In one word- BEAUTIFUL!
The people, the land, the sticky rice with mango... I loved it! We spent a lot of time with the kids who live & beg on the street. We played games, gave them food & water, gave medical attention, awkwardly tried speaking Thai or Burmese with them (which was fun!) & just spent time with them. Sweet, sweet kids with not much of a chance in life. But our friends from Compasio are there everyday, bringing HOPE! (Please learn more at www.compasio.org) The goal is to someday soon have a drop-in center where the kids can come anytime.
The rest of our time was spent with the kids in the safehouse (kids formerly begging on the street or living in an abusive situation or both). It was so cool to see them in this safe, loving environment after hearing Jim’s experiences with some of these same kids while they were living & sleeping on the streets.
A quick story... we went to Burmese church with the kids & while we were singing, I looked over at one of the girls (14, beautiful, rescued from an abusive situation) and she had her hands raised to God in worship & was singing her heart out! Overwhelmed with gratitude & love, I started to cry at the beauty of it, when one of the other girls (9, cute & funny, rescued from a desperate situation) grabbed my face & started wiping away my tears, saying “No cry P’ Kelly!” Then the other girls joined in wiping my face & hugging me. I was a complete wreck at that point, but I was honored to be there with them, showered by their sweet, simple love.
I LOVED being at the safehouse, it is truly a family & not just a “program”. I was (and still am) inspired by the men & women loving & serving God there. I look forward to going back & seeing all of their beautiful faces again!!!
-Kelly Sustar
