travel bursary reports
After spending the past 5 months volunteering with a charity in Bangkok, Thailand, it is a privilege to be able to share with you what God has done during this time and to say thank you to Timios Trust for the kind and generous donation towards this overseas mission work that I have been able to experience and be a part of for a short time. Place of Grace is a school and a children's community centred in Bangkok, in the middle of 5 ‘Mahathai’ communities, the slum communities in the area. The community centre has been running for 12 years, when the founders, John and Gillian Robinson, were called by God to Thailand. The school has only been running for 2 years when they realised that there was a need for accessible education for the children. The kids group was where they could play, be given a meal, be prayed for, read bible stories, sing, and have a place of safety away from their living situations. The school uses an American christian curriculum, so the children have English workbooks to do in the mornings and then other subjects in the afternoon such as Art, PE, Life Skills, which me and 3 other girls organised and taught everyday. We had worship and a short devotion in the morning, bible study everyday, chapel every friday and opportunities to pray with them before topic tests so as well as educating them it was all about kindling a faith in God too.
I was in the school everyday Monday to Friday, and on Thursdays after school I went to the youth clubs in the evening in the Place of Grace. The children in the school ranged from 6 to 18, 22 of them overall, and more children attended the after school clubs. All the children live in the slum communities so additionally to the ministry through the school, there was a lot of prayer ministry into their personal lives too, which on a daily basis often outweighed learning and teaching. Many of the children experience emotional trauma, domestic abuse, deal with drug and alcohol problems within families and sexual abuse and exploitation from people in the communities, resulting i a lack of focus in school. Despite this, they are the most joyful children I've ever met. They are so full of love for the Lord, for each other and are so in love with the truth that God loves them no matter what. I had the privilege and opportunity to do one to one work with one of the younger students for the second half of my time there. She struggled with ADHD and short term memory problems so I was reteaching her phonics and basic English. This was challenging in many ways however God helped and equipped me to feel qualified for this role and it was incredibly rewarding to have this input into her life for a short time. Since the charity has been running, it has been on Gillians heart to open a safehouse for some of the older girls at the school to give them a place of safety away from their living situations as many of them experience sexual exploitation and abusive relatives. This has been the biggest answer to prayer that I saw during my time there. Throughout the 5 months we prayed regularly as a team, asking God for wisdom and financial provision as this is something that the charity could not afford, and it was amazing to see the progress of God hearing and answering our prayers. A house has finally been brought and it is hopeful that the girls can move in at the end of August. Over my time away God has grown me, challenged me, and taught me so much about trust, perseverance and relying on him in every situation. Being so far away from home in an unfamiliar environment forces you to lean on God and I have learnt that when you realise God is all you have you realise God is all you ever need. Again, I would like to say thank you so much for your generous donation towards this short term mission trip. Your kindness has helped me grow, learn and see the goodness of God and his amazing provisions and the work you do is a blessing to so many people across the world.
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