Our team had the opportunity to go to a Karen village in the mountains of northern Thailand for a weekend along with the New Life/FCC guys (New Life and FCC are the programs for the men that come to Abba House). We had an incredible time and were so blessed by the people that we met there!
We left at around 9:30 on Friday morning and it was about a 4 or 5 hour drive to the village. It was Jacque’s birthday so we surprised her with a birthday party along the way. We even had cake and candles! The last part of our drive up the mountain was a little bumpy and dusty. But we figured out a way to protect ourselves from the dust by wrapping our faces with scarves and putting on sunglasses!
It was so beautiful up in the mountains - the view was amazing! When we first arrived, we explored a bit and walked through some of the village. We were even invited into someone’s home and had the opportunity to pray for them!
During our time in the village, we participated in a few church services (Friday night, Saturday night, Sunday morning). We did skits, shared testimonies, sang songs, and Marissa shared the message on Saturday night. We really enjoyed the worship times in the church as everyone was jumping and dancing as they praised the Lord! It was so fun and the people were so full of joy!
On Saturday, we played with kids all day! Around 100 kids gathered at the church and we split them up into four groups so that it was easier to handle. The New Life guys and us rotated the groups so they all got to have fun doing different activities. There was singing, lots of games (‘duck, duck, goose’, relay races, soccer, musical chairs, etc), and face painting! We gathered all the kids together at different times to all sing together and to tell them some Bible stories. We acted out Noah’s ark, the Christmas story, and the Good Shepherd!
While in the village, we stayed with the pastor and his family and they were so welcoming and hospitable to us. They prepared delicious food for us each meal and gave us a great place to stay. It was inspiring to see their hearts to serve those around them and to reach out in their community.
We also had an amazing time hanging out with the New Life/FCC guys! God has done such an incredible work in each of their lives. They also performed skits and songs and helped out with the kids – they were totally involved in the ministry right along with us. It was really a missions trip for them and it was cool to see how they came alive in that setting and their love for Jesus shone through in all that they did.
Please pray for all the people that came to the church services and the kids that we spent the day with on Saturday. Pray that they will continually be reminded of what they heard and that they will truly know and embrace the love of Jesus.
PS On our last night in the village, there were some unexpected visitors in one of the rooms where half of our team was staying… Termites all over the wall, a cockroach in Jacque’s bag, and a mouse that chewed on the calendar that we planned to give to the pastor and his family!
-Katie Born
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