love and attention from earthly parents, they would know the love of our heavenly father.
On Wednesday, we went to the slum in the afternoon. Every once in a while in Thailand, I feel moments where I wish I could communicate more with the kids and wonder what good I am doing when I can't really invest in their lives the way I would with kids who speak English. But then, I'm able to have moments when I ask a girl to read to me in Thai, and then she asks me to read in English (and I can throw in a few Thai phrases here and there). Or another girl comes up to me and puts her arms around my waist and I give her a big squeeze back. And I'm thankful for these little moments that I'm able to show love to a few Thai kids.
On Wednesday night, I got to hang out with my friend, Pu and teach her some English. She is really excited to learn English, especially so she can read the Bible. She just has so much joy when she talks about her relationship with God. While we were there, she told me that she just moved into a new apartment, and she is seeing ghosts at night. Pray for Pu and she continues to learn how to trust Jesus in her life.
On Thursday, we went to the slum for just a little while. It had rained the whole day and the ground where the kids normally sit was wet, so we just went and played around for a little bit and gave them their snack.
On Friday morning, I got to have coffee with a missionary from the US who has started a rescue home in Pattaya. I got to hear about how she and her husband started the home. They don't have any girls yet, but they are ready and waiting. Then on Saturday, I learned that they went on an outreach and found a teenage boy and girl who were being sex trafficked. The girl also had a young baby. They are now looking for jobs for them, as well as a proper placement, which could potentially be at their home. Pray for this new ministry, that God would send them girls from Pattaya who can be rescued and redeemed from a life of prostitution. Here's their website if you want to learn more about their ministry.
On Saturday, we took the kids to Taekwondo and then back to the center for youth club. I got to teach some of the kids how to make spaghetti and garlic bread, and it was fun! Most of them thought it was delicious. =) They also got to watch "The Emperor's New Groove", which they loved. On Saturday night, I got to have dinner with 7 girls from the Tamar Center training and my missionary friend, Monica. I already have spent time with 2 of them (Nikki and Naam), and I'm glad I got to meet a few more. They are really sweet girls. On Sunday night, I got to hang out at Monica's with Nikki and Naam and a few other girls who have come to the Tamar Center. We ate papaya salad and sticky rice together and celebrated one girl's birthday. I really enjoyed spending time with them.
On Sunday, as I was reading my Bible, I came across these verses in Luke 15,
3 Then Jesus told them this parable: 4 “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? 5 And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders 6 and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’
Among the many, the many people in Pattaya I see who need Jesus, he is rejoicing over the few who are finding him. I am thankful to see that and be a part of that here this summer. Even if it's just to give a smile or a hug.
Thank you for your prayers. God has been so faithful to me in my time here.
This week, you can pray...
-For Jiap and Pin, as they teach the older kids about relationships
-For Angela, Jacie, and I as we teach the younger kids
-For the Tamar Center group as they continue their 12-week training
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