Welcome to Chiang Mai, Thailand!!!

After 50 hours of travel, my squad and I journeyed from Amman, Jordan all the way to Thailand to settle in the city of Chiang Mai! When we arrived, we first rested, then prepared for some of our parents to visit us out on the field for five days, and then followed up that time debriefing the prior month of our Race in Jordan.

... traveling for hours upon hours !!

I anticipate that I will write a blog about Parent Vision Trip soon! It was filled with such special memories and so many God moments with my mom and other racers! I am forever grateful for such a unique opportunity to do life, hand in hand, with my mom across the world. When in her 20

Time with my Mom during Parent Vision Trip (PVT) !

’s, my mom was an undercover missionary in Eastern Europe, bringing Bibles into countries and doing such amazing work for the Kingdom of God. So, to be able to do life with my mom out here in Thailand was unforgettable.

What is our ministry in Thailand?

Team Goodwill and I are helping out with an organization here in Thailand called Remember Nhu. This is an organization that seeks to ends child sex slavery through prevention. 

Remember Nhu was officially established in the year of 2005. A man by the name of Carol Ralston had attended a Christian conference and was made aware of children who had been sex trafficked, one who had died due to AIDS and the other child was Nhu, a child whose story became the foundation for the ministry of Remember Nhu.

Nhu grew up in Cambodia being raised by her grandmother whom she loved. She lived like many other families did with poor living conditions and financial instability. A couple years after committing her life to Jesus and after facing financial struggles in her family, Nhu was sold into sex trafficking as a 12 year old girl. In these moments, she cried out to God and prayed that it would never happen to another child again.

For more of Nhu's full story, you can visit the following website: (https://remembernhu.org/meet-nhu/). There are videos and written stories that have been extremely eye opening to my heart as I get to know the ministry more.

Day to Day Ministry

The day to day ministry for our team looks like doing manual labor around the campus of the children's homes (using machetes to trim trees, sanding metal, repainting, organizing and cleaning the workshop, making concrete, etc.) while the evenings are occupied by visiting with the children in the homes. There are 2 boy homes and 2 girl homes that we visit, each that house about 25-30 kids. We rotate homes that we visit with and we end up eating dinner with the kids, playing with them, and loving on them.

Remember Nhu Around the World

Numerous factors put a child at risk of the sex trade. Some being:

• extreme poverty
• being from a discriminated people group
• being orphaned
• neglected due to drugs, gambling
• being unwanted by a new spouse or boyfriend
• parent/guardian owing a debt

“Remember Nhu has 120 homes for children in 16 countries, which currently prevent over 1,500 children from entering the sex trade. To date, and including past graduates, we have prevented over 2,340 children from sex slavery through Remember Nhu prevention homes. Remember Nhu protects vulnerable children from dangerous conditions by placing them into a 24-7 home where they are physically, educationally, emotionally and spiritually nurtured by loving parents.” (Website)

Journal Thoughts

As I sat and wrote to the Lord today, my prayer became real and honest before the Lord. Here is a little bit of what I wrote.

“Give justice to the weak and the fatherless; maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute. Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.”

Psalm 82: 3,4

"Sometimes, I just want to cry when I think about all of the people who are being abused by the sex trafficking industry, even as I write this. It is hard to think about the injustice of child sex trafficking and the depth of despair of so many people because of corruption and sin. I have to remember that the heart of the Father is for rescue, salvation, hope, deliverance, prevention, and change. Even if I cannot see the progress or I am daunted by the numbers of children who are being abused, I know my God is bigger. I know that He can save. Lord, please heal the broken hearts and save the crushed in spirit. Rescue the girls and boys who are currently in situations that are terrible and crushing, even those behind closed doors. I want the darkness to be exposed. I know that you say vengeance is Yours. Help me not to be lulled to sleep due to the the depth of corruption but, rather, be motivated to action; to see it fit to commit to prayer and not to discouragement. You say that 'we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies.' (2 Corinthians 3:7-10)"

Gratitude & Prayers

Preventing children from entering into the sex trade can be a daunting and challenging task. It looks quite different than even rescuing children who have already been exposed to this corruption. And so, today, I am grateful for raised awareness of the need for child prevention and the great affect that ministries like Remember Nhu have had on countless children and will have on future generations.

Today, I am grateful for:

• A God who hears our desperate pleas for justice, mercy, and rescue.
• Teams of people all over the world who have said "yes" to preventing and rescuing children who could be sold into this the sex trade.
• The message of Jesus Christ & how He gives me hope for all.
• The power of prayer that allows ALL of us to be partakers of the prevention and rescue of these children!

Prayers:

• Continued grace & protection as some of our teams are doing a lot of ministry in the Red Light District (known for sex trafficking) and the need for the Holy Spirit to lead them in every situation and encounter.
• Continued blessing and protection over Remember Nhu and all of the children who live in these homes.
• That our hearts would break for what breaks the Father's heart
• Time in Thailand would be so instrumental in my squad's walk with God!

If you have made it this far, thank you for reading !! You are in my prayers!!

Love,

Katherine