February 18
At church on Sunday morning, as soon as one of the Agape girls saw Steve, she ran over for a hug. The wai is the normal welcome in Thai, but we are finding many people enjoy a hug.
Sunday morning pre-service had our staff recapping our experiences and messages from our Kid's Camp day! During the service, we had a chance to hand out more of our senior care packages in memory of my dad. Then Mom spoke with Gan translating. She tied together the threads from the week and called our Thai family to continue to press into all God has for them. Her love for the people here rings out in every sentence! She asked them to listen for their unique purpose and called them to share God's love with those who are still working and striving to feel valued. People were invited to come to the front to have their feet anointed to move into their purpose. I placed a dot of Valor essential oil on their feet as we prayed for each one.
The church prepares a meal for all who come each Sunday and we ate together in a hall at the back of the building or outside under umbrella-covered tables. We knew that this would be our last good-bye to some of the church people until our next trip.
We didn't linger too much after lunch because we had to get back to the ministry centre to prepare for guests arriving. We hosted a dedication of the Agape Home and Ministry Centre as spaces for safe shelter, hosting and working on Mighty Oaks daily operations. Gan, Noii, Tum and David put many hours into preparations. David and crew set up chairs for 130 and we were delighted when every chair was filled under the rented tents for shade. The children gathered on the porch in the cool shade. Gan had been personally messaging people for weeks to invite them.
Many sponsored families, teachers from the local school, pastors from the villages and supporters from the earliest visioning for Mighty Oaks traveled in for this special day. It was fun to show people around the centre and celebrate together how far God has brought this grassroots ministry to help protect vulnerable children from exploitation. So many graduates came and thanked Mom for the chance to follow through with an education and have opportunities to rise out of poverty into a secure future. I enjoyed meeting them and hearing their stories.
Pastor Jaroon, Mom and Steve did an official ribbon cutting during the celebration. The Agape Girls led a few songs with Gan and Tum. Several of the pastors that are on our Mighty Oak Tree Board in Thailand spoke and led the group in prayers of thanks. The pastors prayed over the people that live and work on the property daily. Then Mom and Steve shared final words of thanks and dreams for the future with those who gathered to continue this important work together!
I soaked in story after story as Mom moved among the crowd to greet old friends and surprise guests. It took three photos to capture photos of all who came.
I was able to show my sponsor child, Nat, the photos of family we left up from our Celebration of Dad's life the week before. It was great to have a translator so we could talk. Nat asked for prayer for her studies as she works hard at school. She is a sweetheart. I invited she and her friend to take one last photo with me. I gave her a gift at the camp the day before. It was fun to encourage her artistic side and offer her an essential oil and bracelet to help calm stress.
As people gradually left, we said fond farewells with our hearts full of gratitude for this Thai family we have gained. Mom and Dad's retirement project has been so transformative in this area as their step of faith was met by God's provision and care for each of these. We look forward to what God will do through these people of Northern Thailand in the years to come.
After a quiet hour where we focused on packing for the trip back to Chiang Mai and making sure any last gifts were left to our staff, we had a farewell dinner with the MOT staff and the Agape girls! Gan and David had a few more surprises planned. After dinner, we moved upstairs to the beautiful sunset views from the balcony.
The staff and the girls shared gifts that they put on us! A Thai scarf, purse, fan, necklace! So lovely! We also had gifts we had carried from home and purchased in Thailand to hand out to all!
Then the Agape girls had a dance and song they performed for us and the staff had choreographed moves to a song together to perform. Then we went around the circle and shared any last words we wanted to say. It was an emotional time! Dada could hardly speak as she talked about her grandparent's deaths and how MOT (Mighty Oak Tree is the name of the Thailand Foundation) had become her family. The girls all expressed how grateful they were to have a home together that was safe and gave them the chance to learn and grow together.
The staff then spoke and talked of how much they have learned by working with my parents. Many of them had not understood grace until they had to tenderly deal with tough situations that arose among our sponsored students. My parent's and Steve's heart for the children guided their decisions to allow second chances when that would not have been a normal response in Thai culture. They all mentioned Mom, Dad and Steve's example of servanthood leadership and Christ-like compassion.
Our Canadian team then took a chance to share what was on our heart. I was struck by how in such a short time God had inscribed each of their names on my heart. I knew I would continue to pray for them and hold them in my affection. Mom isn't sure how many more trips she will get to make as she approaches 80 next year. Her words for each one were both a call and a blessing.
Our Thai family then prayed for our Canadian team, and then we prayed for them. It was a meaningful exchange. It really felt like the perfect closure before heading back to Chiang Mai on Monday!
January 19:
We left early in the morning for Chiang Mai. I enjoyed the mountain scenery again as we wound our way South.
We had a nap at the hotel before heading to the night market to pick up any last gifts to bring home with us. We are on our last lap now as we leave for the airport tomorrow. Steve will be staying an extra week after getting us set up for our flight. We will be able to share in person soon! 
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