Christmas is one of our favorite times of the year because it celebrates the birth of the One who helps us to love, and who gives us the strength to serve, under all our circumstances…Jesus Christ! Lori-Ann and I wish you a blessed Christmas and pray that you are enjoying God’s presence during this season and into the New Year.
It’s hard to believe that 2019 is soon coming to an end. As Lori-Ann and I head into our third year in Thailand, we send out a huge Mahalo, and thank you with grateful hearts for your continued support of our work with ZOE International. Your prayers and financial gifts bless us more than you know, and encourages us as we serve on the field.
In December…
We recently had the honor of hosting a joint training with the Thai police and law enforcement officers from the U.S. As the days passed, watching this partnership and friendship develop within this group reminded me that a common purpose can unify people of different cultures. Together we want to stop traffickers and rescue children, and our combined efforts help us to better accomplish this. A key reason for the success of this training is ZOE’s commitment to nurture our relationship with the Thai police over many years.
Investigation and tactical training with members of law enforcement and ZOE staff. It was hard work but also continued to cement our relationship with the Thai police.
This month our Prevention Team started establishing new relationships with rural villages along the border of Thailand and Burma, expanding our network so that we might be able to bring our prevention program to new audiences. Our team put on anti-trafficking presentations as a lead-in for future programs in the area.
Here’s our Prevention Team working near the border between Thailand and Burma. ZOE protects the identity of trafficked children and will never show faces of children who have been trafficked.
Just a couple of weeks ago, Lori-Ann and I returned from a visit to Japan. We got some R&R, reunited with a dear, long-time friend, and got to hang out with ZOE Japan to assist with some of the administrative needs of this amazing team. Please pray for ZOE Japan as they work towards extending their reach in that country.
Getting to know the ZOE Japan gang over dinner!
Lori-Ann and I along with Molly continue to learn to live as grateful guests of this beautiful country. Our Thai language skills are improving, and even Molly has mastered (somewhat) a few Thai words. Daily at work we are constantly surprised at the depth of the love and care of ZOE’s Thai staff and of our fellow missionaries. Even though we’ve been in Thailand for almost 3 years, we’ve come to the realization that we may never entirely shake the difficulties that come from living in a place where the culture, language and lifestyle are so different than what we grew up with but God is using this experience to draw us closer to Him and to each other. We are excited to explore what the Lord will bring in the coming year, and look forward to serving ZOE and the people of Thailand in 2020.
One of the vocational skills we teach at ZOE is woodworking. One of our newly rescued children lovingly made this ZOE sign for the office, expressing how grateful she is for the ZOE family.
Just this Sunday we celebrated Christmas at the local church we attend. Our church’s youth were highlighted, brings back memories of our youth group ministry days back in Hawaii! ***ZOE protects the identity of trafficked children and will never show faces of children who have been trafficked.***
Here’s how you can be praying for us:
- In recent months, we have been seeing older teens rescued. A couple of rescued children have newly begun their restoration journey at our Child Rescue Center. Please pray for the healing and complete restoration of these children.
- We are in a great need of more staff. In 2019 we had to sadly turn away 30 children because we couldn’t in good conscience take them in and responsibly care for them. Please pray for the finances for new staff, and that we find the right people who have a passion for this work.
- Our work continues to expand in Australia, Japan, L.A. and Mexico. All these locations face the need for qualified and passionate individuals to join our team.
