An Unexpected Visit. Guest Blogger: Suzanne Marshall
February 1, 2012 | 
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A 17-member short-term missionary team recently traveled to the city of Chiang Mai in the northern region of Thailand. ZOE Children’s Home is located outside the city. ZOE is committed to caring for orphans and rescuing children from human trafficking.
A highlight of our trip was offering classes to those at ZOE, young and old alike, drawing on the talents and skills of team members. Classes included art, crocheting, haircutting, storybook making, and English lessons. I taught three sessions of floristry: to the children, the youth and the adults. I helped teach English and I also had the opportunity to teach puppetry to the Ministry School Students, who are part of ZOE’s evangelization outreach team. We helped paint one of the rooms at the home and we prepared and served a large barbecue for the entire ZOE family.
What was most impactful to me about ZOE was the organization itself. They take time to explain their goals and their structure. It is easy to see that they have a firm foundation and a broad framework for the ministry with great potential for growth. Presently, they have 63 children at the children’s home and hope to have 100 by the end of this year. Although for safety reasons they could not talk about it much, they are actively rescuing children.
Part of ZOE’s mission is to share the good news of Jesus Christ to a people who have never heard of Him. Partnering with the local pastors, they go into schools with the ministry teams. Their preventative education includes teaching children about predators.
Our team went to a school in Chiang Mai and shared about Jesus through songs, a story, puppet show and crafts. The ZOE outreach team provided preventative education.
We also visited a hill tribe village high in the mountains of northern Thailand and colder than we were prepared for! Upon arriving, we brought gifts to the villagers as we went house to house. We shared the love of the Lord, prayed for any needs they had, and invited them to come to an outreach event that night at the community center.
That night the ZOE outreach team did most of the event. Our short-term team sang a couple of songs and tried to stay warm! Several responded to the message of God’s love that night.
We went to bed in a wooden home with no insulation and an outside squatty potty. The thermometer dipped into the 30’s that night and no one slept the night through. Instead of sleeping, we prayed, although some prayed “Lord, let this night be over!”
The next morning we went to the local church. The pastor came to know the Lord while at university and then came to this village as the only Christian and started a church. Today, there are several families in his congregation. Normally we would have gone to a school for an outreach but children were not in class that day so we altered our plans.
Since the church partners with Compassion International, we helped with the Compassion International program which has about 200 children.
Well the 200 showed up and then more kept coming and coming and pretty soon we had about 600 children and 200 adults. The village has 1000 people so almost the entire village showed up on a Monday morning! We told the story of Father God’s love towards us, illustrated with a puppet show. When it was over, I asked if any wanted to know Jesus and little hands shot up all over the audience. I asked them to stand so I could see them better. The whole group stood up and I directed them to the ZOE outreach team members who gathered them in circles to answer questions and pray with them. There were just under 130 people, mostly children, that fully responded.
We handed the pastor the response cards and he was overjoyed. Never has the whole village showed up at his church. As we drove away that day, I thought about how God had miraculously visited that faithful pastor in a most unexpected way, how our congregation on the other side of the world was a part of that miracle for him, and how he did not do anything different to receive the blessing of the Lord: it just happened suddenly!
To see more photos …click here
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Top Shelf Staff
Something that never ceases to amaze is the astonishing range of abilities of our ZOE staff. In a day and age when so many individuals in the West have become specialists in their jobs, our ZOE workers seem to be able to do anything and everything. From animal husbandry to auto repair, caulking to cooking, welding to woodworking, they do it all!
Being able to call on our staff to handle a vast variety of our needs at ZOE is not only convenient but cost effective. If something leaks, breaks, or stops working we don’t have to wait for the repairman to show up – if we can even get one to make the one-hour drive from the city. Nor do we have to spend precious funds on repairs.
It’s not only repairs that we depend on our wonderful ZOE staff for help with. Often, when they see a need, they take matters into their own hands (literally!). Fancy a fence? Cut down some bamboo and put it up. Short of shelving for the storeroom? Get some wood and bolts and build it. Gotta have a grill? Grab a 50-gallon drum and weld one.
Barbeques made from old bunk beds!
We are very thankful for our incredible ZOE staff. They are always ready, willing and able to do whatever needs to be done!
Merry Christmas from the ZOE Children’s Home
On December 25th, in many places around the world, Christmas will be celebrated, with a unique cultural flavor.
If we were back in Australia the Aussie’s feast might include roast lamb, roast veggies, seafood, ham, hot/cold chicken, duck, turkey, cold deli meats, pasta and salads galore! And desserts of all types including fruit salad, pavlova, ice cream and Christmas pudding and custard –YUM!
This year at ZOE we have been blessed with a special donation from Pearl Alliance. The ZOE family is very excited about some special items on the menu for Christmas day!
It is rumored to include: Pla Tuptim (BBQ fish) and Larb Isaan (minced pork), plenty of rice! and some fruit from the local market.
So wherever you are in the world, and no matter how you celebrate Christmas, we would like to thank you for all the assistance you have given to ZOE. Your support is enabling us to continue to care for orphaned children and rescue children from human trafficking.
Here is a short Christmas message from the ZOE Family.
The Most Awesome Toy Ever Made
As a parent, it gives me great pleasure when my children display compassion, serve others, or go the extra mile without me having to ask or prompt them.
I love it when I see their genuine care for others, shown in spontaneous ways and without seeking a reward for themselves.
I recently heard a true story about one of the missionary boys here at ZOE that really warmed my heart. As moms and dads, it is testimonies like these that inspire us in our job as parents, encouraging us to continue working hard, pray faithfully and guide our children to become responsible adults. Stories like this give me confidence and reassurance even when my children are going through a difficult stage in their journey.
Let me introduce you to Noah. Noah is a normal 6th grader who enjoys hanging out with his friends and playing with Lego.
Joe Chongsiriwatana with his son Noah
Last year, during his family’s visit to Thailand, Noah and his friend had the opportunity to show an orphan boy a Lego set. He was amazed that the orphan boy had never seen Lego before and so, of course, he did not know how to assemble all the pieces together.
As Noah headed back to his life in America, his thoughts were buzzing with ideas. He concluded that it would be so good if he could somehow give away a whole lot of Lego to orphans like the boy he had met. Why? Because in his opinion, Lego was the most awesome toy ever made! I love how kids think!
Putting his young mind and heart into action, he created a “Lego for Orphans” campaign at his church. Over time, many people donated the Lego that they no longer played with. He kept on collecting until he reached his goal.
Now, months later, Noah (who has since moved to Thailand with his sisters and parents who volunteer at the ZOE Children’s Home) has been able to donate the Lego just as he had imagined.
Noah and his family recently packed up a huge box of donated Lego and carried it in to ZOE where Noah gave it to the kids at ZOE. And not only did he give them thousands of Lego, but he personally played with the boys and girls showing them the amazing things that they could create with these simple colorful blocks of plastic!
Well, you could be forgiven for thinking that no one was home on the day that Noah brought in the Lego. Such a hush fell over the house as the pieces were distributed between the various straw mats. Little bodies everywhere crowded around to play with “the most awesome toy ever!”
This could be the best Christmas EVER!
Photo of Gai at the 2010 Christmas concert
(The child in this photo is not the child mentioned in the article below)
This year will be different for many of the children at ZOE. From the child who was recently rescued direct from slavery, to the newly rescued orphaned children who were alone -just trying to survive, this year will be VERY different as they will get to experience the love, care and FUN times as we celebrate Christmas together.
At ZOE the excitement is building and the children are looking forward to not just what they can get, but just as much what they can give. A huge outreach is planned for Christmas Eve where the ZOE families will pack goodie bags in the morning and then go delivering them to the houses in the local community later that day, giving away and sharing God’s love. And Christmas Day is going to be a huge celebration of what this day signifies within the Christian faith.
Stay tuned for more updates as we Celebrate Christmas together!
