Weekend in the village

This weekend we went to a village in the mountains of northern Thailand along with the New Life guys (New Life is the name of the program for the guys that come to Abba House). We had an incredible time and were so blessed by the people that we met there!

We left at around 9:30 on Friday morning and it was about a four or five hour drive to the village. It was our leader Jacque’s birthday so we surprised her with a birthday party along the way. We even had cake and candles! The last part of our drive up the mountain was a little bumpy and dusty. But we figured out a way to protect ourselves from the dust by wrapping our faces with scarves and putting on sunglasses!

It was so beautiful up in the mountains - the view was amazing! When we first arrived, we explored a bit and walked through some of the village. We were even invited into someone’s home and had the opportunity to pray for them!

The church where we stayed

During our time in the village, we participated in a few church services (Friday night, Saturday night, Sunday morning). We did skits, shared testimonies, sang songs, and Marissa shared the message on Saturday night. I really enjoyed the worship times in the church as everyone was jumping and dancing as they praised the Lord! It was so fun and the people were so full of joy!

The pastor of the church, Pastor Ed, and Dave - there was double translation because they speak a different language in this village

On Saturday, we played with kids all day! Around 100 kids gathered at the church and we split them up into four groups so that it was easier to handle. The New Life guys and us rotated the groups so they all got to have fun doing different activities. There was singing, lots of games (‘duck, duck, goose’, relay races, soccer, musical chairs, etc), and face painting! We gathered all the kids together at different times to all sing together and to tell them some Bible stories. I got to be the narrator as my team acted out Noah’s ark, the Christmas story, and the Good Shepherd!

Playing games with kids

While in the village, we stayed with the pastor and his family and they were so welcoming and hospitable to us. They prepared delicious food for us each meal and gave us a great place to stay. It was inspiring to see their hearts to serve those around them and to reach out in their community.

We also had an amazing time hanging out with the New Life guys! God has done such an incredible work in each of their lives. They also performed skits and songs and helped out with the kids – they were totally involved in the ministry right along with us. It was really a missions trip for them and it was cool to see how they came alive in that setting and their love for Jesus shone through in all that they did.

New Life guys doing a skit

Please pray for all the people that came to the church services and the kids that we spent the day with on Saturday. Pray that they will continually be reminded of what they heard and that they will truly know the love of Jesus. Pray also that the New Life guys will continue to grow in their relationships with Jesus. There are a lot of temptations from their former way of living so it’s not an easy thing for them to follow Jesus - pray that they will stand firm in their faith.

P.S. We had to get up early today and go to the immigration office to get a visa extension since we initially only got 60 day visas. We had no problems and got a 30 day extension so we are good to go! Thank you, Jesus!

Fun times with my wonderful team!