The Love of God is Transforming Lives Across Thailand
If You Had Tea with Yupin…
How do you think Jesus works his saving grace into a remote community in Thailand? If you sat down with our friend Yupin over a cup of tea, the unmistakable presence of Jesus would warm you right through as you sipped and heard her story. But since we can’t whisk you off to Thailand for a chat with Yupin, here is a taste of what she would share…
Rewind for a moment, several years back, to find Yupin struggling as a single mother caring for her two daughters, Praewa and Air, who has cerebral palsy and other complex health challenges. Yupin faced a future like a sheer cliff to scale with no safety net.
In the remote community where Yupin and her girls live, Buddhism is the primary religion, and many people believe in karma. So Yupin’s family suffered rejection and discrimination from those around them who wrongly saw Air’s disability as a punishment for some wrongdoing by their mother.
But when they discovered the truth of the Gospel through Joni and Friends, everything changed for Yupin’s family. She, Praewa, and Air had a powerful experience at our International Family Retreat. Hearing the Gospel, and encountering the hands-on love of Jesus, they came to faith, and all got baptized.
“The love of God is at Family Retreat in a way you won’t find anywhere else,” says Yupin.
Ever since, Yupin has lived with joy and confidence, knowing that God has a good plan for her family.
Air’s Fight for Life
Right on the heels of the Family Retreat that changed their lives, Air’s health plunged into a dangerous downward spiral. And when Air was taken to the hospital and placed on a ventilator, Yupin was made to leave. Instead of collapsing in despair, she turned to the Lord, who showed up in astounding ways.
Entrusting her beloved daughter into the care of the Lord and the doctors, Yupin chose to serve on a Joni and Friends Wheels for the World™ outreach where she lifted the spirits of other special needs families.
By God’s grace, Air recovered from her severe illness. And in the midst of a long season of her Air’s improved health, Yupin has continued to serve God and other families struggling with disability. She has also educated herself about Air’s condition and studied physical therapy, learning to reduce stiffness, relax muscles, work through feeding issues, and more. Now she serves as an encouragement and resource for many other families coping with the challenges of disability. As the president of a parents’ club, she speaks publicly about her family’s experiences with disability and provides support and advocacy for other parents raising children with disabilities.
Spreading the Life-Changing Love of Christ
Today, Yupin remains connected with Joni and Friends. She is particularly grateful for the opportunity to earn income to support her family by creating beautiful handicrafts. Because of this small business, Yupin has been able to pay for Air’s medical care. And now, sharing this opportunity, Yupin collaborates with other moms caring for disabled children to create and sell hand-made goods.
Yupin and her team have great hope and feel stronger because they have a way to generate income while also caring for their children. As she says, it has provided better quality of life, and she has more energy every day as she grows closer to Jesus Christ.
When you give to Joni and Friends, you welcome families living with disability into the Lord’s house.
“Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.… Go out to the roads and country lanes and compel them to come in, so that my house will be full.”
Luke 14:21, 23 (NIV)
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