Relief and Recovery

At the Social Development and Services Unit of the Church of Christ in Thailand we rejoiced this week to be able to commence an extensive three year project with one Lahu group community who have faced ongoing flooding and climate change damage. We are working in collaboration with seven village communities, and two church districts and an external donor agency to bring about sustainable change. The focus is on relief, recovery and regeneration. Reaching this stage in the process has been a steep learning curve for SDSU, as well as for the communities who, understandably seek relief and yet are needing to try to see the bigger picture of long term changes through development strategies that will help prevent repeating crisis times. The official opening of the project took place in early June after nearly a year of planning and preparing communities and church leaders for this. We praise God that it is being made possible and trust many of the participating community members will be open and willing to learn new ways of supporting each other and protecting their precarious environment too. Pray that a local project manager and village community workers can be employed soon to carry the project forwards well.

This lady here is one of the initial 15 homes who will be supported in rebuilding and repairing their landslide damaged houses. The church community have rallied to help this lady who lives alone, and has mobility challenges, so that she could live with others until such time as repairs could happen. She, like others has had preliminary government funded support in response to the last big floods and landslides, and the support of community projects like this can help speed the completion process so she can live safely back at home. Many of the people affected by the landslide damage in this one village pooled together their government support money so that they could repair the main access road alongside their houses. This is a community ready and willing to work together and we trust this will continue. The lady shown here will, in time, join in the recovery and regeneration part of the programme too with being involved in small garden agriculture and also in supportive income generation work appropriate to her abilities, skills and interests too. We praise God for opportunities to work alongside people and practically show them God's love and care for them.

Meantime at Hope Home, we are enjoying having less chaotic times with our more physically challenged children on a daily basis now that the more active and lively ones are back at school. The resilience of each child is amazing, and I never cease to be surprised by their abilities to learn more, achieve small steps of progress -whether that be physical, emotional, educational or in communication. Above all I delight to see the children engaging in daily times each morning of worship and prayer, and in their own, very differing ways, showing that they are listening and taking it in. Our youngest boy just loves to sing worship songs, and is really quite tuneful too, and he loves even more to sign and speak out the memory verses. Praise God for the way the staff and children embrace learning more about Jesus and pray these times will bear lasting fruit in each life.

Finally imagine the frustration of being an active boy who loves the outdoors, and sadly develops skin allergies to his own self, triggered by heat and sweat. Thankfully he is undeterred by this, which is a good job seeing as we live in a hot country!. We have secured breathable clothing and when out in the sun he is happy to wear them. Morning walks in the village also involve an umbrella too, and much fun to be had with that. Pray he can stay resilient to this, we hope, temporary inconvenience to his growing body, and too that he will heal, and stay infection free too.

Pray for the community project in the Lahu community, that the churches will stay united in their desire to see their village members not only find relief in times of need, but the determination to seek sustainable solutions.

Pray for the SDSU staff as they support this project, and for swift employment of a project manager and community workers.

Pray for the staff and children of Hope Home to keep seeking Jesus and enjoy worshipping Him.

Thank you for your ongoing support and encouragement of BMS World Mission, and for partnering together with us. Your prayers and encouragement are invaluable. Together I pray we can seek to reach out to others in Christ's love and I praise God for His immense love for us, and desire to see us grow closer to Him each day.

May God's presence be close to you over these coming days.

Judy