Day 2 of the overnight camp and the darker side of Thailand

Please read Katie's blog post before reading this post. This covers day 2 of the camp while Katie's post covers the first day.



We did not have WiFi while we were at camp so this blog post will cover day 2 of the overnight camp (2 days ago Thailand time). Day 2 of camp was the Olympic finals for our teams!

Billy gave a short teaching after breakfast and then we all headed out to the playing fields. It was hot!  Many games were played, they were all very intense. The last final was the soccer final and it was decided in penalty kicks!

After all of the finals had been played, we went into the common area for the award cermony.  Medals were presented to the winners of each event. The kids loved it!

Overall the camp was a major success.  Billy and Anne put together an incredible schedule that presented the gospel in a unique way to a group of kids who were predominantly buddhist. We have many incredible stories to share in the ways in which God moved at this camp.  A few stories in particular will be shared in other blog posts (I do not want to spoil their posts).  Billy was greatly encouraged by the camp and we hope that this is the first of many, many more overnight camps in Thailand within Billy's ministry.

After the camp ended we headed back to base for a quick shower and then headed over to Colby and Kayty Helgerson's house for dinner.  Colby and Kayty are missionaries in Chiang Mai who graduated from Messiah two years ago. They are fighting against sex trafficking in Thailand, specifically Chiang Mai.  Colby and Kayty have spent a lot of time with us in our time visiting Thailand thus far.  They do not experience familiar faces often!

Warning: What I write about next may be disturbing but it is a reality of the world we live in. It has to do with sex trafficking in Thailand and if you do not want to read further, I understand.

Earlier in the week, Colby and Kayty had mentioned that if we wanted to do prayer walk in Chiang Mai in the Red Light district we could.  We left the decision up to each individual whether they wanted to go.  Everybody felt that it was something we should do while we we are here.  As disgusting as it was, seeing it has made it real.

Thailand is known to be one of the worst countries for sex trafficking in the world. Chiang Mai is not the worst city in Thailand, but it is known for gay and transgender prostitution.  Sadly, many young boys and girls, typically from ages 8 to 13 are being sold discreetly on the streets every single night.  While we were doing our prayer walk we saw many perverse encounters between older white men and prostitutes.  However, one specific encounter will stick with me for a long time.  A little girl, around age 8, walked up to us (at 10:30 at night) and had flowers she was selling. It seemed odd. Kayty told us after she had passed that this is one of the discreet ways that children are being trafficked. A buyer will see the girl and then go talk to the handler to purchase the girl for an hour.  As Kayty told me this, my heart broke.

Previous to this trip I had heard of sex trafficking and knew that it existed but last night it became real.  It is incredibly difficult to write these things but I believe this is an issue that needs to be talked about.  If we are unwilling to face the reality of this issue, nothing will change.  What we witnessed last night will be engraved in my mind forever. I ask you to pray for Chiang Mai, pray for Thailand, and pray for our world. Pray that God would bring justice to sex traffickers and save these children, women, and men that are forced to sell themselves every day. Pray that he would restore their identity from being an object to sons and daughters of God.

I am sorry to end this blog post on a somber note, but there is hope.

God is still on the throne, he is still in control, and he can save this city from the corruption that exists. As we continue our journey this week, pray that we can be light in the darkness.  Thank you for following our trip thus far and supporting us.  Your prayers and support have already saved lives.  We love you and miss you all back home.

Josh Good

Camp

Pure Joy in the Land of Smiles

While in Chiang Mai, we had the opportunity to help with an overnight sports camp run by Billy Crompton's mission, Ambassadors in Football (a local installment of an international organization), which we will partner with for the rest of our time here. This camp was the first of its kind that Billy has run here, and we had about 30 kids show up for the weekend camp (Friday through Sunday)--a great turnout, according to Billy, in a culture unfamiliar with the idea.

We stayed in a campground called "Eden," full of ground cover roamed throughout the weekend by frogs, dogs, snakes and the occasional Americans (us). The camp also marked our first experience as a team with the infamous Thai "squatty potties." More importantly, our main job during the camp was to serve as the "energy source" for the kids and other volunteers. 

Billy emphasized his excitement about the camp repeatedly, explaining that for some members of the church, it was their first opportunity to volunteer in a capacity at the church. A few women from the church served as camp cooks, providing us with an abundance of rice, green curry, rice, coagulated blood and noodles, rice, vegetables with squid and hot dogs, and more rice (in case you didn't pick up on that) for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. We've learned that all meals are equally appropriate for spice and rice in Thai eyes. 

The camp included children approximately ages six to fourteen, who had heard of it from one of two sources: 1) regular weekly Ambassadors soccer practices and games or 2) English classes hosted at Billy's church. Some of those children, mainly those children who attend the church and/or the soccer camp, were Christians. Many of the children were not Christians but Buddhists; some of the children had never interacted with the Ambassadors sports missions before the camp. 

The weekend was packed with sports and the Gospel. The camp followed an "Olympic Games" set-up, composed of four countries: Thailand, USA, Japan, and Brazil--the home countries of all of the Ambassadors volunteers. Three of us served as the coaches of each team, along with a Thai translator.

On Saturday, after our opening ceremonies, the "cha-cha slide" led by our team, from 9 in the morning until 7 at night on Saturday, with a brief break for lunch and a mini-sermon from Billy, we played and coached sports. Baseball, badminton, handball, track and field...and, of course, international football. 

Sports break down language barriers in incredible ways. Dribbling, passing, sprinting, throwing, shooting, and scoring are universal, international actions. The thrill of a perfectly placed badminton birdie is the same on the face of a Thai child as on the face of an American. The satisfying crack of a baseball bat on a plastic wiffle ball is no different halfway around the world. 

And the language comes quickly. Thai children learn to yell "foul" when the ball crosses the line after a hit; we learn to say "Mai pen rai" after a soccer mistake. Thai or American, we stretch the word "OK" to its full potential. 

There are many differences between us. I am not living in a Buddhist culture, a culture that tells me to control my emotions. These children are not living in an American culture that tells them they should follow their heart beyond reason. I am not living in hunger. They are not living in waste. I do not attend a school that I must clean before classes start. They do not participate in an entitled society. 

But we share much with the Thai children we have met. They have rice fields; we have corn fields. They smile; we smile. They play sports; we play sports. 

But above all, we are all broken and in need of our Savior. We need the love of Jesus Christ in order to be reconciled with God and experience eternal life. 

On Saturday night, after Billy finished his final bookend of his presentation of the Gospel, we broke into small groups, our teams, to share our personal testimonies. Billy suggested that we reiterate the Gospel in those groups and ask if any children wanted to accept Christ, because large group altar calls often guilt children into following the rest of the pack and making a commitment they do not intend. 

I shared my testimony, my story of finding an identity and joy in Christ, and not my sport. Our translator explained my story to our five-child "Team USA," wide-eyed and characteristically stoic. 

Near the end of my story, as I asked the children if they were interested in accepting Christ's gift of salvation, I noticed that across the circle from me, one little girl had a single tear welling up in her eye. 

I could feel my eyes narrowing in on the tear drop, even though I tried not to stare. The little girl had been painfully shy all weekend. She barely spoke a word for our first few games and stood near me. During our last two games of the day, she began shouting "Su su USA!" (Go USA!) for our older players, but I still did not understand her personality or interests at all.

One thing I did understand for sure: this little girl was beginning to cry, and Thai children do not cry. 

I began to pray that the Holy Spirit would work in her heart, as I looked around the circle and realized that no child had expressed interest in accepting Christ. 

I felt helpless, and for good reason. I am nothing without Christ, and the point of this trip is not our number of saves or mountaintop moments. It's about our extravagantly loving God, who transforms hearts and lives.  So I sat back with my teammates and listened to the translators, reiterating my story and driving home the Gospel in Thai in a way that I could not. And I prayed. 

In the midst of awkward silence, my fellow Team USA "coach," Nolan, asked if anyone had any questions.  The little girl burst into tears and said something in Thai. The translator explained: "She wants to know if she is allowed to believe in Jesus." 

Allowed to believe in Jesus? I had never considered that question. I take and take and take and assume that I am allowed to do so. Somehow I knew that my conception is very American, and life is not so simple for Thai children. 

But how wonderful it felt to nod and say yes and then hear my yes again in emphatic Thai syllables I cannot pronounce. How wonderful it was to see that little girl, quiet and utterly broken, just as I am, before God, praying for a Savior. In that moment, she walked into eternal life and recognized her identity as a beloved child of God. I asked one translator to tell the little girl that in Heaven, the angels were celebrating. The translator explained that the other translator was already doing that. 

Christ's love transcends all boundaries.  

Later that night as we debriefed, Billy described the little girl's acceptance as miraculous. "For centuries upon centuries, books about global missions have a few pages on Thailand, the same sort of short paragraphs," he explained. "They all end, 'And the people of Thailand did not believe.'" 

As it turns out, the little girl comes from a devoutly Buddhist home, and her acceptance of Christ will likely rock her household to its foundations. The pastor of the church will have to explain her conversion to her parents  and ask if she may attend Christian church. 

I have been rocked to my foundations too. We all have been. Prayers are being answered. Hearts are being saved in this country known as the "Land of Smiles"--a façade that hides much brokenness and need for God that we all have. 

I am hopeful today. I am hopeful for the day when all is restored as it should be and when I will see many again. The little girl from camp. Our Thai brothers and sisters. Our American brothers and sisters. Someday we will all be together in a land of pure JOY that comes from Christ. 

We got brief glimpses of that joy this weekend, when we sang praise songs in English and Thai at the same time. We got brief glimpses of it as children stood on our medal podium during the camp closing ceremonies and their proud teammates chanted their names. It is beautiful. 

Thank you for your love and prayers for our team over these past few days. Physical exhaustion is real, given all of our physical activity, but spiritual exhaustion is an equally real threat that prayer can protect us from. 

Things to continue praying for in the days to come:

1) The hearts of the kids from camp. Some know Christ already, some just made a commitment to Christ, and some do not know Christ. Please pray that any planted seeds of faith will grow in those who do not believe in our Savior, and please pray that those who have committed to life with Christ will grow roots and bear fruit in faith.

2) The hearts of the kids at the schools we will visit in the week to come. 

3) Energy and joy for us--pray that, though we are broken vessels, we will exude Christ. 

4) Pray for our friends, Colby and Kayty, Messiah alums working in Chiang Mai. Just today, the day after we went walking in the red light district together, Colby was on his motorcycle and hit by a truck. We got to visit him at the hospital today. Pray for complete healing for Colby and for peace for Kayty. 

5) Pray for Billy Crompton and Ambassadors Football, as well as Billy's church, as they continue to do good work in Chiang Mai. 

Thank you so much. We love you. 

--Katie Wingert

Getting Immersed in Thai Culture

Hello everyone!

Today was our first full day in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Our activities were not too exhausting due to our 24 hours of travel. Our team had traditional Thai breakfast, lunch and dinner today. Our team started our day with a team orientation at Billy and Anne Crompton's house, our host missionaries. Billy is a Messiah Alum and played soccer for Messiah. We learned more about cultural norms, traditions, and practices.  We also went over the schedule for the upcoming week. We then had a huge breakfast which Thai-ed us over till our next activity.

We then walked around the main market of Chiang Mai. This experience is only full when you have it hands on. We had some students buy Thai clothes and exotic fruit (the durian) let's just say this fruit smells like rotten mangos. Our team ended our evening at a Thai Restaurant on the water of the moat that surrounds the old part of the city. All in all this was a fun day to get our team more acquainted with the culture, each other, and let us rest up for the rest of the journey. Tomorrow we are hitting the ground running!  We leave for  a two day sports camp at 8:30am with local elementary students.

We may not have WIFI access for a few days due to our sports camp, this is just a forewarning for our readers. Thank you for your prayers and support.

This is Philip Rodo signing out!

Hi everyone! We made it to Chiang Mai, and we are currently in line to officially enter the country.

Thank you for all of your prayers. Over the past 24+ hours of travel from Harrisburg to Atlanta to Seoul to Chiang Mai, everyone has remembered their passports, all of our flights have landed safely, and we are all healthy and whole. 

We have had plenty of time getting to know one another better. At the airport in Atlanta, a number of our team members had a chance to share their testimonies. It was incredible to find similarities in our stories in following Christ.

We are excited to see what God is up to in Thailand and in our own hearts over the next 10 days. Over the next day or so, we would appreciate your continued prayers for our renewed strength to get settled here and share Christ with all those we meet.

Love, 

Katie, for the team  

T-Minus 5 Days!

ONLY 5 MORE DAYS UNTIL WE LEAVE FOR THAILAND!

We hope to use this blog to keep you updated on what God is doing within our group and the people we interact with in Thailand. For more information on the sports ministry organization we are partnering with go to Ambassador Football's website.

Please keep us in your prayers as we prepare for this incredible trip!