Sunday, February 20, 2011

Mae Hon Son Donation Trip

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Posing with the local staff women before we headed off.

Every year the local staff in our office plan a trip to a village somewhere in the northern part of our country.  They spent a year searching to find a village in need of clothing, food, basic need supplies, etc… 

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Some of the supplies we donated.

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Our caravan on the road..our car is the white truck.

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Through the mountains we go

A group of 60 people from the office unified together for an overnight trip to this village.  We had a mixture of locals and our company staff ranging from age 7 up to 65.  We left at 6 am on a Saturday morning to arrive in the village by lunch.  With a caravan of 13 vehicles full of people and supplies, we were quite the sight to see on the road.  This year they chose a village about 4 hours from our city.  The roads were decent the first 2 1/2 hours, but then we hit the mountains the roads quickly began to worsen.  Of course, all the guys loved the rough roads!

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Car trouble

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More car trouble

Our team arrived at the village around lunch time.  We brought lunch for all the children in the school and then all the leftovers went to the adults.  There ended up being more villagers than we had expected, but the Father multiplied the food!  It was amazing. 

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Giving out the food

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Yummy!

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Taking turns handing out the supplies

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J is so excited to share with the children.

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All the adults line up for the blankets and mosquito nets.

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Presenting the water filters

After lunch, the village students performed a cultural dance for us.  Then we distributed the supplies we brought.  Each of the children received a bag full of things.  They consisted of a toy, 3 books with “stories,” The Book, personal hygiene products, and new socks.  Each family received a blanket and mosquito net.  Then each of the villages received a water filter for their village.  We met and shared with around 100 people.

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So happy to have a warm blanket

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Receiving the blankets

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This man was too cute!

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So much to give away…our hearts are full!

After the distribution, we sang songs, shared a “Story,” and did some crafts.  The children had a great time while the adults watched from behind.  I’m sure they thought we were crazy for coming this far to give things away for free.  During the story time, we were escorted to a young man’s house where we were able to sit and share with him one on one.  It was a neat time.  He was excited to share his home and family photos with us.  Before leaving his home, he presented L with a purse that all the village women use that his sister had made.  It was a precious gift. 

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Singing songs together

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Our friend’s house

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L being presented with the purse.

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Grandmother and her grandchild.

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Children are so excited!

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Can you imagine how much all those weigh?

The smiles on the villagers’ faces were priceless.  They were saddened when we told them we had to leave, but they did share with us that they were searching for something to give their hearts too.  At this point, they have nothing they are bound to.  They were very interested in our stories and hearing about the message we came to share.  We are hopeful to adopt this village and return every year to share and spend time with these precious people.  Please remember to lift them up as they search for truth.

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Heading home…

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