I just returned to Mae Sot this week after four intense, beautiful days in a hill tribe village on the Burmese river border. It was such an amazing time for the whole team, and I don't know how to sum it up in a quick blog update. So I pulled a few quotes and phrases that I wrote in my journal this past weekend, and hope that I have a chance to sit down with each of you over coffee or a phone call and really voice these incredible stories. The Koren people revealed a side of Thailand to me that I had yet to see, and I am so thankful for the opportunity I had to stay and serve with them.
"As soon as I climbed out of the back of the truck I knew I was in love with this place. Soccer in the middle of the land, worship music booming out of band practice, and the mountains in clear view from our balcony. This village is located literally on the order of Burma, and where I sleep is a 2 minute walk to the river dividing the two countries. Judah told us you can often hear the landmines exploding from the camp."
"The girl I prayed with was so passionate, so intense, and even though I didn't understand a word she was saying, it shook my heart and I know God understood every word and saw every tear that fell from her eyes."
"The flood pictures just about broke my heart, seeing these little innocent kids draw dead bodies and animals and trees floating in the water. No Sunday school in the States has ever drawn Noah's Ark like that."
"Everyone here seems so genuine, seeking knowledge and pursuing God."
"It made me smile watching the guys sit on the floor together with hands and arms and legs intertwined, having no problem at all with their lack of personal space."
"People back home have a picture of this little girl or boy from Compassion that I've been hugging and singing and playing with. These are real, wonderful kids and they've really helped warp my view of the pictures I see of sponsored kids and children in need."
"God, you broke my heart for these people tonight. As the music played I fell to my knees and wept - wept because you love them so much, because I need to do more to help them, more people need to do something to help them."
"We do so much here - but I really like it. It makes our four short days here feel like double the time with testimonies, messages, dramas and songs. And there are still moments like these where I can sit on the deck, look out on the mountains and journal."
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