We just spent the last two nights in a Southern Thailand town called Sangklaburi that is located near the Burmese border. We stayed in the home of a Karen family that included a grandmother who was recently nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for her work with externally displaced persons from Burma (EDP’s). Some of her projects include: a children’s home caring for orphans and high risk children, caring for people with HIV, a home for the disabled and mentally unstable, vocational training projects, child education programs and more.

We left their home at 5:30 this morning and drove 6 ½ hours to Bangkok. We then headed off to Rahab ministries, an organization that works in one of the most notorious red light districts in the world—a place called Pat Pong.

It has been a long trip thus far, mostly for the very reason that there have been many situations that do not fit into our normal way of understanding this world. One of the T-shirts that an organization had on display says, “Normal is over.” Tonight we were debriefing as a team and we agreed that after this trip, normal is most certainly over. We have encountered much together– beautiful people with the generous hearts dedicated to acts of service in some of the most broken and oppressed places.
We have had a great opportunity to meet all kinds of leaders who are faithful to the same God we serve!
Each place we have visited has asked us to pray for them, to not forget them and to share their stories with those we meet. Help us remember to do this as we return home and continue to pray for us as we finish our time here together. We will be debriefing in Bangkok on Monday from 6-10pm PST.
Peace*
Mike & Kate