So, What Happened On That First Day?

As noted in an earlier post, our mission to Thailand got off to a discouraging start when pronlems with flights and connections stranded us in the United States for another day. However some of our team members (Pastor Jerry Hilton, and Katie and Franklin Williamson) were following their own itineraries, from their own communities, and DID make the connections. They arrived on schedule, and were our representatives in Bangkok for the first day’s schedule of activities. Here is a report on that first day, from Jerry Hilton.

The [January 31] visit to the United States Embassy in Bangkok had been arranged at the request of Margaret Purvis, to a friend from Washington, D.C., whom we we came to know throught the Faces of Children Conference. Despite the fact that there were three of us instead of the full group of fifteen, we wanted to honor our appointment at the embassy.

When we got there, we were warmly greeted by the embassy staff, and were soon welcomed into the office of Eric G. John, the ambassador, who had been in the job for one month. Ambassador John heads-up the 400-person staff who serve here in this rapidly-developing, longtime U.S. ally.

As a U.S. citizen and American, I am so very pround to be represented by such a dedicated, caring and informed person as Eric John. We talked about the plight of children in Thailand and southeast Asia, and human trafficking issues ... and we came away thanking God that persons of such intelligence, compassion, spirit and faith are put by God in such positions. Before we left to meet with various members of the ambassador's staff, I asked if we could pray for him, and he said he hoped we would.

The staff who met with us included Michael Heath, First Secretary; James Entwistle, Deputy Chief of Mission; Gary Phillips, Assistant Attaché, U.S. Department of Homeland Security; Cathy Bowes, Director of Public Health, USAID Asia. From each of these outstanding and highly qualified people, we learned about aspects of our embassy at work here. Before we left the staff, we prayed for them, their families, and thae challenges each one faces.

As we started to leave, the Ambassador called us back to see pictures taken of his wife working among children's groups there in Thailand.

Michael Heath took us to the river where we boarded a boat for the Kredtrakarn Protection and Occupational Development Centre, commonly known as Baan Kredtrakarn (Kredtrakarn Home). This is a government-operated facility for prostitutes and victims of human enslavement. We toured the compound, met leaders and teachers, and were impressed by the high quality of educational- and skill-development opportunities offered these young women.

On Friday [February 1], we visited NightLight, where we joined in praise worship with some 70 young girls (they are between 13 and 20 years-old) from the streets. NightLight is a ministry that offers the Gospel as well as health and vocational training, and is supervised by Jeff Deiselberg, an American Baptist missionary. I was asked to preach at the morning session, which I did, from Ephesians 1:18-22.

After the service, we met the rest of our group, and toured the mission, which is doing great work here in the streets of Bangkok.