I've gone on a similar trip as well. That's 10 years ago & a mission trip to Chiangmai organised by my ex church... a really eye opening 1 for me.
A visit to the slum in Chiangmai city on the day of our arrival.
Tip given: to walk through the area in high alert mode as security within was very low. Also not to peep into the squats as strangers were usually not welcome.
Looking at the living condition, I really couldn't imagine if I were to stay there. We're so blessed.
Tip given: to walk through the area in high alert mode as security within was very low. Also not to peep into the squats as strangers were usually not welcome.
Looking at the living condition, I really couldn't imagine if I were to stay there. We're so blessed.
The 1st day's activities were pretty light as by the time we arrived & settled down, it's already in the afternoon.
On the 2nd day, we had a crash course on Thai culture - what were the to-dos & taboos.. & spent some time in learning some basic words to get us around. The most interesting part gotta be the practical "test". We're split in small groups & being brought to a wet market. Each group was given a fix amount of bahts & a list of items to buy that were needed to prepare for the evening's dinner. So we had to use the newly learnt language to get the required items & if it's more than the amount we're given, we had to bargain. It's fun & a great way to learn a language. It's also useful for my subsequent work trips to Bangkok when I shopped ;)
Besides paying visits to some pastors/mission schools/missionaries... to know more about the mission field in Chiangmai & to pray for them, we travelled to a few interesting places ....
At the Agape Home.
It's an orphanage but not a normal one. This was home for those children with HIV/AIDS. Their parents had either died of HIV/AIDS or were unable/too ill to take care of their children. And some were abandoned babies. Precautions we took - cover all open wounds with a plaster. We could carry the babies but had to be more careful of their movements & not to be scratched. We truly admired the founder & the baby sitters who had so much love for these babies.
We went to the Street Kids Home. These kids, age ranging from 4 to 16 years old, were abandoned by their parents. Some were even formerly sold to syndicates which used them to beg for money on the streets.
We're travelling up in songthaew (meaning 2 rows) to a church in a minority tribe.... if I don't remember wrongly, it's or related to the Miao tribe.
The road was like this all the way up. When we reached, one of the guys wiped his face with tissue & turned out to be brown. We then realised it's the same for all of us! Apparently our foundation that day was the soil.
I was teaching the kids some songs.
Game time.
Our last stop was Mae Hong Son.
Crossing rivers & bridges to the Shan Village, located in the mountain, just next to the border of Myanmar. The community there was made up of Burmese refugees.
A closed school
You won't believe that.... this was home for the lil boy & his mum.
Another one.
It's an orphanage but not a normal one. This was home for those children with HIV/AIDS. Their parents had either died of HIV/AIDS or were unable/too ill to take care of their children. And some were abandoned babies. Precautions we took - cover all open wounds with a plaster. We could carry the babies but had to be more careful of their movements & not to be scratched. We truly admired the founder & the baby sitters who had so much love for these babies.
We went to the Street Kids Home. These kids, age ranging from 4 to 16 years old, were abandoned by their parents. Some were even formerly sold to syndicates which used them to beg for money on the streets.
We're travelling up in songthaew (meaning 2 rows) to a church in a minority tribe.... if I don't remember wrongly, it's or related to the Miao tribe.
The road was like this all the way up. When we reached, one of the guys wiped his face with tissue & turned out to be brown. We then realised it's the same for all of us! Apparently our foundation that day was the soil.
I was teaching the kids some songs.
Game time.
Our last stop was Mae Hong Son.Crossing rivers & bridges to the Shan Village, located in the mountain, just next to the border of Myanmar. The community there was made up of Burmese refugees.
A closed school
You won't believe that.... this was home for the lil boy & his mum.
Another one.Seeing the condition of these homes, even the shabbiest one in Spore would be a haven to them.
Trekking down to visit more people
We organised a 'carnival' for the villagers. That night, we brought much happiness to them especially the children.
We organised a 'carnival' for the villagers. That night, we brought much happiness to them especially the children.When we're leaving, all of them formed a line to bid us farewell.
This place, comparatively in a much better condition than those we visited, was where we spent 2 nights. The whole place was made of straws including the flooring & elevated by lots of bamboos. The arrangement was all guys in 1 room & all girls in another. But straws didn't block out any sound at all, so much so that when one of the guys snored, all of us could hear it so well that as if the noise was right next to you! And when 1 walked past, the noise of the straws travelled the entire place. And it's sooo cold! But we're all thankful enough to have such an experience.
(* Both of us were busy playing with a very cute lil kitten)
A group pic before we left
(* Both of us were busy playing with a very cute lil kitten)
A group pic before we leftIn these 10 days, I've gained lots... & somehow that year's Christmas, which was 2 weeks after we returned, had an added meaning too.
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