9,000 Refugees

(At a new refugee site)

At the end of our Mae Sot refugee youth program, we started hearing that refugees were coming across the border, fleeing from active fighting nearby. Adam had already left Mae Sot to do some other work and we had planned to meet back as a family in Chiang Mai. After working 12-15 hour days all week doing the program, I was exhausted, but I (Aimee) felt really strongly that I was supposed to stay and help with the refugee situation. Adam drove all the way back to meet us in Mae Sot after a couple of days, to support the mission and help with the kids so I could lead some children's ministry programs.

(The girls entertaining themselves while I shop for supplies for new refugees)

As refugee sites started popping up along the border, our team started connecting with local contacts to see how we could meet the need. We did some supply runs to buy tarps, tents, longees, food, medicine, etc. Then, the team split up to check out different locations to see what kind of access we'd have. For the most part, it seemed that foreigners (and even locals) weren't being given access to these areas. The girls and I (Aimee) went to our first location with a contact and we were surprised.... When we pulled up, the girls and I got out of the car and had a full hour to wander around and interact with people freely. The girls walked around passing out balloons and candy to all the kids, and I was able to connect with the medical workers and military leaders to see how we could help. I was able to coordinate two of our medical volunteers to do night duty at the camp (which made everyone happy) and then asked permission to come back the next day to do an Easter program for all of the children. I was amazing when they agreed to my plan! I was granted several hours for a children's program and some of the local volunteers got excited and decided to do an Easter egg hunt for the kids afterwards.

The following day, our team arrived to do our program and we had a great time. We presented the gospel using the wordless book and made colored bracelets as a reminder of God's promise to us. We sang songs, colored Easter coloring pages, played games, and shared snacks. One of the really cool things about the programs was having some refugee students from a community college across the border join to help us with facilitation. There were a few hundred people there, so we needed lots of help passing out supplies ! One student translated, another jumped on the guitar, others learned the songs and came up front to sing along.

(Some kids and students after our program)

It was really cool to see the transformation in the crowd from the day before. When the girls and I had initially visited, people were just sitting on tarps under a pop up tent. There was nothing to do, nowhere to go, and no idea when they'd be able to go home. I felt like it was a such a significant opportunity to be able to present the LOVE of God and give a little hope in the midst of trials.

(Kids asked to take a photo with Eden)

The miracle of access continued! The next opportunity we had was to visit one of the larger refugee sites we had heard about. I knew that God was giving us favor in all these situations. It was also cool to see how the Lord was using Eden and Quinn for His purposes too- it was in both situations where they were present that we were given the most surprising access to camps. Two little blond girls wanting to help- completely disarming :)

This new camp was larger and people were sleeping in long rows of cattle stalls. We were able to bring some of the students from our youth program the previous week, who acted as translators and presented the gospel through the wordless book tool that they had been taught the week before! It was so cool how God used that training to meet an immediate need and empower the youth to help their own people!

(Handing out snacks after program)

There were about 300-400 people at this program. We shared the gospel, danced, sang, and gave out snacks. We spoke to one Christian refugee man who thanked us for coming. We asked what needs the people had and he responded that many of the physical needs were being met already through other organizations, but no one had come to play with the children and no one had come to share the gospel with the primarily Buddhist refugees. We praised God that he had allowed us to meet this need. Later that night, we heard news that all these people had been sent back across the border.

The next group we met with were refugees from a village that had been burned in the fighting. When the refugees were sent back. many families had nowhere to go, so a village nearby had agreed to house and help them. We met at the village, set up a medical clinic, did a children's program, and brought supplies that they had requested (food, diapers, clothes).

One of our contacts also requested that we do a small children's program for an orphanage that she supported about 45 minutes south. Adam, Eden, Quinn, and I set off to meet the pastor who ran the home and to do a short program. We had a good meeting and did a 1.5 hour program for them with singing, gospel, and games.

(Small kids program at the church)

As the refugees started getting sent back across the border, Adam and I began to look into returning home. We had a team that would stay and finish the rest of the mission, but we needed rest and our key roles seemed to be coming to an end. Before we left though, I had ran into a group of students from my alumni high school (Valley Christian High School in San Jose). They were doing a missions trip and working with a group I used to work with in Mae Sot. It was really fun to meet with them, do an FBR documentary showing with some Q&A, and see them connecting with my girls (who joined their program a few times).

All in all, our 2 weeks in Mae Sot was really amazing. God showed up in some amazing ways and we loved being a part of it. At the same time we were exhausted, so we were glad to get home and have a day off finally! (me, but not Adam, poor guy). Adam headed out several days later for another relief mission and was gone for almost 3 weeks. He has just returned, so hopefully there will be an update soon about his trip, which was really amazing.

Next steps- off to Iraq on Sunday to help facilitate a training. We will be there for two weeks as a family, though Adam will move to another area for part of the time and the girls and I will stay with a small team in Erbil. Please keep us in your prayers!