Thailand Aftermath part #1

Dear family and friends,

I first want to say thank you for supporting me on my trip to Thailand. I appreciated your prayers and financial support. I am now back in Portland trying to get over jet lag before the next chapter in my life.
I got back from Thailand on June 3rd, and I am staying with some friends until June 7th when I leave for the summer to work at a Young Life camp called Malibu Club in Canada. It is a little crazy to have a quick turn around like this, but I know that God will give me the energy to get things done.

It was a huge blessing to be able to go to Thailand. There is so much that I could say about my trip, but I will try and make it simple. We traveled to Chiang Mai on May 11th, and my initial impression of Thailand was very positive. The only other country I had been to in Asia was India, and so I think I was expecting something like that, but Thailand blew my expectations out of the water. We stayed at the YMCA, and that was a very good thing for us. It wasn't too comfortable, but it was nice to have a place that we could rest at ease. In the end we spent about $8 a night per person for the whole three weeks. It was important to us to be good stewards of the money that God allowed us to raise.

For the first two weeks we worked with a organization called The Garden of Hope (GoH). This organization is a few years old, and was birthed out of the International Justice Mission (IJM). One of the founders of GoH was working in Thailand with IJM to free sex slaves, and she noticed that there was no ministry that was reaching out to the voluntary prostitutes. So that is how GoH was started. The first week was spent a few days getting to know Thailand and learning some basic language. GoH did a great job getting us accustomed to Thailand and their ministry. We were able to help teach English at a language school, and it was a good way to interact with Thai people.

Right before we arrived in Thailand GoH opened a new facility that is right in the middle of the red light district. They call it the Drop in Center (DIC), and it is just a place where the street kids can come to play and do homework, and the women can come, learn English, and receive other care. The vision for the DIC is to provide a refuge for kids and women in the middle of a very deprived place. GoH's mission is relational, and they spend a lot of time just loving people. It is incredible what love will do for people who don't get it at all. The females on our team worked with the women during our stay, and us males worked with the kids. It was wonderful just see the way that the kids responded to our love even in the short time that we were there. Some of the kids were transformed by the love we showed them. By the time we left, we could tell that they kids were more trusting, well behaved, and all around more joyful than when we first came.

The day to day activities that we took part in seem inconsequential, but I will give some examples. One afternoon I went out and collected garbage in the red light district. It was wonderful to see the reaction of the Thai people as we picked up their neighborhood. I think that it was a awesome testimony of the Kingdom of God. The Thai people knew that it wasn't us who made the trash, but we were the ones taking responsibility for it. The rest of the time I would spend at the DIC playing with the kids. It was a really good time for me. I am normally a service oriented person, so it was good for me to be stretched in relational ministry.

The last week of our trip was a little different. We worked with a organization called Remember Nhu. Their objective is to keep children out of the sex industry. We worked at their orphanage on a building project, and we did a building project at an other orphanage named Asia's Hope. It was good to work with our hands and also get a chance love the kids that were there. Near the end of our trip we were able spend a day in the villages which are where most of these kids are from.

Collectively our team raised about $9,000 more than we needed, and since we lived conservatively while we were there we saved more than $4,000. So we were able to buy things for these ministries that were much needed. We were able to buy kids resources for GoH, and some building materials for Remember Nhu. We were also able to contribute a substantial amount of money to Remember Nhu for the new orphanage they are starting up in Burma. I want to say thank you again for helping us go to Thailand, and it was a great trip. God really moved, and it was wonderful to see what God is doing over in Thailand through these groups.
Blessings to all of you

More reflections and pictures to come...