mae sot.

This past weekend, I had the opportunity to go with the LifePoint interns to Mae Sot, Thailand for a 3 day trip. Because of the continued conflict and minority persecution in Burma (Myanmar), many of the minority groups (including the Karen people: pronounced kuh-WREN) have found safety across the Thai/Burma border in areas like Mae Sot.

The trip there was about 7 hours in the van with a minor delay due to rainy season flooding the Moie River... and road.

[The boat that was being used to shuttle people, motorcycles and food through the waist deep water across the road]

[A truck braving the flooded road]

[An army truck let us jump on back and shuttled us through the water and to our rendezvous point!]

Here's a video of us crossing through the river in the army truck (and the view of the regular truck in front of us)... The water had gone down quite a bit by this point. If you are reading this in an email, you may need to go to the actual post: [click here] in order to view the videos.

While we were at the Shekinah Children's Home (or as they sometimes refer to it: KT camp), we led a day long "VBS-style" kid's camp for all the children... complete with games, songs and crafts! However, the sweetest part of the trip for me, was having the opportunity to encourage a wonderful woman named Zaida who has been serving there for over three years. As someone who has been "on the field" for a little over a year, I know the potential that teams have to either energize or drain the long-term folks. A lot of work goes into being able to host a team, especially a team as large as ours was (11 people)! I wanted for our time to not only be a blessing to the children, but also to her-- because she is the one who will keep on working and serving long after we leave. I loved getting to hear her story and have the opportunity to see the children's home through the eyes of a woman who knows it well.

It can be so easy to jump into a short term project and think you see and understand what is going on... and miss it entirely. It's easy to see the smiling children, accept the hugs, and never think past that. Or to see the dirty walls, the lack of a "proper" kitchen and the mattress-less bunks where the children stay and be moved to "fix" things... without actually stopping to learn and ask the right questions.

[The church/ multi-purpose room/ school]

I definitely am no expert on the plight of the Karen, or even every detail of what takes place here at the KT camp. But, through my conversations with Zaida, I left encouraged. The Lord is working and doing an amazing healing in the lives of many of these children. Most of the children are practical orphans, if not actual orphans. (Because of the conflict, not all of the children know whether or not their parents are still alive.) Some of the children were soldiered. All of them have suffered. And yet: there is still hope in their eyes and smiles on their faces.

In many ministries, the primary need is financial. As much as we'd like that it wasn't this way, money is a necessity. I won't say it's impossible to do the Lord's work without any money, but it sure would be hard. Because of that, I try to always ask ministries that I visit what their needs are. Perhaps so that I can meet that need specifically, but also so that I can raise awareness and share that need with the body of Christ. 

So, you can imagine my surprise when Zaida's answer was not money. She said that the ministry's greatest need was long-term people.

[Breakfast time!]

Zaida expressed, with sadness, that she only has two arms for hugging, and it's not enough for the 60+ kids who visit and live at the camp. Here is a woman who is pouring her life into some of the forgotten, and "least of these", and her main desire is not for new buildings or new equipment, but for more people to come to better love the children who are there.

 [Some of the girls singing "Jesus Loves Me" in Karen]

Our time at KT camp also coincided with Zaida's 40th birthday and overlapped with her father's visit. As she is from Mexico, her and her father decided to throw a traditional "birthday fiesta" for the children. It consisted of her father serenading her, a couple of candy-filled pinatas, and plenty of cake to go around!

[Zaida and her father's grand entrance... decked out in their Mexican garb]

[Singing a traditional spanish song to his daughter on her birthday]

[The boy's breaking open their pinata!]

However, despite all the learning, information-gathering, and craft-leading... the part that touched my heart the most was getting to spend time with some of the girls. Whether they were teaching me a new game (these kids were game-gurus!) or a new song, they always had plenty of hugs and smiles to share. On the last day, many of them slipped a note into my hand that they had hand-written... As if goodbye's weren't already difficult enough!

[MoMoA and TeeKayPah]

[AePioh and MoMoA] 

[AePioh gave MoMoA and I matching braids!]

[MaJee]

Sometimes you meet people who, for better or worse, indelibly mark you. Your life will never be the same because of their presence in it. I know that my time with these girls has opened up my eyes once again and given me a glimpse into a world and a problem and a people that I was blind to before Thursday. I would have told you, of course, that helping refugees was important. I would have even told you that I knew their situation was dire. But after having spent 3 days with children who are, really, in the best situation (living in Thailand, fed, clothed, cared for and loved), and then to drive past the sprawling refugee camps where people are trapped with no livelihood and hope... I see more clearly. Not perfectly, but I have faces where before there were only numbers.

[Sunday morning worshipping with our Karen brothers and sisters]

If you are interested in serving long term (over 2 months) at the Shekinah Children's Home, but have questions... feel free to send me an email at lizswauger@gmail.com. I'd love to share more with you about specifics of my experience there!