Final Day!
Today was our last day in Thailand, and do we have a special story to tell you!
It all started 5 months ago, while interviewing Jarred for the team. We asked him why he wanted to go to Thailand, and of the reasons he gave was that his family had been sponsoring and praying for a girl named Satabood for the past 15 years, since she was 2, who lives in Thailand.
The leaders immediately started working on getting the two connected. We knew chances of meeting up with her were slim, since Thailand is such a big country and our schedule was so full. But we were determined to try.
And our God is a powerful God! We learned that, of all places in Thailand, the girls' home she was living in was only 10 minutes down the road from the Grove. Isn't it amazing how God works? And even though Satabood was gone on summer break, when she found out Jarred was coming, she had her sister drive her 5 hours from her village to meet him in the girls' home, called Breanna's House of Joy.
It was an amazing and emotional moment to watch Jarred and Satabood meet for the first time.
Afterwards, the staff told us about the vision of the girls' home. It was founded 13 years ago as a safe haven for girls with a high risk of being trafficked, to give them a safe place to grow up, education and skills to take them into the future. The girls, in turn, go into the hill tribes and educate the villagers on how protect their children from traffickers by identifying warning signs.
Some of the girls then put on a presentation of song and dance. The little ones sang Jesus Loves Me in Thai and English - it was adorable!
After a lunch of sticky rice and chicken (which we ate with our fingers, according to custom), we met with some of the other teenagers and college-aged girls to trade stories about what life is like where we come from, while Jarred spent some time with Satabood.
The day was informative and sobering for everyone as the evil of sex trafficking was given human faces - many of the girls at the home have backgrounds of extensive anise. But it was also so incredible for Jarred and Satabood to get to meet in person, and it touched everyone on the team.
In the late afternoon, we came back to the Grove for some final team time. Each person took extensive time to journal and process through their experience over the past two weeks, reflecting on highlights and struggles and lessons they've learned. We helped the students practice their "stories" - how they will tell people, in a nutshell, what their Thailand trip was all about. We also talked about how we will take the things we've learned and apply them to our lives back home. We ended the night with the leaders washing the students' feet and giving them encouragement. It was fun to see how close our team has gotten in just two short weeks.
It's unbelievable that these two weeks have already passed. We leave for the airport in just a few hours! See you soon - keep praying!
It all started 5 months ago, while interviewing Jarred for the team. We asked him why he wanted to go to Thailand, and of the reasons he gave was that his family had been sponsoring and praying for a girl named Satabood for the past 15 years, since she was 2, who lives in Thailand.
The leaders immediately started working on getting the two connected. We knew chances of meeting up with her were slim, since Thailand is such a big country and our schedule was so full. But we were determined to try.
And our God is a powerful God! We learned that, of all places in Thailand, the girls' home she was living in was only 10 minutes down the road from the Grove. Isn't it amazing how God works? And even though Satabood was gone on summer break, when she found out Jarred was coming, she had her sister drive her 5 hours from her village to meet him in the girls' home, called Breanna's House of Joy.
It was an amazing and emotional moment to watch Jarred and Satabood meet for the first time.
Afterwards, the staff told us about the vision of the girls' home. It was founded 13 years ago as a safe haven for girls with a high risk of being trafficked, to give them a safe place to grow up, education and skills to take them into the future. The girls, in turn, go into the hill tribes and educate the villagers on how protect their children from traffickers by identifying warning signs.
Some of the girls then put on a presentation of song and dance. The little ones sang Jesus Loves Me in Thai and English - it was adorable!
After a lunch of sticky rice and chicken (which we ate with our fingers, according to custom), we met with some of the other teenagers and college-aged girls to trade stories about what life is like where we come from, while Jarred spent some time with Satabood.
The day was informative and sobering for everyone as the evil of sex trafficking was given human faces - many of the girls at the home have backgrounds of extensive anise. But it was also so incredible for Jarred and Satabood to get to meet in person, and it touched everyone on the team.
In the late afternoon, we came back to the Grove for some final team time. Each person took extensive time to journal and process through their experience over the past two weeks, reflecting on highlights and struggles and lessons they've learned. We helped the students practice their "stories" - how they will tell people, in a nutshell, what their Thailand trip was all about. We also talked about how we will take the things we've learned and apply them to our lives back home. We ended the night with the leaders washing the students' feet and giving them encouragement. It was fun to see how close our team has gotten in just two short weeks.
It's unbelievable that these two weeks have already passed. We leave for the airport in just a few hours! See you soon - keep praying!
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