Sunday, April 27, 2014
We had a week back in Thailand between locations. On our first weekend here, some of us went on a day tour and it probably ended up being my favorite day in Thailand. We had a wonderful adventure travelling to a floating market, the bridge on the River Kwai and an elephant camp where we got to play with elephants in the river and ride on them. It was so much fun - we got to sit on the elephants trunks and the elephants would throw us into the water and we got to aim their trunks and spray people!
We had a couple days of prep and then headed out for Camp Zoe, at a golf resort about 3 hours from Bangkok. We took about 50 kids with us and had about 30 volunteers. We spent 3 full days and 2 half days there. We did worship and teachings with the kids, and tons of fun activities to keep the kids busy. Icebreaker games, team building (they were split into 4 teams for competition over the weekend), Capture the Flag, Crazy Night (I helped plan that one), Water games (YAY SLIP N SLIDE), Pool Party, bonfire and movie night. It was a total blast and I am crazy exhausted.
These children came from a variety of places - some are Thais, some are Cambodian refugees, some come from a slum community, some are living in boys' or girls' homes. They're so young, but they have so much in their pasts already. I get a glimpse into one of their stories every now and then, and it's almost always heartbreaking.
There were two boys at the camp who had shaved heads; they were going to be monks. Oy told me that one of the boys had gone to his father and begged, "Please, I believe in Jesus. Please, let me do something else."
Boys at the boys' home get beaten every day. It's "normal life" for them. Gay relationships happen a lot, because it's the only way for them to get love. They were so happy to be at camp, because being there made them feel like they weren't invisible for once, and like they were loved.
The kids wrote down things in their lives that they wanted prayer for. A lot talked about how they were beaten. How they were looked down on by their friends. How they missed their family or wanted a better family. How they wanted to finish school, get good grades, or be able to go on to higher education. How they wanted to be loved for who they were. How they wanted someone to listen to them. How they wanted to see God; they didn't understand how everyone was able to be God's friend.
It was such an honor to spend the past five days with these kids; being a part of providing a fun place, where they could get away and just be kids. A place where they could learn about God and God's unconditional love for them.
We set up a 24-hour prayer schedule over the duration of the camp. It was really amazing; I was surprised at how quickly an hour of prayer can go by. And I'm going to continue to pray for these kids: that their eyes would be opened to see God, that they would feel God's love, and God would continue to grow the seeds that had been planted during Camp Zoe.
We leave for India on Tuesday night, which is pretty crazy to think about. Pray for safety and no motion sickness (not for me, but quite a few others on the team) during travel. Pray that we would be an effective, united team. Pray that the people we would come into contact with would be prepared to hear from God through us. Pray that we would be open to what God is instructing us to do.
We had a week back in Thailand between locations. On our first weekend here, some of us went on a day tour and it probably ended up being my favorite day in Thailand. We had a wonderful adventure travelling to a floating market, the bridge on the River Kwai and an elephant camp where we got to play with elephants in the river and ride on them. It was so much fun - we got to sit on the elephants trunks and the elephants would throw us into the water and we got to aim their trunks and spray people!
We had a couple days of prep and then headed out for Camp Zoe, at a golf resort about 3 hours from Bangkok. We took about 50 kids with us and had about 30 volunteers. We spent 3 full days and 2 half days there. We did worship and teachings with the kids, and tons of fun activities to keep the kids busy. Icebreaker games, team building (they were split into 4 teams for competition over the weekend), Capture the Flag, Crazy Night (I helped plan that one), Water games (YAY SLIP N SLIDE), Pool Party, bonfire and movie night. It was a total blast and I am crazy exhausted.
These children came from a variety of places - some are Thais, some are Cambodian refugees, some come from a slum community, some are living in boys' or girls' homes. They're so young, but they have so much in their pasts already. I get a glimpse into one of their stories every now and then, and it's almost always heartbreaking.
There were two boys at the camp who had shaved heads; they were going to be monks. Oy told me that one of the boys had gone to his father and begged, "Please, I believe in Jesus. Please, let me do something else."
Boys at the boys' home get beaten every day. It's "normal life" for them. Gay relationships happen a lot, because it's the only way for them to get love. They were so happy to be at camp, because being there made them feel like they weren't invisible for once, and like they were loved.
The kids wrote down things in their lives that they wanted prayer for. A lot talked about how they were beaten. How they were looked down on by their friends. How they missed their family or wanted a better family. How they wanted to finish school, get good grades, or be able to go on to higher education. How they wanted to be loved for who they were. How they wanted someone to listen to them. How they wanted to see God; they didn't understand how everyone was able to be God's friend.
It was such an honor to spend the past five days with these kids; being a part of providing a fun place, where they could get away and just be kids. A place where they could learn about God and God's unconditional love for them.
We set up a 24-hour prayer schedule over the duration of the camp. It was really amazing; I was surprised at how quickly an hour of prayer can go by. And I'm going to continue to pray for these kids: that their eyes would be opened to see God, that they would feel God's love, and God would continue to grow the seeds that had been planted during Camp Zoe.
We leave for India on Tuesday night, which is pretty crazy to think about. Pray for safety and no motion sickness (not for me, but quite a few others on the team) during travel. Pray that we would be an effective, united team. Pray that the people we would come into contact with would be prepared to hear from God through us. Pray that we would be open to what God is instructing us to do.
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