The Rising Generation

God is doing a lot of things here and within each one of our lives. Up in Maesai, which is on the Thailand/Burmese border, we partnered with a drop-in center for street kids. Most of the kids are from Burma who cross the border everyday to beg on the streets to fulfill a command from their family. 

Seeing the smiles on the kid’s faces as they came into the drop-in center made me naive to their life outside of those walls. After I heard some of their stories of how their own families had tried to kill them or would if they didn’t earn enough money or treated them differently because of their gender was mind blowing and humbling. Also, realizing how many of them had already been introduced or would possibly be to the sex trade was heart breaking. These kids are just kids, and this ministry gave them that opportunity and it was a blessing to be apart of it.

I quickly realized why the kids acted so different in this place and it was because of the people who are running it. They are all so Spirit driven and their love for God overflows into these kids lives. It was truly encouraging to see God work through them and to literally see these kids lives being affected through it. Our entire group went out of a desire to bring truth and life to this place, but speaking for everyone we all left blessed to have been apart of that ministry which is a light in the midst of a dark city, surrounded by the human depravity of man. The place is encircled by brothels and police corruption attempting to get rid of the place, but it’s still there with life being poured into these kids who may not get any elsewhere. 

I’ve been taught a lot on this trip. God has been teaching me humble obedience, patience, how to listen more and speak less, etc. I’ve never really been a fan of children’s ministry and that’s been the majority of what we’ve done thus far, but I have truly been blessed and encouraged through every moment of it- funny how God works. I have learned to love these children as Christ does, and desires to through me. This amazes me about His love, when he doesn’t need me to extend His glory, but he wants to do it through me, and He knew we’d be here honoring Him before the foundation of the world. I could go on but getting back on track He has also taught me so much about worshipping Him by the way I walk working with the kids, so I just hope that the kids have been as encouraged by us as I have by being with them.

It is heartbreaking to look around this nation seeing it’s beauty knowing so many people are lost and not acknowledging God as THE God, and Christ as THE way. Reading through Jeremiah I see a lot of parallels toward Thailand today. It has been encouraging to see true life in different places though, especially one day when we ran into a random Christian school in the middle of Maesai. I can see a lot of things happening here and big things that are coming. In Jeremiah 16 Israel looked much like Thailand today worshipping things of the world, things created-following their own hearts and ways. The chapter closes with a prayer from Jeremiah ending in verse 20 with the nations speaking “Can man make for himself gods? Such are not gods!” Then God says “Therefore, behold, I will make them know, this once I will make them know my power and my might, and they shall known that my name is the LORD.” God wants to restore this place. Continue to pray for Him to use us in a mighty way here. Pray for Thailand, Burma, and the Karen people. Also, pray for our next ministry, Remember Nhu, and our time there.