If you understand Chinese, please go to the Appeal Letter directly in the Chinese Section of this website. Over there, you will see pictures of the children when they arrived at the Grace Foundation Center the very first day, and see them again after they were cleaned up. The one picture that has moved many people is the one at the end of the letter, depicting a young girl in tears when her parents had no choice but to send her away to Thailand from Myanmar. I encourage you to see the original letter; otherwise, continue reading the appeal in English, translated here for you:難民兒童分享信
มูลนิธิคุณความด ี 泰 國 天 恩 基 金 會 Grace Foundation Thailand 380 Moo 5 Soi 9 Wiangphagnkham Maesai Chiangrai 57130 Thailand Tel.053-646080 380 หมู่5 ซอย9 ต.เวียงพางคา อ.แม่สายจ.เชียงราย 57130 โทร 053-646080
Peace be with you, my beloved brothers-and-sisters-in-Christ. As the festive Spring Festival approaches, I sincerely wish everyone a joyful Spring Festival, healthy in body, mind and spirit, enjoying a family reunion and overflowing cups of blessings. Praise to the Lord! He has brought us all unspeakable gifts from above. This year 2022 is a special year. In the first month of this year, God’s grace sent us inexplicably and suddenly a group of small needy children whose lives have brought us both joy and worry. The joy comes from seeing their lovely faces, so lively and innocent, as they join us here in Grace Foundation Center. The worry comes from figuring how to best promote their continuing growth through knowing them, teaching them, and caring for them with our limited resources, both human and financial.
How does this influx of refugee children from Myanmar into Thailand come about? We know little about their place of origin or their background. I thought naively that their parents simply wanted their children to go to school to have a brighter future, thus prompting them to take them to the Thai border, hired “coyotes” to sneak them illegally into Thailand, one by one, over mountains and around border guards, while posing as young farm workers. This is how they came to the doorsteps of our Center.
The real reason for this influx is a chilling story of struggle for survival. These families were originally from Vietnam and Laos. They were tired of being poor for generations, so when they heard the rumor that Myanmar had plenty of farm land, they moved to Myanmar for their living. Little did they know that their poverty became even worse there, with the addition of pandemic and unstable political situation. Despite their best efforts to provide for their families, there was simply not enough food on the table, no new clothes for the young, no school for them to attend, and no hope for the future of these children.
However, poverty is not unusual for these families. They would have worked even harder to keep their families together, if not for national conscription in Myanmar. The government there demands all able bodies (even 60-year-old; females included if no eligible male is available in the family) to join the military, irrespective of age. The younger ones will be taken to army training camps until they are old enough to fight. They go to the front, and seldom return. Thus, even though it is heart-rending to send their young children away, these poor families really have no other choice.
Dear brothers-and-sisters in Christ, here at Grace Foundation Center, we are facing a number of children who need to be fed. They are from 5-17 years old. We have now 32 children, and 10 more are expected to arrive soon, closing in on a total of 45- 50 children who rely on Grace Foundation for care and support. I have asked our Pastor Stephen Lee (Chairman and Founder of Grace Foundation) how many children we can accept. He replied, “The more the better! Save as many as we can! ”Yes, this is truly a life-saving moment, both physically and spiritually. These young lives and their families/clans do not know Christ yet. Wouldn’t it be an act of glorifying God if these children can feel the love of God through what you and Grace Foundation can do for them? May you be so moved that you would join us in prayer and support for these children. May they come to know Christ through your love and caring for them, and through God’s grace, bring home to their minority groups the faith, hope and love of Christ.
Our current work includes:
- Teaching them Chinese (Mandarin) every morning and evening, because that is the first language in Grace Foundation Center.
- Teaching them Thai in the afternoon, because we want them enrolled in a nearby Thai public school in May. We only have four months to prepare them in basic Thai language.
- Having them (the Miao children) study the Bible in the mornings and evenings.
- Teaching them music lessons. Although they do not know other languages but their own, they all love to sing.
- Leading them in morning and evening prayers; also teaching them personal care, like washing and cleaning themselves and cutting hair and nails, as well as teaching them etiquettes and rules of common courtesy.
Prayer Requests: Please join us in
- Praying that the Lord will keep the children healthy and safe, since they are still very young, far from home, and in a foreign land. Pray that the Lord will take special care of them.
- Praying that the Lord will give a safe journey to those children who are yet to come.
- Praying that the Lord will smoothen the upcoming enrollment application for Thai public school by softening the hearts of the village chief as well as the school principal.
- Praying for the Lord to help each co-worker take good care of the children with understanding, love, patience and wisdom.
- Praying that the Lord will prepare the way to sponsorship of these children, so that they can learn and grow with a peace of mind. We are hoping that each child can be sponsored with USD $100 a month, which covers all expenses, including meals, tuition, school uniforms, stationery, clothing, daily utensils and other petty items.
May the Lord’s will be done. His servant, Ms. Ping-Xiu Li, Minister, Chiangrai, Thailand. January 30, 2022