After the team left, Connie and I went up to Chiang Mai for two days, where we met with possible ministry partners for the long term missionaries AIM is sending to Thailand. It was incredible to meet with them and hear their story. This particular organization works with Burmese Refugees who are literally fleeing their country for their lives. It's heart breaking.
Connie and I were able to join the organization in a prayer meeting when a Burmese man, speaking of relationships with people from his homeland, said: "It's hard to love someone when they want to kill you".
Suddenly any problems I had seemed really small.
There's a lot of pain in Thailand. For that matter, there's a lot of pain in this world in general. Being in Chaing Mai and hearing firsthand of what is happening just a few hours from Bangkok added layers to the country's reality and again emphasized to me how so much is connected beyond the borders of land. For information on what is happening in Burma or how you can get involved, you can go here.
Before we left Chiang Mai, we had the opportunity to meet some members of the Long Neck Tribe (the Karen… pronounced Kah rehn). Having spent a lot of my life hearing and seeing pictures of them, it was so neat to be able to talk wtih them, to tell them that they are beautiful, and to learn about their lives. We were three languages removed (they spoke a language other than Thai) and we didn't have long with them, but even in those few moments we tried to share Christ with them.
The above right photo- a Western male with an Asian woman. Have to admit… it made us wonder.
Some of my favorites of Connie's photos:
One day, while out in Bangkok, we found ourselves in the middle of an anime convention. People everywhere were dressed up, like the girl above right.
Hopefully the past few posts have given you a good picture of some of the things God did in Thailand two weeks ago. Thank you so much for praying! Thank you for your encouragment! Thank you for your financial support!
The night before I left, I shared with you that enough financial support had come in to completely cover the Thailand flight. The Costa Rica and Puerto Rico trips had already been paid for, and the ground costs of the trip to India had been covered as well. Also, I've received more committments for monthly support! It will take another month before I know the exact amount I still need for my monthly needs to be covered, but God has been and is providing!
THANK YOU SO MUCH! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
Right now my biggest need is $1500 for the India flight August 5-18, 2012.
P.O. Box 534470
Atlanta, GA. 30353-4470
Please make all checks out to AIM and write "Kristen Torres-Toro" in the Memo line.
So, what's next?
Next week, I leave for Costa Rica. I will be there June 29-July 7, where I will support staff for a trip, led by Connie, to the same location we led to last year. I'm so excited to see that Church family again. We connected in a way I've never experienced before. I can't wait to see what God has done in the past year… and what he will do in this team of 19 who want to serve Him there!
That's all for now. Oh wait, one more thing:
THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!
