Thailand: Our Road in the Jungle

"I have two daughters. I would do anything to protect them, anything. And I can't imagine being powerless to do that, as a father. And I would just hope that if there was another man who could help them, I would hope and pray that he would come."

--My husband Matt in a meeting this week

The above is a picture of the path our family will be walking, literally, within the next year.  This trail through a rice field leads to an orphanage for young girls who would be targeted for the sex industry in Thailand.  These precious girls will become frirends with our three young children, as our family moves virtually halfway around the world to love and to serve, to lead and to learn.  Here is our story.

Seeds Planted.  As most of you know, my husband Matt has been in student ministry at a church in Colorado (Woodland Park Community Church) for four years now.  As anyone that knows him can attest, he is a passionate and Christ-following leader, and in the past year and a half, his heart has been stirred on behalf of the impoverished in our world.  He has been reading books, looking at the the Bible, and praying and a consistent theme has arisen-- God wants us to fight on behalf of the poor, wants us to love orphans, and desires us to be instruments of compassion and justice in the world.

A Random Surprise.  While the seeds of these passions were being planted, Matt received an incredible gift.  Several of his former students were traveling around the world after highschool graduation (better known as the V-Team), and the parents of these three young men wanted to fly Matt out to surprise them for two weeks.  The destination was Thailand.  (You can see his surprise video HERE .  You can also see pictures from the trip HERE and a video from the V-Team HERE. )

Thailand is a Buddhist country, where impoverished children and women are often sold into prostitution and where many refugees from countries like Myanmar seek a home.  And though there is much spiritual darkness there, it is a land of exotic beauty, lovely people and rich foods.  It was not surprising that Matt loved it when he first visited . . . and the seeds of compassion that were now growing in my husband's heart began to find roots in a certain land. 

It's a Small World.  After Matt got back in February of this year (2009), he continued to wrestle with God's heart for the globe and for the poor.  He wrestled with what it looked like for him as an individual and for us as a family.  Several months later, after continued emails with a pastor in Thailand whom they visited, Matt had a meeting with a gentleman in Colorado Springs.  This man is a lawyer for the Navigators (a Christian organization) and had founded an orphanage in Chiang Mai, Thailand called Breanna's House of Joy.  Over several lunches, Matt learned that the orphanage houses about 50 girls who would be targeted for the sex industry in Thailand.  He also learned that the orphanage was in need of a secondary source of income to help support its costs, and that they needed a trade skill program and transitional housing to be developed for the girls after they graduated.  The pieces were beginning to fit together;  the arrows started pointing in the same direction--overseas to an orphanage in a jungle.  Eventually, Matt was offered a position co-directing the nonprofit foundation, Joy to the World Outreach, which oversees the orphanage and was invited for a visit this past October, 2009.     

Evidence Stacking Up.  And, once again, he loved this Asian country.  He spent time visiting the orphanage and playing with the girls there.  He and a friend explored the city on mopeds, Asian-style, and he evaluated what it would look like for our family of five to move and live there.  His heart continued to be pulled in Thailand's direction when he learned that we would have the freedom to host teams, particularly teams of college-aged students for mentorship purposes.  As some of you know, that has always been a longing in both of us--to use the "classroom" of overseas living and ministry as a tool to teach young people about themselves and about being Jesus' hands and feet in the world.  The evidence for a move overseas was quickly stacking up.

The Final Arrow.  When he got home just two weeks ago, despite the circumstances seeming to point in the direction of Thailand, he was still wrestling. A declaration of an international move with three kids ages 6 and under and a resignation of an excellent job in ministry with people he loves in a place we all adore, was not something to be made flippantly. He knew that. We both knew that. And then one day while he was praying and seeking God's heart for our family, he found a new peace with this road into the jungle.  He wrote and asked God to show Him in the Scriptures where he had been already reading a confirmation of this move to Thailand.  As the Divine would have it, the next chapter he was on in his daily study was Luke, Chapter 5.  It is the story of when Jesus tells Peter to cast his fishing nets out into "deep waters"-- even though the fishermen had fished all night without success, even though deeper, colder waters were uncomfortable for fish, even though fishing at midday was illogical.  And, yet, and you may know the story, Peter and his friends pull in so many fish that it takes two boats to get them all to shore.  And Jesus says to follow Him.  And they drop their nets and leave the dock by the sea for the dusty road behind this Jesus of Nazareth.

And so, the final arrow pointing to Thailand was suddenly lit up in bright neon lights for him, and, thus, for us as a family.  And just like Peter, our currently-full nets have been dropped from our hands, and we are following what God has been stirring for well over a year.

The Plan.  Our goal is to move to Thailand by May of 2010.  Matt will be working at the church for a few more months, organizing and making plans for his leaving to be as easy as possible.  We will also be raising support over the next several months.  The position co-directing the orphanage is not a paid one, so we will need to raise our own funds to be able to go.  Hopefully, a secondary source of income for our family will be the hosting of short-term adult teams as well as running the mentorship program for college-aged students.  Initially our main tasks in Thailand will be developing a secondary income stream for the orphanage itself (first project up is creating a fishpond for a food and income source), maintaining the grounds, developing a trade skill and transitional housing for the older girls, and possibly teaching English classes.  The girls are cared for practically (meals, laundry, etc.) by an excellent Thai staff, and they are lead spiritually by a Burmese pastor and his wife who currently direct the orphanage (and will continue to do so). 

                                

                    35% of the sex industry in Thailand is composed of children.  Nearly 1 in
                                           every 3 prostitutes is under the age of 18. 

A BitterSweet Busy.  The sadness of leaving Woodland Park and the United States, of the goodbyes to family and friends, is not something we look forward to at all.  And yet, in the same breath, we are both so excited and hopeful for what we are going to learn about God Himself, ourselves, and the world in the process of this move.  We are excited to have our kids walking in a different culture, and are hopeful for how this experience will enlarge their hearts for others less fortunate.  We will also be busy over the next months developing a website for the ministry, raising funds, and trudging through the details of moving.

  

Care to Know More? 

Visit the Breanna's House of Joy site.

Stop by the Joy to the World Foundation site (the nonprofit Matt will be helping direct).

Visit the New Horizons Foundation site (the nonprofit accounting foundation that collects funds for Joy the World).

To read more about Matt's previous Thailand trip in October, visiting Chiang Mai and the orphanage, click HERE.

To read more about the horrors of child prostitution in countries such as Thailand, check out this ARTICLE or this ONE.

To view our email that went out to our friends about our upcoming move, click HERE.

To visit the future our ministry site, visit DestinedTraveler.Com .  It will be up and running shortly. 

Open Door.  We do believe there is open door for us to move our family to Thailand to rescue young girls and to mentor college students, and we think there may be one for you, as well.  Would you consider "going" with us and being a part of our team?  We are willing to be the delegates that actually get on the plane, but we will need an army of people to send us, both financially and spiritually.   You can be a part of that team in several ways:

Give Financially.  We will need a pledged amount of monthly support, as well as a fund for outgoing expenses.  Because the orpahange is run by a nonprofit foundation, all gifts are tax-deductible.  Simply follow this link to give online, by credit card or bank transfer (you can also set up automatic monthly drafts here).  Our Account is titled:  "Joy to the World Outreach Thailand."

DONATE here.

You can also mail checks to the below address, with "Joy to the World Thailand" or "Matt Parker Support" on it:

New Horizons Foundation, Inc.

4570 Hilton Parkway, Suite 203

Colorado Springs, CO 80907

719-260-1213 or toll free 1-800-531-4075

If you would like to pledge a monthly amount, drop us an email to let us know we can count on that from you.  Our email addresses are:

Matt:  coloradoparkers@gmail.com

Laura:  carolinaparkers@hotmail.com

Pray.  Pray for our family.  Pray for the girls in Thailand.  Check back on LaurasPen.com often to keep updated with our needs.

Talk it Up.  Share our sites and our story with people--your family, your church, your friends.  Send our links on to others to promote awareness of orphans and to encourage support of our family.  Also, if anyone you know is struggling with how to spend a semester or a summer right out of highschool or during their college years, direct them to Destined Traveler to see if they might be a fit for our mentorship program.  We hope to make a yearly trip back to the States for rest and support-raising, so you could also help by connecting us to speak with groups like your home church.

Hop on a Plane.   When you hold the hands of the girls, when you smell the aromas of the street, when you speak to a refugee who has been traffickked, you will not be left unchanged.  We are open to hosting groups or families for trips to Thailand and the orphanage.  If you are interested, check the site DestinedTraveler.Com  or email Matt at coloradoparkers@gmail.com  .

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

- robert frost

Thanks for reading all the way to the end of this, my longest-post-ever.  I am so grateful I have such people along this journey with us.  I promise, I'll keep you posted.  And, for those wondering, YES, I hope to still write about the journey here at Cereal for Dinner.  We may just have to do a little name change to Rice for Dinner, instead.