From Isolation to a Renewed Hope in Jesus
Yupin is a single mother who lives in a remote tribal village with her two daughters, eight-year-old, Praewa, and six-year-old, Air (who has cerebral palsy).
In Thailand, to be Thai is to be Buddhist—there is very little separation, and the belief in Karma is held highly. The people in Yupin’s village view her family as outcasts because of Air’s disability. They assume Air’s mother, or her grandparents sinned greatly.
Yupin and her daughters rarely go outside of their home because they are hated and told they are “no good”.
Your steadfast prayers and faithfulness gave Yupin and her daughters the opportunity to attend International Family Retreat! There, Yupin found community and a renewed faith in Jesus! Yupin shared, “The love of God is among us here at International Family Retreat… in a way that you don’t find anywhere else.” She even asked to be baptized there because she still feels excluded from her church because of Air’s disability.
Just days after International Family Retreat, Air was taken to the hospital in critical condition with pneumonia and was put on a ventilator. The hospital is far away from her home and parents are not allowed to stay with their children. Yupin could not comfort and stay with her daughter, so instead of going back home, she decided to volunteer with us at a Wheels for the World™ outreach days later!
Many Buddhist families were deeply encouraged after talking with Yupin and hearing her testimony! She spoke boldly of her faith and trust in Jesus to take care of her daughter, and many of the families she spoke to also had disabled children in critical condition and who needed a wheelchair.
Many Thai families that come to our Wheels for the World outreach and International Family Retreat are at their breaking point – financially, emotionally, and are spiritually lost. God continues to use your faithful giving to these programs and steadfast prayers to make His name great! You’re planting Gospel seeds in the powerful name of Jesus!
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Joni and Friends volunteers make 98% of our ministry programming happen! Join us to bring hands-on help and Gospel hope to people with disabilities, at home and across the globe. Find your opportunity to make a difference:
