My First Few Days in Thailand

My Second Day in Thailand

A big part of why I'm here is because I'll be raising funds for a new property for a transition home that Life Impact needs for children that the government wants to hand over to us. These children can't just be put on the main property with the other kids, because they first need to be taught and healed of their past. Many of them have been passed around in a foster type system and need to be prepared mentally and emotionally for what it means to be part of a real family. A big part of that is not to hurt others. If they are immediately put onto the main property, the other children are at risk of getting hurt by them. Life Impact is the only organization over here that the government is approving to receive all of these orphan children. When receiving such a large volume of kids so quickly, it needs to be done carefully and correctly so that these children get the attention and healing they need. 

The price of property in this area has gone up dramatically over the past few years. And the board wanted Lana to get prices of different land before just pursuing one. So, we spent a good part of this day looking at different property and documenting details about it. It allowed Lana and I more time together for her to share more about the ministry together. 

A Little Tour

After that, One of the missionaries brought Ashley and I to "no-mans land" on the Thai/Bhurma border and then to the dump where many of the children are rescued. They are both large targets for human trafficking, because these families are homeless and absolutely the least of these. They just wanted us to see where many of those joyful kids came from so we could get our bearings. 

When you get to the Bhurma border, you'll see an area of brush and dirt area next to a river and then Bhurma is on the other side of the border. In the brush area live a population of homeless people including many children. Different families come and go from here. Because the parents are so poor and often strung out on crack, they will sell their children to the first person who offers, for just a few bucks. Those kids are then often put into child brothels or put on the street to beg for money until they are too old.  Life Impact's goal is to interfere with the human traffickers finding these children first. They do that best by doing outreaches in this area and building relationships with the people here. 

We walked along a paved path, looking over the river and I took a picture of what our view was. 

One of the buildings pictured is a women's brothel and one is a children's brothel. Men go to these places to rape them. These little girls and women are raped sometimes 10 times a day. I know you probably don't want to hear about that and it's not pleasant to think about, but people need to know what's going on. When I play with the children we've rescued, it's so hard to imagine the life they would've faced if someone didn't step in on their behalf.

After the border, we visited the dump where many families live and dig through the trash for recyclables. I'll try and write more about this later. In the meantime, here are some pictures.

Day 3

One of the most special things I've gotten to do in my time here so far is minister to the youth. I was asked to speak to the youth on Friday night and God put a message on my heart to share about reading the Bible and staying strong in the Lord. I shared about putting on the armor of God, emphasizing the importance of reading your Bible regularly. 

These children's are already giants in God's army. They are literally reaching a lost nation. One boy shared with me that when he started going to school, there were maybe 10 other children who were Christian. Now since the Life Impact youth have been going to that school, there are over 200 Christians children at the school who they have gladly shared with! 

When they do outreaches to children at the dump or in other areas, it is usually the children who share the gospel with them. When you live in an area where you don't know when you are going to eat your next meal and you don't even feel loved, it's a no-brainier when someone shares the love of God with you. That all you have to do is confess Christ as your Lord and accept him into your heart. That is why there is such radical moves of God, because the people are so hungry for it. And the people who have it want to share. 

These children are so bold and I loved being able to talk with them and encourage them. After I shared with them, I prayed for each of them individually. That was such a special time and I know many of them heard God speaking to them on a specific issue in their heart. These kids absolutely amaze me and it is such a privilege and blessing to be with them. 

Day 4

On Saturday, we went with some of our youth girls and passed out shoes at a different orphanage. I got to help find the right size for each kid. You can see in the picture below that this boy was wearing shoes that didn't fit him for quite a while. He is bowing, saying thank you. 

My time here has been such a blessing. The more I learn about what this ministry is doing, the more I am amazed. We have been able to spend a lot of time with the rescued children, just playing. 

I miss my family very much, but I know this is a special time in my life and one day I will get to share with my children about my time over here and how important it is to reach out to others. Please pray that my family stays healthy. Both Madison and Jacob have had their own battles with stomach issues. It's hard not being able to care for them. But I am able to Skype with them almost every day and pray for them. 

Thank you everyone for your continued prayers. 

God bless,

Amber

A Warm Welcome in Thailand

My heart is so filled with joy and hope after meeting the Amazing children rescued by the Life Impact International Team. These children have faced unimaginable situations, with the saddest part being that they were not loved. Not even by their own parents. But when I met them, the joy and love of God just radiated from them. That is the restoring power of Christ's love. 

Many of them were so excited to see Stacey, Ashley and me. They would run up to us, hug us, grab our hands to show us things. I loved every second! There was one girl in particular who reminded me of my daughter, Madison.

When I got out of the car, she immediately ran to me and into my arms. This two year old is a little "spitfire", as I call Madi sometimes. She has this super joyful spirit, but she has a look that tells you "No, my way". And you can tell that even though small, she has no problem holding her own. Since I don't speak Thai, I just did with her what Jacob and I often do with our own. I danced and jumped around with her, twirled her around, hugged her tight, and laughed. When I was spinning around with her, she kept saying, "again" in Thai - just like my daughter. I'm going to try and find out her rescue story, so u can share it. 

Before I came here, I was worried that I wouldn't be able to connect with the kids. But that has not been an issue at all. I am so thankful. 

An interesting thing happened while we were driving to the property on the main road, and it gives you an idea of how things are even for children with families. On our way, there were two boys walking along the road, probably 5 and 3. They weren't wearing shoes, which is a sign of poverty or lack of parents. These roads are not gentle and they are very hot. Yes, their feet are tougher than ours, because of this lifestyle, but their feet hurt too. Lana pulled up besides them, asked where they were going and offered to give them a ride. And they got in our truck with us. No worries. Do you see how easily these kids could get snatched? 

Ashley immediately grabbed her dried fruit slices and offered them to these two sweet boys. I saw this light of excitement flicker in the youngest boy's eyes. You could tell they were both hungry. Then, they drank up the water we gave them. The reality of these boys feeling hungry and thirsty most of the time filled me with sadness that made me have to turn away so they wouldn't see my eyes tearing up. 

We ended up taking them to the property with us and you would think we took them to Disneyland. They warmed up to the other kids immediately. They got to play and have fun on the playground equipment. And no, playgrounds are not something they have for kids in this area. So, you can imagine how exciting it would be. The younger boy even got to play on the zip line. 

The other children ate a meal with them and gave them some shoes. No, we couldn't just keep them on our property. Life Impact isn't in the business of stealing kids. We took them back to where they lived on our way home, and that also gave us an idea if they had parents or not. They live in a construction area and it seems that their parents are the workers. And when I say construction area, I mean a tin wall, half-built "building" with dirt floors. It was hard dropping them off, because you just know their life is "hard" and that they have much to endure. You just wish there was more you could do. But, for today, we were able to give them a super fun experience, food & water, and shoes. 

Today, Lana will be taking Ashley and me to the Thai/ Bhurma border, also known as no-man's land. This is where many of the children are rescued from. 

God bless you and I just want to encourage you to go out of your way and do something nice for someone. 

Amber 

P.S. If you want to know how I got here, you can read my blog post "A New Adventure In Life". Here's the link to it:

http://amberdaydreams.blogspot.com/2015/01/a-new-adventure-in-life.html 

P.P.S. I'll try to take some pics with my Ipad so I can include them in the blog for you :)

A New Adventure in Life

Have you ever felt like there has to be more to life than working for the man and saving for the next thing? Or like your life could be more effective than just providing comfort for your own family? These are things that I think most people feel once in a while, but for me these feelings became like an itch I had to scratch.

Back in August of last year I really started to feel like there had to be more. I started contemplating what was most important in life and what I wanted the sum of my life to represent. I will hopefully have quite a few years ahead of me. So if I live purposefully, I can live the life that God intended for me and live beyond the comfort of every day life. Don't get me wrong, enjoying my family and working together with my husband to care for our kids is so fulfilling in itself. I'm not trying to downplay the importance of that. I just felt like I could do more. I wanted to be content with what I have and get the focus off of myself. This is easier said than done. I couldn't make that mental switch on my own.


Lucky for me, I go to an amazing church who had a women's Bible study last fall. The study was based around the book A Modern Girl's Guide to Bible Study by Jen Hatmaker. This study opened my eyes to reading the Bible and having a passion for it. I learned how to get so much more out of my time reading the Bible and apply it to where God was leading me. This Bible study was important, because my time in the Word backed up a journey I was just beginning. It ties in with me being able to focus more on what God wants than what I want myself. I could talk about this alone for quite a while, but I'll summarize with this verse I came across that helped me change my mindset.

Romans 8:5 "Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires."


I saw this verse as a promise. I could in fact have my mind set on what the Spirit of God desires, I just had to start living in accordance with the Spirit. That means reading my Bible, praying more, time in praise and worship, etc. And doing it seeking the Spirit, not just mindlessly. And in fact, the more I was doing this, the more my mind stopped caring so much about comfort and truly began seeking what God wanted for my life and being sensitive to where the Spirit was leading me.

Around the same time I started this Bible study, I saw a Facebook post from my friend, Lana, who started a ministry about 14 years ago. It's called Life Impact International and they rescue children in Thailand from human trafficking. They now have over 120 kids on their property who they have rescued and are raising up. They have been so close to my heart ever since I met Lana when I was 16 at my youth group. She posted on Facebook a picture of a property they would like to buy but didn't have the money for. I knew this property would mean more rescued children. I messaged her my idea for how we could raise the funds for the property and that I would help.

Since then, it has been a complete whirlwind! I started helping out in their home office in Simi Valley and when Lana came to the states in December, she made time to have lunch with me. That in itself was such a gift. She is one of those people who just radiates the love of God. Through that lunch, I shared my heart for the ministry and another idea I had for a fundraiser - a Masquerade Silent Auction Banquet. Lana and Stacey, the ministry's accountant, loved the idea. After tons of laughter and sharing, they invited me out to go to Thailand at the end of January for 2 weeks!

 After talking with my husband and lots of prayer, we both agreed that it was right for me to go and he could handle our kids while I was away. So, here I am leaving for Thailand tonight with Stacey and Ashley, Lana's cousin, to get a hands on experience of this ministry, help out, and come back with an even greater passion to tell people about what they are doing over there. I can barely believe it! It's so amazing where God will lead you when you let him and the peace he will give you to move forward.

I'll be blogging about my experience, hopefully while I'm over there too. You can subscribe by email in the right hand column if you'd like to know when I post something new.

I hope that this post inspired you even a little to see how you can live outside of your comfort zone or make time to help someone else.

Lots of love,
Amber