At the end of our last dinner together on the beach in Lo Samet, Tom C. asked us to reflect on what the trip meant to us. I was without paper and pencil and couldn’t take notes. So, during one of our layovers, I asked the team to write a couple of sentences about how the trip how impacted them. Here is what they wrote.
“This trip helped me to see how immense and diverse God’s creation is.
Being in a place where the culture and language are completely different from your own is really eye opening.” David (pictured here giving one of the Agape Home children a piggy back ride).
“A greater understanding of missions and our need to support the work of spreading the gospel.” Keith (sawing concrete forms).
“The heart for prayer:
Having seen the people of the country, the camp, Randy and his family, Aye, Dao, and Moses from the camp, the pastors and congregations of the local churches, I will remember them more in my prayers than if I hadn’t seen them and had my heart touched by them.” Connie
“I never really realized how real the spiritual warfare is until I met Kwan.
It really shocked me and scared me. It was really amazing. I also learned this world isn’t around me; it is around Jesus and others. The last thing I learned was people need Jesus so much and to be content with what I have.” Jayla
“I am bringing back
memories of the faces of new friends to pray for and support--each face with a story. Some are courageous or sad, some fun and encouraging. Also, a memory of how God used an elephant puppet and a puppet dog named Larry to reach out to kids and adults along the way.” Faye (pictured with Larry and one of Larry’s fans)
“A hope that God would call
us into full time missions. A heart for the people and a deep desire for them to come to Christ.” Hannah
“I had fun playing
soccer with the kids. I hope many kids come to know Jesus because of our hard work. We worked hard for the Lord.” Jonah
“I return with a renewed
understanding of how rich we as Americans are. We have so much compared to many of the Thais. And yet, they are every bit as happy, perhaps happier than we are. I was awed by Randy’s work with the fish farm and the help they are giving so many Thais. And, I sense great possibilities to spread the gospel at the facility we helped build.
“It was an awesome experience helping out with items for the camp.
Knowing that the projects we completed would go toward helping Randy, Aye, and Dao provide an environment to minister to the kids in the nearby villages. Also the experiences we had in the 2 Ahka church gatherings were great to attend. The Ahka people seemed so happy to see us and wanted us to share in fellowship with them. Finally I really enjoyed the time we spent with the kids at the school and the orphanage. Seeing them interact with what we provided was fun to watch. The teachers and caretakers of the kids were also very appreciative of our time. It was a great trip overall and I'll consider doing something like this again in the future. ” Jon
Tom B.
“It has been a remarkable experience. To think that a group of diverse folks could come together with a single purpose of blessing a group of strangers in the name of Christ, is truly an experience difficult to duplicate. I think the memories made of meeting these hill tribal folks and experiencing their culture on a very personal level are ones that will not only stay with the team for a very long time, but will affect us in profound ways as we consider what God has in store for us. Now the question will be, How will God want us to live our lives in light of what we have learned and experienced?” Tom C.
Mike C.
“
The trip impacted me by reinforcing two passages. James 1:22-25 ..." be doers of the word, and not hearers only ... but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing" and Matthew 5:13-16 to be salt and light to the world by living according to the Bible and to be a shining light to our dark world, by helping others out of love.” Roger
