The G.R.O.W. Kids Sing!

So one day early in the morning I showed up at the G.R.O.W. home and took the kids to school. I wish you could have been there to see the surprise look on the face of the kids as they started shouting to each other, "Adasala is here! Adasala is here." Note: "Adasala" is the name they gave me in Akha. It means something like "Father-Pastor." I felt so happy that day but my happiness trailed in comparison to their joy and excitement. It almost makes me cry when I think that for most of these kids it would have been the first time ever that "Daddy" took them to school. A moment they will probably never forget. I drove the truck with the small children in the cab (the older ones are very proud to ride on the back, with the cover and the benches we've provided for them).

The whole time from the G.R.O.W. home to the school they were singing worship songs. On the way back, I caught them singing this song about the time Jesus calmed the storm when he was out on the boat with the disciples. I thought to myself, "How fitting. These children are singing about Jesus keeping them safe from the storms of life." And that's what rescuing children is all about. No more fear of the evil person who comes like a bad storm in the middle of the night. No more pain from having an empty stomach. No more hopelessness. They are "home now." Sing on, children!

Pastor Ivanildo C. Trindade

itrindade@woostergrace.org

No One Sings Like This...

One of the reasons I love going to Asia is that when I get there I witness some of the purest, unadulterated, "raw" kind of worship anywhere on this planet. And it appears to me that every time I come these children have ratchet up their volume, devotion, expression and overall experience by a couple of notches. They sing their hearts out, they are not embarrassed in the presence of strangers -- for them worship is a body and soul experience and they give themselves totally to it. You will see what I mean when you see the two clips below. FERVOR. That is the word that comes to mind. And I have to confess, the only other times when I have felt kind of like this free to worship, is when I am in Macapa, northern Brazil, worshipping with the folks in the church where I grew up, but even then it is not as on fire as when these children open their little diaphragms and let it loose. I can only imagine how God smiles broadly at these precious ones when they enter into His presence with songs. (By the way, see if you can pick out the word for "Jesus" repeated a couple of times in one of the videos).   

Pastor Ivanildo C. Trindade

itrindade@woostergrace.org

Voices from Heaven 1

Yes, I close my eyes and keep hearing the sounds of beautiful voices. Then I wake up and I realize I am not in heaven but just dreaming about our children in SE Asia. Here I am going to try to post one of my favorite songs from Thailand, a traditional song that Christian children learn from the time they are little about the different things in nature that God created. I haven't heard other children singing it, but I am going to go out on a limb here to say that nobody on the entire planet can sing it as well as our children from Grace Place, Thailand. Enjoy it!

Pastor Ivanildo C. Trindade
itrindade@woostergrace.org

Post by Holly Clark

Blogger's Note: My apologies to Holly. I just saw this post in the edit file and realized it was never published. Well, I think it is still worth the read.

Hi everyone. This has been an incredible experience. Very emotional...every emotion. It hasn't been easy, but I can now see 1st hand the poverty and need in Cambodia. I shared with 132 children who live in a state run orphanage and the staff. Told them how much God cares about each and everyone of them. I asked if anyone had a Bible. Not 1 person had a bible. Not one. The conditions were filthy, rubble, dust, depressing like a concentration camp. I asked for the bathroom and the lady said she would take me to the "good bathroom." The good bathroom was the worst bathroom you have ever seen in USA. These kids are never touched by a loving parent, never asked how their day was, only fed and clothed and forced to live in these filthy conditions, yet they are beautiful. You look into their eyes and see beauty. Not one is forgotten by God, but unfortunately, they are forgotten by us. This is a labor of love...it's tough to see this...but it's reality and a wake up call for our "fat" lives in the USA. Don't take anything for granted, love your family, your friends and thank God that He sends teams of people to touch these childrens lives. Now I know that one person, really can make a difference. When a child throws their arms around you and calls you "mommy," and feels a loving physical touch, he/she will never forget that. Never!

Holly

And It Ends as It Started -- unpredictably!

Here I am on my last full night here in SE Asia and it is not the way I had planned it. I am sitting at the lobby of a hotel I had never stayed in, thinking about the events of the last few days. After the team left I made a visit to Faa's village and the town closest to it, where her dad had been hospitalized. I was supposed to go to a couple of other villages but it was not meant to be. Faa's dad passed away today and she, her sister Ning and several other family members (7 people and two dogs!) are already in the village for all the preparations for funeral and calling hours. This will be a whole community affair and the family looks up to these two young women, and especially to Faa, for guidance, decision making, and comfort.             

I met Faa's dad last year in his humble house. He served me a wonderful Akha meal of vegetables, rice, and some some chicken. I had a marvelous conversation with him, through Faa and her brother. We talked about Faa, how she was like when she was younger, and what she has been allowed to do. He told me one story that not even Faa knew in detail, a story about how God miraculously saved her from certain death (indeed, technically, it would have been a case of infanticide but I don't have time to go into that now).

When I asked Faa's dad whether he ever imagined she would travel the world one day, he said "no," and added that he was surprised at the very fact that she was alive, considering what almost happened to her. I will remember this man a lot, even though I only met him once.

Please pray for Faa and Ning as they minister to family members in the next days ahead.

Pastor Ivanildo C. Trindade
itrindade@woostergrace.org

Singing and Having a Blast at Grace Place, Battambang

"American" Breakfast at Grace Place, Battambang

 What a task: convincing kids who are not used to eating sweets to begin with that they are supposed to eat this sugary cereal -- for breakfast! If you study their little faces, you will get the picture. They seem to be saying, "Are you guys nuts? Where is my rice? My noodles? My sweet and sour soup? Don't you know what real breakfast food looks like?" The beef sticks, on the other hand, were a huge success, thanks, in part, to Stretch's able demonstration on how to eat it...

Pastor Ivanildo C. Trindade
itrindade@woostergrace.org

So Long!

Team is all checked in and ready to get on the plane bound to Soul, Korea and then Chicago and Cleveland. Everyone is in good health even if we all look like we've aged some years... but in fact we have gained joy that by far outweighs the years we seemed to have lost. God is good. Please pray for the team as they start the long journey back home. I will be posting some more pictures and stuff here in the next few days, Lord willing.

Pastor Ivanildo C. Trindade

itrindade@woostergrace.org