News From Camp

 News From Camp

(Note to Reader: This is another in our series of “River Crossings” blogs, written while we were in Thailand (2009-2011). Enjoy!)

I’m writing today from camp. We’re up in the mountains about three hours from Bangkok with 60 enthusiastic Thai young adults and 15 very energetic Australians! The Aussies, from Brisbane’s Kenmore Baptist Church, come every year and do an English camp for the student centre kids and they just keep getting better.

Anyway, it’s been a crazy couple of days, what with wild games, boisterous singing, and even a Thai rendition of an Australian bush dance (Hey you Aussies, is there really such a dance as “The Waves of Bondi, or are they making this stuff up?”).

It’s also nice to be a bit cooler than usual, thanks to the camp’s location, up in the mountains. The place is beautiful, the food is... well, interesting, and the beds are reminiscent of an English torture rack, but hey, it’s camp! But I think the thing I’ll remember most are the testimonies we’re hearing. The Aussies have honed their stories down to simple English, free of all the cultural and religious trappings, and the kids are really being blessed by hearing them.

Even more important are the testimonies of some of the Thais themselves who have found Christ. Often thru studying English, they’ve come to understand the 

deeper meanings that go so much farther than the words they struggled with. We’ve seen firsthand this weekend that issues like forgiveness, mercy and love are just as much a part of the Thai people as they are in our own histories. What a miracle, that God can make the Bible’s words fresh and relevant to any language, anytime!

You might remember I wrote awhile back about the refugee boy who is a part of the student centre program. He’s still here. The USA did not grant them admission, even though he and his family of six brothers and sisters, plus Mum and Dad are officially recognized as refugees. The Mrs helped the Americans in years past, and their government is still trying to catch her and punish her again... But with the help of some great people from Kenmore, they applied to Australia, and have been accepted, but now the Thai government won’t let them go, because of some unspoken agreement with the other country. Please continue to pray for them. I can’t imagine living your whole life afraid of being found by assassins (The family has had to move twice this past year when it looked like they’d been spotted. Mum never leaves the single room they live in, and the kids only go out to go to a local school and attend church). Even though that is their lot, the son who’s here at camp continues to talk about God’s goodness and BOUNTY.

I don’t know about you, but when I go to bed tonight, 

I’m going to say a special prayer of thanks for God’s protection, and for the often taken-for-granted blessing of peace and security in a world where it’s so often hard to find.

Love ya, 

Marsha

PS, Here’s an update on the above blog. The mother and father were eventually found, kidnapped, and supposedly taken back to their country of birth. There has been no word from them, and it’s doubtful they will ever be seen again. Their children, however, were finally granted special status and whisked away to a country that will not be named. The last word we hear is that they are doing well, raised by their faithful big brother and learning a new language. Please continue to be in prayer for them.

I lift up my eyes to the hills— where does my help come from? My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth. (Psalms 121:1 – 2)


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