Yep, I was in Thailand TOO!!!

From Hong Kong, where our other trip began and ended, I flew to Bangkok for the Cutting Edge conference on "Invisible Children". It was my first time in Thailand, and I spent the majority of my time at the conference location. One evening we were able to take a trip into the city to spend a few hours at a night market...super fun!!

The conference was excellent. It's quite a sensation to be in a room with 300 other people who have a heart for Children at Risk...The conference was for leaders of Christian ministries to children in Asia. It's put on by the VIVA network. www.viva.org Since I am fairly new to working in this type of ministry, this conference was a valuable experience for me. I was exposed to all kinds of things that were new to me. It was also quite overwhelming, and I just did my best to SOAK up all that God had for me, and remember that I couldn't learn it all at once. It was definitely another one of those moments in life where I wish I could implant the chip in my brain and then be on the same page as everyone else...wouldn't that be a marvelous invention??

There are so many children in such tragic circumstances around the world.The theme of the conference this year was "Invisible Children," meaning the children in our world who are unseen...who slip through the cracks and don't end up being noticed. I learned about "grooming" children for web porn. There are thousands of internet cafes in Mindanao (the island I live on) alone, and there are people who will get street kids and have them chatting with foreigners in exchange for a meal and then doing things that the child may not even understand. Sometimes the child even ends up in a slavery situation, where they are unable to break free from the perpetrator. The foreigners have to pay money to view the child, so the easiest way to spot a cafe where this is happening is to look if there is a Western Union next door. It's so heartbreaking to know that children are caught in such a filthy trade...

Please pray for the children who are on the streets right now. They need hope.