Today we drove to some mountain villages where we visited with families in need. We brought rice, eggs, chicken, pork, cooking oil, and other supplies.
The first couple we visited was Ami & Ari who are struggling with severe medical issues which leave them unable to work. They were gracious enough to allow us to look around their property, then we prayed over them as a team. (Pic 1)
The next person we visited was Abba. She is a widow and has nearly nothing, but prepared her home with drinks and snacks for us before our arrival. It was very humbling. (Pic 2) We had a translator with us because the people we visited speak Ahka, the dialect from their tribe, not Thai. In passing, Abba said God Bless You to us and it sounded so lovely that we asked her to repeat how to say that again. She said “Mia puhsa dey” and each one of us repeated that, just in practice. Abba began to cry at the sound of her home full of people saying God Bless You to her in her own language.
We truly wonder who is more blessed, us or them. A teammate shared that today was her most impactful day so far. The people we visited are stricken with an illness that typically causes others to stay away from them. It’s heartbreaking to imagine how lonely and isolating that is. They were so grateful to simply have people willing to enter their home and sit with them for a short while. Later in our team devotional another teammate shared that while we were trying to bring a human connection by our visit, that he also felt strongly that God was there with us.
We as a team are so thankful that S2S visits a whole list of people monthly and have developed these relationships. We could see our visit filling their cup.
For dinner this evening, we were joined by new friends who just arrived from England. They are long time supporters of Shoulder to Shoulder and flew in to be here for the homestay dedication tomorrow. This building has been years in the making and the answer to lots of prayers and funded by many generous donors. The S2S team has been busy preparing for this celebration moment. (Pic 3)
