Food Delivery

When God allowed me the opportunity to serve in Thailand four years ago as a college student through Baptist Collegiate Ministry, I never dreamed what He had planned for me. He gave me lasting friendships and a growing love for the Thai people. When the tsunami disaster of December 26^th hit Southern Thailand my love for the Thai people prompted me to go and assist any way I could, to share smiles and words of encouragement, and to help with physical needs.

Even though my desire to go was great, I never expected to actually be able to go as a part of tsunami relief efforts. However, I found out about a team of volunteers from Missouri and knew God was opening a door for me to join them. I didn’t hesitate. Serving with Southern Baptists from another state reminded me of how God can multiply our impact when we are willing to join together with others to serve Him.

Our primary responsibility for the week was food distribution. Since I’d never participated in a disaster relief project, I wasn’t exactly sure of the “how to” details of distributing food. I was glad when we were directed to deliver food door-to-door to each individual family. During the week we delivered fruits, vegetables, and meat to more than 1,400 families living in 13 temporary housing camps in the Southern Thailand area.

The caring hearts of the Thai people constantly touched me. They were so appreciative of the food. At the same time my heart broke, because I know they would prefer to be the ones helping instead of needing to receive help. The Thais were always concerned about their neighbors. If people were not at home during a food distribution neighbors were always eager to make sure their friends were not left out.

On our first day our project coordinator told us that by the end of the week we would know the camps well and have relationships with the people in each camp. I’ll admit that I was skeptical. After all, we were only in Thailand one week. Fortunately, God proved our coordinator right as I did get to know families in each camp. By the end of the week Thai friends knew my name, and I knew theirs as well. Visiting with them each day became a highlight experience of my trip.

The stories of the people I met are what will make them unforgettable. When we distributed the food or visited the camps everyone always smiled, but I knew behind those smiles was a story of grief, pain, and stress over the disruption to their daily lives caused by the tsunami. Some were eager to share. In the midst of many tragic stories, there were also many amazing stories of strength and survival. In response some of our team had opportunities to pray with individuals and share about God and His purpose for their lives.

One 13-year-old boy talked about losing his mother in the tsunami. He was caught in the water himself for two days before being rescued. I can only imagine the strength and determination he had displayed. As I listened to him I wished that my Thai language skills were better. My prayer for him is that he will come to know it was our Heavenly Father that supplied him with the strength to hang on and created him as a special person in His image.

It was such a blessing to go and serve in the tsunami relief efforts. More than anything this experience constantly reminds me of the hope we have in Christ and of the great opportunity and open door we now have to share this hope with the people of Thailand. I pray that through long-term tsunami relief efforts more volunteer teams will have the blessing of going and that as a result churches will be planted, and many people come to know Christ.

First person account from a tsunami relief volunteer from Tennessee.

Pacific Rim is a region of the International Mission Board, SBC.