สวัสดี or Hello! Wow, it is crazy to even be typing this out but, I am officially in my last country of my World Race journey. We are in month ten and reaching close to the end. It is crazy to think, but these past eleven months have been such a whirlwind of excitement and so many more things.
I want to share with you all the ministry that I get to partner with this month in Thailand. My team and I have been working with an organization named TawSaeng. The organization works with children that live in Chiang Mai. It is an after school program for the children to come in and learn various things. They are taught English, they hear and learn Bible stories, and learn practical life skills. We also have fun and just love on these kids each day. Their organization is special because of the children that attend TawSaeng. The students are considered at risk because of poverty, abuse, or at risk of being exploited. TawSaeng recognizes that the constant cycle that is placed on these childrens lives can be ended through education, mentoring, discipleship, and hearing the Word of God. It truly is an honor to be working alongside them this month.
We have been working with them for the past two weeks and have grown so close to the staff and to the children. I already know it is going to be hard to say goodbye to them just because it feels like family already. Thailand has been so new and interesting to me for several reasons. One, it is a new language that I cannot even begin to understand or speak. Two, the major religion here is Buddhism but I have not had a lot of interactions or spoken to many Buddhist. Three, the culture is quite different than ours. There are do’s and dont’s on being a foreigner in Thailand, but so much grace is given to foreigners. I have loved getting to understand Thai culture and the people. With our ministry, we do Bible stories on Mondays. English class for the younger students on Tuesday and games on Wednesdays. Then, on Thursdays we do English class for the older students and a youth night on Fridays. Our team gets to plan for those classes, along with sharing our testimonies, and creating fun games for the students. I have loved to see the younger kids personalities and acting so silly. I get the opportunity to plan for the older students English class, so it has been a good way to do Bible studies with them to practice our conversational skills.
The meaning of TawSaeng is “first light in the morning.” Each child that walks in through that door is a light, and I am praying that God uses them to be a light for the Kingdom. Please pray for my team as we continue our work and for the children that we get the privilege to be with. As we are coming to a close on the World Race, please pray for endurance to finish off strong! If you would like to know more about TawSaeng, here is a link to their website! https://www.shinethailand.org/about.
If you would like to continue to support a missonary and offset the cost of living necessities, I would be more than grateful! I wanted to reach out to all of you and ask if you would like to financially support me with only one more month of being on the field. I will continue to need some of the living necessities. The amount I needed to fundraise at the beginning does not go towards any personal needs, but instead for flights, lodging, transportation, etc. But any personal needs would have to be used from my own finances. This also helps going back home and with any expenses needed when I first land. If you do feel led to give, it would not be through my giving donation link, but instead to my personal account. My Venmo is Joana-Quintana or I do have Zelle through my phone number, 720-483-8147. Thank you so much for your continued support and your love!
Blessings,
Joana Quintana
