A Joyfully Broken Heart

This month’s update is unfortunately one of the last blogs that I’ll have the pleasure of typing out for y’all. I’m writing this one from back in the good ol’ US of A and while it is so good to be back, there is a heavy-handed amount of bittersweet that colors this moment. Our final country was Thailand, and it became something of a dark horse for me. I knew little to nothing about it and expected to just be antsy to get home but instead, as we were heading to the bus station, I had this urge to just hop out and run back to our ministry.

We had the immense pleasure of working with an amazing organization called Remember Nhu. They have been working the last 20 years, expanding to cover 17 countries, in order to combat human trafficking via prevention. They move children at risk of being sold into trafficking into homes where their educational, material, and physical needs are met. Not only that but the homes all have loving ‘house parents’ who are devoted to loving the kids and discipling them in Christ! We were so completely blessed in our time there and I wanted to give y’all a little insight as to what we did by walking y’all through a normal Wednesday for us:

I normally start the day off right by being the last to get up, at 6:45. After some moaning & groaning as I get out of bed, a quick shower with the ants in the caulk on the bathroom wall, we’re in the bed of a rather lavishly converted truck bed on our way to the Remember Nhu site. There, we’re greeted by one of the kindest American missionaries I’ve met to date. He ushers us to this little 7/11 style building where we’re pouring concrete for a sidewalk around the building. We mix and pour about 6 batches and finish in time for lunch!

After a lil jaunt about town, wherein we find lunch at a local joint, we get back home for some much-needed R&R. Shower number two has been checked off – to get all the dried cement and sweat off. After a team bonding activity and a session of team feedback, it’s finally time to go back to visit the kids homes. Till the end of the evening, we just have fun with the kids. It’s a Wednesday night so we’re at one of the girls homes which typically means games of badminton, me adding way too much spice to my meal, and me also struggling to learn Thai as the girls try to teach me. Once we get back home, it’s just a nice easy evening of quiet time with the Lord and procrastinating sleep till we get up and do it again.

In our time with this ministry, the Lord answered a prayer that I had been praying the entire race: to break my heart for what broke His. We traveled from country to country with me always saying that I could potentially come back. Once or twice, I thought that I had really found something that had moved me maybe give my life into a particular area, then I met all the kids at Remember Nhu. It’s been an experience that has clearly exposed everything else to not be heart break. My heart breaking was having to leave the kids and me still being in the US with everything I would’ve told you that I wanted in an earlier country yet still wanting to go back and leave the rest behind.

With all that said, I just ask that you pray for those at risk of being trafficked and most especially for those who have been trafficked. Pray for those seeking to fight trafficking and for those with Remember Nhu who are giving what they have to serve and love the kids. I highly recommend that if you feel moved, sponsor a child or a home! You can do either on their website at the link below, or you can also sponsor a child in need of material support via Compassion International (see the other link below). Thank y’all for your prayers for me because they have gotten me through the race and now back home! More to come soon and I’ll see y’all on the flippity flip!