Skip to main content

Thailand Part II

After our whirlwind of a first day in Thailand, we were ready to begin our mission in earnest.  Our goal for this overseas trip was to visit three organizations - all of whom work closely with the situation that is going on in Burma/Myanmar in unique ways.  We were hoping to find where God might be leading us.  The first place we went to visit was The Charis Project in Mae Sot on the Thai/Burma border.

Using the tickets we had purchased the day before, we got on the Green Bus and proceeded on the 6 hour ride to the border from Chiang Mai.  The view from the road was gorgeous, and it was wonderful seeing this part of the country that we wouldn't have otherwise seen.


Untitled
Thai Jungle

Untitled
Shaky pictures from the bus really don't do it justice.

We were greeted at the bus station by Aaron, the founder of The Charis Project.  We were blessed to stay with him and his family for the next few days.  Aaron Blue and his wife, Carrien, are doing some amazing work in Mae Sot and the surrounding areas.  The focus on their website shows the incredible work they are doing with a children's home, but they also work to empower families through education, training, creating jobs and entrepreneurship.  You really should read the Charis Project's blog to gain a better understanding of the heart that is behind all that they do.


IMG_2329
Aaron

The Blue family allowed us to get a peek into their lives, their city, and their ministry.  We had such a great visit spending time with their beautiful children, having lunch on the river that separates Thailand from Burma, and wandering around the Burmese marketplaces on one hand and Tesco (like a Walmart) on the other.

Untitled
The Thai/Burmese border.
We ate lunch on the boardwalk while watching this boat make multiple unofficial border crossings.

Untitled
Another view of the border.  You can see the official crossing (The Friendship Bridge) in the distance.

Untitled
A typical street in Mae Sot

Untitled
One of the more odd things we saw for sale by the street vendors - baby catfish and turtles.  Apparently, you buy them to release back into the wild for good karma.
We also got to visit the children's home that they facilitate that is a bit away from the border.  Phil just might have been obsessed with a kitty there, and I just might have been caught in a tropical rainstorm when we went to go pick up the kids from school.


IMG_2370
The children's home

IMG_2358
This farm on the property helps to pay the ongoing costs of the home.

IMG_2369
Phil kept taking pictures of the kitty

IMG_2335
View of the road and the "bus" we used to go pick up the kids from school

IMG_2330
Before the rainstorm
Untitled
Not too much later

Our days with them flew by quickly  We spent hours talking about the motivation behind their ministry and their faith.  It was inspiring to see this family "say Yes" to whatever opportunities that come before them.  They are the kind of people that I hope we can be - people who truly want to see Christ's Kingdom come and be His servants in that work.

lunch stop
Lunch stop on the way back to Chiang Mai

I have to say that I left a little bit of my heart in Mae Sot after this trip.  I hope that we will find ourselves there again.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Little Disciples

As I've been learning more about Charlotte Mason and her methods, I've been thinking especially about what she means by "Education is a Discipline."  As I was reading her thoughts on discipline from her Homeschooling series, I was particularly struck by the following quotation. Discipline is not Punishment ––What is discipline? Look at the word; there is no hint of punishment in it. A disciple is a follower, and discipline is the state of the follower; the learner, imitator. Mothers and fathers do not well to forget that their children are, by the very order of Nature, their disciples... How Disciples are Lured ––He who would draw disciples does not trust to force; but to these three things–– to the attraction of his doctrine, to the persuasion of his presentation, to the enthusiasm of his disciples ; so the parent has teachings of the perfect life which he knows how to present continually with winning force until the children are quickened with such zeal for virtue
7 comments
Read more

Typical Day at our Coop

Here is what a typical day looks like at "school" Play Time Drop-off time at school is 8:30AM.  We are currently made up of four families and have seven kids.  We intend to be more of a homeschool setting than a school, so we try to make it as engaging with the kids as possible.  They usually just want to hang out with their friends once they first see them in the morning.  Play time first thing in the morning allows for them to get some energy out, connect with their friends, and let the parents chat a bit before getting into the school day. Sharing Time Z sharing about his last book that he read Once we've gathered all the kids together, we have sharing time.  I do this mostly to ward off rabbit trail conversations and questions throughout the morning.  I have each kid come up individually and usually ask them a question.  Usually, it's something like, "What did you do this weekend?"  Or maybe it's "Show and Tell".  Many of th
4 comments
Read more

Styrofoam Tray Shrink Art

Making styrofoam shrink art was one of those fun childhood memories I have from being a kid.  My mom would clean off the meat or veggie trays from the grocery store, give it to us kids to draw on, then we would watch in awe as our creations shrunk before our very eyes in the oven. I really wanted to do the same thing with my kids so I (silly-me) tried to find a tutorial of the sort on the Internet.  I did this mostly because I didn't know the temperature the oven needed to be or how long it should be in there.  Maybe it's just me, but I couldn't find one!  The closest thing I found was this website , but there were no pictures or anything.  I decided to wing it - it couldn't be that hard, right? And, yes, this craft is super easy.  First, I gave the boys a clean tray and a bunch of markers for them to draw with. I had to convince them to color a lot  since they were only making small markings. We put their creations on an aluminum-covered baking sheet, and put
4 comments
Read more