Blessings Along the Border

I have been trying to write this particular blog post for 2 months, but things kept getting in the way.  The most particular thing, my first trimester, has kept me dizzy, fuzzy in the head, and not able to look at a computer screen for any length of time.  So, I have bided my time, hoping to feel better, and it seems that with the end of my first trimester, I am finally almost there.  We are of course overjoyed about the new life growing inside of me, but that is another post for another day.  This one has waited too long already.

This week my sweet friend Stephanie Melachrinos is headed off to the Thai/Burmese border to begin her new life.  I am overjoyed for her and beyond excited to see what God is about to do in and through her.  I want to take the chance to introduce her to you, and highlight the work that she is joining.  I hope you will be as excited as I am and that some of you will consider joining in supporting her on her way.  

I met Steph, a long, long time ago as a child, but since she was a few years behind me in school I never really got to know her.  When I came to China 5+ years ago, I got my first chance to really get to know her as an adult.  Steph had already been here for one year at that point, teaching Art for an international high school.  I remember being impressed by the Chinese she had already learned and how comfortable she seemed after just one short year.  Since we were in the same small fellowship, I enjoyed the chance over those next 2 years to get to know her a bit better.  She has always been a faithful person who tried to do what was right.  I appreciated her dry sense of humor, her chattiness, and her honesty.  After we moved across the bay, I always looked forward to whatever chances I had to see her either when she visited or we headed back that way, but they were not frequent.  But about 1 ½ ago, something changed.  Steph went as a chaperone with the local high school youth group on their missions trip to the Thai/Burmese border to partner with some charity groups there.  What happened to her on that trip captivated my attention, and grabbed my heart.  She spent the week serving at an orphanage for Burmese refugee children who were fleeing across the border into Thailand.  While she was there, God broke her heart and turned her world upside down.  The Steph that I knew, came back a different person:  heart opened wide and future uncertain.  When she came and told me her story, I knew it was going to change me too.  

The Steph from before was confident, with a logical plan for the future, and her head planted firmly on her shoulders.  The Steph that came back, had a broken heart and no logical plan, just the realization that she had found the place God wanted her to be and the children He wanted her to care for.  She didn’t know how or when, but she knew God had turned her world upside down.  I have watched overjoyed as God has worked out each detail in the year + following that first visit.  She has had the chance to return to the orphanage and find out how and when God could use her there, all while falling deeper in love with these children who desperately need love.  She has figured out ways that she can serve, has obtained a visa, has started on her way to raising support, and has shared her vision with anyone and everyone who would listen.  She is passionate about these refugee children and waiting breathlessly until she can be back with them.  And this very week, she is getting her hearts desire and is headed off into the jungles of Thailand to love and care for these very children.  

The ministry that she is going to be a part of is a miracle all in itself.  A few years ago, a young Christian man from Norway visted this very area, and found himself caring for a few Burmese children who had fled across the border away from the fighting and had no where to go.  Realizing there was no one to stand in the gap and intercede for them, he gave up his plans and started an orphanage to care for them, first one, then two, and now three orphanges as the needs continue to grow.  Theorphanges are fully staffed by local Thai workers who are mostly all believers.  These children don’t have much, but they are loved.  Steph will join this amazing group of people as they care for these homeless children.  Her hearts desire is to reach into the lives of these children and tell them of God’s love, to instill in them the knowledge that they are valued and cared for even though the world and their circumstances would tell them otherwise.  

When Steph shared with me her vision, I felt like it was a hug from God straight to me.  I have always been burdened for orphans and had very recently pursued the idea of adopting again, only to very clearly feel the door was shut to me for the time being.  But still my heart ached to help in some way, and Steph is that  answer for me.  Our family is overjoyed to join in supporting Stephas she goes to be God’s hands and feet to these specific orphans.  My children know and love “Miss M.” and will really be able to excitedly pray with us for her and the children she introduces us to.  Thailand isn’t so very far away, and we look forward to the day we can visit her in person and see firsthand this place and these children that she loves.  God is already working in our family through Steph.  

If you are interested in knowing more about the ministrySteph is joining, you can email her at: smelachrinos@gmail.com   I’m sure once she gets settled in down in Thailand, she will be happy to answer any of your questions.  Here are some web links to the orphanage and news about the ministry there. www.blessedhomes.org/en
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=L7fWmMggRTg