Don't Forget!

The excitement of the past month in Burma may seem to be dying down - but now is not the time to forget Burma! The people living there are fighting for their lives - literally. The protests did not end - they were silenced with guns. The monks have not gone back to meditating in monasteries - they are in prison. The eyes of the world have been on Burma these last few weeks - something that probably should have happened decades ago. There were protests around the world this weekend, Stallone has a new Rambo movie out - focused on Burma, and the UN met in an emergency session focused solely on Burma.

God has indeed not forgotten the people of this land. He does want to heal their land, but He also wants them to turn away from their idols and towards Him. Would you join us in serving the people of this country? Would you pray that they would turn from their worthless idols to the living God who can heal their land (2 Chron. 7:14)? Would you pray for God to remove the ruling military junta and put in the true elected leader of that country, Aung San Suu Kyi? And would you follow the news and latest developments there? It is so easy to forget about something that is so far away, but please don't let that happen. And finally, would you write a letter to your Congressman, Senator, and/or editor of your local paper asking them to keep Burma on our foreign policy agenda and in the public eye? To stay informed go to GRI's website: www.globalrefuge.org; and the BBC's website: www.bbc.com.

Thank you for taking this journey with us these last four weeks - we have a ways to go yet...

Kerri

Abandon the middle, not hope

So the girls to the right are proof that we should abandon the middle in our walks with the Lord, but we should never abandon hope that He IS moving among the lost and hurting. This picture shows two girls rescued from the bars of Chiang Mai who now work as jewelry makers. They are paid a salary, and they are learning what it means to be a forgiven child of God. The girls in these bars need desperately to know that there is hope for their futures - that there is a God in heaven who loves them and wants what's best for them. And that is where we come in. God has revealed the hope we have in Him to us, and we cannot keep that amazing Truth to ourselves.

This is what we mean by abandoning the middle. Not walking in that safe, middle ground we want to pretend is faith. Faith is stepping away from the worldly logic of safety and stepping into God's will for our lives. Do we really trust Him with our lives, our finances, our children? I know so often I don't (okay, so not so much with the children part), but I want to and need to. I know that God brings hope to the hurting through His Church - and often times that means we have to go overseas and deliver that hope in person. Selfishly, I really want to be that person who gets to bring the hope! These girls in the picture were blessed because someone gave up her career to go and share the hope of Jesus Christ with them.

With all that is going on in Burma right now, I have to ask myself - is there hope for those suffering in that awful place? But that is a topic for my next entry. Thanks for reading and praying for the people of Burma and northern Thailand with me.

Kerri

No. 8

That is all I know her by - the number 8 pinned to her bikini top. She is a pole dancer in a bar in Bangkok, and her face is indelibly burned in my mind. (fyi - this is not her in the picture to the right!) Two nights ago, my last night in Thailand, I went with an amazing ministry on one of their outreaches to prostitutes in Bangkok bars. The first bar my group went to had pole dancers in tiny little suits. Some were so young - they say they are 16, but I suspect a few are even younger. We talked to a few of them, and most told us they would like to have a different job. One 16 year-old and I compared our nose pins, and she told us how she made money for her sick father in a village. And then there is No. 8. She just stood there on the stage, barely even dancing, and holding her stomach as if in a lot of pain. We never got to talk to her, but I will be praying for her and her sad face. And though I don't know her name, God does. He knows the name of every girl in every bar in Thailand, and I know He sees their sad faces.

So now that I am home, what do I do with all that I saw and learned? I spent time today just debriefing all that happened, and I was convicted of two things: first, the needs in northern Thailand are great and the people need to a) know God, and b) find safe work; the second thing I learned is that if we keep asking questions and keep serving the Shan and people of Burma living in northern Thailand, God will make our paths straight. How do I know this? Well, He tells us He will in His Word, and I saw Him work out so many details for this trip, and I had so many Providential meetings, that I know He is in complete control (see the picture above - this is Yod, and she is a young Shan girl who works at our guesthouse - I learned a lot from her!). He IS directing our steps and our work in this region. Our role is to keep looking for those open doors and not be discouraged by the closed ones. And for me personally, I also can't forget the faces that cried out for a loving God to rescue them. I pray that we at GRI can be His hands and feet in this task.

But to end on a hopeful note - I also met many young women who have been saved out of an ugly lifestyle by God's people living in Thailand. I will write more on them in a day or so. Truly, nothing is impossible when we submit our plans to God!

Kerri

Burmese Days or Animal Farm?

I do not even know where to begin tonight. Just yesterday I was sitting in a house in Burma talking to three young prostitutes, ages 16, 17, and 24. Their parents told them to go find work in the city, and they are completely alone. This is completely unfathomable to my American mind - a 16-year-old girl leaving home to go find work in a big city, where she has no friends, no family, and no job skills or education. I won't give their names, or put their faces up, but do pray for these young girls.

There are four young Burmese girls who are living in this same city and are reaching out to the prostitutes in the bars. These young women of God are completely on fire and love Jesus so much. They have befriended the three girls I mentioned above, and they invited the girls over when we came. We prayed with them and sang Burmese and English worship songs with them. How exactly did a yuppie lawyer from Haymarket, Va. end up sitting in a room and singing and praying with three young prostitutes in one of the most awful countries in the world? Wow, I (we) serve an amazing God - what a privilege to spend time with His lost and hurting sheep. But I have to admit, I left Burma last night with a heavy, heavy heart. I just kept staring at those girls and thinking about what horrible things they have to endure day in and day out. I think of the children in my family who are doing what "normal" teenagers are doing - learning Algebra and Spanish, watching too much TV and playing league soccer. Our version of normal is completely foreign to them

Thank you so much for your prayers for the details of this trip. God certainly ordained several completely Providential meetings these last two weeks, and He has forever changed my heart for the people of this region. I want to tell you so much more about the four young workers, but I also should let Kelly B back on her computer sometime tonight! But please let me encourage you to pray for these girls - both the workers and those trapped in the sex trade in Burma. And please keep praying for Burma - not too surprisingly the killing has started there again - pray for God's protection...most, if not all, of the dead probably did not know the Lord.

kerri

Current Events!!!

I don't know what the news is showing, but there are massive protests going on in Burma this week and last. The bbc website is covering it really well, so go to bbc.com when you get a chance and read the articles. Our group will travel there this week, so pray for the border to stay open. There have not been any protests in the area we will visit, but this government does not always make sense with its actions.

Thanks for praying!
Kerri

The people you meet along the way...

I (Kerri) have met so many amazing people who love Jesus and love people so much this week. I arrived in Bangkok last Monday and while there I stayed at the volunteer house of a ministry which rescues girls from Bangkok bars. Once a girl comes to them, they are taught from the Bible, and they are also taught how to make jewelry. The ministry sells jewelry made by these women. They start their day off with an hour of prayer and worship, then they head to the office to work. I met many of these girls, and they have so much joy. Some are doing accounting, and, to me, it seems they have self-esteem...something I suspect they haven't had before. I also spoke with the woman who founded the ministry (along with her husband). She said that anyone serving in Thailand must have a great appreciation for the spiritual battle taking place for these girls. Would you join the battle and intercede for these women?

I also met a Harvard lawyer turned ministry founder up in Chiang Mai (where I am now). She left a career in private practice to found a ministry (with her preacher husband) to exploited women in northern Thailand. They also employ vocational training for the girls coming out of that life. And now they are moving to that country to the northwest - opening a home and vocational training center for women in Burma who are coming out of the sex trade.

And then there is the young man from that same country across the border whom I met yesterday - Dakhota. He lost his father, lived in a rebel military camp, became a Buddhist monk (for only a month praise God), went to live in a Christian orphanage, came to know the Lord, and now works with a ministry rescuing exploited children in Thailand. He has such a heart to serve the hopeless - to show them that there is hope! I will put Dakhota's testimony in a newsletter, but I can say this - God calls people from all situations in life - even from a war torn country where just surviving is gift from God. This young man wants to spend this new life God gave him preaching His word and loving people.

Yes, I can truly say I have met some amazing people along my journey here. People who understand that our time on this earth is short, and we must use all of it to love our God and our neighbor - even neighbors across an ocean. I will write more in a day or so...I want you to hear about what God is doing here - it's amazing!

kerri

Not Forgotten or Foresaken

This weekend I (Kerri) will head back to Thailand and its northern neighbor. I will spend two weeks visiting women and girls who have fallen victim to the sex trade. Although GRI has not had anyone on the ground on the Thai-Burma border for several months, the people there are constantly on our hearts – and even more so – they are on God’s heart. I will be traveling with a friend who works with trafficked women to provide them vocational training, and ideally, an income on which they can live. This is the kind of work we want to be a part of – solutions and not just band-aids. And we want the people along the border to know that they are most certainly not forgotten nor forsaken by their God, although they do not acknowledge Him and give their worship to idols. The joy of telling even one hurting woman that she is loved by the Creator of the universe is almost too good to be true. But I am praying that I get to do that many times during these next two weeks in Thailand and Burma.

Above is a picture of some girls who God placed in an incredible God-loving and God-fearing orphanage near the border. Praise God that they did not end up as so many do being trafficked to brothels in Chiang Mai and Bangkok.

I will post to the blog as often as possible, so please check back for updates and for ways you can be praying for the people of this area.

What did we learn?

Well, we're back, and we learned quite a bit actually. But I'm not sure it's what we expected to learn. I think all four of us learned something different. I (Kerri) came back profoundly aware that I/we need to humble ourselves before the Lord and pray, and He will hear us. I feel as if our time praying in northern Thailand was a humbling act. We don't have stories of healings, medical clinics, mass conversions, and food distribution. But we do have stories of God's glory and Satan's presence. In the pictures I have added, you will see huge, ugly and most definitely evil idols. People in northern Thailand - many of whom are desperate refugees from Burma - are giving their worship to these idols, and placing their hope in these idols. It is truly heartbreaking.

And now we are back and we too are desperate. We are desperate for the Lord to reveal to us how we can serve the suffering Shan refugees. We desperately want to be His hands and feet in this dark and weary land. Would you join us in seeking God's face? Would you join us in asking Him to allow us to take His light into this land? And would you pray with us that He would cast out the idols which rob him of the glory He is due? Although we are desperate for His guidance, we are not discouraged. He who has called us to serve the suffering Shan people is faithful, and if we humble ourselves and pray to Him and seek His face, He will hear us...and we wait in great expectation for our marching orders!

Thank you for praying with and for us on behalf of the Shan people,
Kerri

Commiting our Cause to God

The gals and I can't believe we have only one day left here in Thailand. The majority of our past week has been travel, but as always, we continue to worship Jesus in this place, as a precursor to the glory he will receive here from the people who turn to him. We went to a town further south of the Shan people, to where the Karen are. This minority group from Burma has a remnant of believers and are not as unreached as the Shan, but they have suffered from increased attacks by the government just these past few weeks. We believe God brought us here to pray for the Shan, and open doors to work with them. Still, as we meet with long-term missionaries here, their words of wisdom keep resounding, that as Christian we are called pray for salvation for the lost, but to uplift other Christians in their need as well . Having heard of the tremendous suffering of the Karen, we seek to obey God in praying for the saints in this region too. "As for me, I would seek God, and to God would commit my cause, who does great things and unsearchable, marvelous things without number...he sets on high those who are lowly, and those who mourn are lifted to safety." Job 5:8-9, 11.

The team will take today to rest and prepare for our long journey home, but we plan to do one more prayer walk before we leave. Please be praying for the thousands of women and girls here in Chiang Mai that are either sex slaves, or the choose to prostitute themselves out. It seems every street corner we walk on is full of woman just waiting for someone who is interested. In case you didn't know, this kind of thing is legal in Thailand, and accounts for the majority of tourism. Pray that we would have compassion on these women, but not compassion in prayer. Grace is undeserved for all of us, whether we are suburbia gals from Denver, or a prostitute from Thailand. Much love and we will see you soon!

Nicole (for the rest of the team)

We hit a brick wall...

literally...However, the Lord continues to bless our trip (left you hanging didn't we). After leaving Tha Ton where Faith Village is, we continued our journey into Thoet Thai. We were able to bring a wonderful translator from Faith Village, Ja Fon. She has been such a blessing to us as we were able to minister and meet several Shan people. Without her, we would not have been able to be as effective. We have prayed among the Shan during the morning market each day we have been here. This is where they sell their goods and make most of their money. We were also invited to a Shan Buddhist funeral by the owner of the guest house we are staying at. This was an incredible opportunity for us to learn more about the Shan. We were also very blessed to have connected with Pastor Seng. He lives in the Shan village and his labor of love is very apparent. He has a church in the midst of the village and also teaches Chinese to the children, free of charge. As he is teaching them, he is also ministering the Truth of Jesus Christ. We plan to worship with him on Sunday (tomorrow) and then head back to Chiang Mai. One of the highlights today is that we were able to cross over into Myanmar (Burma). We went to Shwe Dagon (type of Buddhist shrine) where many people worship different idols depending on the day of the week in which they were born. It was very sad to see parents teaching their children this and how many people put their faith into this lie. So we did what we know to do - we prayed. Oh yeah, about that brick wall. There was a little accident but all is ok. Sorry Brian.

Love & miss you,
Jodi

We thought we were in Thailand...

...but it seems we're in Babel. As we hiked up a mountain (yes - it was a mountain!) we couldn't help but think of the Tower of Babel. There is a 3 km walk above the town we're staying in that is a road lined with idols. Just as the people in ancient times tried to reach God with their tower, it seems the people here are trying to place their idols as high as God. There is huge idol every hundred feet or so, and they get larger and "grander" as you go higher. There are many monks living along the walk, and many tourists come to visit and worship these idols. When we finally made it to the top (huffing and puffing I might add) we saw many people there worshiping. It broke our hearts, and it was made all the sadder as we were a stone's throw from Burma there, a country desperately in need of our prayers and God's intervention. Two of the girls sang worship and two of us walked around in astonishment. We prayed through Scripture all around those idols, and we are trusting and have faith that God is going to do wonders in this needy place. We have pictures of the idols in all their ugliness, but we haven't figured out how to get them onto the blog in an Internet cafe yet.

But on a happier note, we have spent a lot of time at an amazing Christian-run orphanage called Faith Village the last couple days. Last night Rebekah and Jodi thrilled the children with stories and crafts, and this morning we all spent time with the older girls and women of Faith Village. We are in awe of the work being done there and God's providence in placing these orphans in a God-fearing and God-worshiping home. We truly see God in this place. Thank you for your continued prayers. We are hot, but happy. We miss you, but we are so joyful to be here. Keep praying, and we will too (hopefully on some flatter ground!).

Much love,
Rebekah and Kerri (for the whole team)

Sawasdee

"God, be merciful to us and bless us, and cause His face to shine upon us, that Your Way may be known on earth, Your Salvation among all nations. Let the peoples praise You, O God, Let all the peoples praise You. Oh let the nations be glad and sing for joy. For You shall judge the people righteously, and govern the nations on earth."
We are here!!! After our long journey, we arrived in Chiang Mai yesterday, and by the grace of God they are letting us use a car for a week. Pray for a safe journey--as it has been a few months since I drove on the opposite side of the road while carrying 3 precious pieces of cargo! Jodi, Rebekah, Kerri, and I will, in a matter of minutes, be leaving the city to head north toward Fang/Tha Ton, and stay a few days near an orphanage, Faith Village, which has suffered this past year, losing their pastor and overseer from a severe infection. We desire discernment and wisdom from God, knowing and expecting God to do incredible things. Oh yeah--and send up a quick pray for Jodi. She had a delightful encounter with a 3 inch roach hanging out near her toothbrush this morning!
Peace,
Nicole

We're going to Thailand!!

Here is GRI's first team to Thailand in 2007. The team will go and prayer-walk and build relationships among the Shan people living along the northern Thai border with Burma. From the left, we are Jodi, Rebekah, Kerri and Nicole (our wonderful team leader). We leave on Friday, April 20, to pray over this very difficult area. GRI has met with closed door after closed door as we try and begin a full-time work among the Shan refugees in this region. So, we have decided to go back to the beginning, and prayer must be the starting point of any ministry. The Shan have been oppressed by their works-based religion for centuries, and we believe we can best serve them on our knees now. However, we have great expectations for our role in Thailand, which we call the Burma Outpost Project, and it is our desire to have a full-time team living there and serving these incredibly oppressed people in several tangible ways.

We will add to this blog from Thailand, so please continue to check it out. And, Lord willing, our full-time Burma Outpost Project team will start adding to this soon!

Thank you for your prayers and support!
Kerri, for the whole team