Wednesday, 29 April 2009

Mae Jan, April 21-25: Kids Camps with Karen Tribe Children [In Words!]

After 10 hours of travelling, and 1,219 bends in the mountain road (so I’m told...before you ask, I didn't count them!), fellow missionary Julia Birkett and I, a Thai student worker, and a mixture of 4 Thai students and recent graduates, arrived in the Karen village of Mae Jan, which is right on the border with Burma.

For the next 3 days we ran a camp for 90 kids, all of whom are supported by the organisation Compassion, with the theme ‘You are Special’. With a mixture of games, crafts, drama, songs, testimonies, (and at one point a full scale waterfight!) we sought to communicate the message that the only opinion of us that matters is God’s.

It was amazing to be in the mountains in N. West Thailand. I loved sleeping on the floor under a mosquito net in a wooden hut and sitting on the porch in the evenings reading by candlelight. I loved hearing 90 kids singing about Jesus in Thai as well as their own tribal language, with the most beautiful voices I have ever heard. I loved eating rice for breakfast. I loved seeing the most majestic and beautiful scenery I have ever seen on the way home. I loved seeing students have their first taste of cross-cultural mission (even if it was in their own country!) And most of all I loved getting a glimpse of how God is working in people’s lives – ushering some into the first steps of following Jesus, and others into deeper, darker waters; yet with the promise to be the guide and light for all who keep walking with Him.

It was a brief, but incredibly encouraging experience. Praise God!

1 comment:

OddBabble said...

I'm so glad that when God was knitting you together in your Mum's womb, he was obviously preparing you for times like this. ( :