Wrapping up???

Today the team heads to Ko Samet for debriefing. I must admit that at first I thought that two days of debriefing was excessive, but having been through two intense weeks, I am thinking that it will definitely help process the immensity of what we have seen here.

Yesterday we went to the Abundant Life Home and heard the stories of the home and the nannies and the children who live there. All of the children (except Apilak) are HIV positive and on a variety of medications to strengthen their immune system. One young boy Apilak is one of the miracle children who have come to the home. He was born HIV positive, but later tested negative. He was thrilled to have someone his own age to play with (all the other boys in the home are older). He and Claire spent the better part of the morning kissing, hugging and playing with bulldozers.

The children in both the boys home and the girls home make beautiful crafts to sell to help raise money for their home. The nannies help them with homework and crafts and have turned an orphanage into a completely loving home. Our team was impressed with their handiwork and purchased a lot of their work.

In the afternoon the team picked up garbage outside of TLC and did a couple of general cleaning kind of jobs. We "taught" an English lesson then wrapped up the evening with KFC- Pastor Craig says that the KFC is to help us prepare for re-entry to Canadian culture:).

I have been impressed at how God has brought this team of people together. Each has different gifts and everyone has been used according to their gifts. I know that some of us have discovered gifts we didn't know we had.

We have two nights in Ko Samet, a night in Bangkok, a night in Seattle and we are home. This trip has passed quickly, yet everyday has seemed like a week.

Rhea for the team